Beta Testers for new today screen plugin wanted.

[gmerin]

IMO... (haven't used email abrevs since the Windows API made 50+ character function calls commonplace)

RTFM is another one I don't get to use much anymore, since Microsoft accustomed people to paying others to think logically for them.

Some of us still appreciate and enjoy finding out how something works (see Webster's deffinition of "hacking").

Some people jump to the last chapters of mystery novels to see how they end before reading their way through the story.

I'm having more fun figuring out what works and what doesn't work with this, than I've had since learning to write filter expressions the way procmail likes to see them.

Keep it up. This is like crossword puzzels for hackers.

[hezahonker]

Originally posted by Blazingwolf
What problems are you having? If I remember correctly you are using PPC2000 right? I wil try to help.

Hi Blazingwolf,

Well I sent my configurations some time ago and the problem was that my today plus doesn't skin on my little jornada. The backround is white. So yes, 2000. Here's the picture and I will attach the configuration I have....I commented out some items because I didn't want them...however this was a problem before I did that.

Here are my skin Configurations and a picture so that you can see how I have this setup.

Edit: Next post of picture is after the next post. I was too slow on the draw.

[srs]

This plugin is looking better every time I come here
I was wondering how the previously mentioned "mips"version is going Are you still working on that?(not to push you though)

I've decided not to do a PPC2000 version. There are a couple of reasons:

1) no activesync passthrough
2) I don't have a ppc2000 machine to test with
3) I don't need more people whining / complaining about how hard it is to configure (not talking about you, just in general)

Since I tried to implement the stocks via rss and it didn't work (because the german stocks I own are not supported by yahoo. OK they are supportes but the information they display on their page is way to less to give propper information) I am now trying to implement some german rss news feeds.

But they don't work propper either. They show up in finr TodayPlus but when I try to watch them in IE, IE starts and shuts down right away ?!?

have you tried viewing the buffered html files to see what they contain ?

Ok, so the task display is broken in the default skin. How do you fix that? What needs to be changed in it?

I believe in that skin I had commented out the tasks display. look for a line that something like:

//outlook,5,16,230,112,2,3

and uncomment it.

Any plans to work on configurability for this program? So far, it's beautiful, but a nightmare to set up.

I really don't think the configurability is that hard. all it requires is changing the zip codes for the weather / setting up the shortcuts if you want to use them. If you're too lazy to do even that, then I can't help you.

I was wondering, however, whether there are any plans to be able to display information about e-mails using TodayPlus. I am not terribly fond of the standard plug-in, not least because it doesn't allow ClearType.

what kind of e-mail information would you like to display ? just the number of emails or something more ?

So I'll ask again - how do you fix the config so that tasks actually do diplay?

after waiting a whole 10 hrs on a sunday... I do apologise that I dont sit in front of my computer the whole day just waiting to answer your questions.

I understand that this is a beta - but without any easy way to configure it, it seems more like pre-alpha. I hope that a configuration UI is in the works.

It's beautiful, I just wish it kind-of worked. With no way to fix tasks, it's not really Today Plus, but more like Today Minus.

haha, very funny

Perhaps it would kind-of work for people who kind-of know what the heck theyre doing.

I would download some of the other skins, but then I loose many of the features that I like.. so I'd sooner just fix the one I have.

I know I'm not a skinner, and I'm sure I'll be flamed for that, it's just a plea from the masses to please plan on adding a configuration program.

perhaps you missed the title of the thread. if you don't want to be a "beta tester" then don't use this program.

My weather details report a pressure of 565 mbar, which should be 1005 mbar.

This look like something went wrong converting mmHg to mbar.

If I switch to american units then the result is 29.68 inHg which corresponds with 753.8 mmHg and to convert this it should be multiplied by 1.33322 (or divided by 0.750062).

In the calculation you probably turned it around and multiplied by 0.75, resulting in 565 instead of 1005.

thanks for the bug report

and you even found the problem (I was multiplying by .75 instead of dividing). fixed now

According to my config.txt there is a taskfilter, it's just not working. And that reference file - could it be more vague? I mean honestly, unless you yourself developped this program, it doesn't describe anything or give any clear examples. For people who have been with the program from day one, I'm sure it makes sense, but try jumping in at this point. It's vague at best, and the model is not clearly defined.

I want to like this program, and at this stage I don't mind having to do many of these things manually, so far I've taken out the status bars and added lots of shortcuts, but when basic functionality isn't there, and documentation is extremely vague - how is the program usable?

I'm always amazed at people like you. Demanding, complaining, whining, impatient all rolled into one. I'm not even going to waste any more time with you.

Plainsong - I'm new around here, but I am finding your attitude completely unfathomable. Here's a guy dedicating his spare time to writing something that it currently totally free to use, looks great, is configurable (as many have demonstrated) and does work. If you can't be bothered to put time into working out how it works, please just go away and come back when we have an idiot-proof version.

Some people!

thanks for the support, arbitrajeu

We all know it is still early beta, but I agree with plainsong - we should be able to discuss the negative issues as well as the positive ones so that we can make this the best plugin there is. The biggest negative issue at the moment is the difficulty to configure the plugin. I think most effort should be put into making some kind of configuration program instead of adding tons of new features

I don't mind discussing negative issues, but there is a big difference between constructive critisism and being snide and derogatory.

I have always welcomed comments / bug reports / feature reaquests / suggestions, but plainsong was not doing any those in a positive way.

Some people here just love to bicker and argue about more userfriendliness, but the endless adaptibility makes it the most userfriendly piece of program I now.
Sure you need to get to understand how it works but for me that's just part of the fun.

thanks for the nice comments

It is tough for someone like me too. I am just a mom. I don't know how to configure anything. I am always very appreciative to the kind gentlemen on this forum who have helped me along...including srs. I do not have time either. I love my device but my life is not at a point where I can take time to learn how to do this so I would be needing something easy.

well, unfortunately, just like you, I don't have the time (or the inclination) to make it easier to configure than it is now. I do have other, more important things going on in my life, and if you feel that this program is too hard to use, then the simple solution is to not use it.

