KolibriOS and Application

Post here questions, problems and suggestions in English language
  • Hello Eddie,

    Thanks for coming, we really appreciate that. Now what's about your questions:

    1. Sorry but it is how it is, at least for now. Development is mostly held by Russian-speaking programmers (there're several exceptions like derPENGUIN (who's from Germany too), hidnplayr (Belgium) and others) so there's no surprise for me they wanna speak their language as they understand it better. Me and some other people try to break the wall from time to time, but with no success yet :)

    2. It would be great if you describe this a bit deeper. Which videomodes have you tried, have you also tried (or would you be so kind to try) to turn off VRR option? Please, be more specific as we can't help you with no valuable info.

    3. Right from Menuet which you have used already, there's an application called Tinypad which is a simple text editor. It has been significantly improved and although it has no these two features you need, I would be glad to add them if it would make your life easier. Office application you're talking about is in the very early stage of development and there's even no any test version to try out.

    4. Multilingual support is limited. The only way you can get applications with Deutsch interface is to recompile them all. The (really) small problem is that not all applications are translated. With the next upcoming distro, 0.7.3.0, we'll definitely upload Deutsch archives also.

    Hope I helped :)
    in code we trust
  • Hello Mike, thank you for your fast response.
    mike.dld wrote: 1. Sorry but it is how it is, at least for now. Development is mostly held by Russian-speaking programmers (there're several exceptions like derPENGUIN (who's from Germany too), hidnplayr (Belgium) and others) so there's no surprise for me they wanna speak their language as they understand it better. Me and some other people try to break the wall from time to time, but with no success yet :)
    OK, it wasn´t in my mind to criticise it and maybee it was understoud wrong, but hopefully it will be a good start.
    I do not expect that there will be a "german-language-based" forum, if the main job to such a kind of solution is done from others or like yours mostly based in russia, but it was hard for me to visit the english forum and was confrontated with a language hard to understand for me... don´t worry, you are kindly gave me some answer and I will count on this beginning.
    2. It would be great if you describe this a bit deeper. Which videomodes have you tried, have you also tried (or would you be so kind to try) to turn off VRR option? Please, be more specific as we can't help you with no valuable info.
    I will write the results from my different tries down and pass a report in this post so hopefully it will be a good description to analyse the "fault" or to be able to find a solution for it.
    3. Right from Menuet which you have used already, there's an application called Tinypad which is a simple text editor. It has been significantly improved and although it has no these two features you need, I would be glad to add them if it would make your life easier. Office application you're talking about is in the very early stage of development and there's even no any test version to try out.
    Yeah, I tried to get the new version of Tinypad running under MenuetOS 0.85 but without success.
    If you can handle some nice more features to Tinypad, that would be great, but first of all, let me (us) try to get KolibriOS runnung under my units. I am interesting in getting this stuff running under two of my ThinClients and under two Notebooks. After that I am more able to test different combinations and the software inside to bring in some points of view.
    4. Multilingual support is limited. The only way you can get applications with Deutsch interface is to recompile them all. The (really) small problem is that not all applications are translated. With the next upcoming distro, 0.7.3.0, we'll definitely upload Deutsch archives also.
    Same as with the spoken (written) language. I know this and MenuetOS was in english too and not german, but I could switched to a german keyboard and mostly that will be enough in the beginning. I had strange problems for switching to that, because the controll panel of the stuff I could get aware of, was in russia language.
    A point, which maybe should be helpful, would be an external language file for the APPS, this one could be translatet into foreign languages and the the hole APP do not need to be recompiled for a specific language (ONLY if this kind is possible with the development tools).
    If you will need help in translation and I am getting my unit up and running, I will be helpful in this, but remember, I can be helpful in translation from english to german but not from russia to german (grr, and I do not find the time to learn this nice language).

    So, if I can place some point of expansions to Tinypad, I will do a list of useful thinks for sure.

    Thanks a lot for HINTS and HELP,
    Eddie
  • OK, here I am.

    The HINT with VRR:off was working well and now I can start without any problems, but only up to 1.024x768.
    Is it possible to implement other modes too, e.g. 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768 with 256 Color and the same with less than 16MIO?

    The Compaq Notebook is only able to use 640x460 with 16colors, but it look terrible and need some SKIN modification. The speed is good and all is working.
    I will do some more detail test now with the hole set of applications, but a lot it missing for all-day use and hope this will come, to bring up this nice OS more popular.

    There are comming up some more questions related to KolibriOS, would this the best place to discuss them?

