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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Sun Feb 04, 2018 6:48 pm 
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winstep wrote:
Windy wrote:
The folders are on my C drive. They are My Documents and My Pictures. To be clear, the pause is not before any movement, but about a half-second or so after the icon starts to move.


Isn't that when the balloon tooltip with information about those folders also pops up?


Hey, that's right!! I didn't notice that! But why only those two folders? I made a folder in My Documents with only one tiny file in it and it did not pause, and of course as I mentioned earlier, a huge 4 TB external hard drive that has a little more than 1TB left doesn't pause.


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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:00 pm 
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Ok, here is the final list of what gets disabled for each of the two power saving modes:

Power Saving Modes:

Normal:

* Modules update only once every 2 seconds instead of every second.
* Clock module is only updated once per minute. Analog clock stops displaying seconds hand.
* Clock stops synchronizing the time with the Internet Time servers.
* Clock stops announcing the time and/or playing the tick sound.
* Wanda stops the swiming animation.
* Wanda preview in the Wanda Settings dialog stops animating.
* Rotating globe style of the Email Checker module stops rotating even if there is mail.
* Smooth gauge needle animations are disabled.
* Battery module charging animation is disabled.
* Flip calendar day switching animation is disabled.
* Moon module is only refreshed once per hour instead of every 3 minutes.
* Moon preview animations in the Moon Module Settings dialog are disabled.
* Star background in the Moon Calendar dialog stops moving.
* Intermediate frames to smooth out moon animation in Play mode are disabled.
* Moon phases/zodiac Signs rotation animation in the Moon Calendar dialog is disabled.
* Alarm Manager top header only updates the time every minute.
* Alarm Reminders only update the time every minute.
* Battery preview in the Battery Setttings dialog stops animating.
* Glow animation in the Battery module Info dialog is disabled.
* Text animation is the About tab of Preferences is disabled.
* User Interface slide animation is disabled.
* Theme previews fade in/out animation is disabled.
* Module preview animations in Preferences are disabled.
* Network data in the Net Meter Settings dialog updates once every 2 seconds.
* Network Statistics dialog only updates once every 2 seconds instead of every second.
* Network Active Connections dialog updates once every 2 seconds instead of every second.
* Most Active Programs History dialog is only refreshed once every 2 seconds.
* Performance data about running processes is only retrieved once every 2 seconds.
* Running indicators on docks are only refreshed once every 2 seconds.
* Shelf smooth scrolling is disabled.
* Smooth icon shifting when dragging items over a dock or Shelf is disabled.
* Shelf Hide and Expand animations are disabled.
* Sub-dock opening animations are disabled.
* Dock Hide and Show animations are disabled.
* New Item (rise) animations are disabled.
* Item removal animations are disabled.
* Thumbnail/icon change fade in/out animations are disabled.
* Animated icons set to animate permanently now only animated on mouseover.
* Animated icons no longer finish the animation when the mouse pointer moves away.
* Water Ripple effect is disabled.
* Rain Drop effect is disabled.
* Raind Drop effect audio is disabled.
* Menu and sub-menu opening animations are disabled.
* Smooth text scrolling is disabled and scrolling text in desktop modules is only scrolled once per second.
* Fast System Tray Refresh is disabled.
* Pulsating icon effect (Ghost) on icons when audio is playing is disabled.
* Slide animations in the Effects Panel are disabled.
* Effect slide animation in the Effects tabs when clicking the arrows is disabled.
* Pause between effect repetitions in the Effects tabs becomes 1200 ms instead of 600 ms.


Ultra:

* All the Normal power saving measures above plus:

* Modules update every 4 seconds instead of every second.
* Network data in the Net Meter Settings dialog updates once every 4 seconds.
* Network Statistics dialog updates every 4 seconds instead of every second.
* Network Active Connections dialog updates every 4 seconds instead of every second.
* Most Active Programs History dialog is only refreshed once every 4 seconds.
* Performance data about running processes is only retrieved once every 4 seconds.
* Running indicators on docks are only refreshed once every 4 seconds.
* Animated icons no longer animate, not even on mouseover.
* Launch Effect is disabled.
* Mouseover effects combined with Magnify on docks are disabled.
* Mouseover effects on the Shelf are disabled.
* Pause between effect repetitions in the Effects tabs becomes 2400 ms instead of 600 ms.


