Related
Greetings to all,
Does anyone know how you swap the the vertical list of recently open programs in WM5 Start Menu (Buzz's 1.6b version) for the horizontal list? I know it is possible (as below; FYI I switched to landscape using True Toolbar)
In the registry I can find the list of recently used programs:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft|Shell\TaskSwitch
but I can't locate a registry or setting for how they are displayed (if indeed controlled via the registry). I'd thought about dumping the pre and post change registries and trying to compare them but I'm a newbie at this and the whole thing looks massive to try and spot changes visually.
Anybody take a stab as I'd like to be in portrait view but with a minimalised start menu. I've searched all hacks/tweaks/registries (forums and wiki) without success, perhaps someone out there may be able to help.
Suggestions very much appreciated.
Mallow1
did you get any other info on this hack??? I would really like to have my recent programs displayed in this manner rather than the other way.
Not yet... still looking without success
Guys, this is not a hack, this is what happens when you switch from Portrait to Landscape.
Cheers
Pat
Hi Pat (nee how ma?),
Thanks for your reply. A defined variable must be controlling the style toggling (horizontal v vertical list) and it looks just too binary a choice not to have a tweak (even an unknown one yet to be identified), especially since this used to be how the list was displayed back in earlier versions of WM (even when in portrait). Yep I'm completely guessing that there's a tweak, but if you don't ask/ try you don't find out. If not, Buzz may be able to code it in as one in his next version of WM5 if this thread generates enough interest. Do you speak with authority on this or were you simply commenting?
The other approach I'm exploring is via the latest WisBar Advanced beta. When switching from portrait to landscape instead of producing a horizontal list of icons only (my desired outcome), it groups the list into a vertical submenu (variation on a theme). Therefore since I'm a WA user achieving it there is equally valid for me (if not more desireable). I'm awaiting feedback from Lakeridge (though the beta developers have far greater priorities developing WA2 to run more smoothly under WM5 so I'm not holding my breath just yet).
Regards - Mallow1
Actually this is a modifying thread for TF2D (TouchFlo 2D)! So maybe some experts can help and make this into VGA compatible then all the Athena users can use this. BTW i have this installed on my device and it works like a charm! But the problem is that it takes only 1/4 of the screen cause its QVGA... I asked Herg (the one who released this as a beta) and he told me that we have to :
1.Dissassemble and reassemble the exe files
2.Making pictures 2 times bigger (actually we can use diamond so we can skip this step)
3.Changin some xml files.
Now I am asking all you guys that can do this to help us and let Athena users taste this thing...
All the credits go to yourselves and definitely Athena users and me appreciate what you'll do for us.
More info:
BETA XDA_TEAM Manilla2D DO IT YOURSELF W/CABS
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=425694
Manilla 2D - Multicolor Skins, clocks and wallpapers
Cheers, Hirad.
no one interested in this?! c'mon guys and gals... do smth... plz
Hi, I am interested! i have been hunting around to find plug-in for my today screen, finally touchflo 2D has been hacked but it does not fit on my screen. I will look forward to your released!
i am interesting in it ,but i really don't know how to modify this software,i ever installed the touchflo3D in my Athena,but it worked so slowly that i couldn't accept.
so i will look forward to ur released either.
I myse;f really dont know how to mod the exe and dll files but I know what are the tools and (maybe) the steps... but I can really help with graphic files and other stuff but I dont know programming and other stuff.... Need some experts, who can play with exe files
Help
Hi Guys, as an x7510 owner I would like to see touchflo 2d ported to vga too and I may help with it too, right now I have some work to finish but hopefully in a few days I should be able to have a look on things till then could someone get me a "build" or "zip" that contains the original Diamond pictures (or point me to one) as those all already at vga mode so why redo something that already exists and then I could focus on the other changes.
If someone already picked up this work and got to somewhere please let me know so we combine our forces
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=427531
suggests editing the XML will allow different screen sizes.
I created a new thread on this subject which should cover this request too, please post your comments there as it is not just HTC Athena but all HTC VGA devices should work with it:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=429224
tnx brother... great job
any luck havin this on our big x7501 screen?
