A Brief Explanation
GeoShell
is a replacement shell for the Windows operating system. It works on all the 32-bit versions, including Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Home Edition, and of course, Windows XP Professional.
 | GeoShell Documentation
If you are searching for something in particular, try the Quick Search in the top right, or our Table of Contents. You may also find the alphabetical index to of some help. If you're just getting started you may want to have a look at our FAQ page. |
Geoshell's Origin
Although the exact date is now a mystery, Geoffrey Elliot, the "geo" in Geoshell, started Geoshell around 1997. At the time he was employed at Microsoft, and working on the Explorer shell (he originally created the shell as a private project to keep his system tray alive while debugging Explorer). His development continued in fits for several years until he was requested by Microsoft in 2002 to give up continuing development as it seemed like a conflict of interest.
So, GeoShell is a Replacement Shell?
To be clear, when we talk about a "shell" in Windows we're not talking about a command console. The Windows shell is the program which gives you control over all your other programs. That is, it gives you a way to start programs, exit them, and switch between them. The Explorer shell does this by providing a desktop (where you can have shortcuts to programs, and store files) and a task-bar. The task bar is that bar which is normally at the bottom of your screen. It has the start button on it ... and when you are running programs, it has buttons for each of them. It also has a clock and a system tray, which was designed by Microsoft to allow programs to notify you when something happens (like receiving new email).
Why would you want to replace your shell?
Using a replacement shell usually accomplishes one or more of the following:
- Gives you more control over the look of your computer
- Uses less memory and/or system resources than the explorer shell
- Makes your computer easier to use by providing simpler ways to start and control your programs
- Gives you more powerful options, and enables new ways of receiving and managing information
GeoShell does all the things you expect from a shell! It...
- Replaces your taskbar with smaller floating bars which can be moved anywhere you want.
- Allows you to "skin" (customize the appearance of) these bars so they look the way YOU want, instead of the way a cold corporation thinks they should look.
- Allows you to use only the features YOU want, keeping resource and memory usage to a minimum; or it can provide more features than you can shake a GeoBar at.
- Allows you to launch programs from buttons, from menus, from hotkeys--in any combination! (How about a hotkey that pops-up a menu of your most used applications?)
- Gives you complete control, allowing you to group similar tasks into one button, and minimize or restore (or even exit) them all at once.
- Gives you access to advanced features: you can lock a window so it stays on top of others while you work, and in Windows 2000 and XP you can make any application semi-transparent at the click of a button.
- Lets you keep an eye on things by providing plugins for monitoring system resources, battery life, web-pages, news... even the weather and other GeoUsers!
There are Other Replacement Shells out there ... but of course, we feel that GeoShell is the best replacement shell for windows! And we invite you to try it out for yourself.
What GeoShell is not...
GeoShell does not alter the way your program windows are displayed on your screen. If you want to have fancy borders, buttons, Titlebars (like you may have seen on 99% of the GeoShell screenshots) you need to use an extra program like ShellWM (free) Windowblinds™ or StyleXP™ (not free) or tweak your uxtheme.dll
