hello everybody...,
I`m using portable apps now for 5 years without any bugs and stuff like that and I really use it every day!
It always works flawless and I like it really much! Thanks for that! 
But dont get me wrong...dont you all agree with me... that the new launcher design(s) are totally shoddy!?
For me its like a disimprovement, sorry.
Hope that this will be fixed soon!
cheers Korg
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If you don't like the modern look and prefer the older-style glassy look, just change the theme. Click options, select the theme tab, select a theme you like, then pick the color below. The 11.x series used PA.c Smooth - Red.
Remember, design is subjective. I and many others prefer a modern flat look. And it fits in better with pretty much all modern technology (Windows 8/8.1, the upcoming Windows 9, Android, iOS, etc). It may not match quite as well with the 5 year old glassy style of Windows 7 or the even older/dated styles of XP and Vista, but then that's why we included over 100 theming options.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
...thanks for you answer. I have already changed my theme and I know how to do this.
Think about that: I know what minimal and flat design should look like beause im a webdesigner! For me... the new design looks like:
Yes, we would love the have the clean style but we dont know how to do this!
E.g. the icon for the icon tray looks like it got a gradient and it dont look very new & fresh! The colors of the themes are also not very well chosen. They look dirty and not fresh!
Dont get me wrong...design, colors and stuff like that are always subjectiv... I know that...but for me this is way far from a modern design!
So I hope that your designers will soon think about that!
Thanks a lot, Korg!
No signature!
Remember, design is subjective. Our designer does work with Google, IBM, the Navy, etc. Your choices do not match others' choices, but that's no reason to insult.
The tray icon looks just fine: http://i.imgur.com/6SPg3gY.png
As does the taskbar icon: http://i.imgur.com/uGiMbIA.png
Unless of course you have a different Windows DPI setting, in which case Windows messes up all your tray icons.
The colors of the new flat theme aren't quite finalized yet. They're pulled from the older themes. Most folks will likely stick with silver, black, or grey for the flat theme right now. The colors in the older themes are unchanged in the last 2 years. The only thing that changed in the old themes is that the search box got themed to match.
If you have any suggestions on the base colors or iconography of the new theme, please let us know.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
My assessment:
I don't know if the initial flat out default GREY theme in 12.0.5 is actually meant to be used, but it is certainly not modern. I couldn't envision anyone actually using that one. I don't know. Maybe it's just meant to be a ground zero place from which to choose an actual theme.
But, that said ... beyond that, there IS a good selection of nice themes. I have the PortableApps.com 12.0.5 Platform installed on 3 Flash Drives and set a different theme on each one. My main Flash Drive has Classic Light Blue. My 1st backup has Classic Dark Red. My 2nd backup has Smooth Light Green.
Now ... the icons ... I liked the nice 3-D ones from 11.2 much better. In my opinion, the current / new flat simple ones from 12.0.5 don't match with the nice modern themes of 12.0.5.
The Silver default matches one of the standard color selections in Windows 8/8.1/10. I use it daily and it matches my Windows UI. Lots of the designers (and non-designers) I know prefer a gray theme so it doesn't distract from work. That's why multiple gray themes are included in the default Windows color-set in Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10.
Many people also prefer the older designs that match the discontinued Windows Aero look introduced with Vista. That's why they're included as well.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Oh, okay. Then no biggie.
As long as I found enough cool themes for my tastes, everything's cool.
What size is the image that we can insert there at the top?
Something like 50 x 50px ... or a little bit bigger?
The personal picture is 48px. It matches Windows' personal picture display size so you can use the same for both. It's also one of the standard sizes for Windows icons (16, 32, 48, etc) so there are lots of options out there to choose from, making it easier to find something you like that works with your preferred theme.
One last note on design... it's very personal and varies a lot. That's why some people like Windows vs Mac OS, Android vs iOS, Aero vs not, translucent vs not, flat vs 3D, etc. I switched to flat as the default as that's a more 'modern' design language now that the overall style is switching that way. I picked gray as the default so it wouldn't clash with whatever your preferred Windows theme and color are. That way it won't look awful/clashy on Windows 2000, XP, Windows 10 Technical Preview, in Ubuntu under Wine, etc. It's just a basic, simple default. That said, I'm not quite happy with it yet, so 12.1 or 13.0 is getting an improved icon set and an improved selection of default colors as well as the ability to select your own custom one.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Yeah, you're absolutely right, John. Tastes in design definitely do vary ... widely. I definitely learned that when as an amateur hobbyist Blog Designer over on the MyOpera Community when it still existed, I created Blog Designs for friends and other people there. I certainly encountered more than my share of instances where I thought I had the absolute ultra mega awesome design put together ... and yet, the requests for this and that to be tweaked or outright changed would start flying. There would always be some color or colors that were wrong and / or the size of fonts or of whatever that'd be too big or too small as per THEIR tastes regardless of what I considered perfect. So yeah, I know what you and your crew there have to go through.
Anyway, thanks for the info, John.