Skybox 1.0

[admin]

This month, we have released a new exciting title ready for you to download. Skybox is a fingerfriendly user interface (shell) that replaces the standard Windows Mobile interface to offer an improved PocketPC look and feel and faster access to the device's functions.



It comes with smooth animations, advanced graphic effects and it is very configurable so you can have your device do exactly what you need. Other features include:


# Fast access to the vital functions of the device
# Easy to use and fingerfriendly
# It is endlessly configurable
# Powerful features and registry hacks
# Custom titlebar, Infoscreen, Menu, Settings
# Powerful graphic options including alphablending, fading, and shadows

[vmiguel]

Congrats to all the team, on this beautifull software!

Tomorrow I'll be watching all videos, and reading all manuals, to see if I've missed something on my first test with Skybox

And, as Raul know, I want more icons, so I'll be searching on how to do them!!!

EDIT: and can you please edit, on Skybox page, "PocketPC.net" to "PocketPT.net", in the awards section?

[radhoo]

Thanks Vasco!

Name a few icons that should be added, we will try to add them.

You can do those yourself as well, as we didn't encrypt them (as in SPB Mobile Shell), you just need to be careful to create the correct masks.
program files\teksoft\skybox\items

[radhoo]

Text corrected, by the way is the translation of what you said correct?

[vmiguel]

The translation is fine.

About the icons, where should I start?...

On my device I have:
- 5 GPS programs
- 1 pdf reader
- 3 multimedia players
- 1 program to store passwords
- 2 file explorers
- 3 internet explorers
- 2 screenshot programs
- etc...

And that is why I insisted with Raul that the original program icons should be an option to use on Skybox, even if the quality is not up to your design.

That would save some work to the user, and there are many without the first clue on how to make an icon.

I do know a little on image editing, but will have to study one of your icons, to (try to) understand what you mean about the masks...

If the original icon could be an option, would be great.

Otherwise, a free program, and very explicit step to step instructions on how to make a new icon would be very important, in my point of view.

This issue cost at least 1 point on my Skybox mini test...

[radhoo]

Hello Vasco,

Again, good tips - thanks.

Let's see how should an external tools be created, to offer the user the possibility of extracting icons from preinstalled apps:

- so first criteria is clear: to be easy to use (wizard?)

what about the rest?

[vmiguel]

Hi Radu.

Good to see that Teksoft allways pay atention to users opinion!

Before that first criteria, I think the best would be to Skybox to recognize and use, automaticly, the original progs icon, even if it's smaller than yours, or with less quality.

A common user would want to have the original one, choosen by default, without the need for any other action.

Besides that, as a second step for the personalisation "freaks", me included :

- a free tool (could be a PC app), with step by step instructions, as you said

- with the possilitie to make some simple graphics, including the option to use some internal gallery to add different elements (hmm, this would mean incorporating image editing on the icons tool, maybe a bit too much)

- with the possibilitie to import graphics with other extensions, edited on other imaging programs.

And I think that would cover all the possibilities.

If the user can pick any image, or draw one, and import it with your tool, make a icon with 1 or 2 clicks, and save it in a specified location, so Skybox would show it on the icons list, all would be possible.

[radhoo]

Thanks Vasco.

Before that first criteria, I think the best would be to Skybox to recognize and use, automaticly, the original progs icon, even if it's smaller than yours, or with less quality.

Well this might sound simple, but in fact it requires some heavy changes to the skybox core. So this is not doable until a version upgrade.

We need to find an alternate solution:

- a free tool (could be a PC app), with step by step instructions, as you said
- with the possilitie to make some simple graphics, including the option to use some internal gallery to add different elements (hmm, this would mean incorporating image editing on the icons tool, maybe a bit too much)
- with the possibilitie to import graphics with other extensions, edited on other imaging programs.

Well this free tool would be a simple icon extractor. Once you've extracted the icon, you can add it into the skybox images folder.
Same for editing an image with some imaging software.
The image for 1 item needs to be:
384x96 for VGA or 192x48 for QVGA
This image consists of 4 square size regions of 96x96 for VGA and 48x48 for QVGA, built by the following rule:
(1)Item Closed Color Image - (2)Item Closed Monochrome Mask - (3)Item Opened Color Image - (4)Item Opened Monochrome Mask

The color image can be anything. The Mask is constructed using grayscale colors only, from black to white.

White in the mask defines what part of the Color image will be visible, and Black defines the part where the background bellow the image will be visible. Any gray color (between black and white) will allow both the background and the image to be visible (alphablending
And I think that would cover all the possibilities.

If the user can pick any image, or draw one, and import it with your tool, make a icon with 1 or 2 clicks, and save it in a specified location, so Skybox would show it on the icons list, all would be possible. ). So setting the gray to a darker or lighter color, will change the proportion between visible and invisible in the displayed image.

It's quite complex, and based on boolean logic up to the pixel level, but it provides some nice effects for the eye. If the end users would know what's behind that.... they would have headaches

Back to changing the images. After such an image is constructed, it must be converted to the GIF format, then copied to the Skybox "Items" folder, and renamed properly (070.gif is the last skybox image, so this custom image should be 071.gif, the next 072.gif and so on).