    Kindly Regards,
    Eddie
  • As for VESA, only 24bit and 32bit modes are supported by now.
    (and VGA modes 320x240 256 colors, 480x640 16 colors)
    Other modes need some work right now.
    I personally think the VGA mode (especially the 16 color one) would look a lot nicer if we actually dithered an 32 bit image into it using floyd-steinbergh or something like that. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dither)

    Yes, you can discuss all your kolibrios needs here (or live, on IRC)
    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." Albert Einstein
  • Hey Eddie,

    Could you please also run this [7z|zip] utility (redirecting the output to some file) and send the file to me or post it right here. The utility outputs video modes you can set up with VESA interface on your PC. You'll have to press any key after 1-2 seconds since the program is user-interactive.

    Regards
    in code we trust
  • sure I will do it, but it will take 1-2 days, because I actually repair a hole networt and do not find the time for it.

    between I will place some questions for "KolibroOS".

    - are there any kind of functionallity in combination with printers right now?
    : if yes, what kind of printers are supported?
    - what kind of hdd-fileformat comes with KolibriOS or does it use its own format?
    - is it possible to install "KolibriOS" with it own file-format and are the apps possible to store dynamical data on it?
    - are there plans to integrate different file-formats with the OS itself?
    - who is in charge of the development or who takes care about it (coordination, etc.)?
    - what is the general target with this OS, are there any plans?

    Related to the EDITOR, maybee TinyPad:
    - is it possible to use it as a plain TEXT Editor with RTF-abilities?
    - is it possible to integrate a RTF im-/export?
    as I can see, Tinypad is well done as an editor for ASM programming, is it possible to safe plain TEXT ASCii files with it and/or some other formats?

    Kindly Regards,
    Eddie
  • KEddie wrote:sure I will do it, but it will take 1-2 days, because I actually repair a hole networt and do not find the time for it.
    Thanks.
    KEddie wrote:- are there any kind of functionallity in combination with printers right now?
    : if yes, what kind of printers are supported?
    There's now no any printing support in Kolibri. There were some experiments on using Epson/HP printers but they are currently discontinued.
    KEddie wrote:- what kind of hdd-fileformat comes with KolibriOS or does it use its own format?
    Kolibri has no it's own file system implemented but has support for FAT12/16/32 and limited support for NTFS.
    KEddie wrote:- is it possible to install "KolibriOS" with it own file-format and are the apps possible to store dynamical data on it?
    I don't quite understand what do you mean by "file-format" but here's what I think is the answer :) Kolibri uses two storage types. First one is RAM-disk which is created each time it boots up with all the files from floppy/image loaded into it. Second one is your hard drive which is a static storage and could be used to save anything you need.
    KEddie wrote:- are there plans to integrate different file-formats with the OS itself?
    Once again. If you're talking about file systems, I guess the answer is above. If you're talking about file formats (which are graphics, text, binary formats) then we have support for BMP, GIF, PNG, JPEG, TXT, INI and some other. I can't list them all and you certainly have to reformulate your question ;)
    KEddie wrote:- who is in charge of the development or who takes care about it (coordination, etc.)?
    - what is the general target with this OS, are there any plans?
    Anyone who wants to develop is in charge. Currently, I think there's something like 5-10 comparely active developers. It's "by design" that we have almost no any coordination and thus no any specific plans. On the other hand, everyone who comes here has many ideas which we can't implement just because we don't want to or don't have enough time and people resources.
    KEddie wrote:Related to the EDITOR, maybee TinyPad:
    - is it possible to use it as a plain TEXT Editor with RTF-abilities?
    - is it possible to integrate a RTF im-/export?
    as I can see, Tinypad is well done as an editor for ASM programming, is it possible to safe plain TEXT ASCii files with it and/or some other formats?
    Only the first part is true. You can use it as a plain text editor (to load/save/edit any textual information) but there's no RTF support and I don't think it would be easy to add. On the other hand, I remember us having some kind of "RTF viewer" which could be a base of new editor application with extended features.

    Regards.
    in code we trust
  • Hello Mike,

    here are the results from my two units, I checkd with "KolibriOS".

