[New release] Clock with seconds (today plug-in) - Windows Mobile Development and Hacking General

Greetings everybody!
This project started as a simple test to write a today screen plug-in. The first version did nothing but show date and time updated every second. It had no options and in my opinion was useless.
Then I found out about the new AKU2 ROM and that there were a lot of people out there who really didn't like the changes made to today screen.
So I decided to continue with the project, and now it has evolved so even the title of the thread isn't very suitable any more. I keep it so people can recognize the thread.
Here's what this plug-in has to offer:
• Show date on today screen in one line, like in older ROMs.
• Show clock on taskbar in today screen (with / with out AM / PM).*
• Show date in taskbar*
• Options to control what appears in today screen: long / short date, time, seconds.
• 4 different alignment options.
• Custom font size for plug-in.
• Shows alarm icon, even on WM2003 devices.
• Option to blink the taskbar clock at user set intervals.*
• Option to turn of selectability.
• Windows Mobile 6 compatible
• Internet time synchronization (manual only)
*The plug-in does not effect system displayed taskbar clock if it exists, instead it puts it's own clock covering some icons. It can do so in today screen and all programs. The covered icons can still be accessed by taping on their location (the clock is 'click transparent')
NOTE: Before updating the plug-in, disable old version and then uninstall it. This will insure new file and settings will take effect. It is also recommended to preform soft reset.
DISCLAIMER: This program comes free but with no warranty, or even a guarantee that it will work. I take no responsibility for any damage that might incur from using this program.
PLEASE NOTE: The download is just below this message, but you must be logged in to see it.
LATEST VERSION: 0.2.1 published on 12/1/2008
One minor bug fix: my leap year calculation was off so the internet time sync was a day back. This is now fixed.
Download the app: View attachment LVMTime.CAB
Want to know how it works? Get the source code: View attachment 65697
Side note: It seems that the pole was reopened (probably because of forum format change. 33 people voted for "something else" but I have not received a single suggestion. "see post" means that if you vote for "something else" you must add a post with a suggestion - or I'll have to hunt you down for it! (Just kidding - not time as it is).

very nice
I'm about to commission something like this myself (plans from a month back or so - hope you don't mind)... here's one thing I noticed immediately; the font size doesn't respect the system font size. So if your today text is all "smaller" or "small", your item will still display as "normal".

Hi ZeBoxx!
I'm about to commission something like this myself (plans from a month back or so - hope you don't mind)...
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Like I said this is just something I did as a test so be my guest, in fact if you want, I can send you the code, it's really basic but a good starting point.
the font size doesn't respect the system font size
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Yeah, I just create the font once in a global var. If someone will be kind enough to point me toward the right registry key, I'll be happy to correct this.
Also I'm pretty sure that clock.exe has a command line parameter that forces it to open on the time tab instead of the last tab accessed (when you launch it from the clock / run menu), I've tried several options but none of them worked. Does any one know what the parameter is?

Hi Levenum,
nice if you could send me the code too.
Thinking to implement some options, that might be usefull.
- Show/hide date
- Show/hide seconds
- Left/right justify
Seems to be the best alternative, for lack of clock in Today screen with new WM5.0 ROMs.
At least until someone cames with a proper hack!

Code sent via email.

levenum said:
Code sent via email.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you send the code also to me? Would be nice. Thanx

Thanks levenum
I think this good and can be further enhanced.
1. Clock to be sensitive to the h:mm:ss tt setting so we can alter the format and option to turn seconds on/off
2. Date format to be sensitive too to the format set
3. I think I would prefer the time to be right justified as this would appear neater.
I think this project could be a real goer as many have complained with the new wm5 roms and two lines date and time take.
Keep up the good work!

Thanks levenum
I think this good and can be further enhanced.
1. Clock to be sensitive to the h:mm:ss tt setting so we can alter the format and option to turn seconds on/off
2. Date format to be sensitive too to the format set
3. I think I would prefer the time to be right justified as this would appear neater.
I think this project could be a real goer as many have complained with the new wm5 roms and two lines date and time take.
Keep up the good work!

Hello everybody!
I am actually a bit overwhelmed by the warm response and the amount of downloads in such a short period of time.
Since I don't have access to a WM 5 device with the current ROMs you mentioned here I had no idea there was a problem with the date on today screen.
Regarding adding the formatting options: I thought of that, but unfortunately I have next to no time to devote to this project (I didn't actually expect it to become a project) so since I need to do a search for the registry keys (or maybe there are API functions) that contain the date and time format I am not likely to incorporate them any time soon. Of course if someone wants to help by posting the relevant info or link to it, that might speed things alone.
If anyone out there wants to just take my code and add the options them selves like Conchas you are welcome to post the results right here.
Also, the code requests keep coming in. I didn't post the project here because I thought it will be a waste of disk space (it's just a basic outline for a plug-in) but if the requests keep coming I will post it here rather then sending it every time.
P.S.:
I found this forum very helpful, and am glad to give a little something back to the community, although I am sure a monetary donation would have been more appreciated by the site administration. :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

I want the code also.Thanks a lot

Hey good jb, I have downloaded, but not installed.
I suggested to SPB to get a hurry up with their WM5 release of SPB Time, and have heard that it has gone into Beta, probably for this reason.
will have a look and provide feedback. Without looking, some good features that people have indicated a need for in clock feature on other forums are:
1. Alarm clock system that works
2. Floating screen saver for clock
3. Stop watch and lap counters

PS I am sure donations will flow with a commitment to add in and make your own features enhanced.
When I looked, there was 66 downloads. If we offered say $10 (AUS) or similar for a full featured application, you would have had $660, and its ony just been posted. by the end of next week, it will have been downloaded thousands of times.

xdaIIse: I am posting the code a the head of the thread.
simon_darley: You misunderstood me: I am not asking for donations to my self. What I meant was that this site could use a donation more than my plug-in posted. It was just a little joke.
As for SPB, I saw some of their plug-ins, and there's not much chance I will be able to compete with them though I decided to add some options soon.

I was only dropping a hint that you could make money out of it, and gain further development experience at a profit... ,)

I just downloaded -- will be great as a quick intro to writing today plugins -- thanks!
I'm also really interested, because I'd like to have a single-line Day, Date, Time option for my Today screen -- but NOT the 2-line silliness that WM5 makes you use -- that just takes up too much space!
I have the date and time on my task/title bar with Wisbar, but there's no room up there for it to say "Saturday" (or any other day for that matter!). So I've been pondering a nice slim Today add-in that can format the day, date, time exactly as I'd like. I'd also like to experiment with options to make it skinnable, transparent, obey/ignore the system fonts, date formats, etc.
Thanks...I'll take a look at this soon...

Hey, could some one post here or pm me a screen shot of the problematic date plug-in. All this talk got me curios. I worked with WM 5 devices but they had a standard date display like WM 2003.

levenum said:
Hey, could some one post here or pm me a screen shot of the problematic date plug-in. All this talk got me curios. I worked with WM 5 devices but they had a standard date display like WM 2003.
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It's only with the new ROMs (AKU2 ROMs)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=44662

Thanks Ze!
It looks to me like MS is heading towards making PPCs look like regular cell phones with this new OS. First there were the soft keys that took the place of the menu/toolbar. (I didn't understand the design until I saw a phone edition device that had hardware equivalents) now it’s the little white battery meter.
What's next?
Full screen incoming call notification…

Problem is, unless you use a full taskbar skinner like Wisbar, you don't have much control over the fact that the day/date displays as two lines (I think changing the global date formats might have an effect but I'm not positive - and that SHOULDN'T be the only way to affect this display!).

