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Island Dog
Island Dog
Join Date 06/2003
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DeskScapes 2.5

February 26, 2009 11:29:14 AM from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums

DeskScapes 2.5 has been released today by Stardock.  DeskScapes is an application which lets you run animated wallpapers, also called .dreams, on your Windows desktop.  It used to be that only Windows Vista Ultimate users could take advantage of a feature like this, but DeskScapes opens this up to users of all versions of Windows Vista, and Windows XP!

DeskScapes also goes beyond just playing videos as wallpapers, as it can also display dynamically generated content, .dreams activated by triggers such as time of day,  and more. 

The DeskScapes 2.5 update brings:

  • Improved XP compatibility
  • Stand-alone installation

DeskScapes is part of the Object Desktop suite of desktop enhancements.  A free version is available which is limited to the bundled .dreams and will also play any Dynamic Master Dream purchased from WinCustomize.com .  The full version will play any .dream file and is available here .

For more information, visit https://www.stardock.com/products/deskscapes/

DS_on_XP

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Island Dog
Philly0381
Join Date 11/2004
+844
Reply #1 February 26, 2009 11:37:50 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Would it be possible to post the system requirements for running on XP or better yet the specs of a XP system that DeskScapes has run on?

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Island Dog
M-203
Join Date 07/2008
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Reply #2 February 26, 2009 12:41:01 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

And how do I download my purchased program without the impulse junk?

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Island Dog
Kitkun
Join Date 06/2008
+175
Reply #3 February 26, 2009 12:41:34 PM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums

Goes great with WindowBlinds and a high-transparency skin.

 

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Island Dog
Annatar11
Join Date 11/2006
+527
Reply #4 February 26, 2009 12:54:13 PM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums

Now if only my Demigod would stop crashing when running a dream

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Island Dog
hallv5
Join Date 04/2008
+26
Reply #5 February 26, 2009 1:08:19 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Now if only the Computer Fairy would bring me a 'puter that has enough poop to run a Dream...  

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Island Dog
Annatar11
Join Date 11/2006
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Reply #6 February 26, 2009 1:09:21 PM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums

'puter that has enough poop

Well, depending on where you look, this could probably be arranged.

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Island Dog
CharlesCS
Join Date 08/2006
+81
Reply #7 February 26, 2009 1:58:12 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

And how do I download my purchased program without the impulse junk?

LOL, nothing funnier than insulting the product of a business you plan on purchasing something else from, and on their own forums.

Goes great with WindowBlinds and a high-transparency skin.

I use a Windows 7 skin I found with a transparent skin for my ObjectDock and the spinning Earth .dream looks great with it.

Now if only the Computer Fairy would bring me a 'puter that has enough poop to run a Dream..

I always wondered where that wierd smell on my PC came from, too much pop I guess.

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Island Dog
M-203
Join Date 07/2008
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Reply #8 February 26, 2009 4:40:33 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Quoting CharlesCS,
reply 7

LOL, nothing funnier than insulting the product of a business you plan on purchasing something else from, and on their own forums.

I'm sorry, did I miss something?
I don't recall seeing in that sentence that I want to purchase something else.
Fact is, I bought and paid for the 2 programs that I was interested in.
*************************

As far as my other post goes, let me say this (the part in bold text being the key sentence):

Yeah, yeah.  Install Impulse, download DeskScapes, and then uninstall Impulse.  Blah blah blah...

I don't WANT impulse, and don't tell me I can uninstall it without leaving traces behind.
Having just spent 2 days re-installing XP and getting it setup running EXACTLY the way I want it,
I am NOT in the mood to leave junk behind from an uninstallation.
And besides, my Desktop computer is not setup to go online, nor do I want it to be.
The last time I got update links in an e-mail from Stardock, there were actual download links,
now all I get are links to Impulse for the programs, the Dreams etc. all are normal download links.

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Island Dog
ZubaZ
Join Date 11/2001
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Reply #9 February 26, 2009 4:49:27 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Almost all Stardock's software is migrating to Impulse.  It allows Stardock to reduce development time, limit support issues, and allows the users to control their purchases to a greater degree (Install, archive, update, uninstall, restore).  In the end, it saves Stardock money and the customers money.

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Island Dog
M-203
Join Date 07/2008
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Reply #10 February 26, 2009 5:23:47 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Yes Zubaz, I know that, I have read the arguements for and against.
However, a direct download does also allows the user to
"(Install, archive, update, uninstall, restore)".

So my question still remains, how do I get DeskScapes installed to my PERMANENTLY OFFLINE computer?

 [EDIT]

Oddly enough, it seems to ONLY be the programs which require Impulse, and not the purchased Dreams...

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Island Dog
BoneyardBrew
Join Date 04/2006
0
Reply #11 February 26, 2009 6:54:39 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Has anyone been having a problem with Deskscapes for XP? Everything went smoothly, except for when I tried to apply a Dream, it come up with an error saying "An Exception occurred while trying to run "Shell32.dll,Control_RunDll Desk.cpl,,@deskscapes"

I know this is the first release for XP, but this has happened to multiple people thus far. I was wondering if you had a solution to this problem.

