Paul, this is the MV Agusta that is running in the Supersport class this season.......... pure sex on wheels!

Hi guys..... A couple of days ago, Windows had a complete mental breakdown. Blue screen of death, wouldn't start etc.......  I managed to rescue it via Windows repair after a LOT of messing around, and although it is up and running and I didn't lose anything, there is just one thing that is really annoying me and I would like to know if it can be remedied. Windows Repair created a new partition on my SSD, I'm assuming it did that to effect the repair. It's just a 100Mb...

I am doing a major upgrade of my PC today, the rest of my upgrades have finally arrived!! I have a new MSI motherboard, new CPU (Core i3), 8Gb of corsair RAM and a new SSD. I hope to get all this up and running today with a fresh install of 7 Ultimate (sod that Windows H8). I also have an iMac now!!!! That should arrive this week. I have never used one, but I thought I might as well give it a go. It's not a brand new one, but it will be ok to see whether I like the "Mac experience".....

Are Stardock in a position to be able to create their own operating system? Is it financially viable? Would they ever consider it? It would be great if someone like Stardock could give the public what they really want, which is an easy to use, attractive OS. I have no idea what it takes to create an OS, or what the pitfalls are regarding patent issues and taking on giants like Apple and Microsoft, but now would be the time to do it if it's possible. I know people will say that there is Li...

A few days ago I installed the Windows 8 Release Preview on a brand new SSD. I'm seriously unimpressed...... I don't use ANYTHING that is on that Metro desktop, except Internet Explorer, so it all just seems a waste of time to me. Everything is difficult to get to, and doesn't make sense. I don't claim to be the most tech savvy person, but i'm not an idiot, even so I had to google how to shut the damn computer down!! So, I can't see me using this at all, and I am serio...

I have taken a screenshot of my gallery page on Wincustomize, and made some changes in Photoshop to show how much better it would look if the skin information was moved down away from the thumbnail. Surely this can't be hard for the web guys at Stardock...... The thumbnail that I changed has the red square around it........

Hey guys.... Whwn I open "my computer", I am seeing 3 disk drives listed, My primary drive (C), my secondary drive (E), and a drive called Q Disk. The thing is, I don't have a third disk!! nothing else is connected to the computer, so why is the sytem telling me I have a "Q Disk"?? Any ideas? It's driving me nuts! P.S. It doesn't ALWAYS show this disk............

I just started using this messenger type program, seems really cool. I have six invites to give away if anyone wants them. Send me your e-mail in a private message, first six will get them. Check it out at the link below. WWW Link

I linked to this site years ago, and I can't believe its still there! There is a new game called feed the head, which is even more challenging than the previous games.  I can't get past the fish, so if YOU manage to, please come back here and tell me how.  Thank you.  This is a great way to waste some time...... Have Fun!! WWW Link

A new skinnable media player arrived on the scene in August, say hello to Xion. This is a very capable little player, but by far the most interesting thing about it is it's skinning format. To skin this player you simply create the interface in Photoshop, making sure all the different elements are on individual layers, (which many of us do anyway) and then you give the layers specific names and just dump the .PSD file in the skins folder of the player...... That's it!!!! The software does the...

What are you waiting for? Get over to "The Institute" and take a look around..........

I was faced with a decision today, and it was a difficult one for someone like me. As I have ranted about in my previous blog, I have never been one to jump on fashionable bandwagons to gain downloads or fame, but as my new website nears completion and I began to look at selling some premium skins, I realised I would have to compete with the trends of the day or remain graphically "off the wall" and retain my artistic integrity. Now, I do know what makes a fashionable skin, and creating the grap...

I have tried many of the color pickers that are available, but I have to say that this tiny program from Nattyware is by far the best one I have come across. It's called "Pixie", it's tiny, and it's free! it weighs in at only 8kb's in use, so I don't mind having it running in my tray the whole time I am working. If you are just starting out in skinning, or even if you are an experienced skinner or designer, this little tool will become indispenable in your skinning armoury. Download it at the li...

I was pleasantly surprised to see today, whilst checking my download stats, that my WindowBlinds skin "Windows 2004" had reached over 10,000 downloads. I wasn't expecting this skin to do very well due to it's all round fat frame, but I have been heartened by the many comments saying that the size of the frame doesn't matter, as long as the skin is attractive and works well. I have never been one to worry about the general size of a frame in WindowBlinds, preferring to get my artistic idea...

Well, this should be fun! This is where I will write down my random thoughts on skinning, graphics, computers and life in general. I also hope to pass on tips to those just starting out in the graphics community, because being technically challenged myself, I know how helpful those little bits of information can be. So, call back again later to read my first article, which I will write when I can gather all the bits of information flying around inside my head, and place them into some sort of r...