How do you PRIMARILY use the Aquarium?

[multivitamin]

doesn't MS have tools to make a normal EXE an activeX plugin? If so why not make the aquarium an activeX and embed it in an HTML? this way you could use it as active desktop. just an idee, may be totally wrong with this!

and I found I site about games that use yuv overlay (like some DVD Players (and winamp) Maybee they can help you Jim to find a way to get overlay working!

www.libsdl.org/

[Jim Sachs]

I'm not aware of any such MS tools.

The site you mentioned is for SDL, which is a commercial product. As such, there is no way it could ever be incorporated into the Aquarium.

If anyone has ever seen a full-bore Direct3D program running as wallpaper, please post a message where to find it. I'm not saying that this would be appropriate for the Aquarium, but I might consider it if it's possible.

I really like the idea of running the aquarium in a resized window and using it as a background on the desktop. My question is this: Can the aquarium be run from the Windows 'start-up' folder when the machine boots, and retain the size and position it was last set at? I'd love to see it start right where I left off. Is it even possible?

Thanks,
Marcie

[Jim Sachs]

I may be adding a feature which remembers the last size and position.

[multivitamin]

I couldn't figure out if this is a Direct3D application (because I couldn't access the forum ) This desktop enhancer uses a 3d card to display 3d objects as your normal desktop! the url is www.dreamrender.com/ maybee this is more a help than me previous post!

[Jim Sachs]

Can't tell from their site if Dreamrender is a D3D application or uses a private rasterizer. When I get some time, I'll download the program and take a look at it. Still dealing with the aftermath of the Nimda virus at the moment.

I started this with the demo version, just upgraded to the full version today...

I picked up an old style TV at a flea market, with the intention of converting it into an aquarium. But what I ended up doing was to replace the old picture tube with a piece of glass. Then I fit an old monitor inside of that. I added a small speaker out the bottom of the TV case. I concealed the monitor cable and speaker wire, and passed them through the wall into the next room where my computer is located. The illusion is completed by a container of fish food, and an old non-working air pump on a shelf under the 'aquarium'. Some plastic air tubing is icing on the cake.

With the lighting in the room and in the aquarium carefully adjusted, the effect is quite realistic. The (older) lady who lives across the street has been telling all the neighbors about my beautiful aquarium! Of course, if she ever goes up and taps the glass, I'm busted...

So, does this count as using it as a program, or a screensaver? And do I get points for originality? :-)

Dan

P.S. The guy on Tech-TV who gave the ss 3 of 5 stars needs to be drug tested... I give it a solid 5.

[Jim Sachs]

Quite ingenious, CaptDan. You definitely get points for originality.

I heard that TechTV did a segment on the Microsoft Plus! Pack a couple of days ago, and spent most of the time talking about the "remarkable" aquarium which was included in it. Apparently they forgot that they gave the full version only 3 stars. I can't tell if this is mentioned on their site, because I can't connect to TechTV.com for more than 2 seconds since I got the Nimda virus.

Jim,

I didn't find any show notes on the Tech TV site, all I found was a review of Plus! for XP. It didn't tell us much. About all the reviewer talked about was the enhancements to media player and the .wma format. If I find the actual show notes I'll email them to you...

Dan

P.S. The average life span of a shareware screensaver type program on my computer is about 5 minutes. Your aquarium is the first program of this type that I have ever taken the time to register and keep. And I have been playing with computers since the dark days of 300 baud modems, Commodore computers, and Q-Link online service. This was money well spent. Thank You!

[Digital Lungfish]

"Second childhood is better than the first... The toys are much cooler, and you don't have to go home when the street lights come on!"

You mean you actually went home when the street lights came on??? Man, did you live a sheltered life or what?

As for the second childhood being better than the first (I'm from your generation BTW), I dunno. Even though the tech toys of today are dream machines compared to what we grew up with back then, I personally had more fun back then because everything was new unlike today. The kids of today don't know what it was like to experience video games and computers in their infancy, to actually be there as the stuff was being released for the first time ever. Atari 400, 800, Commodore Vic20, 64, and so on. If anything, I count my self fortunate that I did grow up during the good ol' days. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade today's toys for anything, I just happen to appreciate that time period and what I saw first hand.

- DL

[Lightfeather]

I usually force the program to be on top in windowed mode and leave it small and in the corner when I am working. And when I leave my desk I just click X to close it down so that it will activate as a screensaver.

But I have now been using it full screen windowed mode. If you make your taskbar "autohide" you don’t need that big bar on the left-hand side of you're screen. You just drop your cursor to the bottom of the screen and it reappears.

[patscarr]

Shinsa

I "recorded" the aquarium as an AVI file

How can I do this?

[patscarr]

Shinsa,

You once wrote in this topic... "I 'recorded' the aquarium as an AVI file..."

