For those of you who are using bblean as an alternative shell for Microsoft Windows might complain that the menu is a bit hard to use. That is what the guy which I recommend using bblean as an alternative shell instead of explorer for Microsoft Windows complained to me.

Well, there is a mod for bblean that use icons in bblean menu by Zeytok from lost in the box forum.

For the unattended, bblean is an alternative shell for Microsoft Windows. You can get bblean here. BBlean use less resource than Microsoft Windows default shell, which is explorer.

Back to the bblean mod, you can download and try the bblean mod menu with icons here

The bblean with menu icons size, hue and saturation, and alpha value can be tweaked from the bblean configuration menu. I find this mod, bblean with menu icons is easier to use and give some enhancement to my dull desktop.

See also:

• Using BBlean as an alternative shell for Microsoft Windows XP (2)
• No filename in Thumbnail View (5)
• Windows XP got extended again (1)
• Windows XP blackout screen with no icons (3)
• Windows XP blackout screen face heavy criticism in China (1)

Today a guy visit my little shop and ask me if he could use other shell instead of using explorer.exe as his Microsoft Windows XP default shell. Clearly this guy hasn’t been doing any research on his own on the net.

I told him there are a lot of alternative shell for Microsoft Windows XP and these shells are made to suite those who are sick and tired of using explorer.exe as the default Microsoft Windows XP shell.

Then I ask him his requirement for the shell, whether he would like performance or prefer aesthetic value which pleases the eye. He chooses performance. I recommend him the shell which I’ve been using to replace explorer.exe as the default Microsoft Windows XP shell, which is bblean.

BBlean is a ported version to Win32 from blackbox which are use in Unix/Linux desktop.

To use BBlean as the default shell instead of explorer.exe as a shell is a simple 3 steps application.

1. Download BBlean from their website here .
2. Extract the compress files into a folder.
3. Copy the folder to C:\ , or the drive which you install your Microsoft Windows XP. (this is recommended, but not compulsary).
4. Enter the folder, double click ‘blackbox.exe’.
5. Right click on an empty space on the desktop, the BBlean menu will appear.
6. Choose Blackbox
7. Choose Install > Install
8. Click ‘Yes’ when prompted to Install BBlean as the default shell.
9. Restart.

Alternatively, you can choose to run BBlean as an application instead of replacing explorer.exe as the default shell.

For those of you who haven’t have any experience on using blackbox before, you will have to spend some time to get use on using BBlean in everyday application. But once you are comfortable with it, you will find that using BBlean is more practical and easy than using the default explorer.exe layout and menu.

See also:

• bblean with menu icons (0)
• Windows XP got extended again (1)
• Windows XP blackout screen with no icons (3)
• Windows XP blackout screen face heavy criticism in China (1)
• Remove username from Windows XP start menu (0)