NANY 2015 Pledge: OEMer

[lugosi84]

I have been writing and improving upon a program that I wrote for the company I work for to enter OEM branding information on a computer. We build desktop computers to spec for customers and I wanted a way for us to put our company and model information/logo image on each computer that we sell.

Right now, I have information specific to our company in the program, so I am going to create a more generic version for NANY and release it very soon.

Right now, the program allows you to:

- enter OEM Information (Manufacturer, Model #, OEM Phone #, OEM Hours, OEM URL, OEM logo)  in an easy to use interface
- select a new OEM logo (BMP file) by clicking on the interface and selecting a new file
- copy any new logo used to your Logo directory for future use
- create a drop-down menu on the interface that contains all models of computer that you normally build. This list can easily be added to and deleted from.

For a future version, I hope to be able to let the user scroll through logos in the LOGO directory, via a pair of front and back buttons, to select a logo.

This is my first utility that I have programmed, and I feel that it has turned out rather well so far. It is written in AutoIT, but I hope to port it to C# some day.

Jim

[TaoPhoenix]

I have been writing and improving upon a program that I wrote for the company I work for to enter OEM branding information on a computer. We build desktop computers to spec for customers and I wanted a way for us to put our company and model information/logo image on each computer that we sell.
Jim

Where "on the computer" does it show up? On the initial desktop in the corner somewhere (until the user removes it)? In the default wallpaper-screen? I'd have to say that desktop branding like that annoys me. When I got my Dell machines at my old job, the first week when I had a few minutes, I'd go fishing and swap it to a straight color backdrop.

[tomos]

^ my Dell OEM (that I installed myself) just has this:

[attachthumb=#]

[lugosi84]

Tomos, that is the exact page that the OEM info appears on (right-click My Computer, go to Properties).

No, it does not appear on the desktop, where it definitely might be annoying as all hell 

[TaoPhoenix]

Tomos, that is the exact page that the OEM info appears on (right-click My Computer, go to Properties).

No, it does not appear on the desktop, where it definitely might be annoying as all hell  

Sure, I'm just fine with right-click My Computer, go to Properties.
The computers from my old work came with a variant of a wallpaper like this:

[attachthumb=#]

I do in fact like those shades of blue ... I might have gone with something abstract in those colors, if it didn't have "DELL" all over it!

[KynloStephen66515]

Tomos, that is the exact page that the OEM info appears on (right-click My Computer, go to Properties).

No, it does not appear on the desktop, where it definitely might be annoying as all hell 

I don't think anybody in the world would care if an OEM installer put their own wallpaper on the computers in question...seeing as that can be changed really easily...

[TaoPhoenix]

Tomos, that is the exact page that the OEM info appears on (right-click My Computer, go to Properties).

But just to get your creative juices flowing, take a look at Mark Russinovich's BgInfo.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897557

It's probably too rare of a tool to waste time on, but theoretically your program could auto-populate this.

[attachimg=#]

[TaoPhoenix]

Tomos, that is the exact page that the OEM info appears on (right-click My Computer, go to Properties).

No, it does not appear on the desktop, where it definitely might be annoying as all hell 

I don't think anybody in the world would care if an OEM installer put their own wallpaper on the computers in question...seeing as that can be changed really easily...

Heh ... okay ... one person in the world?


It's just that it feels just a bit blatant to me ... you know where your comp came from, do you really need the subliminal messaging of the wallpaper?! (And you'd be surprised how many people "sorta don't like it but don't want to ask for help changing it"! (As evidenced by the years the oem wallpaper stayed on some of my colleagues comps!
Either that or some awesome Dell KoolAid!

[lugosi84]

Actually, we put our own wallpaper on our builds, and I am creating a program to facilitate that process as well. That one will come later on, and will probably be another program that I would add to DonationCoder.

DC is one of the BEST sites out there in internet-land

[TaoPhoenix]

Actually, we put our own wallpaper on our builds, and I am creating a program to facilitate that process as well. That one will come later on, and will probably be another program that I would add to DonationCoder.