###

Although the Ultra list seems a lot smaller, you have to keep in mind that those are *on top off*. Also, the major impact when the dock is idle certainly comes from retrieving and updating the information in the modules. In Ultra mode modules are only updated once every 4 seconds, opposed to 2 in normal power saving mode and every second when power saving mode is disabled.

Normal power saving mode does not touch the most important/in your face cosmetic animations, which are the mouse over animations. Ultra power saving mode already does that for maximum savings.

Although the effects are not easy to measure and depend on a lot of factors (how often the dock is actively used, for instance) the most important power savings will come, without a doubt, from lower CPU usage when idle. This can actually be measured using the 'CPU Time' column in Task Manager: I will have to leave the dock unattended for a couple of hours in each of the modes and then compare the total CPU usage time for each of the modes to determine the savings factor when idle. I'll let you guys know what that is once I have it.

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 9:23 pm 
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winstep wrote:

Although the effects are not easy to measure and depend on a lot of factors (how often the dock is actively used, for instance) the most important power savings will come, without a doubt, from lower CPU usage when idle. This can actually be measured using the 'CPU Time' column in Task Manager: I will have to leave the dock unattended for a couple of hours in each of the modes and then compare the total CPU usage time for each of the modes to determine the savings factor when idle. I'll let you guys know what that is once I have it.


if you have a laptop you could also measure the effect by shutting of all other applications and non essential processes then measure battery drain per hour, you could also do a screengrab of task manager cpu time for all remaining proccesess to see how active anything else was


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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 10:00 pm 
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seeker wrote:
if you have a laptop you could also measure the effect by shutting of all other applications and non essential processes then measure battery drain per hour, you could also do a screengrab of task manager cpu time for all remaining proccesess to see how active anything else was


Yes, but I can't say that the new Power Saving features will extend run time by <x> minutes because that is totally dependent on a truckload of other factors.

All I can do is say 'Nexus/WorkShelf now consumes x% less cpu/battery in normal power saving mode and y% less cpu/battery in ultra power saving mode'. How much that will translate into actual extra run time... well... every little bit helps, and I did the best I could to minimize Nexus/Xtreme power footprint when the power saving modes are enabled. :)

Thanks to this (forced me to comb through the code, which was a bit tedious) also found and fixed a minor GDI+ leak in the Shelf, plus a handful of other minor (and one not so minor) bugs.

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:00 pm 
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winstep wrote:
Yes, but I can't say that the new Power Saving features will extend run time by <x> minutes because that is totally dependent on a truckload of other factors.

All I can do is say 'Nexus/WorkShelf now consumes x% less cpu/battery in normal power saving mode and y% less cpu/battery in ultra power saving mode'. How much that will translate into actual extra run time... well... every little bit helps, and I did the best I could to minimize Nexus/Xtreme power footprint when the power saving modes are enabled. :)

Thanks to this (forced me to comb through the code, which was a bit tedious) also found and fixed a minor GDI+ leak in the Shelf, plus a handful of other minor (and one not so minor) bugs.


but it will give you a good comparison between the effects of various mode, maybe better than just going by cpu time


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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 3:43 am 
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I really don't like cluttering the About tab, but... I'm really tempted to move the 'Interface Mode' button from the More Options dialog into the About tab, right below the Language combo box. That's where it belongs, really, IMO.

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 5:55 am 
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winstep wrote:
I really don't like cluttering the About tab, but... I'm really tempted to move the 'Interface Mode' button from the More Options dialog into the About tab, right below the Language combo box. That's where it belongs, really, IMO.


And done. Moved the new 'Power Saving Settings' button to the Advanced tab in Preferences too. Looking good.

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2018 9:07 pm 
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Replaced the rotating globe style of the Email Checker with a much better realistic high-resolution animation.

