<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[BoXXi.wincustomize.com]]></title><link>http://BoXXi.wincustomize.com/</link><description>Download free Skins for ICQ and WinAmp, Windows desktop themes, WindowBlinds, DesktopX and More!</description><language>en-us</language><pubDate>Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:51:22 -0500</pubDate><lastBuildDate>Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:51:22 -0500</lastBuildDate><generator>Carbon RSS Manager http://www.shellscape.org/</generator><managingEditor></managingEditor><webMaster>pford@stardock.com</webMaster><item><title><![CDATA[Xion... A new skinnable media player]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=131486</link> <description><![CDATA[ A new skinnable media player arrived on the scene in August, say hello to Xion. This is a very capable little player, but by far the most interesting thing about it is it's skinning format. To skin this player you simply create the interface in Photoshop, making sure all the different elements are on individual layers, (which many of us do anyway) and then you give the layers specific names and just dump the .PSD file in the skins folder of the player...... That's it!!!!  The software does the rest and converts your layered .PSD into a skin. This is surely a step forward for ease of skinning. No code to write, no XML to battle through, NO SLICING UP OF IMAGES!I made two skins within an hour of downloading the software, and they work perfectly. So well done to r2 Studios, the creators of Xion, they really have an innovative Player AND skinning system here. It even supports animation too.I hope some of you guys will support this player and make a few skins for it. They deserve to have some success, and I think you will enjoy skinning it.]]></description> <pubDate>Mon, 25 Sep 2006 18:02:18 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=131486</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">fd7fc881-681d-4124-b8e0-0d97703eefed</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[A great tool for skinners and artists]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=122904</link> <description><![CDATA[I use this little color picker all the time, have done for a long time. It's called "Pixie", and it's made by Nattyware.  Get it, you will find it really useful in your skinning and designing. And it's FREE!!]]></description> <pubDate>Sat, 08 Jul 2006 21:29:22 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=122904</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">256cbc7c-4a83-4b21-abb3-cd838118c109</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[BoXXi hits another milestone]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=71164</link> <description><![CDATA[I hit the 2 million downloads mark today. I guess my stuff is more popular than I thought! Thanks to everyone who ever downloaded my skins and walls.
 ]]></description> <pubDate>Tue, 05 Apr 2005 09:00:09 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=71164</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">358e8630-d1e1-464d-85f2-e4e6eaacfc81</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Programming in Java......]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=63955</link> <description><![CDATA[I have decided to learn Java programming. In my new job I will have the opportunity to move into web development in 6 to 12 months, so I am going to use this time to learn Java to give myself a head start.
If any of you guys and gals have any knowledge of this platform, I would appreciate any help and advice on where to start, including links, insights or anything you can think of that may help me in my quest. If it helps: I have no programming or coding experience at all, besides the small amounts of code I have written for skinning purposes, or in Litestep.?? I do understand that this is not an easy language to program in, but I have time and a great determination. So, come on guys, where do I start? 
Thanks in advance.]]></description> <pubDate>Sat, 05 Feb 2005 17:28:37 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=63955</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">5c447e0c-7298-4382-b403-2e8ce356d619</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Institute Of Everafter]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=38387</link> <description><![CDATA[What are you waiting for? Get over to "The Institute" and take a look around..........]]></description> <pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2004 23:07:35 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=38387</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">d6e96693-7d3b-4a9d-b29f-6eea2006897e</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Integrity Project]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=2705</link> <description><![CDATA[I was faced with a decision today, and it was a difficult one for someone like me. As I have ranted about in my previous blog, I have never been one to jump on fashionable bandwagons to gain downloads or fame, but as my new website nears completion and I began to look at selling some premium skins, I realised I would have to compete with the trends of the day or remain graphically "off the wall" and retain my artistic integrity. Now, I do know what makes a fashionable skin, and creating the graphics for one is definitely not a problem, but I had to decide whether I wanted to make a "Glass and Steel" type skin. Although this type of skin always gets multitudinous downloads, they are just not my "thing".

So, my decision was, that if I wanted to sell a premium skin, I would have to give the people what they want or the whole notion of trying to make a few bucks from my skins would be a waste of time. And so, today, I began what will be known (to me) as "The Integrity Project", where I attempt to make a Glass and Steel type skin, but somehow try to give it my own individual stamp, and thereby (in MY head at least) retain my artistic integrity. 