DC is one of the BEST sites out there in internet-land

(B-Movie Outrage)
This means war! Don't make me commission a coding snack that changes wallpaper to a blank-color screen in three clicks just to get rid of your advertising! (/B-Movie Outrage)


(Pick OS, Pick color, though I only ever use black or deep blue.)

[tomos]

DC is one of the BEST sites out there in internet-land

we agree
(hush hush there Tao )

[KynloStephen66515]

Actually, we put our own wallpaper on our builds, and I am creating a program to facilitate that process as well. That one will come later on, and will probably be another program that I would add to DonationCoder.

DC is one of the BEST sites out there in internet-land

(B-Movie Outrage)
This means war! Don't make me commission a coding snack that changes wallpaper to a blank-color screen in three clicks just to get rid of your advertising! (/B-Movie Outrage)


(Pick OS, Pick color, though I only ever use black or deep blue.)

3 Clicks seems a bit excessive for such a simple task....why not just open the EXE and it would do it all for you?

[lugosi84]

Actually, we put our own wallpaper on our builds, and I am creating a program to facilitate that process as well. That one will come later on, and will probably be another program that I would add to DonationCoder.

DC is one of the BEST sites out there in internet-land

(B-Movie Outrage)
This means war! Don't make me commission a coding snack that changes wallpaper to a blank-color screen in three clicks just to get rid of your advertising! (/B-Movie Outrage)


(Pick OS, Pick color, though I only ever use black or deep blue.)

3 Clicks seems a bit excessive for such a simple task....why not just open the EXE and it would do it all for you?

Yeah, I like that 'open the EXE idea'......get rid of that nasty nasty wallpaper 

[TaoPhoenix]

Actually, we put our own wallpaper on our builds, and I am creating a program to facilitate that process as well. That one will come later on, and will probably be another program that I would add to DonationCoder.

DC is one of the BEST sites out there in internet-land

(B-Movie Outrage)
This means war! Don't make me commission a coding snack that changes wallpaper to a blank-color screen in three clicks just to get rid of your advertising! (/B-Movie Outrage)


(Pick OS, Pick color, though I only ever use black or deep blue.)

3 Clicks seems a bit excessive for such a simple task....why not just open the EXE and it would do it all for you?

Snark answer #1:
How do you open an EXE? Then you click a color which has a built in "go" effect. 1-2 and then 3!


But I was also playing on how we all are proud of our snacks (or other programs!) and like to add awesome and/or obscure features.

[TaoPhoenix]

Yeah, I like that 'open the EXE idea'......get rid of that nasty nasty wallpaper  

But ... But ... what if it's released on April Fools' Day and the default replacement is My Little Pony?

(Trivia - The day Slashdot jumped the shark - it was their best April Fools joke ever!)
[attachimg=#]

[lugosi84]

Yeah, I like that 'open the EXE idea'......get rid of that nasty nasty wallpaper 

But ... But ... what if it's released on April Fools' Day and the default replacement is My Little Pony?

(Trivia - The day Slashdot jumped the shark - it was their best April Fools joke ever!) (see attachment in previous post)

Sorry, I am not a Broney......that pink hurts my eyes 

[lugosi84]

I have a question about this whole NANY process. I dont really have anywhere to host my entry, so how would I allow people to download it?

[tomos]

But I was also playing on how we all are proud of our snacks (or other programs!) and like to add awesome and/or obscure features.

didnt really mean to supress - good response

[TaoPhoenix]

Sorry, I am not a Broney......that pink hurts my eyes  

Neither am I, or most of them. And that's why it was the epic April Fools joke ever! (Later ones just made characters backwards, or whatever.)

[TaoPhoenix]

I have a question about this whole NANY process. I dont really have anywhere to host my entry, so how would I allow people to download it?

DC has (I think a couple) of ways to host people's NANY programs. Sometimes you can create your own page if you want to go all "brand-ey", or sometimes they can stick them in more general "Here are the NANY entries this year" type of page.

[lugosi84]

Thanks, Tao. That sounds like a good question to put in the appropriate forum.

[KynloStephen66515]

Thanks, Tao. That sounds like a good question to put in the appropriate forum.

I have replied to the question you asked in the "Help" forum.

[lugosi84]

Thanks Stephen 

[KynloStephen66515]

Thanks Stephen 

No problem.