Today, The Collective wears a beard as we imagine this scenario: A Star Trek fan has two computers. One is a good computer, yet the other is from an evil mirror universe. Want this scenario to be true? Now it can be with the Star Trek: The Terran Empire desktop interface from The Skins Factory. See below for details, images and a demo video.
Send your computer to the Mirror Universe
The Skins Factory is a world leader in user interface, skin and theme designs, and their Hyperdesk division have been making a number of popular desktop themes, including many licensed themes (for Disney and others). Earlier this year, they released a classic Star Trek interface to their roster, offering fans the ability to customize their entire Windows XP environment with detailed and fun icons and wallpapers (see previous TrekMovie story). Now, a second edition is available based on the "Mirror, Mirror" episode.
Send your desktop to the Mirror Universe
(click to see more details)
For a $14.95 download, fans with Windows XP (and soon with Vista) can transform their personal computer with Terran Empire themed imagery. Hyperdesk imagery is very detailed and carefully designed as is evident with their wallpapers and icons. The Terran Empire download includes 6 Imperial Themed Wallpapers (the ISS Enterprise featured in the wallpaper is a detailed rendering based on models and textures provided by CBS Paramount), an Imperial Logo audio remote (allows you to control your Itunes of Windows Media Player 11 through a Star Trek interface) and Imperial Icons (features seven new icons such as the agonizer and "inverted" icons from the original release for a total of about 30 icons to utilize on your computer), and sound effects. Like its popular predecessor, the Terran Empire interface is a total transformation of your PC or laptop.
With the already available regular TOS interface (also available for $14.95), fans could have the classic designs on one computer and a mirror universe theme on the other if both interfaces are downloaded.
This video demonstrates the features of the new desktop interface set (it is best to view this video full screen).
CLICK LINS FOR ORDERING AND DOWNLOADING INFO
Star Trek: Terran Empire Windows XP Hypersuite
Star Trek: Original Series Windows XP Hypersuite
A TrekMovie community idea!
TrekMovie readers might like to learn that the idea for the Terran Empire interface was based on suggestions made by commenters in a prior Collective article. The Collective readers have power! We just have to be certain not to let it corrupt us. And that is unfortunately very easy in the Mirror Universe!
Looks pretty cool. Probably not something I’d use, but nonetheless, I quite like it.
very cool…..now could we please do it for Mac?
I am currently using the TOS desktop theme on my computer (the Engineering theme to be specific) and I will be downloading the Terran Empire theme as well. The Skins Factory does an excellent job and I’ve been impressed with the TOS theme since I first got it when I heard about it a while ago. I look forward to more Star Trek themes in the future. My recommendations (in no particular order):
1: A theme for the new film
2: A theme for the TNG era
3: A theme for the ENT era.
I hope they create at least some of the above suggestions (as all eras would be covered) however, I will continue to use the excellent TOS and, once downloaded, Terran Empire themes. Once again, great work by all at the Skins Factory!
Odd. You’d think they’d make them for Mac OS first, since, you know, the Enterprise (at least the Bridge anyway) is obviously a Mac based system. :)
No nacelle spikes?
I’ll call a turd when I see it.
If CBS digital provided the graphics, it’s done so in error. The ISS Enterprise has spiked nacelles and an oversized deflector dish. The one in these shots does not.
They used the pilot version in “Mirror, Mirror” to differentiate the two Enterprises physically. It’s classic “Trek” production lore. I hope they’ll correct it. Otherwise, a worthless product for Trek fans.
So they plan to roll out the Vista version “soon”? A little behind the curve there guys, Windows 7 comes out in a few months. I am not a Vista fan, but it’s what came on the home computer – two years ago. I guess I better not upgrade if I ever want one of these. Seriously, I’m drooling over this interface, I’d love to give them my money, please make it compatible with the most recent OS.
@6 Not only that, it should be the ISS-1701, not NCC as shown in these graphics.
And $15 is too much to pay for a desktop theme. I’ll make my own before I spend that much.
err perhaps not I.S.S. but I know that part was different in the re-done effects.
Vorpalk:
I think the “ISS Enterprise” was still NCC-1701. I think the boys at CBS Digital actually even further enhanced the hull labels with some cues from “In a Mirror, Darkly.”