How can I record the aquarium as an AVI file?

[Axle]

If anyone wanted to know the sites Jim is talking about (i did), heres the URLS:

Review of the screensaver:
http://www.techtv.com/products/softw...343828,00.html

Review of Windows XP Plus!:
http://www.techtv.com/products/softw...349888,00.html


The only mention that SS gets on the site is:

There are also some cool new screen savers included in the package. (See it up close.)

Once the "See it up close" is clicked it shows a windowed version of the aquarium within the Plus! options.
I have a feeling though they didnt bother talking about it on the web cause it wouldnt have the same effect as showing on TV (the moving fish really have to be seen to be believed, methinks).

The guy on Tech-TV who gave the ss 3 of 5 stars needs to be drug tested...

Yup, i doubt there are many people whinging about 16-bit color- anyway they say that 16-bit is a con, then also say that its video card intensive (as another con).

If it were 32-bit color the stress can only increase! Sheesh


Btw Jim....you lisenced SS to Microsoft?? I hope they overpaid you!! Do you get royalties or just one payment? If these questions are stupid to you, u dont have to answer....but microsoft owning part of SS, i just never expected it!

[feldon34]

pattscar said:
Shinsa,

You once wrote in this topic... "I 'recorded' the aquarium as an AVI file..."

How can I record the aquarium as an AVI file?

May I recommend SnagIt?

[feldon34]

Axel said:
Btw Jim....you lisenced SS to Microsoft?? I hope they overpaid you!! Do you get royalties or just one payment? If these questions are stupid to you, u dont have to answer....but microsoft owning part of SS, i just never expected it!

Actually, he got royally screwed, as it always works out.

Jim did not give or sell the Aquarium to Microsoft, he only licensed rights to the XP Plus 3 fish demo version he wrote for them.

Basically 2 months wasted writing this version as in the end, Microsoft refused to release a bugfix for the DirectX 8 screen saver programming libraries so that he could make the Aquarium work properly on Windows 95, 98, or ME. It's kind of a long story. Basically, Jim spent 2 months writing the DirectX 8 version. Works great on Windows 2000 and XP. But you try to run it on Windows 95, 98, or ME, and half the time, the password and settings boxes are invisible. Plus there's a lot of instability and crashing. Microsoft's response? We're not supporting DirectX 8 on Windows 95, 98, or ME. Tough.

Jim was able to justify spending 2 months on the DirectX 8 version because it would be a great upgrade for the rest of us! Version 1.0 was supposed to be a DirectX 8 native version. Then most of the bugs we see reported here on the forum simply would not happen (except the white textures problem)!

As for how Jim got screwed? Microsoft Plus is a box of demos. There's nothing in there that doesn't have a nag screen of some kind. It's basically Microsoft's primo shareware box. Plus has ALWAYS been a $20 near-giveaway. You get it, say cool, I like this, and register the things you want the full versions of. At the last minute, Microsoft jacked the price of Plus up to $40 for the XP version.

So a customer goes and buys Windows XP for $189. Then they buy Microsoft Plus XP for $40. They get it home, run it, and they find a 3 fish demo. They click on the link in the program "Get more fish" and are taken to a website I designed for SereneScreen. Then SereneScreen/Prolific customer support gets an angry e-mail (or 1-800 phone call at SereneScreen's expense!!) asking why the hell someone should have to pay $61.95 for this Aquarium.

When you call Microsoft on the phone, they refer you to SereneScreen, saying they should lower the price of the Aquarium.

Compaq, HP, and Dell are getting so much hate mail from people because of the Plus situation that they were threatening Microsoft will pulling it from their new computers unless Microsoft reduced it to $20 or, at the $40 price, include the full version of the Aquarium. Microsoft's response to everyone? Tough s***.

Further the contract with Microsoft was exclusive through May I think. So that's part of what has been holding up the Macintosh version.

Jim has assured me that Microsoft will NEVER be involved in any other SereneScreen products. I can only hope. Oh, as for how much money was made on this Plus deal? Approximately 1/3rd of SereneScreen sales are Microsoft Plus "upgrades". Jim does not make a nickel on the Plus version unless the person buys a whole fresh new copy of the Aquarium. And Microsoft gave him a paltry amount as a "signing bonus" when this thing all got started.

To give you an idea of just how much of a bite the $20 -> $40 price increase has taken out of sales, over 1 million copies of Microsoft Plus have sold. Yet only 30,000 sales/upgrades of the Aquarium can be attributed to Plus. That's a lot of pissed off customers.

[Axle]

Damn, i thought Microsoft where an evil coporation, but know i know it.

But seriously, noone else can do business like that but Microsoft. What a bunch of a-holes. *sigh*

I thought for a second my cinisism might be misguided, but it seems the genereal attitude towrds MS is rightly placed.

ps: Nice upgrade flash, Feldon.