Ok so,

I currently use AveDesk, mostly because it's low resources, easy to use and just plain works well for what I want. But... it's not being developped anymore, and I'm slowly beginning to bump into things that don't work quite well because of this.

I don'T want anything ultra fancy. I already use XWindowsDock so I don't need a dock emulation, but right now with Ave and Sysstats I get some launchers on the desktop, automounting portable drives and some eyecandy like clocks.

So I'm "shopping" around for a replacement and I found the obvious shell replacement/modifying tools: DesktopX, Litestep and Samurize. Now I don't want DesktopX as it's just too bloated and not free. But I tried Samurize and I have a hard time getting my head around it. Really, I couldn't anything with it. And Litestep, well I didn't try.

So my question, which one should I chose? Should I stay with Ave, or should I switch? And if I do - and since I'll have to learn how to work with the new app - which one is the best: Sam or LS?

Any input's appreciated

Hi!

Avedesk is enough for almost people... it also easy to use.

Samurize is perfect and powerful, once you used to it, you won't need any other...Obviously it is not designed only for Mac-emulating purpose.

I haven't tried LiteStep yet so I have no idea for it.

If you want create amazing and out standing (may be also useful) desktop, I would recommend you Samurize.

I've been there.

Samurize is definetly the way to go. Download the plugin pack as well and learn to use pagescraper. Believe me, you'll be amazed by how incredible it is. It still amazes me.

I use the following plugins:

Time

Media Player info

Email Checker (only on my parents as on mine i use digsby)

RSS Feed Plugin

Pagescraper - to show daily forecast

- Updated quotes every ten minutes of Dow Jones, Crude Oil, and my Vanguard Roth IRA balance

- To show if any of my classes have been cancelled

Eventually you'll come to understand all aspects of Samurize by tinkering with it. At first I thought it was a heavy load on CPU until I discovered the refresh options in project options and changed it accordingly so that it has little to no imprint on my CPU and Ram usage. Seriously it's an incredible tool that you'll thank yourself for mastering.

I would say skip Litestep, as it is light and crude in comparison to Avedesk.

Samurize is the way to go.

I will admit that I am using Rainmeter, in the interim, as I learn Samusize.

Rainmeter is very intuitive and there are a number of "configs available, but has issues with Vista

Samusize is on a constant move, constant update, and a community that is ready to asist with issues.

Finding solutions for custom desktops is easy.

Once you get a grip on what you are doing.

My suggestion: Samurize

What do you need to mount drives, folders and etc... with samurize?

What do you need to mount drives, folders and etc... with samurize?

I'm wondering the same thing... But from the looks of it, I'm going to be learning Samurize!

Thanks for the input guys.

ts

Well I tried samurize a while ago, but after I reformatted by PC I never installed it back.

If someone knows how to mount folders and drives with Samurize then I will give it a try again, I only use avedesk for this reason.