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Messages - Jan-Erik Lärka

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106
Events / Re: New OS/2 distribution
« on: October 25, 2015, 02:22:40 pm »
Hi Martin,

We already have all that in our standard install DVD that we use when replacing hardware so I never considered them as additional applications.

No one want to use a bare bone eCS, or any other OS for that matter, one want more and new drivers, but also software, that's perhaps more important to end/home users to keep up with the rest of the world. A dated web browser has to be replaced at once and should therefore not be included, just as similar software that change fairly often.

You may have a standard DVD with a lot of corporate software you can apply in a chunk, as the end user it's not available to me so the question raised by Eugene is very relevant. Several of the original OS/2 applications could need attention, both in design (color and graphics) but also function and capabilities. Some has been replaced by new versions and now feel better while others persist, but why not include some new standard software with the OS?

Fairly statical but useful to many would include things like:
A GUI (or Wizard/SmartGuide) front end to diskinfo.exe would be interesting.
Wouldn't mind a file recovery tool paired with an optional setting for JFS to always write .LONGNAME EA's or special inode filename info.
QT4 ODBC DataBase Manager + unixODBC backend
TCP/IP configuration tool
New Image/Icon Editor

Not every software is bug free to begin with, but with the proper attention and feedback, exchange of knowledge and relevant information by testers, end users and developers, the software evolve into something better.

______
I have created a large tree with software on my main machine that I go through and install from just to get what I want, but it has to be maintained as new software appear, one has to visit sites here and there and follow download links.

It seem that everyone want to tinker with the system their own way, so to not close the door but rather allow everyone to do that I would like to extend my suggestion in an earlier post in another thread. Lets have an updated online software catalogue that developers would announce their software in, just as they announce them here at os2world, paired with a front end for the end user.

That way the OS doesn't have to include outdated software but rather a convenient online software catalogue. The front end should of course be able to use local paths to already downloaded software.
_____
My wish is that the new distro would rather merge the Live DVD and the OS installer concepts
   The user/admin can either just use it to surf the web or monitor the network without leaving the computer and do some selected stuff ("LiveCD" usage)
   and/or
   start the OS installer to tweak things with a fairly populated desktop and get the feel for the system while he/she wait for the installation to finish (in the background).

Regards,
Jan-Erik
Software tester, database recovery, automated software tests, technical support resource
of MONITOR ERP System AB, a standardized Resource Planning System for the industry

Home user of eCS-OS/2 as main OS.

107
Events / Re: Warpstock 2015 - Questions for the Speakers.
« on: October 16, 2015, 03:14:22 pm »
I would like you to raise the question about how to make it easier for end users to take the leap and try out announced software as many new apps may be useful.

Endless searches through the net to find a gem is a thing of the past.

It should not be tied to one distribution channel, nor just one vendor or vendor-group, site or region though be available in different languages/translations.

Technical:
One common server that will hold one .xml-file with information about applications we, the users, can download and install from different sites. Manual maintenance of the .xml-file should be minimal for the one that host the .xml-file, it should be updated automatically with something like a rexx script or similar.

Developers may provide information in one place about their applications or site with info so a script doesn't have to "harvest" their whole site weekly to build the .xml-file. Would the hobbes template file be sufficient and ok to use?

A front end application should service the user.

The intention is not to deal with supporting libraries such as libc, as YUM and Yumie should take care of that, but rather applications, even though it should use YUM and Yumie for installation of applications that install the required libraries.

It should provide the user with a visual presentation that is useful, such as Icon/image, application/package/... name, a short description, author, version, revision date and homepage and/or bugtracker link + the actual "link" to the download

The front end application should rely on existing installers and support the file/download-format available.
It should download packages WPI/EXE/ZIP/7z/JAR/... and open them in the default/associated application.
It should launch YUM/Yumie for rpm packages/links.

Developers want feedback, so this suggestion help them only a little as the application may provide a link to their different bugtrackers.

By the way, the front end application is available, it's the creation and maintenance of the .xml-file and the location that has to be sorted out.

