Mmh, this really makes me mad
But maybe I'm asking the wrong questions...
I made another ugly test skin, a "mini-me":
Install MiniTestOn the left it shows what's NOT POSSIBLE - alpha blend in front of the desktop. There can not be a shape for the background and there can not be a shadow for the background. They will show up as white/black areas.
On the right it shows what IS POSSIBLE - transparency by a defined transparency color, a "shadow" by a checkerboard trick.
The "Play" button should show up as a round button with a shadow - it does not (in build 242) because of the mentioned bug of mini-me.
The "Stop" button should show up as a transparent button - it does not (in build 242) because of the mentioned bug of mini-me.
Please compare the "test.png", "Button_Play.png" and "Button_Stop.png" (in Photoshop...) with the "look" of the skin on your desktop... As a matter of principle, that's all what's possible / not possible...right?
But, to get back to Doofs "Experiment 1", what should be fixed in mini-me to make it work in another way? There's no button in his example... Am I crazy?