there is a wonderfull software for mac called dragThing its very slick
for those of who didn't see it it is very similar to the dock but without the magnification and supports more than a row of icons and when the pointer is away there is a change in alpha of the background and icons ...
I hope our elite group devs to think about it and maybe develope 1 for PC.
somehow I feel I have asked it before... 
everyone here speaks like 5 languages but me
Hmmm...time to check Virtual Plastic, Ive seen this before...
You may want to check out WorkShelf, it's made by the developers of NextStart.
Here's the URL: http://www.winstep.net/default.asp?cat=workshelf
I will try workshelf ....
I will tell you how near it is to the beauty of DragThing
:staffs here:
I've Just did,
no way, its not as half as beautifull as dragThing..
workshelf is too complicated ...
come on aqua devs.. can you rise to the challange???
:rule:
> no way, its not as half as beautifull as dragThing..
WorkShelf is fully skinnable. Guess how well (or not) it looks depends on the skin being used (there are HUNDREDS freely available online, by the way). Also, remember that Window's standard icon size is 32x32, not 48x48 - that also explains a lot, at least comparing to the screenshots I can see on Dragthing's web site. HOWEVER, WorkShelf does allow you to use 48x48 icons and to customize each item in it to use such icons - just find a nice suitable collection of 48x48 icons and see what difference that makes. Under Windows 2000/XP you can also make WorkShelf translucent.
> workshelf is too complicated ...
Ah well, I kind of disagree on that one (but then I would hehe ;-) . Anyway, you should remember that WorkShelf does a LOT more than Dragthing. I'm just quoting from a couple of WorkShelf users who tried Dragthing previously (so don't shoot the messenger):
"I use a Mac as my primary production machine and find Dragthing to be functionally inferior to Workshelf - I dumped it some time ago. As an app launcher it's just about bearable, but for project organisation it's weak...."
" I WANT to like DragThing, and I've tried, but I just can't do it. :-) It looks pretty (and you can make some nice cubed docks out of it) but it doesn't work very well as a shelf."
I guess you should really try WorkShelf for a while so you get to know what it can and cannot do (actually reading the User Guide will probably be of some assistance here hehe), and THEN make up your own mind.
Jorge Coelho
NextSTART 3.0 - A user interface you can actually use!
http://www.winstep.net - Winstep Software Technologies
IRC Chat: #winstep on AustNet
Well, come to think of it...who would you say that dragThing is better? certainly not a guy who works at a company which sells a competing product ... I agree its skinnable
and I agree that it is more functional ... and I didn't mean by complicated that it is on terms of configuration or use . but on terms of simplicity in design ..
DragThing is simple and has no tabs it utilizes 128X128 pixel icons ... the movement when it hides and unhides is very smooth compared to workshelf almost no transition ... you can make it transparent to a certain level and becomes opaque on mouse over ... its very very simple looking and really shows the beauty of the 128X128 pixel icons... its a trait of mac software "simplicity" tabs and panels are not essencial to functionality ... that is some of us is looking for here in Aqua-Soft... if some people didn't like dragthing, well it is a matter of taste... they didn't like Dragthing and I didn't like workshelf... and I think many aqua fans would agree with me once they see both applications then again I might be proven wrong..
good luck with your work ... and if you would like to discuss my point of view I would love to
I think Workshelf is underrated.
And, it needs really good skins. The ones out there are good, but they dont have that special elegance. Inverted on the bottom it looks really nice.
It needs a bit more eye-candy, though, I admit. Transparency, and a few effects for the icons... maybe make the zoom with mouse-over, let them glow (anyone remeber that from the AMIGA?)... maybe have half of the workshelf be a taskbar always ... just Eyecandy!
Really, I think if you have *small* tabs on the bottom and a plain brushed theme and a few nice effects it can very well compare to the other docks.
It offers a very good functionality and is very stable already, now make it look good. Enhance the cock too so a Workshelf user wont have to use Clocx for a good OS-X clock!
Have fun,
McTrinsic
> who would you say that dragThing is better? certainly not a guy who works at a company which sells a competing product ...
Actually I don't just work there, I'm the developer (guess that is even worse, he?). 
Anyway, I don't look at it as competing products since one is for the Mac and the other for the PC platform.
> DragThing is simple and has no tabs it utilizes 128X128 pixel icons ...
But the tabs is preciselly one of the things that makes WorkShelf great for project management! As for 128x128 icons, if you look at Preferences you will see that WorkShelf supports 16x16, 32x32, 48x48, 64x64 and EVEN 128x128 icons (yeah, I do believe in user choice 
). Thing is, the Windows world is only now getting used to 48x48 icons - I have no doubt that it will take quite a while for any Windows user to think of 128x128 icons as a workable icon size for a shelf!
