WinCustomize.com is a website that was launched in March 2001 by Brad Wardell and Pat Ford, both of whom work at Stardock. It is dedicated to providing content for users to customize their Windows experience, most of which is free to download. The site hosts thousands of skins, themes, icons, wallpapers, and other graphical content that can be used to change virtually every aspects of the Windows graphical user interface.
WinCustomize is also the preferred destination for users of software products offered by Stardock. Customization programs that are not explicitly included within their Object Desktop, ThinkDesk or TotalGaming.net subscriptions fall under the WinCustomize brand.
Site history
Originally launched in 2001 after the infamous "Dot-Com Bomb" had taken down many popular skin sites, WinCustomize quickly grew in popularity due to a combination of wide variety of content, uptime reliability, and being the preferred content destination by Stardock customers.
The site has grown at a far greater pace than its founders had anticipated. It has managed to avoid having to put many limitations on users or having to resort to pop-up advertising because of its corporate patron Stardock subsidizing its costs.
In 2004, WinCustomize's traffic exceeded 3 million unique visitors per month. Stardock had the site re-designed using ASP.NET to try to decrease the server load and prepare the site to become more self-sufficient. Premium subscriptions have provided a way for users to contribute to supporting the site's continued growth, and have resulted in additional features (including the WinCustomize Browser).
At the end of 2004, WinCustomize "2K5" was launched which provided a whole new interface, personal pages for the new "premium" subscribers, and other features to expand the site's mission to include articles, tutorials, and other information on how users could get the most out of their Windows based PC.
Forum Criticisms
Wa wa wa, big cry babies. If you don't like something, then go some place else.
WinCustomize products
These programs are distributed under the WinCustomize brand:
- ObjectDock — provides a dock for Windows similar to that in the Mac OS X Aqua GUI
- CursorXP — replaces existing cursor functionality with animated, resizable cursors and optional click effects
- LogonStudio — alters the Windows XP welcome screen
- BootSkin — alters the Windows 2000 and Windows XP boot screen
- The WinCustomize Browser — a custom interface designed for easy access to the WinCustomize skin library and forums
Stardock also sells several suites through WinCustomize, including:
- The Natural Desktop — a weather conditions and forecasting suite with global coverage, backed by background sound effects, wallpapers and realistic weather animations
- Aquarium Desktop — virtual plants and fish which swim around on the desktop
- Marvel-authorized theme packs for Spider-Man, X-Men and The Incredible Hulk