The Skins Factory needs better source info, and I hope Mr. Tenuto can inform them that their product is bogus,
@VorpalK: It says ISS not NCC.
We worked on XP first because it’s still the most widely used version of Windows. Vista was really hard to theme. Microsoft didn’t make it easy. The good part of all this once we do Vista, Windows 7 will be much easier to theme. We’ll have the Vista version done this month. We’re in testing now. Windows 7 versions will be ready by the time it launches on October 22.
Any plans for a Mac version?
Wait hold on a second AJ… It says NCC-1701. But it also says ISS Enterprise on the hull not USS. That’s what i meant to say to Vorpalk.
Regarding Mac Versions: As soon as a Mac theming solution is a reality, we’ll definitely be working on Mac themes. We’ve been waiting on a theme app called Facade for almost 8-10 months now and it’s still not done. Not much we can do until then.
As far as the few nit pickers go.. yeah we missed the spikes. There’s not a whole lot of clear source material for us for this episode. But we did the high back Captain’s chair, we included the agonizer as the admin control icon and we worked our butts off for about 2 months on this theme. For the guy who thinks he can do this himself instead of spending 15 bucks. I’d love to see what you do. This themes the entire desktop – from the entire Windows GUI, to icons to wallpapers and an animated itunes and windows media player remote.
While you sit there and bash us for our effort. I’d like to know what other company would sit there and spend time and money on a Terran Empire theme like we did. The safe bet would be to follow up our TOS theme with a TNG. But no, I wanted to do something special and all you guys can do is nit pick it. That’s rather lame.
AJ
Tone it down…jeez. There is a way to critique and then there is just being rude, and consistently in these merch threads you demonstrate the latter.
There are not on vista yet, even though vista was a big mistake admitted by MS, now with windows 7??? I hope they are at least thinking about that. It reminds me of the old days with the aliens theme
Now when they come out with the Universal Translator that ties in with your view screen an Web Cam then you can use your computer just like a Command Office Desk Workstation.
With the correct VOIP account you can then have your Star Trek World Wide Video Phone.
Almost free to call most anyone, and minor hardware costs.
The Desktop Themes are nice, wanted to get something like this back when Win 95 came out. Back then I still used a 286 with 512M and 640x480x256.
I guess it took STM:TM to get someone seeing $$$ in their eyes to get them active enough to create these computer toys.
I’ll wait for the Win 7 version, hopefully they’ll have themes for all the shows and movies this Fall or Winter
Not exactly Spockish. We licensed Trek before the movie had grown hot. I’ve been into Star Trek my entire life. I even submitted a spec teleplay to Voyager way back when…
15:
Anthony, I’m sorry I come across that way. I’ve been collecting Trek merch since the early ’70s.
If I came across to strong, my apologies.
My opinion that “The Skins Factory” needs to improve its product does not change, however.
I disagree with the nit pickers on this forum. Where were the nitpickers when they rebooted Trek? Did it ever occur to you that it is possible that the ship evolved in appearance in the Mirror Universe like it did in the Standard Universe? (After looking at some of the above posts) I guess not. Have you also considered that it’s a stylized, and well done imo, wallpaper that you don’t have to use if you don’t want to? Once again, I guess not. In any case, I must commend, again, the staff at The Skins Factory for their excellent work and I, for one, really appreciate it.
17, the theme does not affect the operating efficiency of your operating system. I’m a gamer, I play games in my free time, and the theme has yet to effect these programs. My brother plays WoW, and it has not been affected by the theme nor has any other program. All programs, from games to educational programs work perfectly and the themes do not slow down your operating system. I have been using themes for a while now and these are by far the most professional ones I’ve ever seen.
Jeff Schader, I thought that I might direct a comment to you specifically. I would like to congratulate you on excellent work and to tell you that I very much enjoy using the TOS theme and have recently downloaded the TE theme and look forward to using it. I would also like to thank you for making these wonderful products for all to enjoy. Thanks again!
Yah, I gotta speak up here, too. A good product, well done, from a good company. Even have the company rep posting on this board to talk about (and in this case defend) the work. To bash the product so completely for what seems (to me, at least) a very small detail seems like poor sportsmanship.