CeMeTeRy said:
any luck havin this on our big x7501 screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
read the last thread linked to it's very easy to do.
fards said:
read the last thread linked to it's very easy to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks but ther'er too many links in this thread and this is what makes it confusin for beginners like me what i need is a direct link to download the files and simple instructions to follow if there's any copyin files to windows directory or wherever ..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=429224
CeMeTeRy said:
Thanks but ther'er too many links in this thread and this is what makes it confusin for beginners like me what i need is a direct link to download the files and simple instructions to follow if there's any copyin files to windows directory or wherever ..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=429224
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is very simple, go to the last thread linked, there is a post there that tells you what to do, you download the original m2d, whatever the lastest version is. then after installing you overwrite the files with the VGA ones to the windows folder..
I've just re-read the topic and it makes sense to me.
It's very easy to do.
0---------
Installations / Download
To install please follow the steps found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=398173 <--- basically get the last file listed and install it from here, otherwise the original poster will have to redo is post everytime the other thread is updated.
and after you have everything up and running (even in the little left corner of your screen but working) then go to "Start->Settings->Today->Items" and uncheck "TouchFlo" press OK then download this zip file and extract the content to \Windows\ directory on your device.
TouchFlo2D VGA - Ver. 0.1.3
http://rapidshare.com/files/15138227...0.1.3.zip.html
Then go back to "Start->Settings->Today->Items" and check "TouchFlo" again press ok and the full resolution TouchFlo should appear.
IMPORTANT: It seems with the latest Manila2d release (1.00...) the files are installed in read only state so you won't be able to overwrite the files unless you remove the Read only state from the files which are all files in \Windows directory starting with HH_..... and HTCHomeSettings.xml and then all files in \Windows\ManilaGFX
----
You need a proper file program, the one that's built into windows mobile is pants. It can't overwrite files in rom or read only.
I'm presuming since you have an athena you know something about windows mobile, these aren't novice devices, if you don't then I'd really really advise you to do some reading.
For the sake of ease, download total commander, it's free and very powerful, search the forum using the search at the top and you'll find millions of links to it.
In /windows folder after installing the original m2d (not the VGA version) using total commander, select SHOW>select/unselect files> type in hh* and everything beginning with those will appear selected, While they are selected (highlighted) press FILE>properties and untick the readonly box.
Do the same to all the files in /windows/manillagfx
Now open where ever you saved the vga files and copy the entire lot across to windows, and accept overwrite all
@fards thx a lot.. very detailed description so even I managed to install manila 2d
TF2D Feedback
Moderator - I am posting here as my comments are based on use on X7501 with factory ROM, if this is an incorrect place please mirror to appropriate section - there are too many to choose from!
First impression on update 20 - EXCELLENT WORK EVERYONE!
Overall device performce only slightly reduced, all programs work as before, touchflo finger slider on bottom works very smoothly.
The Home, People, Messages, Mail, Weather, Maps Search, Settings and Programs Tabs ALL work Perfectly!
Feedback for next update on Tabs.
Internet - Can a GUI selection of browser be incorporated so registry edit is not necessary to change default browser? So one can choose IE, factory Opera or other.
Photos and Videos - Pictures do not flip with finger swipe & picture takes up one quarter of frame
Audio Manager - Library and Player screen uses only top left quarter of screen, the rest is scrambled static in library and black in player. In Library, the text does not refresh in static area, and piles up into solid bar. Would it be easier (or possible) to simply link to media player 10 like HTC Home, get rid of audio manager, then redundant software is not needed?
With these updates it would work perfectly as if OEM.
Are you running successfully in Landscape?
Hi anx7501. I have a x7510 and have also loaded the Manila ver 20 and then pijulius TouchFlo for VGA devices over the top. However, I have had limited success in getting the screen to show as I would like in landscape.
Beacuse of the size of the clock and lack of space in landscape I've been trying to recode the HTCHomeSettings.xml so that Alarm, Call History and Calendar will all continue to show in Portrait, but only Calendar shows in Landscape leaving room for the Tabs along the bottom. I have atempted to do that by editing the lines for Alarm and Call History by inserting zeros thus: <Property name="IDHMWG_MISSEDCALLBTN_RECT" id="30" value="24,304,456,364, 0,0,0,0" /> but alas it is not working.