Anyway, I realize most of your complains have to do with eye-candy. Fair enough, since I focused more on functionality than eye-candy for version 1.0 of WorkShelf. Some things are indeed missing, like an OPTIONAL smooth transition from collapsed to expanded and vice-versa. No problem to it, expect to see that and a lot of other eye-candy effects on the next version.
Jorge Coelho
NextSTART 3.0 - A user interface you can actually use!
http://www.winstep.net - Winstep Software Technologies
IRC Chat: #winstep on AustNet
> Enhance the clock too so a Workshelf user wont have to use Clocx for a good OS-X clock!
Are you talking about enhancing the desktop clock module of WorkShelf? What exactly do you have in mind?
Jorge Coelho
NextSTART 3.0 - A user interface you can actually use!
http://www.winstep.net - Winstep Software Technologies
IRC Chat: #winstep on AustNet
its all about eye candies ...
I don't know if the option exists or not but it would be nice to be able to hide the tabs (ie a dragthing look) ... smooth transitions will be cool ... making it able to use directx for the effects (ie like mobydock) you could also add (as mentioned above) the ability to zoom just for a small percentage ...
and I also don't know if there is an option avalible to display more than 1 row, like 4 or 5 rows ...
this would be great ...
I hope you all the best.
> I don't know if the option exists or not but it would be nice to be able to hide the tabs (ie a dragthing look)
WorkShelf is NOT meant to be a dock (and that is basically a characteristic of a dock). The thing that really sets it apart is the ability to organize different groups of programs into different shelves (tabs), and for that you need the tabs visible at all times. What you can do is the opposite, ie; have WorkShelf automatically collapse so only the tabs are visible (until you mouseover or bump a screen edge with the mouse pointer).
> I also don't know if there is an option avalible to display more than 1 row, like 4 or 5 rows ...
As many as you want (as long as it fits the screen). There are also options to display icon labels or not, to set how many lines of labels you want and if labels should appear below or above the icons (or alternated, which allows for lengthier labels). You can also set the horizontal and vertical icon spacing, thus having more or less icons in the same shelf space, etc... Pretty much everything in WorkShelf is user configurable.
Jorge Coelho
NextSTART 3.0 - A user interface you can actually use!
http://www.winstep.net - Winstep Software Technologies
IRC Chat: #winstep on AustNet
Originally posted by JcRabbit@Jun 26 2003, 06:38 PM> Enhance the clock too so a Workshelf user wont have to use Clocx for a good OS-X clock!
Are you talking about enhancing the desktop clock module of WorkShelf? What exactly do you have in mind?
Sorry I am not precise about the terms here... forgive me.
I mean the clock Workshelf lets you display on the desktop. Quite a number of people use the program called "Clocx" simply to display an aqua-ish clock with transparency etc on the desktop. Since Workshelf offers that, too, it might replace the need for that clocx thing if you have Workshelf.
Mail me if youre interested in a few ideas about eye-candy. On the other hand, if you ask on this forum, i am really sure you will get TONS of suggestions and ideas about eye-candy 
)
Of course, the Clock insider the shelf could use some eye-candy as well :wink:
BTW, I am surprised to hear that Workshelf was NOT designed to be some sort of dock. Isnt it "derived" from the NeXT-thing that was some sort of dock??
Have fun,
McTrinsic
> Since Workshelf offers that, too, it might replace the need for that clocx thing if you have Workshelf.
Yep. And WorkShelf's desktop clock module is fully skinnable as well, with lots of eye-candy. Plus it can say the time and synchronize your system clock with the Atomic time servers on the Internet.
> Mail me if youre interested in a few ideas about eye-candy.
I'm always interested. I have this to-do list I keep adding stuff to.
> BTW, I am surprised to hear that Workshelf was NOT designed to be some sort of dock. Isnt it "derived" from the NeXT-thing that was some sort of dock??
My fault for not expressing myself properly. Yes, WorkShelf was based on the shelf that you can still see in old OPENSTEP beta screenshots. You can, in a way, call it a dock, but it's functionality is far superior over a regular dock. The reason I wanted to make the distinction was because, at one point, we were thinking about developing a real 'dock' style app. It was important not to overlap features too much.
Jorge Coelho
NextSTART 3.0 - A user interface you can actually use!
http://www.winstep.net - Winstep Software Technologies
IRC Chat: #winstep on AustNet
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