Thursday, June 19, 2008

SVG for Plasmoids/widgets. part 2: Universal


Dedicate this post to promote the use of genuine -looking windows on the desktop. Lets put windows in every homes desktop directory (well windows is not useful for every computer user, but maybe to some?)

This is a follow up on previous post. SVGs done (the windows, curtains and drop screen), no code from me. The pretend to be wallpaper is taken from OS/2 and only modified by me and is therefore not Free. Content in the window (the view is from photos I took today from our windows) is not in the SVGs.


I call them: My "~/desktop/windows"


Light conditions should depend on where it is brightest inside or outside. In these examples I have some of each, above is it bright outside and lots of highlights and shadow from the handle.


Dark outside: no highlight in the windows-frames (above).


More light from outside than on the inside (above).


Suggestions for usage:
  • Kalzium: Information about an chemical experiment written on the interior drop screen and a You-Tube/movie showing someone doing the experiment outside the window when the drop screen is rolled up.
  • Web cam: show your own or a distant web cam in a window to keep an eye on: your kids play in the garden, home surveillant camera or web cast.
  • Weather widget: Look out the window to see the weather information.
  • Photo frame widget: show local or online pictures.
  • Movie/TV widget: You-Tube, net-broadcast.
  • "insert your Idea here" or anything else.


I hope for some magic code for these, to bring them to plasmoids/widgets. Colors can easy be adjusted, let me know what you want, and the silly "logo" wears off when washed;-)


A little closer up.

Monday, May 19, 2008

SVG for Plasmoids/widgets. part 1: Education

Small SVGs suitable for use as background for Plasmoids and widgets:


Blackboard


Example uses: for showing content with white or pastel color text (Kalzium - did you know) or simple drawings.



White board


Example uses: for showing content with black or typical white-board-colors on text or simple drawings.



Projector screen closed


For saving space on desktop when not in use?



Projector screen ready


For showing full color content like pictures movies or similar.




Projector screen and blackboard combined
blackboard active


Could be used to show different content in one widget were user could interact to select between two modes (example: text on the blackboard and illustration on the screen). A toggle between modes could be a mouse click in area A (below).



Projector screen and blackboard combined
screen active


The screen mode for full color possibilities on the content displayed.
Interactive area suggestions:
A - toggle between screen and blackboard content
B - draw new/more content
C - clean up and start over again

Functionality mentioned above is only suggestions from me. Use the drawings as you like. No interactions code exist from me and I can't code. I can help if code needs special content on the drawings, let me know what is needed.

Illustrations on this post is made in Inkscape: The blackboards, white-boards and projector-screens is the SVGs drawn by me. The stick-people-drawings on the first blackboard and on the white-board is early inkscape work by my (by then about 4 or 5 year old) son. The pretending to be desktop-background is an old OS/2 wallpaper heavy modified by me.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Vise-grip wrench and Lithium battery





One of my favorite tools and a typically remote-control battery.

And:


New silver-drawing and the modified gold-ring. The first gold and silver drawings were both rings with only color difference. Silver deserve it's own illustration so I made the silver-chain.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Steel string -guitar and Digger


Musical instruments are fun to draw.


Two more illustrations; steel strings for phosphorus and a digger for manganese. The digger is drawn from a photo I took a couple of years ago of a old digger (Ã…kerman) belonging to my brother. The light in the photo was from the wrong side so I mirrored It.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Iodine and Camcorder



I take the opportunity to start creating as many icons/drawings as possible now when it is winter and I got the time. The plan is to finish them up later when I don't have so much continuous time to spend on them. These (Iodine and Indium) however was finished some time ago. Lots of unfinished drawings laying in my desktop makes it easy to find something to do.



One drawing is bothering me a little;
I was planning drawing a car for Palladium to illustrate a Catalytic converter. If I draw a normal car the catalytic part wont show, a car who is nice to draw and viewed partly from down-up is hard to find and if I draw only the Catalytic converter it may be hard to recognize. These thoughts have made me put this drawing on hold, but I have to start it now so any opinion is welcome. To summon up, I can:
  • draw a normal car and the part won't show
  • draw the part without the car
  • draw a car witch show the exhaust system from behind (the part is hidden in the front)
  • wait an uncertain time until I find a car I can take a photo of from the down-up (not my favorite now, since I have been doing only this until now and it may not happend)
Status rapport from me: mainly start working on new drawings, not so much work being done on finished them, and some times consumed by experimenting.