Because of the reasons outlined above, this will probably turn out to be a very interesting and challenging project for me, and one that I am looking forward to. I will give updates on my progress and my thoughts about this as I go along, so tune in later to see how I'm doing.]]></description> <pubDate>Sun, 14 Dec 2003 00:08:27 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=2705</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">e96edb38-e25c-4fe4-a24b-944f4505d5d7</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[BoXXi's Tips and Tricks: No1]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=2328</link> <description><![CDATA[I have tried many of the color pickers that are available, but I have to say that this tiny program from Nattyware is by far the best one I have come across. It's called "Pixie", it's tiny, and it's free! it weighs in at only 8kb's in use, so I don't mind having it running in my tray the whole time I am working. If you are just starting out in skinning, or even if you are an experienced skinner or designer, this little tool will become indispenable in your skinning armoury. Download it at the link below:]]></description> <pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2003 17:31:54 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=2328</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">029332f9-8c07-45e8-8e48-bb1da10c0928</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bucking the trends in WB skinning]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=2221</link> <description><![CDATA[I was pleasantly surprised to see today, whilst checking my download stats, that my WindowBlinds skin "Windows 2004" had reached over 10,000 downloads. I wasn't expecting this skin to do very well due to it's all round fat frame, but I have been heartened by the many comments saying that the size of the frame doesn't matter, as long as the skin is attractive and works well.

I have never been one to worry about the general size of a frame in WindowBlinds, preferring to get my artistic ideas across rather than worry about "screen real estate". I have never considered a skin unusable just because it doesn't have a 2millimetre wide frame, but then again, I have ALWAYS placed aesthetics above usability from day 1, it's just the way I am.

What DOES annoy me a little, is the fact that no one ever complained about the size of skins like "Nemesis" or "What is the Matrix", but then again, that is probably because they were technically advanced at the time of their release. 
However, I will still continue to buck the trends in WB skinning, and be true to my love of artistically pleasing designs and colors, even if it means less downloads. But who knows, maybe the tide is turning...........................? (I hope so!)

here is a link to the skin in question.... "Windows 2004".]]></description> <pubDate>Sat, 06 Dec 2003 17:04:18 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=2221</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">7d75df4b-5621-4355-8d66-2cc71659c173</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Welcome Everyone]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=1219</link> <description><![CDATA[Well, this should be fun! This is where I will write down my random thoughts on skinning, graphics, computers and life in general. I also hope to pass on tips to those just starting out in the graphics community, because being technically challenged myself, I know how helpful those little bits of information can be.
So, call back again later to read my first article, which I will write when I can gather all the bits of information flying around inside my head, and place them into some sort of readable jumble!

Have fun!]]></description> <pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2003 16:48:32 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=1219</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">6ad79349-2089-49af-b81a-86b987abeb35</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Photoshop Tutorials]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37713</link> <description><![CDATA[Many of you ask us where to find Photoshop tutorials, so I thought I would post a link to a massive list of tutorials that is sure to satisfy all your learning needs.
You should be able to find help on any aspect of Photoshop here.
Have fun!
.......-=BoXXi=-.......]]></description> <pubDate>Mon, 14 Oct 2002 11:55:01 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37713</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">2ae423e9-35f0-4312-9972-9cbb22eef110</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[BoXXi's Cool Site Of The Day]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37575</link> <description><![CDATA[Check out this extremely cool Flash game.
See how long it takes you to figure it out!]]></description> <pubDate>Sun, 14 Jul 2002 22:35:15 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37575</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">7dca3b13-48dd-4b4d-bafd-d8c54c1e4b1f</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[QX Clock]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37552</link> <description><![CDATA[I just thought I would remind you all about this cool little skinnable application. It's a clock and resource meter all rolled into one, and if you are new to skinning, it's a good place to start learning as it's very simple to create skins for.
Although we have no section for this at the moment, more skins can be found at LotsOfSkins, deviantArt and skinbase.
Check it out, I'm sure you will like it.]]></description> <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2002 08:50:58 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37552</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">2e286a56-4c79-4e86-8c87-736f03bea9f9</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Confused about copyright?]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37479</link> <description><![CDATA[Judging by the amount of submissions we receive that contain copyrighted work, I'm certain that many must be uncertain about what can and can't be used. Take a look at this interesting site and find out about copyright and what it means to you.]]></description> <pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2002 17:19:22 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37479</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">06b30451-9936-4b5c-ab41-e868cc6238fb</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New Jpeg standard is ready.....]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37430</link> <description><![CDATA[In a few months time, internet users will be able to make use of the JPEG2000 standard which it's developers claim, enables web graphics to be downloaded hundreds of times faster than is currently possible. This will not only make graphics-heavy web pages easier to download, it will also preserve image quality.
The JPEG standard compresses image files which are then transmitted across the web faster than uncompressed files. The process of downloading large images often eats up bandwidth, thus slowing the download itself. Now, researchers at universities around the world have developed JPEG2000, the next-generation image-compression technology under the auspices of the International Standards Organisation.
It is the first major upgrade of the standard since it first appeared in the early '90s. What is also important about the technology is it's ability to send files without loss of data, which is not the case with current Jpeg files. To take advantage of JPEG2000, web designers will need a Plug-In for either Internet Explorer or Netscape browsers. These free plug-in's are expected to be on the market later this year. The extension for the new files will be ".jp2".  
For more info, go to the website link below. ]]></description> <pubDate>Sun, 07 Apr 2002 14:47:10 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37430</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">6fcd9d87-5b25-4141-a51e-d08484f995f7</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[BoXXi's Cool Site Of The Day]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37310</link> <description><![CDATA[If you are as addicted to Photoshop as I am, then I guess you are constantly looking for good sites with tutorials and information? "Photoshop Roadmap" has lots of interesting features and tutorials, and you can even bid for freelance graphics jobs! It's definitely worth a look.