    Compaq Notebook:
    CPU: P1 with 120MHz, 16MByte RAM, 1GByte HDD

    VESA BIOS detected
    VESA VBE Version 1.2
    VESA VBE Total Mem: 960 kB
    VESA VBE OEM: Cirrus Logic GD-7548 VGA

    enumerating vga-compatible video modes:
    +------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+
    | resolution | 4 | 8 | 15 | 16 | 24 | 32 |
    +------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+
    | 0640x0400 | - | + | - | - | - | - |
    | 0640x0480 | - | + | + | + | + | - |
    | 0800x0600 | + | + | + | + | - | - |
    | 1024x0768 | + | + | - | - | - | - |
    | 1280x1024 | + | - | - | - | - | - |
    +------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+

    WYSE ThinClient:
    CPU: Via C3 with 400MHz, 512MByte RAM, 128 MB CF-FLASH
    VESA BIOS detected
    VESA VBE Version 2.0
    VESA VBE Total Mem: 8192 kB
    VESA VBE OEM: Copyright 1998 TRIDENT MICROSYSTEMS INC.
    VESA VBE OEM Software Rev: 00.00
    VESA VBE OEM Vendor:
    VESA VBE OEM Product:
    VESA VBE OEM Product Rev:
    VESA VBE DDC supported
    VESA VBE DDC Level 3
    VESA VBE DDC transfer in appr. 1 sec.
    VESA VBE DDC read successfully
    Manufacturer: XER Model: 72B2 Serial#: 348521
    Year: 2004 Week: 48
    EDID Version: 1.3
    Analog Display Input, Input Voltage Level: undefined V
    Sync: SeparateSyncs
    Max H-Image Size [cm]: horiz.: 34 vert.: 27
    Gamma: 2.50
    DPMS capabilities: Off; RGB/Color Display

    enumerating vga-compatible video modes:
    +------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+
    | resolution | 4 | 8 | 15 | 16 | 24 | 32 |
    +------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+
    | 0640x0400 | - | + | - | - | - | - |
    | 0640x0480 | - | + | + | + | - | + |
    | 0800x0600 | + | + | + | + | - | + |
    | 1024x0768 | + | + | + | + | - | + |
    | 1280x1024 | + | + | + | + | - | - |
    +------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+

    I am booting "KolibriOS" from the ThinClient off the FLASH via booting plain MS-DOS and than starting the image via MEOSLOAD. With this I am comfortable able to run the OS and figured out the following, which I can not get working:

    I am not able to use the FAT16 partition for storing, I will get only FDD/1 HDD/1 as storage options.
    I was not able to get access to the FDD for changing SKINS.

    Everytime I start the OS itself, I will get 32BIT color, which are funny, but destroy the speed benefit of such a kind of great OS. That´s the reason, why I would be interesting in lover colors for this OS. In my opinion, it would be a great OS for systems out of date for the "normal" windows user and if there will be a groving in applications, that could be a very good alternative, but this will depend on the jobs, which need to be finished and as you dascripe, all of you will do this in the spare- and freetime.

    To find a solution regarding the Editor, this would be great, because with this, the hole OS would become a more practical tool for some all-day-use. Sure, with it, it must be possible to safe/read the work via FAT12/16/32 devices.

    Hope the VESA info will be usefull in any way.
    Eddie
  • @Mike

    with RTF support based on a "plain" ASCii Editor, I do not think about the RTF-format itself, that was mentioned with the question of a RTF im- or export.

    Under RTF I was thinking about formated text like a wordprocessor with "left, center, right, full justified", the possibility to use a "left" and "right" margin and somethink like first line indent. Based uppon pure ASCii, there is no need of using TrueType or other stuff, which need to calculate the space or using of proportional letters.
    It is only an idea, for using "KolibriOS" in that way. The only point with this, will be the possibility to safe the ASCii in a format, understandable for other OSes, e.g. DOS or Windows regarding the UNICODE characters.
    This I have in my mind, based uppon the information, that a working printer is not able to use right now.

    Kindly Regards,
    Eddie
  • KEddie wrote: I am not able to use the FAT16 partition for storing, I will get only FDD/1 HDD/1 as storage options.
    I was not able to get access to the FDD for changing SKINS.
    And what is in hdX/Y then ? :)
    In kolibrios Hd0 is the first hdd, hd1 is the second,..
    The number after the / represents the partition.
    So hd0/1/ is the first partition of the first harddisk.

    That FAT16 partition should work just fine :P
    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." Albert Einstein
  • I do get three options:
    RD, FD and HD0

    with HD0 I do have /1 folder

    under HD0 and /1 I can see nothing and if it is the primary HDD/partition, it should show me some files or directories, which I am not able to reach.
    The 128MB FLASH is formated under plain DOS with a FAT file-format.
  • The flash drive? I don't know, how Kolibri works with it.

    Try to create some files under Kolibri, save them in /hd0/1/, reboot and check result.

    And use 'file system' instead 'file format'
  • Who is online

    Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests