A couple of weeks ago, I used an internet archive tool and took a look at some of the history behind a few of our now discounted software products. This time, I’m going to look at 3 more classic products that we still have up on our website for posterity, even though they are no longer supported or available. The first one we’re discussing, according to Wayback Machine, first appeared online over 20 years ago.

DesktopX

DesktopX was a desktop utility program designed to let users build their own desktops, widgets, and gadgets. This tool was part of Object Desktop way back in the day and was built with a framework that was meant to give Windows users the ability to have “living” objects on their desktop. 

When I looked back at the old white paper for the product, it described a living object as “an element on the desktop that can receive as well as send messages to other objects, other programs, and other components of the operating system.” 

There’s quite a lot of detail contained in the original white paper for the product, as well as a fairly thorough breakdown of how it used to work and what you needed to do to create your ultimate desktop. You can read it here if you’re curious.

Logon Studio

Was there ever a time when you couldn’t customize your own logon screen for your PC? Apparently, the answer to this question is yes - I’ll confess that I only vaguely remember such a time, though. Initially for Windows XP, Logon Studio was released back in 2002 to fix that.

Anyone who used Windows 7, Vista, or XP could apply and package new logon screens using this program. It comes already loaded with several logon screens to choose from, plus back in the day you could download tons of them from WinCustomize.com - and apparently still can!

Logon Studio is still available as a free download if you happen to still have a device laying around that could make use of it. It's easy to take certain things for granted these days - like the ability to customize our logon screens on not just our PC, but also our phones and other devices - and it's a little fun to remember that, at one point, it wasn't always the default. 

RightClick

RightClick released in February of 2005 and is a program designed to extend your Windows desktop menu by letting you add more options to it. Using RightClick, you could add running tasks, short-cuts, system commands, internet links and more to your menu. RightClick is also fully skinnable and will automatically inherit WindowBlinds visual styles. 

Of the older software products I’ve looked at, this one is probably the one I like the idea of the most. I love the idea of being able to customize the menu that appears on my desktop when I right click. 

I use a few other programs to help with my organization and make things easier to find (I live and die by Fences these days), but there are just a few things - like opening up a Word or Photoshop document, for instance - that I’d love to do with just a right-click and select. 

We no longer support or update RightClick, but it is still available as a free download. I downloaded it myself and intend to explore it later - but if you’re curious, you can get it for yourself or read my buddy Spencer’s blog on it.

Have you used RightClick, LogonStudio, or DesktopX? Share your experiences with me!