LightStar

Join Date 12/2002

+1589

The Death of a Company, the Death of .MSStyles

It has been two years now since any further software development was done by TGTSoft on its products, the last release of StyleXP was in June of 2006. In my opinion and for all intents and purposes TGTSoft, who had its start in 2001, is gone. No more staff, no more technical support, no more nothing. To the best of my knowledge there is no one working at the company at all. Emails to the owner go without being answered and telephone calls to known numbers only yield a small child’s voice saying, “Hello, you have reached Daddy.” The last email I received said they were working on a fix for Windows XP SP3, and that was ages ago. Nothing has been developed for designing .msstyles files for Windows Vista by TGTSoft or any company at all. Porting of the .msstyles into SkinStudio is no longer an option in SKS 6. With the death of TGTSoft comes the death of the .msstyles format, which forces me to make a large and decidedly sad decision.

I have developed themes for Windows XP and the .msstyles format since 2001 myself, and fully supported TGTSoft up until now, but I can no longer continue to do so without support from the company.

I also develop Windowblinds themes and have done so for almost 3 years now, and with the death of TGTSoft, I will only being developing Windowblinds themes from now on. I will continue to offer my .msstyles on my website until such time as the format dies completely.

My first full Windowblinds theme, Shimmer, should be released sometime in July 2008.

Locked Post

Advanced Search

Watch this post

Do not email me updates for this post Email me updates for this post

Successfully updated karma reason!

vStyler

Join Date 11/2004

+919

Well.. get to work!!!!

Good t have you on this side full time Tom!!

Successfully updated karma reason!

Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1839

With the death of TGTSoft comes the death of the .msstyles format, which forces me to make a large and decidedly sad decision.

I wouldn't call it 'sad', not when you are left with the superior of the two 'formats'. Skinning within Windowblinds affords the artist far more scope for innovation....but at the same time [if you must] can be as 'basic' as a typical msstyle...

The 'loss' of TGTSOFT just evokes a wry smile, little more....

Successfully updated karma reason!

LightStar

Join Date 12/2002

+1589

For those of you that would like to keep track of Shimmer, I will post progress reports on my site.

WWW Link

Successfully updated karma reason!

Sad that all the work and effort you have already expended will soon be to a dying format.

Still,you can use SKS5 to bring them all to WB.(I think that brings limitations of its own but maybe hmmmm?)

Successfully updated karma reason!

LightStar

Join Date 12/2002

+1589

Still,you can use SKS5 to bring them all to WB.

I will try to do that over time I.R.

Any requests from users?

Successfully updated karma reason!

Frogboy

Join Date 03/2001

+2415

We have a utility around here somewhere that does it. Lemme find it.

Successfully updated karma reason!

LightStar

Join Date 12/2002

+1589

We have a utility around here somewhere that does it. Lemme find it.

Cool! Mind sending it my way when you find it Frogboy, I could definitely put it to good use!

Successfully updated karma reason!

Frogboy

Join Date 03/2001

+2415

Here it is:

http://draginol.stardock.net/files/MSImport.zip

Make sure you run MSImport inside.

Successfully updated karma reason!

Leo the Lion

Join Date 05/2003

+100

I'm one of the many that started using Visual Styles many years ago but then turned to Windowblinds and all the other Stardock programs. Why? Quite simply you could do far more with Windowblinds, Iconpackager, DX, Cursor Xp etc etc and as time has gone by the 'experience' and products have gone from strength to strength. Whilst TGT may have gone by the wayside it would appear Visual Styles applied with 'the patch' are still very popular with the masses and there are a few good artists out there whose work you have to admire even if you are a supporter of Windowblinds and all the Stardock products.

Successfully updated karma reason!

LightStar

Join Date 12/2002

+1589

...there are a few good artists out there whose work you have to admire...

That is very true Leo, there are several good artists still designing .msstyles for the UXTHEME.DLL patch, but most of them use StyleBuilder or a ResEdit type hacker program to do so. There are other factors that have played into my decision, like the lack of support from TGTSoft to its users, and the fact that after a multitude of questions to the owner via email and even trying to get new product keys for their products, I received no response. I could not even use their StyleBuilder product even if I wanted to as I had to reformat and it will not work any more without a new product key.

So all in all, I think I have made a good decision, and will probably be sending my final email to them this week saying goodbye.

Successfully updated karma reason!

