Related
Summary:
I'm starting this thread as a dedicated effort to enhancing the integration of the HTC TouchFLO Cube onto non-"HTC Touch" devices, without requiring a different version of touch.dll to be installed on the device via a new ROM.
Current Status:
WHAT'S DONE
Much research in learning how the cube works
Development of some theories
Development of a testing app to test theories
Proof of concept app built to prove the theories
Using FTouchFlo, I have all 4 motions assigned to the correct cube task ... and it's all working!
Slide up - open
Slide down - close
Slide right - spin right
Slide left - spin left
Added new feature, where LR, RL, and UD finger swipes can execute other tasks if you perform them when you're not on one of the cube faces. Read Project Status 11-12 entry for details
Added an option to allow LR, RL gestures to open & spin the cube even when biotouch is not running. Not sure if this is actually the way the Elf works, but some people want it
Conversations have been started with efrost about integrating our work here directly into FTouchFlo. Talk about a speed enhancement!
Raven_coda has cracked the final piece of the puzzle!
I have implemented Raven_coda's changes, and my C# version works great ... StartUp items are sorted out now!
C++ version created ... speed is definitely improved
A few bugs fixed, a few issues addressed, and a few new features added
Beta release v1.1.0 available here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/72589345/TFloCubeCtrl_-_v1.1.0.zip -or-
Use the attachment at the bottom of this post
NOTE: This file is a zip archive, suitable for situations where you already have the HTC TouchFLO cube installed. If you have never installed TFloCubeCtrl before, then follow the TFloCubeCtrl - Installation instructions. If you're upgrading from v1.0.4, then use the TFloCubeCtrl - Upgrade instructions. You do *not* need to uninstall TFloCubeCtrl or the HTC TouchFLO cube in order to upgrade. For a complete cube installation, please check with duttythroy on his thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=336482.
Newer cab built by xplode available here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/75947199/HTCCube_FTouchFlo_TFloCubeCtrlv110_Config-xplode.cab
Includes HTCCube + FTouchFlo v1.4.1 + TFloCubeCtrl v1.1.0 + TouchSettings v1.22 + FTouchFloConfig. This should also include all of the patches and fixes from the attachment list. However, if you installed the previous version of xplode's cab and are experiencing issues, try the following:
If you experience 2 apps launching from the MediaHubMini using Xplode's latest cab ... then replace the MediaHubMini.exe with the "patched" version below in the attachments. Either terminate the MediaHubMini process first then overwrite, or delete the MediaHubMini (preload) link from Windows\Startup, soft reset, then overwrite the file.
If you are having issues with QuickDial not functioning properly ... then replace the QD_Bar_NoBar_HL.png image file with the replacement version in the attachments. Also you can try replacing the version of QuickDial with the patched version in attachments below. Either terminate the QuickDial process first then overwrite, or delete the QuickDial (preload) link from Windows\Startup, soft reset, then overwrite the file.
WHAT'S LEFT
The black screen issues seemed to have all but disappeared. I believe we have determined the reason they were occurring, and have solved at least a vast majority of them.
Solve any remaining beta release bugs/issues
Once the beta seems good to people, get the code to efrost for him to integrate into FTouchFlo!
Rules:
For now, this thread is intended for people who already have a working version of the TouchFLO Cube on their system.
I'd prefer to keep this thread research & development oriented. I don't want this to turn into another thread of a million posts by people who are getting cube black screens and want help.
The cube still has a few unknown nuances/dependencies ... so this thread will be most suited for people familiar with alpha version software.
This thread is about integrating the original HTC TouchFLO Cube. I don't think we need a bunch of posts about how some 3rd party app is better, or how a Flash cube turns faster. There are other alternatives, yes ... this thread is about just one of those alternatives.
More as I think of them
Structure:
Post #1 is for general info
Post #2 will be project updates
Post #3 will be announcements / additional updates
Post #4 is some project background info
Post #5 we'll reserve for a hint/tips section
The rest is up to you guys
Donations
Thank you to all who have donated! Every donation makes me realize that other people are also interested in this project, and helps keep me motivated to continue expanding the functionality, and answering questions!
Props
JasonStern for his tireless research as to why QuickDial was failing on certain devices (see QD replacement image an new version attachments)
Musicman247 for providing me with files and sharing the work he has done with a true 6-sided cube
Zyphlin for pointing me to the work that Musicman247 was doing
Raven_coda, who despite being my mortal enemy at first , ended up discovering the key to breaking our dependency on the original biolauncher app!
duttythroy for creating his cab installer that started me down this path
efrost for creating FTouchFlo which makes the cube work with finger control
xplode for creating cab installers for me (even though he "hates" the cube )
techmonkie for responding to my RFI, and straightening me out re: launching/exiting
funman and Biffert for also helping me out with reference information from an actual HTC Touch users
jasjamming & Bepe for the original work on Touchflo Alpha
others ... I'm sure
Project Status
11-10-2007: Proof of concept app in C# is completed, and the four finger control functions are working! One major issue, is how to get back into the cube when biotouch is still running, but no cube app is in the foreground (like after you launch and close an app). So far, I can only get the startup animation when I start biotouch from scratch ... so the downswipe action runs the close animation, and then closes biotouch. It really seems like I should be able to call something to get a running instance of biotouch to re-execute the startup animation ... but I'll be darned if I can find it as of yet.
I'd like to get some input from users of an actual Elf or Touch Dual device. Ideally, someone who can run a process viewer app to see the processes behind the screen ... and even better if they have a tool like Remote Spy that comes with Visual Studio 2005. I think it would help me ... because right now I'm just guessing at what should be happening.
I need to figure out what pieces need to be in startup for my app to work. Basically, I've written my own version of BioLauncher ... which doesn't require biotouch to be running at all (it starts it on an upswipe). But so far, removing the ns script call from startup (bio.lnk) didn't seem to allow the biotouch animations to run. Need to do more research in this area. Everything works fine if I use my normal Touchflo Alpha install ... use the hardware button to loop through things (pre-loads all the cube apps probably), and then use my new app mapped to FTouchFlo. If none of this makes any sense to you ... read "How the TouchFLO Cube works" in Post #4.
