LiteStep, Sphere XP, GeoShell, I have tried lots of alternative shell replacements for the user-unfriendly and unefficient Windows Explorer. As an aside, I still cannot figure out, why Microsoft has to make explorer.exe the shell, file manager and browser - if one of them crashes it will pull the others down with it into the data abyss. Anyway, I was never truly satisfied with any of the shell replacements - Talisman was too slow and clunky, LiteStep (while being probably the most-customizable of them all) too bug-laden, Sphere XP too funky and GeoShell was on the side of LiteStep. Also there is always the problem when you have a system crash or need to reinstall the OS, all your flashy desktop features will probably be lost in oblivion, and some applications and especially full-screen ones don’t work too well with the shells.

But now I may have found revelation where I did not suspect it - the data storage folder on the netdrive of my new workplace. The name of this little application is Desktop Sidebar. It is not a shell replacement, rather a shell enhancement. A sticky sidebar for the left or right (or anywhere else) side of the desktop which is highly customizable. Although it isn’t Open Source it still is Freeware and doesn’t come with any spyware attached. On the website there is also a community place with lots of useful plugins and skins.
This sidebar is just like a regular application that can be loaded when Windows starts, but it also can fully replace the standard taskbar if you choose to. I for myself really like to have a neatly ordered space on my desktop where I see if I got new mails (and from whom and about what those are), control Winamp, check the latest news, blogs and comics via RSS feeds, play a little sudoku, and of course - manage up to 4 virtual desktops, which no “cool” shell should miss.

So if you are generally interested in making your workspace more efficient (and stylish if you like) you should give the sidebar a try.