Author Topic: ROM: Modified Launcher - Why? (Read 4596 times)

josiahbryan · « **on:** June 08, 2004, 10:04:09 am »

I\'ve put together a quick packaging of a ROM for the Zaurus SL-5500 based on oz3.2 with a custom launcher that uses just a filebrowser instead of a tabbed interface. You can download it from http://www.freewebs.com/josiahbryan/index.htm . Use any zImage from oz3.2 that you like - the one on the page is a 40/24 split.

This is not meant to be a replacement to Opie or to Opie\'s ROM - this is just a demo of a possible alternate interface to the default launcher that seems to have permeated PDAs since the days of the original Palm - with Qtopia/Opie following in its footsteps with the luancher.

Perhapse i am naive (quite likely, in fact ) - perhapse somebody can point out the merits of an application-centric PDA - as evidenced by the app-oriented launcher as opposed to a doc-oriented launcher (e.g. the quick-hack launcher, above - which is really nothing more than a custom fileview program (http://www.killefiz.de/zaurus/showdetail.php?app=1525) squezed into $OPIEDIR/core/launcher/launcher.cpp).

Anyway - I\'ll soapbox in some other post on PDA UI design philosophy - for now - please let me know how usable that you think this type of launcher is. Regardless of OS-orientation (Opie/Sharp/Cacko/X) - look at it from the philiosphy pov (see the forest thu the trees).

Followups, flames, coments - all welcome.

--
~josiah

.

x86Daddy · « **Reply #1 on:** June 08, 2004, 05:30:40 pm »

I\'ll probably check this out the next time I reflash... sounds neat. As for why someone would want an app-based launcher over a doc-based launcher, I think it would be a matter of the differences in what people do with their PDAs...

If my primary use is security / sysadmin / hacker stuff, the things I\'m doing most involve launching and running several network I/O apps instead of dealing with local files.

If my primary use is digital wallet / PIM / media player... the document oriented paradigm may be far superior.

As I use it for a bit of everything, I think I might prefer your approach, as I assume that the \"O\" menu still provides a method for launching apps? This makes more sense... The normal way is like having your \"Start Menu--]Programs\" duplicated on a Windows desktop, while still having the Start Menu too... kinda redundant.

robirrgang · « **Reply #2 on:** June 08, 2004, 07:22:53 pm »

I played with your ROM (might want to host on ZUG-- takes an average of 4 hours to download 14 megs from that server). It\'s a great concept, and I would love to use it consistently. However, the ROM didn\'t behave like a \'clean\' 3.2; not the same startup dialog questions, etc. and also I was having a bunch of segfaults on things that ran fine under 3.2.

I\'d _love_ to see this as an ipkg for the stock 3.2-- which is still one of my 2 favorite roms (currently really diggin\' YAR-- it\'s fast on my 5500) since I was running into too much trouble..

might\'ve been the way i flashed it, tho. how do you do a super, duper, super, duper clean flash, whipe all that is, etc?

robirrgang · « **Reply #3 on:** June 08, 2004, 07:24:04 pm »

i wasnt really clear on this, but i did love the concept. i\'d use it all the time if it was rock-solid stable.

josiahbryan · « **Reply #4 on:** June 10, 2004, 04:07:33 pm »

I\'ll see what i can do bout an IPKG for current 3.2 tonight. SHouldnt be that hard at all. I\'ll try to post an ipkg here tonight or tomorrow morning (est).

~josiah

josiahbryan · « **Reply #5 on:** June 14, 2004, 11:21:33 am »

Okay, IPK of the modified launcher is posted at http://www.freewebs.com/josiahbryan/. Specifically, you can install http://www.freewebs.com/josiahbryan/mypda2...0.75.11_arm.ipk on a OZ3.2/Opie-based rom and it will replace the default launcher with the modified filebrowser-based launcher as shown in the screenshots above without having to flash a whole new ROM. This launcher is designed to be used ONLY on OZ 3.2/Opie ROMs. I cannot even suggest that it will work on other ROMS - I have not tested it.

NOTE: This ipk WILL overwrite your existing launcher!!! That means, if (or when) you uninstall this package YOU WONT HAVE A LAUNCHER ANYMORE. To fix this problem, just download and install the original launcher from OZ 3.2/Opie ROM at http://www.freewebs.com/josiahbryan/oz-opi...her_3.2_arm.ipk.

Any questions, post here or email me josiahbryan at hotmail.

robirrgang · « **Reply #6 on:** June 14, 2004, 10:03:12 pm »

exccellent. reflashing oz.

craigtyson · « **Reply #7 on:** June 17, 2004, 07:02:37 pm »

Iv just flashed my 5500 from the TKC ROM v1. While I like OPIE Im missing the TKC documents browser which looks some what like your launcher. Is there a way to combine the two as in the TKC rom?

josiahbryan · « **Reply #8 on:** June 18, 2004, 09:08:36 pm »

hmm what do you mean...what features of the TKC document browser do you miss in this browser? What do you mean by \"combine the two?\" Just about anything is possible...i just dont quite understand exactly what you want :-) Enlighten me...explain yourself, and i\'ll see what i can code. you can also email me at josiahbryan at hotmail.

craigtyson · « **Reply #9 on:** June 19, 2004, 07:13:48 am »

The TKC rom has a documents tab which is a file browser starting from RAM CF and CARD mount points. Tthe rest of the tabs behave exactly like a normal Sharp Rom launcher. Im not sure if this was special to the TKC rom or if its a standard 3.10 Sharp Rom feature (being form the UK we never got a 3.10 rom to play with) The result however is the ability to see documents in folders rather than a looooooooooong list of unreleted files on the document tab. While I find OPIE to be a big improvement on the tkc or Sharp roms, the documents tab seems to be a step backwards. Any ideas?

josiahbryan · « **Reply #10 on:** June 19, 2004, 05:29:25 pm »

Ahh so you want the opie Application Tabs with the Directory-enabled FileBrowser Docs Tab vis a vi TKC/Sharp Rom, right? You\'re right - it is not a technical problem at all - just a matter of an hours coding or so. If you and others want, I can modify the launcher to have both. Personally, I just prefer the filebrowser w/o application tabs.

Mickeyl · « **Reply #11 on:** June 19, 2004, 06:46:43 pm »

I think tt would be nice if you could choose (on opie first start wizard) between:

1.) TT launcher (already implemented)
2.) TT launcher, no doc tab (implemented in opie 1.0.3)
3.) TT launcher, sharp-like doc tab (not implemented yet)
4.) Your launcher view (implemented)

josiahbryan · « **Reply #12 on:** June 19, 2004, 10:42:47 pm »

I\'ve been working on that in my cvs co. i asked on the devel list but the msg never seemed to make it to the list - how do i get a cvs account so i can cvs commit changes?

Mickeyl · « **Reply #13 on:** June 20, 2004, 05:07:15 am »

You send a mail to harlekin@handhelds.org containing your full name and your requested nickname.

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Author Topic: ROM: Modified Launcher - Why? (Read 4596 times)