Most PC users, for one reason or another, give their preference to Windows. Someone simply does not know about the existence of other operating systems, someone can not imagine their life without their favorite STALKER, and someone just can not get along well with something unusual. The payback for such a choice is quite big (even if you don’t take into account the cost of MS Windows). I don’t want to trash Microsoft’s operating system in any way, on the contrary I will try to help the users to embellish it a bit. I just want to say at the beginning that the Unix family of operating systems (for desktop computers look towards Gnu/Linux ;)) gives the user much more freedom to configure the system for his own requirements and hardware. Unfortunately Windows users do not indulge themselves with such concepts as freedom of customization, so I want to help diversify the OS, in particular the desktop. Docking panels, which not only decorate the desktop, but also help to free up space on it, are becoming very popular. Below is an overview of the most popular dock panels for OS Windows.
Winstep Nexus Dock
This panel is available both for free download (with some reduced functionality), and for free download (at the time of writing the license price was 19,95 €). The free version can completely replace the standard Windows panel, immediately after installation the panel contains the start button, the recycle garbage can, several widgets, including a screenshot widget of the desktop. You can easily change the number and order of the items in the panel by invoking the context menu. Nexus Dock has a pretty flexible system of settings + a lot of different icon behavior effects.
XWindows Dock
The second item on our list is the XWindows Dock. In contrast to Nexus, XWindows is completely free. In the settings there are only very basic points. And the panel is designed to keep the desktop clean rather than to decorate it. Nevertheless, the XWindows Dock has the right to life due to its light weight (the installer takes about 3MB).
Rocket Dock
The Rocket Dock is quite similar in functionality to the Nexus dock. While the latter is more suitable for Windows 7 or Windows 8 users, the Rocket Dock is targeted at the older NT systems (2000, XP, Vista). The settings menu is more intuitive than in Nexus, and the speed of animation is faster than in Nexus.
Object Dock
The commercial Object Dock completes our ranking. You can buy a license for $9.99 and a trial version is available at the official website. The panel itself, as well as Nexus Dock is designed for newer versions of Windows, but if Nexus can be easily installed on the same XP, the Object Dock refuses to put on this system, stating that you must put the Seventh.
In general, all the panels are similar in their functionality, so which of them to give preference should be decided by looking at them all. In turn, I hope that this article has helped to steer you in the right direction.