<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
is	O
a	O
computer	O
program	O
that	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
skin	B-Application
the	O
Windows	B-Application
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
been	O
developed	O
by	O
Stardock	O
since	O
1998	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
component	O
of	O
their	O
flagship	O
software	O
suite	O
,	O
Object	B-Application
Desktop	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
available	O
separately	O
,	O
and	O
as	O
an	O
ActiveX/COM	B-Application
component	O
called	O
DirectSkin	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Introduced	O
in	O
its	O
sixth	O
version	O
,	O
it	O
supports	O
alpha	B-Algorithm
blending	I-Algorithm
effects	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
compositing	B-Algorithm
of	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
but	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
has	O
been	O
downloaded	O
over	O
10	O
million	O
times	O
WindowBlinds	B-Application
7.0	O
at	O
PCWorld.pl	O
and	O
was	O
voted	O
"	O
Best	O
Vertical	O
Market	O
Program	O
or	O
Utility	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
2006	O
Shareware	O
Industry	O
Awards	O
Foundation	O
People	O
's	O
Choice	O
Awards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
November	O
2009	O
there	O
were	O
4448	O
WindowBlinds	B-Application
skins	B-Application
available	O
at	O
WinCustomize	B-Application
,	O
with	O
an	O
average	O
of	O
nine	O
being	O
added	O
per	O
week	O
;	O
another	O
popular	O
repository	O
is	O
deviantART	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
skins	B-Application
come	O
in	O
two	O
formats	O
:	O
"	O
Basic	O
"	O
(	O
or	O
"	O
UIS1+	O
"	O
)	O
and	O
"	O
Advanced	O
"	O
(	O
or	O
"	O
UIS2	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
its	O
name	O
,	O
the	O
"	O
Basic	O
"	O
skin	B-Application
format	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
create	O
fully	O
featured	O
skins	B-Application
,	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
still	O
used	O
today	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
limitation	O
is	O
that	O
skin	B-Application
borders	O
may	O
only	O
be	O
"	O
standard	O
"	O
sizes	O
(	O
four	O
pixels	O
wide	O
for	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
side	O
borders	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
restriction	O
was	O
significantly	O
relaxed	O
when	O
skin	B-Application
metrics	O
—	O
adjustments	O
to	O
using	O
the	O
standard	O
Windows	B-Application
methods	O
—	O
were	O
introduced	O
,	O
allowing	O
changes	O
to	O
(	O
among	O
other	O
things	O
)	O
the	O
standard	O
height	O
of	O
the	O
titlebar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
only	O
possible	O
to	O
put	O
buttons	O
on	O
the	O
titlebar	O
,	O
and	O
scripting	B-Language
and	O
titlebar	O
background	O
animation	O
are	O
not	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
advantages	O
of	O
UIS1+	O
are	O
performance	O
(	O
Stardock	O
has	O
claimed	O
that	O
a	O
UIS1+	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
"	O
Luna	O
"	O
visual	O
style	O
is	O
twice	O
as	O
fast	O
as	O
the	O
original	O
in	O
repaint	O
and	O
resizing	O
)	O
and	O
compatibility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
msstyles	O
can	O
be	O
converted	O
to	O
a	O
UIS1+	O
skin	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Advanced	O
skin	B-Application
format	O
is	O
provided	O
for	O
when	O
a	O
skin	B-Application
design	O
cannot	O
fit	O
into	O
the	O
above	O
restrictions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
these	O
skins	B-Application
may	O
have	O
wider	O
borders	O
in	O
some	O
places	O
,	O
or	O
none	O
at	O
all	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
may	O
also	O
feature	O
titlebar	O
background	O
animation	O
,	O
or	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
scripting	B-Language
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
UIS2	O
skins	B-Application
include	O
a	O
UIS1+	O
subskin	O
;	O
if	O
problems	O
occur	O
,	O
this	O
subskin	O
may	O
be	O
substituted	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
per-app	O
"	O
skin	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
started	O
in	O
1998	O
when	O
lead	O
developer	O
Neil	O
Banfield	O
teamed	O
up	O
with	O
Stardock	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Previous	O
attempts	O
by	O
Stardock	O
had	O
included	O
"	O
Object	O
Look	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
minimal	O
skinning	O
application	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
WindowFX	O
"	O
,	O
an	O
application	O
written	O
in	O
Delphi	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
a	O
short	O
time	O
there	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
scaled-back	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Window	O
Blinds	O
called	O
"	O
WBLiteFX	B-Application
"	O
,	O
a	O
name	O
which	O
was	O
still	O
present	O
in	O
WindowBlinds	B-Application
registry	B-Protocol
settings	I-Protocol
as	O
of	O
May	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
(	O
now	O
re-branded	O
as	O
one	O
word	O
)	O
quickly	O
made	O
its	O
way	O
to	O
a	O
1.0	O
release	O
,	O
driven	O
by	O
the	O
requests	O
of	O
users	O
to	O
add	O
"	O
freeform	O
skinning	O
"	O
(	O
customizable	O
window	O
border	O
shapes	O
)	O
,	O
sounds	O
,	O
and	O
animation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Scrollbars	O
,	O
the	O
task	O
