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Giant Speck
October 29th, 2008, 02:53 AM
http://www.cairoshell.com/

Has anyone heard of this new shell alternative for Windows?

It's a closed-source desktop environment currently in development for Windows Vista and XP, and is meant to replace Windows Explorer and offer Windows users a customizable, free alternative to the current Windows look and feel.

They currently do not know when this program will be fully completed, but they hope to be at Milestone 1 by December.

I personally cannot wait to actually try this! It looks beautiful!

Here is a screenshot I found on the web:
Grant A.
October 29th, 2008, 02:55 AM
That looks quite amazing. Just stick a konsole/terminal with bash in there and I will love to use Windows all the time.

Btw, is this allowed in the Windows EULA? Isn't this modification of system files?
Giant Speck
October 29th, 2008, 03:03 AM
That looks quite amazing. Just stick a konsole/terminal with bash in there and I will love to use Windows all the time.

Btw, is this allowed in the Windows EULA? Isn't this modification of system files?

I don't know if it is allowed in the Windows EULA, but I do know that it does not modify system files. It is a standalone program that when run, turns off explorer.exe and replaces that shell with its own. It can be removed in the Add/Remove Programs dialog.
Grant A.
October 29th, 2008, 03:48 AM
I don't know if it is allowed in the Windows EULA, but I do know that it does not modify system files. It is a standalone program that when run, turns off explorer.exe and replaces that shell with its own. It can be removed in the Add/Remove Programs dialog.

Ah, then I can't personally wait :)

I hope someone figures out how to use this same technology for GNOME or KDE on Windows. I would love KDE on Windows. :KS
Battie
October 29th, 2008, 02:04 PM
Oh, that looks lovely. I'll be watching this develop with interest.

I hope this doesn't violate the EULA. I don't mind running Vista and may be stuck with it, but I'm unhappy with the unrefined look and feel of the shell. It would be nice if it were changeable.
Izek
October 29th, 2008, 11:29 PM
I hope it'll run on Vista, and will be totally free. It looks slammin'
Giant Speck
October 30th, 2008, 12:36 AM
I hope it'll run on Vista, and will be totally free. It looks slammin'

It will be free to use and will be available to Vista users first. Once they release the final version for Vista, they will begin development on an XP version.
Izek
October 30th, 2008, 12:39 AM
I also hope it'll consume less (than 25 MB) of resources.
smartboyathome
January 3rd, 2009, 05:34 AM
I went to the Cairo site, and apparently they are releasing an (alpha?) of Cairo in 12 days.
NoSmokingBandit
January 3rd, 2009, 05:13 PM
Its looks a bit mac-like in that picture, which isnt necessarily a bad thing as long as they focus on functionality instead of form.
kamitsukai
January 3rd, 2009, 09:22 PM
I'm a member of the site and as I donated (more than $5.00 dollars before the 5th and you could be a tester too!:KS)I'm hopefully going to be a tester for the alpha release It looks totally amazing! although my perfect setup would be KDE4 running on windows
walkerk
January 3rd, 2009, 09:28 PM
Looks interesting for my wife's computer...
Giant Speck
January 4th, 2009, 12:20 AM
I went to the Cairo site, and apparently they are releasing an (alpha?) of Cairo in 12 days.

Oh, thanks for reminding me! I almost completely forgot!