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Xythe
Xythe
Join Date 12/2001
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Vista Flip 3D For Windows XP?

Just because Microsoft wants to abandon XP users, dosent mean 3rd parties will.

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November 14, 2006 1:40:43 AM from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
No not really Flip 3D, but rather the product TopDesk developed by Otaku Software.

It seems to me that Microsoft is so bent on enticing people into the next generation of Windows, Windows Vista, that they may have forgot all of us faithful Windows XP users.

So much of the newer features and products, such as Flip 3D, are being packaged strictly for Vista but not Windows XP.

This really bugs the crap out of me. I have been using Microsoft products on my desktop for over a decade, and have been mostly very satisfied. But now it seems as Microsoft is forgetting how many of us use XP, and don't really want to make the big move to Vista just yet. Why should we? Certainly 3rd party developers can give us products containing many of the features exclusive only to Vista via Microsoft, to us Windows XP enthusiasts.

Why should I really care about the Aero interface? Have a look at all the Vista clones created for window blinds.

Search features in different places that do virtually the same as they always have. A few tweaks in the GUI here and there; nothing companies like Stardock and Otaku can't offer us for a fraction of the price.

TopDesk by Otaku Software is one such product. This is an amazing software, that IMHO might even be a tad better than Flip 3D Microsoft has chosen exclusively for Vista.

TopDesk is a completely configurable 2D/3D window management system supported under Windows XP. When in tiled mode, it will display the title of the currently selected window or the titles of all tiled windows. It will also shows thumbs of all the windows belonging to the current application, or hide all the windows for quick access to your desktop.

And my favorite, in 3D mode, it will display thumbs of all open apps, including minimized applications, just as TopDesk does in 2D mode.

Additionally, with TopDesk, I can change the orientation of the thumbs to appear at various pitches and angles on my desktop, and all of this can happen by hotkey, hotspots, or several floating buttons on the desktop.

I purchased TopDesk by download for the mere price of $14.95, which took me less than 5 minutes.

Have a look at TopDesk in 3D mode, under it's standard setting on my notebook:






Well, if you have used Flip 3D under the Vista Beta, I'm certain you will recognize what you see above. If you prefer the 2D mode, I suggest you click the link at the bottom of this article and look at more screenshots from the Otaku website.


If you're like me, and feel like Microsoft might be abandoning us Windows XP users to market their new flagship Vista by omitting new features from Windows XP, then I highly recommend you having a look at TopDesk to use in place of Flip 3D on your Windows XP PC.

TopDesk, as well as many 3rd party software developers such as Stardock, will be providing die-hard Windows XP users with current features foe a while to come - or so I hope.

I love you Microsoft, but please don't blow me a kiss and wave good-bye.
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Xythe
starkers
Join Date 05/2004
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Reply #1 November 14, 2006 3:32:14 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums
Thanks for the info & link, Xythe...it looks very interesting and I'm gonna give it a trial run on my XP install. I have Vista RC2 on another drive so I can explore the Flip 3D possibilities there. However I do agree with you that MS should consider backporting 'some' Vista features to XP. I mean, it's not like the whole world of XP users are gonna drop XP like a hot spud and run out to purchase Vista on day one of sales, is it....and apart from lowering the price some, a few tempters from MS wouldn't be such a bad idea to arouse more interest in Vista from staunch XP supporters.
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Xythe
pureintentions
Join Date 09/2006
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Reply #2 November 14, 2006 4:10:12 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
That is pretty freakin awesome. Thank you for the information! Will definitely have to look in to this !


Awesome pics btw : )
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Xythe
Xythe
Join Date 12/2001
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Reply #3 November 14, 2006 9:41:19 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Thanks for the info & link, Xythe


Thank you for the information!


Your both very welcome.

Awesome pics btw


I'm glad you think so, but I just want to mention, that this utility looks a lot better if you increase the juice to it a bit. I have it cut back a tad because its on my notebook.

TopDesk and Stardocks RightClick are my 2 favorite utilities to use on a notebook.


RichtClick, a componant of ObjectDesktop, is a very handy tool in that you can basically put anything you want on a custom right-click menu from the desktop. If you are unfamiliar with RightClick, you can have a look at it by clicking the Link.

And of course RightClick is supported under various other DX componants.
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Xythe
Xythe
Join Date 12/2001
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Reply #4 November 14, 2006 6:03:11 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I'm going to risk this single bunp here, as a few people seem to be concerned over not having some of the features Vista offers on their XP box.

If you want some feature that Visya contains, that is not offered to Win XP users, let me know, I have found nearly all of them.
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Xythe
Excalpius
Join Date 01/2005
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Reply #5 November 14, 2006 10:03:48 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums
Hey, this works kinda cool. I wish there was a way to improve the quality of the antialiasing algorithm when looking at rotated images. Right now, even on the max ram/max cpu setting, they're still pretty jaggy. Otherwise, I'm digging it!
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Xythe
Xythe
Join Date 12/2001
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Reply #6 November 14, 2006 10:32:05 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I wish there was a way to improve the quality of the antialiasing algorithm when looking at rotated images.


