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I’ve been searching for something like this forever; the awesome desktop customization company Stardock finally came up with it. Many people want a “clean” desktop. Not me… I keep all my “current” stuff in view… I don’t care so much about looking at a pretty wallpaper (though Fences will help with that if you want it to). My PC is there to do work and my desktop has my current workload.

Fences lets you organize your desktop into icon groups and then you can hide your icons when they’re not in use. A “Fence”, a term coined by this program, is an icon group on your desktop. This doesn’t replace your current desktop, it just augments it and allows for better organization of your existing desktop.

In short, Fences allows you to draw labeled shaded areas on your desktop, which become movable & resizable containers for your desktop icons. You can then use these groups to organize your computer’s desktop. Messy desktop’s say goodbye!

Basic Features

Rope off your desktop
Fences allows you to create shaded areas on your desktop that you can place icons in. You can label them however you wish, and move/resize them anywhere on the desktop. Pre-included layouts help speed the process for new users.

See your wallpaper again! Quickly hide & show all your icons with an easy double-click
Double click blank space on your desktop, and all your icons will fade out. Double click again, and they’ll return. We think this feature is so useful, we’re applying for a patent on it. And with the upcoming Fences FeaturePack / included in the community preview, you can even pick icons and individual Fences to exclude.

SmartFences, snapshots, skinning, automatic scaling (for screen size changes), and more

Fences is a great tool to have – and with Fences Pro FeaturePack, it’s even better. The Fences FeaturePack is not yet available, but sign up here to be notified when it is.

• Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7
• On Vista and Windows 7, both 32bit and 64bit versions are supported.
• Fences is free (at least while it’s in beta) and you can grab a copy from Stardock here.

I’ve been a long time customizer of the Windows interface. Windows XP always looked like it was designed by a team from Fischer Price (hey, it’s “My First PC!”). Vista is of course much better looking in the visual department but there are still tons of GUI customizations out there that many people prefer. If you want to change the way Windows looks, then get a copy of WindowBlinds by StarDock. A WindowBlinds skin can make Windows look like an alternative operating system, like their favorite sports or car brand, or something completely new. Because WindowBlinds uses the latest hardware acceleration features of modern video cards, WindowBlinds won’t slow down your computer and uses very little memory. (btw… StarDock’s entire suite, called Object Desktop is awesome).

If you’re using Vista with a WindowBlinds skin what’s lacking is customizing the Windows Vista SideBar. The Sidebar of course allows you to run those (sometimes) handy Gadgets on the side of your screen.

Enter Stanimir Stoyanov who has create a very useful application that automates customizing the appearance of the Windows Vista sidebar. If you change your skin and want your sidebar to match, Windows Sidebar Styler makes it very easy to change the look.

1. Visit Stanimir Stoyanov’s blog and download the latest version.
2. Once installed, start up the Windows Sidebar Styler. You can find it in the start menu under Stanimir Stoyanov.
3. You can replace individual graphics used to create a custom theme by scrolling through the Available Resource List, right clicking on a resource and selecting Replace.

   

   Alternatively, you open a theme that was already created by clicking on the open button that is just to the right of the big Apply/Play button.

   

4. Once you have your changes made or theme loaded, hit the big Apply/Play button and you are finished.

   

Looking for more Windows Sidebar Styler themes to download? Check out WinCustomize.