Convergence arrives!

https://www.stardock.com/products/convergence
from JoeUser Forums
Convergence is the part of Stardock's Object Desktop that ties all the programs together.

It allows users to create true "skins suites" called Skin packs. A skin pack is a collection of icons, skins, and themes put together into a single file. When applied, Convergence communicates with your installed programs and directs them to change their various skins to the ones in the skin pack.

So a user wanting to have a particular overall look to Windows would simply apply a single Convergence skin pack instead of having to go to WinAmp, ICQPlus, WindowBlinds, DesktopX, ObjectBar, IconPackager, CursorEx, NeXTStart, etc. and manually load the appropriate files.

In short, Convergence combes the strength of your installed skinnable software into a single super theme.

It is currently only available on Stardock's Object Desktop (www.objectdesktop.com).
29,727 views 30 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
I've been waiting for this, looks very interesting.
I'm looking forward to trying it out!
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
I did the existing account log in drill and got Unknown Error twice. Then I clicked the Wincustomize button and my browser brought me here. So you know.
Siege of Centauri
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
WOOOHOOO!!! this is darn great!
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
now to secretly figure a way to get treetog to make skins for desktopx.. j/k This is an awesome idea
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
Sweet BETA. This is very promising.

In the future are you going to have the option for a type of plugin or something for other skinnable apps than just the ones here on WinCusto?
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hmmm...now to hook it into LiteSTEP somehow....
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
Very neat, but how does it work?
Say I want to download one of treetog's suite for ICQ, Windowblinds and Winamp. Do I download each skin separatly? or, if I understood the description correctly, do Treetog have to actually make a predetermined package? Then if a package includes 15 different apps but I only have 2 or 3 of them, do I still need to download the whole thing?
Would it be possible to program this website in such a way that I could select the respective skins I wish to have, then at the click of a button, the website would package it all together so I can download and apply my customized skin pack. Anyway, just a question, followed by a suggestion.
It's a very neat idea of an app.
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
Yes! This is what I've been waiting for!!!!
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
Treetog would simply upload a single Convergence skin pack. You would download it and apply it. It takes care of the rest.

Similarly, you can take existing skins on your system and make skin packs out of them for personal use.
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
OK, so both are true. I can download them seperatly then make myself a skin pack out of the individual packs, or I could download a prepackaged bundle. Gotcha.
But still, is my idea feasible? is the skin pack just a zip file renamed? I know there are server components that can zip files on the fly, so maybe my idea would be an interesting thing to consider and a great addition to your software.
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top
Re your idea, that would be put in a skin browser or something.
Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top
That would be extremely cool, Brad.
Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top
Paxx, your idea could be implemented but It would be very server instensive having to build packages for everyone on the fly. In my opinion, if this was to be done it would have to be a pay service and not a free service do to the intensive upkeep and developement that it would require.

Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top
If it was done on the client side (as Brad suggested, as an implemented feature in a skin browser) then it wouldn't add any load on the server, and it would be equally cool.
The main point being to avoid downloading a huge theme featuring 10 applications when one only has 3 of those apps.
Now that I think about it, it would even help the web site as it would reduce the bandwidth usage.
And, please do NOT interpret this as a critic, Convergence is the software a lot of people have been asking for ever since the days of skinz.org. It's a huge achievement and I have to congratulate Stardock for the initiative. I am only giving suggestions to make it even more cool.
Once again, way to go Stardock!
Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hmm, I was thinking server side but I guess it could be done on the client. We would just have to store all the invididual files separately as well as a skin suite. Download the individual files and once they are downloaded then package them as a whole.

Now a problem I see with that, lets say you download a suite and only have two apps. You then send that file to a friend of yours. But he has 5 apps. He doesn't get to see the whole suite because he received the file from you. So at that time the Suite has been modified. (just thinking out of the box)
Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top
Definately sounds interesting, I can't wait to give it a try.
Reply #21 from JoeUser Forums Top
stardock just keeps rolling out the software wonders! this will make it easyier for all you people out there with suites of skins available to distribute them as one simple pack to download and then apply! and to beaker: its part of OD right now cause it's in ALPHA stage of development... it still has lots of work to go (like a bunch of the buttons in the program do absolutely nothing right now)
Reply #22 from JoeUser Forums Top
Personaly I don't thunk I will ever download a skin pack, since I'm sure they will be a huge download and include application skins I have no interest at all for.
But Wheer the software is interesting is in hte ability for the users to create their own suites from skins here and there and to apply it in one click.

This is why I was suggesting a way where you could choose the skins you want and make your own customized skin pack.
T-Man, Brad, this is the way I see it: In the skin browser software (that could in fact be integrated directly into Convergence itself, that would be awsome), as one would browse around, he would just have to press on a "Add to my Skinpack" button (would work the same as a shopping cart for Ecommerce sites) and continue to browse for skins; he could choose skins that are from different authors and never originally intended to be part of a same suite, and that's the cool thing, the user would design his own suite. Once he's done choosing his skins, he would just click on a "Download my Skinpack" and all the skins are then downloaded one after the other, then they are zipped into a single Skinpack, and then applied to the computer! Bam!
Pretty cool, no? I think it would be awsome.
Anyway, this is my vision of how Convergence could eventually evolve.
Reply #23 from JoeUser Forums Top
Stardock's desktop enhancements are all part of Object Desktop.
Reply #24 from JoeUser Forums Top
You can make your own skin packs on your own system. It's just not integrated into WinCustomize. You just download the skins you like, run Convergence, and put the skins together.
Reply #25 from JoeUser Forums Top
Will there be "light" versions of your Stardock software - distributed as freeware, for those of us who aren't able/willing to dish out money for these things? I know shareware vs. freeware has been an issue in the desktop customization community for a while, I'm just looking for a clear answer.