Tired of the same old Windows desktop? Then Winstep Xtreme may be able to help. It's a suite of desktop and user interface replacement applications that give you system a fresh new look and feel.

A couple of docks, for instance, deliver speedy access to your favourite applications. And you don't have to spend ages setting them up: just install the program and it will immediately create shortcuts for your desktop, recent documents, Control Panel, Quick Launch, and more.

Your Start menu will be replaced by NextSTART, a more compact, faster menu system than Windows own. By default this provides more options, too, so for example it's easy to access your desktop, Internet favourites, and documents folder in a couple of clicks. And you're able to quickly create as many menus as you like, to launch applications, system commands, scripts, whatever you like.

A new taskbar is highly customisable, so for instance can give you the Windows 7 look (including preview windows showing you the contents of running copies of an application) on Windows 2000, XP or Vista. You can change the icons for a taskbar button, change its opacity, even rearrange buttons just by dragging and dropping.

You also get Desktop Modules, essentially Winstep's take on gadgets: there's a speaking clock, a weather monitor, cpu and network meters, even a fish called Wanda that dispenses wisdom at a double-click. A configurable Font Browser lets you set your own preview text and font sizes. And a Start Menu Organizer helps organise your programs into categories for easier navigation.

Winstep Xtreme 19.2 is a major update. See the changelog for more info.