Stardock's CEO talks to us about ShadowFX, his thoughts on Windows 9 and more

Stardock CEO Brad Wardell gives us his opinion on various Windows subjects

Stardock was already a well known developer of Windows utilities and games before the launch of Start8 in 2022, a desktop Start menu for Windows 8 to accept the identify of the one that Microsoft decided to remove from the OS. While Start8 is not the only Offset menu replacement for Windows eight, it turned out to be a massive success for Stardock. Since then the company has released a number of other utilities for Windows 8, including ModernMix, which allows Modern UI apps to run in windowed form on the desktop. Both the Start bill of fare and the ability to run Modern apps on the desktop are slated to be added to the next official version of Windows by Microsoft, code proper noun Threshold.

Stardock's newest Windows8 plan, ShadowFX, which adds shadows to desktop windows, launched earlier this week. Nosotros got Stardock CEO Brad Wardell to reply a few questions via e-mail most ShadowFX, along with his thoughts on the upcoming Windows 9-Threshold and more.

Outset, in 2022 Stardock launched the Windows 8 desktop start menu program Start8 and in 2022 the company released ModernMix, which lets Modern UI apps run on the desktop in a window.How successful have those programs been for Stardock?

They've been immensely successful. Start8 is the type of program that really merely happens once in a career. We stopped counting downloads at around 30 million earlier this year.

Microsoft has since announced plans to offering a Start carte and a way to run Modern apps on the desktop in the adjacent version of Windows. Practise you and Stardock experience validated about Microsoft adding both of the features that the company offers in its 3rd party programs?

Definitely. It just means Microsoft is listening to its customers.

For those folks who may not have heard of the new programme. can yous give us a full general idea of what ShadowFX is all virtually?

My desktop has iii monitors with lots and lots of windows. On Windows 8, it gets really fatiguing picking out the active window. That's because Windows 8, dissimilar Windows 7, doesn't take shadows. It'south one of my biggest pet peeves with Windows viii visually. This wasn't a problem with Windows 7 because each window had its ain drop shadow which changed based on what was the active window. As a consequence, at a glance, you lot could option out the active window.

Why do yous recollect Windows 8 users volition enjoy downloading and using ShadowFX?

Once you use it, its benefits become really obvious. Even every bit we're communicating correct now, information technology is just so much nicer having my active window "pop" out of the screen a scrap.

Does Stardock have plans to release any Mod UI apps for the Windows Store at some point?

Mayhap. It's not compelling enough still. I want to see what happens with Windows 9.

Microsoft is rumored to launch a public preview of Threshold very shortly. Based on your experience, volition this new version of Windows exist enough of an comeback to help Microsoft end the poor reputation of Windows 8?

I think so. What I'd similar to see in Threshold is something like this:

Gimme the Start carte du jour back
Brand mod apps behave similarly to regular Windows apps
Get rid of the Charms bar
Allow me take something like full screen sessions ala the Mac.
Gimme DirectX 12

Gimme those 4 things and I'm a happy camper.

The PC manufacture is now seen to be in a improve place than it was a couple of years ago, due to the slow down in tablet sales. Practice yous feel the PC industry will start growing dorsum again and where do you meet Windows evolving to go on upward with the current trend?

I don't recollect nosotros'll ever come across the desktop return to the potency it in one case had. We're in a multi-polar world, so to speak, where the desktop is just one of the platforms available to users.

Finally, is at that place anything else Stardock is working on that you would similar to plug?

Heh. We're on the verge of a major switch in how nosotros exercise Object Desktop (our suite of desktop enhancements). We're going to get in available presently equally a subscription model ala Office 365. With Windows 9 on the horizon, we think there will be a terrific opportunity for users who want to always be able to enhance their Windows feel at present that information technology's pretty obvious that Stardock tends to be ahead of the curve on where Windows is going.

Nosotros would similar to thank Brad for answering our questions

Editor's note: The interviewer was previously employed past Neowin, which is 40 percent owned by Stardock.

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