Take a look at this clock plugin: TodayTime
Perhaps it does what you want. Dunno about the spanish though...
Cheers

Related

**UPDATED - 2**: JasJar: Thoughts & issues after a week'

I've used my JJ for a week [+] now, and after being a pretty strong user on my Himalaya, I'm not convinced that the JJ has a lot to offer. Here's a summary of my experiences, and some questions ppl may b able to help with:
What it truly offers vs XDA
Look, it works. But is it worth the money. Here's what you truly get, make your own decision. I have loot, so I went for it. But if I was stretched, there's no way...
Pretty kewl internet surfing: Speed good in 3G areas, and screen size along with small fonts (hi res) makes page width manageable. I find many sites where the combo boxes do not populate, but it definitely works on many sites that my XDA did not. Can't wait for Opera, tho many others anxiously await NetFront.
Useable email writing due to good keyboard. But, even with WebIS Mail, there is no HTML mail - just plain text. U can receive HTML as text of course.
Battery life not much different to XDA: a well set up XDA that is. I'm only now trying with 3G turned off to see if that helps further [Actually, I think it's quite a bit better than the XDA afetr all]
Pretty: Yep, VGA is very pretty. [After some use, I'm finding it very nice for calendars, surfing, emails, and anythng else where screen estate was apremium]
Terminal Services client: (aka remote desktop) - STUNNING given hi res. I can now get into my remote eMule server and see how things are going in crystal clarity. Love it!
Issues I have not solved - any thoughts?
Not enough hardware buttons in good locations: I drove my XDA with ButtonMax and the easily located hardware buttons. The JJ has fewer, and rather discrete, buttons. This means that you can't always hit that "close app" button easily, and paging in MobiPocket is limited. I HAVE gotten buttonMax to work - but a workaround is required. [VIto ButtonMapper also works]
No 'New' button: This sux BIG time! I had my XDA customised to "New SMS" vs "New eMail", and now I have to go into mail (WebIS mail beta is sloooow), choose account (SMS vs eMail), then hit new. Sounds like I'm whining, but I churn out a lot of messages in a day... [Using pocketPlus, I;ve gotten a "new message" command mapped to a hard key. Works great: hit the button and I get a list of account options. So it goes button-click accounnt-type message]
No Pocket Informant: Oh this is BAD BAD BAD!! The internal calendar app is SO crap one cannot believe that devices actually sell with it! I wouldn't have ever changed to PPC if I hadn't known about PI in advance. ANyway, PI fails on the JJ, even with October-1 ROM, due to 'POOM' issues. They are workin on it, but I'll be watching Agenda Fusion's progress equally closely. The first across the finish line...
[UPDATE: I've got it working - read their forum covering v3 this beta release for more. It's AWESOME in VGA!]
Nope - it fails after a day, and PI dev/ceo dude says he thinks it's a JJ ROM issue and it not working on solving it. SO start watching for Agenda Fusion to solve this for us...
Titlebar date/time: the OBOpt hack works, but the damned date only shows in the today screen. Go into any app or programme folders, and it gets knocked off the title bar. I WANT the time visible at all times - not like a today plugin damit!! Any suggestions? [UPDATE: Answer below - I didn't know of this WM5 feature]
Speed dial and recent call access: Up/Down on joypad no longer take me to speed dial and recent calls list when in phone mode. Now I have to touch the screen to dial whilst driving. Voice dialing will help - bit I've not tried this yet. Will see if ButtonMax can solve l8r tonight. [No, there's no "recent calls" command to map BM to - will have to work on a reg hack at some stage for this]
If ur buying for the keyboard, be careful; it's not that accessible. I still use the SIP for a lot of input, and only unrevolve the whole things when I'm settling in to surf or message [But its a GREAT keyboard!]
No BT icon. Bit daft. [Will test out BT switch apps this w.end]Buss updated his BT icon app for the JJ - look elsewhere under my posts. It's great - but it showed me that the BT issue is actually a deeper problem covered elsewhere - BT disconnects and is unreliable at best!
[*]Duplicates: I can't f'ing believe that I STILL get duplicates in the notifications queue!!! M$ have absolutely no excuse for not sorting this widely known issue out once and for all. Havn't yet found a proggie that does nightly cleanup - any tested suggestions? [REMOVED: this must have been a rogue app cos after a hard reset and re-insatll, I no longer have dups. I'll try to figure out what caused it over the next few days]Npote - they are BACK! sddeamon dups, and despite several hard resents I have not managed to figure out if there's a specific app causing them. I do know that there's no software to automatically clean up every night that works for the JJ on this particular dup[/list:e4db347fb1]
Things that work well for me
I've got quite a few of my critical apps up and working. Here's what I rely on:
Uptime Meter: gr8 4 battery life watching
Phone Dashboard: to track monthly 'free' minutes. Charts and dialog boxes don't do well in VGA, but it works [No it doesn't - no minutes are tracked - sorry!]
PocketPlus: Now, some forums say this does NOT work - latest 3.0.0b3888 does (with October-1 ROM). Repeating alarms do not work tho so...[UPDATE: I have recently hard reset and am installing 1x1 over a few days to see what the bugger is - PocketPlus is a contender at this stage...]
apReminderPlus: ESSENTIAL repeating alarms (who the hell hears that wank "cheep" in the morning!?). Not the best app but it's free and works. WIll try others over time. Reason I'm not happy is that altho it repeats and ascends, it does not pause for 5 mins then repeat the process over until u finally get back to your phone and realise how many meetings you've missed. It tries - wants to auto-snooze, but this feature does not work in WM5
Terminal Services client is great
ButtonMax: Now ESSENTIAL given the lack of external buttons on JJ. Map the few buttons u have to click, double-click, click-n-hold. I can't record Macros yet despite remapping "button 4" and readin all the help. They just don't record. [Also de-installed for now]
Pocket Sudoku: Yeehaa!
Mobipocket reader: Works - but fonts are not great to read for long [Get beta 5 from their dev site - Google it - STUNNING in VGA res!]
1-Calc, total commander, and eWallet all work fine.
Bluetooth headset support: Does a damn good job of reconnecting with my headset when I'm in rangeNOPE - it's a load of sh*t. Read my posts elsewhere on this!
Voicel dialing: Works VERY well - 1 click of BT headset and I'm ready to go
Extra section: Why I had to hard reset
Things went tits-up when I tried to install an app, then half way thro the cab transfer from PC-PPC I cancelled the process. DOn't see why it's an issue....but thereafter:
Add/remove list was blank
Could not install any new apps
Registry restore via sunnysoft did nothing to help (sunnysoft say "not for WM5" in their email to me - so don't expect too much from this...!)
Pocket Informant had failed (blank calendar issue) on me earlier so I was happy to re-build and give it a second chance anyway
At one stage my BT device went spastic - would not work, and when I deleted it I could not re-pair it
What's important is that there doesn't seem to be a way to get back to a saved state. Sunnysoft is NOT reliable according to THEM, and a simple memory copy cannot be restored.
I've been trying the beta for Mobipocket Reader 5. It works (though a bit buggy sometimes) and looks better in VGA but you cannot access the ID of the device from within Mobipocket. So, you cannot read secured books. I take it you used the old 4.x version and you could see the device's Mobipocket ID?
Re: JasJar: Thoughts & issues after a week's use
Titlebar date/time: the OBOpt hack works, but the damned date only shows in the today screen. Go into any app or programme folders, and it gets knocked off the title bar. I WANT the time visible at all times - not like a today plugin damit!! Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try tapping the Date/Time display on the Today screen. On the "More" tab there's an option "Display the clock on the title bar in all programs".
Re: JasJar: Thoughts & issues after a week's use
no1 said:
Try tapping the Date/Time display on the Today screen. On the "More" tab there's an option "Display the clock on the title bar in all programs".
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Awesome no1! You just made my whole lengthy post worthwhile. Thanks a stack.
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DaleReeck said:
I've been trying the beta for Mobipocket Reader 5. It works (though a bit buggy sometimes) and looks better in VGA but you cannot access the ID of the device from within Mobipocket. So, you cannot read secured books. I take it you used the old 4.x version and you could see the device's Mobipocket ID?
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Click to collapse
Nice 1 Dale! Found it and I'm MUCH happier with fonts - it's so crisp n clean Happy to live with bugs (not that I've seen any yet).
For others, the beta is here:
http://www.mobipocket.com/dev/beta/windowsmobile.asp?ID=1
For those interested, I emailed the makers of pocket informant saying that I have a wm2005 device and they replied with a link to the latest beta that works very well on the JJ. I suggest any1 interested do the same.
bukwit said:
For those interested, I emailed the makers of pocket informant saying that I have a wm2005 device and they replied with a link to the latest beta that works very well on the JJ. I suggest any1 interested do the same.
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Hiya bukwit, can U confirm for me: Was the link like this: http://download.pocketinformant.com/FTF/PI_Public_Build/
If not, please post it here. If so, this is the beta3 build that I (and several others) tried. It worked gr8 for a day, then during the midnight cleanup run I hit the blank calendar POOM issue. Let us know if you get past tonight without hitting the same wall...
yes this is the correct link for the beta...the current version I have is Rev 3 build 434. Been running it since saturday with no issues so far...
date hack on the today screen
Hello
As in the title- could you guys please provide the link to the date hack on the today screen? I am really missing the date on the JasJar top bar
New Soft
One more thing -
There is nice new pocket plus 3.0.1 which for my taste takes less memory, For me PI beta3 works ok.
Lucasz: Thanx for 3.01 - got it. Date hack is here: http://www.phm.lu/PocketPC/RegTweaks/
ANyone know how to change format of date shown - I know I had it as dd-mmm in my XDA but I've no idea where I found the regkey
Bukwit: darn! what r u doing right that it works...? Think I'll do a full sunnysoft backup, then try PI alone and build up until I find whatever knocks it out. Will be worth it...
I little anoyance I have noted with the Jasjar that you'd may like to confirm:
The volume slider is not functional when the Jasjar clam is shut, screen towards the keyboard. It is OK with screen facing up! I discovered this playing mp3s as I do of a morning with device in protective pouch. I often like to bump volume up and down for various tunes. I found to have control, I have to slip the Jasjar in its case screen facing up - not good. :evil:
@fonxnolds,
Thats the reason they gave a wired headset which has a volumer slider on it
universaldoc said:
@fonxnolds,
Thats the reason they gave a wired headset which has a volume slider on it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never opened them! I use Etymotic Research ER-4P earphones / earplugs, exclusively for listening to music. Retail approx US$330 a pair. >30db Noise reduction passively, brilliant Bass... :wink:
Anything that comes with a device is suitable for phone dialog only, not Music in my opinion. Sound leaks, annoying other people etc.
I may consider snipping the earplugs off the supplied cable and wiring up a 3.5mm Stereo socket for my ER-4Ps if that is the only solution. Better still check out the accessory market and grab a spare that I can alter with petty cash.
$330?!?! Amzing! I guess you really do like your music!
I'll update this post reguarly using colour to distinguish between edits. So, If u post fixes, be assured that they'll get into the main post, but please don't be offended if that don't pass credit - readers will see who suggested it further down.
The second update is shown in RED
bukwit said:
yes this is the correct link for the beta...the current version I have is Rev 3 build 434. Been running it since saturday with no issues so far...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Build 444 has been uploaded. It works fine
I still get loads of duplicates in the notification queue as well - all from sddaemon.exe? What's more this is a 'wakeup' event and so the duplicates were making my jasjar take foorreeevveerr to turn on from suspend. I removed them with scareybear check notification and it's much quicker to resume from suspend (like half a second as opposed to three to four seconds).
Does anyone know what sddaemon.exe is?
tintoy said:
I still get loads of duplicates in the notification queue as well - all from sddaemon.exe? What's more this is a 'wakeup' event and so the duplicates were making my jasjar take foorreeevveerr to turn on from suspend. I removed them with scareybear check notification and it's much quicker to resume from suspend (like half a second as opposed to three to four seconds).
Does anyone know what sddaemon.exe is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found that after removing PI completely, these notification dups stopped. I had exactly the same issue before. Not saying it is definitely PI, but that's the ONLY thing I changed and I've been OK for a whole 8hrs now.
PS: Scareybear did not remove dups for me - just ID's then then I had to remove manually! Anton Amov's Pocket mechanic removed them - any idea of a utility that does it every midnight like we had in 2003SE?
Updated again in blue

