Classic Shell no longer in development, and now open source

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  1. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
       #1

    Classic Shell no longer in development, and now open source


    Sad news, everyone.

    After months of deliberation, I have decided to stop the development of Classic Shell.

    It was a great adventure for me that lasted 8 fun and exciting years. It started back in 2009 as a simple weekend project and over time grew to be a hugely popular software brand with many millions of downloads. It was in large part due to all of you, the active Classic Shell community, that reported issues, suggested features, provided translations, developed new skins and participated in forum discussions. My thanks go to you for your continued support and encouragement.

    And of course, special thanks to Gaurav Kale, who stuck with me from the early days to the end. His passion for all things Windows was instrumental to the Classic Shell success.

    There were few factors that led to my decision:
    1) Lack of free time. I have other hobbies that demand my time, some related to software and some not. It requires a lot of effort to add new major features to Classic Shell and keep it relevant. Even keeping it running on newer version of Windows is a lot of work. That leads me to point #2

    2) Windows 10 is being updated way too frequently (twice a year) and each new version changes something that breaks Classic Shell. And

    3) Each new version of Windows moves further away from the classic Win32 programming model, which allowed room for a lot of tinkering. The new ways things are done make it very difficult to achieve the same customizations

    So, moving forward, I am making the latest version of Classic Shell open-source and adding it back to SourceForge (Classic Shell download | SourceForge.net), where it all began. I encourage other people to fork it and go with it.

    I will keep the MediaFire download mirror for another 6 months. The forum on Classic Shell Index page will stay open until the end of 2018, however I will not frequently participate in the discussions.

    Thanks again, everyone
    All the best
    Ivo Beltchev


    Source: Classic Shell View topic - Classic Shell no longer in development. Source code released


    Update: Classic Shell no longer in development, and now open source - Page 27 - Windows 10 Forums

    Latest binaries: Releases · NeoClassic-UI/Menu · GitHub
    Last edited by Brink; 31 Jul 2018 at 09:58.
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  2. Posts : 3,350
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #2

    Sad news indeed! I can't see not using Classic Shell. Hope somebody will grab and run with it.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 31,398
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #3

    @dalchina will be gutted to hear this....
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  4. Posts : 369
    Windows 10 x64 Pro 22H2
       #4

    Expected... it's insane to have 2 feature upgrades per year.

    By the other hand, this gives me fear, because getting away from win32 will eventually break the software we use... somewhere in the future, will they try to force their app ecosystem? I hope they don't, that would be the downfall of Windows, Android did their stuff and works, this is not Android...
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  5. Posts : 26,406
    Windows 11 Pro 22631.3296
       #5

    Without Classic Shell , I would still be on Windows 7.
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  6. Posts : 15,426
    Windows10
       #6

    Well now it is open source, some enterprising developer could add tiles etc to make it more like Windows 10 menu :-D.
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  7. Posts : 26,406
    Windows 11 Pro 22631.3296
       #7

    cereberus said:
    Well now it is open source, some enterprising developer could add tiles etc to make it more like Windows 10 menu :-D.
    That would be an oxymoron
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  8. Posts : 7,724
    3-Win-7Prox64 3-Win10Prox64 3-LinuxMint20.2
       #8

    Hi,
    Yep never really used classic shell but is signs to come
    MS wearing 3rd party developers out
    What's next start10 and then a host of others to where if it's not in the MS store it doesn't exist
    And if it by some miracle does install/ work it will be short lived 10 has always borked classic shell and start10 since the beginning :)

    I've just used 10 as it is and used built in methods to other menus but even those are being fazed out slowly but surely.
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  9. Posts : 1,255
    Windows 10 Pro
       #9

    FerchogtX said:
    Expected... it's insane to have 2 feature upgrades per year.

    By the other hand, this gives me fear, because getting away from win32 will eventually break the software we use... somewhere in the future, will they try to force their app ecosystem? I hope they don't, that would be the downfall of Windows, Android did their stuff and works, this is not Android...
    Win32 isn't going anywhere anytime soon. There are many large corporations that are using old Win32 applications and aren't prepared to update them. They form a huge part of the Windows 10 market and Microsoft is well aware of this. There are no serious issues with well written normal Windows applications. There are many applications dating back to Windows 95 that are still working without issue on Windows 10.

    But Classic Shell is not a normal Windows application. To do what it does it must use undocumented functions and data structures that are designed only for use within Windows and not intended for third party application use. Being undocumented Microsoft can change them whenever they wish without prior notice. And they are doing precisely that. And these changes make it hard to keep Classic Shell working.
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  10. Posts : 26,406
    Windows 11 Pro 22631.3296
       #10

    LMiller7 said:
    Win32 isn't going anywhere anytime soon. There are many large corporations that are using old Win32 applications and aren't prepared to update them. They form a huge part of the Windows 10 market and Microsoft is well aware of this. There are no serious issues with well written normal Windows applications. There are many applications dating back to Windows 95 that are still working without issue on Windows 10.

    But Classic Shell is not a normal Windows application. To do what it does it must use undocumented functions and data structures that are designed only for use within Windows and not intended for third party application use. Being undocumented Microsoft can change them whenever they wish without prior notice. And they are doing precisely that. And these changes make it hard to keep Classic Shell working.
    It works very well, been using it since win 10 came out. There are users that use 3rd party themes are they then also at risk? So then if it is not from The Windows Store one cannot use it? When that day comes I will go back to Linux.
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