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View Full Version : Check Out This Animated System Info Tool

Brad Adrian
02-02-2003, 02:26 AM
<a href="http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&amp;platformId=2&amp;productType=2&amp;catalog=0&amp;amp;sectionId=0&amp;productId=54466">http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&amp;platformId=2&amp;productType=2&amp;catalog=0&amp;amp;sectionId=0&amp;productId=54466</a><br /><br />MagnetBee Software has just announced the release of this new System Information tool for your Today screen, WackyPack.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/adrian/wackypack.gif" /><br /><br />It shows all the basic stuff you might need to know, like battery level, RAM remaining, and so forth. And, if you tap on one of the icons, it launches that particular System application. The nifty thing is that WackyPack can easily be hidden and viewed by simply tapping the WackyPack icon. So, if you're one of those people who don't like a lot of Today screen clutter, you might want to go to the Handango! like above and download the free demo; the full version is only $9.95.<br /><br /><b>But wait!</b> There's more! Antoni at MagnetBee has offered to give away 10 free copies of WackyPack to Thoughts readers! We'll hold a random drawing from our list of readers. So, make sure you're <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/profile.php?mode=register">registered with this site</a>, and we'll hold the drawing in a couple of days.
PJE
02-02-2003, 02:57 AM
Am I the only one to find this a little TOO close to Battery Pack...

...Other than the sliding it seems a copy. Wouldn't that be infringing on the Battery Pack authors interlectual property rights?

I'm all for more software, but combining two product - Battery Pack and SideX into a single one seems a little off.

Also, does it still take up a slice of the Today Screen? If so what's the advantage other than hiding the information?

My 2c

UPDATE: It does take up a slice of the Today Screen... I'd save your money...

UPDATE 2: The backlight icon does nothing on my Axim, only the memory text takes me to the memory settings, neither the memory card or power icons do anything other than display the stats.
spursdude
02-02-2003, 03:28 AM
Also, does it still take up a slice of the Today Screen? If so what's the advantage other than hiding the information?

My thoughts exactly...if the space it frees up when closed is unusable, there doesn't seem to be a reason to ever close the tool.

Otherwise, looks like a pretty cool product, though.
heov
02-02-2003, 05:35 AM
and not to mention things like this just eat up your resources... I remember having Animated Today 2002 and it would suck up so much CPU resources it made my device unbearable... for some reason, today plugins are still active even when you're not on the today scree...

if you have a lot of today plugins, turn them off and do some operations... the speed improvement is very noticable. And when you add things such as this one (the animated ones, even battery pack sucks up cpu power), CPU resources go down (not RAM... it's the CPU that's being effected to render/update the stats...
alex22
02-02-2003, 05:46 AM
I tried the SideX before.

This one looks like SideX, http://www.mtux.com/
which IMHO, has more features :)
vincentsiaw
02-02-2003, 06:11 AM
i think the hiding idea is a neat stuff!
CESkins
02-02-2003, 11:08 AM
I concur with PJE's sentiments. What's the purpose of sliding/hiding the plug-in icons if the space on the Today screen previously occupied remains unusable by other apps. Also does hiding the plug-in truly render it inactive or just simply speeds up the Today screen redraws? Neat idea but since the app is only usuable on the Today page, hiding it does not appear to provide any extra benefit.

alex22 did you find SideX useful (it has quite a number of plug-ins) and fast?
alex22
02-02-2003, 04:05 PM
alex22 did you find SideX useful (it has quite a number of plug-ins) and fast?

CESkins, I found SideX is fast enough for my old Jornada 567 :)
I also purchased their system pack, which has quite set of tools in a neatly arranged fashion.

SideX can actually floating not only on Todays's screen but also over other running applications to allow you to easily switch programs and check system status (battery, memory, etc.) :lol:
WillyG
02-02-2003, 04:48 PM
Battery-pack alike or not, i like it.
Im one of those who hate clutter, therfore i like the ability to hide the "bar" too. As far as i understand and unlike SideX, this doesnt stay "ontop", This is somthing i actually prefer. I uninstalled SideX because of this. (The "flip" that doesnt look like PPC standard GUI wich whas always in the way)
The more, the better.
kaiden.1
02-02-2003, 06:39 PM
There seems to be so many different types of IE: "battery bars" out there.
It would be nice to have a button on the bottom of the screen or someplace not intrusive that you could just click on it to see where things are at and then it would disappear after you were done. I find that I really want the realestate that these little programs take up for other things. Even the slide out ones have been shown to be inconvenient a lot of times, I can never seem to place them in a spot where they are not some how in the way. Maybe being on the front page screen only will not be so bad? Looks like sideX But sideX allways seems to be in the way no matter where I've put it!

What I'd really like to see is a really good creative program launcher. So far I haven't been satisfied with what is out there.
Brad Adrian
02-03-2003, 04:01 AM
I remember having Animated Today 2002 and it would suck up so much CPU resources it made my device unbearable...
That's strange, because I've never really noticed a performance hit from Animated Today.
Birdiestyle
02-05-2003, 04:17 PM
Am I the only one to find this a little TOO close to Battery Pack...

And you think Battery Pack wasn't a rip-off of something else... :D
PJE
02-05-2003, 04:31 PM
Am I the only one to find this a little TOO close to Battery Pack...

And you think Battery Pack wasn't a rip-off of something else... :D

Quite right...

...I handn't noticed until after I wrote my comment that there are a lot of battery monitors that look very similar. It's a shame that people are not a little more creative and try to come up with something a little different.

I'd assumed that as Battery Pack seems to be the #1 product in this area that it had got there first.

Regards

PJE
Birdiestyle
02-05-2003, 04:36 PM
Like Mine!! :wink:

Birdsoft
PJE
02-05-2003, 05:09 PM
Like Mine!! :wink:

Birdsoft

Yep! :wink:

Although I have Battery Pack 2003, I don't look at anything other than the battery part 99.99% of the time. I'd like product that added the battery status to a normal program launcher, with large icons for the top line and smaller Icons on subsequent lines - even better would be a tabbed lancher effect where one icon could bring up others...

Although in the end I expect I'll add the battery to WisBar and stop using the battery bar on the today screen. What would be really neat would be a WisBar header graphic that changed with the battery power - green/yellow/red... much easier to see at a glance than the individual icons.

Regards,

PJE