Have you managed to "crack the code" on this, or come up with an alternative solution - maybe a smaller clock?
Also have you found any alternative skins that will brighten up the device from the basic black?
Finally for some reason my Brightness slider is stuck in the left position. I don't remember this being the case when I had Manila ver 17 loaded. Does your slider work OK?
Hi robjhellis,
Regarding the landscape issue, because this was created for device like diamond with puny screen, it was intended for portrait so I haven't bothered to play with it, also landscape requires an extensive redraw in addition to resizing - I just don't have the time. Though someone in another thread has already resized M2D to work in landscape; however, I don't remember if it was for QVGA or VGA, when I find it again I will post the link here.
Try looking at this for landscape mode.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=436753&highlight=m2d+landscape
I have a Mugen Power 2400 mha battery which lasts a full day, sometimes a little more, with factory ROM. With M2D installed, it chewed through the battery in half a day so for that reason I didn't adjust the brightness and left it alone. The programs I concentrated on were graphic intensive like Adobe reader and dwf viewer. After a few days of only half-day use between recharge, I hard reset and went back to HTC-Home VGA which provides similar tabs (weather, programs), dosen't chew through the battery and works in landscape. I think that because of the difference between devices with factory TF2D - ours has to max out CPU & GPU to operate smooth killing the battery. Short of creating new video driver specifically for our ATI chip, I don't think there's a workaround - btw how's your battery life?
There is a thread in Development and Hacking with M2D skins posted, try there and see if you find something you like.
I really like what I saw and admire the work evryone did, but I rely on my advantage heavily and didn't want to have to recharge or change battery at lunch - sadly I had to drop it. Hope you had/have better luck with yours.
Thanks for your follow-up. I discoverd that the Brightness slider issue was a known bug for vers. 20 & 21 of manila. A fix patch has been created and appended to post 2 (the fixes post) on the manila thread.
As for mbarvian's work on landscape, whilst its great work it does not appear to do anything for us on the VGA advantage/athena. With nthe keyboard attached I can use the left and right arrow keys to move between pages so that is a definate work around to not havig the tabs showing.
hey do you guys know how to install touch flo on the att 8125
JD's Kitchen & ROMS
First off let me say thanks to Conflipper Merdinh Mindfrost82 Scrosler DCD and DA_G !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Instructions: Unpack to your desktop, in the Kitchen folder there will be a batch file , click on the play button ... when it is done close out of it ... the batch file will finish the the update utility will start .... place phone in bootloader mode then flash
Warning:
YOU MUST HAVE YOUR PHONE UNLOCKED TO USE THIS ......
HOW TO UNLOCK: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=42503 (Please Read Carefully)
ROM: 1.03.651.4
Known Issues-
Not Known
*Kitchen* DOWNLOAD: http://www.sendspace.com/file/bt86bb 21169 kitchen v4 *Kitchen v4* 3-04-09 (WinMo 6.5) (CURRENT)
*Mirror* (Thanks zero157h7) http://www.blakemitchellweb.com/jd/J...20Betakit3.rar 2-26-09 (old)
*ROM* DOWNLOAD: http://www.sendspace.com/file/731apf 21169 v4 ROM *ROM*v4.1 (WinMo 6.5) 3-04-09 (Most Current)
IF YOU CHOOSE TO BUILD OFF THIS ROM AND DECIDE TO POST IT PLEASE THANK ME
Don't know how to flash: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=43266
Warning:
You and only you, are responsible for any changes you make to your PDA .... Flashing ROMs is a risk that you take that can potentially cause damage to the PDA ... I and the good people here will NOT be held responsible for such damage if it occurs .......
