Swad Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 This edition of the iAnnoyance Challenge aims to fix and tweak the usability of your desktop. Interested? Read on. We launched the iAnnoyance series earlier this month as a fun event for the community to come together, brainstorm ways in which we could customize OS X, and allow developers to show off their coding skills. Stoplight 1.1, a great little app that changes the window behavior of OS X (and allows you to maximize!), was the winner. There’s also a cash prize which, although handy, is hardly the main reason for developing (our last winners donated their $500 prize to someone that needed it more). The app will be open source under the GPL and free to all. We’re improving the format of the contest this time around, giving developers a full week to come up with their app. At the end of the week, the site staff will examine all the submissions (and we expect quite a few) and choose the winner based on overall quality, usability, innovation, number of improvements, and interface. While the app can still be in a “beta” stage, keep in mind that it will be competing against apps which might be more stable... so testing is key. While we had initially set prizes at $100 (so we’d have plenty of money to do these), we kicked off the series last time with a prize of $500, since it was our first event and likely the most complex of all challenges. Like I mentioned above, though, this isn’t about the money... although it helps make it worth your time! It's easy cash. The prize award for this iAnnoyance Challenge (and most others henceforth) starts at $250. Donations to add to this award are gladly accepted - if you think you’ll use the app, why not help us support the dev? iAnnoyance Challenge: Fixing the desktop Since we’re giving you a full week to shape and create your app, we want to give you a lot of room to innovate. The more features you come up with, the more likely you are to win. Below, however, is a list of vital features along with other suggestions: Essentials: - Set horizontal and vertical icon grid spacing - Hide individual drives while showing others - Arrange icons to left, top, or bottom of desktop - Show/Hide all icons with a hotkey - It’d also be great to have the ability to show only volumes with a hotkey, show all volumes (instead the ones you’ve opted to show with the above setting), etc. - Ability to “map” where icons can be placed on the desktop, meaning that there are certain places they can be placed on the desktop but not others. Other features we’d love to see: - Leopard compatibility - Disable the ability of icons to overlap - Optional Trash icon on the desktop, either placed on the grid like a normal icon or anchored to one of the desktop corners. (Also, if possible, when this feature is enabled the dock's trash icon should disappear to avoid redundancy) [Thanks for the suggestion, Takuro] - See this thread for more great ideas (although many of these relate to the finder in general, something we'll tackle later). The contest ends Sunday night at Midnight CST (6 am GMT) - to submit your app email me at mashugly@gmail.com (preferred) or PM me here on the forum. If you've got questions for clarification, please don't hesitate to contact me! Early submissions are fine. Rules and Information: 1. All applications must be universal and be compatible with OS X 10.4 Tiger. 2. All applications must have a cool name (we'll pick the most clever one). 3. Every application must be easy and fun to use. 4. If code from another open source project is used, proper credit must be given. 5. Prize monies can also be donated to the charity of choice. Prizes will be awarded after the first stable release. 6. While not mandatory, "Essential" features are the big items we'll look for. If you're unable to meet one or more, please go ahead and submit your app... everyone else might be in the same situation! 7. Check back here often, in case clarification of the rules is needed. If I were you, I'd subscribe to the thread by clicking on the "Options" button at the top of this thread and "Track this topic." Donation List (Click here to donate) : Adin B. $15, Alexandre F. $15 Current Award $280 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaberSHO Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 on it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adin Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Kicked in a few dollars to get donations going... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted September 25, 2006 Author Share Posted September 25, 2006 Thanks adin - it's folks like you who remind me how much I love running this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssgelm Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 - Disable the ability of icons to overlap If the icons can't overlap, what happens when the desktop is full and a program tries to save a file to it? (Not that this is something I personally do, but I've seen it on many users' computers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted September 25, 2006 Author Share Posted September 25, 2006 ssgelm - Well, I'd imagine that the icons might smaller or something like that - be placed a few pixels away, etc. The other day I had something like 5 icons on top of each other... not very good for usability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takuro Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 I didn't even think of the overlap problem, but now that you do mention it: it's one of the biggest problems with OS X's desktop. I remember the first time that it happened, I thought it was a glitch. But I suppose Apple did do this to avoid problems when the desktop has too many icons. Yay my trash idea was adopted as a suggestion. Now OS X can be more like it's predecessor OS... in a good way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thekyle Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 i dont understand some of the suggestions for the program i mean what do you need a trash icon on the desktop for? if you would take 5 minutes and learn some keyboard shortcuts you wouldnt need it comand delete put it in the trash...command shift delete empty trash its habbit for me now i dont even have to think about it and it seems more efficient than dragging things onto another icon on the desktop especially since i usually keep my desktop clean cause i know where things are and with keyboard shorts i can get there as fast as i can think of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted September 25, 2006 Author Share Posted September 25, 2006 thekyle - Good point, but I have to ask... why not? If we can do these things, and give a large part