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lesman · Mar 1, 2006, 11:01 PM

Hey, does anyone know of a mirror that has Gerrit's Plaster mod for download? Or rather, do you know why, on his homepage, his theme's section says "locked"? I had the theme on my old Mac, and now I can't get it....thanks in advance.

lesman · Mar 2, 2006, 02:45 PM

Anyone?

siMac · Mar 2, 2006, 03:49 PM

Because people can be jerks and gerrit doesn't have to take that kinda crap.

My 2¢.

Syzygy · Mar 2, 2006, 09:49 PM

Originally Posted by siMac

Because people can be jerks and gerrit doesn't have to take that kinda crap.

My 2¢.

What happened?

Kevin · Mar 2, 2006, 10:27 PM

Originally Posted by siMac

Because people can be jerks and gerrit doesn't have to take that kinda crap.

My 2¢.

#1 reason I quit public theming

No money in it, and people rip you off, no appreciation etc.

siMac · Mar 3, 2006, 08:33 AM

Originally Posted by Kevin

No money in it

That doesn't bother me so much as the fact that themers have to pay for the privilege of making themes that they then give away for free - ThemePark costs $20! It could at least be given away for free since it is no use whatsoever unless you have bought ShapeShifter.

lesman · Mar 3, 2006, 05:44 PM

Originally Posted by siMac

That doesn't bother me so much as the fact that themers have to pay for the privilege of making themes that they then give away for free - ThemePark costs $20! It could at least be given away for free since it is no use whatsoever unless you have bought ShapeShifter.

It's totally understandable. I guess I should learn themepark and make my own themes, eh? Man, I REALLY liked Gerrit's themes. I would've paid for some, had he charged.

Syzygy · Mar 3, 2006, 07:16 PM

Originally Posted by lesman

I would've paid for some, had he charged.

Yeah, really.

Is Gerrit just gone completely? I would feel more satisfied if I heard him say what he actually thought. Anyone know if he posted that somewhere?

brazil · Mar 3, 2006, 10:57 PM

I have always thought it wise to encorage themers to create ,,Donations thru Pay Pal are easy and needed to keep the balance.We have lost so many great artists because of this,Please if you can afford it and like what the artist has done,give back to keep the machine going,,where is GV and his themes?

Kevin · Mar 4, 2006, 01:19 AM

Originally Posted by siMac

That doesn't bother me so much as the fact that themers have to pay for the privilege of making themes that they then give away for free - ThemePark costs $20! It could at least be given away for free since it is no use whatsoever unless you have bought ShapeShifter.

Agreed 100%

And if it wasn't for themers, no one would buy ShapShifter. Funny how that works.

SS is actually making money off of themes that they didn't design. But I wont go into that.

siMac · Mar 6, 2006, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by brazil

Donations thru Pay Pal are easy and needed to keep the balance.

Donations, while a nice idea in principle, are rarely an effective means of generating revenue. For instance UnityGK has been downloaded over 14,000 times and yielded a total of two $5 donations. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't in it for the money, this is just a statistic to help illustrate the point.

I'm not giving up my day job just yet!

brazil · Mar 6, 2006, 05:56 PM

Sorry to hear that siMac,,wth that many downloads it would seem you would have had some more.That theme is not one I have used or you would have gotten the standard 20$ donation from me.I have given often and will give some more to support the possibility we will get some new themes to choose from.There are many with no means but there are many more that do but just don't contribute.I carry mp3s on my site and even though they are downloaded hundreds of times I have never gotten anything for it,,not even feedback-the web is cruel to no end

Ren Qian · Mar 6, 2006, 10:59 PM

Seriously, what happened? I thought he locked his site because he was updating his themes... He is one of my favorite themers. Could someone provide answers? Not for the sake of gossip, but because I really would like to know.

brazil · Mar 7, 2006, 10:17 AM

I found some of gv http://www.resexcellence.com/themes/ , scroll down a bit

Lee33 · Mar 7, 2006, 03:55 PM

I really hate to see that SS does not seem to support the very people who make their product salable. I am not a Windows fan but the company that makes WindowBlinds does seem to have the right idea. They set up a website a LONG time ago and encouraged themers to post their work there. That site now has hundreds of free themes for WindowBlinds....which obviously helps sell the WindowBlinds software. There are contests and everything. It's very well run and it really shows how someone with good marketing sense can make a huge difference in a companies bottom line.