Creating custom icons, skins, and themes is an overall pretty challenging thing to do. And, anyone who has done that kind of work (or created any piece of software that has benefit or value) deserves a few bucks for it. Given that people dish out hundreds of dollars for painting programs, and thousands for GIS and CAD programs (to say nothing of the $60 that most new games will cost ya), I think that $15 seems like a small price to pay for a complete product.
Thanks for contributing here, and for the nice product.
This seems, no offense, but not not a huge fan so, all I have is a desktop wallpaper which is enough for me.
As long as this desktop theme wasn’t built in Iowa, I’m okay with it! It looks fun and pretty darn detailed and is nowhere near a Birthday Cake Level Disaster ;-)
Seriously though, congrats on what looks like some serious work put into a fun (and very obscure) product! I would even consider picking it up just for giggles, but I’m not a PC…
I’m an M5.
#6 “If CBS digital provided the graphics, it’s done so in error. The ISS Enterprise has spiked nacelles and an oversized deflector dish. The one in these shots does not. ”
As the remastered Enterprise, in Mirror Mirror DID have these features, I’d wager the good people at Hyperdesk have made an error. Perhaps this is early promotional material. Hope so, I can’t imagine such a blatant foul up.
Attn: Jeff Schader:
Any plans for a TNG LCARS based theme? I would purchase those in a heartbeat (never been a fan of the TOS-era graphic look).
LoyalStarTrekFan and dfinn: Thanks :-)
No one has seen this except for a few people at CBS, Bad Robot and a few of my friends. You guys would be the first. Just an icon based on the phaser from the new movie. We spent a week on it modeling it, painting it, lighting it… just to see how it would turn out. Hopefully we’ll do a full theme based on the movie. In any case here is an icon of the new phaser:
http://www.theskinsfactory.com/tsf-clients/ST%20XI%20Phaser%20Icon.jpg
What do you think?
Yes. I do have this downloaded on my computer. The Terran Empire will always Domanate the Galaxy. It is in fact the I.S.S Enterprise N.C.C 1701. With the Terran Empire logo. The N.C.C was taken from the U.S.S Defiant that was Captured By Renegade Capt Archer from the Thoilans who Grabed it from the Future Federation. The Empire used it to Quell the so called Rebellion under the Incredable Leadership of Impress Hoshi Sato and Helped the Empire Establish Rule and Order in the Alpha and Beta Quardrant untill the Pacifest Spock Ruined it. But we have regained controll and the Empire once again is in charge.Long Live the Terran Empire.
I’ve been waiting for a good Star Trek desktop theme for many years and from just the video i can only say that it looks impressive. Unfortunately I only have Vista and most likely will upgrade to Windows 7 so I’ll wait till those versions of the themes are out. And a Question for Jeff Schader will the TOS theme also be made available for Vista/Windows 7? I’ve neevr bought any of your themes before but i’d like to purchase both Star Trek themes you do have at the same time.
@Kira: Yes, they’ll be available for Vista and Windows 7.
John, just outof curiosity, i recently saw a few hotwheels manufactured die cast star trek ships at wall-mart, and im talking old ships (klingon birdof prey, enterprise d, enterprise refit, reliant……..the BoP’s wings are even moveable!) each was made of metal and roughly 6 inches long. i didnt recal seeing a review for them on the site so i thought id let you know because they are quite awesomefor 10 dollars.
Lighten-up, Francis!
6. AJ – July 6, 2009
I’ll call a turd when I see it.
If CBS digital provided the graphics, it’s done so in error. The ISS Enterprise has spiked nacelles and an oversized deflector dish. The one in these shots does not.
They used the pilot version in “Mirror, Mirror” to differentiate the two Enterprises physically. It’s classic “Trek” production lore. I hope they’ll correct it. Otherwise, a worthless product for Trek fans.
I have and am using the previously released Trek theme. Super sweet looking. Wonderful on the eyes whether you’re a Trek fan or not. Why don’t Microsoft, Linux, etc have these types of options in their OS?
