You can browse and preview the available skins through WindowBlinds "My Skins" interface. (The skins are also accessible from the standard Appearance tab found in the Windows Display Properties dialog.) You also have the option to organize your skins by category and apply a filter to limit the skins that will be displayed. Users with large numbers of skins will likely still find locating particular ones cumbersome, though, as you can't easily search for skins in a single category (other than to filter out all categories but one) and the list only displays four skins at a time.
Considering that WindowBlinds lets you replace the entirety of the Windows UI, discussing the utility's customization options would seem to be a redundant concept. Nevertheless, your choices don't end once you decide on a skin. For example, if you don't like a certain aspect of a skin you've chosen, you can usually suppress that particular characteristic. WindowBlinds also lets you override the default toolbar icons or animations of the skin you're using and substitute those items from another one. You can even choose to use different skins with different applications.
Speaking of applications, there is occasionally the possibility that certain applications (particularly those that draw the interface in a non-standard manner) may not function correctly when skinned. If and when this happens you have two choices; you can exclude that application (and any others that are causing problems) from being skinned, or you can apply a "basic" skin that should reduce the likelihood of compatibility problems.
A Few Quirks
In our tests with WindowBlinds, we found the utility didn't cause any significant operating system or application issues, but it did sometimes exhibit a few mildly annoying idiosyncrasies. For example, when switching from a skin that featured wallpaper to one that didn't include it, the prior skin's wallpaper would be retained. While this can possibly be considered normal behavior, it often results in an incongruous-looking desktop and can require you to take the extra step of changing the background.
There were also a few instances where attempts to substitute a particular toolbar or animation didn't take effect until the next time the skin was changed, even though they should have done so immediately. Finally, on a couple of occasions certain application windows would appear to freeze and take an inordinately long time (more than 10 seconds) to redraw.
Pricing and Availability
WindowBlinds costs $19.99 and works with Windows 98, Me, 2000, and XP. You can download a free unlimited-use trial of the utility, but the free version only works with 2000/XP and it offers a limited subset of the capabilities of registered version. (For example, it doesn't permit you to tweak the color of skins or modify command prompt dialogs, scrollbars, or progress animations.) WindowBlinds is also included with StarDock's $49.95 ObjectDesktop suite, which includes a host of other utilities that let you modify your Windows operating environment.
If you've grown weary of the look and feel of Windows, WindowBlinds gives you the means to easily and reliably change it, and with so many skins available you can do so as often as you change clothes. It's a good cure for the desktop doldrums.
Pros: Offers thousands of unique skins to personalize your Windows UI, SkinStudio tool for creating your own skins from scratch
Cons: Weak search capabilities makes finding particular skins difficult, especially after you've amassed a large collection
