Winstep Xtreme is a complete integrated Desktop Environment featuring the next generation of award winning Winstep user interface enhancements: NextSTART and WorkShelf. While most Windows customization software focuses on eye candy, Winstep applications raise the usability bar to another level: they give added functionality to Windows and complete control over every aspect of the user interface.
NextSTART is a complete Start Menu, Taskbar and System Tray replacement, famous for its unmatched flexibility. The number of options you can configure is truly outstanding: configurable menus - via drag and drop or using the built-in Menu Editor - customizable menu behavior, an amazing number of ways to activate menus and run programs using hotspots, taskbar and systray management and more!
WorkShelf is a desktop replacement and tabbed program launcher. Like a dock, but better. It enables you to organize your most often used applications and documents into categorized shelves while taking as little screen space as possible: WorkShelf automatically collapses into a small strip of tabs when not in use. It also gives you access to system folders like My Computer, Control Panel, etc... Throw in it’s task management abilities and built-in modules such as a speaking Atomic Clock, Recycle Bin, POP3/IMAP Email Checker, Weather Monitor, CPU, Net and RAM Meters, and a 'fortune cookie' reader (with many more soon forthcoming) and you have an incredible utility you’ll soon find out you can’t be without.
So what is new in Winstep Xtreme? Here is an highlight of just a few of its new features:
Per-pixel alpha support: this allows incredible eye candy effects and themes that will blow your mind! Everything can be semi-transparent - or have semi-transparent parts - blending smoothly with the background. You don't have to wait for Windows Vista: the next generation in User Interfaces is already here.
Task Snapshots: the NextSTART tasklist and WorkShelf's Tasks shelf display snapshots of the actual windows, which are automatically refreshed to keep the contents always up-to-date. Window snapshots make it much easier to identify documents in a taskbar filled with identical icons.
Image and Video Thumbnails: context menus allow you to visualize image and video files. This is extremely useful to help you identify specific pictures when, for instance, using NextSTART menus to browse your hard drives.
Send To, Open With, context menu options: NextSTART and WorkShelf context menus were already very powerful, but they lacked support for the important Send To and Open With sub-menus. Context menus now not only provide all the options you would expect to find on Explorer's context menus as they still manage to add a few more!
PNG Icon support: you can now use PNG files to specify object images. This is true for anything that previously only allowed ICO files, including menu items, shelf items, tasklist, module and quick launch icons, etc...
Special FX: lots of new special effects, such as icons zooming on selection, shifting to make room for items about to be dropped onto WorkShelf, plus incredible water ripple effect that makes the shelf behave like a liquid surface whenever you click on it, new sound events for emptying the recycler bin or dropping items into it, a mind warping 'ripple' menu animation, and more!
Proxy Support: transparent proxy support for all functions that depend on the Internet to work, like auto update, online cookie retrieval, and weather and email checking. No need to configure anything since proxy settings are automatically retrieved from Internet Explorer itself.
WorkShelf Hotkeys: You can now open, activate shelves and run programs using nothing but the keyboard! All key combinations are system wide, WorkShelf does not need to have the focus for the hotkeys to work.
Desktop Modules Animation Support: This means that the email module can now display a rotating envelope whenever you have new mail, that the Recycler can light up like a furnace when you move items over it, and that Wanda can be given a new face.
There are literally HUNDREDS of other new features, changes and fixes, too many to list here. Become part of the Xtreme experience now and see for yourself!
Download: Winstep Xtreme (includes NextSTART v4.0, WorkShelf v2.0 and FontBrowser v 1.0)