11-10-2007 (after some sleep): I posted a message over on the Elf forum asking for some information about the behavior of the cube in certain situations. We'll see if I get any help. If anyone reading this knows of anyone with an Elf or Touch Dual (are they out?) ... then send them over to that forum, or check it out yourself and borrow their device for a bit
11-11-2007: I actually got an answer from the Elf forum techmonkie is indicating that biotouch doesn't really terminate on cube close, thereby indicating that there *has* to be a way to trigger the startup animation from a running biotouch instance. I was really starting to suspect that this was the case ... but this was the evidence I needed. Figuring this out will solve my startup woes ... and that should complete the interactivity with the cube. At that point ... I may consider a controlled alpha release, just to confirm that things are working as design on other devices. We'll have to see how things go. I'm going to refocus my investigation on triggering the open animation from a running biotouch ... but I may need some detailed analysis from an Elf ... we'll see.
11-11-2007 (update): Did I mention how much sleep this thing is causing me to lose?! Anyways, OK ... must have been the inspiration of knowing how it was actually working on an HTC Touch device, because with the info in techmonkie's response, and a little more digging into the assembly code of touch.dll to confirm, I've got the startup issues sorted out. In fact, biotouch.exe does indeed remain memory resident. There is a way to get the startup anim to run ... although I swear I tried this before, and it didn't work. The open and close animations even do a little screen fade-in. It's working quite well for me in fact! This is so sweet ... I went and downloaded a few other animations from the Elf Cube customization thread ... just to see then animate in my new fully-functional cube!
There's a few cleanup things to do for tomorrow ... and then it's on to sorting out the correct startup sequence. I'm still considering the controlled alpha release. Right now, you need to add it on top of a working cube ... which may not be bad for those that have working cubes!
11-12-2007: I had this thought earlier today ... I never really want a RL or LR swipe to bring up the cube and spin it, if the cube wasn't open before. You don't really know what page you'll land on ... unless you know where you left off last. I'm not exactly sure of the Elf's behavior on this point ... but I decided to add the ability for my cube interface to execute cube functions when the cube is open, or execute other apps if the cube is not open. For instance, I can have a RL swipe spin the cube when the cube is open, but the same gesture will launch Total Commander when I'm on the home screen I think it's pretty cool ... retains the cube interaction abilities, and still retains the "quick launch" nature of FTouchFlo gestures! Doesn't appear to slow it down much ... I'm hoping the C++ version is better anyways.
11-16-2007 (Announcement): New Announcements ... see Post #3 below.
11-20-2007: Hints, Bugs, & Issues section updated to include at least a start (prompted after yet another post about missing contacts tab in HTC Home . Development work on fixing the screen lock bug continues.
11-21-2007: Version 1.1 is under way with a few new commands available. Detect for screen lock and rotation seems to be working, and I'm hoping to fix a few of the other bugs. Also, use of link files for <App_2> parameter now work!
11-24-2007: Version 1.1 development continues. I removed the error message when using the openSpin<Direction> command and running in landscape mode. Also, I think I've fixed the "rainbow effect". Finally, I've adding another new command option: lock, which will execute the standard device lock. So some of the new commands are: minimizeAll, lock, lock-home, and somehow I'm going to work in a command to lock and suspend. Tossing around the idea of allowing screen rotation through gestures as well. So I think bugs 1 & 2, & possibly 3 are fixed, and issues 1 & 2 are adressed. A release is probably due, maybe by the end of this weekend.
11-25-2007: Version 1.1 seems complete. I've added screen rotation as well ... so the final list of new options is: lock (sub options of "home" and "suspend"), rotateDisplay (left and right), minimizeAll. I'll try to package it up in a new archive by tomorrow, after a bit more testing.
12-05-2007: Remaining issues still seem mostly centered around some devices having issues with QuickDial. I've gotten my hands on some new versions of the required apps, and am currently evaluating them. For the most part ... it looks promising that these will extend our cube functionality!
Announcements
11-12-2007: Limited Alpha Release
With this latest feature added ... and everything seeming to work perfectly on my device, I've decided to go ahead with a limited release alpha. It's just so cool ... and I know there are "Cube People" out there that wanted this just as much as me Basically, here's how it works.
You are not eligible for the alpha unless you already have the TouchFLO cube software installed and spinning to the right via FTouchFlo. Reason is that I was focused on rewriting the biotouch interface app first ... as that's the key component. There are lingering nuances to getting the TouchFLO cube apps themselves working ... but I'll be addressing that once I get past this phase. Don't worry ... I have plans on making this a simple cab installation for the whole enchilada ...
If you're interested in trying out the alpha version ... PM me, because I'd rather not have a bunch of one-line posts for people asking to test.
I'll give you the location of the zip file to download. This is alpha-ware ... so not fancy installers yet, but I guess I'll throw in a readme.txt file or something. It's pretty simple really ... assuming that you have a working cube.
Once you get things installed ... try it out. If you're having problems that seem like they might be installation/configuration issues ... then PM me about them first. I'd rather keep the posts as relevant to "general design/development" as possible.
Along the sames lines ... no need to post messages saying it works and whatnot, just PM me. Since it's not publicly available ... we don't really need pages of posts from people saying it works.
11-14-2007: Limited Alpha Release - ON HOLD
Alpha is on hold until I work through some issues ... and clear out some PM's Thank you all for your interest and feedback.
11-15-2007: Startup items are sorted out ... first beta version is on its way ... although apparently no luck in finishing that night
11-16-2007: First revision ported to C++. Need to do some testing and tweaking ... hopefully will finish tonight!
11-16-2007 (Update): Beta release v1.0.4 available here: http://rapidshare.com/files/70299288/TFloCubeCtrl_-_v1.0.4.zip. Currently just a zip archive, I may build a cab installer over the weekend, just for my app (for you that already have the cube installed). For a complete cube installation, please check with duttythroy on his thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=336482
11-27-2007: Beta release v1.1.0 available here: http://rapidshare.com/files/72589345/TFloCubeCtrl_-_v1.1.0.zip. This file is a zip archive, suitable for situations where you already have the HTC TouchFLO cube installed. If you have never installed TFloCubeCtrl before, then follow the TFloCubeCtrl - Installation instructions. If you're upgrading from v1.0.4, then use the TFloCubeCtrl - Upgrade instructions. You do *not* need to uninstall TFloCubeCtrl or the HTC TouchFLO cube in order to upgrade.
