xpize 5 Beta 2

[9898]

Looking forward to the offical XPize 5 release. Just wondering if it could be possible to update the Log Off & Turn Off Computer icons in the start menu under "Windows Classic Style"? See attached image.

[W3bbo]

Looking forward to the offical XPize 5 release. Just wondering if it could be possible to update the Log Off & Turn Off Computer icons in the start menu under "Windows Classic Style"? See attached image.

Hmm, that's a tricky one. The images for those buttons are resources 7010 and 7011 in explorer.exe and those are replaced by xpize 5 Beta 2.

Can you fire up Resourcer and open up explorer.exe and tell me of the state of bitmaps 7010 and 7011?

thanks

[9898]

Never mind. I was in the process of manipulating files and I guess I goobered it up. I was using the standard WinXP style at the time. I switched it to Windows Classic style, reran XPize and all is good. I blame myself for this one. Thanks for the rapid response.

Any chance of updating the Windows Defender icons to the green forward/back arrow buttons as was in XPize Darkside or do I still have a problem on my end?

Thanks again.

[W3bbo]

Any chance of updating the Windows Defender icons to the green forward/back arrow buttons as was in XPize Darkside or do I still have a problem on my end?

XPize Darkside (made by Zedox, not XPero nor me) patches some more files not present in vanilla XPize 4.x. Seeming as Zedox has done all the hard work for me I can easily include it in xpize 5.

Zedox hasn't updated XPize Darkside since 2007, I'll email him and ask him if I can include his stuff in xpize 5 (not that I'd need permission: most of the changes he made were XPero's "MCE Blue"-themed bitmaps replaced with black ones which is nothing I can't do myself right now, but it would be rendering his product obsolete

I've long been planning to combine the Luna Element and Luna Blue XPize "mod" resources with the main product, but adding the black MCE theme (aka Darkside) would push up the size of the download by at least another 7MB or so. For those of you on broadband this isn't an issue, but I've got my own bandwidth bills to pay[1] and there are a people still on dial-up where an extra 7MB means another 40 minutes downloading.

[1]xpize.net consumes about 70GB a month since I removed the links to mirrors (which were all broken) and self-hosted the files. There were 28,885 requests for XPize47F1.exe (XPize 4.7 Full, Release 1) in April 2009. But it only consumed about 44GB which means there were a maximum of 5,400 full downloads; this means roughly 18% of people who started a download actually finished it. I don't have any statistics on how many people completed an installation.

I'm tempted to add a reporting feature to Anolis Installer where it would send a post-installation report to the author of a package whenever it was installed or if the installation was cancelled or failed. There are privacy implications (well, the user's IP address would be revealed) but there are a large number of people who instinctively click "Do not send information" regardless so I'd have to bury the option away somewhere, but then I'd get criticised for it. I'll have to choose my words wisely.

Edited May 7, 2009 by W3bbo

[hood]

but I've got my own bandwidth bills to pay and there are a people still on dial-up where an extra 7MB means another 40 minutes downloading.

sorry for offtop but... in present days in UK people still using dial-up? unbelievable sad =(

dear W3bbo. it's great that you're worried about reducing the size of the package. but many people download and install a much more extensive packages (for example Vistamizer etc. or MS Service Packs).

Edited May 7, 2009 by hood

[W3bbo]

but I've got my own bandwidth bills to pay and there are a people still on dial-up where an extra 7MB means another 40 minutes downloading.

sorry for offtop but... in present days in UK people still using dial-up? unbelievable sad =(

In the UK, not really (since you can get DSL for as little as £5 a month) but it's a problem elsewhere in the world. xpize has a very international userbase, and I'd hate to exclude anyone on account on their connection speed. I could release an xpize 5 "Core Blue" release which just has the blue theme and not Luna Element, Luna Blue, or MCE Black.

[9898]

That's good. See what you can workout. I know beggars can't be choosy but here’s to hoping.

