I'd like to make a little suggestion. . .
Friday, December 16, 2005 by Stupendous Man | Discussion: Stardock Support General
I would like to proffer a small suggestion concerning WB5, and also get your opinion as to whether it would be something that you think YOU would like to see implemented in a future WB5 update (The voice of the people and so forth). Oh, if Stardock did do something like this I would be willing to relinquish any and all possible intellectual property rights. I'm in this for the fun of it, o.k.?
I would like to see added to the WB5 con fig a keyword search. Now, I know that there's already something like that available, but what I was thinking of is the ability to add and do searches for skins based on your own keywords.
For example, for blue skins you would assign the keyword 'blue', or for metallic skins the word 'metallic' or 'futuristic' or whatever keyword you wanted to use as a criteria for finding skins of only a certain type.
That way finding just the right skin to complement that awesome wallpaper you found/made would be a breeze. And of course you'd need to be able to assign multiple keywords to a skin because it might fall into several of your category choices.
I'm no programmer, but I think it would be relatively simple to implement. WB5 already has the ability to search for skins by name, so this (I think) would be just a case of tweaking the con fig just a bit to support the added ability.
So what do ya think? Is a good idea or no?
I would like to see added to the WB5 con fig a keyword search. Now, I know that there's already something like that available, but what I was thinking of is the ability to add and do searches for skins based on your own keywords.
For example, for blue skins you would assign the keyword 'blue', or for metallic skins the word 'metallic' or 'futuristic' or whatever keyword you wanted to use as a criteria for finding skins of only a certain type.
That way finding just the right skin to complement that awesome wallpaper you found/made would be a breeze. And of course you'd need to be able to assign multiple keywords to a skin because it might fall into several of your category choices.
I'm no programmer, but I think it would be relatively simple to implement. WB5 already has the ability to search for skins by name, so this (I think) would be just a case of tweaking the con fig just a bit to support the added ability.
So what do ya think? Is a good idea or no?
Sembetu
Reply #2 Friday, December 16, 2005 11:26 PM
Reply #2 Friday, December 16, 2005 11:26 PM
This could easily be accomplished both on WC and in WB5 by adding the capability of embedding XML metadata into each skin and then using an external common DTD to define the common characteristics. This accomplishes the goal of creating relevant embedded content while providing the access to it in a common usable structure. Additionally, once implemented in WB5, it is only a matter of programming to enable XML metadata tagging in additional Stardock products. The same DTD could be used across all products, and the nature of the WC search function would be portable across all skin searches. In this way, not only could you find your "perfect" WB5 skin, but you could also, further customize it by selecting relevant additional items to go with it, such as wallpapers cursors, icons, etc. I know that sounds like a theme manager, but it would actually be more dynamic, and modular. Anyway, for a lesson in XML metadata, see this link... http://members.ozemail.com.au/~visible/papers/xml-metadata.htm
Sembetu
Sembetu
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Reply #1 Friday, December 16, 2005 11:04 PM
tie the feature into the database at WC and you'll have all your keywords set up already. Possibly even suggest a skin for download along with the the matches that already exist on your system