And i don't mean this in a good way. I heard some decent things about winstep nexus and was recommended by some folks over @ OD, but after trying it out I'm a little turned off. The clusterfuck of check boxes, buttons to redirect to advanced options (options inside options inside options [opception?]) caused me to waste around 30 minutes to an hour navigating and turning on or off functions that I didn't need. by the time i was finished, i had turned off nextstart and workshelf and didn't even feel like touching nexus dock (mainly the reason i installed) anymore. Until the pile of options are condensed and the preference menu is compiled in a much more organized user friendly/P&P sleek format, i'm going to keep my money on OD+. I'm posting this as positive criticism for winstep and I hope the author of this software spends some time working on the aesthetics of the software otherwise i cannot justify spending 25+ on winstep and believe me-- I like to throw away money.

not to mention the uninstall was pulling .dll files from my system32 and trying to delete it. a huge hassle.

Perhaps the options can get confusing but once you get them down it's not too bad. I have tried OD+ and Winstep is much better.

I would also recommend that you conisder using a good disk image software to image your system before and after you try any new software. Way better then doing an uninstall. I use Paragon Disk Image.

sh0gunshin, yes at first it can be a bit overwhelming, but all in all it is well worth it to learn the various settings. because of the amount of settings there isn't much you can't do with the TON of eyecandy in the winstep programs. then once you have everything set to you liking all you have to do is backup you preferences, and never make another manual adjustment again(with the exception of new features being added) if you don't want to. price wise for what you get there aren't any programs that beat the winstep family of programs. as for the .dll's winstep only removes it's own .dll's and files during a uninstall and NOTHING else. i'd suggest reinstalling your winstep product and taking your time setting it up just the way you want. most of us here agree half the fun is discovering new things about our winstep product.

Let me get this straight...
...
...you're complaining, because... the programme has... too *many* options ???

Are you for real?

You know, people complain, shout and yell for more options; Windows users have been screaming at Microsoft for more options (for various things) for years, users of all sorts of programmes have complained and even dumped software that didn't have enough of them. And you want *less* ?
It's like dumping "MS Office" because it had... too many tabs in the 'options' dialogue!

You know, there's nothing stopping you from just using the programme as it is, and only look for and change a setting *if* you want *something* specific changed. You don't *have* to go into the options and scrutinise every single setting available. The programme will still work at default settings, you know...
Not to mention that, in the two years that I've been using Winstep, I've only fiddled with the settings essentially *once*. I've done minor adjustments here and there, yes, but it was only the first couple of days that I fiddled with the settings, and that was mostly curiosity, just to see what each thing did. I knew it was a time-waster, I knew that I was getting under the hood, so I didn't feel like complaining. Ever since, I've tried things, because I'm beta-testing Winstep as well, but apart from that, it must have been at least 8 months since I even changed a minor setting.

So, all in all... you want the options "condensed"? Really? How do you propose to do that? If that means reducing the available options, I'll gladly pay Jorge *triple* of what he'd make from you and keep the options there. Seriously.
The options are there and they're so many, simply because the programme is very configurable. Jorge has spent a lot of time trying to organise them differently and even we, the 'regulars' in here have given it a lot of thought. Organising so many options is a rather impossible task. So, if you've got an idea, go ahead and propose it. Otherwise, stop demanding something without having even the slightest idea on how to do it or whether it's even possible.

I also find it rather amusing that you're trying to blackmail him with the "either you reduce the options or I'm not buying" line. Really, mate. Get a grip.


P.S. I'm trying hard not to comment on that "the bad uninstaller was trying to pull files from my 'Sys32' and delete them". Awww... poor little files! Pulled out of their nice and cozy subdirectory by that bad, bad uninstaller!

Ever considered the possibility that the uninstaller was deleting files that the *installer* put there? And it was just being polite and asking if you need them?

As others pointed out already, Winstep Xtreme is a suite of highly complex and customizable applications. Because of it's unique customization abilities, they have hundreds of different options that allow you to make the software look and behave just like *you* want it.

This said, the software is setup in such a way that the default settings will work fine for nearly everybody.

If you are only interest in using Xtreme as a simple skinnable program launcher, changing themes is very easy, all the options you need are available via simple right click context menus, you can edit items via simple drag & drop, and you can leave most of the other advanced settings alone. You do NOT need to go around changing everything you find.

If you are a power user, on the other hand, then you will be glad to have all those options available. However, because there are so many of them, the settings need to be nested - mixing the most used and advanced settings in a single panel is NO SOLUTION, trust me. For the newbie user it would be like looking at the cockpit of a 747 - so, on the first level of Preferences you only see the most useful/used functions. To access the others you need to dig into second level dialogs.

As every complex application, Xtreme does have a learning curve. Take Microsoft Word, for instance, if all you want to do is write, save and print a letter, it's all very easy. However, when you try to do something more complex, then yes, you need to learn how to use the program - but, in the end, you will be glad that the application allows you to do what you want.

[/quote]by the time i was finished, i had turned off nextstart and workshelf and didn't even feel like touching nexus dock (mainly the reason i installed) anymore.[/quote]

Ah, see, perhaps you should have started with Nexus instead of going straight to Xtreme.



Errr... Most applications (other than the very, very, simple ones) need to install stuff on the Windows system directory, which they will remove when you uninstall them. Every game you install, for instance, will at the very least try to install the latest version of DirectX - that also puts stuff in your Windows system folder. Not sure what you are complaining about here?