FriHost member proud of new widget!!

IceCreamTruck

I've created a solar system widget for Yahoo! widget engine (and possibly others) and it is called AstroTwister!

It's still in beta format, and it does have bugs, but it's working well enough for the first public beta release!!

If you know javascript or just want to have a cool solar system to add to your Yahoo! widgets, then come check out AstroTwister by IceCreamTruck (yours truely).

Go here - to download the latest version of the widget, but remember to check back for new versions this week!

Keep on rockin in the free world frihosters!

alkady

Can you explain me what these widgets are? It seems that these things are everywhere in Yahoo these days.

IceCreamTruck

Widgets are, in basic terms, stand alone web pages. They are web pages that you can view with only having to run a small, invisible, web browser.

The browser, be it yahoo! widget engine, opera, konfabulator, doesn't load the window, back, forward, home buttons, but instead takes you right to the content, and allows you to download and run a stand alone widget (basically a zipped, interactive, web page).

My widget displays the planets going around the sun relative to their planetary year (ie. mercury's year is only 88.9 days, venus is about 132, etc.) it's not interactive yet, but it does do a good job of letting you have planets swirl around on your desktop like an active background. It's just a toy, but I was sitting down with my friends little girl today, and I realized just how educational my widget really is. I'm working on making it more educational now.

Cheers, how that was a good description.

IceCreamTruck

The widget as now at version 1.1, and you guys really should check out all the cool changes I've made. I just submitted it to the Yahoo! Widget gallery, so I hope that it will make a good impression on the long time widget lovers there.

You can download a copy for yourself at my website - AstroTwister version 1.1

I've worked really hard, and it's all free for you guys, so please take a look and tell me what you think.

FREE THE INTERNET!!

cheh

ok, i have no idea what's going on but it sounds really interesting! Very Happy

i'll surely check it out. but tell me, where do i get this Yahoo! Widget Engine?

IceCreamTruck

If you have google desktop, then you can already do gadgets, and I've just completed the first beta version of AstroTwister for GD.

I shouldn't be giving you guys a sneek peek just yet, but if you promise to check back for updates then I will give you a link to the beta i'm working on for Google Desktop.

YOU MUST PROMISE TO CHECK MY SITE FOR UPDATES TO THIS BETA!!
beta link removed - email me at icecreamtruck@space.frih.net for a copy!

if for some reason you have trouble then right click the link and "save target as" either "AstroTwister_Google.gg" for the first link or "AstroTwister_Google.zip" for the second link on that page.

Gosh, I shouldn't be doing this, but I like you guys!!! ENJOY, and remember you promised to come back for updates, and bug fixes.

IceCreamTruck

BTW, if you want widgets then go to Yahoo! and type "yahoo widgets" in their search engine. Download and install Yahoo! Widget Engine. Then go to my link for my widget version of AstroTwister

If you want gadgets then go to google and type "Google Gadgets" in their search engine. download and install Google Desktop. Then download my sneek peek beta version of AstroTwister that I have made into a gadget.

Enjoy, and remember YOU PROMISED to come to my site and check for updates, and bug fixes!!

IceCreamTruck

OK, you guys!! Version 1.3 is now live for you to download - http://space.frih.net/AstroTwister_Widget.shtml

I've completely rewritten the code, and the AstroTwister Widget really runs quite nicely now. I've seen a 15% drop in CPU load now that a few key elements of javascript have been added, and I'm happy that I can run it very quickly (timer set at 4 times a second: ".25") and it doesn't interupt me working any more!! yeah!

So please come back and download this version as quickly as you can as the last version is no longer recomended for use. The older versions of the widget work well, but you absolutely must get ahold of the updated version 1.3 or the program will take about twice as long to open, twice as long for the planets to go around, and it doesn't have all of the cool new images! The planet images haven't been updated, but there are new images in the preferences for you to enjoy.

Well, I'm off to think about what else I need to be doing right now! So much to do, and so little time.

Cheers!

Code of Ruin

It certainly looks nice. I can see you put a lot of time into it. The coding is pretty good. It's very light on my cpu.

IceCreamTruck

I hope you got the new version, because it's much better code. Much lighter on the CPU then all the previous versions. Well, to be truthful, all the previous versions shared fundamental javascript code that was right, but not modern. I knew I needed to re-write the javascript and the xml so it would be more up to the times, so to speak, but I had so many features to get integrated that I kept putting it off.

Well, I went and rewrote the whole thing from beginning to end after I wrote a new javascript engine for it that uses classes and functions better than the last version, and the end product was a finely tuned machine that actually runs pretty well even on my old laptop. Some poeple might still have to tone it down a little (ie. set the clock higher) but most modern machines should be able to make the planets move like the blades on an electric fan. Wink

not quite, but almost!

it's been fun to develope. I guess I've known for quite some time how to develope them, but I didn't even know that widgets were on PC until about 5 weeks ago when I installed yahoo widgets.

Anyway, thanks for the comment! Do you develope any yourself? If you want I will send you the source for AstroTwister so you can take a peek, or you can download the "converter" widget and it will unzip it for you (not really a zip file, but close).

IceCreamTruck

My widget is now at VERSON 1.5!! So if you haven't caught the updated version, then you should.

I've added an analog clock plus a digital clock!

and there are a number of bug fixes from the last version, so check out all the latest features, and make sure to update so that you don't have a buggy version.

NOTE: the navigation bar still causes serious lag on some computers, so you should either disable this feature, or "save" widget preferences each time the widget starts to get past this known issue.