If you would like to unsubscribe from LSWeekly at any time, simply send an e-mail to lsweekly-unsubscribe@wuzzle.org and you will be removed. Stop by http://chunkymunky.com/lsweekly for past issues and other LSWeekly specific related news. Got some news? Wanna see it in LSWeekly? Well, shoot me a mail at demigod@meganet.net with the subject LSWeekly-News and I'll post it in the letter. Got a complaint? Got a compliment? Got an idea? I'm open to all rants and raves. Send me a mail at demigod@meganet.net, any subject, and tell me what you think. I will personally reply to all e-mails sent. LSWEEKLY LiteStep Related News 29.04.00 - 05.05.00 ---------------------------------------------------- Well seeing as over the past two weeks I've blasted away at the dev team with both barrels, it's time that I turn my attentions back to the community, or lack there of. I had a good discussion with NeXTer and some others in #ls_help last Friday and I came to a few conclusions about the LS community. First off is that, like me, we take the programs for granted. Instead of thanking them for there work, we constantly whine and complain when either something doesn't work or a feature isn't added that we want, myself included. Second is the petty in fighting that is going on on an almost constant basis. What is with this anyway? What kind of a community are we? I understand that different views usually lead to a difference of opinions but we are all on the same page here are we not? By looking at some of the fights that usually go on, I'm not sure anymore. I would love to see a more stable community here. One that bolsters the programmers and themers instead of cutting them down. One that instead of fighting has intelligent debates. A good portion of us considers ourselves geeks and are more than smart enough to hold a conversation then to resort to petty name calling. If we were a more solid community I think that LiteStep and even other shells would benefit. These line of thinking can extend to just about any community or any shell community. Together we stand, divided we fall. - demigod .................................... Yes, there most certainly is a problem with a few programs. The interesting thing though, is that none of the dev team member ever said anything that could be interpreted the way demigod seems to have done. I more or less suspect that it was our lack of an immediate response to the issue that brought this on. If he had taken the time to research the matter, he'd have known that the team is working on a solution, and that we've even contacted the company behind the program in question. Hopefully we'll be able to find a solution to this problem within a reasonable amount of time. One of the many reasons for abandoning "the old ways" is that what we want from LS, is a shell that's easy to use, and as powerful as possible. It's somewhat like the upgrade from 3.11 to 95, in that to allow for these changes, the support for /really/ old modules have to go. Let's face it. LiteStep has been more or less stagnant since the release of 24.0. There has certainly been a lot of addition and improvements along the way, but nothing really substantial. Anyone who's tried to install a theme will know how bulky and unwieldy LS is as a themeing platform. What is about to change, is not only the way LS loads and runs modules, but also the whole themeing system. For the first time, LS will actually become /easy/ to theme. To allow for this new and improved (gee, do I sound like a soap ad?) system to work the way we've intended it to, all old modules will have to be rewritten to support it. Of course, there will be a legacy layer in the core to support old modules and possibly themes, but LS has the potential to become so much more. And this thing about "..recently taking with its removal of backward compatibility of older mods...". It's like walking. Without lifting your feet, you can't keep forward momentum without falling flat on your nose. One of the reasons for making changes like this, is to force modules to stay in pace with the development of the shell. If a module is no longer in development, and you really want to use it, you can ask the original author for an update, of if he's left the community (*sniffle*), to release the source, so that some other able coder can keep the ball rolling. With the new system, a lot will change. Perhaps not for the better in everyone's eyes, but we hope most of the community will like the new ways of doing things. There will always be some people who doesn't like changes, but isn't that the idea behind this shell business in the first place? And making LS more friendly to setup and theme would hopefully help attract more attention to it. Perhaps even make it The Shell of Choice (like it isn't that already). Well, I can't rant on for ages, so I guess I'll end it here and now. :: Joachim Calvert / NeXTer :: .................................... I would like to make a comment re shellexperts.com the so called project that started in a blaze of enthusiasm a couple of months ago. We all put considerable effort into this when we started, until the bad feeling that grew out of an attitude problem from one of the members. The state is now we have no site, and certain people are taking the same sort of attitude expressed in your last "rant". My last posting on the list tried to restore the enthusiasm and comradeship we had previously, the reply was "go away and learn php, that would show enthusiasm". Frankly such childish