[preview] Rk Dock

You can't "simply 3d or directx" the desktop, because that would break compatibility with all your legacy apps - they use oldskool drawing functions that will in some cases draw on the desktop themselves, e.g. when moving a dockable tool bar in MS office outside of the window rectangle. (On a true 3d desktop, Konfab, AveDesk etc will cease to function.)

Siwu's SprintWindow is the most advanced candidate to accomplish this, but you see how it depends on driver installation. That kind of remoting must indeed come from a driver or system level so that GUI utility functions (in User32.dll etc) are redirected to a DirectX surface and not directly written to the framebuffer.

You don't want to have each pixel rendered twice or three times to accomplish this.

The main problem here is the age of windows: It has evolved from 1991 16-bit ISA CGA/EGA with 512 KBytes SRAM over VGA/SVGA to the fanned monsters we have today. Drawing GUI stuff in these days were deliberately kept simple because of the cards could barely hold the video memory, so overlapping windows were redrawn each time they were unobscured. This attitude is not compatible with texture happy 3d sceneries and stuff. Note how the screen flickers when you switch from desktop to game even if both have the same resolution. Note that DirectX games generally don't support being played in a window other than fullscreen: The reason is simply that side-by-side of both drops performance severely.

I'd recommend focusing on the real stuff and leaving 3d issues to longhorn.

#240693

Please guys. STOP asking for features. Thanks for the great explanation herd.

Let's see this dock released and working well before we ask for nearly useless things like live previews.

#240726

Maybe they could not "hold" the images when the cards where 2mb or less (which is when GDI was designed) but today we are fast approaching cards that have 256mb. and the low end right now is considred 64mb. But the fact is that if you want more features, whatever you will have to sacrifice some performance, even on Longhorn which will require a 64mb card for the low end experience.

You can't "simply 3d or directx" the desktop, because that would break compatibility with all your legacy apps - they use oldskool drawing functions that will in some cases draw on the desktop themselves, e.g. when moving a dockable tool bar in MS office outside of the window rectangle. (On a true 3d desktop, Konfab, AveDesk etc will cease to function.)

Siwu's SprintWindow is the most advanced candidate to accomplish this, but you see how it depends on driver installation. That kind of remoting must indeed come from a driver or system level so that GUI utility functions (in User32.dll etc) are redirected to a DirectX surface and not directly written to the framebuffer.
You don't want to have each pixel rendered twice or three times to accomplish this.

The main problem here is the age of windows: It has evolved from 1991 16-bit ISA CGA/EGA with 512 KBytes SRAM over VGA/SVGA to the fanned monsters we have today. Drawing GUI stuff in these days were deliberately kept simple because of the cards could barely hold the video memory, so overlapping windows were redrawn each time they were unobscured. This attitude is not compatible with texture happy 3d sceneries and stuff. Note how the screen flickers when you switch from desktop to game even if both have the same resolution. Note that DirectX games generally don't support being played in a window other than fullscreen: The reason is simply that side-by-side of both drops performance severely.

I'd recommend focusing on the real stuff and leaving 3d issues to longhorn.

#240864

actually not, smoke... longhorn will run just like today's windows runs. but the extra eye candy needs a nice video card. but it doesn't require.

#240900

I was gone for 2 weeks on a very loooong vacation and I didn't have any time to work on the project.

But now I'm back and I want to release the first version it in less than 3 weeks...

#242602

[homer]hmmm...vacation...[/homer]

welcome back. now get to work! if this thing's not dome in 2 weeks, you're fired!

#242605

it's good to hear that =)

#242608

if possible

make it so games dont make it get all slow

object dock SLOWS down after a game has been open and it requires a restart

#242615

if possible
make it so games dont make it get all slow

object dock SLOWS down after a game has been open and it requires a restart

Stop playing with those games and stop asking for more features, let him work, and let him bring us a good magnification, and stable dock, everything with time my man, Keep it up Raduking , We'll be waiting.

#242680

Hey, when you're going to play a game, close your dock and then play. Less problems that way. ANd you don't need the dock when you play.

#242695

You know what, Willy is right: if you have problems with dock while you're playing, dump these stupid games.

Well, Raduking, nice to have you back among us. We'll wait for beta.

#242734

Hey, when you're going to play a game, close your dock and then play. Less problems that way. ANd you don't need the dock when you play.

Exactly what i do. Just close the dock, simple bam and done. Then once you're done playing, re open it!

-bolero

#242798

What I want to know is why would a dock screw your game? Turn off Magnification silly person. It'll work for Halo and Doom 3.

#242818

yup i turn off the magnification when im playing mafia

#242835

Just had a thought...

Windows Media 9 and 10 on Windows XP have a feature to play the movie straight from the taskbar through a little mini-window off the taskbar... It's likely they made it impossible to show this mini-window anywhere else, but I thought it was something to look into...

This dock looks really cool so far, keep up the good work.

EDIT: and please don't see this as cause for flaming, I don't need this feature NOW NOW NOW, I just thought it was something to look in to at some point

#243109

Anybody has an ideea how does Y'Z Dock draw the item text that smooth ?

#243786

Its possibly pre-rendered into a CachedBitmap.

Also check if the number of threads increase when mousing over the dock.

#243797

yes you're right

#243824

anyway how can I draw text like that I mean how can I draw shadow under a text with GDI+ ?

is there a default way other than first drawing the text in black with x + 1, y + 1 ?

#243825

not that i know of

#243834

for the shadow, would it be fast enough to redraw the entire text in black with some alpha transparency and place it underneath the normal text?

#243965

I just thought of something: does RKL have an icon yet? I should get crackin' on a prototype! Also, I know it was mentioned before, but RK's gonna need stock icons to distribute with RKL.

Sorry it this is a little rushed, but I am getting into graphics more and more...

@shmengie (A.K.A. Alfred E. Neumann): He'll have it done in 1.

...

//looks around for people who actually got that...

#243971

anyway how can I draw text like that I mean how can I draw shadow under a text with GDI+ ?
is there a default way other than first drawing the text in black with x + 1, y + 1 ?

There is no default way.

0. Doing the text in black with an offset won't get you an accurately blurred shadow.

1. Manually implement kinda gaussian blur - directly manipulate the bitmap data.

2. Wildly scale some text first large then small again: blur. (Source: AndreasV)

3. Employ some 3rd party code. (codeguru, codeproject)

hth,

herd

#243991

check this out: