DarkKnight
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Posts posted by DarkKnight
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6 hours ago, netsendjoe said:
First and foremost, I hope that BM is ok.. I don't know what or if anything happened, but it seems like this project hasn't been updated in quite some time.
I wish that someone would take over the works of it if BM is no longer with us or working on this.
Not a fan of WindowsBlinds because it always wasted system resources, while BM's method of restoring the native implementation of transparencies was better.I agree, while there are some pretty nice themes for WB , the one thing it has NEVER been able to do is skin the entire OS and it kinda sucks if you are creating a dark theme and are left with areas of white that WB cannot skin.
Another thing is the system resources it uses, which is really not a problem with today's computers but why waste system resources running third party themes when it really isn't necessary? just another area they have never tried to correct or advance in and is where Stardock falls behind. Instead of them joining, embracing and working with the themeing community they choose to keep all their stuff proprietary, like themeing cannot be achieved without their software ... lol, in the long run is only going to hurt them. Word is they will not have a fully working Window Blind program for Windows 11 until 2023 ....... Ouch! That is gonna cost them.
As far as BM , I sincerely hope he is ok and would like him to answer even if it is to say he is not continuing on with Aeroglass. Aeroglass was always a far better option than Window Blinds.
Don't really know if anyone can take over his works , you would need source code for that and who knows how close BM kept his secrets to his vest? and IF anything , god forbid, has happened to him if anyone else even had access to his works.
I am no programmer or anything but I wounder if Aeroglass can be de compiled to show it's source code?
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Well that makes sense
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Upgraded my license from StartIsBack To StartAllBack. How long does it usually take to receive the key? I have been waiting about an hour now and so far nothing.
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It would be nice to have an option to keep the original Windows 11 configuration (Start menu and button centered on the taskbar)
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On 3/16/2021 at 3:47 PM, AeroSeeker said:
Well, in any case, it should be cleaned up or replaced. Seems a little silly to just leave it as it is.
I wholeheartedly agree, same with the forum itself, there are so many dead links in the forums it makes it virtually useless , really needs to be cleaned up.
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Are there things we as humans can do to make our planet a more pleasant place to live? yes we certainly can, reduce pollution, carbon emissions and clean the landfills that float in the middle of our oceans just to name a few, but here is the thing ........
We cannot and will never be able to stop climate change and the thing no one ever realizes is our planet has been doing this since the dawn of time, without the help of humans creating carbon emissions and greenhouse gases. It is something that just naturally happens, it warms and freezes in cycles, it has been doing it for eons, even before we were here. Think of it as a cleansing. We only know of one ice age when in reality there more than likely have been dozens.
All the money, conferences and geniuses in the world will not stop what planet earth does naturally. The Paris Climate Accord is nothing more than a way for countries to soak money from one another and get nothing done. When is reality all that needs to be done is the entire world take ownership of the pollution and garbage they make and clean it the f@#k up.
Can we slow down the process a little by leading cleaner lives? we certainly can but it will not stop it entirely like we as humans idiotically believe we have the power to do, the only thing we have the power to do is to adapt to it because this planet has the ability to shake us like a bad cold if we start messing with the natural order of things.
Right now the planet is in a warming trend which is why the polar caps are melting, this would have happened with or without our help, after the warming trend a cooling period will begin and more than likely a new ice age will happen, so , the sky is not falling. it is just a natural process that happens, we just have not been here long enough or have been smart enough long enough through recorded time to realize this. If we had records that spanned before the last ice age we would know this , unfortunately , humans were not smart enough back then, we were just learning how to make fire.
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On 3/21/2021 at 3:53 PM, Marvin_Tibblestone said:
Far as I can tell there's nothing you can really do unless one side or the other patches support for the other.
Lol, wouldn't ever count on that happening, Stardock is all about proprietary software. All their software uses their own extensions.
Also, Stardock Windowblinds and Start10 uses .bmp images to generate their theme images as .msstyle themes generally use .png images which is why StartIsBack probably acts glitchy with Windowblinds. Stardock has made it that if you want to use Windowblind themes you have to use Start10 and I don't ever see that changing, it would be detrimental to their sales of Start10.