EXEC SUMMARY: TIPS n TRICKS to make your JasJar run well

There are way too many posts on this board from ppl who r saying "Piece of crap, I'm gonna take it back and stick it up my provider's...". This post is for you!
I'm no expert (just a disciple of ppl like buzz, vj, etc), BUT I am not afraid of a hard reset or 30, and as a result I've tested everything below, and most of the stuff throughout this forum. I've also followed everything on every forum since being the 10th person in my country to get a JasJar. I welcome critisism, corrections and additions. Please post replies by refering to the step you would change, or insert after. Let's try to stick to proven alternatives and additions though, so that this thread can become somewhat of a 1-stop point for new users (and existing users who do not have the time to learn this alone - and let's face it anyone who has a Universal already, is probably pretty hard working, and already spending an awful amount of time justifying their acquisition in front of their BlackBerry collegues...)
This is written with a single thought in mind; what the hell would my wife do if she got one of these. No-one could blame her for tossing it inside of a week, but with a few changes it's perfectly functional - in fact with a few more changes (also listed below) it's quite desirable.
By the end of this process, your Universal should have a reasonable suite of apps, perfect functionality around all issues solved to date (I've not covered networking tho), a screen flip speed of 0.5s or less, and free program memory of over 20Mb
So here goes, a step-by-step process to get your Universal 100% functional, proven and tested on the HTC Universal iMate JasJar, but should all work on any MDA:
ROM Upgrade: First thing's first. Upgrade to the September-30 ROM (JASJAR_WWE_11353_137_10301.zip). It's available somewhere on xda-developers, or on clubimate for imate users. This is a no-brainer - no posts on this board or any others indicate it's a waste of time. Many posts cover O2 users flashing to this ROM, with great benefits. There are ways to re-install the O2 graphics and apps - if you want ;-) If you have ANY issues with your Universal, bite the bullet and do this; you'll see that the following setup process is not as brutal as you'd expect (I can run thro it in about half an hour - but I've done it many times and have all the apps lined up and ready).
Optional soft reset: Some pppl like to soft reset BEFORE the device installs the default apps. On this ROM, there's no performance improvement, no memory imporvement that can't be covered later (backgammon etc), and potentially some important losses that I didn't hang around long enough to discover.
Sync: Now sync with your PC to get your contacts, calendar and tasks. This is only here to get you up and running asap.
Pocket Mechanic: Download (www.antontomov.com) and install this essential app. You have a few days on trial, and it's necessary for the next steps
Notification Queue: This can be done later, but it's nice to get familiar with this process whilst your queue is small. Using PM, open the notification queue. You may already (yes!) find some duplicate (yellow icon) sddeamon entries. These seem to replicate during an activesync. You can/must delete all duplicates from time to time. You will also, in future, find some "\.\\Notification.....SCRIPT..." entries. Keep an eye out for these. Most mature within minutes of you finding them, so let them expire. Many are future-dated and tightly back-to-back. These can nearly always (I've never had a regret) be deleted without repercussions. If you don't manage these, they tend to breed, and anyone with XDA experience knows what happens when your queue fills up (failed alarms etc). I'm unclear as to where these come from - undoutedly an app that is not behaving elegantly (regular registration checks etc), and if you follow the steps on this post you should NOT find any - ie the apps here do not seem to be culprits. But, keep an eye open...
Registry cleanup: Again, this can be done later, however you'll soon see the beenfit of doing it now. Using PM, run registry cleaner. You'll get around 6 entries, all of which can safely be deleted. If you did not follow step 1, you may have to examine eahc entry to see if the O2 ROM is messier. The beauty of this step is that from now on, you can safely clean everything that PM finds in the knowledge that it's a leave-behind from an app you installed, and now you can install, de-install, and provided you clean up the directories (easy) you KNOW for sure that you've completely gotten rid of the failed app. Winner!
Task closer: Now it's time for your task manager. There's a lot of coverage on this, and any of the following seem to do the trick, ranked in order of simplicity thro to possibly problematic:[list:333ba237cf]
Magic Button (free, includes battery line on top of screen)
GSPocketMagic++ (free, includes cascading menu. Some MDA Exec users claim that it closes something awful that O2 installs, and solves a 7 second flip issue. SEVEN SECONDS!!! If you implemented step 1, you should not have this problem to solve anyway)
spbPocketPlus (not free, and do not allow it to show any storage meters. There are some bad posts on spb, but I've found it just as good as the above, altho it takes up slightly more memory)
WisbarAdvance2 (not free, HUGE footprint, definite performance issues BUT it skins your Universal SO beautifully, that I've gone with this and WAD - desktop plugin)
[*]Basic apps: Now there are a few no-brainer apps to install, that no-one disputes and that are all free. NO BRAINERS:
Total commander (free, replacement for file explorer - way way better)
TCPMP (free, replaces media player, more formats, full screen, way way better)
Batti (free, battry bar on top of screen like spbPocketPlus, small footprint, but if u r using MagicButton you already get this)
TRE (free, registry editor, necessary to run .reg files covered later)
IIWPO (free, AWESOME concept; If your owner info is changed, it SMS's the number you've set with new SIM number and new 'owner' details. Great if someone steals your Universal. Don't bother if u r not happy with a little installation effort)
BT icon (free, on this board somewhere, gives u an icon on your today tray that shows BT status and allows u to jumps to settings>connections>BT)
BT switch (free, on this board somewhere, several apps that turn BT on, off, or toggle)
Battery Uptime (Optional: free, today plugin that tells u the battery status BUT it's way more useful: you get to see actual running time vs uptime, and remaining running time. This gives u a good feel for your battery consumption rate under different scenarios and helps overcome a LOT of concerns around thinking you are draining faster when actually you are just using the device more)
apReminderPlus (free, AWESOME repeating alarms. Beauty of this is that is seems to be independent of WM5, in that it keeps an eye open for any alarms, and pops up to do its thing if it sees one. WAY beter than built in repeat system, and makes me feel good that I have alarms covered off in case the old wm2003 bugs start to appear again)
VJSMS (free, on this board, gives u 1-click to send an SMS. Note that .lnk file should read as follows INCLUDING inverted commas:
\Storage Card\Program Files\VJApps\vjsms.exe" "123
Change path and number of course. Number can also be a name.
Sad to report that VJDailer doesn't work on the universal. This would be awesome
[*]Settings: Time to do your basic settings:
speed dials
power and backlight
voice dials
Owner info
ringtones and notifications
DO NOT set regional settings if u r using PI (below)
[*]PIM: OK, time to replace the CRAP calendar built into WM5. CRAP CRAP CRAP! Disgracefully, embarassingly CRAP. Hell, symbian ship better default apps with the OLD Psion S3 and S5 than this! Now, I use PocketInformant. Latest release works well on JJ with 2 livable issues: Landscape flip screws up Monday/Tuesday in week view, and you MUST NOT set any regional settings what-so-ever, else you get the blank calendar view bug. AgendaFusion is due for a WM5 release any day now. Other than that, I don't think there is much that works on the Universal - correct?? :?:
[*]Reg fixes: Now there are a few no-brainer registry hacks that you should run. You can find these as cab files on this board, as registry keys under the wiki page, else as .reg files on one of my earlier posts (fastest method):
Buzz's BT headset (prevents BT from turning off over night - no brainer! Thanks buzz!!)
"Always on GPRS" (search this board - keeps GPRS/UMTS turned on - awesome!)
Date & time in title bar (why not)
Menu and popup fonts 700 vs 900 (it's cosmetic, but on our nice VGA screens, it seems daft to have a look n feel that's SO QVGA)
