DS Application: PIM Software Suite (Damn Computer x.x)

[124-C]

Not a problem.

I have been thinking about it though, and I think that the consistency could be fixed by making the search work in the same manner as Apple's Spotlight. For example I search for "Terminal" in spotlight and I get a list that looks like this:

Show All (677)
Top Hit Terminal
Apps Terminal
Docs Library.xml
etc...
Folders Terminal
Mail Msgs "Project: Yuu..."
PDF Docs About XCode Tools
Etc Etc

And can just scroll up/down to select the appropriate item. You could add static options like "Make Note 'Terminal'", or "Make Date 'Terminal'"...

Show All (677)
Top Hit Terminal
Apps Terminal
Docs Library.xml
etc...
Folders Terminal
Mail Msgs "Project: Yuu..."
PDF Docs About XCode Tools
Etc Etc

Make Note "Terminal"
Make Date "Terminal"
Make Pic "Terminal"
Make Vcrd "Terminal"
Make Etc. "Terminal"

Anyway, I've finally gotten DSOrganize up and running and am in the process of downloading/installing devkitPRO ('Tis a b***h on OSX with dial-up x.x), so I'll probably have more to say later. biggrin  

[Sentama Lin]

You know... Spotlight's search is a lot more elegant than the plan I initially had... but then again Incremental Searching has always seemed more elegant. :3  

[124-C]

I don't know what the limits of the hardware are, though, so it may prove to be a problem. And the extra code would make it larger.

Something that's bothering me about DSOrganize already is the inability to have events span a period of time in the day. Apparently, everything that happens does so in one half-hour periods...

Anyway, you don't want your initial venture to be too elegant. It's better to add features to a working, simple program than to diagnose a problem in a broken, elegant program...  

[124-C]

Sentama Lin

The Home Screen

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j105/jironimokasumi/MockUp.png
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j105/jironimokasumi/MockUp2.png

...

Some qualms though. I'm 100% sure that the real product will not be as pretty looking as this mockup is. Secondly, as much as I want antialiasing, I may have to not have it because with text that small it gets pretty hard to read antialiased text. Third, the DS works in 16-bit colour I believe, so the colouring won't be as robust (unless I'm wrongfully mistaken) but would still be acceptable.

I'm fully aware of this being a double-post, but I don't care...

I'm pretty sure that the DS supports 24-bit colour. So it's surprisingly flexible in that aspect. The AA isn't really an issue, as far as I'm concerned.

24-Bit coloring. Font is Monaco which is fixed width and very legible in smaller sizes. Background is The Oracle by Pixelwings.

You can see that I have a full keyboard on it, which is actually very doable with the space to work with. I've toyed with DSLinux and the keyboard on that is about the same size and very easy to use. In the lower right hand corner is a shortcut menu (icons from top: Home, AddressBook*, Calendar, Notebook, and Search). *The AddressBook icon probably needs to be different to limit confusion with an actual mail client.

I imagine a clock and date on the home screen similar to your mockups. I'd love to have an analog clock face on the home screen. I also imagine a keyboard toggle. Somewhere, somehow... I'm still working with the L&F of the individual tasks as well as the search function.

I've been playing around with the L&F of each part, but I've been working with a 13px square grid. That leaves some play for borders all the way around (about 10px vertical and 9 horizontal).  

[Sentama Lin]

Mm... I agree with the AA text. I initially liked that text be antialiased, but considering the small dpi of the screen in the first place AA would just create a mess of reading.

I was planning to create a keyboard of that same layout found in DSLinux, though I think I'm leaning more toward the inputs provided by PictoChat, if only because it shows what the DS, in firmware, was designed to work with (UTF-16 with Latin, European, Japanese Kana, and other symbols). Again, this was just another choice to work with in order to give some sense of conformity between DS and actual Application (though I realize, that conformity isn't really a matter anymore).

I'm liking the keyboard mockup *saves it into his notes* Though I'm not sure about combining the application launchers with the keyboard.

Edit: I don't think hardware processing of data would be a big problem if I go with my plan on using XML unless I'm working with extremely large note files (which, in that case, I'll have to unfortunately set a limit). XML parsers, as I'm aware, have to store the entire file in memory, and the DS only has 4 MB of usable RAM.

As for the addition of features, because I plan to make as much of the program function as modules/plugins, once I get an initial framework and widget set down I can add features as I go.  

[124-C]

I actually haven't used PictoChat to any extent. I'll take a look at it tomorrow and see what's going on there.

If you'd like, I can e-mail you the entire PSD file I've been working with for mockups...  

[Sentama Lin]

Thanks for the offer Tsuj, but I think the mockup you posted here will be fine. Plus, GIMP, if I recall correctly, has shoddy support for PSD. Last time I opened one it gave me a bunch of garbled mess, which made me cry because it was the sources of a really cool brush set...  

[Sentama Lin]

It's hard to get any coding done when computer borked on me. *sighs* And I finally had DevkitPro working with my IDE of choice... neutral  

[Syphilis_Shuffle]

I have a question.

once you finish this project, how would i be able to get it onto my DS?  

[124-C]

Syphilis_Shuffle

I have a question.

once you finish this project, how would i be able to get it onto my DS?

If. If the project gets finished. Or even started, for that matter.

With a standard hardware adapter used in conjunction with a MicroSD card. You load the program onto the card, put the card into the adapter, put the adapter into the DS, and turn it on. If you do it right it works.

Check out DSFanboy's Quick Guide for a more in-depth, not to mention better written, guide on the subject. For the record, I use the R4 (Revolution for DS).  

[Sentama Lin]

Hey, hey, hey! I had some base code and the graphics primitives done. *froths*

I just don't have a proper computer in which to finish.  

[124-C]

Ok, ok, ok... You know, I'd help, but that would require me actually sitting down and learning C/C++.

Plus, I'd probably get bored halfway through and just stop working...