I am running Windows XP 32-Bit SP3, if that could be of any use.

 

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Island Dog
Mascot68
Join Date 05/2007
+1
Reply #12 February 27, 2009 3:55:40 AM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Adding a "Windows XP 32 bit only" disclaimer to the requirements on the product page might be an idea. In general, going through your applications and discerning between 32bit and 64bit would be nice. Some places it specifies it, others it just says "XP and Vista". Impulse doesn't distinguish it either. It'll happily install Deskscapes on XP64, and it doesn't crash, but neither does it work and there's no indication of why.

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Island Dog
Daiwa
Join Date 07/2001
+351
Reply #13 March 2, 2009 10:51:56 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums

2.50.069 dated 12-10-08?  That the latest?  That's what's showing up in Impulse here.

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Island Dog
S J N
Join Date 10/2001
+43
Reply #14 March 2, 2009 11:14:43 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

I am running Windows XP 32-Bit SP3

As am I. And Deskscapes works just fine for me.

2.50.069 dated 12-10-08? That the latest? That's what's showing up in Impulse here.

I get the same also.

 

 

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Island Dog
Neil Banfield
Join Date 04/2001
+1105 sdemployee
Reply #15 March 3, 2009 5:21:38 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Please note that there is an error in the main post about this.

It will not play ALL Master dreams in the free version, it will only play Master dynamic dreams, not video ones.

Mascot68: In general with XP 64 bit you can assume the products are not officially supported on that OS at best.  The user base is simply too small to devote development time to and that user base is getting smaller and smaller.  While many 32 bit apps will work on that OS, apps like Deskscapes will not as explorer is 64 bit rather than 32 bit on that OS.

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Island Dog
Daiwa
Join Date 07/2001
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Reply #16 March 4, 2009 10:54:04 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Still getting a 'Run DLL as an app' crash whenever I try to apply a .dream (any of the included ones) or whenever I click on the button for setting preferences/properties.

Fresh download/install from yesterday.  XPP SP2 with current WHQL NVIDIA drivers for 8600M GT.

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Island Dog
HeyNaniNani
Join Date 05/2004
0
Reply #17 March 5, 2009 1:02:04 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums
I have XP, SP3, and yesterday updated my GeForce FX5200 drivers. Installing Deskscapes went fine, but running a Dream did not. I got the message "AGP card detected; want to run anyway?" The action was choppy, the dream quickly left me with a black screen, and Fences wouldn't work, so I couldn't change the wallpaper. I discovered I have an AGP bus 8X. I thought the AGP problem was going to be solved, but since it hasn't been, I might as well uninstall Deskscapes until I can have Win7. Or am I wrong? I'm really disappointed.
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Island Dog
Nolwyn
Join Date 03/2009
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Reply #18 March 31, 2009 5:47:39 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

So the free version that you are using to intice buyers doesnt work? How is that suppoed to help sales? Or am i missing something?

 

Error Report  ------ SNIPPED ------

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Island Dog
ZubaZ
Join Date 11/2001
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Reply #19 March 31, 2009 5:52:56 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Quoting Nolwyn,
reply 18
So the free version that you are using to intice buyers doesnt work? How is that suppoed to help sales? Or am i missing something?

 

Error Report  ------ SNIPPED ------
</EXE>
<EXE NAME="DeskScapesShellXP.dll" FILTER="GRABMI_FILTER_THISFILEONLY">
    <MATCHING_FILE NAME="DeskScapesShellXP.dll" SIZE="406856" CHECKSUM="0xD733584" BIN_FILE_VERSION="2.0.0.106" BIN_PRODUCT_VERSION="2.0.0.106" PRODUCT_VERSION="2, 0, 0, 106" FILE_DESCRIPTION="Display Properties panel for &quot;.dream&quot; files." COMPANY_NAME="Stardock" PRODUCT_NAME="Stardock DeskScapes™" FILE_VERSION="2, 0, 0, 106" ORIGINAL_FILENAME="DesktopControlPanel.dll" INTERNAL_NAME="DesktopControlPanel.dll" LEGAL_COPYRIGHT="(c) Stardock Corporation 2006-2009.  All rights reserved." VERFILEDATEHI="0x0" VERFILEDATELO="0x0" VERFILEOS="0x4" VERFILETYPE="0x2" MODULE_TYPE="WIN32" PE_CHECKSUM="0x64A43" LINKER_VERSION="0x0" UPTO_BIN_FILE_VERSION="2.0.0.106" UPTO_BIN_PRODUCT_VERSION="2.0.0.106" LINK_DATE="02/23/2009 22:09:53" UPTO_LINK_DATE="02/23/2009 22:09:53" VER_LANGUAGE="English (United States) [0x409]" />
</EXE>
</DATABASE>
Email support@stardock.com to create a case.  DS works for most folks.  it may be somethign unique to your setup.

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Island Dog
Nolwyn
Join Date 03/2009
0
Reply #20 March 31, 2009 5:58:48 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

OK thank you

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Island Dog
Valcer
Join Date 03/2009
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Reply #21 April 5, 2009 7:39:28 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

I wish I would of known xp 64 wouldnt work too before i bought and downloaded it, for no hope of it working on my main system lol

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