MacDog · Mar 7, 2006, 05:21 PM

Nobody is stopping themers from charging for their themes. To complain that TP and SS creators are making money and not the themers is the fault of nobody but the themers.

I understand that many themers do it because they enjoy the process and satisfaction of completion. But even $1-$2 to download a GOOD theme could net a nice little profit, if not at least cover their cost in time. And I suspect that as long as good preview images are made available so one knows what one is buying, many folks would be more than willing to purchase themes for such a small price.

Just my 2¢

siMac · Mar 8, 2006, 07:48 AM

Originally Posted by MacDog

Nobody is stopping themers from charging for their themes. To complain that TP and SS creators are making money and not the themers is the fault of nobody but the themers.

And how's that gonna work? We all set up our own web stores to distribute these pay-for themes? And what's to stop people from distributing the theme freely after purchase?

I don't want to get into the old 'should themes cost money' argument, but it is not the themers fault that selling themes won't work. The ability for Unsanity to make money from SS is coded into the app, there is no such functionality for the themers.

[/WAYOFFTOPIC]

ism · Mar 8, 2006, 08:38 AM

Perhaps Unsanity/Geekspiff could have hosted the themes and incorporated the ability to pay for the themes within Shapeshifter, i.e like a theme store.

As with all software if someone really doesn't want to pay for it then they won't. But this might have encouraged a bit more money to head towards the themers.

G0Ducks · Mar 8, 2006, 02:34 PM

<off topic> So, why can't SS function more like WB? I mean... It would be a LOT easier to make themes that way...</off topic>

And please... memory/RAM issues really shouldn't be too big of a deal now'day...

R

surfwax95 · Mar 9, 2006, 10:25 PM

I don't believe themes should cost money. There should be a way to donate, however. I think that would provide (maybe) a little more incentive to keep themeing.

And, no, RAM really isn't that big of a problem now, 512 is stock on all Apple products now, that should be plenty to run a theme easily. I just upgraded my PB to 2GB for less than $200!

G0Ducks · Mar 10, 2006, 12:47 AM

Yeah... I don't either. However, I do think they should be easier to make. Therefore, why not take advantage of our powerful machines and do something like WB or Kaleidoscope and overlay graphics? Currently, the system hit is barely enough to even call it minimal... If someone to create a theme with economy of file size in mind, overlaying the graphics would make it a lot easier to make themes, AND we could get around this re-colored aqua trend...

If there were ever to be an SS 3.0 that we are going to have to (re) pay for, I would hope that it would be a complete rewrite, allowing for the above functionality...

Honestly, I'm not sure that Unsanity has much control over SS anyway, right Smeger? Heck, I don't think they have much control over ANY of "their" apps. After all, it isn't like they are writing them in the first place. Well, maybe a few. But not their big sellers.
My point is, even if every paying customer of SS or Windowshade were to talk blue in the face, not much is going to be done about it. Dunno, maybe it is because they want to be like apple?

R

MacDog · Mar 10, 2006, 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by siMac

And how's that gonna work? We all set up our own web stores to distribute these pay-for themes? And what's to stop people from distributing the theme freely after purchase?

I don't want to get into the old 'should themes cost money' argument, but it is not the themers fault that selling themes won't work. The ability for Unsanity to make money from SS is coded into the app, there is no such functionality for the themers.

[/WAYOFFTOPIC]

Selling stuff online couldn't be easier. There are MANY options available and many of them are free to use. If nothing else, you can use PayPal. It's not like we're talking about millions of users world-wide. The point being, if themers really wanted to, they could/would find a way.

Is there a market for it? Who knows. But if one is not willing to try, then one gives up the right to complain about it.

Unfortunately, nothing will stop people from re-distributing the themes, but nothing stops them from re-distributing Shapeshifter or any other app either. Heck, even the copy-protected ones like Quark and Adobe CS with their activation schemes have been hacked and worked around.

Gerrit Vanoppen · Mar 13, 2006, 02:00 PM

Funny where this thread has gone to, but given the concern of some posters, let me just tell you all that Real Life ® got in the way - oh, and a bad health.
Thank you kindly for showing your appreciation of my GUI work, I'll do my best to keep it up.

lesman · Mar 13, 2006, 11:23 PM

^^^ Yay!!!!