Background
Background:
A few weeks back, I was inspired by the work of a couple of fellows who were working on a project to get the HTC TouchFLO Cube working on other HTC devices. You've probably seen the installation cab floating around in a couple of different threads. Like many of you, I quickly became enamored with the cube ... and jumped through all of the hoops to get it working (and I was one of the lucky ones who got it working).
The original work by jasjamming and bepe provided a cube that could spin to the right via a hardware button. Then, with the release of efrost's FTouchFlo ... you could get the cube to spin right with a finger motion. It was all great, but I wanted more! Two things bothered me greatly ... you could not spin the cube left, and once you launched a program ... the only way to return to the cube would be to spin it again.
So began a intensive week-long, late-night effort to learn as much as I could about the TouchFLO Cube, and if/how we could get it do more. I am very happy to report that much progress has been made ... and it is definitely feasible that we can have finger controlled spin left, right, open, and close.
How the HTC TouchFLO Cube works
The HTC TouchFLO Cube is really the collaboration of four separate executables, and an "interface". The four executables consist of one app per each each face of the cube (ApLauncher.exe = App Launcher; MediaHubMini.exe = Music, Photos, Video; QuickDial.exe = Contacts), and an application that facilitates the animation sequences for the cube (Biotouch.exe). Now, at this point I guess I'll point out that "cube" is really a bit of a misnomer. Since there are only 3 faces to this object + top and bottom, it's really more of a pentahedron, or a triangular prism if you like the sound of that better. The "interface" part is where things get interesting. On an HTC Touch (Elf) or Touch Dual ... the "interface" that detects finger swipes and translates them into calls to the biotouch application is the main touchscreen library: touch.dll. This is where we start running into problems trying to run the cube on other devices. Without modifying the touch.dll on a given device ... there will be nothing to interpret finger swipes and communicate to biotouch. This is the point the original work by jasjamming and bepe went down the path of attempting to map a hardware button to be used to spin the cube. An executable needed to be created that would interact with biotouch in the same manner that the touch.dll file would, and trigger it to run the spin right animation. I'm not exactly sure what process these guys went through to figure this out ... but they did. From there ... it was efrosts creation of FTouchFlo that brought the next revolution. FTouchFlo is an app that allows you to map a file to be called when it detects one of the four finger swipe motions (up-down, down-up, left-right, right-left). With this, you could now map that same executable that was assigned to the hardware button to the left-right swipe action in FTouchFlo ... and now your cube spins with a finger swipe.
That's pretty much where the development stopped. I did a lot of research on this ... but pretty much all I could find from that point on was various people's input about it not working on this device, sort of working on another, etc. I simply couldn't believe that no one was pushing to enable the other cube interactions! It frustrated me to no end to know that I had a cube that was capable of spinning left, but no way to tell it to do so. So I rolled up my sleeves, read through countless pages of posts about what had been done so far, downloaded a disassembler, performed a lot analysis and theorizing ... and here we are today.
Hints, Bugs, and Issues
Hints
Problem: I installed the cube, and now my Contacts tab in HTC Home is gone!
Resolution: Delete the registry key: HKLM\Software\OEM\MASD\QuickDial
Problem: I installed the latest cab, and now I have trouble completing a gesture
Resolution: Try changing the GestureWaitingDelay in FTouchFloConfig.txt to a higher value (i.e. 50000)
Problem: I can't figure out what/how to map the cube to my hardware buttons
Resolution: Download my zip archive from post #1, and read the TFloCubeCtrl - Readme.txt file
Problem: I don't know/understand the TFloCubeCtrl options in the FTouchFloConfig.txt file
Resolution: Download the TFloCubeCtrl - Readme.txt file from the attachments in this post
Problem: I'm not very technical, and I don't know what to do
Resolution: Be patient and wait for there to be a final release. This is a beta, and is therefore not polished to the point of a one-click install
Problem: I end up activating the cube when I try to unlock in Slide2Unlock
Resolution: Add s2u2.exe to the exclude list in FTouchFloConfig.txt
Problem: My Touch Settings application has no icons for the APLauncher
Resolution: Be sure to add the AL_xxx.png icons to your Windows directory
Problem: Editing the FTouchFloConfig.txt file is confusing/difficult
Resolution: Check out the FTouchFlo Configuration Tool by schaps here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=345568
Problem: I installed the latest Xplode cab, and MediaHubMini is launching multiple apps
Resolution: It's a known issue ... try replacing your MediaHubMini.exe file with the one from the attachments in Post #1. Be sure to terminate the MediaHubMini process first, or remove the MediaHubMini (preload) link from Windows\Startup and soft-reset
Problem: I installed the latest Xplode cab, and QuickDial is not working
Resolution: It's a known issue ... try replacing your QuickDial.exe file with the "DeviceCheckPatched" one from the attachments in Post #1. Be sure to terminate the QuickDial process first, or remove the QuickDial (preload) link from Windows\Startup and soft-reset
More to follow ...
Bugs (for TFloCubeCtrl only)
When the device is locked, but the screen is still "active", an up-down gesture in FTouchFlo will still bring up the cube ... although you then can't do anything with it. (Fixed in v1.1.0)
Link files (.lnk) do not appear to work when specified as the <Command_2> parameter. (Fixed in v1.1.0)
In some non-HTC devices (Eten M600), TFloCubeCtrl is unable to detect that the QuickDial cube app is running (related to QuickDial issue listed below)
A DeviceLock issue detailed here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1730847&postcount=453
ICE (Infinite Cube Effect) issue as detailed here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1732668&postcount=460
PM me to report other items you think are bugs
Other Issues
When launching the cube using a RL or LR gesture, and the cube isn't already in the foreground (aka using the openSpin<Direction> command), exiting the cube using the close command causes some interesting "rainbow" effects on the today screen as the cube app closes. The rainbow colors then disappear ... but it's very strange for a split second. (Seems better to some in v1.1.0, but not solved completely)
When you have openSpin<Direction> set up in FTouchFlo and you perform a RL/LR gesture when in Landscape mode, you receive an error message indicating that Biotouch is not running. (Fixed in v1.1.0)
QuickDial app is running slow on some devices, sometimes taking 3-4 seconds to display the actual contact name/photos. Although it was never that slow for me, v2.0 of QuickDial loads even faster. Xplode's cab installer linked to on Post #1 has QuickDial v2.0
On non-HTC devices, the QuickDial app does not seem to load. For QuickDial v2.0, this is due in part to validation that the program is running on an HTC device (I'm not sure if QD v1.0 does this). JasonStern has made some progress on the QuickDial issues ... see Problem/Resolution above
Great job!
this looks great, cant wait to see the results.