LightStar

Join Date 12/2002

+1589

Frogboy! Thank you so much for the MSImport file, it works fast and easy! I really appreciate it!

Successfully updated karma reason!

I've never used .msstyles myself but I'll definitely be looking forward to Shimmer and what is to come after.

Successfully updated karma reason!

Leo the Lion

Join Date 05/2003

+100

...there are a few good artists out there whose work you have to admire...That is very true Leo, there are several good artists still designing .msstyles for the UXTHEME.DLL patch, but most of them use StyleBuilder or a ResEdit type hacker program to do so. There are other factors that have played into my decision, like the lack of support from TGTSoft to its users, and the fact that after a multitude of questions to the owner via email and even trying to get new product keys for their products, I received no response. I could not even use their StyleBuilder product even if I wanted to as I had to reformat and it will not work any more without a new product key.So all in all, I think I have made a good decision, and will probably be sending my final email to them this week saying goodbye.

Thanks for the insight. I often used to wonder how artists built those themes.

For what it's worth, Tom, I think you have made a very good decision and your work already has healthy following here. To have someone with your artistic talent - on this side of the fence - is great for all of us who enjoy Stardock products. By the way, did Johnny Boy twist your arm and put it up behind your back or did you come willingly......hehehehehehe!!!!

Successfully updated karma reason!

LightStar

Join Date 12/2002

+1589

...did Johnny Boy twist your arm...

John had nothing to do with it, I surprised him!

Successfully updated karma reason!

The link no longer seems to work.

Successfully updated karma reason!

that link was posted a year ago.. things change in a year

if you have SKS 5 it imports

Successfully updated karma reason!

But if the only free visual styling dies out, isn't it necessary for stardock creating a free version of Window Blinds?

I just know WB and .msstyles for styling Windows, if .msstyles dies out, it is only possible to customize windows with money, with WB if the .msstyles aren't compatible anymore with the new windows versions. Or are there any other free posibilities?

Successfully updated karma reason!

But if the only free visual styling dies out, isn't it necessary for stardock creating a free version of Window Blinds?

Why?

Successfully updated karma reason!

DrJBHL

Join Date 04/2002

+4212

Quoting angus1949,

reply 18

But if the only free visual styling dies out, isn't it necessary for stardock creating a free version of Window Blinds?Why?

How in the world is Stardock obligated to do free software?

I'm pretty sure you (masHugac) don't get your rent/mortgage and get your food/clothing for free and (btw) do you work for free?

As usual, Ed...we are in agreement.

Successfully updated karma reason!

Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1839

Necrothreads....more lives than a Vampire...

Successfully updated karma reason!

I didn't suggest WB to be free software, but maybe a free version of it, like a lightweight version, i mean who wants to live with the standard skins of Windows? They are terrible, and if .msstyle dies out...

Successfully updated karma reason!

Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1839

and if .msstyle dies out...

The format was/is an unendorsed [by MS] hack of their inherent skin theme application/s within XP. It isn't so much that they 'died out' but that they had/have no legitimate community support/development base, and typically every time MS released a new service pack, etc there was no compunction [or need] on the part of MS to worry as to whether they were breaking this hacked format or not...so it was frequently broken.

Independent [legitimate] skinning alternatives actually cost time and money to develop and maintain and thus won't be 'free'.

Typically anything 'good' is worth paying for...

Successfully updated karma reason!

I must be missing something here. People will spend hundreds of dollars on an OS or a monitor,yet will balk at spending twenty dollars (US) to make it all look great.

I don't like watching low-def TV but I can't convince my cable company to give me HD for free.

Successfully updated karma reason!

The death of Tgt-soft doesn't mean death of .msstyles. Msstyle is in vista and perhaps in win7 too. At its very start I considered its style xp better than windowblinds because at that time PCs were slow and so was windowblinds. May be TGTsoft's earlier wins made them so reluctant that they felt no need for further improvement in their software. What more they guided their customers to adware companies.... www.themexp.org

No one will like an eye-candy with a virus. Can you love a girl with viral fever?

On the other hand windowblinds improved and became faster with time and so became the PCs.

I don't remember which WB version I used first because I had given my mind on rent then. lol

Successfully updated karma reason!

I don't like watching low-def TV but I can't convince my cable company to give me HD for free.

Get Time Warner...most HD channels are free.

Successfully updated karma reason!