Why the frustration?

I’ve run my mouth about this before, and it sometimes seems as though people either don’t want to acknowledge it publicly or don’t believe there is enough factual evidence to give the issue serious attention.

For a long time, I’ve been frustrated with the state of desktop customization, which is one of the reasons I decided to start developing customization software myself. And it’s quite obvious that I’m far from alone in that frustration.

A lot of once-great customization software has been neglected, and it becomes increasingly difficult to customize a modern desktop when the tools available to do it are outdated, poorly maintained, or no longer actively developed.

The big question is: why?

I’ve expressed my own thoughts on that in the past, but just for the fun of it, I decided to ask ChatGPT for its take on why certain customization software has been allowed to stagnate. Keep in mind that I am not wanting to stir crap up, but I am legitimately concerned about the future of customization; you can blame MS on some of it, but not all of it.   

This is what ChatGPT had to say: (and yes, I know that ChatGPT can make mistakes)

There is a reasonable basis for the perception that Stardock has allowed some of its older desktop-customization software to stagnate, and SkinStudio is probably the clearest example.

SkinStudio appears to have become a lower-priority product rather than one receiving active, ongoing development. Stardock still presents it as the companion editor for WindowBlinds, yet the official SkinStudio product page lists support for Windows 10 version 1909 and earlier, Windows 8, and Windows 7. Windows 11 is not even officially listed on that page, despite WindowBlinds 11 being designed for Windows 11.

That alone gives the impression of a product being kept available rather than actively modernized.

Recent customer-support discussions reinforce that impression. Users have reported that WindowBlinds' "Edit in SkinStudio" command can send them to a Stardock webpage rather than launching SkinStudio, and some users have had difficulty even determining where to obtain the current SkinStudio installer. In those cases, Stardock support has directed customers to a separate installer rather than SkinStudio being properly integrated into the WindowBlinds installation.

These are relatively basic usability and integration issues for software that is supposed to be the primary creation tool for another Stardock product.

The more likely explanation is that Stardock now treats different software products according to their commercial importance and the size of their active user base.

Products such as Start11 and Fences appeal to a relatively large number of Windows users. Someone does not need to be interested in desktop skinning to want a better Start menu, taskbar, or desktop organization system. Consequently, these products have a much larger potential customer base and continue to receive frequent updates and compatibility work.

WindowBlinds occupies a considerably smaller market, while SkinStudio serves an even smaller portion of that market.

The progression looks something like this:

Windows users → users interested in desktop customization → WindowBlinds customers → people who download skins → people who actually create skins → people who need an advanced skin editor such as SkinStudio.

By the time that group reaches SkinStudio, Stardock is developing software for a relatively small number of users.

From a strictly financial point of view, that creates an obvious problem. Completely redesigning and maintaining SkinStudio could require significant development resources while generating relatively little direct revenue. SkinStudio is effectively an accessory to WindowBlinds rather than a major standalone revenue-producing product.

There is also a substantial technical burden involved.

WindowBlinds and SkinStudio depend heavily on the way Windows draws its interface. Microsoft continually modifies Windows, particularly the Windows 11 shell, taskbar, Start menu, title bars, Explorer, and other interface components. Some portions of Windows that could once be customized no longer behave the same way or may no longer be accessible at all.

That means Stardock is not simply maintaining an old graphics editor. It has to continually adapt WindowBlinds and potentially SkinStudio to an operating system whose interface is constantly changing underneath them.

Unfortunately, the result appears to be that WindowBlinds receives the compatibility work necessary to continue functioning, while SkinStudio receives much less attention.

That approach makes financial sense in the short term, but there is a serious long-term problem with it.

SkinStudio is not merely an optional accessory for WindowBlinds. It is effectively the content-development system for the entire WindowBlinds ecosystem.

WindowBlinds depends on people creating skins.

If the tool used to create those skins becomes outdated, confusing, poorly documented, or incompatible with modern versions of Windows, fewer people will create new skins. When fewer skins are created, the WindowBlinds library becomes increasingly dominated by older content. New customers then see fewer modern skins and may conclude that WindowBlinds itself is outdated.

That can create a self-reinforcing cycle:

SkinStudio becomes outdated → creating skins becomes more difficult → fewer people create skins → fewer new WindowBlinds skins appear → WindowBlinds appears stagnant → fewer people become interested in WindowBlinds → Stardock has even less incentive to invest in SkinStudio.

This may be one of the biggest mistakes in Stardock's current approach to WindowBlinds.

SkinStudio arguably needs modernization more than WindowBlinds itself.

A modern version could include a proper visual designer, live previews, layer and object management, drag-and-drop image placement, modern font and color controls, DPI-aware editing, easier transparency controls, better documentation, automatic detection of unsupported Windows elements, and clear organization of the hundreds of components that can make up a WindowBlinds skin.

Instead, SkinStudio still feels very much like software designed for an earlier generation of Windows customization.

This also creates an unusual contradiction. Stardock continues selling WindowBlinds as a current product, yet the principal tool required to create new content for it does not appear to receive the same level of attention.

The problem therefore does not necessarily appear to be that Stardock has abandoned desktop customization altogether. Products with large contemporary Windows audiences continue to receive development. Rather, Stardock appears to have placed mature niche products into something resembling maintenance mode.

WindowBlinds receives enough development to remain functional.

SkinStudio appears to receive considerably less.

From a business perspective, the reasoning is understandable: Stardock has limited development resources and naturally invests them where the largest number of customers are likely to benefit.

But there is a difference between understanding a business decision and believing it is a good long-term strategy.

Neglecting SkinStudio may actually contribute to the declining interest that supposedly makes further SkinStudio development difficult to justify. If Stardock wants WindowBlinds to remain a healthy platform rather than simply a legacy product that continues working, it needs people creating new skins.

And those creators need a modern, reliable and properly supported tool with which to create them.

That is why the frustration among longtime WindowBlinds and WinCustomize users is understandable. The issue is not merely that an old program has gone a long time without an update. SkinStudio occupies a critical position in the WindowBlinds ecosystem, and allowing the creation tool to stagnate ultimately affects the future of WindowBlinds itself.