Coming soon - Circle Dock Version 1.00

[Markham]

I will be releasing Version 1.00 of Circle Dock in the next day or so, once final testing is complete.

The new features of this version compared to v0.9.x releases are:

Elliptical Dock Shape which can make use of your existing circular backgrounds. One thing I should mention is that unlike circles, ellipses take a bit longer to draw due to the complex mathematical calculations that are required.

"Kiosk" mode is useful not only for "kiosk" applications but also in schools or offices where you don't want the end-user(s) tampering with the settings and this mode is automatically enabled if Circle Dock is run from a CD or DVD ROM. "Kiosk" mode is password-protected and Circle Dock's configuration files are now encrypted -again to prevent unauthorised tampering. The main properties dialog includes an new "Inspector" tab from which you can print and/or make an unencrypted backup of the configuration files.

Extra Mouse Buttons - if you have a mouse with 5 or more buttons, you can now use XButton1 or XButton2 to toggle the Dock's visibility. These two buttons are located on the left side of the mouse, near your thumb (if you're right-handed) with the front button being XButton1 (and behind it is XButton2).

Auto-deletion of invalid Dock Items is a new option and, if enabled, Circle Dock will silently remove those Dock Items for which there is no target - and were otherwise shown as a warning graphic.

There are also several changes, all of which are documented in the Help, and numerous bug-fixes (not all of which have been documented).



Mark

[mouser]

very cool 

[Haani_Echad]

I look foward to it.  So far Circle Dock has proven to be better then RK launcher, Rocket Dock and Object dock.  I thank you for the hard work your putting into it.

[Rigel]

Great, very usefull feature 
Thanks, Mark

[mateek]

Markham, I discovered your program about 6 weeks ago, and at that time things were very wirey.  I'd have it running for 5-10 mins, and it would crash, never to return.  I'm not a launcher user, but even then Circle Dock was a bunch of fun.  

Now with Beta1 the last two weeks or so, I have it working on my #2 computer.  It only crashed once, yesterday, and I restarted it, and it was blank.  So I put back on some of my original shortcuts, and reshaped it, etc.  Next time I restarted the comp, the first set of settings were back, but the second set were gone.  I'm having fun with the notion I'm on a pre-release that will someday be very famous, so the setbacks are understood.  I'd love to see a feature to export the settings.

How famous you ask?
Your program will be the impetus to force manufacturers to create a U shape backlight and eventually the circular LCD monitor.  That, or with my first paycheck I'm going looking in antique shops for the famous 50's TV set made with the round screen, and a RF Modulator.  

Kidding aside, I thank you for the hard work you put in.

I've got a rhetorical question about your username too: I live in New England (a group of states in the northeast USA), and a lot of towns I grew up in, and around, ended with 'ham.'  Any connection to this area or England?  Just curious.  Or is it a real first name.  I'm always trying to pick up on different cultures.

I hope you either don't need credits and donations at all, or are getting them generously.

Thanks again.

[Markham]

I look foward to it.  So far Circle Dock has proven to be better then RK launcher, Rocket Dock and Object dock.  I thank you for the hard work your putting into it.

Thanks for your kind words! 

Mark

[Markham]

Markham, I discovered your program about 6 weeks ago, and at that time things were very wirey.  I'd have it running for 5-10 mins, and it would crash, never to return.  I'm not a launcher user, but even then Circle Dock was a bunch of fun. 

Now with Beta1 the last two weeks or so, I have it working on my #2 computer.  It only crashed once, yesterday, and I restarted it, and it was blank.  So I put back on some of my original shortcuts, and reshaped it, etc.  Next time I restarted the comp, the first set of settings were back, but the second set were gone.  I'm having fun with the notion I'm on a pre-release that will someday be very famous, so the setbacks are understood.  I'd love to see a feature to export the settings.

That Beta, in common with many other Beta versions out there, didn't have all the wrinkles iron-out. I posted it to show users the new Dock shape as there has been a deal of interest in such a shape. That it only crashed once is to its credit  . Can you recall the circumstances that caused it to crash?

Your program will be the impetus to force manufacturers to create a U shape backlight and eventually the circular LCD monitor.  That, or with my first paycheck I'm going looking in antique shops for the famous 50's TV set made with the round screen, and a RF Modulator. 

I'm all for retro!! 

I've got a rhetorical question about your username too: I live in New England (a group of states in the northeast USA), and a lot of towns I grew up in, and around, ended with 'ham.'  Any connection to this area or England?  Just curious.  Or is it a real first name.  I'm always trying to pick up on different cultures.

