Develop Bugs

Home screens for the Dash ?

Is there a decent source for some alternate home screens for the Dash ?
I know there are quite a few home screens for the Q out there, but I find that although many look very nice, they often don't work very well with the Dash. Specifically, they generally do not support a home screen option to jump/click to the Comm Mgr the way that the Tmobile Dash default does. Also many do not properly handled missed calls. And the color palettes end up being suboptimal for the Dash -- e.g. they can render the setup pages for Outlook almost useless.
So how about some Dash-specific home screens ? Otherwise I gather that I can hack my own by snarfing some of the Q images or other images from where-ever and piece together more Dash-appropriate XML from the default Dash home screen.

Try searching the forum, this has been extensively covered.

Dash Home Screens
Here is a link where I found some great home screens.
http://www.kooldezine.com/Q.htm

Thanks for your replies. Indeed I did do a search (even before posting ) but didn't really find what I wanted (perhaps I don't really understand). Mostly what I found were tutorials on how to hack screen files and otherwise pointers to sites with mostly Q screens, which all had the problems mentioned in my OP (i.e. various incompatibilities).
So... I hacked my own... I started with the included Dash default screen, T-MobileDefaultBlue because its the only one I knew that worked the way it was supposed to. I made minor adjustments with two main objectives: 1) I wanted to be able to see the time easily... not some teenie little font, 2) I wanted it to be compatible with most any background image (the default screen doesn't work well with background images at all). I threw in an indicator of voicemails. Here it is, if anyone is interested. It uses a background image "dashhome.jpg" so anyone can easily change the background image. I also made 2 other versions that use a black font and a blue font, in case those colors would be better with certain background images (snowy or sunny scenes). Hope this helps someone:
dashhome.home.xml
dashhome.jpg
dashblack.home.xml
dashblue.home.xml
One more, the version below makes the bottom button bar and other trimmings gray, which may be more neutral...
dashgray.home.xml
BTW, the default dashhome.jpg image, if anyone recognizes it, is of a "vortex" in Sedona, AZ...

You could go to MoDaCo. They've got some nice ones there, but you have to register.
~Cheers~
P.S. The way I have mine, people think it's the iPhone's cousin, .

You've been busy I think if you generalized your searches a bit (if you haven't already) you might find more if you look for 'landscape homescreen' than device specific. A good one to start with: http://www.kolumbus.fi/anders.ruohio/sp.html
With a modest purchase price, SBSH Facade opens a whole other class of homescreens: http://www.sbsh.net/forums/index.php?showforum=57
One that I did a while back for my Dash (for use with Facade), along the lines of 'less is more': http://www.sbsh.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=14372
neurocutie said:
Thanks for your replies. Indeed I did do a search (even before posting ) but didn't really find what I wanted (perhaps I don't really understand). Mostly what I found were tutorials on how to hack screen files and otherwise pointers to sites with mostly Q screens, which all had the problems mentioned in my OP (i.e. various incompatibilities)....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

chaznet said:
One that I did a while back for my Dash (for use with Facade), along the lines of 'less is more'...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One thing I suppose I should make clearer... nearly all of these other home screens do not provide for WiFi status/CommMgr access (the Q screens for obvious reasons since it doesn't have WiFi). But that's one thing that I absolutely need -- I use WiFi on the Dash more than GSM. I guess that's why I had to hack my own...
Yes I know about Facade... perhaps later... I do like the "less is more" aesthetic...

Get some organisation on the Forum topics

Is it just me or does anyone else get frustrated locating which handset they wish to look at when you navigate to xda-developers forum?
What I mean is the fact that the handsets are listed in no particular order... Blackstone is way down the list and Wallaby is at the top.
Can someone shuffle the list so that it's either in alphabetical list or order of release?
the list order at present makes no sense to me.
Thanks
It would help especially when you view the site from your mobile as you have to do a lot of scrolling and zooming to get to the right part.

spvc500 said:
Is it just me or does anyone else get frustrated locating which handset they wish to look at when you navigate to xda-developers forum?
What I mean is the fact that the handsets are listed in no particular order... Blackstone is way down the list and Wallaby is at the top.
Can someone shuffle the list so that it's either in alphabetical list or order of release?
the list order at present makes no sense to me.
Thanks
It would help especially when you view the site from your mobile as you have to do a lot of scrolling and zooming to get to the right part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah
In fact it would be easier to have them organized by any criteria: Alphabetical, date of releasing, etc.
Maybe you can post this sugestion on (requests) From the Users to the Mods & Admins thread in About xda-developers.com forum

Second on the date of release or alphabetical order . It would make mobile browsing a lot easier.