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4 hours ago, uk58 said:
i have no problem with Stardock Software i have 32 GB Ram, 8 GB Grafic Card, Intel 7 for me this is not bloatware
Bloatware is bloatware no matter how you slice it or what your pc runs. Stardocks software is a total waste of pc resources.
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1 hour ago, uk58 said:
Hallo nochmal die Frage für dieses Thema war ob eine Alternative zu aeroglass vorhanden ist
smart menü macht transparente Fenster ,aber das hat aeroglass nie gemacht aeroglass hat den aero Skin von Windows 7 und nur den von Windows 7 im Aussehen nachempfunden und weiter ermöglicht.
das ist aeroglass und dein Programm hat damit nichts zu tun es ist nicht im Sinne des Erfinders , leider haben deine Screenshoots die ja nicht schlecht sind und aussehen mit aeroglass nichts zu tun, schön wenn dir das Programm gefällt aber für die Benutzer dieses forums ist es nicht das Richtige wer alles Transparent will kann deinem Tip folgen wenn das programm mal vollständig ist.
hello again the question for this topic was whether there is an alternative to aeroglass
smart menu makes transparent windows but aeroglass has never done that aeroglass has modeled the appearance of the aero skin of windows 7 and only of windows 7 and made it possible.
that is aeroglass and your program has nothing to do with it, it is not in the spirit of the inventor, unfortunately your screenshoots, which do not look bad, have nothing to do with aeroglass, nice if you like the program but it is not for the users of this forum the right thing whoever wants everything transparent can follow your tip when that program is complete.
To each his own, I have it installed and depending on how you use it, it does not make the entire window transparent, if you want Windows 7 transparency then install Windows 7 or install Starbloat's Curtains.
I honestly do not believe that AeroGlass by Big Muscle is going to be updated anytime soon (if ever again) and honestly the answer is a no, there is no de-facto alternative to AeroGlass, you have Vistaglazz , Black Glass Enhanced etc. but all do the same thing SSM does to some extent.
I actually happen to like this , although until a version comes out that actually saves your chosen settings it is kind of pointless to use everyday.
I for one, will be keeping an eye on it.
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Ok, little confused here, downloaded , unpacked and installed.
I can see how it works but what is confusing to me is how to make it keep the settings without having to turn on the aeroglass effect every time you open a window? Seems kind of pointless to me if that is what you have to do.
Ok, hier wenig verwirrt, heruntergeladen, entpackt und installiert.
Ich kann sehen, wie es funktioniert, aber was mich verwirrt, ist, wie ich die Einstellungen beibehalten kann, ohne den Aeroglas-Effekt jedes Mal einschalten zu müssen, wenn Sie ein Fenster öffnen. Scheint mir irgendwie sinnlos, wenn Sie das tun müssen
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On 6/20/2020 at 9:41 PM, davidb420 said:
Probably not because for years, people have been clamoring for transparent title bars from MS, and even after getting thousands of upvotes on several posts relating to adding acrylic title bars to Windows on the feedback hub, there is no sign that this is even being actively worked on.
We will never know will we, they may surprise you one day, just as with Sets, it'll be back one of these updates.
17 hours ago, Lifell said:I never said I didn't understand the situation. I don't mind paying money for something. But I do expect the person selling it to be honest about it. I have absolutely no idea if he's honest about it. I don't really feel you really try to understand what I'm saying.
"I have donated more than once but I also wait patiently for the updates without plastering complaints all over the forum here" I don't "plaster complaints all over the forum" either. I've been mostly (trying) to help people out and some questions/comments here and there.
But yeah, thanks a lot for your reply. I guess I'm just overthinking things or something. I'm still waiting patiently. Checking the forum from time to time.Listen, I get what you are saying, there are a lot of frustrated people that have made donations that are complaining too. No one seems to know what motivates the man, he just does it when he does it.
I did not mean to imply that you were plastering complaints all over the forum , it is everyone is general, they think if they complain enough it'll make BM update it faster, in my mind it is quite the contrary.
