Pandora Interface Design Concept(s).

[efegea]

I've already said that the text of "My" can be configurable!! Please stop complaining about how lame is it! If people don't like it I'll remove it, it's only a mockup not the definitive pandora interface!

Ok so nothing hardcoded. Fully configurable. Well it was my original idea.

DaveC the "My media" tab is not like a media tab you'll put on "My software". On "My software" you only have a row of icons. On "My media" you have something like Xbox media center or similar.

I also see the tabs at the bottom a good idea. But better make it configurable ¿top? ¿bottom? ¿right? ¿left? as the user wants

QUOTE
Have icons for running programs on the status bar? So you can bring up this program and task switch. (Otherwise we may need a real task bar.


For tasks runnings we have the window manager: the first mockup I posted in this thread with ridge racer running at the background. You touch a corner of the screen or press a special key combination and the window manager popups and there you have your running tasks.

QUOTE

Icons in top right of my home are too small. Keep them all the same size, like the software page or bottom left. You'll probably want an option for a box there to spread over half the screen for those who don't care for widgets.


Remember: it's a quick and dirty mockup, I only did a copy&paste from a previous mockup

QUOTE
I personally think tapping the bottom half of the screen will be a little more awkward anyway.


I tried with a DS lite and seems more easy to touch the botttom of the screen with the same fingers as the one you use to use the analogs.



What if instead of widgets on the "home" tab I use real tabs? So nobody complains about how tiny are the icons and the text because now are fullscreen.

 

[God Ginrai]

Actually I like the idea of widgets, please keep them. But you could still implement tabs so that you can fit MORE widgets. You could do it kind of like Netvibes does. You can choose to have your widget take up a whole tab or not, for each individual widget and tab.

-God Ginrai

 

[efegea]

On the "My media" tab I know now what will be the 4th option: a file manager

Because in "My media" tab, all the options are file managers but specialiced on media formats: video, images and audio.

I have to remember that there is nothing hardcoded and all is fully configurable. So these options are to the filemanager or media player you want, it's only a link. I'll try to code one but if you don't like it you can configure another of your choose.

But for coding the interface I still need information. I asked to craigix on the "emails to me" thread but he didn't answered me

 

[efegea]

Will this include a full media indexing and integrated player?

What do you mean with full media indexing? I want to know what kind of media indexind are you talking. It should be a nice addition (or not only a simple addition but a major feature) but I want to talk about it.

 

[God Ginrai]

Will this include a full media indexing and integrated player?

What do you mean with full media indexing? I want to know what kind of media indexind are you talking. It should be a nice addition (or not only a simple addition but a major feature) but I want to talk about it.


efegea, could you please refrain from double-posting? It's just as easy to edit the post you just made so that you can add in the new stuff you wanted to point out.

 

[efegea]

Will this include a full media indexing and integrated player?

What do you mean with full media indexing? I want to know what kind of media indexind are you talking. It should be a nice addition (or not only a simple addition but a major feature) but I want to talk about it.


efegea, could you please refrain from double-posting? It's just as easy to edit the post you just made so that you can add in the new stuff you wanted to point out.


sorry, in gp32spain the doubleposts do merge automatically into one. I'm used to that so I thought it was the same here.

 

[Peter R]

efegea, could you please refrain from double-posting? It's just as easy to edit the post you just made so that you can add in the new stuff you wanted to point out.

It makes no difference. If he was posting spam like atomic_thumbs does for the most part it would be a nuisance but he is planning to make a GUI for the Pandora and is double posting with useful information.

Edit: And as far as I knew they did merge together on here.

 

[efegea]

And also if I write a new post instead of editing the last post, you can know I've written a new post on "View new posts" or on the main forum. I mean, that little icon that says "Goto last unread" at the left of the thread name.

 

[God Ginrai]

efegea, could you please refrain from double-posting? It's just as easy to edit the post you just made so that you can add in the new stuff you wanted to point out.

It makes no difference. If he was posting spam like atomic_thumbs does for the most part it would be a nuisance but he is planning to make a GUI for the Pandora and is double posting with useful information.

Edit: And as far as I knew they did merge together on here.