Hope this helps...
Hey Kona...that darn cube is addicting!! Im one of the few also that has the cube running flawlessly on my 8525..buttonflow that is! After alot of trial and error and lots of hard resets...i got it working. First thing to do is get the cube running after a hard reset. Second I installed gullum activate cube cab..View attachment activate_cube.CAB. Not sure what it did but the only time I have to launch biotouch is after opening keyboard....not even after a SR!!! I guess it keeps biotouch running or somehow launches it automatically. Just my 2cents...
niterdr said:
Second I installed gullum activate cube cab..View attachment 57648. Not sure what it did but the only time I have to launch biotouch is after opening keyboard....not even after a SR!!! I guess it keeps biotouch running or somehow launches it automatically. Just my 2cents...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just so you know ... typically a Windows Mobile cab file contains a _setup.xml file. This file is what tells the OS what steps to perform in order to install the cab file. This particular cab file puts four shortcuts into the Windows/StartUp folder. It also inputs the typical TFLOSettings into the registry ... most of which don't really apply to us, because it's touch.dll that's looking at these registry entries, and unless you've got an HTC Touch version of touch.dll, nothing is looking at those. The exception would be the Kaiser, where it does use some of those entries for the integrated TouchFlo scrolling.
I can't say specifically why this works for you ... it's a little counter to my experience, where I was finding that links to pre-load the cube apps in the startup folder were actually contributing to my black screens.
Regardless ... I can say a couple of things about this: 1) this also seems to support the fact that biotouch normally remains in memory. I wasn't sure that was the case, because the only way I could see the startup animation was running biotouch from scratch. I got response from my RFI in the Elf forums that confirms this. 2) I suspected also that the Elf pre-loads all of the cube apps, so they don't lag on the first cube rotation. I'm not really sure why this didn't seem to work on my device ... and I'll definitely be revisiting this concept when I do the analysis to determine the correct configuration for loading the cube with my new software.
Thanks for the input!
hey, i dont understand, AJE has ported the whole Biotouch on the HTC P3300..
Then what do you want to reinvent ?
Can't you see with him directly ?
Kona, you're not the only one who wants this working on a Kaiser.
My girlfriend got herself a touch and now I'm all jealous about her cube
I'm a programmer myself and I've been looking at the touch.dll from the kaiser. But I can't find the dll from the HTC Touch. Could you maybe attach it here so I can have a look at that one too. (Or link to it) I don't have the biotouch cube installed yet.
Do you have any idea if the cube should run in windows mobile emulator in visual studio ? I think i'm going to try that... less messing with my kaiser.
cAnArdtichAud said:
hey, i dont understand, AJE has ported the whole Biotouch on the HTC P3300..
Then what do you want to reinvent ?
Can't you see with him directly ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To the best of my knowledge ... some people have indeed successfully created ROMs with a functioning Biotouch Cube interface (Artemis, Charmer, Wizard to name a few). But to do this, they actually replace the version of touch.dll that normally comes on the device with the version that comes with the Elf. While this is obviously a viable and functioning approach ... it can only be done through flashing a new ROM.
I wanted to pursue an option that could be installed via a cab. I also heard that trying to flash the Elf touch.dll on a Hermes was not working. Finally ... I haven't seen/heard of anyone trying to put an Elf touch.dll on a Kaiser, and writing my own biotouch interface application seemed a lot easier than learning how to cook my own ROMs.
Damn..it could be grat !!! xD
Denhomer said:
Kona, you're not the only one who wants this working on a Kaiser.
My girlfriend got herself a touch and now I'm all jealous about her cube
I'm a programmer myself and I've been looking at the touch.dll from the kaiser. But I can't find the dll from the HTC Touch. Could you maybe attach it here so I can have a look at that one too. (Or link to it) I don't have the biotouch cube installed yet.
Do you have any idea if the cube should run in windows mobile emulator in visual studio ? I think i'm going to try that... less messing with my kaiser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to be jealous ... if you've already got the cube running, then try out my alpha release! Will run just as good as the Touch!
I sent you a PM re: the touch.dll
As for running the cube in the Windows Mobile 5 emulator ... I'm not sure. I never really tried ... and I'm not exactly sure how it works. I guess you'd have to able to install apps into the emulator environment (4 TouchFLO cube apps plus their graphics and registry entries). Anyone care to chime in about trying to do something like this in the Visual Studio device emulator?
I think i'm lucky !
i've just download your alpha and tested it.
it works great on my french kaiser .
no bug till now.i've tested it till 30 minutes.
perhaps a bit slow at the first seconds and then everythings went smoothly !!!
i don't see what could be improved !
btw, just wanted to point that i've duttythroy alpha2 installed at first and it worked on my kaiser with some modification :
i deldted apl - biotouch - hub fom windows\start up
and deleted a key in registry: quickdial
nice work !
one more question : why the time limit ?
Kona, just one suggestion. Would be great if the Cube can be rotated L-R and R-F using the D-Pad as well. I think that is far more reliable and quicker than using the finger.
Thanks for continue to work on the TouchCube as I thought it was an unfinished business.
Kona_Mtbkr said:
No need to be jealous ... if you've already got the cube running, then try out my alpha release! Will run just as good as the Touch!
I sent you a PM re: the touch.dll
As for running the cube in the Windows Mobile 5 emulator ... I'm not sure. I never really tried ... and I'm not exactly sure how it works. I guess you'd have to able to install apps into the emulator environment (4 TouchFLO cube apps plus their graphics and registry entries). Anyone care to chime in about trying to do something like this in the Visual Studio device emulator?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@Kona,
Do you think that this would work in the Blue Angel running WM6? I am asking simply because I do not feel like re-flashing my device.... again
Thanks!!!
megaman said:
I think i'm lucky !
i've just download your alpha and tested it.
it works great on my french kaiser .
no bug till now.i've tested it till 30 minutes.
perhaps a bit slow at the first seconds and then everythings went smoothly !!!
i don't see what could be improved !
btw, just wanted to point that i've duttythroy alpha2 installed at first and it worked on my kaiser with some modification :
i deldted apl - biotouch - hub fom windows\start up
and deleted a key in registry: quickdial
nice work !
one more question : why the time limit ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to hear ... I hope you mean that even after the 30 mins, you still haven't had any problems.
The slowness in the first few spins of the cube is likely due to the fact that the individual apps for each cube face are not yet running, so they have to start up on the first spin. After that, it's much quicker to redisplay the cube face because those app stay memory-resident. In the installations that I've seen that use the ns script and Touchflo in the startup do not respond well when you try to "pre-init" the cube face apps in startup as well. I'm suspicious that it has something to do with this touchflo app, because in my mind, outside of preloading the cube apps, I don't know why anything other than FTouchFlo should need to be in startup. We'll see though ... I'll be working on getting a solid install from scratch soon.
And I agree ... I think dutty's alpha 2 install is a good base for me to start from (pending his approval). I'm hoping that I'll be able to rip the old parts out, and sub in my new app, and everything will work out great.
bchau said:
Kona, just one suggestion. Would be great if the Cube can be rotated L-R and R-F using the D-Pad as well. I think that is far more reliable and quicker than using the finger.
Thanks for continue to work on the TouchCube as I thought it was an unfinished business.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just thinking about what else I could try to add to my cube controller ... and spinning via dpad did cross my mind. This doesn't end up being exactly trivial, because I haven't made any mods to the actual biotouch.exe or any of the cube apps. When you're on a given face of an app ... it's that HTC app that is the foreground window. But I'm wondering if I can't register a listener for dpad events, and trigger the cube based on that. I'll put it on the wish list.
What can be done even sooner though ... is you will be able to assign any of the cube functions (open, close, left, right) to any hardware button you can assign a shortcut to. Actually, if you're familiar with link files, you can do it now ... but I'll be adding them in my next release probably too.
megaman said:
one more question : why the time limit ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops, forgot to answer this. I added an expiration date simply because this is a very early alpha release. It hadn't yet been tested on anything other than my device ... and I didn't want someone to go crazy and burn it into their ROM.
Fear not ... I will remove the expiration date when I feel that the software is ready for a prime-time release. Although, I could be using this alpha just to get people hooked, and then complain about the vast amount of effort I put into the project and lack of donations received ... and threaten to never release a new version
Nah ... I wouldn't do that
There are numerous video's out there showing things the HD can do but MY version certainly can NOT. And despite how cool these features are, surprisingly hardly Anybody talks about them, I find almost no information anywhere on this forum or on Google.
Check out this video, for example. A nice demonstration of LOTS of features that to my knowledge do not exist on the HD:
http://www.theunwired.net/?item=videoview-hands-on-with-the-htc-touch-hd-windows-mobile-smartphone
- First of all, the thing that caught my eye the most, is THE LACK OF THE ZOOM TRANSITION EFFECT BETWEEN PAGES THAT WAS IN ALL THE PREVIEW VIDEO'S.
- Then, there's the the IN CALL RECORDER application. Where the heck is it?!
- And even more important (yes I like graphics), the OPERA TAB SWITCHING, with its Cover Flow-ish way of showing all the open tabs as separate windows in semi-3D... See the attached screenshots. Also note how the buttons in the browser (at the bottom) are aligned differently. Can I get this Opera version somewhere?
The list goes on.
Why are these things not in the HD, or are they in yours and just not in mine?? Is it some firmware update I don't know about?
Please, enlighten me.
why they have removed the tabbing feature is beyond me.
I wonder if these are features that can be enabled?
My girlfriend has the Nokia N96 and her version of Opera even supports this. No, it does not look as fancy with the reflections and all, but the same tab windowing is there.
Also they said this version would include Flash Lite 3.1 well I can't even watch a video on the YouTube site. It does show more than without plugin (the movie overviews) but no playback.
And the zoom effect... As stated in a different thread it may be a performance issue, I can imagine it can cause freezes and instability, just like with the Manila tab-to-tab scrolling where you would see one screen flip away and the other one in, like on the first Diamond firmware versions. They just removed that transition because it lagged a lot.
Too bad.. The zoom effect looked really nice, albeit a bit iPhonish...
The Opera tab navigation is a mystery to me though. It's completely unrelated to other software and so it would not cause instability, it's just a missing feature in Opera.
And where is my in call recorder?? Such a tool seems very handy in a lot of situations, such as when contacting help desks, customers etc.
hi guys,
i'm also very interested to enable or find the OPERA TAB SWITCHING like on symbian nokia or iphone, it is really great;
and another thing, i want to have more than 3 pages open at the same time in opera, and it is set to 3 maximum...do you know where to set more pages allowed.?
thanks
While I agree it sucks that some features were pulled, it happens. One feature I do like (a lot) that was left in was the zoom feature in Opera (not the tap on page thing).
Click on the magnifying glass (bottom left) when in full screen mode, zoom away.
Hi,
I am quite new to the Iolite (as i had till the day before yesterday still a Prophet) and have to say that i am quite happy with it except that the new today screen (TouchFlo, Manila? TF2D?) is disappointing compared to HTC Home...
After doing some research on the net i found someone who added (at least) a calender tab to the Home Screen and now i would like to ask if there are people here who know if it is possible to add any custom tabs of which the content is programmable (quite like plugins for the old HTC Home. Say i made a C# app that is being run in the Tab and shows certain information or something similar).
From what i read this seems not doable although i am simply unsure about it as there is some custom(?) calender tab out there...