bar	O
,	O
the	O
start	O
button	O
,	O
menu	O
items	O
,	O
the	O
menu	O
itself	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
GUI	B-Application
elements	O
were	O
added	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
2	O
was	O
a	O
major	O
redesign	O
in	O
C++	B-Language
that	O
added	O
the	O
following	O
features	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Compound	O
skins	B-Application
(	O
later	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
subskins	O
"	O
)	O
which	O
made	O
it	O
easier	O
to	O
provide	O
alternative	O
versions	O
of	O
a	O
skin	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
Macintosh	B-Device
skin	B-Application
could	O
now	O
have	O
two	O
subskins	O
to	O
offer	O
control	O
buttons	O
at	O
the	O
left	O
or	O
right	O
of	O
the	O
window	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
User	O
skin	B-Application
recoloring	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Scripting	B-Language
,	O
though	O
this	O
was	O
not	O
widely	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
this	O
time	O
,	O
"	O
BuilderBlinds	B-Application
"	O
—	O
re-branded	O
as	O
SkinStudio	O
in	O
February	O
2001	O
—	O
became	O
a	O
popular	O
tool	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
enabled	O
artists	O
to	O
create	O
skins	B-Application
without	O
spending	O
a	O
deal	O
of	O
time	O
learning	O
the	O
intricacies	O
of	O
the	O
UIS	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
3	O
accompanied	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
,	O
which	O
contained	O
its	O
own	O
skinning	O
system	O
called	O
"	O
visual	O
styles	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
proved	O
not	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
case	O
;	O
in	O
fact	O
,	O
sales	O
of	O
WindowBlinds	B-Application
rose	O
,	O
buoyed	O
by	O
a	O
new	O
set	O
of	O
users	O
who	O
had	O
seen	O
the	O
changes	O
offered	O
by	O
visual	O
styles	O
and	O
wanted	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
after	O
modifications	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
uxtheme	O
hacks	O
"	O
(	O
named	O
after	O
the	O
file	O
they	O
modified	O
,	O
uxtheme.dll	O
)	O
became	O
available	O
,	O
WindowBlinds	B-Application
remained	O
popular	O
,	O
since	O
it	O
had	O
additional	O
features	O
that	O
visual	O
styles	O
did	O
not	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
3	O
had	O
many	O
new	O
features	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
new	O
features	O
came	O
new	O
bugs	O
,	O
including	O
compatibility	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Interim	O
releases	O
addressed	O
these	O
issues	O
and	O
provided	O
for	O
those	O
areas	O
of	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
user	O
interface	O
that	O
could	O
not	O
initially	O
be	O
skinned	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
time	O
WindowBlinds	B-Application
4	O
arrived	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
fewer	O
problems	O
,	O
due	O
in	O
part	O
to	O
an	O
increased	O
focus	O
on	O
stability	O
for	O
DirectSkin	B-Application
clients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
4.6	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
August	O
2005	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
mouseover	O
"	O
translucent	O
glow	O
"	O
effects	O
for	O
the	O
titlebar	O
buttons	O
,	O
push	O
buttons	O
and	O
other	O
controls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windowblinds	B-Application
4.6	O
has	O
now	O
been	O
renamed	O
"	O
WindowBlinds	B-Application
Classic	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
meant	O
for	O
non-XP	O
Windows	B-Application
versions	O
,	O
which	O
cannot	O
run	O
the	O
new	O
Windowblinds	B-Application
5	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
5	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
November	O
2005	O
,	O
extends	O
translucency	O
through	O
per	O
pixel	O
alpha	B-Algorithm
blending	I-Algorithm
to	O
the	O
entire	O
window	O
frame	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
borders	O
and	O
taskbar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
6	O
,	O
released	O
end	O
2007	O
,	O
adds	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista-like	O
blur	O
effects	O
on	O
XP	B-Application
(	O
although	O
Microsoft	O
said	O
that	O
such	O
per-pixel	O
alpha	B-Algorithm
blending	I-Algorithm
with	O
blur	O
is	O
impossible	O
to	O
work	O
on	O
XP	B-Application
)	O
,	O
later	O
also	O
Windows	B-Application
Sidebar	O
skinning	O
and	O
more	O
additional	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
configuration	O
GUI	B-Application
was	O
redesigned	O
to	O
a	O
completely	O
horizontal	O
look	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
7	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
late	O
2009	O
,	O
added	O
native	O
support	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
7	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amongst	O
its	O
new	O
features	O
is	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
"	O
skin	B-Application
Aero	O
"	O
by	O
using	O
colors	O
and	O
textures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
8	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
June	O
2013	O
,	O
added	O
native	O
support	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
8	O
while	O
officially	O
dropping	O
support	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
and	O
Vista	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
