I am new and have a few questions . I was thinking of buying Object Desktop . I know most here say it is a good deal . First , the price stinks ! The bad thing about this is , from what I can tell , you STILL have to pay for other things that supposedly come in the suite . I find the site to be confusing at best as it is done so as to hide the fact the other things will cost you . What I want to do is cut through the crap and get an answer from those that know . People in this forum . So , if OD basic or ultimate is purchased , what must one pay for with the add ons . With MYCOLORS for instance , they claim you get 4 PREMIUM free skins . Um . What do they mean by PREMIUM ? Seems to me the good stuff needs to be bought over and above what was already paid for OD . I know that a few here are very defensive about people talking bad . if you pay attention to this post , you might understand I mean no malice here . I just want to know what you get for your money . To a newbie here , it seems they want to cover up what will cost you once you purchase OD . I do not mind spending money but , to pay $ 50 or $ 70 bucks for something to give you the options of buying what you really want is sad at best . can anyone explainwhat it costs to use what is supposedly given to you when purchased ? ( OD ) . Wincustomize is bad too . In one place you are told it costs $ 19.95 , I think , and in other places it seems confusing . No where on Stardock's site , that I can find , says Wincustomize subscription is included . So is it or is it not ? And $ 20 to buy a program so you can spend another $ 20 on what you actually want ? All of this is confusing . Does anyone know if there is a guarantee on this software ? They do not offer the OD in trial and I see nothing about a guarantee . So , I buy it , feel screwed and my computer reacts badly , I am out my money ?
Honest and objective answers would be very much appreciated . As a whole , I like this forum . I have read alot and there seems to be some good folks here that try to help . I am in need of some as Stardock's site offers little in the way of clear and concise information .
Many thanks in advance
A chart of what you get with ODNT (Object Desktop Network [Basic and Ultimate]): https://www.stardock.com/products/odnt/purchase.asp
That gets you a bunch of apps that apply almost everything at the site.
Some skinners sell stuff that they think is better than the rest. I agree. They've skinned enough to earn the right. It's up to you if it's worth the money.
Almost every app in ODNT is available as a trial. Try here (https://www.stardock.com/downloads/) to get trials. And no, there is no guaranty. If they don't work after you bought them you cna work with support to get them working and if that fails you are entitled to a refund.
Does that help?
If you have more detailed questions about specific apps, please feel free to post them.
As far as I'm concerned, Object Desktop Ultimate is all you really need. It contains all the programs you need for the skins in the galleries here. It comes with 4 free premium skins a year (professionally designed, with gadgets, Windowblind and Iconpackager). As for the guarantee on software, from Stardocks' customer report 2008, I give you, the Gamer's Bill of Rights:
1) Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund.2) Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.3) Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release.4) Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.5) Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.6) Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won't install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.7) Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.8) Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.9) Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.10) Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.https://www.stardock.com/media/stardockcustomerreport-2008.pdfI believe they have total respect for their customers.
Thank you . Very good advice here .
I know there are trials for the individual apps . So , most everything is free after you buy OD with the exception of a few skins ? I also see coolegiate skins which are nice but , here again , it costs even if you have OD .
Again , THANK YOU
Seems the Ultimate package has more than I want though . Is basic cool for what I am asking ? In other words , is Wincustomize free to use with the basic pack ?
By the way , not really wanting games . I am just concerned over how it is handled if things do not work right after install
Anybody else ? Basic or Ultimate ?
You get unlimited downloads from WC from either purchase.
The Gamers Bill of Rights was posted because the goals are the same when it comes to the users. Good product; limited intrusion.
Ultimate.....keep in mind that neither comes with Object Dock or CursorFX, BUT both of them have a FREE (not trial) version as well as a PLUS version you can buy.
CursorFX has a free version ?
Thanks for the help . i am still trying to decide but , you have given me valuabl information . Very nice forum !!
CursorFX download link
Is XP support going out the window with Stardock ? Things I have read indicate that everything is moving toward Vista .I like XP and will keep it until AT LEAST Window 7 comes . I have Vista on another machine and I am not impressed .
Anyway , How long will Object Desktop support XP ?
Thanks
there are good skins out there that you dont have to pay for........all it takes is your time to look through the galleries yourself.
object desktop also comes with many tools to make your own stuff if you dont like anything you see.......i buy it personally to make my own stuff.
What apps don't work in XP?
See the table here: https://www.stardock.com/products/odnt/purchase.asp
This page is probably the best comparison of the 2 versions:
https://www.stardock.com/products/odnt/features.asp
It also gives a description of all the apps and what they do. Whether you should get Basic or Ultimate is really up to you and what you want to get out of the applications. I personally think it's well worth the extra $20 to get access to nearly twice the applications. Plus I live and die by Keyboard Launchpad.
Hi guys and thanks .
Zubaz .... what I meant was that articles I have read lately seem to be saying Stardock is doing most of the future upgrades in code geared almost entirely of Vista . I know XP is big in their apps right now . I am just concerned that XP support is about to suffer in a big way when it comes to Stardock ' s upgrades .
Also , once subscribed , do you get decent offers on different upgrades and such for being a subscriber ?
Many thanks again for all of the information !!
I dont think support will end for XP, I dont think anything new will come to it either. Probably will all new features and bling be geared toward the new OS's as with all products and software for PC's.
As XP gets older and fewer people use it Stardock has to migrate resources forward. Having said that, new features of new OSs that can be back-ported to older OSs has value too.
Well I hope XP support doesn't end, I won't be upgrading any time soon.. this PC and XP aren't old [I know XP is getting on, but not for me, only had it for less than 2 years], I got them less than a year and a half ago, it will be a couple of years before I can upgrade to anything!
My point is that it seems all their programs are changing over to all Vista . I am wondering if I will get my monies worth since I use XP . I will not be changing OS's until Windows 7 at least . And again , any special offers to subscribers via email as time goes by ?
What apps in ODNT do you think are Vista only?
I'm on XP Home 32 bit SP3 and I can use all the programs with the exception of those that are strickly just for Vista. Actually just the reverse of the impression that you have.
No no no ! Right now , all is cool as XP has plenty of support . It seems that very soon OR from this point on , development will be Vista only . I am asking if anyone knows if this is true .? If all upgrades from this point forward will ne all or mostly just Vista , what happens to XP users ?
There are no plans to drop support for the flagship products that I am aware of.
Thanks !!
You do tend to get discounts on additional software and such. For example if you go to the CursorFX purchase page https://www.stardock.com/products/cursorfx/purchase.asp you'll see a 20% discount for Object Desktop subscribers. Also see a discount on the ObjectDock purchase page https://www.stardock.com/products/objectdock/purchase.asp amount not specified but I'd guess 20%. Also, they've been giving discounts on the MyColors themes https://www.stardock.com/products/mycolors/ , approximately $5 off the branded themes (Collegiate, NBA, NHL, Rides) and approximately $10 off the non-branded themes (Designs, Fun, Holiday) via a similar "OD subscribers click here to get a discount" link on the themes' webpages.
As they say in the stock market world "Past performance does not guarantee future results" (a phrase that has taken on an entirely new meaning over the last year ), but ya they've been throwing some discounts out there for subscribers.
Thanks Dave . That is very useful for me .
And ... lol at the stock quote . how true how true
If it makes you feel any better, us Vista users are also being left out in the cold now that Windows 7 is in Beta.
No more bug fixes, etc. until Windows 7 RC is available - and the bug fixes will be Win7 specific.
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