List of alternative shells for Windows
This is a list of software that provides an alternative graphical user interface for Microsoft Windows operating systems. The technical term for this interface is a shell. Windows' standard user interface is called Windows shell; Windows 3.0 and Windows 3.1x have a different shell, called Program Manager. The programs in this list do not restyle the Windows shell, but replace it; therefore, they look and function differently, and have different configuration options.
| Shell | Software license | Windows versions | Development status | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1x | 9x | 2000 | XP | Vista | 7 | 8 | 10 | |||
| bbZero | GPL | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Discontinued |
| AltShell | Freeware | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Evaluation beta[1] |
| BumpTop | Apache License | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Discontinued |
| Calmira | GPL | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Discontinued |
| Emerge Desktop | GPL | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Discontinued |
| KDE Plasma Workspaces | GPL | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Stalled |
| LDE(X) | GPL | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Discontinued |
| LiteStep | GPL | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Stalled |
| Packard Bell Navigator | Proprietary | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | Discontinued |
| Pokki | Freeware | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Active |
| ReactOS Explorer | GPL | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Active[2][3][4] |
| SharpEnviro | GPL | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Discontinued |
| TabWorks | Proprietary | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Discontinued |
| Talisman Desktop | Trialware | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Stalled[5][6] |
| Winstep Extreme | Trialware | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Active[7] |
| Aston Shell 2 | Trialware | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Stalled[8] |
See also
- Comparison of Start menu replacements for Windows 8
- Comparison of X Window System desktop environments
- Desktop environment
- History of the graphical user interface
- Microsoft Bob
- Removal of Internet Explorer
References
- ↑ "AltShell". Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- ↑ "ReactOS Explorer". ReactOS Project. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ↑ "ReactOS Explorer source code". ReactOS Project. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ↑ Fuchs, Martin. "ReactOS Explorer (original author, details)". Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ↑ "Talisman Desktop". LightTek Software. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- ↑ "Talisman Desktop News, no updates since Aug 15, 2011". LightTek Software. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- ↑ "WinStep". Winstep. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- ↑ "Aston 2, No updates since 12 Aug. 2010". Gladiators Software. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
External links
- Liming, Sean (August 2003). "Windows XP Embedded – Different Shells for Different Users". Microsoft Developer Network. Microsoft. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
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