An operating system has two main components, the kernel, which contains all the basic mechanisms of the operating system, such as the input-output routines, disk access, ete., and the shell, which is the interface between the user and the kernel. In Windows, the default shell is explorer.exe, which is located in the Windows system folder. Explorer.exe starts automatically every time Windows starts, and other applications arc launched through explorer.exe. Over prolonged use, a change in the shell is a refreshing option, but most users are not aware that this is possible. There are many commercial shell replacements available, which may be more secure or offer more eye candy. However, most of these are heavy on system resources, and not everyone would be willing to invest their system resources in just looks, especially if the machines struggle under Aero functionality.

For some time now, Linux users have had much more freedom to tweak around with the look and feel of their desktops, with many desktop environments and window managers available, along with an active skinning community. Some of these desktop environments have been designed keeping in mind the need for individuals to modify the shell they use. Blackbox was one such desktop environment for Linux, which was forked to Windows as BB4Win.

BBLean is a modification of BB4Win, that stripped BB4Win to its essentials, reduced the system signature, and added functionality for easy modification. BBLean is a simple, lightweight shell replacement, with a minimalist approach to design. BBLean works well on older machines with Windows XP. There are a few bugs when it comes to using plugins on Windows 7 and Vista.

Installing BBLean.

Setting BBLean as default shell.

using plugins.

Editing skins.


Name: bblean.jpg Views: 1388 Size: 46.2 KB