PIE homepage (prevent 'e' button from going to clubimate page)
Terminal services cache (increased cache uses memory during terminal services, but it's WELL worth it to eliminate black blocking issues)
Turn IR off (unless you have a good reason for keeping it on)
[*]Extra apps: There are several very useful apps, that work reliably and do not have an adverse impact on your Universal.
eWallet (not free, desktop sync does not work, but rest is very useful)
Pocket sudoku (not free, but it's SO much fun!)
Mobipocket reader (skinny version is free, for mobipocket ebooks - ebooks fully being 25% of your devices functionality along with PIM, phone and internet access. Google beta 5 version with full VGA support)
uBook (more eBook formats. Not free but usable. VGA support)
1-calc (cos built in calculator is SO crap)
GPRS traffic monitor: We need a GPRS/3G monitor. spbGPRS monitor does NOT track the usage of yoru device as a 3G modem - which is where u chew up traffic costs. IP Dashboard has similar issues.
[*]Memory:Now, I'm the first to say that I don;t fully get this yet. There are a few things that the posts suggest should reduce program or storage memory - but don't really seem to do so. Try them and let me know results with more scientific before and after checking please:
Remove backgammon & skype, and re-install to SD card
Remove the 1Mb .tsk themes from the \Windows directory. You cannot delete them, you have to create new files that are smaller and copy them into \Windows and overrwite the larger files. Search this board for some sample small files provided. I didn't find that I got any memory back...???
Ditto for .cab files in \Windows
Do not use these big theme files - by using smaller themes you should get more program memory.
A couple of dudes have started threads on getting more memory and clearing out \windows files - but there are no good responses yet...
[/list:333ba237cf]
Right, that's it! As I said above, I welcome input and feedback - but let's keep it hi quality so that this post perhaps gets stickied and we can get less of the "Buy my JasJar before I post it on eBay posts". Of course there are a load more apps you can add, but most give issues (eg TomTom) and posts on this board cover working around them for ppl who have to have these apps. This was a good, strong, basic config.
Hope this is helpful to some.
Some well-thought out words there, craigiecraigie4. However, I'm a firm believer that it's a bad move to install anything that I REALLY don't need. So far, my MDA Pro has a default installation. None of these "essential apps" are necessary. Indeed, half of them seem to only exist so that you can add other "essential apps" :wink:
If/when a better browser comes along, I'll investigate. Other than that, I find the messaging client perfect (works nicely against Exchange server); Terminal Services could be better - just giving me true full-screen support would be enough. And I'd like better Wifi support - I want, for example, to be able to name my SSID. IMHO, with desktop PCs as much as with PDAs, every time you install a piece of software, it ultimately makes the system *worse*. ie the result is a damned site less than the sum of the parts.
so, taking each point with my (possibly unique, certainly cynical) POV
1. ROM Upgrade
Didn't bother. It adds nothing that I'd use apart from MSN and that would just suck up time that should be spent on worthwhile things :lol:
2. Optional soft reset
Yeah, I may do this but, TBH, T Mobile install very little stuff and it seems to work, so I ain't fixin' it.
3. N/A
4. Pocket Mechanic
I can't see that I need this.
5. Not quite sure what the problem here is. I've been using XDAs since day 1 and never encountered the problem. YMMV
6. Registry cleanup
Never assume that some badly-written software doesn't depend on some default or illogical registry setting. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
7. Task closer
OK, not a "two-click" operation, but in Settings/Memory, I can close running applications. No new software needed.
8. Basic apps
Total commander - erm, yeah, it's nice and everything and does a better job than the standard affair. However, 99.99% of the time, error: +/- 0.01%, I find I don't actually need any of that extra fluff.
TCPMP - granted, I only use MP to listen to WMAs I record off the radio to listen to later.
Batti - On my Today screen, there's a little icon I tap and it shows me my battery state. I can also see this using Settings/Power (or whatever it is)
TRE - See previous warning about effing about with your registry
IIWPO - nice idea :lol: but no substitute for insurance or taking care
BT icon, BT switch - I've never used Bluetooth in my life. YMMV
Battery Uptime - See prior comment about battery state indicator
etc
I'm sure that more people will find your advice usefull than mine, but just like to point out that, out of the box, these devices (at least MDA Pro) seem not to be too wide of the mark. For me, at least.
This is very helpful...thanx!
You mentioned that the soft reset before installation of imate stuff may lead to some problems in the long run. As I have opted for this strategy and have only installed two cab files (btpatch and a file that brings up the smart dialing), I would appreciate it if you could tell us what kind of problems we might confront. Also, is it too late to add these cab files after the fact (that is given we have synched contacts and added other programs)?
Cheers, apap
craigiecraigie4 - very useful advice, I think for everyone with a PPC. I don't have a universal, but good tips either way.
I didn't realise VJDialer doesn't work on WM5. I'll look into updating it when I get a new version of Visual Studio (or a WM5 device!).
Good work man!
V
Hi VJ - yeah, I'm afraid that there are a couple of posts on your primary thread about the "no command line specified" - no matter what combinations we try in the .lnk file. Saw your comment that another crowd charges for such an app. I'd happily contribute for the benefit of quick-dials - would be awesome along with WAD. You might want to mention your app on the WAD (lakeridgesoftware) forums - many 2003 users there who would LOVE this. With WAD u can have popup boxes on your skin, so with vjdialer one can popup and view of quickdials. awesome.
craigiecraigie4 said:
[*]Buzz's BT headset (prevents BT from turning off over night - no brainer! Thanks buzz!!)
[*]Menu and popup fonts 700 vs 900 (it's cosmetic, but on our nice VGA screens, it seems daft to have a look n feel that's SO QVGA{)
/quote]
where can i get the 2 things above...looked but cant find
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
vijay555 said:
craigiecraigie4 - very useful advice, I think for everyone with a PPC. I don't have a universal, but good tips either way.
I didn't realise VJDialer doesn't work on WM5. I'll look into updating it when I get a new version of Visual Studio (or a WM5 device!).
Good work man!
V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi vijay!
I'm running on wm5 on my xda2....and am using vjdialer and vjsms extensively!
I dont think there are any problems with VJDialer's compatibility with wm5....
S
spbPocketPlus (not free, and do not allow it to show any storage meters. There are some bad posts on spb, but I've found it just as good as the above, altho it takes up slightly more memory)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this running on my Exec and have storage indicators for memory and SD card on today screen, or are you talking about something else?
Btw, I found that my Exec runs faster with pocket plus than it did with magic button and pocketmagic++
Cheers
J
craigiecraigie4
Thank you VERY much for your extensive effort - this really does helps a lot :!:
That's an awesome post craigiecraigie4, some hard work went into that one dude.
Now my post below is not intended to be better than the original, merely another option. craigiecraigie4's use of the device is obviously a lot different to mine, as I work in an office, and am out of connectivity for maybe 3 hours of travel a day max, and never at weekends unless I go out. I'm on a scooter or a tube train so no connectivity is possible during travel for me.
What we are describing is our comfortable loadsets or configurations of our little systems, and that's what the stuff down here is, the Bongo configuration if you will. :lol:
I have made my comments against craigiecraigie4's original titles, and added a few apps of my own that I have.
[*]Weirdness for Hallowe'en :shock: After a hard reset, then sometimes the crosshair pointer setup would be real slow, and others it would be fast. Just in case, I did it until I had a fast one and proceeded from there. Don't know what/if any difference it makes, but that's what I do.