Like many, I'm used to the way it is currently. alphabetical would be cool but then all of us would be lost

Actually, it's a good idea... i'll propose it to Flar.

Yeah
I suposed they were in appereance order but not sure
Well Mike has a great idea!
Hope it can be done

Was just about to start a new thread on this, but decided to just resurrect this one. It would be real nice if some other sort order for the forums was in place. At the least, group all phones by a manufacturer together. Currently, many Samsung phones are interspersed with those of other manufacturers making it a pain to find them. I think sorting them by popularity (# of posts in their respective General subforum) would be good as it would put the most used forums near the top, but alphabetical by either manufacturer name or device name would be fine, too, as it would make scrolling through them a lot easier.

Miami_Son said:
Was just about to start a new thread on this, but decided to just resurrect this one. It would be real nice if some other sort order for the forums was in place. At the least, group all phones by a manufacturer together. Currently, many Samsung phones are interspersed with those of other manufacturers making it a pain to find them. I think sorting them by popularity (# of posts in their respective General subforum) would be good as it would put the most used forums near the top, but alphabetical by either manufacturer name or device name would be fine, too, as it would make scrolling through them a lot easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Enable compact view for a manufacturer grouped system

pulser_g2 said:
Enable compact view for a manufacturer grouped system
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always use "Find your device..." to jump around the forum, and I have in the Index in compact.
Dave

pulser_g2 said:
Enable compact view for a manufacturer grouped system
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did I never notice this? They're still only mostly in order of release, but that makes a huge difference, thnx!

Magic ROM on Hero possible?

sounds weird? well there are two things REALLY bugging me about the hero rom:
- no appointments list like in magic, only day or month view. there is no list at all of upcoming events. you cant even scroll through the weekdays in "day-view-mode". no preview of appointments in month-view. so the only way to see upcoming events is to tap on that marked day in month view
- auto-completion while typing automatically inserts the highlighted suggestion when you hit space or period. no way to stop that. makes typing in different languages a pain in the a$$.
so, question is, any way to build a custom rom of the magic to fit the hero? i would be perfectly happy with a plain simple android os, no "sense" or other gimmics required.

nehvada said:
sounds weird? well there are two things REALLY bugging me about the hero rom:
- no appointments list like in magic, only day or month view. there is no list at all of upcoming events. you cant even scroll through the weekdays in "day-view-mode". no preview of appointments in month-view. so the only way to see upcoming events is to tap on that marked day in month view
- auto-completion while typing automatically inserts the highlighted suggestion when you hit space or period. no way to stop that. makes typing in different languages a pain in the a$$.
so, question is, any way to build a custom rom of the magic to fit the hero? i would be perfectly happy with a plain simple android os, no "sense" or other gimmics required.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guess what im going to say.....
If you didnt want the sense UI you shouldve purchased a Magic.....
This shouldnt even be posted in this section FFS

its not that i dont want, i just dont really need it. its nice, but i would trade it for those two features of the magic, which is also sitting on my desk right here
my priorities would be speed, usability and reliability, not necessarily looks.
so anyway, would it be possible?

use the Fu***ng SEARCH. There are some threads talking about running magic rom.

The UI Design and Interaction Guide for WP7

So, who have had time to look at the UI Design and Interaction Guide? I see everyone's busy discussing and defining multitasking, but isn't this newly released document the most interesting thing to have come out of Mix so far? I think.
I've just skimmed through it but first of all I love that Microsoft FINALLY provied a sleek GUI framework out of the box for app development! Of course, it was expected with Silverlight support and all, but it's nice to get it confirmed. I'm talking about stuff such as
-Gesture support
-Finger friendly controls
-Smooth scrolling panels
I know all these things have been possible before, but not with ease. Coming from the .NET CF world, I've had to spend a lot of time enabling such featurse in my apps. And they're not as slick as I expect them to be in WP7.
The UI is what most needed improvement for the apps on Windows Phones to be competitive with iPhone apps. This will lower the threshold for developers to create smooth, impressive apps. This will increase competitiveness for Windows Phones, which in turn will benefit us, the developers - enlarging our market.
Agree? ..or are most guys at this not that concerned with monetizing on their apps?

