AveDesk 1.4 Future

I'm slowly working on the 1.4 version of AveDesk. This next release will mainly focus on bugfixes of longstanding bugs and add some extra features.

For example, a lot of ShowCase bugs are being eliminated; inputting non-ASCII languages in editbox controls will also work. I hope to address most visible and invisible bugs and problems.

New stuff

Added proper lighting to the flip animation (with the help of 3d guru menge).

It simply looks more real and a bit better and, obviously, it's done by ones graphics card, so it doesn't impact performance at all.

This screenshot shows how the desklet is being lit when it flips; the more it's rotated to the back, the darker it gets

There's gonna be a more graphically way of adding desklets. Instead of only showing text, things will be shown as icons (or even small live previews) of desklets in some sort of list / bar / dock / still to be determined.

There will be some more AveControls, so making desklets with an interactive interface should be easier to create. Controls to think of are a listbox, checkboxes, maybe some sort of lightweight mark-up rendering control (no fancy stuff, only colors and styles).

Another addition that would make desklet creation easier is to allow sub-layers.

Stand Alone Desklets

Imagine the following scenario: you are not a hardcore AveDesk user, but you like to occasionally run a widget, such as Judges Reflective AlbumArt, or the Notes desklet. Currently, you would need to find out how AveDesk works, install it, run it, etc... All just for one small desklet.

It would be much easier if you could run that cool desklet just by double-clicking an EXE file and get rid of the desklet by removing the EXE file. This is in short how DesktopX works with so-called gadgets. Gadgets are just stand-alone objects/widgets. Most of those gadgets are being sold: 10 to 15 euro for a small gadget.

I have been playing for a while with this idea, and I think it should work for AveDesk also. So, AveDesk 1.4 would also make stand-alone desklets possible. It will probably be a seperate application, something like AveDesk Appifier - if you have a better name, please tell me.

Stand Alone Desklets: this screenshots shows 4 desklets (akamai widget [port], drop ftp, KoLs weather and notes) as EXE files.

Want-to-haves for AveDesk 1.4

A thing I have been playing with lately is a sort-of CoreImage extra for AveDesk. CoreImage is basically a pure hardware accelerated effects library on OSX. Effects like blurring, colormatrices, hue shifts can be done incredibly quick and accurate with the help of the graphics card.

I'm experimenting with ways of offering the same kind of library (on much smaller of course), with the help of pixelshaders.

Basically, this means that if I get this to work (factors are: available time and insight in the stuff), AveDesk desklets and sysstats overlays could use hardware accelerated effects. No promise made on this one though.

Discussion.

Tell me what you want to like to see changed in AveDesk. New things you would like to see, but NOT DESKLET REQUESTS.

Good I want to be able to drag desklets out of the control panel onto the desktop to instantly export them. I think this feature is handy because I export a lot of desklets and menu->export is too many steps for me

bad (don't do!): I want a winamp/foobar/myPersonalMediaPlayer desklet. And while you are reading it, I demand also a gas-prices and a wireless strength widget.

I would really like input on the stand-alone desklets idea

#350658

Yeah... there's a bunch of errors in your post and title Ave... shouldn't all those 1.4's be replaced by 2.0's?

#350659

There is some weird bug/problem where all the images are pixelated when resized... I'm sorry if it's already been addressed, but I'd really like to see it fixed. Thanks!

I can't wait to play with the new flip effect! It's the perfect anti-productivity effect and it look fantastic!

#350665

Sounds very neat. In fact, I think you should do whatever you please, all your ideas are excellent. Not only your ideas, but you have the gift to bring them alive.

If you could create an exe, say for AveTunes, would I be able to use it in another PC (with out AveDesk)?

You should try to contact someone at Microsoft or Apple, you wil become the programmer they all have heard in the programming prophecies. Very talented person and kind.

(Offtopic: Are you the one wearing black pants and shooting?)

#350679

I think the standalone is a great idea. It would be perfect for the computers at work, or for my parents (since there is no way they could figure out AveDesk, but they'd love to have a weather widget on their desktop)...

#350684

Heres the problem I see: the standalone apps will kill Avedesk.

Why?

The metric ton of skinners who only do AveTunes skins will dominate even MORE as its a standalone.

AveDesk doesn't need more AveTunes skinners, it needs Widget makers. 1.3 is a step in the right direction and 1.4 looks like it EXCEPT that standalone widget thing. Hold out on that till AveDesk becomes popular I say.

#350688

...
Stand Alone Desklets

Imagine the following scenario: you are not a hardcore AveDesk user, but you like to occasionally run a widget, such as Judges Reflective AlbumArt, or the Notes desklet. Currently, you would need to find out how AveDesk works, install it, run it, etc... All just for one small desklet.

It would be much easier if you could run that cool desklet just by double-clicking an EXE file and get rid of the desklet by removing the EXE file. This is in short how DesktopX works with so-called gadgets. Gadgets are just stand-alone objects/widgets. Most of those gadgets are being sold: 10 to 15 euro for a small gadget.

I have been playing for a while with this idea, and I think it should work for AveDesk also. So, AveDesk 1.4 would also make stand-alone desklets possible. It will probably be a seperate application, something like AveDesk Appifier - if you have a better name, please tell me.

...

we´re running desks and docks, that´s why we´re running desklets and docklets. some people run widgets and gadgets, too. but do they really know what they are running, where they belong to? i don´t think so...

a desklet without AveDesk? for me that´ll be an AveLet and nothing else. so who´s gonna kill AveDesk?

#350691

I'd like to see some sort of interaction between desklets and Avedesk, in the sense where a desklet can get information from AveDesk (maybe how many desklets are running, or something along those lines), and maybe the ability to control AveDesk functionality (envoke Showcase by clicking on the desklet). Hope that makes sense. :/

#350692

There is some weird bug/problem where all the images are pixelated when resized... I'm sorry if it's already been addressed, but I'd really like to see it fixed. Thanks!

Heu. Never seen this been reported as a bug.

If you could create an exe, say for AveTunes, would I be able to use it in another PC (with out AveDesk)?

Yeah, that's the idea: instant run, no need for installing extra stuff.

(Offtopic: Are you the one wearing black pants and shooting?)

Yep.

The metric ton of skinners who only do AveTunes skins will dominate even MORE as its a standalone.

Sorry, but I fail to see how the number of avetunes skins and standalone desklets are correlated to each other.

a desklet without AveDesk? for me that´ll be an AveLet and nothing else. so who´s gonna kill AveDesk?

Pleaaassee :confused: try to also say why you think something is gonna happen. This is just a random statement now that won't help me at all

I'd like to see some sort of interaction between desklets and Avedesk

Luckily, that's already possible - thru the great work of herd. I do agree more possibilities would be easier.

#350696

Well i Love Ave Desk! its so innovative and awesome haha. What would be a cool feature would be a sort of widget dock inbuilt to avedesk for show case. Something similar to that of Dashboard that when a widget is dropped creates a water ripple or some other effect.

The one thing that makes AveDesk unique is the fact that it can run amazing effects efficiantly. Keep it up!

LAJv

#350701

Pleaaassee :confused: try to also say why you think something is gonna happen. This is just a random statement now that won't help me at all

misunderstood!

what i tried to say is: simply call those standalone desklets AveLets, and nothing´s gonna happen! for me that´s the only logical name for such applications.

enjoilax wrote "the standalone apps will kill Avedesk". i don´t think so. why should they? and how? i´m not one of the "AveDesk power-users", but i always run two desklets a minimum (recycle bin and clock, and i use showcase to see my desktop with many windows opened). so i´ll be running AveDesk in the future, too. and i think most people will do. there´ll not be much users, who only run one standalone desklet ... sorry AveLet *ggg*. but for those users the ability to have only one process running without all the other stuff they don´t want or need will be kind of new way to "try out" AveDesk. they´ll like it and they´ll install and run AveDesk.

i think those standalone desklets are a great idea, because at the end of the day they´ll "support" your work, your application and they´ll "spread" the desklet development.