[*]ROM Upgrade: As there aren't any upgrade ROM's out there execept for the iMate one, I wouldn't until the new carrier ROM's are posted. I agree with CraigieCraigie though. Sooo, why not then? Warranty is the answer. Although I think in reality they wouldn't wash their hands of you just because you dared to use someone else's ROM, the carrier techies are generally not allowed to instruct you in the art of repairing your device with anyone else's ROM except their own, and so you would need to wait until your carrier released an upgrade and they could tell you how to do it.
[*]Optional soft reset: Definitely. And be selective about the manual .cab installs (installing total commander or the like first to see the Ext ROM). There's generally something in there that forces the device to behave in a way you don't like. An example is the internet button taking me to the t-mobile home page all the time. I hate that so I didn't install the relevant .cab.
[*]Sync: Now sync with your PC to get your contacts, calendar and tasks. This is only here to get you up and running asap. <-yeah man
[*]Pocket Mechanic: Download (www.antontomov.com) I bought this. It's good meaty tools you would get in a full Windows OS that M$ didn't put in WM5 yet.
[*]Notification Queue: Did it once, didn't do it after my last hard reset and TBH, haven't felt a need. I probably would do if I installed it and saw a gazillion notifications spamming my inners up. :lol:
[*]Registry cleanup: Haven't done it, but a careful look and selective delete may be of some use. Can't be arsed is the honest answer
[*]Task closer: Haven't bothered this time to minimise my number of concurrently running programs (absurd logic eh :wink: ). I only use a certain few apps, and as they're few don't notice a big slowdown from having them minimised if they don't close fully
[*]Basic apps: Here are Craigie's apps with my comment, and my loadset apps
Total commander - yeah man, schmokin
TCPMP - I only use mp3's so no point for me. Perhaps if I need to watch videos I will reinstall it.
Batti - I use Spb GPRS Monitor, v2.3.0, b525, and it has a battery icon, and I have the icon on my today screen, and I can guess it most of the time.
TRE - I use BitsInside Regedit. Also free and I like the Win 98 feel to it.
IIWPO - Great idea, I didn't know it worked on Universals. I will do this cos you never know if it might lead you to a thief. They'd have to be non-savvy theives of course else they'd hard reset it before using the new SIM
BT icon - I use the FN + -> combination to get there or the connectivity icon on the status bar.
BT switch - as above
Battery Uptime - If you want to learn then great
apReminderPlus - I don't use the alarm function
VJSMS - Inbuilt in WM5 is fine so far for my needs
Agile messenger - very thrifty use of bandwidth, like <10% of MSN (really) and free at the moment, but will pay for itself in bandwidth charges very quickly for most people. Suck it and see
GPS Viewer - because I have a Holux GPS and want to verify connectivity sometimes
Pocket Hack Master - because I like to crank it up to delightfully unstable 624MHz sometimes, but haven't need to with my installation as described here oddly enough. It's fast enough for me so far.
Pocket MSN because I want the Hotmail to appear in my messages application. I use Agile to IM people as above
TomTom Navigator 5.1 because it's awesome
[*]Settings: Time to do your basic settings:
speed dials
power and backlight
voice dials
Owner info
ringtones and notifications
DO NOT set regional settings if u r using PI (below)
[*]PIM: OK, time to replace the CRAP calendar built into WM5 - I agree it's crap, but I don't need a decent one. I am a simple soul.
[*]Reg fixes: - If you want to
Buzz's BT headset - haven't noticed this issue yet, bet I will tomorrow morning now though
"Always on GPRS" No good for me - 40megs/month tariff limit
Date & time in title bar (why not) - cos I know the date and time.
Menu and popup fonts 700 vs 900 - haven't done it yet. I like the size
PIE homepage - is done for me through my selective Ext ROM install
Terminal services cache - I don't use it yet
Turn IR off - yeah agreed waste of space most of the time.
[*]Extra apps:
eWallet - I don't keep details like that on my phones.
Pocket sudoku - I read books, so insert MS Reader for me there
Mobipocket reader - doesn't support .lit (MS format), and I read .lits and .docs so far. Wait until I run out of books though... :lol:
uBook - haven't needed it ....yet
1-calc - but the inbuilt calc does +, -, * and / so it's cool for me. I'm not a physicist
GPRS traffic monitor - spb is fine for me as I don't use it as a modem due to bandwidth limitations and being surrounded by connectivity in London.
[*]Memory:Haven't done these, but they look sensible if you can be arsed
Remove backgammon & skype, and re-install to SD card - I don't have them or use them anyway. How do you play backgammon? I went to a comprehensive school
Remove the 1Mb .tsk themes from the \Windows directory. I only have 3 default ones and use the standard blue theme. Functionality and not form is my motto :wink:
Do not use these big theme files - Good advice bro' (or sis)
Hope this is helpful to some other people :lol:
hi
Does ROM update invalidates the manufacture warranty?
Jatt
Menu and popup fonts
can anyone explain how to change the Menu and popup fonts from 700 to 900. Is it a registry hack?
jatt said:
hi
Does ROM update invalidates the manufacture warranty?
Jatt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would need to ring them up and enquire. With t-mobile, the tech dude just said they wouldn't be able to help me if I bricked my MDA until t-mobile released a ROM that I could download and use to revive the MDA. So, not invalidated for me, just much reduced support. Until a new ROM si out, all they can do with misbehaving devices is offer a replacement at the moment.
Illwil - the font size is a registry hack - search as it's here on this site somewhere.
joebongo: nice perspective. now users can see 2 extremes; O2 with much office usage, vs HTC with much out-n-about usage. Thanx 4 the effort.
illwil : search for my post on reg tweaks and run the .ren file 2 got 700->900 or rather 900->700
codiac: agree. I fiund spbPP 2 b perfectly well behaved, but there is so much bad press on it in this forum. perhas it's an O2 rom issue - pretty sad 4 them actually
xiasma: there truly do see 2 b an awful lot of ppl who think their universal is junk. this is intended 2 help them get up n running. some ppl got lucky (htc rom or just happy with functionality that actually works well) and they probably should not fix what aint broke. But one day they may want 2 push the envelope a little...
craigiecraigie4 said:
codiac: agree. I fiund spbPP 2 b perfectly well behaved, but there is so much bad press on it in this forum. perhas it's an O2 rom issue - pretty sad 4 them actually
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PocketPlus is working OK for me on my O2 Exec...
Hello Everyone.
I proudly received my Exec this morning, only to find that it ran like a bag of S**t.
I removed the connections.exe, and the active files from my windows/start up folder and things improved dramatically.
However I am having a problem with the activesync.
I have set up the partnership with my laptop running activesync 4 and when it communcates it does it without any problems, however as soon as I connect my usb cable between my Exec and my laptop it takes a few minutes for the charging LED to come on on my Exec, and a while longer before Activsync on my pc recoginses it.
Does anyone else suffer from this problem?
Cheers
You removed connections.exe and now u have a connection problem...
Try removing things 1 at a time.
I definitely don't have this problem.
FYI, on my HTC all I have under startup is:
sddeamon.lnk
batti (i installed)
apreminderplus (me)
iiwpo (me)
O2 is definitely adding stuff that does not seem 2 b required by htc.
The only shortcut I have in my Windows\Startup folder is 'Services' and I have no problem with ActiveSync, voice dialling (with the built-in dialler) or anything else. I have no idea what the sddaemon one does but mine runs fine without it.
fatspark, your problem might lie with your laptop rather than the Exec? As a test though, are you able to try ActiveSyncing over Bluetooth? See if it's any quicker. If so then maybe it's a USB problem. Dunno.
IIWPO
Can someone explain how to install the IIWPO in the extended ROM on the JASJAR ?
I think it is different than the EXEC, where can I find instructions ? I am willing to handle the hassle
Cheers SiliconS
The problem is a driver issue on one of my laptops, I installed activsync 4 onto another one and all is ok.
Cheers.
Fatzzz

