Re: [ros-kernel] The Explorer replacement we need.

[KJK::Hyperion <no...@li...>]

At 03.34 15/07/2002, you wrote:
> > I second the "kick ass" thing, but it's just a
> > desktop. A real shell
> > replacement is still far away ;-(
> > BTW, what's the status of Wine's shell32?
>I really couldnt tell you in terms of total API implementation. I guess if 
>you need a function from shell32 the best place to look is
>http://cvs.winehq.com/cvsweb/wine/dlls/shell32/

well, from what I could see, it looks like a good deal of functions has 
already been implemented. Won't run explorer, maybe

>I have been using R4 all day on win2k and only had it crash once....

but was is usable? would you use it? I downloaded it and gave it a try, and 
my answer is ...

>I think it was my fault though and not a geoshell problem. Other then that 
>one lockup it has worked great.

... nope, geoshell is not ready for "prime time". It didn't even *work* for 
me. Some menus didn't open, some plugins behaved odd, some menus flickered. 
A disappointment

Not to speak of the (un)usability. Editing the bars is a pain: a lot of 
mouse clicking, menu hunting and, I'm afraid, registry editing. My 
favorite: the surprise pop-up menu that asks you after which element to 
insert a new one. Compare this hell to the outrageous ease of customization 
of Office toolbars

Another counter-intuitive aspect is the terminology. First of all: the 
plugins are identified by name (geOTasks, geOTray, etc.), rather than by 
function ("Task bar", "System tray", etc.). Then: why "plugins"? they're 
more "panels" to me. A bar's menu (a bad idea in itself) should say 
"Insert >", and pop-up a list of "Separator", "Spacer", <separator>, "Task 
bar", "System tray", etc. instead of a "Load plugin" that pops up a list of 
unintellegible nicknames

What about the layout? The floating bars design is probably the most 
interesting feature of geOShell, but it has to be done better. Take the 
positioning/sizing model. You can lock a bar, but you cannot align it. For 
example, it's hard and painful to mimic the standard Explorer layout 
(remember, this is the first priority), you have to move them manually, 
down to the pixel. The Anchors and Alignment properties of Delphi 
components are a nice and simple way to accomplish this. Set Anchors to 
[left, top, right, bottom] and Alignment to Client (and maybe some Level 
property set to "always on bottom"), and presto! a screen-sized bar, 
perfect to host a Desktop plugin (or a big Terminal for those Unix types). 
Want a standard taskbar? Anchors set to [left, bottom, right], Alignment 
set to Bottom and Level set to "always on top", add a Start button, a 
taskbar, a system tray and a clock

(geOShell's floating bars design is the ass-kicker. No doubt)

Other things I feel a need for: a "read-only" function to lock bars and 
panels, to avoid modifying or moving them without being able to undo (a 
must for beginners - see the infamous "half my screen is gray" problem), 
"smart menus", i.e. hide rarely used items (you think it's for beginners 
only? just wait until your Programs menu doesn't fit the screen anymore), 
and a floating semitransparent recycle bin in the lower right corner, of course

Comments?