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MPNQBUpdate on MPNQB GUI Progress
Progress has been lacking in past months, however, all has not been given up. Project Ice has since become a new Task-Oriented GUI called Walden, named for its focus on simplifying the desktop. Here's a mock-up of the GUI in production: [img size=150]http://mpnqb.moved.in/concept.PNG[/img] The focus is on the "wheel", a pop-up bitmap with text overlays containing several options for the GUI and the current program you are running. Applications are multi-tasked but not windowed and are switched using a menu from the wheel. The home desk, not shown, will feature applications filed by their task, defined in a metadata file. EnSpireMe 0.4.6 is still in production as well, revisiting code from the largely failed EnSpireMe 0.4.5. The first thing I plan to do is strip it down to the basic window system and start over from that point, since everything else was screwed up anyway. If you wish to try EnSpireMe 0.4.5, the latest release which is now over a year old, you can still obtain it at http://mpnqb.moved.in/DEMO045.zip Post release notes for this older version: Applications do not terminate properly, so although it appears to function properly, it will not if you attempt to utilize it for anything in particular. Version 0.4.5 of EnSpireMe was essentially thrown together in literally one week from scratch as a demonstration of next-generation MPNQB GUI concepts.		2009-01-2410:53 PM
BrandonRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
New concepts are good, you do live up to your little light bulb badge. If you release, I don't see anyone challenging you for Most Creative in GUI Awards 2009. EnSpireMe was always on of my favorite GUIs, but I'm not really sure why, I mean it didn't do anything too amazing, but it always seemed cool		2009-01-259:50 AM
MPNQBRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
You can count on the next version doing amazing things. [img]http://mpnqb.moved.in/scrshot.png[/img]		2009-01-259:59 PM
ToddRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
This reminds me a lot of ENDAZe's look and feel. Good job MPN!		2009-01-2510:38 PM
Re:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
I like the bar at the bottom, very professional, I can't wait for more to see! :side:		2009-01-278:30 AM
BrandonRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
ROFL, ROFL, Do you also like the big title bar at the top :P He was in an emulator, that bar is part of the emulator!		2009-01-2711:32 AM
Re:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
Now you know what late nights do to me! @Todd, i can see what you mean, BTW: every time i used EnSpireMe it won't run an app.		2009-01-284:27 AM
Re:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
Shows you how much i use M$ products to		2009-01-284:32 AM
ToddRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
[b]Horatio wrote:[/b] [quote]@Todd, i can see what you mean,[/quote] About late nights and little sleep?		2009-01-289:42 AM
BrandonRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
lol I don't use M$ products, I have common sense. Jason you should start logging in, otherwise anyone can post messages and we don't know if its really you.		2009-01-281:32 PM
ToddRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
Too bad OSI, GNU, or even WINE hasn't made a program to convert Windows apps to Linux apps. If it worked and could translate my Windows apps, I would ditch Windows in a heartbeat. Which reminds me, know of any good Linux distros for USB sticks? I plan on messing with a small distro on my Compaq. I only have 6 GB of space free (of a 12 GB HDD).		2009-01-282:13 PM
trollyRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
i like this gui concept, ... it remind me "sugar gui" from olpc		2009-01-284:08 PM
BrandonRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
Todd, I think you are looking for Puppy Linux :) MPNQB: I think the title bar text should be a few pixels over, its too close to the edge of the window.		2009-01-284:12 PM
Re:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
[b]tlsuess wrote:[/b] [quote][b]Horatio wrote:[/b] [quote]@Todd, i can see what you mean,[/quote] About late nights and little sleep?[/quote] No, about ENDAZe		2009-01-286:50 PM
pharoahRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
Wow mpnqb I just read an article about Fitt's law, and your interface design is almost perfect. Apparently corners are the fastest places on the screen to access, and circular menus are also supposed to be fast. I might adopt this interface in my next project, it's a cool idea :).		2009-01-289:15 PM
ToddRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
[b]trolly wrote:[/b] [quote]i like this gui concept, ... it remind me "sugar gui" from olpc[/quote] Bleh, Sugar seems like a fortress, but I never used it. The screenshots look like the OS is tailored to i18n concepts for children through little glyphs and graphics.		2009-01-289:38 PM
MPNQBRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
For version 0.4.6, I will be removing clickable objects in favor of a click-based system. Instead of specifying an object and checking the click of the object ID, programs will now check for click "hotspots" relaive to the upper left corner of the window (WinX + mousex, WinY + mousey...i.e. as far as programs are concerned, the upper left corner of the window it has is 0,0.) Why am I doing this? For two reasons mainly: 1. In EnSpireMe 0.4.5, programs were mainly written with an object base. I've noticed several times in the development path that the design of object based programs as I knew how to implement them were rather static. In effect, it wasn't easy to change what was in the window once you got the program up and running. With the "hotspot" method, you could just use a RealScript function such as "ClrWindow" which will draw a box over the entire form area in the window, and you have a fresh clean slate for the next part of the program. 