Welcome to popsicle, a LiteStep theme that is all about usability and tasteful visuals. It is a hybrid theme, so to speak, as it combines elements of both the traditional bar theme concept and the floating, drag-to-arrange style of freeform themes. popsicle has also been designed to be full-featured without overwhelming the user with options, in order to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. Here's a brief rundown of the theme's features:
No clutter
popsicle might look like a bar theme at a glance, but unlike other bar themes it does not cram all functions into its panel. While keeping everything on one single bar may seem handy, this most often leads to clutter and crippled usability. Having fifty small displays and buttons in a narrow horizontal space might look cool in a geeky sort of way, but trying to hit those 6 by 6 pixel Winamp buttons, or trying to make out what that tiny console font says will quickly get tiring and annoying, especially at high resolutions. In popsicle, additional functions are instead provided by Floaters. A Floater is a little box that can be shaded, freely moved to any position on the screen and snapped to other Floaters. Presently there are four Floaters: the Checker, an email checker; the Launcher, a fully customizable program launcher; the Pager, a virtual desktop manager, and the Player, an audio player front end compatible with Winamp and Foobar 2000.
Scaleability
popsicle was created with scaleability and customizability in mind. We're all different, as are our demands and preferences when it comes to an interface, and that's why popsicle lets you decide what goes where and what UI components should and should not be active. Don't like the Floaters? Turn them all off, or just the ones you don't need. Do you want the Panel on bottom instead of at the top? Just drag it there. In other words, people who prefer a sleeker interface can turn all the non-essentials off -- the same goes for special effects like transparency, fades and shadows -- and all screen components can be freely rearranged. And, maybe most importantly, all of this can be done without editing one single configuration file.
Many looks, no bitmaps
popsicle uses no bitmaps at all except for various icons. The entire interface is rendered in real time and the theme's look can be instantly (and even radically) changed by switching Flavors -- popsicle color schemes. Editing existing Flavors or creating new ones is a fairly simple process that requires only a text editor. Five different Flavors are included in this release, but more will be available in future versions of the theme, or in a standalone Flavor pack.
Please note that popsicle is a theme in continuous development. While perfectly safe to use on a daily basis, it should not be expected to be bug-free or even fully functional! Some things may behave oddly and other things may not be implemented yet. If you feel that rock-solid stability and absolutely no bugs is crucial, this might not be a theme for you.
See the included manual for usage tips and known issues. Please post lengthier questions and bug reports in the popsicle Forum (www.scriptorium.se/popsicle), thanks.
/West
No clutter
popsicle might look like a bar theme at a glance, but unlike other bar themes it does not cram all functions into its panel. While keeping everything on one single bar may seem handy, this most often leads to clutter and crippled usability. Having fifty small displays and buttons in a narrow horizontal space might look cool in a geeky sort of way, but trying to hit those 6 by 6 pixel Winamp buttons, or trying to make out what that tiny console font says will quickly get tiring and annoying, especially at high resolutions. In popsicle, additional functions are instead provided by Floaters. A Floater is a little box that can be shaded, freely moved to any position on the screen and snapped to other Floaters. Presently there are four Floaters: the Checker, an email checker; the Launcher, a fully customizable program launcher; the Pager, a virtual desktop manager, and the Player, an audio player front end compatible with Winamp and Foobar 2000.
Scaleability
popsicle was created with scaleability and customizability in mind. We're all different, as are our demands and preferences when it comes to an interface, and that's why popsicle lets you decide what goes where and what UI components should and should not be active. Don't like the Floaters? Turn them all off, or just the ones you don't need. Do you want the Panel on bottom instead of at the top? Just drag it there. In other words, people who prefer a sleeker interface can turn all the non-essentials off -- the same goes for special effects like transparency, fades and shadows -- and all screen components can be freely rearranged. And, maybe most importantly, all of this can be done without editing one single configuration file.
Many looks, no bitmaps
popsicle uses no bitmaps at all except for various icons. The entire interface is rendered in real time and the theme's look can be instantly (and even radically) changed by switching Flavors -- popsicle color schemes. Editing existing Flavors or creating new ones is a fairly simple process that requires only a text editor. Five different Flavors are included in this release, but more will be available in future versions of the theme, or in a standalone Flavor pack.
Please note that popsicle is a theme in continuous development. While perfectly safe to use on a daily basis, it should not be expected to be bug-free or even fully functional! Some things may behave oddly and other things may not be implemented yet. If you feel that rock-solid stability and absolutely no bugs is crucial, this might not be a theme for you.
See the included manual for usage tips and known issues. Please post lengthier questions and bug reports in the popsicle Forum (www.scriptorium.se/popsicle), thanks.
/West
Brian wrote on August 02, 2006 at 05:31:
Actually you *do* need to update the version number in the SS already.