AstonShell 1.92 Post-Beta 1 was seeded to beta testers yesterday.? I haven't fired it up yet, but here's some of the features as given by the AstonShell team:

• multimonitor support!
• desktop icons can be placed on all monitors
• new plug-in configuration system, rewritten anew
• new help file (made from the scratch)
• new Theming tutorial
• vastly updated A-Master and overall GUI
• New Theme Wizard
• New 3PIC file format for beveled buttons
• compiled ANK format: ANKz
• support for compiled Themes with previews
• global transparency disabling options
• Aston Tray clock now supports calendar
• Analog clock plug-in is rewritten anew
• Main menu now supports 3PICs, glass and footers
• more logical Tray behavior, including XP-like closing, autoemerge, etc...
• fixed Taskbar and Tray refresh bugs
• added Taskbar icon offset, support for 3PICs on it
• new icon drag and drop mechanism
• holding SHIFT while dragging displays coordinates
• fixed some protection system bugs, added nag screen
• a whole darned lot of fixes

Looks promising guys!

Sweet! How are they picking beta testers Rich? I would love to check it out.

They posted the link to the Admins forum on the astonshell forums, but you aren't part of it =)
Try emailing them; I'm sure they wouldn't mind giving you the beta (or at least they aren't going to be rude )

I bet they'd be generous - you've put together a bunch of AstonShell themes. 

Thanks I'll send them an email and see what happens. Good tp see ya littleweseth. 

And after that i wonder when Nick asks "who's Axeman and how did he know about the test version"
Lucky you, buddy, you'll get the link pretty soon.

Still, it's not for sharing i.e. scaring others
As soon as we fix some GUI-related problems and update the Themes, it might be shown to more people. But at present time it's not "consumer ready".

I've also rewritten about 90% of the skinning tutorial. Its previous version is already included into the package.

Dude!  I just installed it on my Mac (via VirtualPC)... still runs!

Sent the email yesterday. Can't wait to see it. 

Edit: Nick just sent me the addy to download it  , I'm gonna check it out and start working on a theme.

Dang...  my install under VirtualPC on the Mac ain't working now... I'm Aston-less!

Well, there's always Qemu, I s'pose.  Was going to try and get a screenpic up... 

Emulators suck.

btw, Rich, which Mac have you bought?

True.  I still think Microsoft cripples their software on Macs to try and short Apple.  I suspect if I were actually running an NTFS partition on an intel-based mac it would be fine.

This is actually my lab's 15" PowerBook, purchased about a year ago.  It was the iteration of PowerBooks when Apple first released the gyro to lock the hard-drive on laptop shifting as well as the dual-finger scroll feature for the laptop scroll-pad.  Despite it being a year old, it still ran considerably faster than my 2.8Ghz P4-based Toshiba.

Unfortunately, my wife sold it dirt cheap to some friends who specifically needed a laptop, thinking I had the work computer to use instead.  I don't know if she completely comprehends the PC/Mac differences or not... so for the time being I'm not able to actively develop XP skins.   

I was sure you've bought a Mac mini for yourself
If ever switching to Mac I'll probably do it when Mac minis on Intel processors would become more affordable: I'm too greedy to pay twice

Good reasoning.

There were numerous net-rumors that Apple was releasing Intel Core-powered iBooks on the 19th or April, but that's come and gone.  Apple has promised a complete change-over to the Intel platform before year end, however, so we should still be seeing new products rolling out soon (hopefully sooner than later).

I've always been a greedy jerk

MacTels would inevitably see strong competition from other computer "assemblers". G4, G5 and other "beasties" are unknown for the majority but selling somewhat reminding an overprised computer with low-end GPU (I still wonder when they find these crappy Radeon 9200 with 32 megs for mac minis) in a pretty case with an apple on the side would not be easy

Although I'd really liked to take a look at these fruit mutants... In some reasons all Mac users  known don't return to Windows/Linux...
Linux... brrrrrrr... pooh.

I don't find the Mac Minis very economically advantageous either, although I must say it's very surprising how well they run on what would normally be considered a fairly poor GPU.

I also suspect you'd really enjoy the OS.  I started off the anti-Mac guy and have come to completely embrace OSX welcomely - it does what I need, when I need, how I need.  But then again, I love *Nix, too.