- Quick specs
- Price: Free to try (Limited skinning capabilities); $19.95 to buy
- Operating system: Windows XP
- Date added: October 10, 2006
- Total Downloads: 14,709,588
- Downloads last week: 35,378
- See full specifications
A newer version of WindowBlinds is available.
(Download doesn't provide access to previous versions of this program.)
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 655 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: CNET Staff
Despite a few issues, WindowBlinds offers a compelling way to add some panache to Windows XP. In short, the program lets you skin Windows, offering a number of preconfigured themes that range in styles and change the entire look of your desktop. No matter what skin you choose, though, we doubt you'll have any complaints with the appearance of the polished, attractive themes. You also choose from several toolbar icon sets to match your skin of choice and tweak settings such as the size of the taskbar. WindowBlinds gets high marks for performance; we found the skins loaded seamlessly after a couple of seconds. However, we should note that the program takes up its fair share of RAM--65MB on our test machine. If you want to edit the themes through the program, you'll have to install the publisher's SkinStudio, and we missed the ability to reassociate a wallpaper image of our choice with our selected themes. On the plus side, the trial version lets you test the program for a full two months, which is very generous by today's standards. Anyone who sits in front of a computer all day will find that WindowBlinds helps liven up the experience.Publisher's description
From Stardock :Customize the look and feel of Windows XP with WindowBlinds. It's a Windows utility that enables users to personalize nearly every aspect of the Windows graphical user interface. It can "skin" your title bars, push buttons, Start bar, radio buttons, and nearly every other part of Windows. There are thousands of freely available skins to choose from. Use WindowBlinds to make Windows look like another operating system (Mac, Linux, etc.) or give it your own unique look and feel. You can also create your own skins using the freely available SkinStudio. WindowBlinds eliminates the need for any stay-resident program making it use virtually no extra memory. It also makes use of hardware acceleration found on most nVidia and ATI cards resulting in an overall performance increase. WindowBlinds 5.1 adds a host of new wallpaper changing options and faster performance.
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User reviews of WindowBlinds 5.1
- Average user rating: 3.6 stars out of 655 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 31 user reviewsSee all 31 user reviews
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64 out of 81 people found this review helpful
Version: WindowBlinds 5.1
"Take CAUTION When Using Such Programs."
Pros: AMAZING themes for your pc. Great program for having a VERY attractive PC . lots of customization to icons . mouse cursors etc. YOU COULD CHANGE YOUR WHOLE PCS LOOK!!!!......but......
Cons: the main program why i give this program a 2/5 is becuase when i UNISTALLED the program . MY starup changed to the old old style , i could not change it. my boot section also was'nt appearing . i had the old icons . my mouse changed , heaps of weird things happend after I unistalled this program. i started to recive more errors and some windows were not starting up. eventually caused me to FORMAT my whole pc. IF YOU EVER DO INSTALL THIS PROGRAM MAKE SURE YOU STICK WITH IT.! othorwise , dont even try it.
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38 out of 44 people found this review helpful
Version: WindowBlinds 5.1
Pros: You can skin Windows very easily.
Cons: Free version stinks. Unless you are a hardcore skinner, I couldn't see spending the $20 to unlock the whole program.
My system experienced several halt errors (read: blue screen, gibberish, and a restart) while this program was running. Since uninstall, system is right as rain.
The skin that I last had installed changed some settings that remained changed after the program was uninstalled. For about a week windows looked funny until I resolved the issue (my screen DPI had changed.)
Support is handled ad-hoc forum style. You get mostly flaming for criticizing the product or for having a 'simple' problem by the windowblinds community, very little by way of actual help. You can never make the system tray icon go away, and you have to deal with a boot-up notification. If you try to close the system tray icon, your windows suddenly reverts to a flat gray basic setting (very Windows 3.1).
NOT RECOMMENDED.
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5 out of 8 people found this review helpful
Version: WindowBlinds 5.1
Pros: I've never been so impressed with software I found on the internet to ever actually pay for it. WindowBlinds is an exception. I've been using it for a few years now and never had a problem that wasn't attributed to a poorly designed skin. That's easily taken care of because there are tons of other skins to choose from, and they keep getting better and better. You only have to install the ones you like, and it couldn't be easier to do.
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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: WindowBlinds 5.1
"Best version of WindowBlinds yet!"
Pros: WindowBlinds is still the easiest, fun, and most stable way to change the look of Windows. I have been a user for quite some time, and I must say that this version has loads of improvements over the last ones. The best new feature is per-pixel shading, and the new graphics engine that allows users to have animated skins, as well as glossy effects on skins. I recommend using a very good graphics card with WindowBlinds, so you can enjoy the graphics even better. The amount of skins that you can get are great! This version also features a zero footprint operation...it won't slow down your computer the way that other skinning programs will. And it also does not come with spyware or adware. Many of the bugs in previous versions have been fixed with this. I had an issue with the per application settings not showing up, as well as some display issues, and I am happy to say that both are now gone. This version also recognizes when you are a registered user, and does not require a restart upon installation, nor does it even require you to keep re-entering the serial number (if you download it through Stardock Central). This is the most easily usable and stable version yet!
Cons: As I have stated earlier, a good graphics card goes a long way. I think that that is one of the changes from version 4. Also, the trial version of the software is limited in skinning capability, as well as how long you can use it. However, once you try it, I am sure it will be hard to put away. This is the best $19.95 that I have spent on software in a long time.
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3 out of 6 people found this review helpful
Version: WindowBlinds 5.1
Pros: Easy to use. Great value for the money. Makes Windows XP look even better.
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