As reported by ScareBear on WinCustomize, a new build of WinStep's skinnable tab-bar shaped app launcher thingy, WorkShelf, was released last week.

This build seems to be primarily focused on speed-ups.

“The new beta mainly tackles a serious complaint about Workshelf: the apparent lack of speed when switching to highly populated shelves. There is a very good reason why WorkShelf can be a bit slower opening some shelves than most docks out there: it did (and does) things that no other dock can. [...]

Other features in WorkShelf v1.80 beta include:

• WorkShelf now permits simultaneous internet connections for all modules and Internet functions.

• The Email Checker module can now work over SSL connections. This also means the Email Checker can be used with Gmail accounts if you enable POP3 on that account.

• The Email Checker module now supports IMAP mail servers.

• The Email Checker tooltip now provides individual information about each of the mail servers being polled when you are using the module to monitor more than one email account.

• WorkShelf now uses it's own private clipboard format in drag & drop operations of WorkShelf objects. This means WorkShelf drag & drop data cannot be confused by other applications as drag & drop of straight text anymore.

• The 'Current Network Connections' window of the Net Meter module is now resizable.

• Icons are now cached on NT/Win2000/XP systems. This means that shelves now open instantly after you have accessed them once.

• Shelf icons and thumbnails of the currently open shelf that are not in view are never-the-less rendered on the background so that they are ready to be displayed when the user scrolls the shelf.

• If system icons change, WorkShelf now automatically refreshes the currently open shelf so that any icon changes can be reflected.”

Curious how slow news can spread. || craeonics | comments (3)

This weekend DevArt's DeviantSummit will take place in Los Angeles. Why is this interesting? It is interesting because it is the first time, as far as I know, that there is going to be a convention organised by a website where the Noble Art of Skinning plays a role. So you might even run into real skinners in the flesh in there.

Unfortunately it is only a small role, but a little is better than nothing.

“deviantART is throwing a massive event for deviants at the world famous Hollywood Palladium. The emphasis of the event is to help educate aspiring artists on how to break in to the big time with their art.

From ANIME to LITERATURE, DIGITAL ART to GRAFFITI, PHOTOGRAPHY to PIXEL ART and everything in between we're going to recreate what takes place on deviantART.com every single day of the year, in a massive gathering of the truly devious!”

Among the events there will be the so-called ‘DeviantArt Academy’, which will hold classes on a number of subjects. Two of those have struck my eye.

The first is “Artwork for Computer Software Applications“ …which is marketing speak for skinning, hosted by froggles himself:

“This panel will discuss the growing opportunities in creating custom user interface designs for applications, games, widgets, and gadgets. Microsoft's next generation version of Windows, code-named "Longhorn" will be expanding these opportunities with new technologies that lend themselves to graphic-intensive user interface designs.”

And the other one is “Beyond ASCII: The Art of Textmode”, primarily interesting to me because I have this thing with ASCII (used to abuse typewriters to create ASCII art long before I was aware of this ‘internet’):

“Christian Wirth, more commonly known as RaD Man, from the renowned art group ACiD will be giving a multimedia presentation on one of the key roots of art on the Internet - text art. Stemming back to the days of dial-in bulletin board systems that predated the World Wide Web at large, Beyond ASCII: The Art Of Textmode is a look back at this historical branch of digital art that continues to thrive even today.”

So where's Tek in all of this? Well, I could hold a speech on why ‘defiance’ and ‘masses’ don't mix and how skinning should remain underground, but the truth of the matter is that the Earth is round and I live on the other side and while Doreen does live in L.A., she isn't interested in going. At least not alone.

Had we come, we would have had a booth (for what purpose I do not know) and been on panels and what not, and would have made total fools out of both ourselves and the audience, so perhaps it is for the best that we're not there.

For those of you that are going, have fun. || craeonics | comments (22)

And all of a sudden there was a new LiteStep branch, SideStep 0.24.71 by hollow. Although, all of a sudden, I can recall sryo mentioning this some moons ago. Perhaps it's the same thing.

This branch, based on the third 0.24.7 release candidate, adds some eyecandy functions to LiteStep which could spice things up considerably.

“In the tradition of retaining the 'step' in the name of derivative works, I give you Sidestep 0.24.71.

New features include,

• Creating images from the step.rc

• Color themes

• jpg, gif, emf/wmf, tif + png, bmp loading

• some other stuff … look at the readme.

• Download: http://eric.redtetrahedron.org/

• Readme: http://eric.redtetrahedron.org/readme.htm

Source download will be up sometime tomorrow.”

The image creation bit is interesting since it allows you to create images straight from the configuration file of any module, without requiring any alteration to that module itself.

And while I'm stealing news from blizzle again, there are also two new LiteStep sites: LS-Themes.org and a LiteStep Wiki. Much needed, for LiteStep related sites have become scarce lately. || craeonics | comments (3)