In the end this is the only thing i so far miss on the Iolite since HTC Home just gives me shell errors and there are things i really would like to have with only few keystrokes to see...
I don't know about custom tabs on manila(but it lacks on customization), but I can suggest you a freeware alternative to touchflo UI that can satisfy your needs and it's highly customizabe, especially if you know how to program, cause you can create plugins(if the available are not satisfy you) that meet your needs. If you're interesting take a look here:
http://www.pointui.com/
Thanks! That thing looks exactly like what i was searching for!
Hi all,
I received yesterday my new i8000.
There are 2 features that are seriously missing and I was wondering if anyone knows if they can be restored by a tweak or even an application:
1. the mouse: I hate using the pointing device they give out with the phone, but in some cases, fingers are too big. The mouse they had on the i900 was perfect.
2. Screen rotation/landscape mode: This option also disappeared, comparing to the first Omnia.
I would be happy to hear people's comments.
Thanks.
eh? Screen rotations gone? Are you saying that if you turn the device sideways it won't re-orientate all the screen. This would be a real pain in the a*&e for things like Opera!
Hi dstu69, screen rotation is there but not for all apps. Mine works with Opera. May be try calibrating your device in Settings.
pamburger said:
Hi dstu69, screen rotation is there but not for all apps. Mine works with Opera. May be try calibrating your device in Settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank frak for that!
too many problems
Actually, some automatic rotation is indeed available in some applications, but, for example, I have a GPS application that loads based on the current orientation and it looks bad in portrait mode and there's nothing I can do to fix it.
Also, I'm discovering more problems:
1. When I download emails (IMAP, but I didn't test it in POP3), if i click on them to view them, they are not shown.
2. The excellent mouse we have in the original Omnia disappeared.
3. The flashlight (volume-down long-press) also seems to have disappeared.
This phone is somewhat disappointing. One would think that they'll keep the good stuff and improve the phone. Instead, they took away the things that made the first version so great
Omnia II Missing Features
I just sold my Omnia i900 assuming that the I8000 would build upon its predecessor's strengths? What a shame for Samsung! Here are my findings so far:
Aside of all the issues already mentioned I learned the following:
- Screen reorientation works on some apps but also on e-mail/messaging, provided you select the Samsung keyboard Irgh!!!! Silly as it may sound, that is the case!
- Mouse is history as the CUBE does not have the sensor built in!
- Signatures do NOT work except when creating new mail! Yes, the flag for inserting signatures for replies and forwards was selected!
- There is no way to advance from one e-mail to the next other than going UP to the in box and selecting the next one manually! That IS stupid SAMSUNG. like the previous Omnia, one should be able to flip through e-mail with a gesture as if we were flipping a sheet of paper!
- Fianally a managed to synchronize the sent items folder in outlook! However, you have to unselect the TouchWiz interface, go to the email application and select the options menu. Otherwise it is inaccessible!
- I hope WM6.5 rendition of Samsung takes care of that? Does Anybody know when WM6.5 will be made available?
Cheers
camera LED as torchlight for omnia II - i8000, let's try
http://omnia.chupasweb.net/doku.php?id=omnia2torch
Some of these actually DO work...
MCEITLIN said:
I just sold my Omnia i900 assuming that the I8000 would build upon its predecessor's strengths? What a shame for Samsung! Here are my findings so far:
Aside of all the issues already mentioned I learned the following:
- Screen reorientation works on some apps but also on e-mail/messaging, provided you select the Samsung keyboard Irgh!!!! Silly as it may sound, that is the case!
- Mouse is history as the CUBE does not have the sensor built in!
- Signatures do NOT work except when creating new mail! Yes, the flag for inserting signatures for replies and forwards was selected!
- There is no way to advance from one e-mail to the next other than going UP to the in box and selecting the next one manually! That IS stupid SAMSUNG. like the previous Omnia, one should be able to flip through e-mail with a gesture as if we were flipping a sheet of paper!
- Fianally a managed to synchronize the sent items folder in outlook! However, you have to unselect the TouchWiz interface, go to the email application and select the options menu. Otherwise it is inaccessible!
- I hope WM6.5 rendition of Samsung takes care of that? Does Anybody know when WM6.5 will be made available?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree that there are some issues with the Omnia II i8000 but many of the ones you listed work fine...
1. Screen Orientation-Yes it's automatic for Opera and SMS/MMS typing but no others. However, there is a fix where you can assign a button to rotate ANY screen at ANY time. Check it out on here...http://www.modaco.com/category/410/i8000-omnia-ii-http-i8000-modaco-com/
2. I agree about the Mouse and the CUBE not using the sensor.
3. I had NO PROBLEMS with signatures straight out the box.
4. If you start reading your emails from the top of the list, after you DELETE one, it does move to the next one. I agree you have to go back UP in order to read the next one if you don't DELETE the one you were reading.
5. I had NO PROBLEMS syncing SENT mail from Outlook straight out the box.
6. There are several WM6.5 ROMS over on MoDaCo. I've tried a few and each have their own PROS and CONS. Last I heard was Samsung won't have a release until early 2010. By that time, I would have moved on to the HD2 U.S. edition (assuming it's available).
Got my i8000 with original Wimo 6.5 (21856.5.0.65) a few days and i´m happy with it (previous device was nike with manila 2d).
1. there is a tool called OrientationDetection from mcbee to define the apps to autorotate.
2. don´t nedd a mouse or a stylus. fingerfriendly touchwiz let you make all settings with your finger.
4. Perhaps it´s 6.5, but i can flip through sms/email with sliding the finger from right to left.
I would totally agree with positive comments of I8000.
This is my first non-HTC phone in last 5 years (S200-Trinity-TP-T.Cruise) and I must say WOOWWW!!!
Build quality unseen by HTC, hardware (just put SKTools benchmark you'll see some 50% better performance over HD), lightweight.
I must say - I don't like Samsung software - but prefer naked WinMo. But when was re-cooking the problem? At least for this forum members?
So in one word, Samsung made terrific WinMo phone.