...very difficult in english...*g*

#350702

Abiltiy to use a feflection effect on the shorcuts.... I know you said it will be hard but I hope one day it will be possible....lol

Also the ability to resize and selection box effect, shouldnt be that hard .

#350716

I Love the stand alone desklet idea- but one thing, how much ram would they eat?

Also, when is this projected to be released?

#350721

Still try and make the interface more friendly, I'm talking about desklet settings, modules, etc...

Perhaps two "modes?" Beginner and advanced...

Loving the idea of standalone desklets .

-NC

#350727

I like the idea of a standalone 'avelet'- however would these come in the form of a 'universal binary' (for lack of a better term) that would run as both and avelet in standalone mode and as a regular desklet like we have now. I think that having too many binaries for the same desklet may be confusing and hard to keep track of.

I also really would like a more graphically oriented 'add desklet pane' with possibly preview icons. The current implementation seems a little cheap in comparison to the rest of the program.

#350744

I would like to see

- more user friendly interface (may be an enhanced inbuilt desklet manager)

- bug fixes, stability, better memory management

Ok, this may be the hardest thing - how about a yahoo widget/desktopx gadget to ave desklet converter ?

edit : since u r using pixel shaders, hardware acceleration etc. stuff, it will be a good option to have an option for the user to switch between hardware acc and software acc or an option to disable shaders and effects when running on a pc without graphics card.

#350759

pacifica333 - patience. As for efficiency, i can tell you it runs as efficiently as AveDesk. RAM and CPU usage is minimal. It even runs a bit faster than AveDesk

ntchemist938 - there is a selection box effectlet and it's been there for a while.

kiran_aryan - better memory management? I have around 15 desklets running right now and AveDesk uses 1.5megs. I don't see how things can get better than that? 15 deskelts use as much RAM as ONE Yahoo widget (well not even that much). Also i think switching between HW acc and SW acc is pointless. Why? Because people with comps so weak that they can't support HW acc are the ones who don't usualy know how to enable/disable such advanced options.

However, Mr. V is free to prove me wrong

#350815

I'm slowly working on the 1.4 version of AveDesk. This next release will mainly focus on bugfixes of longstanding bugs and add some extra features.

hehe, I've heard this before: it means 1.4 will be out in a month and it will be another revolution I've been waiting this thread for so long; I was keeping a list somewhere, but it got lost I think.

I agree that the add-desklet interface needs some make up: in 1.3 adding a new desklet requires from 5 to 8 click. The more the desklets around, the more it will be important to add and delete them on the fly and the tree structure is too slow :slant: The theme browser is a wonderful feature, but at the moment is so hidden that probably a 70% of the users doesn't know about it (I could open a poll!). However, it's 3 clicks away.

My idea: a 2-clicks-away option to show a [flat] list of desklets to add, a 2-clicks-away option for the theme browser. A dashboard-like dock is not that fast if you have many - and come on, you can do better - something like a vertical list (so there is place for text next to the icon/preview) and 1-click add... what about tabs in the control panel ? current / new / themes ?

Context menus: this has been discussed before, I'll just state it again here. Right-click menu are long. AD adds 8 entries, more or less the 15% of the height of a 1024x768 desktop.

My idea: an option to hide these entries - a submenu is optional

Modules and tools: unknown friends. I've tried and tried and tried to write a distribuited effectlet to align my desklet automatically. The best results more or less work, but they are slow and jumpy, when they don't lock everything. Unusable :slant: These thing must be single-handed by modules, but how do I write one?

My idea: Module SDK or scriptable module and something about Tools, but I really don't know what.

smaller stuff:

is the lost-icon-on-new-or-duplicated-pidlshortcut still hanging around ?
why is "duplicate" an irreversible action? more clicks...
optional open-on-hover for pidlshortcuts
some scripting relating stuff - I'll put in the Dev-Hangout I think

Final thought: we've got eye candy, so much I could kill myself with it. Maybe a "consolidation" release is what we really need

#350846

Standalone Avelets is a nice idea, although I don't think I will use/need it.