remarks need no answer, as ls becomes more popular (and one UK computer mag consistently recommends it) more and more non coders or computer wizards are going to use it. I think the community maybe needs to review its opinion on non experts-we are here and we will not go away-and with the right encouragement we may just become the next power users. Richard J Noakes icq 32490855 .................................................... -= Shell Specific =- .................................................... --------------------------- Top News Stories --------------------------- - TimeWarpX Is Back! (14:20 02.05 na) While doing my daily look see of new screen shots and themes, I ran across a new ss by Time. Good to have you back! From his SS: "Yes.... After 1 month of completely re-assessing my life, I have decided to return to the LS scene, although I wont be able to do all of the stuff I originally wanted to(admin ls.org for the most part) I will try and do something time permitting. "I basically took a months break to try and figure out exactly what the hell I was doing, I still don't know everything, but I do know that I wish to be a part of the LS scene once again. I will try and help out where possible and also work on kick ass themes again :)" url - http://www.litestep.net/sshots.php3?perform=zoom&sid=348 (source: http://www.litestep.net) --------------------------- Modules --------------------------- - SysColor 2.0 ~ Message (9:50 01.05 ls) SysColor is a mod that allows you to change system colors via Bang commands. New in this version: - Rewrote most of the code to be oop, code conforms to lsd2 format - Added two new bang commands: o !SCWriteColors
Writes your color scheme to an ini file, if no section name is specified, defaults to "SYSCOLOR" o !SCReadColors
Reads your color schem from an ini file, if no section name is specified, defaults to "SYSCOLOR" - Added new step.rc command: o SCIniFile Specifies the ini (has to be an ini file) for Syscolor to read/write color schemes to, if this is not set Syscolor defaults to modules.ini url - http://www.mindjunction.com/message) e-mail - message@litestep.net (source: http://floach.pimpin.net) +---------------+ - TextEdit 1.3 ~ WhiteShadow (9:54 01.05 ls) TextEdit is a Litestep module that allows you to edit text files using LS bang commands. New in this version: - Changed !textadd to !textappend - Added !textinsert - Added !textreplace - Added !textcomment and !textsetcommentchar - Added TextNotCaseSensitive url - http://www.muohio.edu/~changty/ e-mail - changty@muohio.edu (source: http://www.muohio.edu/~changty/) +---------------+ - grdTray 2.2 b1 ~ gustav (9:09 02.05 ls) A heavily modified version of Maduins systray.dll that works fully with the newer dev builds. New in this version: - the tray can now be docked as a wharf tile. (NeXTer's request, don't know if anyone else likes it) - fixed a GDI-leak, which makes grdTray the only tray which doesn't leak any resources whatsoever. - changed the painting routine to consume less of your CPU's power. url - http://home.swipnet.se/grd/ls/ e-mail - grd@swipnet.se (source: LS Mailing List ~ grdTray, going from "god" to...) +---------------+ - ModuleBox .41 ~ jugg (9:14 02.05 ls) "Its full useful functionality consists of loading and unloading LiteStep modules by dragging and dropping them on the "box" which this Module creates." New in version .41: + Added this Readme File and Webpage + Added pseudo transparency if the BGColor is set to FF00FF (Great Pink (tm)). ! Fixed zOrder functionality. ! Fixed ModuleBox from crashing when itself (modulebox.dll) was dragged ontop itself to be unloaded. It now unloads correctly. ^ Cleaned up some code. %%UPDATE%% (11:14 04.05) - Fixed problem with !ModBoxzOrder url - http://jugg.logicpd.com/ e-mail - jugg@earthling.net (source: http://jugg.logicpd.com/) +---------------+ - tasks .89 ~ jugg (10:13 05.05 ls) Tasks.dll is a completely customizable tasks manager that supports popups options and other very useful functions. New in this build: - Added TasksDisplay - Added TaskszOrder - Added TasksTransparency - Added TasksTitleItalicize - TasksTitleMinItalicize - TasksTitleSelItalicize - Added TasksMButton1 - Added !TasksDisplay - !TasksDockWindow - !TaskszOrder - !TasksMinimize - !TasksMaximize - !TasksRestore - Removed TasksOnlySelected - Removed TasksOnlyMinimized - Removed TasksHideMinimized - Removed TasksNoTransparency - Removed TasksEnableTrueTransparency - Removed TasksHideOnClick - Removed !TasksOnBottom - !TasksOnTop - Fixed internal update timer. - Fixed more tasklist problems. - Fixed mouse-click interaction with Tiles. - Fixed in its entirety the Focus bug. - Fixed a bug in dragging code while using "TasksMoveAll" - Fixed "!TasksSwitch" from crashing. - Fixed memory corruption potential in all !bang commands, while using an old build of LiteStep. - Fixed resource leak on quit/recycle. - Changed "TasksWrapCount" to accept "-1" to enable Auto Wrap at screen edge. Use "0" to disable all wrapping. - Changed Tile drag to support Auto Wrap. - Changed "!TasksMove" to support Auto Wrap. - Changed all movement code to keep Tiles on screen. Now Tiles will only go off screen if manually set to do so. - Other misc cleanup. There is a lot of changes in this build, and more underway. Please read the "NOTES" section for more info. url - http://jugg.logicpd.com/ e-mail - jugg@earthling.net (source: http://jugg.logicpd.com/) --------------------------- Web Sites --------------------------- - LiteStep2000 Back Up ~ jalist (14:21 02.05 ls) After receiving alot of e-mail jalist has decided to reopen ls2000 with some help. Keep an eye on the site for a new design. Glad you decided to keep at it! url - http://www.chunkymunky.com/hosted/litestep2000 e-mail - jalist@litestep2000.co.uk (source: http://www.chunkymunky.com/hosted/litestep2000 --------------------------- Programs --------------------------- - LSDrinks 2.10.0 ~ nf0 (11:15 04.05 na) This is a perl based news grabber. You need to have perl installed on your machine to run this. New in this version: - Added: Tekreview - Added: Everything But Gaming - Added: Aint it cool news. - Added: EPOC News url - http://www.10500bc.org/lsDrinks/index.htm e-mail - nf0@10500bc.org (source: http://floach.pimpin.net) --------------------------- Glossary Of Terms --------------------------- - shell A shell is your GUI (Graphical User Interface) Windows basic shell is explorer and it includes the start button, taskbar, and so on. DarkStep and LiteStep are alternative shells that replaces the basic Windows GUI with a more configurable, stable, and all around more pleasing GUI. .................................... ---- Tips ---- - Newbie Tip If you install a shell wrong, when you boot up you will get an error saying that it cannot load windows and that you need to reinstall. This is of course not true. Simple reboot and hit F8 to get to the system boot menu. Choose command line. When the prompt comes up goto your windows dir and type: edit system.ini. In the dos editor go down to the shell= line and either type in the correct path for the shell or change it to shell=Explorer.exe. Save the file and reboot. - Advanced Tip Strangest this when I see themes being created is the lack of other programs in the theme. You can add in other programs and usually they don't impact speed too much. CN2, WinPanel, and other executables make for great replacements for long and drawn out shortcutgroups. I realize that this isn't really an advanced tip but just kind of a reminder. .................................................... -= Beyond the Shell =- .................................................... --------------------------- Tweaking Beyond the Shell --------------------------- - Startbutton Tiles This is an oldie but goodie. Change the Start button to say what ever you want. For this hack I used uedit32 as usual. Step 1 - Start your hex editor and open Explorer.exe. This file can be found in your \windows dir. Step 2 - Goto Search, Replace, and put 53 00 74 00 61 00 72 00 74 in the Find What box and put the hex of your new tiles in the Replace With box. (*Note* To find out what the hex is of your new tiles goto File, New and type in what you want your start button to say. Then goto Edit, Hex Edit and see what the hex is. Remember to put 00 between each hex value. If you want your tiles to be less than five letters use 00 to make up the difference.) Step 4 - Goto Save, and choose Save. Step 5 - Reboot your system. --------------------------- Interesting --------------------------- - Geekboys.org This is a news site that you can cater to your likings. With a set of close to 100 different sites to choose from, you can make a specialized page that just displays the news you want. From Mac news to linux, to custo, to BeOS, it has it all. If this sounds interesting to you goto http://www.geekboys.org and setup and account. .................................... ------------- Latest Builds ------------- - LiteStep o Stable - b24.6 build 041700 o Daily - b24.6 build 041700 Modified [LSAPI, Desktop2 / NeXTer / 04-17-00] o LSAPI: o Merged new code for merging images in LoadLSImage(). Thank's to Gustav Munkby (grd) for the new code. o Removed some old junk. o Added the struct Message for passing messages from the WndProc to the actual message handlers. o Desktop2: o Began a slight revision, to make this piece of code adhere to a "standard style" that can be used in the future. Modified [Desktop2 / NeXTer / 04-17-00] o The code is now almost crystal clear, if we can apply this structure to the other modules, much will have been achieved. Fixed [LSAPI / NeXTer / 04-17-00] o ParseBangCommand() didn't parse the information correctly if NULL was being passed as the argument for the bang command. o Also fixed a memory leak in the same function, for good measure. - DarkStep o Beta - 0.970pr2 + Fixed !bang commands registered by any LS module not working + Fixed the "Loaded Modules" dialog causing DS to crash when no modules were loaded (thanks for finding this bug and all your excellent suggestions jugg!!) + Changed the Console code so that any setting changes would take effect immediately + Fixed minor Console editing annoyances such as not being able to use left/right arrow keys .................................... ------------- Mailing Lists ------------- - LiteStep To subscribe, e-mail: litestep-subscribe@litestep.ru.ac.za To unsubscribe, e-mail: litestep-unsubscribe@litestep.ru.ac.za Additional commands, e-mail: litestep-help@litestep.ru.ac.za - Stuff To subscribe, e-mail: stuff-subscribe@litestep.ru.ac.za To unsubscribe, e-mail: stuff-unsubscribe@litestep.ru.ac.za Additional commands, e-mail: stuff-help@litestep.ru.ac.za - DarkStep To subscribe, e-mail: darkstep-subscribe@egroups.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: darkstep-unsubscribe@egroups.com .................................... ------ Errata ------ Last week I had V2OS in the Intresting section and totally forgot to put in the url. The url is http://www.v2os.cx.