[proaudio] Me, fvwm-crystal and the overlay

[Dominique Michel <dominique.michel@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

I don't have much time to work on the overlay. I recently become admin for
FVWM-Crystal. http://fvwm-crystal.org

For those that don't know what this is, fvwm-crystal is a desktop environment
based on fvwm. Or an ensemble of themes for fvwm that turn it into a desktop
environment. It is not different from fvwm.

The minus are:
- No gui for the preferences because fvwm is something like a high level
interface for X for someone that don't want to learn the C/C++. It is just too
many options for a configuration gui to be something useful.

- Not as much integration that with a de like kde.

- No 3D

- No real transparency

The plus are:

- Fast, fast and fast

- Stable

.. Configuration capability only limited by the imagination

- Preferences in the main menu (fvwm-crystal)

- No 3D that will eat the power

- Working environment from the first run (fvwm-crystal) 

- optional gnome-session management.

About that gnome-session management, I will try to made something internal to
fvwm for that because I get some troubles with gnome-session in the past when
upgrading gnome-session. Crystal don't really need it because it is already a
preference file where we can add any application we want to load at start time.
It is also some functions into fvwm that can be used to implement more advanced
session management functions into fvwm-crystal. 

I am currently at the begining of the creation of a new fvwm-crystal recipe
(theme) based on the look of the AmigaOS.
http://img528.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot200804301829lv0.png
An Amiga was my first real computer when the PC was only running DOS. I liked
its simplicity, efficiency, stability and power. It is still today for me, the
reference about what an OS must look like and how it must work. Linux is great,
but it is just at least 1000 time more complicated to understand and to setup.

Because of fvwm versatility and fvwm-crystal advanced capabilities, I am sure
that it can be used to made almost any environment someone can think about, and
that environment will just work from the first run.

Some parts of this new recipe are already working like the top bar. I also want
to have a bottom bar. How I see it is that the top bar will be for the general
system functions like the menu, the trayer, the windows list, a clock and the
pager, when the bottom bar will be for more specific functions like an audio
button.

What I am interested to know from you is what kind of functions you would see
in that bottom bar, and that for an audio pro box.

Those functions would be available from the first run, directly or via some
preferences option in the menu.

It is 2 constraints: 
   1) I don't want to reinvent the well so function like a lash control will not
be implemented as we already have it into the trayer. But if some lash related
function can add something useful and non avaible, I will look if and how it can
be done.
   2) I don't want to made a fvwm-crystal fork, so new functions will be
implemented via a preferences option if they are not of general interest but
specific to an audio-pro workstation.

Those new functions can be anything you can think about from new player controls
for the audio button to whole new functions.
 
Cheers,
Dominique

-- 
Dominique Michel

Mes 3 projets préférés auxquels je contribue:
 * FVWM-Crystal, le bureau basé sur FVWM:
      http://fvwm-crystal.org
 * AlsaPlayer, le lecteur audio avec contrôle de vitesse en continu:
      www.alsaplayer.org
 * L'overlay pour la MAO sous gentoo:
      http://proaudio.tuxfamily.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page