Aqua-Soft ForumsGuess there'll be nothing to do right now, but wait.
I sure am curious to the final result...
[preview] FlyakiteOSX v1.0
Not to be a dumbass, cos i read the thread, but will it be worth installing flyakiteOSX even though i currently have Flyakite Sp2? Sorry if the question sounds a bit obvious, just need to clarify! On the otherhand i must say ur work has truely excelled beyond my and anyones expectation. I thought Flyakite Sp2 was the last of ur work, from reading some threads, however im delighted at ur true commitment and i honour u in that , well done mate 
Btw how's ur Half Life 2 coming along, i should be getting mine in a few weeks, Yay, and hopefully b4 christmas 
. Just to remind everyone, check out the www.tweakguides.com website often, as the Half Life 2 Tweak Guide will be shortly be released 
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Another benefit I think people here forgot to mention is that the filesize will be much smaller if this technique is implemented because there will be no need to package system files ever again.
Dial-up users will appreciate this quite a bit I think.
i never used any of the packs but i`m sure gonna use this one!
i like the fact that i`ll be able to change the images while keeping the text the same (i know, i`m not a Mac purist 
)
Thanks Chris, can`t wait to get my hands on this baby
I've seen that, they still do system file replacement.
Chris is going about it in a much less destructive or restrictive manner.
ooo this is going to be an intresting project i will be waiting for.
I've seen that, they still do system file replacement.Chris is going about it in a much less destructive or restrictive manner.
Yes i know, but that project still in development,
i haven't test it but i know it works good, so ...
Flyakite HURRY UP!
(just kidding)
Wow. this sounds so hot chris!
keep it up!!!
if you need any help with icons whatever, or stuff that you'd like to include icons for (ie control panel items, stuff like that) let me know, and i'll be on msn right away
So just a few questions on this too:
- will this consume any sort of resources at all then?
- will it work on some of the stuff found in SP2 but not SP1 like the wireless and security center stuff and things like that?
im really looking forward to this. maybe if it'll come out this year, then i'll hold off formatting my computer and wait till this comes!! keep it up man
How could it consume resources? It's not an active program- you only need to run the installer once.- will this consume any sort of resources at all then?
If I'm understanding you right, the answer to that question is no.
-NC
So just a few questions on this too:- will this consume any sort of resources at all then?
- will it work on some of the stuff found in SP2 but not SP1 like the wireless and security center stuff and things like that?
im really looking forward to this. maybe if it'll come out this year, then i'll hold off formatting my computer and wait till this comes!! keep it up man
Consume resources? Well not any more than the other Flyakite packs did. It patches your system files with new icons etc. Yes it will work for the stuff found in SP2 but not SP1. Will work for WMP8,9,10 etc.
As for a release date, yes it is scheduled for this year, I will not say exactly when though because I don't want to commit to a date and miss it, but I can guarantee it will be out by the end of this year, that I promise.
Chris, love your work, just wanting to know, the Flyapacks, are they going to be based on completely differrent system styles from OSX themes? Such as Milk or Fear for example? I for one would love to see a FlyakiteOSX with a FlyaPac that includes the option to use Snow.E icons and resources.
Thanks for the replies guys. That pretty much answered everything. I was just under the impression that some parts of it would be active at all times. haha dunno why. anyhoo, it's definately great to hear though! if you need any help with icons/programs/stuff/suggestions, i'd be very willing to lend a helping hand.
Oh by the way, last time we talked, you were mentioning that you were thinking of reintroducing some older stuff found in SP1 v.6 like the different display windows etc. Are you thinking of doing that this time around? I'm happy either way, but it'd be nice to know Thanks again chris!
Keep up the top notch job!
Hi, im new in that, i see the pack of Flyakite and i think this is cool. But i donwload the pack, but i'm spanish and i selected extrac files only, ok, what is the next step??, i extract de BACHMOD, i read the readme, i download the replacer and the hack program that aren't included in the pack, but, what i must do for install if???, only execute the *.cmd files???
Edit: And if i do that, can i unistall it if something goes wrong???
This is not the place for those types of questions...this is a preview thread for something flyakite is doing.
Post in this thread: http://www.aqua-soft.org/board/showthread.php?t=20358 (for Sp2) , or this one: http://www.aqua-soft.org/board/showthread.php?t=20691&page=1
Good luck!
-NC
If it's not too much text in the readme I can do an English to Swedish translation.
Read my response to the following question for details on the first two Flyapacks to be released, but in terms of different system styles then yes - certainly in the near future those will be available. However, Chris first needs to get permission from the original authors before he can put them into Flyapacks, so there's no guarantee that a particular set you're after can be included.Chris, love your work, just wanting to know, the Flyapacks, are they going to be based on completely differrent system styles from OSX themes? Such as Milk or Fear for example? I for one would love to see a FlyakiteOSX with a FlyaPac that includes the option to use Snow.E icons and resources.
However, feel free to submit your idea to Chris for a Flyapack and he'll contact the author and see what he can do
Yes. Basically, the main installer will have all of the expected icon resources etc, and there will be a couple of Flyapacks released along with it. One will change some of those window dialogs (such as display properties), and the other will change menu items (such as changing 'Create Shortcut' to 'Create Alias'), etc.Oh by the way, last time we talked, you were mentioning that you were thinking of reintroducing some older stuff found in SP1 v.6 like the different display windows etc. Are you thinking of doing that this time around? I'm happy either way, but it'd be nice to know
Basically it would have been a lot of work (and the files tend to be huge) to be able to have released multiple versions of the original Flyakite System Packs to cater to everyone's needs. Chris left out the window dialog changes from his SP2 pack as a personal preference. The fantastic thing about the Flyapacks for FlyakiteOSX is that (for a tiny download) you can pretty much choose exactly how you want it customized.
