Frogboy Frogboy

How long you been doing this stuff?

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How long you been doing this stuff?

Skinning and using skins

from WinCustomize Forums

So how long have you been into "skinning? When did you get started?

For me, my journey began with IBM's OS/2 back in 1994.  Me and my friend Kurt Westerfeld hated the way OS/2 looked so when we made Object Desktop, we designed a new "look" for it that changed title bars, scrollbars, title bar buttons, etc.  When we did version 2, we made it so that other people could create their own looks for it.

In 1997 when we designed up the specs for a Windows version of Object Desktop, we wanted a component that could provide new looks for Windows (later called skins) and teamed up with Neil Banfield to lead that effort. 

14,460 views 43 replies
Reply #26 from WinCustomize Forums Top
i started my computer journey back in the early '80's using apple IIe (that was when you had to use 5 1/4" floppy disks to boot, because there werent any hard drives then) and i used basic programming to create vga graphics; then when i went to college, moved up to the macintosh computer and harddrives were just comming out and no internet was available yet. some computer classes i took delt with pascal programming. by the time i graduated college had used telnet to play interactive 'live' games such as a wizards and warlocks. windows 3 was just getting started. when i decided to build my own computer around 1999, started with windows 98se (decided to skip windows 95). also had some o/s 400 experience when taking some computer operation classes. during this time i had also used window nt and personally upgraded to xp. before the skinning programs came out i used to go in and create unique colors for the toolbars and there were some transparency programs that i played around with but droped them since they werent compatible with xp. been using windowblinds now for about 3 years and love it. havent really tried the other programs yet. not sure which ones would really get the best use out of. something i am looking around for is something that would dock like a toolbar and be able to show network up/download speeds and show ip information instead of having open programs that you have to toggle around. may get into trying some skinning myself and see how that goes.
Reply #27 from WinCustomize Forums Top

1st WB skin in '93...

You must have had a really early version of Windows95 then....

Elemental: Reforged
Reply #28 from WinCustomize Forums Top
LOL@Jafo I was a pre-mature skinner
I meant '02 when I came across customizing and made my 1st skin on '03

I really cant chew and type at the same time
Reply #29 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Going on 2 years now, loving every minute of it. Still a newb compared to the old timers around here.
Reply #30 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Started learning "basic" back in 86/87.

Started modifying graphics in the mid 90's..

Rekindled my passion for modified desktops 3 years ago when I Joined this site ....
Reply #31 from JoeUser Forums Top
94 I lived in Italy.

I owned a Packard Bell with an ISA riser card.

Skinning consisted of taking the cover off (Italian apartments don’t have air conditioning) so the Packard from Hell can run faster.
Reply #32 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hmmm...let's see. Got my first computer before there was even Windows! I started out with wallpaper in the early 90's. Then started making themes for Win95/98 around 1995. Then, when I got XP in 2002, I started with walls again. In 2003, I found Theme XP, and started tweaking themes. Then in early 2004, I found this site...and, have been going strong ever since!
Reply #33 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Made my first wall around 2000, my first skin around 2002, still trying to complete my first WB skin,but it's hard.
Reply #34 from WinCustomize Forums Top
about a year ago i dicovered boot screens, don't remember how though, think it was in a chat room or something... i was hooked! got the free program and started modifying the first one i used. moved strait into "skining" and bought the full windowblinds and skinstudio progams, (been whishing i had just goten object desktop instead ) i was useing MS paint and photo deluxe then, now i'm useing photoshop CS! (photoshop is awsum!! ) after i discovered i realy like doing this kind of thing i decided i was going to go to school for multimedia & digital design 9 months ago. (not to brag but, i'm carying a grade point average of 3.75 and quit school in 8th grade!!! i have 9 months to go till i get my IT degree ) so a special thanks to wincustomize for helping me impove my life!

i'm going to school here Link
Reply #36 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Temporary weird anomaly, since fixed...
Reply #38 from WinCustomize Forums Top
in late 97


Then I was still in the La la land of Windows 3.1.
Reply #39 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Around 2 years...No end in sight.
Reply #40 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I made a graphical bowling score sheet in basic using ASCII (or ANSI can't remember) characters back in 84 or 85. Does that count??
Reply #41 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I started skinning in late '99 with Sonique and MPFree. Then I discovered skinz.org and saw that there was plenty more to be skinned
Reply #42 from JoeUser Forums Top
Icon-Do-It! got me started in the mid-90's on Win95. Win2K's GUI bored me - ran across an early version of WB (?1.x) 5-6 years ago (it seems) and it's been over ever since.

Cheers,
Daiwa
Reply #43 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Lantec: My first program in basic was a Yahtzee score pad that I did on a Kaypro64 computer LOL.