Object Desktop

Object Desktop — initially entitled The Workplace Toolset/2 — was developed over three years by Brad Wardell and Kurt Westerfeld subsequent to Stardock's OS/2 Essentials, a pre-registered set of OS/2 shareware. Object Desktop 1.0 was followed by 1.5 and Professional versions following in short order.

By 1997 the OS/2 ISV market was flagging, and many customers were switching to Windows NT 4. 1997 OS/2 revenues were 33% of those in 1996, and they fell to 25% of 1996 levels in 1998. This led to their decision to switch to Windows in mid-1997. Nevertheless, Stardock remained an OS/2 ISV until February 2001, when they stopped selling Object Desktop for OS/2.

OS/2 versions were sold as initial versions and upgrades, costing more than later Windows versions due to lower volume of sales.

The initial release of Object Desktop was both praised for its functionality and criticised for performance and compatibility issues.

Object Desktop 1.5 was released on 2 May 1996, fixing many problems, and adding the following components:

Users of 1.0 could upgrade for $37.

Object Desktop Professional was (as the name suggests) aimed at professional users of OS/2. It was released on 24 August 1996, priced at $179; users could also upgrade from OD 1.5 for $69.95, or from OD 1.0 for $119.

The Object Desktop 2.0 logo incorporates a woodgrain motif, echoed in many skins

In addition to the features of OD 1.5, the package included:

Object Desktop 2.0 was an update to all previously released components, and an integration of the Professional features into the main package. It was priced at $99.95; users of Object Desktop Professional could upgrade for $39, while other versions could be upgraded for $69.95.

An upgrade to 2.02 was released at the start of 2000, but it was made clear that it would be the last release Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine.

When it became clear that OS/2 would not remain a viable platform, Stardock decided to move to Windows. This required rewriting old components and writing new ones to replace those which were not appropriate for Windows. This would take time, but Stardock needed money immediately to sustain development.

To cope with this cashflow problem, Object Desktop users who had switched from OS/2 to Windows were asked to purchase Windows subscriptions in advance of the actual software, on the understanding that their subscription period would only begin when the software was reasonably complete (which ended up as December 1999). This program was called the Early Experience Program. Due to significant goodwill built up over the previous years, many signed up, and Stardock survived.

Initially the new Object Desktop package was closely related to the OS/2 versions, with old favourites like Object Edit, Control Center and Task/Tab Launchpad being ported over. However, as the userbase expanded from its traditional core of technical users into the wider Windows market, newer components shifted to focus on customizing the graphical user interface. The flagship component of Object Desktop became WindowBlinds; other popular additions were IconPackager, ObjectBar, DesktopX, DeskScapes and Fences.

These components are available to all Object Desktop subscribers as of February 2010:

Name	Description
WindowBlinds	Changes visual styles for window borders, controls, the taskbar, Start Menu and other areas. The first versions of WindowBlinds were released in 1998 for Windows 95. It has since developed to become Object Desktop's most popular component. WindowBlinds technology is the basis for DirectSkin, Stardock's corporate ActiveX/COM skinning component.
Fences[2]	Desktop icon visibility and organization tool, allowing related programs to be split into groups (fences) and shown or hidden at need. Fences Pro, included with Object Desktop, adds sorting and automatically inserts new items into fences based on file name or type.
DeskScapes	Animated wallpapers for Windows XP and up. Includes dynamic, configurable wallpapers which can — for example — change sky color with the time. Initially an extension of Windows Vista Ultimate's DreamScene.
IconPackager	Icon customization is popular An icon package manager. Users can create and apply icon packages that replace the Windows icons, file type icons and folder icons.[3] The shareware version includes basic icon changing and the Icon Explorer, an icon viewing applet. Registered versions add shell integration and the ability to change the icons that represent file formats in Windows Explorer. Icons may be adjusted separately, or by the loading of icon packages, which may themselves be part of a larger theme managed by Theme Manager. Several artists sell premium icon packages on WinCustomize and elsewhere, but the majority are free to use. IconPackager was the subject of controversy when competitors TGTSoft filed a lawsuit against Stardock over the rights to its file format.
ObjectBar	A highly customizable shell add-on, oriented around "bars". Has been most popular with users of Windows who wish to have the Macintosh menu bar, for which it provides an effective emulation. ObjectBar also integrated the functionality of Stardock's ControlCenter, but has been largely superseded by WindowBlinds and ObjectDock on Windows Vista and later.
RightClick	An expanded context menu for the desktop, offering DesktopX-compatible plugin support for menu items. Many features work in a similar way to ObjectBar, from which it is derived.
Tweak7[4] (TweakVista)	Helps users to optimize the performance and behavior of Windows Vista/7 in several areas. Supersedes TweakShell.
IconDeveloper	Creates icons from existing pictures, as opposed to software designed to create them one pixel at a time. Also provides for recolouring icons or icon packages.
LogonStudio	A free program that allows users to change their Windows XP, Vista or 7 logon screens using a variety of built-in or user-created images.
SoundPackager	A sound pack manager for Windows. Allows users to replace the entire set of sound effects.
Theme Manager (WinStyles)	Creates and applies theme suites, changing the skins of applications which support them. Integrates with several other components. Also available as MyColors, used largely for co-branded themes and corporate installs.
Keyboard LaunchPad	Creates keyboard shortcuts that can be used to launch applications, control media players, or insert clipboard snippets. Can be expanded through the use of plugins.
SkinStudio (BuilderBlinds)	Creates skins for WindowBlinds. SkinStudio Pro offers a code editor and eases the creation of animations and substyles. Previous versions supported ObjectBar, WebBlinds, PocketBlinds, Koala Player and Windows Media Player.
WindowFX	A program that adds shadows to windows, and provides window transitions for Windows XP. Transition effects use the same 3D APIs as mainstream computer games; as a result, they could be very demanding, particularly on computers built before Windows Vista. Transitions are created using a proprietary scripting programming language - a free third-party tool called WFXScripter can manipulate these scripts.

These components may remain available for some legacy subscribers, but are not offered to new users:

StyleVista adjusting window borders

These components have been withdrawn from service or did not make it past the beta stages:

These components were not brought forth to the Windows version of Object Desktop: