Win2X : Alternative Frontend

[chrisvcpp]

Will you be uploading your latest version with these enhancements soon? I hope so, I really need that screensaver! Sounds like you are getting things done pretty fast, please keep up the good work and provide us with updates.

I'm just curious, how much faster is the old firmware to boot up? Sounds like it had plenty of problems, but I'm sure they could have been fixed without slowing the boot-up time. I'm pleased to see so many of the issues being fixed with emulators (especially tearing and screen scaling) and with people like yourself developing alternatives to the crappy GPH interface the future of the Wiz is starting to look a lot healthier!

I think it's about 3-5 secs faster BUT as I said with many problems...In my opinion,there's no point in flashing it just for faster boot loading..
I would have uploaded the latest version by now but I'm currently reconstructing some functions so if you would wait until tomorrow if you don't mind...Sorry for the delay...
I would also like to state that:The future of the WIZ depends on all of us...If we keep supporting it,it will get better and better...It has many potentials for a handheld device...

 

[TitanUranus]

Absolutely chp - I'm not a programmer, but I really appreciate the efforts of people like yourself, and I'm happy to do what I can to help in any small way I can - even if it's just making suggestions or testing out software and reporting bugs. I'm also happy to help other people set up emulators and get things running if they experience problems, which hopefully leaves some more time free for developers since they dont have to answer simple questions from inexperienced users.

I will happily wait till you release your next version, and I'm looking forward to trying it.

 

[chrisvcpp]

Absolutely chp - I'm not a programmer, but I really appreciate the efforts of people like yourself, and I'm happy to do what I can to help in any small way I can - even if it's just making suggestions or testing out software and reporting bugs. I'm also happy to help other people set up emulators and get things running if they experience problems, which hopefully leaves some more time free for developers since they dont have to answer simple questions from inexperienced users.

I will happily wait till you release your next version, and I'm looking forward to trying it.

Of course Titan...You don't have to be a programmer to support something...And believe me, when helping others in any way then you are helping in a BIG way.For example your idea for a screen saver helped out a lot...Your contribution is as important as everyone's else...You will have the update not later than tomorrow...Thanks again..

 

[difuno]

Thanks! Keep on with your great work!

 

[chickendung]

When I try to run an application I get a black screen, and when I try to run original frontend I get a black screen. When did you get you Wiz, chp? Maybe you got one with a later firmware that GPH secretly created for new devices... :huh:

The original frontend will run ONLY if you have previously run "install.gpe",otherwise it'll give you black screen...As of the applications I can't think of sth right now...Have you downloaded the latest version(with the keyboard support)?I got my WIZ about a month ago...but it's irrelevant because I have flashed the FW 1.1 from GPH's official site.Maybe is due to the FW version itself(you have 1.0.0 if I'm right?).

Latest version, FW 1.1.

 

[chrisvcpp]

When I try to run an application I get a black screen, and when I try to run original frontend I get a black screen. When did you get you Wiz, chp? Maybe you got one with a later firmware that GPH secretly created for new devices... :huh:

The original frontend will run ONLY if you have previously run "install.gpe",otherwise it'll give you black screen...As of the applications I can't think of sth right now...Have you downloaded the latest version(with the keyboard support)?I got my WIZ about a month ago...but it's irrelevant because I have flashed the FW 1.1 from GPH's official site.Maybe is due to the FW version itself(you have 1.0.0 if I'm right?).

Latest version, FW 1.1.

OK.Give me some info if you would...When do get the crash: when trying to run an application through the explorer found in system window? or when launching links?

 

[chrisvcpp]

OK.For whoever is interested, I have updated Win2X to version 0.3:
+Full keyboard support
+Some bug fixes
+New functions(based mostly on users feedback for which I'm gratefull) like brightness control and screen saver.
+Reconstruction of some functions to keep up with the keyboard controls.
I have also included some basic documentation with snapshots included aswell.
Feel free to try it and give some feedback...
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OSMU7YH7

 

[ProgZmax]

Wow chp, unlike gmenu2x this is exactly what I've been looking for for the Wiz so all I can say is thanks! Aside from the many great suggestions so far, a couple of vanity suggestions come to mind for later:

1. Animated menus so you can tell when you press a button or click on an icon.
2. An RGB/HSV slider to let you control the primary shade of the desktop default skin would be awesome.
3. Make the R shoulder button function as a mouse right click and the left shoulder button as a left mouse click. This way you could implement a right-click context menu for icons instead of having the menu appear from the taskbar.
4. A generic built-in theme menu that would allow you to load in your own menu graphics and sounds (or choose a skin) easily.

Aside from these and the suggestions already made I think you're in a good position to make THE replacement interface for the Wiz.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Edit: After trying the new version I notice that many of the newer popups don't respond to touchscreen presses yet and the ones that do seem to be rather sluggish to respond. The menu icons and the start icon react fine, as do the close icons on the popups. It seems to be the link icons that don't like to respond to double taps and have to be tapped repeatedly to respond. Otherwise, I like the new version and would almost install it as is even without complete functionality!

 

[chrisvcpp]

Wow chp, unlike gmenu2x this is exactly what I've been looking for for the Wiz so all I can say is thanks! Aside from the many great suggestions so far, a couple of vanity suggestions come to mind for later:

1. Animated menus so you can tell when you press a button or click on an icon.
2. An RGB/HSV slider to let you control the primary shade of the desktop default skin would be awesome.
3. Make the R shoulder button function as a mouse right click and the left shoulder button as a left mouse click. This way you could implement a right-click context menu for icons instead of having the menu appear from the taskbar.
4. A generic built-in theme menu that would allow you to load in your own menu graphics (or choose a skin) easily.

Aside from these and the suggestions already made I think you're in a good position to make THE replacement interface for the Wiz.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Thank you very much!I'm really happy to see other users support this...
Now...about animated effects I must say that it has come to my mind too..it would be really nice but it would also make the system heavier if not done wisely...that means overclocking and overclocking means less battery lifetime...I really wish to keep Win2X as less "heavy" as I can.But some basic animation effects will be included in the future for sure...
Your suggestion about the context menu is neat and you'll surely see it in the very next version...
Thank you again, and wish you a Merry Christmas!

 

[MiOdd]

New version looks great. Question though, what does the Speed Tweaks checkbox do exactly? I turned it on and ran an emulator but didn't notice any difference, not sure if I was supposed to either really, so yeah, just curious to know what that does. Also is there a way to rearrange the icons yet? Right now they are ordered by the order they are created. Can there be an option to sort alphabetically by the Link Text field? or by letting users arrange them manually maybe by holding a button down to grab the icon and let us drag it to a different place?

 

[chrisvcpp]

New version looks great. Question though, what does the Speed Tweaks checkbox do exactly? I turned it on and ran an emulator but didn't notice any difference, not sure if I was supposed to either really, so yeah, just curious to know what that does. Also is there a way to rearrange the icons yet? Right now they are ordered by the order they are created. Can there be an option to sort alphabetically by the Link Text field? or by letting users arrange them manually maybe by holding a button down to grab the icon and let us drag it to a different place?

Speed Tweaks is nothing special.It just applies ram timing tweaks and lcd timings tweaks(like pollux_set) and depends on the software you are running.
And thanks about mentioning icon arrangement..it will be done..

 

[chickendung]

When I try to run an application I get a black screen, and when I try to run original frontend I get a black screen. When did you get you Wiz, chp? Maybe you got one with a later firmware that GPH secretly created for new devices... :huh:

The original frontend will run ONLY if you have previously run "install.gpe",otherwise it'll give you black screen...As of the applications I can't think of sth right now...Have you downloaded the latest version(with the keyboard support)?I got my WIZ about a month ago...but it's irrelevant because I have flashed the FW 1.1 from GPH's official site.Maybe is due to the FW version itself(you have 1.0.0 if I'm right?).

Latest version, FW 1.1.

OK.Give me some info if you would...When do get the crash: when trying to run an application through the explorer found in system window? or when launching links?

The only way I can launch is through the explorer, because my touchscreen does not work. Unless there is a way to create links without the touchscreen, then the explorer is my only option. I may try your new version and get back to you.

 

[chrisvcpp]

The new version supports full keyboard support!So the touchscreen is not necessary anymore...

 

[ProgZmax]

I hope you'll still continue to implement the touchscreen because I find it to be a convenient way to browse the menus.

Also, I notice that the .gpu format is not recognized by the browser so I couldn't add an icon for programs like the gmu music player. It might work better if you took a page from gmenu2x and allowed the links to be created and then edited by a menu (icon graphic, executable type and location, cpu settings, etc) that saves all that information as part of the link.

 

[TitanUranus]

Glad to see that this is progressing nicely. One issue with the latest version I'd like to bring to your attention, the speed that Win2X responds to user input (from either joypad or touch screen) is quite a lot slower - this often means I tap the screen impatiently, unsure if my taps have registered, only for Win2X to ececute several taps in rapid succession (for example, if browsing with explorer, I may want to go up one directory, tap serveral times and it will go up 3 directories). I suspect this slowdown is a result of adding support for the joypad input as well as touch screen. If this is the case a quick temporary solution may be an option to allow users to switch between 1-Touch Screen Only, 2-Joypad/keys only and 3-both inputs.

I do agree that Win2x should remain as light and fast as possible, with no flashy visual features that would cause it's size to expand and slow things down. Any features of this nature should be available as "add on" packs for users who really want these items. I really like the way Win2x functions and looks right now, there's no clutter or fancy visuals, just a basic friendly navigation and configuration system.

I also have a couple of suggestions, which are really for far off in the future when the current bugs have been resolved. I like the idea of using the left/right buttons to bring up context menus - for example copy and paste on files. I also think it might be worthwhile making the pop up windows dragable to other locations on the screen (and maybe minimise them too), this would be very useful if you could open several windows at once, and copy/paste between them. I know this would be quite a lot of work, but I think it'd be worthwhile in the long run. If that idea is too complex, perhaps expanding the explorer to have a left and right panel that could browse different locations and transfer files would be hugely advantagous, especially if it could allow you to zip and unzip files! This would allow people to store a lot of extra things on there SD cards and only extract them when needed.

One last thing, your english is very good and there is no difficulty understanding your documentation. If you would like I could make a few minor corrections. It's not vital, and the documentation is fine as it is, all I'd do is tidy it up slightly. If you're interested send me a PM and I'll give you my email address. Obviously I'll still write any new ideas and feedback here for you anyway.

Good luck, happy christmas and a good new year to you.

 

[chrisvcpp]

I hope you'll still continue to implement the touchscreen because I find it to be a convenient way to browse the menus.

Also, I notice that the .gpu format is not recognized by the browser so I couldn't add an icon for programs like the gmu music player. It might work better if you took a page from gmenu2x and allowed the links to be created and then edited by a menu (icon graphic, executable type and location, cpu settings, etc) that saves all that information as part of the link.

Of course I'll continue to implement the touchscreen!I prefer the touchscreen myself.Gpu is not currently recognized because any .gpu file can be renamed to
.gpe and run in the same way as long as the 'shell header' exists in the file(#!/bin/sh/).But I will include gpu in the next version.
About the other thing...if I got it right you are talking about compatibility with GMenu2X's links(correct??).If this's the case then, I'm sorry but no:compatibility with GMenu2X is not in my plans because(in my opinion)it's pointless...

 

[chrisvcpp]

Glad to see that this is progressing nicely. One issue with the latest version I'd like to bring to your attention, the speed that Win2X responds to user input (from either joypad or touch screen) is quite a lot slower - this often means I tap the screen impatiently, unsure if my taps have registered, only for Win2X to ececute several taps in rapid succession (for example, if browsing with explorer, I may want to go up one directory, tap serveral times and it will go up 3 directories). I suspect this slowdown is a result of adding support for the joypad input as well as touch screen. If this is the case a quick temporary solution may be an option to allow users to switch between 1-Touch Screen Only, 2-Joypad/keys only and 3-both inputs.

I do agree that Win2x should remain as light and fast as possible, with no flashy visual features that would cause it's size to expand and slow things down. Any features of this nature should be available as "add on" packs for users who really want these items. I really like the way Win2x functions and looks right now, there's no clutter or fancy visuals, just a basic friendly navigation and configuration system.

I also have a couple of suggestions, which are really for far off in the future when the current bugs have been resolved. I like the idea of using the left/right buttons to bring up context menus - for example copy and paste on files. I also think it might be worthwhile making the pop up windows dragable to other locations on the screen (and maybe minimise them too), this would be very useful if you could open several windows at once, and copy/paste between them. I know this would be quite a lot of work, but I think it'd be worthwhile in the long run. If that idea is too complex, perhaps expanding the explorer to have a left and right panel that could browse different locations and transfer files would be hugely advantagous, especially if it could allow you to zip and unzip files! This would allow people to store a lot of extra things on there SD cards and only extract them when needed.

One last thing, your english is very good and there is no difficulty understanding your documentation. If you would like I could make a few minor corrections. It's not vital, and the documentation is fine as it is, all I'd do is tidy it up slightly. If you're interested send me a PM and I'll give you my email address. Obviously I'll still write any new ideas and feedback here for you anyway.

Good luck, happy christmas and a good new year to you.

Thank you Titan(once again) for stating the slowdown bug.I noticed it too,and it's already fixed.It was not due to the addition of keyboard support, but due to some unnecessary activity in the background...Now..the other thing you are suggesting is making Win2X a multithread platform...
It can be done and I would love to it...but I really need some time to think of it, as it is a big step and could very easily overload the system,resulting in less battery life...About the documentation,I really don't want to bother you with this at the moment as it was very sloppy(I spent 3 whole minutes writing it ).I'm planning to write a more serious documentation so I'll be in your debt for your help.Thank you for your time and your feedback.Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

[sam fisher]

You shouldn't need multiple threads in action to have more than one window open.

Edit: Forgot to mention, I tried this earlier and it looks pretty cool. However, touchscreen did not work for me for whatever reason (I have firmware version 1.1.0 or which ever one is the newest in the case that I have got the number wrong) and when I launched the original menu from it then the touchscreen no longer worked in this. This is probably significant and I hope it helps direct you to the source of the bug.

 

[ProgZmax]

No, I didn't mean compatibility but actual similarity of behavior as in copying how gmenu2x handles link creation with the menu to choose the link icon, the location and type of executable it runs, and so on. This would allow people to choose their own image for the link icons as well as give them the flexibility of selecting the 'right' executable for a program regardless of the extension.

 

[MiOdd]

So I've been playing with this a lot today and have a few more simple suggestions for you.

1. I think I already suggested we need a sorting method for the icons I think there should be a option to sort by either "Link Text" or "Link Description"
2. When typing in text, the on screen GUI is all blue which makes it very difficult to see which letter is selected, would it be possible to highlight the selection better? Maybe making the whole box orange instead of just the border?
3. Also on the text screen there is no space character I only see underscore which I think looks ugly. (I know this one is kinda immaterial, haha)
4. If there are too many characters entered in the "Link Text" or "Link Description" field, can there be marquee scrolling implemented so we can see all the characters.
5. Can we change the orientation of icons? The desktop automatically sorts them from top to bottom whereas the individual windows sorts them left to right.

So yeah, thats all I can think of at the moment, the only major feature I would like to see implemented is some kind of sorting method the rest of my recommendations are just me nitpicking because I like this menu so much already I just want it to be perfect!