Getting back into skinning

Published on October 6, 2010 By Draginol In OS Customization

This Fall I’m starting to get back into skinning. For the past 8 months or so, I’ve been the interim Project Manager on Elemental: War of Magic to get that game ready for release – which I failed spectacularly at. Sometimes, the answer is not to “work harder”. But I digress.

The problem I’m seeing with skinning is business vs. passion. That is, Windows XP users still represent a near majority of the people using our skinning programs. The problem is, Windows XP is dead as a technology base. I don’t want to even support it any longer. I want us to make cutting edge technology using WPF and Silverlight and other things that can show what is possible.

A lot of the new Windows technologies have been under used which is a real shame because there’s some great stuff there.

My main worry right now is that WPF is not being well supported by Microsoft and I don’t want us to get into a tech that Microsoft is going to abandon (GDI+, cough cough).

See http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/13/microsoft_defends_silverlight/ for my concerns.

Comments (Page 3)

2of3

on Oct 22, 2010

Altho, it beats making pizza's

I can vouch for that, John!

Love eating pizza.....hated working at a pizza restaurant

gmc2

on Oct 22, 2010

damn, I just took a look at Brad's pages. I hope he's seriously considering doing some more.

RedneckDude

on Oct 22, 2010

I'm guessing he means getting back into the skinning side of Stardock. As in new apps, or updated old apps. At least I hope that's what he means. We need a new focus.

In order to use WPF and Silverlight, we need apps that will support those.

Brad is talking like a coder, not a skinner.

gmc2

on Oct 22, 2010

RedneckDude

reply 33

I'm guessing he means getting back into the skinning side of Stardock. As in new apps, or updated old apps. At least I hope that's what he means. We need a new focus.

In order to use WPF and Silverlight, we need apps that will support those.

Brad is talking like a coder, not a skinner.

gosh, even though I figured it out at the beginning the title is "getting back into skinning".

so, silverlight appears to be more of a developer's tool for presentation and control. something that WC might use as an interface with the public but I'm just not getting why my little heart needs to get a flutter/twitter from my side of the fence.

would someone please explain to me why having to download silverlight to use this site would be a benefit for me?

gmc2

on Oct 25, 2010

thought so.

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