Ui Menu?

[Game_over]

Im curious if anyone other than myself is wondering about the initial Menu that is going to be included with the Pandora? Of course, any one of us could make are own. However, we all know there needs to be some consistency across the board for the basic interface. What do you think?

 

[quote]

I remember efegea (is that how you spell it?) posted a nice alternative frontend interface design thingy (s)he was planning for the pandora (multiple windows, etc) i think it was on the original thread............Can't find it now though
The design was really good

 

[atomicthumbs]

And CraigIX said that they would use something akin to the EEEpc interface.

 

[b._.o._.b]

They should have contacted Ryo, for implementing a version of gmenu2x. I think he would have been very willing to help and gmenu2x is absolutely the best gui for the GP2X.
If you get it out of the box with some apps and homebrew on it including touchscreen support and a nice skin, this will be amazing.
Ryo is already busy implementing touchscreen support for the F200. It will really be a shame if there is a better gui available for the F200 than the Pandora.

I am a bit afraid we will see a mindless set of icons that do flashy things when you click it. Also I don't think the pandora is the same as the eeePC, you will need a much more flexible system for the amount of games you want to store. The eeepc gui is really not sufficient.

 

[efegea]

I remember efegea (is that how you spell it?) posted a nice alternative frontend interface design thingy (s)he was planning for the pandora (multiple windows, etc) i think it was on the original thread............Can't find it now though
The design was really good

Wow, people remember my name, thanks!

Yes I was working on an alternative frontend, but I don't have and will not have money for the pandora. I want to do something for the competition if there is any, so I have the chance to win a Pandora and then finish the interface..

This was my original idea but it need to be improved a lot, I'm not satisfied with it..

 

[mick]

And CraigIX said that they would use something akin to the EEEpc interface.

I sure hope not. I'm not a big fan.

 

[icurafu]

And CraigIX said that they would use something akin to the EEEpc interface.

I sure hope not. I'm not a big fan.


If "they" plan to use a UMPC UI, they might as well use a good one.

gOS which is used on the Everrun CloudBook.

But I doubt they would use anything that overcomplicates the gaming device. I agree that Ryo would have made a great UI with the help of a few of us.

 

[scarath]

And CraigIX said that they would use something akin to the EEEpc interface.

I sure hope not. I'm not a big fan.


If "they" plan to use a UMPC UI, they might as well use a good one.

gOS which is used on the Everrun CloudBook.

But I doubt they would use anything that overcomplicates the gaming device. I agree that Ryo would have made a great UI with the help of a few of us.


Bleh!
GOS is a nice OS yeah but only for my granny(!) it's too much like a Mac (e.g. "my first computer") interface. Its linux so it should look sleek and cool but not like 'teletubby OS' ... just imho of course.

I think I'd want to port across openbox so all the apps are on a menu (brought up by a touch of the touch screen or something) instead of having any 'desktop icon' type things.

 

[b._.o._.b]

I own an eeePC and I love it. The gui is ok for standard use, although you have to hack some file to add icons / software to the standard gui.
It is great for the eeePC because it is targeted to people that normally use a limited amount of applications (else they can switch to advanced mode). I can understand why Craigix wants to use something like the eeepc though. it is very easy to implement. The gui is nothing more than big icons on a desktop, that's it.

When you want fast access to games and you have a long list, that should be easy. Gmenu2x does that.
The ability to set something like volume, extra parameters, clockspeed, pictures, easy direct games in directory access + filter etc etc that is a huge plus. You don't have to use it (new users), but you can. Why spend a lot of developers time for something that will probably be inferior to something already developed and it is open source?
Really, a waste of time

@Icufaru Gos looks like a standard desktop gui. Don't think we need something like that.

 

[Magnulus]

And CraigIX said that they would use something akin to the EEEpc interface.

I sure hope not. I'm not a big fan.

The cool thing about the EeePC is that you CAN enable the advanced OS and get full functionality if that's your preference.

Bleh!
GOS is a nice OS yeah but only for my granny(!) it's too much like a Mac (e.g. "my first computer") interface. Its linux so it should look sleek and cool but not like 'teletubby OS' ... just imho of course.

