CANTON, MI- (May 11th, 2005) – Stardock, a Microsoft
Gold Partner and a leading developer of software that customizes the Microsoft
Windows Graphical User Interface (GUI), today announced the release of
DirectSkin 4.5. DirectSkin is a tool used by software developers to make their
applications skinnable, and the latest version has been optimized for Microsoft
Visual Studio .NET 2003.
“DirectSkin from Stardock uses the native drawing features
of Microsoft Windows XP to make it easy for .NET Framework-based developers to
create flexible, attractive user interfaces for their applications,” says Scott
Davidson, Great Lakes General Manager, Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners
for Microsoft Corp. “This reduces development costs and brings new products to
market sooner.”
DirectSkin quickly integrates into third-party software
applications, allowing software developers to add a flexible look and feel to
their applications. Developers can choose if they wish to lock in a single look
or if they want to allow users to select their own look from an extensive
library of skins available on the internet.
Adding skinning functionality to applications increases
acceptance in the marketplace. Popular applications such as Windows Media Player
and Windows XP allow users to choose the look and feel that suits them. Stardock
has been involved with the Microsoft Partner Program since 2001 and was
recognized as a Microsoft Gold Partner in 2004.
DirectSkin supports all major Microsoft development, such
as Visual Basic, C++ .NET 2003 and Visual C# .NET 2003. With DirectSkin 4.5,
Stardock is increasing its focus on supporting .NET technologies.
Larry Kuperman, Corporate Sales Manager at Stardock, said
“The Microsoft development environment is what drives the market today. From our
perspective, there is no operating system or framework that is as customizable
as a Microsoft product.”
Neil Banfield, Lead Developer for DirectSkin at Stardock,
added “DirectSkin was an outgrowth of WindowBlinds, our software program that
changes the look and feel of the entire Windows desktop. Developers began
contacting us and asking how they could integrate that same technology into just
their programs. We recognized that such a tool might be beneficial for
developers and save them time.”
Many of the companies that have licensed DirectSkin agree
with the benefits it provides. In a recent Microsoft Case Study, Dale Adamson,
Computer Interface Specialist for ATI Technologies explained why ATI selected
DirectSkin: “We wanted a solution that placed as much power in the customers'
hands as we could give them to configure our product to suit their user
requirements or marketing needs without our having to intervene.”
Other DirectSkin clients prefer to use DirectSkin for a
single, branded look. Eric Blake, Technical Director for Reuters America
explained “Reuters selected DirectSkin for use in our Reuters Plus application
and we have been very satisfied. DirectSkin offers many advantages, among these
the ability to provide a consistent look and feel across many applications.”
Other clients use DirectSkin to showcase new versions of
their software. “We are very excited about the new features in this next version
of Map. It was important for us to create more differentiation with the product
and generate a new fresh look as exciting as the new features,” says Brett
Bloomquist, Map Software Development Manager at Autodesk. “For Autodesk,
selecting DirectSkin was a logical choice for meeting this goal. By using
DirectSkin from Stardock we were able to get a high level of consistency across
platforms and the support from Stardock was exceptional. We could not have done
this on our own in such a short period of time.”
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About DirectSkin:
To learn more about DirectSkin, please visit
http://www.directskin.com. The site offers a downloadable demo of the
software, answers to Frequently Asked Questions and much more. Technical
questions should be addressed to
dshelp@stardock.com; while license questions should be addressed to
lkuperman@stardock.com.
About Stardock:
Stardock Corporation is the leader in the development
and sales of award-winning Windows desktop customization solutions such the
Object Desktop customization suite and the ThinkDesk suite of productivity
applications. Stardock also develops best-selling computer games, including the
Galactic Civilizations series. For more information, please visit the Stardock
home page at
https://www.stardock.com.