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On 6/18/2020 at 12:29 AM, Lifell said:
I personally do think it's weird that the moment I purchased a premium license for this software it was already out of date. Since I knew about AeroGlass it has been out of date. I'm "freaking out" because it does take him so long to update a paid product. I could only use it for some time because I had 1903.
You can call it donating but we all know it isn't. The "free" version (trial) is a stripped down version. You need to pay to unlock all it's features and for most make it a viable option to use daily. Having fancy glass windows while having an ugly (Opinion of mine but also a lot of others) watermark on your desktop is for most not really a win. And that's very done on purpose. Cosmetic micro transactions in games also influence the game by a very large portion. It doesn't influence the gameplay with stats but it does influence the game itself. Cosmetics and making something look good is for a lot of people more important than functionality. Hence why cosmetics in those games are so popular.
I'm not an id*** though. I know there is Corona epidemic going on and I also know that updating AeroGlass is probably not 10 mins of work. But this is what you get when you're not transparent in what you do. People are going to ask questions. The way AeroGlass is now is beneficial for BigMuscle, not us. He has all the benefits of developing free software with the added benefit of receiving "donations". Which aren't really donations. Most of those donations are really done to get the full version with an added "good feel" effect because you have the impression you're supporting the development of AeroGlass. While in reality, that extra 10 euro you just donated might've absolutely no influence at all.
My assumption is is that BigMuscle will likely stop updating this once it takes too much of his time, the donations aren't high enough and people are generally not that interested anymore. But that 10 euro I mentioned might've not changed that in any shape or form. Even better, not updating AeroGlass for some time is probably beneficial to him. I'm not saying he has ill intend or that he's doing it on purpose but not updating AeroGlass will get people to donate yet again.
That's all fine. But then I think he should be transparent in regards to what's up. Tell us SOMETHING. Not be quiet for months and months. Give us an ETA. Keep us up to date in regards to plans or innovations. Maybe you found a way to update AeroGlass quicker? Or maybe you wanna make sure that we know that it will take awhile because you're expecting Windows to release an update soon that might break it yet again? Who knows, I'm not developing this software. Everyone is just guessing at this point and everyone who says they know what BigMuscle is thinking is just speculating.
In regards to transparency, listing how much is approximately donated each month, an explanation what exactly needs to be done each update and how much time that costs would already go a long way. Of course combined with some quick communication here and there. For all I know he gets over a €690 each update and it takes him an hour or 2 to get it working for the latest version of Windows because he's got it all set up now and optimized for quick successful updates. In terms of optimizing the updating of software, there is a lot you can do. Of course, the €690 isn't based on realism, but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say.
Or maybe he indeed only needs about 3-4 hours for each minor update, and 7 for major updates? Or maybe minor or major updates don't matter in terms of time? Or maybe he's just very busy with his 6 jobs? Who knows. The things I mentioned above would take about 10 mins. Quick communication in regards to what's up, how much was donated last month and a quick explanation what needs to be done if an update needs to be released for AeroGlass and the complications some things might bring to updating the software.If it bothers you that much about having to "donate" to unlock the software and having to wait for updates, you don't have to use it. There are other less viable options out there like Black Glass Enhanced that you can use.
I have donated more than once but I also wait patiently for the updates without plastering complaints all over the forum here, because it gets you nowhere, it is not going to make him update it any faster, it'll get done when it gets done.
I have always said that if BM does not have the time to invest in and update and improve aeroglass then he just should sell the source code to someone who does, but that is his choice. I am also absolute;y positive that we have some very smart individuals in this forum that with a little time could come up with a viable replacement to aeroglass also, but no one does.
I can take aeroglass or leave it, it is not an absolute necessity for me to have because to me it is only eye candy, my OS's functionality is not dependent on it. But when it is updated I do use it, aeroglass also does not dictate to me whether or not I upgrade my system to the latest versions of Windows or not, if a version of Windows breaks it , fine, I just move on and wait for the next update, while for others it might be a deal breaker but as for me that is just absurd to run a less secure OS just because I cannot have that glass effect.
