alphaShellEx

I've used (and I've been involved in) alternative shells for years, from Litestep (indiestep times...) to Emerge Desktop. I think I tried almost every shell for Windows, until I was forced to use explorer and XP for some time on my office computer - and, well, I kinda liked it... It was stabler and faster than 9x and NT/2K, but of course there was much things I missed from alt shells: the right-click menu, the vwm, some more customization ability. So I started working on what now is alphaDB and then I started using some very good free tools, and in the end I've put togheter a mix of custom-made tools and free available tools that I use to build my desktop.

(click to enlarge)

alphaShellEx tools are written in C++/MFC, developed with Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 and are licensed as OpenSource (under the GPL). All the sources are available in SVN at Sourceforge. If you want to partecipate in this project there are forums, and an alphaSoft page. Please feel free to try alphaShellEx tools, and provide feedback!

alphaShellEx tools are developed, tested and should be used with the following environment:

Windows XP

Classic Theme

Classic Start Menu

I don't have any other OS Version to test them (Win 2k, 9x), nor I am interested in doing it, therefore Win 2k and 9x are officially UNSUPPORTED.

I don't have VISTA yet, but I'll probably install it in the near future.
As for now, VISTA is officially UNSUPPORTED.

I like only the "Windows classic" interface, I don't use any skinning engine like Windowblinds or ThemeXP. In fact, I've removed themes support from my computer with nLite, therefore again: THEMES and SKINNING ENGINES are officially UNSUPPORTED.