Huh... I must be some kinda retard or granny then, because I much prefer Mac OSX even though I've used windows since around '92. It gives me power, stability and a robust file system. Not to mention a unix console, should I wish to use that, which I don't, 99.99% of the time.

 

[mick]

I own an eeePC and I love it.

Same here, but I'm not a fan of the UI. However, it's more from an aesthetic standpoint than a functional one.

It's hard to deny that tabbed interfaces are efficient, especially for handhelds. It would make Pandora's interface function similarly to a lot of cellphones, which really is the direction a device like this should be going in. You're right, having an interface similar to a desktop doesn't make a heck of a lot of sense for a device that you will navigate through with your thumbs.

If you're going to copy interface types, people should be looking at cellphone interfaces. We need to be thinking more in terming of thumbing, than typing.

 

[Magnulus]

The main thing I think is important is that the UI has big, clear text and icons. 800x480 is already gettin' pretty dense on the Eee (I CAN use it for extended periods of time, but it's approaching some kind of an upper limit in density) and the Pandora's screen is tiny compared to that, so relatively big text in the menus and stuff would be ace. Or maybe not BIG text, just strong, bold text. No single-pixel-width menu items, please. ^_^

 

[icurafu]

For me, the most important thing is that it kills itself whenever a non windowed applciation is loaded and can load and unload itself very quickly.

It should not be using any of the precious 128MB or RAM when it is not displayed.

 

[Game_over]

Thanks for the replies. Im also curious to find out, what about support for a always active widget system you can use for recieving IMs, Emails, and when someone comes online. You know what I mean? As for the issue with small text, it should show up fine even when its un-native. Im replying from a psp at an Irish pub in America...go figure :lol:.

 

[DaveC]

Hopefully it will be something small, lean and quick that doesn't hog memory and resources. Something like a buffed up Gmenu would be good as it is fast, simple, and small. That would be the included interface to start from. Then from there users could install something more complicated if they want.

Hopefully it won't use some big cumbersome memory hogging CPU sucking windowing environment that requires alot of dragging windows around and re-sizing etc just to get to what you want.

All of those desktop OS types should be optional for someone that wants something like a PC.

 

[javaJake]

Hey, I wouldn't mind it booting into a simple windowed terminal, where I can boot things as I want 'm.

Then again, that's not user-friendly, so I doubt that'd happen.

 

[Chip]

I definitely agree that tabs are better than windows for a handheld device like this. I also strongly agree that simple is better than complicated, at least for the default interface.

I think the ideal setup would involve tabs at the top, which could be selected with the shoulder buttons. Each tab should have its items arranged vertically (like the xbox 360), not in a grid (like a PC), for easy selection with the d-pad. This allows for the quick and intuitive selection of any program or function using only a few buttons. Colors, fonts, and background images for each tab should be user configurable, but that is probably the extent of customizability necessary for the default GUI.

I have no doubt that many custom interfaces will be developed for the Pandora eventually, but simple and efficient (without being downright ugly) should be the goal of the default interface.


PS - I'm making this post from my XV6700 cell phone. It only has a 2.8" 320x240 screen and works fine for me, so browsing on the Pandora will not be a problem

 

[b._.o._.b]

I think the ideal setup would involve tabs at the top, which could be selected with the shoulder buttons. Each tab should have its items arranged vertically (like the xbox 360), not in a grid (like a PC), for easy selection with the d-pad. This allows for the quick and intuitive selection of any program or function using only a few buttons. Colors, fonts, and background images for each tab should be user configurable, but that is probably the extent of customizability necessary for the default GUI.

Why arrange vertically? It is a wide screen, so you should use that space.

Sometimes I am amazed that there are still people that never installed and used gmenu2X. Reading comments here I suppose lot of the posters haven't used it. Really it should be the first thing you install after buying the GP2X.

 

[slint]

I think Matchbox should be nice, when configured much.

 

[efegea]

I think Matchbox should be nice, when configured much.



My alternative interface, the window manager is a bit inspired by the sugar interface of matchbox.

Perhaps instead of coding my own window manager I should use matchbox and code only the gui..