Regards,
//Jan-Erik Lärka

108
Applications / Re: Secure Workplace
« on: October 14, 2015, 11:41:54 am »
I wouldn't mind if it was included as part of a new distribution of "OS/2".
Secure logon and multi user support that use SOM should integrate pretty well with the desktop.
Has anyone had a chat with Mr. Fox?

109
Programming / Re: Desktop Weather
« on: September 09, 2015, 02:24:46 pm »
Sorry, didn't clear the EAs of that one before I packed it togheter.

110
Programming / Re: Desktop Weather
« on: September 08, 2015, 06:40:24 pm »
Please crop the images before you convert them to icons as they'd fill up the space better.

Here's the updated icons, but without changes to the script to make use of them...

111
Programming / Re: Desktop Weather
« on: September 08, 2015, 03:00:11 pm »
sgs_dir = VALUE( OSDIR,, env )'\System\SGUIDE'
such as C:\OS2\System\SGUIDE in your case.

bigicons_dir = STRIP( VALUE( 'BIGICONS',, env ), 'T', '\' )
That is, you need a SET BIGICONS=C:\...\BIGICONS in config.sys or somewhere.

112
Programming / Re: Desktop Weather
« on: September 08, 2015, 09:26:34 am »
It use this to find smartguide.
        IF TRANSLATE( VALUE( 'OS',, env ) ) = 'ECS' THEN
            sgs_dir = VALUE( OSDIR,, env )'\System\SGUIDE'
        ELSE sgs_dir = getBootDrive()'\OS2'
so you need to help me to adjust the ELSE line where it can find sguide.exe
It should not assume as now.

I prefer if the script should handle it all as much as possible.
But yes, it may have to ask some questions, but this should not be one as it's either there or not.

113
Programming / Re: Desktop Weather
« on: September 07, 2015, 01:26:09 pm »
Browser vs. script detection:
Our web browsers contain code that allow sites to detect the location in various ways while my script use rexx sockets that only give out the information provided by the script. Please open the script and look at the services hard coded there and try them in your browser and with wGet or cURL.

Pre eCS usage (Warp 4):
What happen when you double click on the desktop icon? I would guess that a command window flash by and then nothing. SmartGuide is included in eCS in a different location than in Warp 4, so that may be the reason. The script has to be adjusted to handle that as well in such case.

Non PNG Desktop:
Yes, it will download the files to the root as a last resort if there's no bigicons folder. Gues one could disable that part all together when there's no bigicons folder.

The script store information to:
I you have one desktop object it will save that to the EA of weather.cmd under weather...something, then next desktop object will be saved to the EA name in weather.cmd such as "newyork" in my example. It seem to overwrite that information if openweather can't detect the location right away.

Jan-Erik

114
Programming / Re: Desktop Weather
« on: September 04, 2015, 09:29:59 am »
Double click on the desktop object and the SmartGuide will open up.
Click next until you reach the tab "Symbols". Copy the link there to you web browser and add "http://" in front and "/01d.png" after. Replace "01d.png" with "01n.png" for the night version, "02d.png", "02n.png" etc. until 23, then jump to "50d.png" and "50n.png".

Visit http://openweathermap.org and type your city name "Edmonton", select the right place (if a list with many appear) and look for the address such as http://openweathermap.org/city/5946768 and the numbers at the end (5946768), that's OpenWeathers CityID.

The script create two program objects, one that will run the script and update the weather information and another on the desktop and look good :) and can show you the SmartGuide if you click on it so you shouldn't have the /// background obscuring the view.

Yes, it should detect the right location and that is also something that has to be corrected as the script contain links to more than one service to locate the position, but all seem to reply with slightly different JSon structures that I haven't figured out yet. Your tests and help is very much appreciated to help me find out what to change and adjust.

//Jan-Erik

115
Programming / Re: Desktop Weather
« on: September 03, 2015, 08:55:24 am »
Quote
Anyone who feel like it can create a full set of nice icons (native OS/2 .ico files) can send them to me. ;)

Where do I get the original icons, or do you mean the ones in Weather.zip? PMView should convert them. Those icons don't seem to be used anyway (but that could be caused by the lack of bigicon support).
I used PMView and the OS/2 icon editor to create 3 or 4 icons that I included with weather.dll (contained within weather.zip) from the png files downloaded from the weather service you see when you use PNG Desktop.

Quote
The script use some services to try to locate you. The location is often based on the nearest station that your ISP allow that service to spot, so it may be your ISPs headquarters...
OpenWeather also need to have weather information for the area you live in.
It looks like the problem is with openweather. They only seem to know about major airports (although that doesn't explain why, or how, it chose Lethbridge (500 KM, small city, not listed) over Edmonton (25 KM Capital of Alberta, listed - the airport is about 50 KM from here, and it seems to be in a completely different weather area). The ISP is based in Vancouver (different province, on the other side of a couple of mountain ranges), but the Alberta branch is in Edmonton. Other weather services seem to be able to figure it out.

I also need to know what CityID is supposed to be. Currently, it says "(not_defined" with only one bracket. I would also like to know where that information is stored (I hope it is NOT in one of the system INI files - they grow too big without help).
You can specify CityID instead of the name as OpenWeather use that to identify the city.
It's a 12 character long string, thus the missing ")" in "(not defined)".
The information/data is stored as EA with the script file weather.cmd, clear that information and you can start over.

Quote
Ohh, make a copy of bigicons.txt and place it in the bigicons folder in case something happen... like you restart your computer and you have 1+ desktop widget.

I can find no bigicons.txt or bigicons folder, but that could be because I don't use bigicons. I do see a new icon added to the desktop at every program restart. The new icon is always in the upper left corner, partly off screen, which causes a scroll bar to appear (including when it updates, if I don't move it). If I accidentally click the scroll bar, it moves all of my icons to the right. It also always goes through the setup, even though the data is obviously stored somewhere.

Thanks...

The create icon function never tries to position the new object, so you'll have to move it by hand.

There should only be one icon on the desktop with the id "<wps_weather>". If you delete it, but not the program object in the startup folder that fetch the data you'll get a new desktop object at every desktop restart.
Delete "Update WEATHER" in the startup folder to get rid of the new desktop weather object.

//Jan-Erik

116
Programming / Re: Desktop Weather
« on: September 02, 2015, 12:40:41 pm »
Ohh, make a copy of bigicons.txt and place it in the bigicons folder in case something happen... like you restart your computer and you have 1+ desktop widget.

117
Programming / Re: Desktop Weather
« on: September 02, 2015, 07:58:43 am »
I've only added a few of the required OS/2 icons (native OS/2 .ico files) to the weather.dll and it doesn't change them in the script (yet) because of that, so you'll only get the sun as it is now.

Anyone who feel like it can create a full set of nice icons (native OS/2 .ico files) can send them to me. ;)

The script use some services to try to locate you. The location is often based on the nearest station that your ISP allow that service to spot, so it may be your ISPs headquarters...
OpenWeather also need to have weather information for the area you live in.

118
Programming / Re: Desktop Weather
« on: September 01, 2015, 08:31:30 pm »
Example weather

Stop the corresponding script (in the startup folder) if the desktop image (icon) says "Locating..." and animate several times. It indicate that it can't connect and/or fetch data for the location. That is a situation that has to be addressed in the future.

119
Programming / Desktop Weather
« on: September 01, 2015, 08:29:04 pm »
Hello,

I've created a rexx script that should show you the current weather.
It has been designed to be used with PNG Desktop as it update the image (icon) and desktop text to describe the current weather and temperature.

The script download png images from the net and use a Smart Guide to guide you through different possible settings you may tweak.

Please do note that you shouldn't make to drastic changes nor to many images (icon) on the desktop as it should be rewritten to handle such situations better. Stop the script in the startup folder and restart it to update the desktop image icon right away. The program object in the startup folder handle updates and you have to delete it by hand if you want to get rid of the desktop image (icon) as well or it will try to recreate it all over again.  ;)

120
Applications / Re: Icons per file extension
« on: September 01, 2015, 11:43:03 am »
Rename the program object or file after you've added/changed the .png file it should display.

I've improved my OpenWeather rexx script and it can animate the wps object quite nicely.  ;D

//Jan-Erik

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