Must say that every HTC I owned forced me to certain compromise:
1. Qtek S200 (speaker would die)
2. Trinity (excellent, but paint peels quickly - come on!)
3. TPro (sold it in 3 days, keyboard wobbled, and was not substantially faster than Trinity - which could be overclocked if needed as well as S200)
4. Touch Cruise (thought I could be easy for a while - but speaker is nightmare, lousiest screen of all HTCs I owned (kinda yellowish) - later I found out that HTC changes vendors for certain parts so check your build date before buying). Not to mention Qualcomm drivers issue. Trinity was faster even when playing Scumm games!
I simply cannot understand this phone to have lower price in the shops compared to HD. Faster CPU (with scalable speed), AMOLED, 720x480 video at 30fps, 16GB integrated storage, lighter 20% and roughly 50% faster in all benchmarks. SKTools build I used put it as a fastest PPC device (didn't have HD2), and not just in processor - check out Direct Draw test - second fastest after Dell Axim x51.
Dunno for sure - but that might mean that beside CPU raw-power someone also put some effort in writting proper drivers.(ahemmm!)
I can only say - we my friends have been heavily ripped off during past years for owning WinMo devices. Thank heaven for competitors!
i have my one of my buttons maps to rotate the screen (above camera buttom) and it works quite well most samsung apps that have rotate work without the button but if i want to force it i can using a button so i get the best of both worlds
from modaco
To be able to manually rotate the screen in any application: go to registry hk_local machine – system – gdi – rotation; in key HideOrientationUi change 1 to 0. Then open Settings – Personal – Buttons and assign to any button the command “Rotate Screen” (you can see this option after you change the registry and only in winmo setting page) (working well for me, I prefer to be able to choose when I want to view something in landscape mode than relaying on how I rotate my phone…)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dstu69 said:
Hi all,
2. Screen rotation/landscape mode: This option also disappeared, comparing to the first Omnia.
I would be happy to hear people's comments.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Auto rotation can be achieved by using Orientation Detection. You can selectively choose which programs to autorotate.
http://www.modaco.com/content/i8000...orientation-detection-v1-0-autorotation-v1-1/
hkwildboy said:
Auto rotation can be achieved by using Orientation Detection. You can selectively choose which programs to autorotate.
http://www.modaco.com/content/i8000...orientation-detection-v1-0-autorotation-v1-1/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is also a onboard-autorotation. It can be configured in registry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\AutoRotation
It is recomended to select allways the next upcoming number in the string
The whole number of strings must be set in the dword "Count"
Smille123 said:
There is also a onboard-autorotation. It can be configured in registry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\AutoRotation
It is recomended to select allways the next upcoming number in the string
The whole number of strings must be set in the dword "Count"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've made a little app to manage this registry setting.
junalmeida said:
I've made a little app to manage this registry setting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice to know, wanna share??
I've made a release here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5523515
Cannot install any type of Japanese language packs
If anyone decides to install CE-STAR or any other language enabled softwares, pls dont do it, ur contacts, emails and SMS stuff will disappear!! I tried around 5 different softwares already and really messes up the phone!!!!
I am a physician who want a big screen PDA phone to read text in several medical programs --> LEO is very very big screen and with capacitive screen --> I love it very much
But I want to know that HD2 can work with medical program?
such as Uptodate, skyscape, Isilo etc...
Now, I know that no one sure about this... just discussing
i am interested in this post too....i think all aplications for windows mobile can be instalated.
Pardon for my english, my teacher is very bad....or perhaps i am a very bad student
from WMpoweruser.com topic 2/11/52
http://wmpoweruser.com/?p=9573
They said
PocketPC.ch have been the first to really test how well the HTC HD2, with is 4.3 inch capacitive screen, works with our older, more complex applications such as Pocket Informant and SBSH Weather.
The video shows that HTC has implemented a multi-touch system that allows one to enlarge the view and gain access to the older, smaller, less finger friendly controls in those apps. Microsoft is in the process of implementing a similar idea as seen in leaks of Windows Mobile 6.5.1, but as usual apparently less elegantly than HTC.
This feature works in all applications tested, but the process remains difficult with small controls, indicating a need to move towards more finger-friendly applications in a future where all devices have less precise capacitive screens.
Read more at PocketPC.ch here. --> they also has youtube video show multitouch zooming in those older programs..
I think the possible problem that make you can't use medical program & many Old apps is capacitive screen (I love capacitive screen ^^)..... that make you some problems when input in small area(skyscape programs have many..) ... but this wmuser topic is our hope!! >>> It's only hope... I'm not sure whether "Multitouch Zooming" support many programs or not.... but I trust in it's large screen with make every thing in screen large enough for input.
PS. I have bad english too .. don't be shame ^^
Hello to all, medical student here too. Well, in theory (as noone actually has the device in their hands yet) all the apps that used to work on wm 6.1 (wvga of course) should work on this device. The simple fact that the HTC HD2 has a capacitive screen does not change the fact that it runs on WM6.5 ... sure it doesn.t have the stylus but i don.t think we need one on a 4.3 display screen (even though HTC allready announced the magnetic stylus as an accesory for the ones insisting on using it)
So, in short theoretically all the apps that used to run on a wm device will work on the HD2 without any problems
colleages, good news, all medical app u mentioned above work like a charm, it is incredible to scroll through text with this baby, it is well worth it
There are problems with skyscape applications and uptodate.
Moving your finger up and down results in text selection instead of scrolling.
I have already started a new thread with this issue, but unfortunately there is no answer yet.
Step2p said:
There are problems with skyscape applications and uptodate.
Moving your finger up and down results in text selection instead of scrolling.
I have already started a new thread with this issue, but unfortunately there is no answer yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Hmm... That is the big problem for me. I like to touch the screen and moving my finger slide around the text to move up and down instead using scroll bar.
Anyway, I want to know how you can manage this problem. Do you use the scroll bar instead of using touch slide? How scroll bar work? I mean can you touch the direction key in scrollbar despite its small size with HD2? or touch anywhere in scroll bar to move the page to direction you want
Step2p said:
There are problems with skyscape applications and uptodate.
Moving your finger up and down results in text selection instead of scrolling.
I have already started a new thread with this issue, but unfortunately there is no answer yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a work around, either you scroll by taping the scroll bar on the right, or you scroll by poping up the virtual keyboard and using the arrows there ( even on my old TP1, when you tried scrolling by actually fliking the finger, it resulted in text selection)
So in short, skyscape should work fine.
