...I'm trying to understand the step-change this program provides to the average user.

Admitedly, I'm only five days into exploring its possibilites. The themes are awesome, there's no doubt about that. From what I've been able to explore, there are only some marginal improvements and functionality vs standard XP.

From what I've read about this prog, clearly I'm missing something! Please help!

Let me share some of my impressions, from the perspective of an average Joe who is no expert, but who probably know more about this than most, and who definitely has more interest than most.

After all, I plowed through all the documention and FAQs, everything you had to offer. Ouch.

And why? Because I really want this to be the answer. I'm so frustrated with XP. I wanted this to be Nirvana. (And, to be honest, I wanted people to see my destop and ask me how I was able to be so productive. And I'd tell them....)

1. The documentation is painful. Only a commited believer would go through that (and I did). I volunteer to help in that regard.
2. I guess what I was looking for, among other things, was a one-click solution to my most-used apps and docs. And that can be done, but no more efficiently or in a better way than standard (which I thought you were advertising, but that could be my mistake). I save no time. And I have RAM overhead for the privilege.
3. From what I can tell, I lose monitor real estate because of the menu. What am I missing in this regard?

And there's more, but I've got to get to work.

I've read so many positive reviews of this software, but I'm struggling with how its SO much better than the staus quo. To be honest, from my perspective (and maybe from others), the themes/skins are what blows everyone over, together with the marginal improvement in functionality, and you have it.

Please prove me wrong. I want this to work, but obviously, I'm not getting it.

The true strength of Winstep applications lies on how you can actually customize the way things work (instead of just how they look). It's hard to be everything to everybody, but Winstep applications get as close to that as possible.

I know from experience that, to truly understand how much this is true, you have to stick with Winstep applications for a while - it's not that they're difficult to learn, but that there is so much you can do with them that, after five days, you are usually only able to scratch possibilities skin deep.

For instance, you say menus (I think you actually mean WorkShelf) take screen real estate away. Yes, they do by default, otherwise first time users would feel completely lost. But you can also set it in such a way that there is absolutely nothing on your screen: you bump a screen edge to get your menus and WorkShelf only pops up when you bump another screen edge, otherwise it is completely hidden.

Anyway, for me to help you, you will have to describe in detail what you hoped Winstep applications would be able to do for you... otherwise I would just be wasting time shooting in all directions at once, since I cannot possibly know what you expect until you tell me.

P.S. Congratulations on going through all the documentation. I know people who have been using Winstep applications for years and never read even half of it.

I recently downloaded the Winstep apps after seeing the announcement posted on the win.customize site. After 3 days of experimentation, I concluded it was exactly the tool I was looking for to organize and manage my computing activities. So I guess it all depends on what your needs are.....

Here is a thought Jorge,

Maybe it would be good to have some old-timers who have used WSX since it was only NS post screenshots or descriptions of how we use it. This might serve to show people the many ways you can use all the components. I am sure that I have a different WSX setup that you or scarebear or burt etc...

No doubt. I once tried starting a thread (it's still there somewhere) for people to leave screen shots of their desktop, but, unfortunately, it didn't catch on.

There are lots of different ways of using Winstep applications, from the minimalistic to the 'show everything plus the dog' approach. Winstep is usually able to accommodate them all.

Just the other day I was exchanging emails with a new user who wanted to organize his programs into categories, but actually wanted to list EVERY program under each category instead of the most often used applications (which is what WorkShelf excels at). He was un-happy that WorkShelf made him constantly scroll up and down to access his huge list of programs under each category. I pointed out to him that a) he could double click a tab to make the shelf automatically expand to show EVERYTHING in it and that b) he would probably be better off using NextSTART hotspot buttons and menus to accomplish what he wanted. Because of Winstep flexibility in these areas, we now have a new, very happy, Winstep user. And, because of his feedback, I just added more options to make it easier to add and manipulate hotspot buttons.

You've inspired me to press-on...many thanks! Very supportive. I'll provide more details as I have time, and in the meantime I'll work on making things better myself (e.g., the bump option).

How's it going so far?

I have to agree with jimmyj on a point and I've been meaning to bring this up for a long time. The preferences interface is daunting. I'm a programmer and even I winch when I am faced with configuring NextSTART. It can really take a long time to figure out something. And, as the subject says, "At the risk of committing blasphemy..." , I would hope that you guys could take a look at it and maybe re-design it. Maybe have a novice view or specific concise help on each option. Anyway, I've chimed in. Keep up the great work!!!

This a touchy subject because I have been trying to simplify Preferences for a long time - you should have seen it when skinning options and user settings were still together.

Now, guys, help me out: what exactly is so confusing? Is it the icon ribbon at the top? The sheer number of different options (they have to be there, they're one of the reasons NextSTART is so powerful and flexible)? Is it the NeXT-like controls? So, what is the main problem?

I always found the NeXT-like controls to be the hardest thing to 'get my head around'. That and the fact that there are so many options (as you pointed out).

Having said that, the new preferences is much easier for me to navigate. And although the shear number of options is daunting, it's something I actually enjoy. I've been using your products for years now and still have plenty to learn. That is a good thing for me because it keeps the applications feeling new. I enjoy discovering something else NextSTART or WorkShelf can do to make my life easier

I actually find the layout to be OK. I guess if I was a skinner I would find it cumbersome, but all is good so far.

I find the combination of WinShelf trays and NextStart menus to be very productive. They are organised as a thin strip across the top of my 1600x1200 LCD .

I also use AltDesk (Virtual Desktop Manager) as I can have dozens of task running at any one time (as a .NET & SQL developer).

The preferences are organised awkwardly simply because so many are presented in one hit. You do have subgrouping panels on each "page" e.g. NextStart -> Menu Preferences has "Context Menus", "Folder Type Menus", "Misc.Options", etc. However, like a very very long paragraph, it's hard to focus your attention on the subgroup/topic/area of interest as many things are competing for attention. I suggest you only display settings for the particular subset of settings. Tabs are good for this IMO. E.g. take a look at Firefox -> Privacy which uses tabs to group related sub-settings within the overall Privacy catagory.

BTW: just bought Xtreme. Having been through many "shell" and similar programs, its a standout. Well done.

bruce

Heh-heh glad I didn't have to see that!



All of the above, including all of the others comments. While we can all have fun and eventually figure out what does what, I think you really need to consider the new user and the casual user. That is someone that is not real familiar with the interface and just wants to make a quick setting.

To get started,for example, the user has the preferences up and they are looking at the Hotspots Editor page. They click on help and it brings up a page with a paragraph or two about what are Hotspots and why they would need editing. Then on the same page you have specific help with screen shots of the Hotspots Editor page and any child screens (using descriptive balloons or whatever).

These are just suggestions, but you did want input. I am concerned that you might be losing customers due to the complex nature of the settings screens.