Although AveDesk is meant to be a simple tool its interface is still confusing:

- What are modules? Are they needed?

- The term "Global Settings" is confusing, simply Settings or Options is better an more widely used.

- Why is the "Default Properties Dialog" under Settings and Desklets? It makes more sense to be only under Desklets.

- The properties Dialog is full of options, a "easy" mode might be helpful.

- Some desklets can be flipped and configured, others (pidl) must be configured throughout the properties dialog - a dialog similar to Konfab. will be helpful. Eyecandy flip effects or "macish" drop downs aren't needed in my opinion.

- A add desklet wizard can help to configure AveDesk

- Not directly a problem of AveDesk but the seperation between Sysstats, Desklets and AveScripter is confusing - most users don't understand or want to know the difference.

#350858

For 1.4 I'd like to see tighter integration between AveDesk, AveScripter, and Systats. I'd like to be able to download and install v1.4 and get AveScripter and Systats installed (properly) at the same time....not have to hunt for the latest versions somewhere else. Also, when a new version of systats is released have a better "upgrade in place" process with Avedesk instead of manually deleting the old files (or copying the new ones over the top of the old). Avescripter is great - double-click on the newer version and it's installed. I love the power of Systats but it's a bear for a beginner to configure...a tighter integration into the graphical control panel of Avedesk might make it easier to use for the masses.

#350872

need Dashboard style WidgetDock ,support drag.

hope you add the function!!!

#350888

Yes, I would LOVE the widgetdock for Avedesk, that is the only thing holding me back from using Avedesk for my dashboard.

#350896

Standalone Avelets is a nice idea, although I don't think I will use/need it.
Although AveDesk is meant to be a simple tool its interface is still confusing:
- What are modules? Are they needed?
- The term "Global Settings" is confusing, simply Settings or Options is better an more widely used.
- Why is the "Default Properties Dialog" under Settings and Desklets? It makes more sense to be only under Desklets.
- The properties Dialog is full of options, a "easy" mode might be helpful.
- Some desklets can be flipped and configured, others (pidl) must be configured throughout the properties dialog - a dialog similar to Konfab. will be helpful. Eyecandy flip effects or "macish" drop downs aren't needed in my opinion.
- A add desklet wizard can help to configure AveDesk
- Not directly a problem of AveDesk but the seperation between Sysstats, Desklets and AveScripter is confusing - most users don't understand or want to know the difference.

- The fact that you don't know what modules are doesn't mean other people don't need them. They are a powerfull add on and others people use them (i know i do). It's your own fault you don't know about them.

- Why is Gloobal Settings confusing? What you can't understand the difference between desklet settings and global, AveDesk settings?

- Because Default Properties Dialog is part of Settings?

- It's just that, your opinion.

- Do we really need a wizard to add desklets? Has the intellect of todays people really degraded that much?

- It is not Ave's fault and some see diversity as one of AveDesk strenghts. AveScripter and AveDesk play hand-in-hand and i don't see a problem with that.

#350900

Sorry Unbe, what I meant was the ability to resize the selection box effect...

#350924

Hello unbeliever, why do you attack me this way? Ave asked which points about AveDesk could be improved and I answered what I think can be done. You are right that is my opinion but I never claimed to speak for the whole community. I might be wrong of course, but take for example the "Default Properties Dialog": This dialog sets the default settings for desklets, so why is it under settings? It is for desklets (where it already is, right). So I suggest to remove it from settings - nothing more. Why should I know the difference between global settings and default properties as an user new to AveDesk? Of course can you click on both an try it, no problem for me, but it is still trial and error.

I know what those modules are for and I know what the global settings mean, but only because I read a lot things here on AquaSoft.

And yes, I agree with you that it isn't necessary to add a wizard or explain everything in detail for even the dumbest guy. But Ave himself tries to make AveDesk more intuitive (see initial posting), so what is wrong about making suggestions to do so? I just want to help.

How can you expect other people to post their ideas if you simply neglect them in such a rude way?

#350949