Yep, I noticed this as well. They need to code in the juice a bit more. The quality is good, but a bit shy of Flip3D. I personally had to weigh the cost, the quality, and the configurability of both products, and I have to say that TopDesk won my vote....until I decide to shell out for a significant upgrade and Windows Vista.
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Xythe
pureintentions
Join Date 09/2006
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Reply #7 November 15, 2006 4:59:50 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Hey Xythe


Actually went and gave TopDesk a try. Im still feeling things out , but pretty freaking awesome. Once more , thank you for sharing this info with us. Im not ready to give up my WinXP Pro, so its nice to see that some features of Vista are avaialbe in an alternative way...
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Xythe
Xythe
Join Date 12/2001
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Reply #8 November 17, 2006 12:52:40 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Glad you liked it PI

I was happy to recieve an email from Otaku thanking me. Appearently they came across this post.
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Xythe
CerebroJD
Join Date 01/2003
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Reply #9 November 17, 2006 1:11:28 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums
We (DoctorNick and myself) reviewed TopDesk on UnderTheSkin, and also caught the eye (or ear, in this case) of the TopDesk developers. They were kind enough to give us each a free copy of the software, and we were very impressed by the product both in the trial and full versions. Its been awhile since I used it, but now that I have a laptop, I might find myself needed to access the different programs I have open in an efficient way. Perhaps TopDesk can help with that!
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Xythe
James Stewart from Otaku Softw
Join Date 01/0001
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Reply #10 November 18, 2006 3:22:07 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Xythe: Thanks again for mentioning TopDesk.

CerebroJD: If you'd like, drop us an email and we'll set you up with another copy.
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Xythe
rrawlins
Join Date 08/2006
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Reply #11 November 26, 2006 6:43:11 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums
what's the big deal with Flip 3D? It's worthless in my opinion. It doesn't make you any more productive. You get a skewed picture of 2D app.

TaskSwitchXP is the best Alt-Tab manager and it's FREE.
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Xythe
Xythe
Join Date 12/2001
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Reply #12 November 26, 2006 6:49:46 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums
what's the big deal with Flip 3D? It's worthless in my opinion. It doesn't make you any more productive.


It actually is far more productive if you have many documents open from the same app. as you have the ability to read whats on the documents. I'm not aware that the TaskSwitch is able to display that.

See whats not more productive to you, may be more productive to others. Perhaps you dont work with many documents like others do?
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Xythe
rrawlins
Join Date 08/2006
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Reply #13 November 27, 2006 9:37:14 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums
Perhaps you dont work with many documents like others do?


You're definitely wrong about TaskswitchXP. And yes I use lots of windows. I'm a software architect and probably use as many windows as a power user like yourself. From real word experience what is important is the title bar containing the file name not the contents. Open up multiple windows with C#/Java code and tell me a skewed Flip3D is more productive than being able to read the title bar quickly.
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Xythe
Xythe
Join Date 12/2001
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Reply #14 November 28, 2006 9:36:57 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
You're definitely wrong about TaskswitchXP.


Your quite right about TaskXP. I misunderstood the all itself and was thinking another. I can see how Taskswitch XP could be more productive for you in your particular work.


If anybody would like to have a look at TaskswitchXP, you can do so by clicking this link: Link
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Xythe
Lantec
Join Date 07/2003
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Reply #15 November 28, 2006 9:53:30 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums
Missed this thread until now. Thanks Xythe.
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Xythe
Island Dog
Join Date 06/2003
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Reply #16 November 28, 2006 9:59:11 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums
I will have to try this.  Thanks.

 
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Xythe
Xythe
Join Date 12/2001
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Reply #17 November 28, 2006 6:18:50 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums
Missed this thread until now. Thanks Xythe.


I will have to try this. Thanks.


Your both very welcome
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Xythe
Lantec
Join Date 07/2003
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Reply #18 November 30, 2006 4:44:03 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums
Ran into some problems with the TopDesk trial.....

It doesn't play well with Sysmetrix. I caused several lock ups in the program and the skins which include modules would not change modules.

I also noticed that the cursor would become unresponsive for several seconds at a time. All the problems went away when I uninstalled the trial. It's a shame, it's a pretty cool program.

This is as soon as the program loads upon start-up not just when/after it's used.
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Xythe
seldomseen
Join Date 09/2002
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Reply #19 December 4, 2006 3:03:08 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums
I've wished for something like this for quite a while. Tried Katiesoft and it was o.k. but the ability to move open files around like this and keep them open...I'll have to scope this out.
Thanks, Xythe, and thanks to everyone for the comments. I'll be using XP SP2 as long as it's comfortable to do so. The ability to rotate about X, Y and Z axes may or may not be productive, but I can think of some graphic uses for it...
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Xythe
Xythe
Join Date 12/2001
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Reply #20 December 4, 2006 3:08:12 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums
Thanks, Xythe, and thanks to everyone for the comments.


Your welcome! Glad you liked it
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Xythe
Someguy
Join Date 01/0001
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Reply #21 December 16, 2006 2:49:27 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Omg, Thank you sooo much. I don't want switch to vista because that damn OS takes up to much system resources. The only I like about Vista is the interface.
It'll probably be 2-3 years before I even make such a switch. Thank you for your post.
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Xythe
djcoolmasterx
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Reply #22 December 27, 2006 11:59:00 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Microsoft definatly needs to lower the price of vista before it can compete with 3rd party software like TopDesk
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Xythe
Xythe
Join Date 12/2001
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Reply #23 January 15, 2007 4:28:48 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Your welcome!
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