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:28 pm 
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If any of you guys has an account on Reddit and would like to mention Nexus, now is perhaps the time to do it. :)

((Shameless plug)) :oops:

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 3:36 pm 
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Ok, new beta is out.

I disabled the compiler's 'Check for Integer Overflow' option, so performance should increase a little bit (but perhaps not enough to be noticeable, you guys let me know if you feel a difference).

This said, although I'm pretty confident it will be ok, disabling this setting can result in some very difficult to track bugs - if you noticed something not working as it should, please let me know ASAP.

For instance, here I immediately run into a problem: turned out it was caused by an improperly specified API declaration, so easy to fix once I figured out what was causing it (the real question is: how did it actually work before?! lol). But, other than that, didn't notice any issues.

There are many subtle and not so subtle changes in the UI: message boxes are now customized so they match the current UI mode, theme previews smoothly fade in and out, command button with the focus in the dark modes now has a subtle blue border, the drop down box of the monitor combo boxes is now large enough to hold the widest monitor name, changed a few icons and moved a couple of things around. The UI mode combo box, for instance, is now in the About tab of Preferences.

The Globe Email Checker style now features a new high resolution animation, there is a new full screen exclusion list in the More Options dialog, docks now obey current screen DPI settings (but that option is disabled by default for existing installations, and only enabled by default in new installations), pressing the ALT key when clicking on the Capture Desktop IC now makes it capture the active window instead of the desktop (plus some other additions to the IC's right click menu), Recent Documents tab can be sorted by date, etc, added full keyboard support to docks, and, of course, you now have the new power saving modes.

Full list of changes and additions can be found in the Change Log (click version number in the About tab of Preferences).

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Sat Feb 17, 2018 7:15 pm 
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Ok, there are a few known issues with the beta (which I already fixed here, of course):

1. Setting Power Saving mode based on battery percentage or on Windows 10 entering battery saver mode is not working.

2. If a battery percentage in the Power Saving Mode settings dialog is changed by typing it directly into the text box instead of using the scroll arrows, it will not be remembered when you close the dialog.

3. Going to the Weather Settings dialog will make the Weather module flash indefinitely.

4. If an error occurs trying to get a connection to the Weather feeds (for instance, connection is blocked by a Firewall) the only way to get valid weather info again is by restarting the application.

Sorry about that.

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 8:40 pm 
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Normal power saving mode on Winstep Xtreme typically consumes 75% less CPU and, therefore, less power in the same proportion. Haven't tested Ultra yet, but it should extend this a bit further as well, although not in such a dramatic way.

Going to add an option (enabled by default) to automatically activate Ultra Power Saving mode when the monitors power off/go into standby - and disable it automatically when the monitors power back on. After all, there is no point in rendering animations to the screen if the same is off and nobody is there to watch them anyway. :)

Winstep can finally be known from now on as an Eco friendly application! lol

"Winstep Green... the green edition for vegans and the environment conscious' :)

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Tue Feb 20, 2018 2:39 pm 
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Another bug in the v18.2 beta which I just fixed:

5. The Email Checker module was no longer automatically launching the Email Client.

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 11:30 pm 
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seeker wrote:
and there is still one bug that i reported a while ago, if a dock or module is set to be always on bottom or always on top it flickers when i interact with other docks/modules


I installed the backup you sent me on January for the Calendar bug (you might get a warning as the Email Checker kept trying to log to your account) and I simply couldn't reproduce this issue here.

I tried setting some desktop modules always on top, others always on bottom, and nothing weird happened as I interacted with them. Either I'm not doing the proper steps to reproduce the problem here or it might actually be a video driver issue there.

In other news, I sped up restoring from a backup - and loading themes as well, although that probably won't be as noticeable - by so much that it's not even funny.

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.1?
PostPosted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 2:26 pm 
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winstep wrote:
seeker wrote:
I tried setting some desktop modules always on top, others always on bottom, and nothing weird happened as I interacted with them. Either I'm not doing the proper steps to reproduce the problem here or it might actually be a video driver issue there.


it is a distinct possibility, since its a laptop with switchable graphics, and those drivers work funny even when they are working right


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