It's not a matter of the content, it's a matter of forum etiquette, like reading the whole topic before making a post and using the search function before starting a topic about something that might already have been asked.

And also if I write a new post instead of editing the last post, you can know I've written a new post on "View new posts" or on the main forum. I mean, that little icon that says "Goto last unread" at the left of the thread name.

I understand what you are getting at, but your second post was only 8 minutes after the first. You don't need to call so much attention to the extra information unless it was a really important point or the topic was on the verge of falling off the first page.

I'm not trying to say this because I want to annoy you or think that your posts aren't worth anything, but it's better to keep to this formality so that other people who might abuse it don't start doing it as well.

-God Ginrai

 

[efegea]

Ok, I've already said I'm sorry, I'm used to gp32spain..

 

[God Ginrai]

Ok, I've already said I'm sorry, I'm used to gp32spain..

I know you already said you're sorry, I just needed to respond to that other person, and I decided to clarify with you so you would hopefully not look at it as me trying to give you a hard time or something.

-God Ginrai

 

[teggun]

That's pretty much the dumbest argument I've read in ages.

 

[God Ginrai]

That's pretty much the dumbest argument I've read in ages.

Strange, I don't remember there being an argument. Are you having hallucinations? o_ô

-God Ginrai

 

[efegea]

Please, all of you, stop messing the thread! This thread if for discussing about the interface and trying to improve it so everyone like it and for making the interface the best one for the pandora

 

[God Ginrai]

Please, all of you, stop messing the thread! This thread if for discussing about the interface and trying to improve it so everyone like it and for making the interface the best one for the pandora

Indeed.

So, I'll ask a question about your interface.

I believe that by sleeping that your interface might use little resources, but I sincerely doubt that it will use 0%. Will it be quick to kill so that you can play games and emulators that might need all the resources they need? Also, will it be quick to load back up after you exit out of your game?

-God Ginrai

 

[efegea]

In terms of cpu it will use 0%, in terms of memory, we'll have to see. But I don't think it'll waste a lot.

If we don't kill it, but instead we make it sleep, the change will be inmediate.

I think all the pandora applications (minus a few exceptions) should sleep when the window manager sends the "ey you are now on the background" signal. On SDL it's very very easy to know. I want that because, as I think, all the apps should run fullscreen, no windowed modes, something more console-ish and not pc-ish. And this way you can have running two or more emulators and each one running at fullspeed, because the other running emulators will be sleeping while on background. And the emulator on the foreground will be using all the resources.

 

[God Ginrai]

In terms of cpu it will use 0%, in terms of memory, we'll have to see. But I don't think it'll waste a lot.

If we don't kill it, but instead we make it sleep, the change will be inmediate.

I think all the pandora applications (minus a few exceptions) should sleep when the window manager sends the "ey you are now on the background" signal. On SDL it's very very easy to know. I want that because, as I think, all the apps should run fullscreen, no windowed modes, something more console-ish and not pc-ish. And this way you can have running two or more emulators and each one running at fullspeed, because the other running emulators will be sleeping while on background. And the emulator on the foreground will be using all the resources.

I definitely like that idea, and whenever it is possible I would like to do that. But, for some things like an N64 emulator, I think we'll probably need all the memory we can get. So, it's always good to have backup plans.

-God Ginrai

 

[efegea]

I definitely like that idea, and whenever it is possible I would like to do that. But, for some things like an N64 emulator, I think we'll probably need all the memory we can get. So, it's always good to have backup plans.

-God Ginrai

For these special cases as a N64 emulator, we can kill the interface but for the not than resourse intensive application it's better to make it sleep

 

[God Ginrai]

I definitely like that idea, and whenever it is possible I would like to do that. But, for some things like an N64 emulator, I think we'll probably need all the memory we can get. So, it's always good to have backup plans.

-God Ginrai

For these special cases as a N64 emulator, we can kill the interface but for the not than resourse intensive application it's better to make it sleep


I completely agree.

Another question, you said that your interface would be very customizable. How easy would the scripting language, or whatever you use to bring about new features, be to understand?

-God Ginrai

 

[efegea]

I completely agree.

Another question, you said that your interface would be very customizable. How easy would the scripting language, or whatever you use to bring about new features, be to understand?

-God Ginrai

Python