Long ago, during the Windows 98 era (seems like a long time ago), I tried ObjectBar. What I found was a program of great potential but an interface that confused me to no end so I promptly uninstalled it and sulked in the corner. Now Stardock has taken one important feature out of ObjectBar and created a new app, RightClick. Apparently ObjectBar could modify the menu that popped up after rightclicking the Desktop. I never found that feature, and apparently Stardock realized that pretty much no one else did either. I like the idea, actually. Now, I am well aware that RightClick is still in beta, so I can't fairly critique it like a final version, but there are some things that stand out regardless of build.
Right, first thing I noticed is that it still contains remnants of its ObjectBar roots. This is understandable, but the awkwardness remains. It can be confusing, using two lists for menu editing. I think it would be easier for the user if there was one list, and a button that opened up a new Dialog showing the available options and describing them in detail. Regarding the options themselves, I think the configuration dialogs could be simplified. Particularly, I would like to see the Actions dialog more reminiscent of the one in DesktopX. And speaking of DesktopX, it would be REALLY nice if RightClick could utitlize DesktopX plugins. Say, having a menu listing CPU usage and HD space and so on. Just a thought.
Regarding Menus, I've always thought that the 'choose menu to edit' function would be rather confusing for newbies. Why of course they wanted to edit the Right-click-on-Desktop-menu! Why else would they be there? Anyway, I think using some sort of tree structure for organizing the menu layout might be better, because it would show the hierarchy of the menus, and what child is connected to what parent.
Lastly, on skins. The standard WindowBlinds policy of using magic pink as transparency is getting pretty old in the days of Xfce (Window manager on *nix, great software...) and PNG/TGA. I'd like to desing skins that could make use of partial transparency, either using TGA or PNG. I know WindowFX can make menus semi-transparent, but being able to do it selectively would be even better. That being said, the WindowBlinds conversion feature still needs work too because it remains yet to work on my system (for some odd reason). And like I said, being locked into using BMPs for every image is slightly annoying because it involves doing a lot of format conversion.
Otherwise, it's a great program and I expect to make use of it highly once it reaches maturity...or at least when it receives the attention it well deserves.