I have a few questions, and some constructive critiscism for you...

those are always welcome

* Ocassionally, I am getting a fatal application error. This happens after the pda syncs with my computer. I get a system message box saying that the application performed an illegal operation, and will be shut down, but once I click OK TodayPlus keeps running like nothing ever happened.

this would be the .exe crashing. I'm not exactly sure what would cause this, but have you noticed where in the update process it crashes (the .exe does the actual downloading of the new files from the internet). It might help to know which file it crashes on..... (you could check which files in the buffer directory haven't been updated). also does it crash if you hit the refresh button after one of these crashes ? also, I just had the thought that this may occur if the internet connection is lost at an inopportune time.... so knowing the internet connection status might be helpful also.

* The ampersand displays as an underscore when it is in an appointment showing on the today screen.

yeah, I've alread fixed this problem for the next version.

* There is a small memory leak somewhere. I've seen someone else post about this earlier in the thread, but I just wanted to aknowledge that I'm getting it too. It seems to take about 0.05MB of memory every few times it syncs.

I haven't been able to reproduce this either, so perhaps it is somehow related to the bug mentioned above...

* Possibility for plugins in the future. I would like to have other features in my TodayPlus that other people probably wouldn't want. I would like to be able to write my own plug in for some of the functionality.

this is a good idea, and I've been thinking of something along these lines. How would you want the plugin interface implemented ?

[hezahonker]

here it is

[palmop]

I am going nuts on this. I cleaned up the ui and now the buttons and such seem fine, but it looks it is not downloading the RSS or Weather info somehow on my XDA. I installed Lightman's skin and it downloaded the info fine, so I am overlooking something here.

Any help is appreciated, I attached my current skin files.

I'll try to debug it furthermore.

[hezahonker]

It is tough for someone like me too. I am just a mom. I don't know how to configure anything. I am always very appreciative to the kind gentlemen on this forum who have helped me along...including srs. I do not have time either. I love my device but my life is not at a point where I can take time to learn how to do this so I would be needing something easy.

SRS,


Well, I am sorry you feel this way. I have never been unkind to you and always very grateful. I was being honest and I am sorry that was offensive to you. I haven't been reading all of the thread and apparently you have grown angry with comments others have been making. Please don't take it out on me. I, as stated, have been grateful for your assistance.

[plainsong]

I see you get personally attacked for discussing problems with the program - really mature.

I have not personally attacked anyone here, I have only discussed valid problems if this program. Clearly documentation and configurability are problems. But discussing such problems results in being called an idiot, and being called lazy by the developper. I'll remember that if ever this program goes shareware.

There is good and bad about every program. Yes it's free, yes it's early days, but how can it improve without the feedback of users? You do want users besides yourselves to use it eventually, right?

I didn't insult you, I'd ask you to not insult me. I'm extremely dissapointed in the conduct here. The support of this community is wonderful, ask questions, bring up problems - get insulted. Yes, the height of professionalism.

Edit: Srs, I don't even know you. Why would I go after you like somehow your post seems to infer I have? When I asked about tasks, did I say it had to be specifically you that answered? No, I did not. It could have been any number of skinners that have been working with the program for a while and who knows its quirks. No one answered. That's not down to you.

And when I discuss problems, as other have in earlier pages, only to get the same treatment I have, does that mean they should be solved like right now? No, of course not. In your own time of course. It's your choice what kind of program you want to make, and it's the users choice as to what program to use.

This Today Plus Community is a strange one indeed.

[srs]

Originally posted by plainsong
[B]I see you get personally attacked for discussing problems with the program - really mature.

No, you were being derogatory and snide.

I understand that this is a beta - but without any easy way to configure it, it seems more like pre-alpha.

It's beautiful, I just wish it kind-of worked.

With no way to fix tasks, it's not really Today Plus, but more like Today Minus.

^^^^ that's from just one of your posts. You weren't "discussing" problems with the program, you were attacking something I have spent many many hours on.

There is good and bad about every program. Yes it's free, yes it's early days, but how can it improve without the feedback of users?

well, its not going to improve by you deriding it.

I didn't insult you,

yes you did. you made fun of something I created, and might as well as called me incompetant.

The support of this community is wonderful, ask questions, bring up problems

I'm sure if you actually did those things, you'd get better support.

Edit: Srs, I don't even know you. Why would I go after you like somehow your post seems to infer I have?

I don't know, and yet you did. And I'm not the only one who thought so.

When I asked about tasks, did I say it had to be specifically you that answered? No, I did not. It could have been any number of skinners that have been working with the program for a while and who knows its quirks. No one answered. That's not down to you.

Well, if you had read the thread, you would know that the POOM stuff is relatively new, and few other skins include it, so therefor I would most likely be the only one knowing how to fix it. And, if you had read the thread, you would have seen that I do try and answer all the question, eventually.

[srs]

Originally posted by hezahonker
SRS,


Well, I am sorry you feel this way. I have never been unkind to you and always very grateful. I was being honest and I am sorry that was offensive to you. I haven't been reading all of the thread and apparently you have grown angry with comments others have been making. Please don't take it out on me. I, as stated, have been grateful for your assistance.

I'm sorry. When I read your comments I was already a bit upset, and at the time it just seemed as if you were just piling it on. I apologise if I misintepreted your comments and take back whatever I said.

[hezahonker]

SRS,

Apology accepted. It wasn't easy for me to make the change from palm but I love my device and I genuinly want to learn.