10	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
March	O
2016	O
,	O
added	O
native	O
support	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
10	O
and	O
some	O
minor	O
new	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windowblinds	B-Application
11	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
November	O
2022	O
,	O
updated	O
the	O
UI	O
to	O
fit	O
the	O
design	O
language	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
11	O
,	O
added	O
a	O
Windows	B-Application
9x	O
styled	O
theme	O
to	O
the	O
collection	O
of	O
default	O
themes	O
and	O
improved	O
support	O
for	O
dark	O
mode	O
and	O
HDR	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WindowBlinds	B-Application
has	O
had	O
many	O
competitors	O
over	O
the	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
are	O
still	O
around	O
,	O
but	O
they	O
have	O
generally	O
faded	O
in	O
popularity	O
,	O
since	O
WindowBlinds	B-Application
can	O
alter	O
more	O
GUI	B-Application
elements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
remakes	O
(	O
or	O
"	O
ports	O
"	O
)	O
of	O
older	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
like	O
BeOS	B-Application
and	O
AmigaOS	B-Application
were	O
very	O
popular	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
then	O
began	O
to	O
explore	O
the	O
potential	O
of	O
such	O
features	O
as	O
freeform	O
skinning	O
,	O
titlebar	O
animation	O
,	O
and	O
scripting	B-Language
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
unique	O
skins	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
SkinStudio	O
is	O
a	O
popular	O
software	O
tool	O
by	O
Stardock	O
used	O
to	O
create	O
skins	B-Application
for	O
WindowBlinds	B-Application
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
programs	O
such	O
as	O
ObjectBar	O
,	O
WebBlinds	O
,	O
PocketBlinds	O
,	O
Koala	O
Player	O
and	O
Windows	B-Device
Media	I-Device
Player	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
a	O
component	O
of	O
Object	B-Application
Desktop	I-Application
,	O
but	O
is	O
also	O
sold	O
separately	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
version	O
is	O
available	O
as	O
a	O
free	O
download	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SkinStudio	O
uses	O
a	O
Universal	O
Skin	B-Application
Format	O
(	O
USF	O
)	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
create	O
one	O
skin	B-Application
and	O
export	O
it	O
to	O
multiple	O
skin	B-Application
formats	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
practice	O
,	O
skins	B-Application
often	O
need	O
further	O
editing	O
after	O
being	O
created	O
from	O
this	O
template	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
of	O
use	O
when	O
developing	O
a	O
suite	O
of	O
skins	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
msstyle	O
files	O
are	O
imported	O
into	O
USF	O
before	O
being	O
converted	O
to	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
WindowBlinds	B-Application
skin	B-Application
formats	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stardock	O
WindowBlinds	B-Application
generally	O
has	O
had	O
a	O
bad	O
reputation	O
within	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
modification	O
community	O
due	O
to	O
various	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
being	O
poorly	O
optimized	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
when	O
titlebar	O
transparency	O
is	O
enabled	O
,	O
window	O
titlebars	O
become	O
very	O
laggy	O
when	O
several	O
windows	B-Application
are	O
opened	O
,	O
regardless	O
of	O
whether	O
they	O
're	O
shown	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
or	O
not	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
software	O
constantly	O
refreshing	O
the	O
blurred	O
areas	O
,	O
creating	O
a	O
needlessly	O
heavy	O
load	O
on	O
both	O
the	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
and	O
the	O
GPU	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
have	O
also	O
reported	O
font	O
preferences	O
being	O
ignored	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
small	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Segoe	O
UI	O
font	O
being	O
forcibly	O
used	O
in	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Explorer	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
was	O
announced	O
,	O
its	O
Aqua	B-Application
visual	O
style	O
was	O
the	O
subject	O
of	O
numerous	O
ports	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
a	O
high	O
quality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
undermined	O
Apple	O
's	O
marketing	O
and	O
they	O
felt	O
it	O
infringed	O
on	O
their	O
look	B-Application
and	I-Application
feel	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
skins	B-Application
were	O
taken	O
down	O
at	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
request	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Notably	O
the	O
skin	B-Application
"	O
WinAqua	O
"	O
by	O
Dangeruss	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similarly	O
,	O
the	O
run-up	O
to	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
resulted	O
in	O
many	O
Luna	O
skins	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skins	B-Application
with	O
"	O
XP	B-Application
"	O
in	O
the	O
title	O
were	O
very	O
popular	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
numerous	O
skins	B-Application
were	O
created	O
that	O
replicated	O
Vista	B-Application
's	O
GUI	B-Application
.	O
</s>