JD's Kitchen (WinMo 6.5)
Whats Included:
HTC Album
Total Commander
dciBattery
acb BT Toggle
PsXPShut
Teeter
Audio Booster
Audio Manager
Quick GPS
Voice Recorder
MP3 Trimmer
HTC Zip
MS Office
Adobe Reader
BT Printing Drivers
BT FTP
RSS HUB
JAVA
Streaming Media
Voice Command
Windows Live
HTC EZInput
HTC Xt9
HTC Taskmanager
Manila (with HD Contact Tab)
Manila (GSM OEM)
Opera 15954
Opera 15316
HTC Calculator
HTC Endkey (jd's Skin)
Random Access
LockStream DRM
WorldCard BCR
Sprite Backup
YouTube
CHANGE LOGS
2-18-09
(WinMo 6.5)
Initial Release
2-21-09
(WinMo 6.5)
Removed everything that depends on touchscrolling
added cachefilter.dll back in XIP
removed PhoneCanvas
Changed some settings
2-23-09
(WinMo 6.5)
Fixed issues with installing apps freezing the ROM
Filed touchrecognizer,PhysicsEngine,Ianimate from modules
Fixed message notification (thanks Mindfrost82)
2-26-09
speed up start screen
removed Ianimate.dll
remade kitchen
3-03-09
Base 21169.5.0.0
Removed youtube
Re-added Youtube
3-04-09
Found a true Dogfood build of 21169 (much better)
added YouTube back into kitchen
improved xip
Cleaned up kitchen a bit
ITS FINAL (until a new build comes)
Downloading now JD. I have high hopes for this.
cool JD
does the start menu work in this kitchen? or when you press the start does only the titanium honey comb pop up?
thanks
This is a copy and paste from my blog on thoughts on this rom and 6.5.
http://www.blakemitchellweb.com/blog/?p=31
I use an HTC Touch Pro and recently installed a custom rom running Windows Mobile 6.5. This particular rom was made by Jakdillard and posted at XDA devs. I am not sure about too much of the information as to what parts are used from 6.5 and 6.1. First off I will say that I installed and let customization run first. This had TF3D install and I wanted to get more of a feel for sliding panels. When I disabled TF3D and reenabled Titanium (Thiis the name for sliding panels) it never launched. I thought that there may have been a problem so I did a clear storage. Installation went on again and I did a soft reset during customization. Upon doing this it started back like I had done a clear storage again. This time I let customization run again, did the disable of TF3D and reenabling of Titanium and once again nothing happened but after doing a soft reset titanium was up.
So the performance is pretty wretched. It lags a lot but it is usable. I was able to perform a phone call, get on the internet using the new version of IE, set up google sync in activesync and synced my calendar and contacts, installed and set up funambol for push email, installed amaze gps and was able to get a lock, use wifi, and browsed through pretty much everything. I installed Diamond Tweak and enable some of the tweaks that improve performance but did not see any improvement. When I had IE open my memory was at 85% and it dropped to 37% when I closed it so it is a bit of a memory hog.The new menus are pretty nice and do improve the finger friendliness of the ROM.I like the transparent softkeys and start bar visually, and I like the new honeycomb start menu, although I think it could have been more visually stimulating. Also, We are able to edit the icons that we use on the start bar like we could before and it does not do anything to mess up the new transparent start bar. I installed this cab by tsowen from ppcgeeks and it looks good.
Sliding panels seems pretty nice but there is also a but of a let down. Many people will prefer TF3D or one of the other plethora of shells that can be used on the today screen. Like many of the others shells and today plugins you can't use any other today plugins with this one. I like the look of the sliding panels but the let down comes from the lack of customization straight out of the box. If I could change it I would have sliding panels have each individual setting able to be disabled (i.e. I do not use text messaging because I use email. I would do away with the SMS panel.) Also it is missing some features that are getting integrated into other options. If sliding panels had the ability for developers to develop plugins to cover some of the other areas it would be phenomenal. It is missing some things like weather, rss, im, facebook, and stocks.
I am going to keep running this ROM for another day at least to get a little more familiar. Hopefully I will get a chance to make some screenshots, install second today and see how they play together.
jarlaxle said:
This is a copy and paste from my blog on thoughts on this rom and 6.5.
http://www.blakemitchellweb.com/blog/?p=31
I use an HTC Touch Pro and recently installed a custom rom running Windows Mobile 6.5. This particular rom was made by Jakdillard and posted at XDA devs. I am not sure about too much of the information as to what parts are used from 6.5 and 6.1. First off I will say that I installed and let customization run first. This had TF3D install and I wanted to get more of a feel for sliding panels. When I disabled TF3D and reenabled Titanium (Thiis the name for sliding panels) it never launched. I thought that there may have been a problem so I did a clear storage. Installation went on again and I did a soft reset during customization. Upon doing this it started back like I had done a clear storage again. This time I let customization run again, did the disable of TF3D and reenabling of Titanium and once again nothing happened but after doing a soft reset titanium was up.