The suffix "ham" is an old English abbreviation for "homestead" and in Anglo-Saxon times denoted a village. In the same vein, "hamlet" (or little ham) is still in common usage denoting a small group of houses.

You are quite correct in thinking I'm originally from the UK but these days I prefer much warmer climes. My user name here (Markham) however has no geographic associations but is quite simply a contraction of my first and last names (Mark Hamilton).


Mark

[Jhollman]

Hi , this program is great! i was looking for one like this for loooong time without good results. So i quit my search and decided to develop a program myself. when i told a friend about what my program will be, he spoked me about ur program, 2 seconds of search in google and.... Shyt!! i cant believe it! That's exactly what i was looking for, LOL, and is free!!!.

So Tank you very much for the awsome Circle Dock (yes, it still needs a few work) and keep the good work, we  ur program man!.

Ill be waiting for the next release.

[mateek]

Markham, I discovered your program about 6 weeks ago, and at that time things were very wirey.  I'd have it running for 5-10 mins, and it would crash, never to return.  I'm not a launcher user, but even then Circle Dock was a bunch of fun. 

Now with Beta1 the last two weeks or so, I have it working on my #2 computer.  It only crashed once, yesterday, and I restarted it, and it was blank.  So I put back on some of my original shortcuts, and reshaped it, etc.  Next time I restarted the comp, the first set of settings were back, but the second set were gone.  I'm having fun with the notion I'm on a pre-release that will someday be very famous, so the setbacks are understood.  I'd love to see a feature to export the settings.

That Beta, in common with many other Beta versions out there, didn't have all the wrinkles iron-out. I posted it to show users the new Dock shape as there has been a deal of interest in such a shape. That it only crashed once is to its credit  . Can you recall the circumstances that caused it to crash?

I'm not sure about the circumstances, but thanks for asking.  I was intentionally making setting changes slowly, and closing the box to set them and reopening a lot.  Making a bunch at one time had crashed the earlier versions.  I think it was a combination of a few changes without closing the settings box immediately, and then a fast errant click on a desktop folder adjacent.

I've google earthed your new neighborhood (well, Cebu anyway) a fair amount in the last six months because of some chat friends there.  You're a lucky man to be living in that beautiful area.  My impression is that the level of english speakers is very high there.  It reminds me of Israel that way.

I hope you don't mind if I make another small request for your consideration.  I've noticed a prominent windows folder isn't included in the special folders drop-down list.  I'd love to see "Shared folders" in there.

Thanks again.

[Markham]

I've added a new experimental option which will only be of interest to you if you are using a non-English language version of Windows, especially one that uses a non-Latin character set (eg: Kanji, Arabic, Chinese, Korean etc) and where the System Locale is set for your own country. And it's true to say that this affects mostly XP installations where the MUI pack is not installed.

The new option should ONLY be used if you get an error message on startup that states that Circle Dock can not find its "Config.ini" file.

Instead of calling Circle Dock with (say): C:\Program Files\CircleDock.exe
Use this form of the Command line        : C:\Program Files\CircleDock.exe setlocale

In other words, append "setlocale" to your existing Command Line.

This amended form of the Command Line instructs Circle Dock to use an English Locale. Note that this setting affects only Circle Dock; it does not modify your System Locale for any other program.


Mark

[crazyissac]

PLEASE !!! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THAT !!!

[sgtevmckay]

Greetings Crazy Issac

Patience my young Padawan.
Mark is working on it diligently, and we are coming along with testing.

Once we iron out a couple of issue.
We will get it to the world.

[Markham]

Mark is working on it diligently, and we are coming along with testing.

In the mean time, I can tell you that we've completed the translation of Circle Dock into over 50 languages. Apart from English (the program's native language), the translations include Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Welsh; in other words, all the main European languages and many Asian ones too.

Furthermore, the help pages now include a "Translation" widget which you can use to translate the help into any of the languages supported by "Google Translate" - again, about 50 languages are currently available.

Sarge, if you need anything from me, please let me know asap. I'm scheduling the release for January 1 and it should be available from one minute after midnight, GMT.


Mark

[sgtevmckay]

I sent along an e-mail with screenshots several days ago.

Have yet to hear back

[Markham]

Sarge,

Seems like a couple of emails went astray... I'm rebuilding the translations and as soon as that is done, I'll upload a new install set for you. Watch your PMs!


Mark

[sgtevmckay]

I will re-e-mail my findings

In Standby