torpor
hack hack hack, the little machines fight back
hey .. so i was wondering, what do you guys think the GP2X needs, apps-wise, in the near future? i don't mean games specifically, but things that will help you manage your GP2X..
like, i was thinking a few general-purpose apps, like this:
1. a "Module Loader" for managing loaded drivers/modules .. mostly for the USB users among us, so we can turn things on and off from the gp2xmenu and not have to drop to a prompt all the time.. might also be good to roll all the other 'utility' functions into a single app, like the LCD tweaker, volume control, etc. I'm talking a 'general purpose GP2X management' app..
2. a decent filemanager. the onboard filemanager is 'fine' if all you're gonna do is gimp around, but if you use the GP2X as a general-purpose photo-viewing platform while on photography field trips (i do, it rocks) then there needs to be a bit more of an aggressive attack at the filemanager thing.. imagine something like iPhoto, but for the GP2X, and cool ..
3. some dictionary apps .. i'd love to be able to have tons of dictionaries onboard for instant word lookups and references .. there are a grand plethora of such databases out there in the world, wouldn't it be nice to carry something around like that with you on your GP2X ..
4. a way of sync'ing a PC-local database of games and apps to your currently-in-use SD card .. what i've found is that i've got 5 SD cards, each with their own different 'apps', and i have to sorta go through them to find the one i want. wouldn't it be great to have some sort of onboard indexing system that'll tell you what SD card to put in for what app?
5. a better movie player. sure, mplayer works, but its source-less and relatively dead-end .. we should for sure be able to port VLC or some such similar player system to the GP2X, and i know this thread has come up before .. but i'm making a list of 'apps of the next generation' people would like to see, so ..
6. a clock. yes, there is no RTC on the GP2X, i know that, but this doesn't mean we couldn't write a low-power consuming clock app that rocks for the GP2X .. set the time when you start it up, and watch the seconds tick by ..
7. an SVG viewer. SVG simply kicks ass for many, many reasons .. i think the GP2X should be able to handle SVG files as well as it handles .mp3 and .ogg files .. and this would be a way to get some seriously interesting stuff on board too (rolex.svg, anyone?)
8. off-line HTML viewer? in the same category as #7 perhaps, but it'd be great if i could put an SD card in my powerbook, save .html bundles to it, and view them later on the GP2X, off-line like .. i know there are efforts to get this going, but again: this is just a list of cool apps, not a concerted effort to coordinate everyones' development efforts ..
.. anything else? what sort of general-purpose apps do you think would do well on the GP2X, now that its been out and presumably in use for a few months .. ?
like, i was thinking a few general-purpose apps, like this:
1. a "Module Loader" for managing loaded drivers/modules .. mostly for the USB users among us, so we can turn things on and off from the gp2xmenu and not have to drop to a prompt all the time.. might also be good to roll all the other 'utility' functions into a single app, like the LCD tweaker, volume control, etc. I'm talking a 'general purpose GP2X management' app..
2. a decent filemanager. the onboard filemanager is 'fine' if all you're gonna do is gimp around, but if you use the GP2X as a general-purpose photo-viewing platform while on photography field trips (i do, it rocks) then there needs to be a bit more of an aggressive attack at the filemanager thing.. imagine something like iPhoto, but for the GP2X, and cool ..
3. some dictionary apps .. i'd love to be able to have tons of dictionaries onboard for instant word lookups and references .. there are a grand plethora of such databases out there in the world, wouldn't it be nice to carry something around like that with you on your GP2X ..
4. a way of sync'ing a PC-local database of games and apps to your currently-in-use SD card .. what i've found is that i've got 5 SD cards, each with their own different 'apps', and i have to sorta go through them to find the one i want. wouldn't it be great to have some sort of onboard indexing system that'll tell you what SD card to put in for what app?
5. a better movie player. sure, mplayer works, but its source-less and relatively dead-end .. we should for sure be able to port VLC or some such similar player system to the GP2X, and i know this thread has come up before .. but i'm making a list of 'apps of the next generation' people would like to see, so ..
6. a clock. yes, there is no RTC on the GP2X, i know that, but this doesn't mean we couldn't write a low-power consuming clock app that rocks for the GP2X .. set the time when you start it up, and watch the seconds tick by ..
7. an SVG viewer. SVG simply kicks ass for many, many reasons .. i think the GP2X should be able to handle SVG files as well as it handles .mp3 and .ogg files .. and this would be a way to get some seriously interesting stuff on board too (rolex.svg, anyone?)
8. off-line HTML viewer? in the same category as #7 perhaps, but it'd be great if i could put an SD card in my powerbook, save .html bundles to it, and view them later on the GP2X, off-line like .. i know there are efforts to get this going, but again: this is just a list of cool apps, not a concerted effort to coordinate everyones' development efforts ..
.. anything else? what sort of general-purpose apps do you think would do well on the GP2X, now that its been out and presumably in use for a few months .. ?