[new release] One more taskbar battery meter

Hello.
I recently decided that the i-mate tray battery meter was not good enough for my needs and wanted to find a better one. After a few hours of looking and not finding one that was perfect for me I wondered: how hard is it to write one?
Well, apparently its very easy.
I decided to share the result with the community. There are much better ones out there, but perhaps someone will find this one suitable as well.
Whats so special about it?
Its tiny! Only 8.5k. Downside of this - it doesn't have any options, nor do I intend to add any in the future to keep current size. Also it receives notifications on battery as they come in, so its very accurate without having to constantly check the battery and generate unnecessary CPU load.
It takes its behavior from the device driver which is why it will act differently on different devices when battery is charging. (Some devices report battery full, others report accurate percentage, yet others "slide" it in a loop).
View attachment priview.bmp​
Also it starts just after MS logo (as you can see from the screen shot I have that space occupied) and doesn't fill the whole screen (14 pixels are left so the units could be evenly sized).
Well here it is, enjoy View attachment LvmTopBat.cab
For those who wish to learn how this program works, or to create another using it as a base, here is the entire project:
View attachment LVMTopBat.zip
The project compiles under eVC 4 with Windows Mobile 2003 SDK.
This program is now released under GNU/GPL v3.0
(See License.txt for more info)
Hope you will find it useful.
Levenum,
Great little app. I wonder how it differs from the Sbp meter used in PocketPlus.
I like it!
Yeah, don't add any options to it, I like the idea of an 8.5k program. That was my problem with Batti, it just grew and grew and I don't care about that info.
thanks!
look nice, i will try it
Does it change colour? If not could you make a gradiated texture?
1-10% Red
11-30% Yellow
31-100% Green
levenum and others,
FYI, I decided 8.5 kb was just too big :lol: (I'm toally kidding) so just to let you guys know, you can UPX the file down to 6.5kb with no issues. :wink:
JNGold said:
I wonder how it differs from the SPB meter used in PocketPlus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never tried SPB PocketPlus so not sure. Maybe just the fact that it's not full screen.
Tyr said:
Does it change colour?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, it does but only according to what the device reports. I found that on my Jamin for example, it reports 'low' (yellow) at 10% and 'critical' (red) at 5%.
It goes blue when charging, and I would really like to know if anyone got purple. According to MSDN documentation, there can be an 'undetermined' state reported by the system, but I doubt it can be encountered while device actually functions.
malatesta:Nice 8)
When I resume TyTN from the power saving mode, the indicator becomes purple for a second. So I can confirm that it works
It is better than SPB Pocket indicator because SPB is always grey, does not indicate charging, and its segments are of fixed length in both portrait and landscape and therefore have no a real relationship to the charge level.
It is better than IndiLite because it loads from the Startup folder (IndiLite from registry) and does not affect SafeMode of SPB.
Also it does only battery indication and this is good as well - there are too many apps and plug-ins that duplicate each other but not fully. For instance, before I used IndiLite only for the battery indicator, and SPB Pocket for task management.
is there a way to deactivate the spb pocket plus taskbar battery indicator (without removing spb pp), and have it replaced with this one?
Lurker0: Thanks for the test and the compliments.
Also it does only battery indication and this is good as well - there are too many apps and plug-ins that duplicate each other but not fully.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly why I wrote it - small and to the point. No sharing small (yet precious) today space with memory indicators or other stuff.
Now someone needs to make a fully WM5 compatible Today screen plugin that just says this:
Battery: XX%
No fancy graphics, no graphs, no storage card memory monitors. Just something (maybe) with a configurable font (like TodayAgenda).
I know there are a couple out there but some have issues with refresh on WM5 and most others are just giant graphs that tell me nothing :lol:
try this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=55782&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
Marx2 said:
try this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=55782&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, thanks Marx2!
I used this app awhile back and completely forgot about it :lol:
malatesta said:
Now someone needs to make a fully WM5 compatible Today screen plugin that just says this:
Battery: XX%
No fancy graphics, no graphs, no storage card memory monitors. Just something (maybe) with a configurable font (like TodayAgenda).
I know there are a couple out there but some have issues with refresh on WM5 and most others are just giant graphs that tell me nothing :lol:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone extracted the O2 battery monitor from their software package version 3. It has a very simple bar for the main and backup batteries and a percentage.
levenum, I have one suggestion
Currently the indicator is divided into 20 segments. As I understand, there are devices that are able to provide battery information with 5% granularity (mine is 10%), and that's why you made it this way. But IMHO it is much easier to count 5 (from the middle) than 10.
So I'd suggest you to draw only 10 segments, and color a half of the segment, if required to display the odd 5%.
Actually, 5% granularity just seemed like a good compromise between accuracy an visibility. Like I said in the above post I made this for my self.
From every device I've seen and MSDN documentation it appears that all WM devices report battery status with 1% granularity so that should not be an issue.
As for your suggestion I currently have to arguments against it:
1) Having different graphics and handling for two halves of the segment (even though there will be half the segments) will mean a slight increase in processing power and size of file - something I am trying to avoid.
2) I don't think that half painted segment will look good.
I am considering releasing a full screen version soon though, so if I hear from more people in support of your suggestion I may implement it there.
levenum said:
I am considering releasing a full screen version soon though, so if I hear from more people in support of your suggestion I may implement it there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I like 5% (my treo does 1%) so this is just fine.
What do you mean by "full screen version"? You mean edge to edge, I assume?
first thanks for a great little App.
Personally i think that functionality wise it's fine as it is but i would ask for 2 improvements if possible,
1. Full screen , and as you have already mentioned this you can count it as a vote for it .
2. Would it be possible to change the colours ?
For me the green & blue would be better switched around (green charging & blue normal)
As i'm not sure how much this would add to the code and i agree that smaller is better , so is it possible for a couple of releases in the zip of different colour schemes ?
Thanks
Ok, first - yes, by full screen I meant edge to edge.
Changing the color scheme wouldn't add to the code, and is really a miner change. So yes I will release a zip with several versions, but there is something I have to do on the LVMTime project first.
I am also thinking of the following: without adding to much to the app it is possible to make it read some settings from the registry, like color change threshold, color scheme and whether it is full screen or not.
I just wonder if it will be to much to tell people to use a reg editor to change settings. (I am really not feeling up to implementing an XML parser)
well i for one have no problems with reg editing at all