of the Mac world the power to use them, why not? In doing so we give people a choice, and choice is always a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non sequitur Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 my icons havent overlapped in quite awhile, because i organize all of my folders. right click any of the open desktop, and click show view options. at the bottom of the get info-esque window theres a checkbox taht you can click that says "keep arranged by". click the checkbox and choose "kind" from the drop down menu. now nothing on the desktop will overlap, everything will be arranged by the type of file, and it ill all be together in an organized manner. you can also do the same for other folders, such as the applications folder, and organize by name. just in case no one knew that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macFabri Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Donation done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted September 25, 2006 Author Share Posted September 25, 2006 Thanks so much, macFabri. BTW, I just had the icons overlap while I was trying to drop a file into a folder, and I thought of this Challenge. I can't wait for the fix! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moksha Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 The ability to show only certain drives would be awesome! I get embarrassed every time my Mac-head friends see my Windows drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thekyle Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 the iannoyance is cool in theory but i think youre trying to fix things that are already done... my icons have never overlapped..they automatically snap to grid and when i try to put something in a folder from the desktop it goes in there it doesnt overlap... i think its more of lack of exploration of your OS... i dont even show drives on my desktop cause all it takes is a keyboard short called cmd shift a and you have access to all your devices.. im sorry if i find it easier to use my keyboard but these are things i learned within the first 5 minutes of owning a mac and they become second nature quickly but im probably just blowing hot air and sorry if that seemed sarcastic thats just how i am and i cant tell when i come off as an ass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share Posted September 26, 2006 thekyle- 1) We're not fixing things that have already been done. Grid spacing? Not done until leopard. The map thing certainly hasn't been done. And while I couldn't get your keyboard shortcut to work, I know that it's currently impossible show one set of drives and not others (without aliases). 2) See my point above. We're giving people options - even if a keyboard shortcut existed for everything we're changing (it doesn't), it'd be nice to change it once and for all. We're doing that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_4e Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 Can't wait 'til the results are in and the winner is selcted. This is a great succsess. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takuro Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Kyle: Tiger has tons of little tricks that aren't obvious even to people who have used it for a while. I just found out that Spotlight searches can filter out a specific kind of file using "kind:app" "kind:music" etc. In Leopard, Apple has revised Spotlight to make this feature a lot more noticeable and to allow more filtering options. The point of these tools isn't just about allowing new features. The tools also make things easier that were previously more obscure. As I mentioned before, even Apple is doing something similar. They didn't drop the SpotLight 2.0 concept by saying "oh, well they can figure out how to use Finder's search filters." Every tool listed will benefit both power users and casual users. But there's also one very important tool that I think you need Kyle: it's called a "period." (P.S. I'm just a grammar nazi. It wouldn't matter who has posted in that manner. I would have complained either way. Nothing personal.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljbarbeau Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 So who won? It should be over by now? Another thing If there is many entries you might consider making he members test them and then vote for their favorite. That way its fair for everyone.. and the comunity really gets what they want.. just a tought.. Luigi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted October 1, 2006 Author Share Posted October 1, 2006 Nope, it ends tonight. at Midnight (or, technically, tomorrow morning...) CST. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaberSHO Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Yup...no submission from me. I have been trying to work on this project for the past few days, and i cant seem to get anything working. I guess its just a little above my level. Congratz to whoever figures this out, cause as far as I can tell, this is not at all simple code. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 Well, the contest lives on, as no one was able to send in a submission on time! That means that the contest monies are still available and will only grow as more donations are received. I fully expected that this might happen, which is fine - it just means that the contest stays open until someone meets most (or all) of our criteria. While this means extra time for the developers, it also means that someone could submit something any day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljbarbeau Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Is anyone still working on this or evryone bailed out? Just wondering.. Luigi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaberSHO Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 I hate to admit it, but i have bailed. Too much school work and I hit a brick wall very early on it the design of this program. Good luck to any other developer working on this out there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted October 6, 2006 Author Share Posted October 6, 2006 I'm not sure, since a lot of folks working on this don't keep me updated, but I'd say there's a good chance that no one is working on it right now. That's fine - the prize money will continue to be available (and grow, depending on donations) until someone wins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidnine Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 That's lame, out of all of the users in the forums? not one could even try? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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