For the past couple of weeks I've been trying out the Object Desktop Network (ODNT) - a suite of utilities offered on a subscription basis from Stardock for customizing virtually every aspect of your Windows desktop experience. The subscription provides one year of access to the frequent updates Stardock provides for each component in the suite and access to a vast library of skins, themes, and widgets on the WinCustomize community site. ODNT works on Windows 98/ME/2k/XP. It may also run on Windows 95 and/or Windows NT, but these operating systems are not officially supported.

ODNT includes the following components as well as the Launcher pictured above:

• Association Wizard - adds custom associations to file types

• ControlCentre (with BandVWM) - virtual desktops, resource monitoring, program launching, and numerous other features

• DesktopX - enhances your desktop with active objects

• DriveScan - graphically maps out your disk space

• IconPackager (with TweakShell) - change Windows icons to a set of your choosing

• Object Edit - high-powered text editor with syntax highlighting

• ObjectBar - the ultimate taskbar and Start menu replacement

• Object Sweeper - gives your disk and Start menu a spring-cleaning

• ObjectZip - fully-featured ZIP utility

• SkinStudio - GUI skin editor

• SpringFolders - opens Explorer folders automatically on drag'n'drop

• Tab LaunchPad - highly customisable tabbed application launcher

• WindowBlinds - changes how your windows look and act

• WindowFX - spices up windows with special effects and transparency

• WinStyles - organizes themes, controls multiple OD applications

WindowBlinds is probably the best-known of these components. This utility “skins” the Windows user interface (UI) to make it look like a number of other operating systems (Longhorn, Mac OS X, BeOS, etc.) or any number of fanciful treatments of the standard UI elements like window widgets, scroll and title bars, etc. Stardock claims that WindowBlinds actually uses fewer resources than Microsoft’s own theme engine in XP and, based on my very unscientific testing, this does appear to be true. Results varied widely based on which skin I used and the gains, which were modest, were quickly consumed by running the other components of the suite, a couple of which are very processor and graphics card intensive.

The most interesting component of ODNT is DesktopX which adds “active objects” to your Windows desktop. Similar to the widgets offered by Konfabulator (Windows and Mac OS X) or the Dashboard introduced in the recent Tiger version of Mac OS X, widgets can provide useful information, diversions, and application controls to your desktop.  A simple weather widget is pictured here. Widgets can bring RSS feeds, webcam info, system monitoring, battery level and WiFi signal strength meters, media player controls and more to your desktop.

A one-year subscription to the Object Desktop Network costs $49.95, with one year renewals costing $34.95. You can also possible to upgrade to an ODNT subscription from one of the standalone components (which range in cost from $14.95 to $19.95) for $34.95. There are freeware versions of some of the components including a lite version of WindowBlinds.

I like the variety of looks ODNT allows me to adopt on my Tablet PC and found a number of the widgets quite helpful. Ultimately, my goal in testing this suite was to see if it would be possible to create a more pen-friendly UI than that provided by the standard Windows XP Tablet PC 2005 Edition. While some of the skins I tried did offer larger controls and the widgets did make the desktop more informative, I don’t use the suite on a daily basis. The overhead all of this adds to the system is not insignificant and while the amusement value is high, the actual productivity benefits I was able to wring out of the suite were less tangible.

Still, if you have a fast system, a decent amount of RAM installed, and are either bored or frustrated by the standard Windows UI, ODNT is well worth a look. The degree to which you can completely transform your PC experience is quite amazing and the suite is a great value.