Regarding the new Mirror Universe version, my problem is this…I’ve already paid for this thing once. Personally, I thought $14.95 was a bit pricey all things considered. $9.99 to $12.99 would be more appropriate, looking at the whole package. I’m not too keen on spending another $15 for something that looks basically the same with the exception of the wallpapers and the audio “remote”. Some of the icons have the Terran Empire logo on them…nice, but really…wouldn’t it have made more sense to offer this version at a discounted rate to those of us who’ve already shelled out for the other one? Like an expansion pack of sorts? We’ve already got 80% of the second!! An extra $15 for a few very minor cosmetic alterations to the original is NOT worth it. Not when you can simply change your wallpaper to one featuring imagery of the Mirror Universe without forking over more hard earned cash.
This company AGAIN/STILL says their VISTA version is comming….how long have we been waiting for the last program to offer this? XP is great…but why are they dragging their heels on Vista?
Looks nice… but Windows XP?
@Captain Amazing: Use this coupon code: EVILSPOCKROCKS during checkout if you want and it will save you $5.00 off Terran Empire. The theme is different. TrekMovie isn’t showing you the silver and red theme. There are some new icons. All the old icons had to be remade to face them in the opposite direction. The 6 wallpapers are brand new and the animated widget has been completely redone.
@Michael: Because Microsoft made Vista stupid hard to theme. Fortunately we’re almost done.
@#35: Maybe it’s because Vista is the early 21st Century equivalent to Windows ME. I would have already purchased the original TOS desktop themes had my new laptop not come with Vista Home Premium.
In any case, I think the beauty shots of the Enterprise are just exquisite even if the deflector dish and nacelle caps are different.
A look at the red and silver theme which is included: http://www.hyperdesk.com/images/products/Star%20Trek%20-%20Terran%20Empire%20Full%20Preview%202.jpg
Three wallpapers? That’s IT? You say six, but the second three are the first three in a different color. ‘Select your Icon set’, ‘Sorry, there is only one icon set’. Select your widget (whatever that is), oops sorry – YOU NEED TO GO DOWNLOAD SOMETHING FROM YAHOO.
This is it??? Oh, and I’m getting error messages in IE now about running with add-ons disabled, and I see some of my other setting have been changed (like re-sizing pictures). WTF?
Seriously, I WANT MY TEN BUCKS BACK.
Jeff:
Not sure if you missed my first post (#26):
Any plans for a TNG (LCARS) theme?
Love the graphics of the NCC-1701-E…
#40: It’s 6 wallpapers. We show all 6 in the previews so it should not be a surprise what they look like. We also state: “new canon-based icons from the episode”. We also show the set in the previews. Again no surprise. We also state: “You will need to download the free application, Yahoo! Widgets to use the Starfleet audio remote.” We don’t have the right to distribute Yahoo!’s free application.
We don’t touch any settings in IE anymore than Windows Explorer does. We use Microsoft’s skinning engine.
So should you be mad at us or the fact that you didn’t bother to read the description or view the previews first before you bought something?
@Simon: We had planned on it but it all depends on how much support we get from CBS on distribution and the community. At this point i’m not so sure it’s going to be good for us…
@ Jeff: Is there any sort of mailing list that we can get on for when the vista theme comes out? Or a link that you know it will be at? It’d be really handy. Thanks! It looks awesome, and I can’t wait to get it on my laptop here. =D Damn vista and its complicatedness.
Windows ME, Windows Vista and the M-5 – all names destined to go down in computing history.
Now, is thee any chance of getting one of these themes that doesn’t **SAY** “Star Trek” in it’s graphics. For something that makes my PC interface LOOK like a ST interface, I’d pay money. For something that just labels it “fanboy”, no so much.
Incredible attention to detail in all graphics. I love how the New Movie phaser has a TOS thumb dial on top. Very nice.
@T’Lira: You can give me your email address and i can add you to our newsletter.
@Dunsel: You only see the name Star Trek on the start menu and wallpapers. I can’t take it off the start menu but i can give you wallpapers without the logo.
#28…the movie phaser looks fantastic! Its the first good look Ive seen of the top. Thanks!
I’d rather buy this than buy that POS Star Trek-themed train set.
How many companies would make a Mirror Mirror themed product and try so hard to please us nitpicking geeks. Come on guys… even if this kinda thing doesn’t appeal to you, we would be best to support them.
I’d think some of the comments on here would certainly put off future companies from putting together such a niche product aimed solely at us fan-boys!
The theme looks cool. I might get one when the vista vers comes out.
Thanks, Mr.Schader for spending your time doing this.