Give it some time, MS is slowly adding acrylic to Windows 10 and before you know it there will be no need for aeroglass
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54 minutes ago, UCyborg said:
That's not a PDB Downloader, that's some script written by someone else that expects Debugging Tools.
I have tried the PDB Downloader, doesn't work, at least not on 1909, I still get the error. I just click retry or cancel and it goes away, I am sure there will be a fix for it put out a few weeks before 20H1 is released, then we will need the fix for 20H1.
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I use custom Windows icons and have just updated to SIB 2.8.7 and see that in unlike previous versions of SIB that my All Programs icons are now the standard Windows yellow folder icons and not the custom folder icons I have installed, yet in the SIB Configurations my custom icons are displayed .......
Is this just a bug ? Because I am hearing things of user having to modify SIB .dll's in order to have their custom icons shown in All Programs.
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10 hours ago, bigmuscle said:
You should also realize that the account has not been blocked just due to one mistakely released private version. This step has been taken as reaction to many users' ignorance and behaviour during the whole time of development of my software. If you look into past, you can see situations when I released private version to donators only and someone immediately publish it in different forum - not "by mistake", but intentionally to disrespect my work.
Look... I spend a a lot of my free time to develop this software, it is sometimes very difficult to make it fully work and the result -> users complain "2 days and no update"... I write "do not install into Program Files" -> users install into Program Files and complain that it does not work ... I write "it is only debug beta for preview" and users complain that it is not fully usable and debug tools annoy them... I write "you are not allow to publish" and what is the result? Yes, users publish it. So why are they wondering when there are made steps against their ignorance?
When you are in the software development business, you know as well as I there are always those that just DO NOT follow directions for whatever reason, mostly because people choose not to READ and follow directions, all they want to do is download the file and run it and 99.9% of the time if the software does not perform for them it's only because of my previous statement, people do not follow directions.
"If you look into past, you can see situations when I released private version to donators only and someone immediately publish it in different forum - not "by mistake", but intentionally to disrespect my work." You are preaching to the choir my friend but, all I can say is it is all part of software development, like I said in a previous post, if I had a nickel for every time someone took or republished something of mine, I would be rich. Being able to control Copyright on the web is virtually impossible and unless you are a mega software giant that has the time and resources to chase down copyright infringement you pretty much have to put up with it or change your licensing model to make it harder on those that try to redistribute your software, the only thing I can suggest is that instead of a donation key model change to a license key where everyone would get a unique activation number so that if that activation number gets shared then you can blacklist it and the software(s) with that number then becomes inoperable.
I COMPLETELY understand that the development of Aeroglass is done on your free time and that MS is making it harder for you to develop it, which is why I don't complain about it and those that do just really do not understand what goes into something like Aeroglass and to keep it up to date, especially with a one man operation that also needs to keep his day job in order to pay the bills.
What I don't understand though is how the actions of one person would delay the release of the software indefinitely?
I know it gets to be a bit much listening to all the moaning and groaning, personally if it were me, I would just select a handful of testers, and let them test it before release instead of making it available to everyone, then you would not have to worry about things like what happened with nicely happening.
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3 hours ago, bigmuscle said:
DarkKnight: yes, the archive contains only DWMGlass.dll which is complete and fully functional implementation of my Aero Glass. The fact that the archive does not contain installer and user must install/load DLL on its own does not change anything. And even the "completeness" is not absolutely important at all, because the copyright applies even to the parts of the work.
I already mentioned this earlier, so just for repetition. Yes, when you are not logged it, the statement is not displayed and you can download only PUBLIC releases. I have no problem if this public release appears somewhere. The problem is that the incriminated version was not public and required login (and thus the statement was displayed).
Like I said, your software, your decision, I just think some of us see it a little differently.
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2 hours ago, bigmuscle said:
DarkKnight: no, there is no such code. There is also no code in the software to identify the user, the software does not even interact with "me" in any way. There is only a small signature in debug versions which profile the file was downloaded from.
As to the rules, it is not about MY rules. The rules are simply given by the copyright law which forbids any distribution without the permissions. And even though the user is explicitely informed about this fact on the website, he simply ignored the statement and distributed my software publicly.