I've downloaded it but not had chance to look through yet as I'm at work.
Whilst I'm pretty unsure still about the whole marketplace-only, no FS support stuff, I am quite excited about the new development stuff. Like you say, nice interface controls will be there ready to use instead of having to rely on hacks and third party stuff to achieve something approaching half-decent.
I'm glad this is available already, the more time the better, and it makes sense really as MS will want their appstore pretty well populated at launch to compete with iPhone and Android.

Nilzor said:
So, who have had time to look at the UI Design and Interaction Guide?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did. Found out that there are no file open/save controls. Immediately realized that until a jailbreak comes out there's no way I'm buying a WP7S phone, despite the many things I love about this new OS.

Only 4 "accent colors" plus 1 manufacturer color.
The accent colors are ORANGE, RED, BLUE and GREEN.
Why 4? Why cant the user change it from color palette selection?
I would love to use BLACK or DARK BLUE or blue grey ala iPhone !
I just cannot understand this accent color limitation

if found something interesting in the guide. a windows mobile 7 handy have same number of buttons as a hd2 .
1. Power/Sleep
2. Volume
3. Screen
4. Camera
5. Back
6. Start
7. Search
So, the only difference is the layout.

It's a very valuable document, thanks.
We'd like Microsoft deliver more samples to provide a sort of a framework with frequently used patterns.
In any case Silverlight applications look fantastic.

vangrieg said:
I did. Found out that there are no file open/save controls. Immediately realized that until a jailbreak comes out there's no way I'm buying a WP7S phone, despite the many things I love about this new OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is your goal here? Do you want to store data for the App or are you trying to write a FileExplorer app?

tyrannus said:
What is your goal here? Do you want to store data for the App or are you trying to write a FileExplorer app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I need file storage as a user, not as a developer. Anyone who tried to transfer files to the iPhone for third party programs knows it's a PITA.

Microsoft is simply trying to protect you from yourself and the dangers of unauthorized text files and colors.

MooGoo said:
Microsoft is simply trying to protect you from yourself and the dangers of unauthorized text files and colors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I know first hand just how nasty those text files can be .. omg HAX~
and colors?!?... watch yoursnelves. any more then 5 and we've got a global disaster on our hands.
surely ms wouldnt release an updated version of an os with less features?.. would they?

copenhagen said:
+1
I know first hand just how nasty those text files can be .. omg HAX~
and colors?!?... watch yoursnelves. any more then 5 and we've got a global disaster on our hands.
surely ms wouldnt release an updated version of an os with less features?.. would they?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While lack of colours seems weird, I'm sure it could be easily implemented.
Less features? Laughable, considering what WM6 is.

Lumic said:
While lack of colours seems weird, I'm sure it could be easily implemented.
Less features? Laughable, considering what WM6 is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea just like other other weird things that could be easily implemented, like multitasking, cut & paste, file system access, and having a user accessible SD card slot.

I don't know if you saw the leaked specsheets for the Dell Lightning, but that thing comes with an 8GB miniSD card, user-upgradable.

Yes, it is upgradeable if you don't mind voiding your warranty and tearing apart your entire phone. On the plus side however, removing the battery cover on my Rhodium to get access to the SD slot doesn't seem quite as annoying anymore.
First paragraph:
http://www.techautos.com/2010/03/17/windows-phone-7-series-hardware-requirements/

[DEVELOPMENT] CycBubbles [Stage 1: Gathering Ideas]

A Small Story to serve as an introductory:
So a while back, when I got my brilliant Excalibur, I started developing small applications. Some of you may recall the, now long dead , thread I had called CycloneApps [By Request]. I started with C#, and did some ok things [in my opinion] and they helped serve as a learning block for bigger and better developments. I have gone from CMail.exe, the command-line replacement to tmail.exe, all the way to FFP_LockScreen [Fake FingerPrint LockScreen], which unfortunately was aimed at Touch-Screen phone users as a project I undertook as I showed interest on a thread in the Software Development sub-forum. I got my original inspirations and 'drive' to develop from this here community, the Excalibur owners or supporters, and I thought it be best that I now fulfill a request made by Ookba, the great Chef who has brought our phones new life.
See, shortly after I started taking requests, Ookba suggested I re-make SMSBubbles to be more functional with the ROM. At the time, with the speeds of the .NET CF, it seemed impossible to really do. But I come back to you all now with the knowledge of C++ So as a token of my appreciation to all Excalibur owners, I want to develop CycBubbles, an SMSBubbles remake with features YOU want!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Having said all of that, I ask now that if anyone has any interest in such a program becoming available to the Excalibur, they reply to this thread with Ideas concerning one of the following:
Soft-Keys: What should the LEFT soft-key and RIGHT soft-key do [ and under what circumstances] ?
Look and Feel: Do you like the SMSBubbles 'bubble', or do you want something different? [Realize that more complex designs = slower speed]
Rules: How about some filter-rules about when the bubble should or should NOT appear.
Positioning: Do we all like the bubble at the bottom of the screen? Maybe we can make it more PPC-Like if it were in the Center, or from the TOP.
Extra Functions: What kind of extras would you like? (i.e. Should I utilize the 0 - 9 keys on the keyboard to do something?)
Once I get the ideas from YOU guys/girls, on what YOU want this program to do, I can start developing
Please consider
if you want to see this program really flourish

