Cairo is a revolutionary desktop environment for Windows. Our goal is to develop a desktop experience that increases productivity and advances current technology standards. With a focus on stability, performance, and productivity, Cairo aims to deliver an interface which will exceed expectations and deliver ease of use.

Cairo is a Windows shell. A shell is an environment for your computer that allows you to browse files, launch applications, and interact with your computer. The current Windows shell is the 'Start' menu, the taskbar, and if you have Windows Vista, the translucent window borders.

Cairo will fully support Microsoft Windows Vista at the time of release. Support for Windows XP will not begin until the Vista version is complete and relatively bug free. The rationale behind this decision was due in part that Vista is a newer operating system and is the environment of choice for future software development and compatibility.

Cairo will install with an executable file (.exe) when released to the public. It will close the default Windows shell (explorer.exe) and load itself in the background. Once installed, Cairo will guide the user through a quick and easy configuration process and be ready to use in less than fifteen minutes.

Cairo will be freeware, which means we will not require a fee for using our software. However, Cairo is closed source and not available for duplication.

As a freeware project, users who would like to support Cairo may do so by donating any monetary amount. All donations are greatly appreciated and help us keep Cairo a free project and negate our expenses. You may click here to donate.

Cairo is being built with performance and stability in mind. The recommended system requirements have not yet been determined. Nevertheless, if you can run Windows XP or Windows Vista well, Cairo will most likely run smoothly.

Cairo offers many enhancements over the typical Windows environment. Many of these may be found on our features page. They include desktop, file browsing, accessibility, and application enhancements.

Cairo will come with a custom software license that must be accepted to install. The details of this license have not been determined, however users will be allowed to install Cairo on multiple systems provided that they do not sell Cairo for profit, reverse-engineer or duplicate Cairo, or use Cairo in any way which might damage or otherwise negatively impact the Cairo Developers.

Cairo will not replace any system files or cause any damage to your hardware or files. Cairo will be removable through the Control Panel under Add/Remove Programs.

Cairo will support Unicode or similar methods to allow for language customization. The primary language will be English, with support for Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese/Japanese/Korean and others coming later. Language support will be dependent upon community input and involvement.

Cairo will allow for the use of plugins, enabling users to fully customize their experience. Cairo developers hope to release a plugin SDK/API set in the future. All plugins will require Cairo testing and validation to ensure stability and performance and will become available through our website downloads.

There is no set release date for Cairo. To ensure the quality of our product, the development team uses internal deadlines only and will not commit to a release date until further notice.

The Cairo Team may be contacted via our convenient online form.