Big Muscle, thank you for clearing up the first part about the coding.
As to the rules, I get what you are saying and I COMPLETELY understand if the file that was posted was a fully functioning version of Aeroglass, but this wasn't, I personally downloaded the file both from Virtual Customs and your site also and the only thing in the .7z file is a DWMGlass.dll file, so IMO unless someone already had a copy of Aeroglass installed there really isn't anything or any use for the file that anyone could do anything with and EVEN IF they did have a copy of Aeroglass installed all it would have given them is nothing but a watermarked version of it which anyone can get from your site.
You are the designer and you make the rules so ultimately it is up to you, but my question is, is it really worth it that much to you to ban someones account for a foolish unintended mistake? I have dealt with nicely multiple times at VC and I can assure you this was not intentional, the only thing he is probably guilty of is not reading the fine print.
Just and FYI, the distribution notice graphic that you posted in a previous post, only shows up if the user is logged into their Aeroglass account, however I can download the experimental version file whether I am logged in or not, if this is what you are going to stand by as reason for banning nicely, I would consider making the notice visible whether the user is logged into the site or not as it is very possible he downloaded the file while not being logged in, therefore not seeing it.
Copyright law was written with a very broad brush stroke and can be interpreted a thousand different ways and what you are calling "distribution" IMO simply did not happen. Distribution in my mind would be if the file or a fully functioning version of Aeroglass was being made available on multiple sites, nicely knows that a lot of us at VC also post here and more than likely didn't see any harm in it, if it was nefarious the file would have been plastered all over the place.
If I had a nickel for every time someone re-posted something of mine that I could sue for Copyright, I'd be a very rich man.
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I really do not see what the problem is, all the man did was re-post the original file, it's not like he modified it or tried to claim it as his own or was torrenting the file, it's not even like the file would have given someone a full free version of Aeroglass, the water mark would (or should) have been there regardless.
Virtual Customs has been a friend to Big Muscle for a very long time and a lot of our members contribute to the testing of Aeroglass' beta's. If the man has given a contribution or donation IMO a request for the removal of the file and post from the forum would have sufficed with a warning. I understand rules are rules but there was no harm intended or foul committed here.
As a side note: I am also a contributor to Aeroglass and the fact that I have just found by reading previous posts that there is code embedded into Aeroglass that allows the author to disable the full version software willy-nilly has me concerned, I can understand the author blocking an account and the user not being able to upgrade to future versions for infractions but the ability to disable the full version while it is running on ones system is a little disconcerting and may now affect any future contributions from myself to this software.
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2.8 beta , Centered task icons works on Windows default but does not work on 3rd party themes.
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11 hours ago, Aethelflaed said:
Come on, it's not that bad. I imagine that this project is something that Big Muscle works on in his spare time. Those few euros/dollars/pounds etc that we donate on his website are not going to pay the bills.
You are absolutely right, and with each new Windows build it takes longer and longer for a working version of Aeroglass, even though I still support it I don't hold my breath for a working version anymore, I have just learned to live without it.
By the time we get a working version of Aeroglass for the Spring 2018 update the next Windows update will be here, what in around 3 to 4 months? Besides, Microsoft is rolling out acrylic a little at a time, I suspect before too long users will be able to apply acrylic effects to Windows 10.
I am sure there is someone with time on their hands that could buy this from Big Muscle, dedicate time to it and put out working updates in a timely manner.
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On 12/13/2017 at 1:42 PM, UCyborg said:
Nothing like Aero Glass I'm afraid. WindowBlinds can be configured to provide glass effect, though it comes with extra bells and whistles; its own skinning engine. It's also somewhat heavier and at one point, it was said somewhere that its way of doing things is not the most optimal, don't know if this still applies.
Even the current experimental build of AG seems to be the hit or miss whether it works properly or not.
