Wez's Evil Shell is, as the name suggests, a shell replacement for last generation NT-based Windows OS. But don't fear, it's not evil at all (apart from some mysterious crashes that I'll comment later), quite the contrary, as is barely noticeable on your computer, save for a few interface elements.

The story goes that Wez Furlong (self-titled as Dr. Evil), his sole author, and one of the developers of PHP, is a supporter of the idea of virtual desktops, but less-than-good experiences with 3rd party managers, and other shell replacements prompted him to write his own replacement, which gets ideas from various places.

The Evil Shell uses a dock ala OS X pre-Leopard, that does a double task as a launcher and taskbar, apart from having a section to house the system tray and the clock, everything packed in a compact interface. The rest of the shell is accessible via context menus, including the Start Menu, the filesystem and several Windows functions, like the shutdown menu. Plus, it has support for up to 32 workspaces, with various method to switch between apps and workspaces (hotkeys, the dock, a glorified Alt-Tab with thumbnails, and a Expose clone).

Fred has decided to retire. Read his last column here

My final Windows Secrets column prompts some reflection and summation.

Thirty years after getting my first PC, it's time for me to hang up my mouse.

A look back at how it all began

I got my first real, non-kit personal computer almost exactly 30 years ago. I wrote software for that little beast and started a small company with a friend to market the programs we wrote. I also wrote magazine articles about the historic first crop of small PCs, including one of the very first type-and-run programs (in BASIC) to appear in a noncomputing magazine. I've been writing about PCs ever since.

Thirty years is a very long time in the computer industry, or in a human life, and it's time for me to try something else. In short, it's time to say good-bye.

In preparing to wrap up my work for Windows Secrets, I was asked by editorial director Brian Livingston a question that was as profound as it was simple: "What have you learned from the computing industry over the last three decades?"

Welcome to SkyscraperPage.com, the world's finest resource for skyscraper and urbanism enthusiasts.  Featuring unique skyscraper diagram illustrations, a world-wide buildings database, one of the world's busiest skyscraper-themed discussion forums and one-of-a-kind skyscraper posters, SkyscraperPage.com is a one-stop resource for the skyscraper enthusiast in everyone.

There are tons of illustrations in the diagrams section, complete with detailed info on every single building. This site is amazing! They cover the entire globe. Take a look at what they have for your nearest city.

http://skyscraperpage.com

There is a site that lets you build your own city using a bunch of the buildings from the skyscraper site. (unfortunately it doesn't work in my browser): eLouai's City Creator

This is a pretty scary scenerio and one that would be having me thinking about pulling the plug on the internet for all employees, if I owned a business that had any employees.

Just imagine if one day in the near future the FBI comes to your enterprise with warrants that allow them to seize and remove any computer-related equipment, utility bills, telephone bills, any addressed correspondence sent through the U.S. mail, video gear, camera equipment, checkbooks, bank statements and credit card statements. The first question you'd ask is, "Who has done what?"

You're going to be presume your CEO has been involved in some outrageous stock manipulation, or maybe your CFO has been cooking the books. But no, the agent in charge says: "Someone here clicked on a Web link and we're going to find out who did it."

http://www.pcworld.c...ock_its_the_fbi.html

ExtDesk
ExtDesk helps you control the primary desktop from the extended desktop.
ExtDesk has a button for opening the desktop folder and a screen that tracks the mouse for easy navigation on the primary desktop.

more info and download here: http://nod5.dcmembers.com/extdesk.html

This is another small program that I made because I needed it myself (the Use Case is loosely inspired by real events ) This first version has mostly been testdriven on a single system so all feedback on how this works on your systems is very much appreciated. 

Xeno Tactic is an excellent Aliens inspired tower defense game, with different missions and map layouts, and very professional animations and sound.

http://www.onlinegamesquad.com/?1085-1