Developing new application, need help/suggestions

MAJOR EDIT: Started over, I need fresh ideas!
I'm bored, I got Basic4PPC andI want to make a little freeware app. Seeing how much people wanted another unit converter, I dropped the towel before entering the shower (pushing the metaphor to far...) and decided to consult the experts.
What would be THE best idea for a Pocket PC application? I was thinking about a small app to launch many applications from a single hardware button with some cool UI and all, but it's been down quite a couple of times.
I don't think that a unit converter can be sold easily... I mean: I don't need it, and if I would: there are so much freeware alternatives.
And about your goals:
- only one file... why?
- Try to make it modulair: easier to extend
sounds like a good idea, but why not have currency converter, in fact what would be a cool idea is if it can download a table of exchange rates on startup so that it gives you an accurate conversion figure.
Rhapsody said:
I don't think that a unit converter can be sold easily... I mean: I don't need it, and if I would: there are so much freeware alternatives.
And about your goals:
- only one file... why?
- Try to make it modulair: easier to extend
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, who would buy a unit converter... for instance I use google to convert for me on my phone. Easy and fast to use. I don't really know why I would need to convert a number fast.
I chose a unit converter for ease of use, but since the project is a day old or so, it's the right time to tell me what to make!
N1c0_ds said:
I chose a unit converter for ease of use, but since the project is a day old or so, it's the right time to tell me what to make!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I think if you want to make something which you want to sell, you have to come up with the ideas yourself
I think you start at the wrong side. First think about what you want to make (what are you missing at the moment on your phone?), then try to create it and when it's finished you can always decide what to do with it. (shareware or freeware).
The thing is that most of the things are already available freeware.
I don't quite correspond to the typical PDA user. I'm 15 years-old, part time worker...
I can get ideas myself, but I can't really know what the average user wants. The best thing I can of right now would be a hardware button launcher.
When you'd press the button you'd be presented a big touch keyboard from which you could filter the available apps. It would launch the app then close itself. Good or no good?
Timesheet application?
Well, since you asked... This is the only app I used on my old palm device that I have not been able to replace on my PPC. It is a simple timesheet program that allows the user to record time spent on definable projects.
I have tried several of the commercial programs out there and they are all too complex or geared more for billable time and invoice generation. I just need something simple. The PALM program was freeware and can be seen here.
If you are interested in giving this a try I will be glad to give some more details on the desired functionality. The PALM program was not 100% of what I needed, just the best fit from what I could find.
Interesting. I actually made something similar in one of my Palm apps (which was never finished because I switched to WM).
I'll have a look at that. I'll try it as a filler, waiting for a great project.
P.S.: your themes are awesome!
That would be wonderful! The biggest things I would need are below:
Multiple projects with name and number (13 digit)
Ability to delete project from available list but keep past history
Day and Week summary view reports
Easy selection / clock in / clock out on main screen
Those are the main things. There are lots of ways to do this and I have ideas, but part of the fun of coding is UI design and code structuring. If you decide to take this one please let me know. I will be very happy to test for you.
Woah, calm down, I'm only about to complete the table. It looks like the screenshots for Timesheet right now (without final total, project selection and "today" button).
what about an app that can install automatically and in silent mode a big list of cabs. we should just have to select the destination : phone storage or sdcard. it would make reinstalls easier after rom updates .....
perhaps it already exist, i don't know ...
PROGRESS!!!
The thing is now useable! It saves date, in time, out time and calculates the difference between the two. When you exit it save your current data to load it when you launch.
Looks like this:
Date In Out Time
08/08/2008 17:15 17:20 00:05
And it adds one row for each in/out.
Sample coming soon.
kaiser47 said:
what about an app that can install automatically and in silent mode a big list of cabs. we should just have to select the destination : phone storage or sdcard. it would make reinstalls easier after rom updates .....
perhaps it already exist, i don't know ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting idea, but I doubt people would pay for it.
CAB File!
Here's the working version. It yet has to show total time, money owed and all, but that's a good start!
Does anyone know a better CAB making app? This one sucks.
N1c0_ds said:
Interesting idea, but I doubt people would pay for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
basically exists as user customisation... a new thing where cabs from storage card can be installed if u basically make an xml file with links to all the needed cabs
N1c0_ds said:
Here's the working version. It yet has to show total time, money owed and all, but that's a good start!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am impressed. Then again, I don't have a WM dev environment. It is running fine so far on my P4300 WM6. Thanks for taking this on! There is nothing out there right now that is simple and clean.
I'm about to cancel all that crap right now. After a hard day of work, it was all made useless because Basic4PPC can't freakin' handle tables as it should. Thus instead of getting the standard plain white tables with grey headers, I get some ugly dark gray filling where there is no data. Then thing get even uglier when scrolling is needed. That kind of crap is enough to make me quit.
Unless you guys can get me something actually worth its price, forget about my app, I'm too pissed off to continue and all the files went straight to the bin.

(LAST CHANCE TO VOTE) need some idea's

10/16/08--
It is 12:00 central time (17:00 GMT I think) and I will close voting at 5:00pm Central Time (22:00 GMT) today. So that leaves you just 5 Hours to make your vote. I will try and post the winner up here later tonight, or you can check yourself at www.gudensoft.com.
Thanks!!
10/14/08--
First, thanks for all the great ideas. I would love to develop all of these if I could, but we have to decide on just one of the programs! So, Since I couldn't add a poll to this thread, I added it to HERE.
CLICK HERE TO VOTE!​
I bet I know which will win, but who knows? The poll will end Thursday or Friday (depending on if it is a close race or not).
Thanks
Gudy
10/10/08--
Hey guys,
I want to know what cool program, functionality, or software you would like to see created. I am a .net programmer (among others) and would like some ideas of projects you would like to see. I would like to stay away from a graphic intense program and involved games, so think functionality, usefulness, fun, etc. If I get some good ideas, I will then add a poll, vote on the best one, then build it. I will release it under my donationware license which means it will be free. Right now I am finishing up my Golf Gps program (and will continue to support), but will start this project once we get it deceided. So Shoot me your ideas!
Gudy
cool a programmer who need ideas
I have proposed something here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=434925
though it would maybe not appear as a grateful program for a developper ( a toolkit for other programs), it could be a good way to have a large diffusion through many config panels in different programs
it was just an idea
Wishlist
Hi,
Maybe simple for .NET, but for me impossible to do (without performance/battery penaulty) with basic4ppc or mortscript. And thats all I can handle.
What I would like to have is a program that enables me to execute programs when specific events occur. I'd like to know when AC power gets connected/disconnected, when there is a change in screen orientation, and when a headset gets connected/disconnected and so on. Maybe even when an internet connection through WIFI is available/unavailable.
Also I'd like to know is a specific BT device is connectable/conneted. I'd like to know if a specific WIFI network is connectable/connected. I'd like to know if I'm at a specific location. All event driven, without a performance consuming programing loop or battery drain.
Yeah, all or even some of those options would make my digital mobile life so much easier
Good luck huntig for input, if you ever get bored contact me and make me happy
Cheers,
Cacti
le_cactus said:
Hi,
Maybe simple for .NET, but for me impossible to do (without performance/battery penaulty) with basic4ppc or mortscript. And thats all I can handle.
What I would like to have is a program that enables me to execute programs when specific events occur. I'd like to know when AC power gets connected/disconnected, when there is a change in screen orientation, and when a headset gets connected/disconnected and so on. Maybe even when an internet connection through WIFI is available/unavailable.
Also I'd like to know is a specific BT device is connectable/conneted. I'd like to know if a specific WIFI network is connectable/connected. I'd like to know if I'm at a specific location. All event driven, without a performance consuming programing loop or battery drain.
Yeah, all or even some of those options would make my digital mobile life so much easier
Good luck huntig for input, if you ever get bored contact me and make me happy
Cheers,
Cacti
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doable, handy, not a massive undertaking, I like it! Not sure I would go the .net route on something like this, as really a GUI is not required (except for settings maybe) and the overhead is large with .net. Certainly will add it to the list. Keep them coming!!
t0k0m0k0 said:
cool a programmer who need ideas
I have proposed something here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=434925
though it would maybe not appear as a grateful program for a developper ( a toolkit for other programs), it could be a good way to have a large diffusion through many config panels in different programs
it was just an idea
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would be pretty difficult unless all of developers used the same programming langauge/technique. The only real feasable way I see this working would be developers using a common set of graphics. That would be more of a graphic undertaking instead of programming. I do like the idea, but pretty hard to impliment.
Thanks
Gudy
I would love to see something like Launchy for launching apps and files etc. as well as quick search of various types online. I'm guessing the on the fly search would require too much processing power, but if it's doable it would be awesome.
http://www.launchy.net/
I'm interested in new ideas too. I also use B4PPC.
Here's a few ideas:
-A tamagotchi, really. I was about to try this out tonight but Paint hates me.
-An app launcher like PetitLaunch on PalmOS. It's something that can pop from any app (hardware button) and when you type in extra letters it filters which apps are shown. I got this started and I can give you the files if you want.
-Pursue the development for Tippy. The source is on Nicbou.com/downloads if you want it.
-A time clock. A friend of mine notes down how long he works to make sure he doesn't get screwed and it takes him several minutes every week. He doesn't have a Pocket PC but maybe someone would be interested in something that tracks the hours you work and calculate the salary. I almost did this too.
And don't forget to share the source! If you need any help with B4PPC I'm here
galt said:
I would love to see something like Launchy for launching apps and files etc. as well as quick search of various types online. I'm guessing the on the fly search would require too much processing power, but if it's doable it would be awesome.
http://www.launchy.net/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds simular to the app launcher listed in the next post, seems like there is a theme going on here, you all need some sort of good app launcher.
Gudy
I'd like the Launchy features for search-on-the-fly off on board apps and file launching, but ever more for different site searches (google, maps, wikipedia, live, youtube, Amazon, etc).
N1c0_ds said:
I'm interested in new ideas too. I also use B4PPC.
Here's a few ideas:
-A tamagotchi, really. I was about to try this out tonight but Paint hates me.
-An app launcher like PetitLaunch on PalmOS. It's something that can pop from any app (hardware button) and when you type in extra letters it filters which apps are shown. I got this started and I can give you the files if you want.
-Pursue the development for Tippy. The source is on Nicbou.com/downloads if you want it.
-A time clock. A friend of mine notes down how long he works to make sure he doesn't get screwed and it takes him several minutes every week. He doesn't have a Pocket PC but maybe someone would be interested in something that tracks the hours you work and calculate the salary. I almost did this too.
And don't forget to share the source! If you need any help with B4PPC I'm here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had to look up tamagotchi, either I am too old, or just out of the loop to know that 10 million of these things were sold! Wow! That could be fun, but would take a pretty fancy AI type system to really be fun.
A form of Tippy is already out there, 1-calc has some of the features built in already.
A time clock could be cool, maybe a stop watch type thing perhaps?
Never used B4PPC, I mainly use C# and Visual Studio. It looks like the old Visual Basic for desktops. And last but not least, depending on the project, I more than likely will release the source.
Thanks!!! Keep'em comin!
Gudy
File Explorer Needs Help
Has anyone wanted to see a preview image in explorer's folder??
I'm not talking about fexplorerext2. although it is a fantastic enhancement; it takes a long time to load the preview immages.
I have a better idea (well, actualy MS thought of it first)
THUMBS.DB
for every folder that has an image file, this dll is created to replace cache of images. this way ou do not have to load it everytime and scale them down for thumbnail view. it is already there specificaly for each folder.
This alows the explorer to show a preview of the first image in the folder (or last created/accessed)
This is whatt I think WinMo is lacking - windows. lol.
I do not care much for the tabbed browsing. it hurts my head. too much scroling and not enough info. Icons work better I think, and waste less space on an already small screen.
well, that's been on my wishlist for a very long time. a dll that ataches to the already existing explorer making it work better.
Thanks for workin g on something new
program that makes led lights flash when phone rings would be nice
Interesting...I will have to think about how to tackle that. It would basically take a new file explorer (like total commander). This might be a bit larger than I want to tackle, but will research it a bit before ruling it out.
GUdy
bedaweed said:
program that makes led lights flash when phone rings would be nice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would be very difficult as not every device handles the leds the same. Also, not every device has the same leds (color, # of, etc). I think No2Chem has a int. driver, but think it is only for the titan. Would be cool though...
Gudy
a system-wide launcher dock program like that on the velocity 103 PPC..
here's the URL for the review and video of the app (and the phone)
-------------------------------------------------------------
a new top bar replacemeent/notification system much like the "android Notification Drawer" it can replace the bubble (multiple) notifications icon when you got multiple and simultaneous notifications.. and also make it finger friendly (unlike M2D, no need to go back to homescreen to check email/sms previes and also calendar events, calls, etc.. also unlike big taskbar - from the touch phones, this'll have previews)
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7qbPa1O8Ys&eur (at the 2 minute mark) , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy-YcGNyJds
mjg7876 said:
Interesting...I will have to think about how to tackle that. It would basically take a new file explorer (like total commander). This might be a bit larger than I want to tackle, but will research it a bit before ruling it out.
GUdy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fexplorer2 is basically a dll that works with the original file explorer context menu. there is a small exe that overwrites the original explorer to make it think that the explorer"s context menu has already been opened.
in a way it maybe possible to write a new dll and two exe
EXE 1 to replace the file explorer
EXE 2 to make thumbs db
DLL (conte4xt menu that alows to view as thumbnails/list etc ; as well as launching the second exe to make a thumbsdb)
maybe you can get some help from Hou Ming, the guy that made that program before.
it would be cool if you could get some of the old emus like pocket gba and pocket snes with window 6.1 I know i would be happy.
le_cactus said:
... when AC power gets connected/disconnected, when there is a change in screen orientation, and when a headset gets connected/disconnected and ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been looking for a program that would stop the music (S2P, Audio Manager, or WMP etc...) if during playback of the music the headset is removed. Or for instance, when the device is on vibrate and you connect headset, it automatically changes profile to normal or something.
Another one is when I dock my device (or connect AC basically), I'd like clock program (or home screen, or photo slideshow, etc...) to come up automatically.
A feature that I miss from my older phones is the ability to set them to beep every minute during a phone call.
Now these are very general and not specific features. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me!
Thank you,
SiNAra
ytsejam_ said:
a system-wide launcher dock program like that on the velocity 103 PPC..
here's the URL for the review and video of the app (and the phone)
-------------------------------------------------------------
a new top bar replacemeent/notification system much like the "android Notification Drawer" it can replace the bubble (multiple) notifications icon when you got multiple and simultaneous notifications.. and also make it finger friendly (unlike M2D, no need to go back to homescreen to check email/sms previes and also calendar events, calls, etc.. also unlike big taskbar - from the touch phones, this'll have previews)
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7qbPa1O8Ys&eur (at the 2 minute mark) , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy-YcGNyJds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The launcher on the 103 looks a lot like manilla, I know it is diff, but to me it seems mainly by presentation, not functionality. I do however like the notification top bar like that on android. Not sure how difficult taking over the top bar would be. I will do some digging.
S.V.I said:
Fexplorer2 is basically a dll that works with the original file explorer context menu. there is a small exe that overwrites the original explorer to make it think that the explorer"s context menu has already been opened.
in a way it maybe possible to write a new dll and two exe
EXE 1 to replace the file explorer
EXE 2 to make thumbs db
DLL (conte4xt menu that alows to view as thumbnails/list etc ; as well as launching the second exe to make a thumbsdb)
maybe you can get some help from Hou Ming, the guy that made that program before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you give me a link to this? The only thing I could find (quickly) was sketchy at best. Still seems a bit much, but would like to know more about this Fexplorer2 thing before nuking the idea.
Gudy

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