Reserved for later use

Rules would be awesome. How about setting bubbles only for certain contacts? Would the .cab install work for other ROM's besides ookba's?

I would most definitely aim to make the program ROM INdependent.
Thank You for the feedback

it would be interesting to make the left and right soft keys customizable...
and as for the location/look of the bubbles, that to would be nice to customize and to relocate wherever the user feels. top, bottom, left, right, center...
the rules sounds good, and maybe apply an ignore feature to certain annoying contacts lol. like a black list on contacts that the bubbles won't show up for.<-- pretty much what Frostmoon said. lol
pretty much make it user customizable friendly.
nice to see you around these parts again.

Due to the rather disheartening amount of feedback on this thread, I will most likely not develop this in the near future .
I am currently consumed with finishing up my next version of Fake FingerPrint LockScreen for Touch-Screen phones, but that should be over in about a week.
I have been pondering re-starting development on my Horizon Home-Screen, if any of you remember that (if not, you can search it). My further knowledge of C++ will most definitely assist me in making this HomeScreen I had dreamed of making a while back when I only knew C#.
So I suppose be on the lookout for any news on that, and check here occassionally to see if I post back. For now, I am going to leave this on Stage 1 (Gathering Ideas), NOT DISCONTINUED, because I do hope to have the time to come back to this soon and give back to the community that started me off

Cyclonezephyrxz7 said:
Due to the rather disheartening amount of feedback on this thread, I will most likely not develop this in the near future .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's a real shame as the idea was requested by users yet response so small, no longer have an Excalibur but think that the development of a SMS bubble app with more configurable options would be welcomed by many smartphone users and not just Excalibur, maybe worth thinking as a project for D&H rather than just Excalibur users.

>sms bubble duration
>marque of sms
>if recived multiple sms we shuld b able to select the one to view....
>customizable soft buttons becoz diffrent user wants different settings..
>user created themes
> rules is another great idea... coz somtimes service provider sends lots of annoing sms + others
>hide the vip sms.. and it requires password to view the sms( it can b a seperate function to lock the sms bubble with password)
>photo of the sender... if it is from the saved contact...
> a floating bubble would b great the flows from up-down or vice versa.... until the user press a button..

somecuitears said:
>sms bubble duration
>marque of sms
>if recived multiple sms we shuld b able to select the one to view....
>customizable soft buttons becoz diffrent user wants different settings..
>user created themes
> rules is another great idea... coz somtimes service provider sends lots of annoing sms + others
>hide the vip sms.. and it requires password to view the sms( it can b a seperate function to lock the sms bubble with password)
>photo of the sender... if it is from the saved contact...
> a floating bubble would b great the flows from up-down or vice versa.... until the user press a button..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good ideas!
stylez said:
Yeah it's a real shame as the idea was requested by users yet response so small, no longer have an Excalibur but think that the development of a SMS bubble app with more configurable options would be welcomed by many smartphone users and not just Excalibur, maybe worth thinking as a project for D&H rather than just Excalibur users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, it is a shame. i was really looking forward to this.
best of luck with you home screen development, will check in on that time to time.

somecuitears said:
>sms bubble duration
>marque of sms
>if recived multiple sms we shuld b able to select the one to view....
>customizable soft buttons becoz diffrent user wants different settings..
>user created themes
> rules is another great idea... coz somtimes service provider sends lots of annoing sms + others
>hide the vip sms.. and it requires password to view the sms( it can b a seperate function to lock the sms bubble with password)
>photo of the sender... if it is from the saved contact...
> a floating bubble would b great the flows from up-down or vice versa.... until the user press a button..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As stated above, good ideas!
@Cyclonezephyrxz7 - This can be a good start don't you think?. Thanks for your work dude, I hope to see this project rolling out

@Mr.Clown (and all others too)
Yes, it did serve as a sort of inspiration to start up. Thank You to those who did contribute ideas thus-far. I have not started up a thread yet, but http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7166724&postcount=39
Expect something soon (Within a month maybe?)
Also, I am now officially a co-founder, and primary developer for Chicken-Egg Solutions. This will become my main venue for application development and requests, as well as web-design, computer repair, and problem solutions (Most of these will be taken care of by my friend, the other Co-Founder). The website will be up soon (www.chicken-eggsolutions.com), check back every so often

Hi Cyclone,
We met in another thread. But I would like to raise my function request here for your consideration.
I am looking for a delivery note management function that allows my to keep track of my sms receiver. I would like to know who, by name, have received my sms and at what time. I don't know if such function is appropriate for the software you are developing. If so, please consider to add this function into it. If not, appreciate if you can point me to the right direction.

So are you requesting, as opposed to the normal Delivery Requests that Windows Offers, to make a type of 'Delivery Notification' that gets stored in some XML-like file for future reference?

It will be great if the software can list out the receiver name and date/time of the delivery notification. It will ever greater if it can match the sms/delivery notification with the acknowledgement send out by the receiver after receiving my sms.
If it only output an XML, user will have to figure out how to display it on a mobile phone.

how about an option of reading the incoming sms....like in nokia mobiles

Like Text-To-Speech?

Cyclonezephyrxz7 said:
Like Text-To-Speech?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ya... how about that.. i think it shuld be customizable soft button or a different button..

I will see. I feel that that may increase the size of the app distinctly, and also distinctly reduce the speed. Although I could probably figure a way to not let it be affected.
Anywho, Thank you, ALL, so much for these ideas. I suppose that I will start attempting to make this once I am fully done with my FFP_LS pro (Which, by the way, works on Excaliburs! and other non-touch-screen phones ) and when I get my internet back fully.

Cyclonezephyrxz7 said:
I will see. I feel that that may increase the size of the app distinctly, and also distinctly reduce the speed. Although I could probably figure a way to not let it be affected.
Anywho, Thank you, ALL, so much for these ideas. I suppose that I will start attempting to make this once I am fully done with my FFP_LS pro (Which, by the way, works on Excaliburs! and other non-touch-screen phones ) and when I get my internet back fully.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your work and for sharing it, we will wait then

Revised Idea, and then some
Okay, so this post contains a little meat to it
1) I want to let people know about FFP_LockScreen Pro 2.0, now available on my website( www.chicken-eggsolutions.com ). My partner and I do app development as well as web design/development. FFP_LS Pro 2.0 is fully based on C++, has many customizable components, and best of all it is (what I consider to be) a pretty legitimate replacement lock for our phones. I have made this version (and all future versions) compliant with our lovely Excaliburs. Instead of having to press the screen, trick people with a "slight of hand" by putting your finger on-screen while pressing the space-bar with your knuckle (thats how it works for me) and it will start scanning. Trust me, it mystified half my family already haha. Anywho, it is shareware, so there is a free NON-EXPIRING trial. THe trial has its limiatations however. Also, another feature that is in this for our lovely Exca's that is currently NOT available to TOuch-Screen phones is true replacement (sorta) of the default lock. By using specific API commands, I was able to get it to run when we initiate the default lock! Cocky as it may sound, I feel this lockscreen beats S2U2 in 3 ways: (1) Tests have shown it to boot faster, (2) it actually replaces the default lock, and doesn't use some timeout trick, and (3) is actually blocks other windows [unlike S2U2 which can be overridden by pressing the TaskManager key or Messaging Key (on my phone at least)]. So yeah, personally I recommend it, but I made it. I will extend the same challenge here as I did on the Development forums: If you can make an interesting skin for the program, you can win a free license (3$ value)
2) So recently I have become extremely pissed off with tmail.exe. When I have actual 'conversation - length' messages, it is slow and just overall frustrating! So I thought, "Hey, I am already starting CycBubbles...why not make it a whole 'suite' type thing". So I am considering making my own Messaging Client EXE. It would be a major switch, as it would eliminate CE MAPI for the most part (it would keep messages stored there, but its main access would be via XML). Then as an extension to this I can h ave CycBubbles. Generally, I find, SMSBubbles works...and it is reliant on CE Mapi, so I can make one reliant on XML, not CE MAPI, that works comfortably with my own client. What do you think of that idea? This would obviously require a lot more time. But if it is what I imagine I can do, it will be faster and better
So I guess that is it really... If i remember anything else I wanted to say, I will post back again!