Re: [MiNT] Cool new AES features

[Mark Duckworth <mduckworth@atari-source.com>]

On Tue, 2005-07-05 at 19:28 +0200, Arnaud BERCEGEAY wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> >> Regarding the wind_calc() usage. There will be very little applications
> >> that would survive on-fly theme change (cause they _use_ and will use
> >> wind_calc() on and on) so this 'change theme only for new windows
> >> feature' will IMHO stay experimental forever.
> 
> Well... i don't know.
> 
> Theme on the fly is not related to wind_calc() IMO.
> 
> windom is for sure already ready for change of theme on the fly because  
> IIRC there's no AES data cached in windom. When windom needs some AES data  
> (work area of a window for example), then windom ask it to the AES thru  
> wind_get().
> 
> >  As long as application/lib authors dont want to use new features, you
> > are right.
> 
> i want to use USEFULL feature, and i'll go a little far : i want to  
> support new AES feature if it benefit to the user.
> 
> ATM, all i see is modification that pretend to make the programmer life  
> easier (i don't agree on this point), and which is absolutely transparent  
> for the user. So what's for ? the only (very important) point i notice is  
> it break compatibility and the way applications works... just for the fun  
> to make things incompatible ?... (i'll try to argument on this on another  
> post, please keep this post about new cool AES features).
> 
> > Does this mean I should stop work on XaAES right now? It is
> > by now up to where n.aes is and needs no further development if this is
> > the attitude... I'm really getting sick of this.
> 
> I'm really getting sick of this too :)
> 
> i want real new features for the USER.
> 
> I'll give an example to illustrate what i try to explain : in MyAES, the  
> user can set an image as background instead of the desktop, and this  
> background cover the whole screen (including the background of the  
> menubar). The first time i saw it, i found it very cool and great ! I  
> immediatly started to create my how background picture to customize my  
> desktop. I was very happy USER. There is no change in the API for the  
> programmer for this particular example.
> 
> Please think first about cool new features for the USER ! it's the most  
> important. Then, we can discuss on the best way to design it for  
> programmer in the AES API if needed.
> 
> USER, if you have request, please speak ! we need your idea ! Most of the  
> people here are programmer (i am one of them ;)) and we sometime forget  
> the real purpose of the software : be used by a USER that doesn't matter  
> if the WCOWORK mode is used or not in its application.
> 
> USER, we're waiting for your idea :)

I want:

Exploitation of truecolor graphics in a similar way to xgem with
gradients and such.
Themes - theme change on the fly is not necessary to me if too
difficult, or if some apps do not respond properly, no big deal - as
long as there's no crashing
Truecolor desktop backgrounds in many image formats doing whatever
conversions necessary via zview.
Desktop background manager applet and perhaps some calls to change it
and lastly truecolor icons.

These are most important to me.  I know AES is only responsible for part
of it, but all you really have to do is look to other windowing systems
to see what users desire.

Some sort of urgent api for taskbar such that I could cause it to flash
when a new message was received in gim would be ultra-cool.

Thanks,
Mark