[tkrojam]

Hi, W3bbo and xpize development team. Firstly, I really appreciate the contribution you made on the release of xpize 5 beta 2! You know, not only I have been waiting for a long long time but also thousands of xpize fans. Anyway, I expect the day of RTW official release is soon to come, isn't it?

During the coming period of time, I am looking forward you guys team should focus on what all others resources of Windows XP still using old-fashioned icons or elements can be found out and modified, especially those minor ones which have never been modified or have ever been ignored. You know, the newer release aims to make the core of Windows XP resources more artisitc.

These are my observations: (Unprocessed icons and improvements)

1. "Clients for Microsoft Networks" and "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)", appeared in network connections properties.

(You know, they are not awared even in Windows Vista and Windows 7 RC1)

2. Tree diagram and right panel for regedit.exe

3. Console of the components of Administrative Tools like "Computer Management" and "Services", etc.

4. .exe stored in C:\WINDOWS (twunk_32, twunk_16, winhelp, winhelp32, hh) and C:\WINDOWS\system32

5. Some icons become blurred in Thumbnail view like .dat files

6. .scr stored in C:\WINDOWS\system32

Moreover, I recommand that the final xpize 5 can be seperated into full and lite versions and for their difference, you can make reference on xpize 4.7. I do appreciate you concern on the Internet connection speed in some countries.

Again, thanks in advance for your remaining works in the coming days and I will provide more on my observations and advice on different aspects of how to make it better.

Edited May 9, 2009 by tkrojam

[W3bbo]

A little announcement:

It's currently my exam season (I've even got exams on Saturday now) so I'll be too busy to make another release of xpize until early June. That's only 4 weeks to wait, but that release will the xpize 5 RC build and then I can move on to Vize.

I'll add everything suggested so far to the list, as well as making the usual mediablitz by dinging Neowin et al.

...and for my next trick: "Sevenize". I'll be working with Long Zheng on Windows7taskforce.com to fix reported issues.

[DADOZ83]

Can I make a request?

Add the msiexec.exe icon to msi.dll to update this icon

Also missed these bitmaps in shell32.dll

I notice this too, I know this is the first release :-)

I have a request, what about Xpize Darkside? I know that that project has stoped...

any news about that?

Thanks

[W3bbo]

I have a request, what about Xpize Darkside? I know that that project has stoped...

any news about that?

Thanks

xpize 5 will include the black theme that was exclusive to XPize Darkside.

[ricktendo]

XPize 5 will just be the engine that patches the files, the packages/icon packs I think will be many from lots different people...one could expect to see maybe even a new section on sites like devianArt devoted strictly to XPize/Vize icon resources/packs by other 3rd parties

Edited May 10, 2009 by ricktendo64

[W3bbo]

XPize 5 will just be the engine that patches the files, the packages/icon packs I think will be many from lots different people...one could expect to see maybe even a new section on sites like devianArt devoted strictly to XPize/Vize icon resources/packs by other 3rd parties

Actually, "Anolis Installer" is the engine, xpize 5 is a package for it

But yes, when Installer reaches 1.0 I'll petition the folks at WinCustomize and DeviantArt into making a section for it. Right now Installer is at 0.85 and still has a lot of work to put into it.

The main Anolis website ( http://anol.is ) will also feature a package gallery. The software also allows people to make their own "Distributions" (that is: customized installer with the packages built-in and custom branding images) so everyone should be happy.

I've also got some excellent news to announce soon about uxtheme patching

[Dumpy Dooby]

Does Anolis work on Vista? Could XPize 5 be used on Vista? If not, will package developers be able to establish environment conditions for their packages prior to installation (e.g., check to see if it's XP SP3; check to see if EU has IE8; check for Professional or Home; check for specific software; check for other proprietary conditions)?

I know nothing about Vista resources (I won't touch Vista with a 10' pole), so I apologize in advance if that seems like a stupid question.

Edited May 11, 2009 by Dumpy Dooby

[hood]

for Vista exist Vize by author of XPize

Edited May 11, 2009 by hood