The Skybox needs to be restarted, and after the restart it will automatically load that image. The user can then go to Skybox settings and use the image for it's items.

And I think that would cover all the possibilities.

If the user can pick any image, or draw one, and import it with your tool, make a icon with 1 or 2 clicks, and save it in a specified location, so Skybox would show it on the icons list, all would be possible.

Indeed.

What the tool could do, would be to take 2 images, or two icons, or to Exe's/Dll's (to extract the icons from), and create the final image automatically (including the 2 embedded masks).

Believe me, doing those masks requires quite some time.

[gdmacrae]

Hi

I would like to congratulate you on this software. For a v1 version it is very impressive, and I hope it is a commercial success for you.

I have used it over the weekend and it fits my requirements very well. I have a few observations:

My pda phone is a Toshiba G900 with a 3" Vga screen. On the info screen it does not draw properly

Tapping the battery icon on the title bar does nothing

Tapping the phone status bar takes me to the phone settings?

The programme is a little slower than I would like

I would like the programme to recognise outliner programmes such as Trenotes and pocket mindmap

Changes on the information screen do not seem to save

Regards

Gordon

[radhoo]

Hello Gordon, many thanks

While this initial version doesn't support 800x480 screen sizes (like the G900), it might be possible to see an update soon, especially for interested users like yourself

I went trough the list you've presented, it might be very helpful to include some screenshots, so we can better understand your description.

You can upload images directly to this forum.

To improve the speed, you need to see:
http://teksoftco.com/index.php?section= ... nfo#tweaks

And using a registry editor to set the Animation key to 0.

[admin]

I am trying the trial of Skybox and I am very impressed with the look and feel of the interface (and I have tried Touch Commander and Spd Mobile Shell, etc,.)

However, I am having two problem and I am wondering if it could be a compatibility issue with my AT&T. I know my way around PDAs.

I cannot figure out how to add programs and app, etc., to the empty gray boxes. The manual seems to say to just tap on the box but all that happens is the focus goes on the box.

Also, I use Pocket Informant as my PIM and Opera as my browser and I don't see how to get Skybox to use them as defaults.

Please advise,

Clayton

Hello Clayton, and thanks for your message.

You can add programs anywhere you want, as we've tried to make this one very configurable.
First you need to see how to add programs inside the 3x3 skybox menu. There's a video, that does more then my explanations:
http://teksoftco.com/index.php?section= ... flv#videos

In a similar way you can configure any today plugins to be used inside skybox:
http://teksoftco.com/index.php?section= ... flv#videos

Try this and let us all know how it went.

[stevedj]

I never know what profile I've changed the phone to as there is no icon or otherwise (as standard interface.)

Whole thing locks up & I need to reboot, often. Only happens when I'm using Calendar + V2.5.2, Thumb Cal V0.4.7 & even Windows own Calendar. So far it has not locked up on any other software, just the ones mentioned. Is this bug known?

I really like SkyBox & know I can use it, as long as the above locking up is resolved (I'm just about at the end of the trial.)

Steve

PS. I installed the CAB file from this site & also Handango, but the bug is still there. Oh, it's a HTC Touch Dual I have.

[admin]

Hello Steve,

I've sent this to development. The guys will surely need additional info on this, can they reach you on eaglevette[.at.].... ?

Thanks.

[stevedj]

Yeah sure, I can be contacted at my eaglevette email.

Steve.

[ddc441]

I installed the demo on my ATT Tilt. Now when I attempt to uninstall it, I get the message "Skybox was not completely removed. Do you want to remove it from the list?"

I answer no, and it's still there on restart. Should I answer yes? Do I then have to remove some files manually?

THanks!

[inawe]

I bought skybox a while ago, and installed it on my pda, an eten M800 with WM6. I have just reflashed the rom with wm6.1, and now I cannot access the skybox settings. Everything else seems to work fine, but obviously not being able to access the skybox settings is a big problem. I can access everything else. Please help, as I would really like to carry on using this program.

[sad_ghost]

Can you please detail on the subject. Do you receive an error message or no message - no dialog pops up?

Thanks,
Raul

[inawe]

Can you please detail on the subject. Do you receive an error message or no message - no dialog pops up?

Thanks,
Raul

Thank you for a quick response. I do not get any dialog pop ups or error messages- when I click on the skybox settings icon nothing happens. All the other icons seem to be functioning properly, and that is the only icon that does nothing, (but it is the most important one). I was hoping you might have a later beta version I could try - I really would like to get this working again. An excellent program, and believe me, I have tried a few.

[inawe]

further to my post above, I also notice since my rom upgrade to WM 6.1 that my Device ID has also changed, so I will have to apply for another registration code. However, I also did a hard reset, (I really want this program to work ) and installed Skybox before any other program. I still could not access the settings menu. After re-installing again, I have managed to access the Skybox settings menu through file explorer, program files, etc. Hope this helps.

[sad_ghost]

Thank you for the information we will look into it asap.