Want the dialogs changed but still want to use the original menu texts? You only need to download one flyapack. It basically just gives you more choice over the customization of your system
Hope that answers your questions?
the flyakite have a person to translate him for portuguese ?
Sorry, and thanks
Update 3!
========= Translators =========
Well I'm sorry to announce but I am not going to need translators. The installer has the ability to allow you to select the language and then it will display the right text in the installer. The only thing it doesn't translate is the custom stuff, like the readme, license, etc. However, for me to design it so that the readme and license etc. change depending on the language would take a LOT of work, in fact more than a lot, so I'm not going to do it. Everyone who uses Flyakite knows at least a little english, and since not much will be in English if they select a different language, it won't be a big deal.
========= Patching System =========
Okay well the installer system has changed, AGAIN.... but for the last time, seriously. Now I'm not using resource (.res) files. Instead the raw resources themselves (icons, bitmaps, avis, etc.) are in the installer. They get extracted to a folder and a custom script is used by ResHacker to overwrite the appropriate resource in the right file. I've successfully got it working and have tested it.
The reason I'm not using resource files is because of a limitation I found within them. The language code for each resource is included inside of the resource file, and it can only be changed, not removed. So, since the resource files came from my system, they are all associated with 1033. This means that ResHacker only replaces the resources on the other users system if their files are also language code 1033. Now I've found a way to bypass this by changing the language in the .res files to 0 (Neutral). However, they get added to the users file, not replaced. Meaning the file on the users system has their original icon AND the new icon. Since the icon is Neutral (0), the system uses it before their original icon. So even though this method works, it makes the file size much larger since it keeps the original resources, and I didn't want that.
========= File Installation Method =========
Also the installer is now using a different method to install the files. It doesn't do the normal "rename original file, extract new file" thing. Now it uses a special registry value called PendingFileRenameOperations. This tells the computer to rename files on reboot, before XP is loaded. This now allows me to bypass Windows File Protection completely. No need to disable it, to auto-close windows, etc. It's never a concern because the files are renamed when XP isn't fully loaded and running.
========= New Update System =========
So if anyone remembers in the first post I said Windows Update wouldn't be a problem, because if files get restored to their XP versions, you can just install again and your files will be repatched.
Well, I've figured out an even easier and more efficient way to do this. For every file the installer patches, it will read the file size and write it to an INI file. There will now be a seperate update program included. When you run the program, it will read the file size of the file on your system and compare it with the file size stored in the INI file. If they are different, the file gets patched again.
Now you may be wondering how this is going to work with future FlyaPacks for strings and dialogs. Well those packs will rewrite the file size to the INI file, so when you install a FlyaPack and use the Update program, it doesn't see the sizes as being different and try to repatch the file.
========= User Benefits =========
So now to sum up most of the benefits throughout this entire thread and what's going on:
1) This installer will work on all versions of XP, no matter if there is no Service Pack, SP1, SP2, etc. It will work on Media Center Edition, on 2003, and will work for any language, keeping that users language on the system.
2) No system files are actual "installed" during installation. They technically get renamed on restart, before Windows loads (like shell32.tmp gets renamed to shell32.dll). This bypasses Windows File Protection all together.
3) Because no system files actual get installed, the installer is not going to force you to restart when you are done. You will be given the option to "Reboot now" or "Manually reboot later".
4) The update system will offer 1-click updating. Simply run the updater, and it will take care of the rest. It determins what files need updating and re-updates them.
5) The installer is much, much smaller now. It currently is at about 17mb, compared to FlyakiteSP2 which was almost 30mb. This will help out all of my mirrors as well as be very beneficial to those users on dial-up.
6) Things that are specific to users with certain files will not affect other users. If you have Service Pack 2, the Security Center will get moddified. If you don't have SP2, that stuff gets skipped. Same goes for anything in the installer. If you select everything to be installed, even if you selected say QCD Player and Windowblinds Skins, if you don't have those installed on your system they get skipped.
Hopefully, FlyakiteOSX will enter the early beta stage next weekend. Do not ask to beta test right now. I will send out requests when the time comes.
That sounds great!
This installer is really gonna be a revolution in the aqua community.
I can't wait to see this installer being released.
I have one question. How are you gonna deal with the ntoskrnl.exe file? Is this file gonna be patched as all the other files?
Well, some great stuff we're all waiting for! Can't wait to try it. And look at the size of it! You truly are PRO, Flyakite.
Wicked, great stuff mate ! Just one question, and please forgive me if you have mentioned this but i might have missed it, so u don't need to be fully updated with all windows updates in order to install the pack, all icons, etc will be changed regardless if u have updated or not?
Just that i'm planning on doing a fresh install with Service Pack 2 so i can install FlyakiteOSX together with Half Life 2 . Man this will sure be a good christmas for me !
That's correct. As Chris has mentioned earlier - no system files are included - just the icons etc which are automatically added to your own system files. This means that unlike previous Flyakite mods which were dependant on having either Service Pack 1 or 2, FlyakiteOSX will work regardless of which service pack you're using - it'll even work if you're not using either of them!
It's gonna be more compatible, easier to install and a smaller download amongst many other things. You can betcha ass it's gonna be a good christmas!
in the dictionary, if you look up 'overachiever', is there a picture of chris? sleep is for pussies, huh?
and chris, if you want to get promoted from demi-god to semi-god, you should do a longhorn pack for the guys over at aero-soft. they'll erect a statue of you in the park.