So the performance is pretty wretched. It lags a lot but it is usable. I was able to perform a phone call, get on the internet using the new version of IE, set up google sync in activesync and synced my calendar and contacts, installed and set up funambol for push email, installed amaze gps and was able to get a lock, use wifi, and browsed through pretty much everything. I installed Diamond Tweak and enable some of the tweaks that improve performance but did not see any improvement. When I had IE open my memory was at 85% and it dropped to 37% when I closed it so it is a bit of a memory hog.The new menus are pretty nice and do improve the finger friendliness of the ROM.I like the transparent softkeys and start bar visually, and I like the new honeycomb start menu, although I think it could have been more visually stimulating. Also, We are able to edit the icons that we use on the start bar like we could before and it does not do anything to mess up the new transparent start bar. I installed this cab by tsowen from ppcgeeks and it looks good.
Sliding panels seems pretty nice but there is also a but of a let down. Many people will prefer TF3D or one of the other plethora of shells that can be used on the today screen. Like many of the others shells and today plugins you can't use any other today plugins with this one. I like the look of the sliding panels but the let down comes from the lack of customization straight out of the box. If I could change it I would have sliding panels have each individual setting able to be disabled (i.e. I do not use text messaging because I use email. I would do away with the SMS panel.) Also it is missing some features that are getting integrated into other options. If sliding panels had the ability for developers to develop plugins to cover some of the other areas it would be phenomenal. It is missing some things like weather, rss, im, facebook, and stocks.
I am going to keep running this ROM for another day at least to get a little more familiar. Hopefully I will get a chance to make some screenshots, install second today and see how they play together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
next time when you switch from tf3d to titanium soft reset
That is what I did the last time I changed over. By the way, I have not said thanks so thanks.
jarlaxle said:
That is what I did the last time I changed over. By the way, I have not said thanks so thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no Problem you can find more updates for this over and www.ppcgeeks.com that is where I generally post
Yeah, I post there more often than here, but had not noticed that it was there until seeing it here and going there to look for it. I thought it was strange that it was here and not there and once I got there I realized you had it in that thread but it did not say 6.5 in the first post (or I overlooked it.) Anyway, I will keep a close eye on that thread.
This a good rom pretty pretty sexy lol ummm i understand its extreme beta an its good i hope yall guys keep doing it up an making it right...yall guys should work for microsoft an htc lol
I have been using Da_g's 6.5 beta 8 for almost a week now and LOVE it. I made the modification to the cpr files to make Titanium a little smoother and more responsive. But the only issues I am left with is when switching from portrait to landscape my phone messes up the image on my homescreen. It clips it and warps it a little. I can fix it by disabling and re enabling titanium or a soft reset.
It always comes back though - does this rom do that?
Also when using RSS hub sometimes the device hangs for up to a minute. On this 6.5. I did not have this on NATF's 4.3 before.
Any help would be appreciated!
http://www.askTheAdmin.com
Very Happy with it.
Except for memory and slight performance tweaking this build has been working great for me on my sprint touch pro.
Thanks to jakdillard and others who developed this.
Some screen grabs would rock my world. TIA
hot my blog on the first page there are several although with my own background image and different icons.
updated .......
Hey JD.. So far I'm loving the ROM, especially placing manila into it.. no bugs as seen yet, enjoying, titanium bars, honeycomb, black diamond theme, facebook/netflix, new IE and just want to say thank you for your hard work. I will be rockin this 21169 v4 ROM *ROM*v4.1 for a while =D>
Well Done Bro,
God Bless
(as posted in PPCGeeks)
GODZSON said:
Hey JD.. So far I'm loving the ROM, especially placing manila into it.. no bugs as seen yet, enjoying, titanium bars, honeycomb, black diamond theme, facebook/netflix, new IE and just want to say thank you for your hard work. I will be rockin this 21169 v4 ROM *ROM*v4.1 for a while =D>
Well Done Bro,
God Bless
(as posted in PPCGeeks)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does performance compare to the 6.1 custom roms?
been some time since i have used a custom ROM... def. not on my TP but I have on my previous phones, "Mogul" and 6700... excited to give this a shot... post results soon
hairdewx said:
How does performance compare to the 6.1 custom roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perfomance is good, Touchflo is slow but that's a normality with .5 till a new version comes out.. other than that this is a nice ROM compared to others
stuck on align screen config page
after install kitchen rom, i am stuck on the align screen page. i tap on the + but it does not register. random circular motions cause it to advance to next location of + but it just repeats.
suggestions?
EDIT-
problem on my device is not limited to this rom:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=490567
edit-
a couple of hard resets later and it seems to be working. weird quirk?
In any case, great rom.
Universal CDMA, Sprint, or Verizon?
I haven't seen anything posted saying this is carrier specific. Or what radio is compatible with it.
Can someone elaborate on that?
Hey guys, I'm looking for a calculator for windows mobile 6.5 QVGA (shareware or freeware) that is:
1. Finger friendly
2. Display the calculation in 2 line, first line show what I input (for example 98/(10+3+15)), and the 2nd line show result, just like Hicalc from PPClink
3. Save recent calculations
I want it to save the whole calculation and result, like 98/(10+3+15)=3.5
So it's like Hicalc Arithmetic mode, plus the ability to save recent calculations
Spacetime is good and it save calculations but it's not finger friendly, very hard to enter data on my small QVGA screen
If anyone know about a calculator like this please let me know. Thanks a lot
I think what you want is IGCalc. It's a skinnable calc that does exactly what you are asking for.
probably bit more than you are asking for, but take a look at SpaceTime
SpaceTime has many nice features, the only problem for me is the small buttons (my screen is QVGA), but I still install it in case I need some advance calculations
IGCalc is great, it does just what I want thanks a lot Ummagumma
It even has some nice skins and functions
I search in freewarepocketpc and try googling all day but couldn't find what I want, but IGCalc is really the one, you did me a great favor.
(Sites that have IGCalc are in Russian, no wonder I couldn't find it )
For those who want it, here is the link:
http://4pda.info/news/2220/
You're welcome. There are some very beautiful skins for it, the default one is kind of fugly. Just make a search for "IGCalc Skins".
Yes, I found some nice skins in this topic:
http://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=113415
Took me a while to register on 4pda.ru, but worth it
the java fx for wm dev includes an awesome touch calculator-
JavaFX Mobile - At a Glance
JavaFX Mobile is a complete application platform for mobile devices
@:java.sun.com/javafx/mobile
I have a new Sprint Touch Pro 2 with 6.5 and 2.5, stock ROM. The Today screen works. However, as a smart phone, it really isn't usable as-is. There is a total of 9 quicklinks, and the start menu is a mess. If you move things in the start menu, you break the quicklinks, so best to leave things where they land. Whatever it is that works to organize the interface needs to show unread e-mails, voice mails, and texts on the home/today screen, and a link to contacts, not that lame people thing. I get around this with the stock interface by dropping people out of the slider and pointing one of the top quicklinks to contacts. When I click on a new text message from the slider, it's pretty clumsey if you ask me. I have to look around for delete all etc. Lots of mouse clicks. I've been looking around at the likely suspects and would value your input.
Edit:
1. SPB Mobile Shell 3.5: I installed it for the third time and worked with it. My impression is that it is more about personalization and special effects. My impression is the pieces are not logically woven together to create an environment. First there is the home tab, with exactly 3 home pages, one left, and one right. There are a collection widgets that I can put on them. Second, there is a launcher. The Launcher has some impressive graphics for launching things. However, is seems to represent their concept of organizing the Start Menu into folders. You can see them if you click on the Start Menu. To me, it was confusing. The third area is the Carousel. It is very nice idea for organizing things, but it's pretty much pre-defined. I won't be coming back here because it doesn't match my needs or organizing the many apps the way I want to. It's easy on memory, 42%.
