Blacksmith

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on April 10, 2012

If you've ever wished you could have that multipage graphical user interface (GUI) that you see in Macs and Android devices, your wait is over. Blacksmith from jLab promises to bring that type of functionality to a Windows environment for free.

The Virtual Desktop Manager might seem daunting to the newbie at first, but the application is well worth knowing once you get the hang of it. Blacksmith allows Windows users to configure as many as four desktops into their system and provides them with quite a number of options to manipulate them. These include assigning separate icons for each desktop, changing desktops at will, making windows transparent, and customizing wallpaper settings. Changes to the screen are done with either the mouse, the keyboard, or in the case of laptops, the touch pad.

Blacksmith brings a GUI elegance and functionality previously only enjoyed by Mac users and makes it available to Windows users. The application is limited to Windows XP, Vista, and 7 machines. One minor issue we found during the test is that the application does not uninstall cleanly, leaving behind some folders that must be manually deleted.

 

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Publisher's Description

From jLab:

Blacksmith extends your Windows GUI. Main features: Virtual Desktops and Window Switcher like MacOSX; Application Launcher like Android or iOS; Make other applications' windows topmost or semitransparent.
Use Windows like MacOSX Lion or Android. Enjoy your single-display like a multi-display. Portability in your USB flash drive. For Windows users who want the elegance. Your laptop computer turns into "WinBookPro," especially, Ultrabook into "WinBookAir."

What's new in this version: Version 1.5.2 :

• Add Orbit on DeskSweep
• Fix for window shadows not to remain visible on WindowsXP
• Fix to open Setting window after setting 0 desktops

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