PS: I.ve heard (as i get the device next week and don.t have it yet) that if you try to scroll by actually moving the scrollbar on the right, that a square box should appear and make it a lot easyer, seen it on a youtube video.
I think that I have found a temporary solution
Install Ftouchsl and add exceptions for (at least) the following applications
manila.exe
shell32.exe
Opera9.exe
HTCalbum.exe
Also add an exception for Window name = "Phone"
Include in the exclusion list any other application that you want to use with the original htc's sense interface.
For the rest of the applications you will be able to use touchscrolling via ftouchsl.
This will ONLY influence touchscrolling. Multitouch (if enabled) will continue to work.
although indeed, when trying to scroll in uptodate, it selects text, the scroller bar its very usefull. Anyway, we all know this is a software problem, and the main reaseon we all on XDA upgrade our phones its because of the hardware. Th screen on this device compesates for all its software flaws. Just my opinion.
I use a lot of skyscape books and am particularly interested in this too. Currently, using Touch Pro2. Interested in HD2 but same confusions regarding skyscape. Already disappointed that notes application can not be used as a free sketch/drawing, which is a big drawback. If skyscape also cannot be used then HD2 with capicitative screen is useless and would rather prefer resistive screen of touch pro 2.
dr_s said:
I use a lot of skyscape books and am particularly interested in this too. Currently, using Touch Pro2. Interested in HD2 but same confusions regarding skyscape. Already disappointed that notes application can not be used as a free sketch/drawing, which is a big drawback. If skyscape also cannot be used then HD2 with capicitative screen is useless and would rather prefer resistive screen of touch pro 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It can.
Just read my post
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4944443&postcount=9
Step2p said:
I think that I have found a temporary solution
Install Ftouchsl and add exceptions for (at least) the following applications
manila.exe
shell32.exe
Opera9.exe
HTCalbum.exe
Also add an exception for Window name = "Phone"
Include in the exclusion list any other application that you want to use with the original htc's sense interface.
For the rest of the applications you will be able to use touchscrolling via ftouchsl.
This will ONLY influence touchscrolling. Multitouch (if enabled) will continue to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your solution....however I don't have the device yet.
May be about next month when HD2 come to my country..I should try
troubletop said:
Thank you for your solution....however I don't have the device yet.
May be about next month when HD2 come to my country..I should try
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried it and it works even better than the original htc touchflo because you can both scroll and select text.
I am still adding programs in the exception list and will come back with a list of applications that should be blocked.
Another interesting point in HD2... Step2p, I want to know your touchscrolling experience when you activated it. The moving page...Does it feel like "repeately press on the scroll bar directional button"(up or down) which is the same as before when you use touchscrolling with other WM device...or Does it feel smooth as Iphone(you can make it smooth on previously WM device by touch the screen and drag the page by hold your finger/stylet on the screen.
I want to know this... if it smooth as I said ...it will be great!. but if it just like the older before I still love this device.
I beg you guys, who has HD2...esp. step2p thankyou ^^
@troubletop
Scrolling in medical applications is not naturally supported by hd2, but using ftoushsl and adding exceptions for the rest of the applications in your device will solve this problem.
Touchscrolling is very smooth.
I have already had experience with ftouchsl in my X7500 and touchscrolling was excellent. It is better from htc's intrinsic touchscroll, because it allows you to configure both scrolling and text selection (with prolonged pressure).
The capacitive screen makes scrolling experience even better (although the application is the same), because you don't need to apply pressure in order to scroll.
Unfortunately however, I can not provide you with comparative data to iphone's scrolling experience, because I have never had an iphone.
Step2p said:
I have tried it and it works even better than the original htc touchflo because you can both scroll and select text.
I am still adding programs in the exception list and will come back with a list of applications that should be blocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you already have the updated list of programs that should be included in the exception list?
I haven't installed the software yet (Ftouchsl), basically because I'm afraid I would disable several scrolling features that I like about HD Sense.
In fact, I'd rather prefer that Ftouchsl allows the opposite -that is, to include in a list ONLY the programs you want the Ftouchsl to work on, and not an exception list, you know what I mean? Because in my case, I want the old original HD scrolling feature for a couple of programs only: Skyscape and Epocrates.
Ftouchsl?
Hi All, where do I download/install the ftouchsl program for HD2. Is this uninstallable, just in case there are problems
snowblindd said:
There is a work around, either you scroll by taping the scroll bar on the right, or you scroll by poping up the virtual keyboard and using the arrows there ( even on my old TP1, when you tried scrolling by actually fliking the finger, it resulted in text selection)
So in short, skyscape should work fine.
PS: I.ve heard (as i get the device next week and don.t have it yet) that if you try to scroll by actually moving the scrollbar on the right, that a square box should appear and make it a lot easyer, seen it on a youtube video.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have suddenly lost the small square that used to appear while scrolling on the scroll bar. Anyway of getting it back?
kartikatre said:
I have suddenly lost the small square that used to appear while scrolling on the scroll bar. Anyway of getting it back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed this behaviour as well. I don't think there is a solution. Scrolling to the bottom of a very long file takes a while this way... I compensated by increasing the sensivity in setting of FTouchSL, so I can scroll faster.
BTW is use UptoDate a while with FTouchSL, and it makes is so much more convenient...
lovanova said:
Do you already have the updated list of programs that should be included in the exception list?
I haven't installed the software yet (Ftouchsl), basically because I'm afraid I would disable several scrolling features that I like about HD Sense.
In fact, I'd rather prefer that Ftouchsl allows the opposite -that is, to include in a list ONLY the programs you want the Ftouchsl to work on, and not an exception list, you know what I mean? Because in my case, I want the old original HD scrolling feature for a couple of programs only: Skyscape and Epocrates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the same, instead of excluding apps, I think including would be more efficient. However, it takes a few minutes to exclude all apps you want, really not much hassle.
Sometimes it's anoying if a new app seems to malfunction, and later on I realize FTouchSL was interfering and making the trouble.
Hopefully, a better app will come out soon, however newer apps will support touch scrolling anyway.