2. The object implementation is what is holding up the development EnSpireMe. I still as of now cannot work a system out that does not completely go down in flames after you open and close a few programs. In essence, this doesn't mean that the object idea is gone for good, but don't expect to see it for a while. What is still being decided is whether or not un-referenceable objects such as bitmaps or text will remain. The only reason I had them in the first place was to not rely on a "repair" style script system that was implemented in GUIs like GIMI and KMax. These systems went back to a "repair" line which re-drew what was in the window. This is a very bad idea because it in effect causes all your programs to half-restart everytime you move a window, losing where it was and what it was doing. I'm currently exploring the feasibility of GET/PUT solutions in lieu of bitmap and text objects. This is FreeBasic it's being developed in, so there's plenty of memory to work with. As for Walden, this GUI will retain the same basic premise of the "wheel", except now I might go with a square "deck" instead. It's less aesthetic, but it does allow the usual linear click zones that couldn't have been done on a "wheel" system. The "wheel" required circular and irregular click zones which would have been questionable in their possibility under FreeBasic. For both GUIs, I'd also like to announce an App Store-like content delivery platform called Prism. I saw the incredible ease of installation and removal afforded with the iPhone/iPod Touch and its App Store platform, and decided to create a model of it for the DOS-based GUIs I'm currently working on. Its implementation would be much more like Debian's own Synaptic than the App Store however, where you would have a list of packages availible from the MpnQb website to download. Prism will be availible for RealScript-based EnSpireMe and also for Walden. But because my moved.in webhost went belly-up AGAIN, its implementation may be far off. I'm also currently exploring code signing for applications as well, based on a checksum of the application combined with a certificate-like key. This is mainly so you know you're using the version of the script you obtained and not somebody's modified version. I'm doing this mainly because of the "forced" open-source nature of all the scripts. Not all scripts will have to be signed. Anyway, that's where I am now. Can anyone offer suggestions for replacing my objective bitmap/text system? Would GET/PUT be feasible?		2009-02-277:41 PM
BrandonRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
I can host you. Any progress is good progress.		2009-02-277:53 PM
ToddRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
That's quite a read. I like the Prism idea. It seems like there isn't an OS that doesn't have something like that these days.		2009-02-278:24 PM
MPNQBRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
I'm currently implementing GET/PUT for the window redraw. Just one question: I have twenty-five windows allocated with a variable, NumWindows. Does each window need its own array or can they share a single multidimensional array? My original plan was something like this: DIM Winbuffer(NumWindows, 1280*1024), this would make a 32MB array for each window to have a maximum of 1280x1024 space. But I don't know if it would be as straightforward as having something like that. How would I GET two things into one multidimensional array?		2009-02-283:08 PM
MPNQBRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
Okay, I attempted that and, well, it both works and it doesn't work. I figured out how to use multidimensional arrays with GET/PUT, but for some reason little "lines" keep appearing in the image that gets put back down. Does anyone know why this happens and if it's anything I can do about? I suspect it's a bug in the way FreeBasic deals with memory Edit: it appears the lines only happen under Virtual PC. I'll contine development as it is going and when I release it, you guys can let me know if the same thing happens to your systems.		2009-02-285:26 PM
BrandonRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
I would recommend using a system where the windows buffer is dimmed when you know how big the window is, I did that for Fun500 4, and it freed a lot of RAM.		2009-02-286:02 PM
pharoahRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
I think instead of using a set array for windows and redimming it, you can try to use the pointer stuff in FB to to give yourself chunks of memory with a pointer when you need them. That way you're basically creating arrays on the fly. Can you tell I'm learning C? EDIT: http://www.freebasic.net/wiki/wikka.php?wakka=TutPterDataType The functions you'd use are: Allocate Callocate Reallocate		2009-03-028:57 AM
MPNQBRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
I'd like to announce a new strategy for Walden. Rather than being a single-task script-based UI, I've decided to create a practical MS-DOS menu instead, incorporating the concept I mentioned before of course. Walden will still have a scripter and the Prism system, but its focus will not be a central work environment. As some use MS-DOS, they may find themselves in need of a simple, modern approach to run legacy or custom-built applications. Walden will be just that: a simple, folder-sorted desktop with icons to launch your programs. Picture a simple launcher UI with just icons to launch your programs and a bar to tell you where you are in the desktop hierarchy with the time. Scripts can be used to extend the functionality of Walden, a bit like extensions for a web browser. You could have customizable backgrounds, etc. But it's just a simple launcher, only there to do its task: launch your DOS programs with ease. Your DOS progrms are where the real work gets done, why try to replace them? Other things I plan for Walden are concepts incorporated from my AA-OS demo back in 2004. AA-OS (Advanced Animation OS) was a little demo I did five years ago that incorportated interesting animations for BASIC-based DOS GUIs. It wasn't much more than a demo, but if I can find it, I wanna release it. It's probably the most advanced thing I ever put together. Like, closing a program would animatedly blank out the screen before your DOS program launched, icons would "fly" down, etc. Development on that will start tonight with the first BAS file being made. Walden will still be written in FreeBasic for DOS.		2009-03-047:20 PM
pharoahRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
That sounds cool, like a modernized version of GEM.		2009-03-047:22 PM
MPNQBRe:Update on MPNQB GUI Progress
I'm gonna take snapshots of Walden as the versions progress. Tomorrow I'm going to work on version 0.0.2. What would you like to see in an MS-DOS menu system? Specifically, what would you like to see the ARS (advanced realscript) script extensions be able to do? This is one of the first things I plan on implementing. I was planning something that would work similar to winterboard's mobilesubstrate, where you can use the extensibility to do stuff like draw right on the desktop and replace system strings if you want to. E.g. using ARS to write something that displays a calendar on the desktop.		2009-03-0410:10 PM

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