bigun theme for Aston Shell (http://www.astonshell.com)
2004 by Brad Cannon alias gadnium (gad@gadnium.com) 
Theme version: 1.0
Made for Aston Shell version: 1.9.0
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DESCRIPTION|
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First off I want to thank kmr(Marc ten Bosch) for allowing me to use his eXeIcons with this theme release. To view some other works of kmr point your browser here:

http://www.exegone.com/

and here:

http://kmr.deviantart.com/

For copyright info on these icons read the original readme.txt located here "bigun\Icons".

This is my second theme for Aston. I know it has been a gigantic time period between these two themes but I really hate packaging them. I've slowly toyed with this theme on my desktop for the last 4 or 5 months. This is probably for the best because it went through many revisions. Also I was working on another theme that I gave up on before resurrecting this one. 

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Theme|
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All in all this theme is very minimal. It's is intended for 1024x768 resolution. I've tried it on high res monitors and it works but you have to reposition alot of the desktop items. Every image in this theme was done at the pixel level without using any of the flashy photoshop effects. Which might make the skin a little old school since it has no smooth bevels or antialiasing. I guess you either love it or hate it? First thing you will probably want to ditch is the wallpaper. I myself don't even use it, I just go with no wallpaper. There is already enough things on the desktop to confuse me. I would of liked to use someone else's but since I'm on a 28.8 connection browsing through deviantart seems like a waste of time. The main thing that stopped me from releasing this theme earlier is the cursor set. Anyone who has completed one has to hate how tedious it is. 

*Note*

Drive Bar
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Since I don't really know where to include this in the readme I'll throw it here. The drive bar is a pain in the ass to align properly if you choose to remove extra drives. So if you feel like taking on the task I recommend installing the Aston plugin "Pixelated" by Zealot-6 since the zoom feature makes alignment easier. Make sure you unlock each desktop object(right click->properties) before trying to move it and then lock it when your done. 

*Note*

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Plugins and Skins Included|
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-Aston-

**If any plugin loads different from the preview all setting files for each plugin are saved here "bigun\Plugins" or in their plugin folder loacted in this same folder.**

AstAmp
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There are three different versions of the playlist varying by width. I also included the font it uses, install it if it isn't already installed from a previous skin/theme. All three setting files are located here "bigun\Plugins\AstAmp". The default setting file is medium width.

Aclock
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It originally had two different settings but I removed one because I thought it didn't look to good.

Aston Resource Monitor
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I like this skin since it is so minimal but gets the job done. The skin is locked by default so if you want to move it you have to unlock it in properties.

Top Panel
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One thing to note about the top panel is the buttons on the left and right side have to be moved if you choose to add/remove items. And to do this you have to open the properties(right click->properties) of each button and unlock them. Then you can move them freely. After you make modfications then re-align the buttons to the top panel and lock them. 

Left/Right Panel
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This is my most hated plugin within the Aston Shell. First off, I wouldn't really suggest creating any folders within this plugin. I kind of gave up graphically with the 2nd/3rd level because of the plugin limitations. This plugin utilizes headers/footers similiar to the Top Panel Plugin. Move them in the same fashion and make sure to lock them once they are in place. I figure this plugin will be the most tedious setting up since there is no way to save its settings. If you want to use the icon setup I have they are located here "bigun\Icons\animated" and they are animated. The shutdown icon on the right panel is located here "bigun\Icons\misc".

Main Menu
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My second most hated Aston plugin. I want png support!!! This one is pretty straight forward.

Quick Launch
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Another plugin that is pretty straight forward.

Desktop Plugin
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Same explanation as above :)

Taskbar Clock
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"                           "

-Miscellaneous-

3DCC 
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App: (http://jotenet.idealscience.com/)

I recommend disabling MS visual themes with this Aston theme. Then applying this 3DCC theme "bigun\3DCC\bigun.3dcc". This is purely up to you but from what I have seen MS visual themes seem to make everything look ugly and very un-minimalistic. That's another reason why I have never dove into MS visual theme making, there are too many restrictions with sizing.  
 
Rainlendar
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App: (http://www.iki.fi/rainy)

I think this skin came out very good. The directions on usage and install procedures are in the zip file along with the skin. This can be found here "bigun\Rainlendar\bigun_rainlendar.zip".

Avant Browser
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App: (http://www.avantbrowser.com)

This is what I use for tab browsing, it's more of a Internet Explorer Shell than a browser. It has very limited skinning abilities. But it goes good with the rest of the theme if you disabled MS Visual themes and applied the 3DCC theme. Directions on installation and usage are found here "bigun\Avant\bigun_avant.zip".

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Icons and Cursors|
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A custom cursor set is included which I made. Thanks go out again to kmr for allowing me to use his eXeIcons. The cursors might not animate right if you use a program such as CursorXP, for some reason it seems to speed up/down the animation. 

As for installing the icons I recommend using Iphile. I've included a Iphile scheme which is located here "bigun\Icons\bigun.phl".

You can download Iphile here:

http://www.scrow.cjb.net/

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Future Releases|
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I really don't know what direction to take right now. My website needs updated but I don't feel like messing with HTML right now. I was thinking about porting the AstAmp skin to Winamp which will make it alot more functional. If anyone likes this skin and wants me to extend the theme to other programs send me an email. 

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Tools Used|
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Photoshop 7/CS
ImageReady 7/CS
Microangelo Studio/Animator
3DCC
Notepad

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Author Notes|
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For all requests and complaints you can contact me at gad@gadnium.com. You can visit my website at http://www.gadnium.com. 

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TERMS OF USE AND COPYRIGHTS
-This Aston Shell theme (Gadnium) was created by Brad Cannon aka Gadnium, year 2003.
-This theme is licensed freeware for home use, no commercial use is allowed without author's explained written permission.
-You can share it with your friends, who don't have internet access, but ONLY in original package (meaning that all the files, including this readme remain intact).
-You cannot use this theme or any part of it in your own works, put it on your webpage/site, BBS, Shareware CD-ROM, magazine or any other media.
-This theme cannot be altered without author's written permission.

Gadnium
http://www.gadnium.com
gadnium@skyenet.net