2. I worked with iPhoneToday, today. It has things like voicemail, e-mail, texts, etc. on a bottom row which does not scroll, so the important stuff is always visible. It's perfect for organization. You can add home screens at will and even label then on the top. You can change programs and the tabs they use. You can point them at the .exes or the shortcuts in the Start menu. You change the icon spacing and even have them scale to get more on a line. It's the easiest on RAM coming in at 39%. From an appearance standpoint, they really try. True to it's name, it closely resembles the iPhone. (Rubic's Cube) It uses the same size square icons for everything from volume, battery, etc., to e-mail, texts, etc. It just puts a number on the cube. You look around a bit to find what you want. It would look pretty good to someone who hasn't seen Sense. There are not real docs. The basics your will figure out by simply guessing. The other types of formatting are not as straightforward as CHT. The best source I've found is the wiki http://iphonetoday.wikidot.com/the-menus and to ask questions on the thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=633618 where people have been very responsive and helpful. Before I tried it, I just thought it was for iPhone wanabes. Not so. Unlike Sense and Mobile Shell, it is in fact a very well thought out environment when you're looking to use your phone as a single device to organize your world.
3. CHT 2.0: Sense by itself doesn't make any sense. Since people have been hammering me to try CHT, I've been following the CHT threads, 1.85 and 2.0. Normally, it makes sense to go with the newer one because that is where development would be, but my concern is the new 2.0 seems to have worn out the Cookie Monster, and he would be too worn out to support it. However, I decided to try 2.0 since the he wrote every line was gone through and made squeaky clean, and he did stick around long enough to wean the product.
Of the hundreds of posts I read, many say it's pretty resource intensive, and not so good for multi-taskers. (Like me) That makes sense, since it adds functionality to the an already pretty good size Sense UI, so that became my expectation. I started thinking that if it adds say 10%, it would make sense that things would get shaky, pretty quickly. Thus it made sense to test before and after adding CHT. The percent RAM usage came in at exactly 52%, and remained there even after using it for awhile. Since iPhoneToday can be run inside Sense, I'm doing that now. What doesn't make sense is it only requires an additional 2% of RAM.
As for multi-tasking, I'm running out of porkers to load and I'm at 72%. (See attached images) After these screen shots I added Oprah and iPhoneToday, which is a UI on top of a UI. After playing around, I was able to get it to 77%. That's more apps than a 5 person office runs at a time. It still loads things fast. Initially, I thought scrolling perhaps was degraded slightly, but later I did before and after and even that wasn't affected. Maybe I don't have to worry.
As for the CHT UI, I read the User's Manual. It's only 12 pages, and 1/3 has to do with installing it. It's simple enough to where if you read it once to understand the paradigm it uses, you won't need to refer to again. I plan to run iPhoneToday inside of Sense/CHT and organize both to see which I like the best.
Edit It was tough to choose between Cookies Home Tab 2.0, AKA CHT 2.0, and iPhoneToday. You can't lose with either because the struggle is to pick the best of the best, rather than pick your poison. iPhoneToday is light, fast, and smooth. It would win if I were a fan of the iPhone interface, but I'm not a fan of anything except functionality and efficiency. In the end I went with Cookies Home Tab 2.0 for these reasons.
- It allows me to use widgets, and place them wherever I need.
- It allows me to place quicklinks called FreeLinks anywhere
- It allows me to have levels (scroll up and down) as well as pages (scroll side to side)
- If it doesn't support what you want directly, you can indirectly. Example: Let's say you want QuickLinks on all of your pages, line the iPhone, but not on the home screen where you have your clock weather. Just make the upper rows on your home screen invisible. Lets say you want one row of QuickLinks to be the same on every page. Simply pin them.
- There is no practical limitation that I've found as to how you arrange things. I can't say that about anything else I've tried.
- Configuration is easier to understand. The book is only 12 pages, 1/3 is install, another 1/3 is common sense, and the other 1/3 tells doesn't lead you step by step, it gives you the concept of operation. Because of that, once you read it, you'll never have to refer back to the manual.
I may not have gotten any help from the thread this time around, but other threads and people here have helped me plenty. Apparently, it was my turn to give back.
Enjoy!
PS: I also played with ThrottleLauncher and the WP7 clone. It didn't make the cut because its organizational capabilities are far too limited for someone like me (IT Architect) who has lots of apps. It's more for people who's life revolves around a close group of friends, music, and social networking. This is not a problem with ThrottleLauncher itself, but rather the design of the WP7 architecture. The real phone has the same problem.