Your opinions on "skinning?"

[sedrosken]

What do you think about the more complex ones, ones that replace certain UI-specific system files? I installed a Windows 8 theme onto my laptop yesterday, and had to break out my Debian DVD so I could copy certain files that were in use while Windows was running. All in all the creator did a very good job. The boot screen animation is a little choppy, and the logon screen isn't quite right, but for a project of this scale such things aren't particularly big blemishes.

It's here if you want to check it out. Have a screenshot.

Anyway, what do you think of skinning in general?

 

[Chewy509]

Wait, you actually like the Win8 theme?

Themes/Skins are quite common in the Linux world, so for me I like the ability to do it. (I remember having Win3.1 and Win95 and OS/2 themes for FVWM2, was fun to switch around easily).

Mostly I just check out http://gnome-look.org/ , http://kde-look.org/ and http://box-look.org (remember LXDE will typically use openbox as the WM, so openbox themes are what you want with Lubuntu).

 

[Chewy509]

Win 8 theme for LXDE/Openbox : http://box-look.org/content/show.php/WinAte+-Windows+7+8+Transformation+Pack+?content=162980

 

[ddrueding]

Skinning isn't my thing. I work on enough different systems that I really need to be familiar with the default look and feel. The one exception is Classic Shell on Win8. If I sit down and see metro, I click on IE, go to ninite.com (thanks Merc), and download Classic Shell (with defaults). I've never had anyone ask me to switch it back.

 

[P5-133XL]

The only time I "skin" windows is when using a KVM and I want to easily figure out what machine is the focus and even there my limit is background color. I try to keep my desktop very simple.

I have met many consumers that care a lot about their individual Windows theme though. Especially where there is one computer and several users. Each user gets their own theme and that those themes are about as important as anything else on that machine.

 

[fb]

The tweaking I've done up until Win 8 consists of choosing the win 2000 start menu + theme and set the GUI-options under system to "maximum performance".

 

[LunarMist]

The only time I "skin" windows is when using a KVM and I want to easily figure out what machine is the focus and even there my limit is background color. I try to keep my desktop very simple.

I just create a desktop with the machine name in large white text on the old-style blue background.

 

[Tannin]

Performance and usability tweaks (like those mentioned above) aside, skinning is pretty pointless for me as I only ever see the desktop once or twice a week if I happen to reboot. I always find skins a bit frustrating - you see al this neat-looking different stuff but it turns out to be the same old dross dressed up in a different colour scheme. What I like is being able to alter the function of the interface so as to make it more responsive and nicer to use. This is where the great software products shine out: Opera (real Opera, I mean, not the dreadful Chrome clone they idiots are making now), SeaMonkey and to an ever-lessening extent Firefox, OS/2 in its day, Quattro Pro, Classic Shell is a godsend which rescues Windows from the horrible downward UI spiral MS has been in ever since Windows 95 (which just copied OS/2), PMView, EditPlus - if you can set it up the way you like it, it is so much better. In fact if you can't set it up to work the way you like, I generally won't use it. That's what computers are for - when it's all said and done, a computer is a box which does exactly what you tell it to, and if it can't do what you want the way you want it to do it, it isn't really a computer, it's just very ugly furniture. Or, in the case of anything with an Apple brand on it, slightly less ugly but very expensive furniture.

 

[LunarMist]

I think skins are annoying. That standard Windows 8 interface is practically psychotic. I cannot image anyone wanting another OS to emulate it.

 

[sedrosken]

I happen to like the "flat" look and find it easier on RAM. My laptop isn't going to get a discernable speed increase from setting everything to classic.

 

[Mercutio]

Depending on your hardware, that may actually be incorrect. Trying to use Aero on a low-spec system (particularly some of the systems that first shipped with Vista) was a good way to eat CPU time on systems that never should have tried to run it.

For the most part, I'm completely fine with skinned interfaces, with the caveat that they need to not obscure standard components. If I'm having to search for something like a Minimize control, that crap is getting turned off.

 

[sedrosken]

Well, it ran regular aero, transparency and all, just fine. I turned off transparency with the 8 theme enabled and I really notice no difference. If anything it's a little speedier, but nothing I'd write home about.

 

[Howell]

I never have enough time to fully examine each available skin in order to make the best choice. So I don't use them.