Here is the link...http://www.photoshoproadmap.com/
]]></description> <pubDate>Tue, 08 Jan 2002 11:28:42 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37310</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">fe09dd24-f3a1-490e-84c8-73f3a16826bb</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[BoXXi's Cool Site Of The Day]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37304</link> <description><![CDATA[I know that many of you like to work in 3D programs like Bryce or 3DS Max, so if you want to see some quality 3D work you should take a look at this site. The work is by one of our own members (mismis), who is obviously extremely talented. Visit the gallery area to see what I mean.
Here is the link... http://www.trhlogos.dk/]]></description> <pubDate>Sat, 05 Jan 2002 01:14:40 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37304</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">fb123aaa-470e-4e5e-9930-f8736e9e73f3</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[BoXXi's Cool Site Of The Day]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37263</link> <description><![CDATA[Do you want to watch your day magically disappear? If so, then take a ride out to Vector Park. If you have never visited before, whatever you do don't leave your brain at home! And while you are there, say hello to the rabbits for me. Oh, and don't forget to come back........

http://www.vectorpark.com]]></description> <pubDate>Thu, 13 Dec 2001 22:02:37 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37263</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">5a952564-e138-4b6f-b310-54732d6aab5a</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[BoXXi's Cool Site Of The Day]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37236</link> <description><![CDATA[Todays featured site is a fabulous Photoshop resource site called "DeepSpaceWeb".
Just head over there and check out the great site design and everything you could want relating to photoshop,including tutorials, plug-in's, actions etc.
here's the link:
http://www.deepspaceweb.com ]]></description> <pubDate>Fri, 30 Nov 2001 11:48:56 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37236</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">1b922ab9-1911-4c76-b79f-b6af3ea5eee4</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA["BoXXi's Cool Site Of The Day" No.3]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37227</link> <description><![CDATA[The guys over at "MetaEffect.com" are putting together a great little community site that looks and feels really good. Hop over there, take a look around, and maybe even sign up, It's free after all!
MetaEffect is a great asset to the community, and with our support I'm sure they will coninue to grow.
So, nice people, nice graphics, good messageboard, and some interesting tutorials. What more could you want?
Check it out....
http://www.metaeffect.com ]]></description> <pubDate>Mon, 26 Nov 2001 11:03:31 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37227</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">01c4e827-050e-4a9f-81ad-e6454f9f80f2</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA["BoXXi's Cool Site Of The Day" No.2]]></title><link>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37224</link> <description><![CDATA[     Well, here is Saturdays cool site.
Anders Quiker is one of the best exponents of the Flash medium. This is the sixth incarnation of his site, and it's another classic. As you admire the beautiful interface, be sure to check out his excellent Photoshop tutorials, and his "Portfolio" which shows the previous five versions of his site.
Definitely not to be missed this one. 
http://www.aqa-d.se/ ]]></description> <pubDate>Sun, 25 Nov 2001 02:06:38 -0500</pubDate><comments>http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=37224</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">5d92f74e-bda3-494f-b790-39144dca30c4</guid></item></channel></rss>