Yup, Window Blinds is still the same old bloat machine it has always been. The thing is Window Blinds serves their themes from within their software, which is why Window Blinds runs in the system tray whereas a "true" third party custom theme is served from the C:\Windows\Resources\Themes folder, like they should be. Starbloat serves their themes from within the software and uses the .wba extension with the idea they can keep Window Blinds themes sort of "proprietary", meaning their themes have to have Window Blinds to run and will not run without it, that is until someone can figure how to dismantle a .wba theme that can be ported to msstyle, when and if that happens, Starbloat will probably sink, nothing is impossible, all it takes is one or a group of people on a mission to figure it out.
They thought they cornered the market when Start8 could skin the taskbar, that was until we got Tihly to get StartIsBack to do the same thing and IMO StartIsBack does it better.
There are only about 5% of the total Window Blind themes I would like to see ported, the rest I can leave behind, the only Window Blind theme artist IMO that makes the ONLY worthwhile themes for Window Blinds is neone6, this guy makes some badassed themes, I really wish the guy would jump ship and start designing msstyle themes, there is some real talent there and it's being wasted.
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10 hours ago, gitit20 said:
Why does MS have to screw us over like this.... I am going to blast them in social media...
LMAO ........ Yup, that'll serve them right
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On 6/3/2017 at 2:19 AM, gitit20 said:
Well, updates have been taking longer and longer I gave up on it to many problems and headaches with it. Someone else will make another one I am sure. I kept having problems with mine changing to the stupid watermark when plugging in A USB stick or swapping out a hard drive. So I just modified the files to remove it. It was simple enough to do but don't ask me to share it because I will not. I have donated 2 times to get enough keys for my PC's and ran out because of that bug in the system. I was sick of having to wait 30 days for the key to expire so I could remake it and I never got a clear answer for what was causing it and no one cared enough to give me a proper response. this is shareware anyways it shouldn't have a watermark. This should have been just a normal PAY program since you had to donate or pay to remove the watermark (I think he wanted to make money without the responsibility). I have been using this thing for years now and it's gotten worse, BM you should either just kill it off or sell it to someone with more time and resources to pursue it. Do not get me wrong I loved it and love what you have done for us, but it's clear you either don't have the time and resources for it any longer or just don't care. I am not sure, thanks for what you have done for us, I wish you the best.
I am sorry if this sounds harsh but this is just how I see it.
I halfway agree with you, about the watermark thing, either charge for the software because I am sure people WILL buy it or don't. Personally IMO when you ask for donations to remove the watermark, lets face it $5 is not a whole lot of money, so yes BM is in no way getting rich off AeroGlass.
BUT, you have to understand also, AeroGlass was easier to maintain when Microsoft's model was to bring out a new version every 4 to 6 years, now that it has changed to every 6 months it gets to be a real pain because with every new build custom themers and people like Big Muscle have to start all over again and it takes time, I am sure the man holds down a real job and family, gotta pay the bills and eat first, ya know what I mean. It also gets frustrating because Microsoft is not working WITH guys like him, it's more like they are working against him.
But as far as the watermark goes, I would change to a straight purchase model and charge like $20 per license to remove the watermark, I love AeroGlass too but it has become too much of a pain to use it because you never know which Windows Update is going to break it or better yet brick your system because you updated with it installed.
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Just installed the Creators Update last night and the latest version of AeroGlass is not compatible, after installing the update and rebooting I instantly got the message that AeroGlass was not compatible, chose to leave it installed and Windows started acting like it was on acid leaving Window trails if I moved windows around, I uninstalled AeroGlass and everything is fine.
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Is StartIsBack Even being updated anymore?
in StartIsBack+
Posted · Edited by DarkKnight
I am sure I am not the only one wondering this, but is StartIsBack even being updated anymore? StartIsBack has not seen an update or a fix since November of 2021 , almost a year now , all the while we are seeing constant updates with bells and whistles being added to StartAllBack and none are transferring back to StartIsBack. I myself and I am sure there are others of us still on Windows 10 feel like we have been dumped for the latest and greatest.
FYI , I own licenses to both, I just prefer to stay on Windows 10 as there is nothing on 11 that absolutely warrants me changing , at least not yet. It would be nice to see some of the additions added to StartAllBack make there way back to us Windows 10 users or make StartAllBack compatible with both Windows 10 and 11.