We've got a local radio station, M88 that I listen to alot, so I decided to write a Y!WE Widget for them. The first one was ugly, but had an awsome about-page, which I later used as inspiration for the new iteration: Super-Tiny-Mode: Normal Mode: Expanded Mode: In expanded mode, each time you open that window, you get a list of the ten most recently played songs. Any comments on style? I'm waiting on the radio station to get back to me with what exactly they are looking for, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to make the minimal version functional, small, and good looking all at the same time. Any ideas on what could make this look cooler?
I like it as it is. Maybe transparency, since that's the big thing now days. Maybe instead of an expanded mode, just having a button/arrow that drops down the list of songs. That way the list isn't always there and in the way. What about a ticker displaying current song? Post a link once you've finished it; I'd like to download it.
The top part that says "worship: what music was meant to be", and the background of the Recent Songs window are both semi-transparent (about 20%) The list is also a drop-down, meaning you click on it, and it slides down, and after you browse the list, you click on it again and it slides back up. (sliding it down and up refreshes the list) The radio station I'm using doesn't have the ability to show current song... it goes from an analog-output into a computer that streams it over to their streaming host. kind of ghetto-rigged, but it gets the job done! If you want a general idea of how it "feels" you can download the old, huge, version here. Just keep in mind it doesn't play the radio station yet! I wanted to get the look and feel finalized before adding the player controls. EDIT: And while you can always just play the station from their website, or bookmark the URL in windows media player, you can also grab the original widget I made here, which lets you play the radio, change the volume, and visit their site, but no cool XML feed of the recent songs. (and a really ugly user interface)
You need a bottom, defining edge, if that makes sense (the top has one). It's almost impossible is make out where the player is at on a black background. Oh, and 20% trans on the whole player would look sweet!
Good point, I'll see what I can do about the bottom edge (maybe a slight white outline, or an external bevel of sorts..) And as for the trans on the whole player, just right click>Widget Preferences, and drag the slider for Opacity.
Well, I overwrote the old widget with the new one, so if you'd like to test this out and let me know what you think, check out the M88 Widget on my Products page! The Widget is 100% unofficial as of this moment, but the radio station should be getting back to me shortly. EDIT: It is 90% unofficial. The station just sent over the last changes, and if those changes look good in practice, they want to release it as official. Consequently, they want me to go to the station and talk about the widget on their morning show. As a geek, I express myself online because I can EDIT: my posts On the radio, there is no undo button...
You guys probably won't believe me when I say this, but I hate talking to myself on forums. But I had to say that the radio station just emailed me and said they wanted me to slap version 1.0 on it and load it up to my website so they can grab it and put it on their site. I've updated the site with the new Version number, but still call it the "Unofficial M88 Widget", since I don't consider it official until they call it official. M88 Radio Widget It may not be official, but it sure is shiny! EDIT: Already updated it to version 1.1, since I was retrieving the XML synchronously, it basically locked you out of the player when the website was having issues, so now I'm doing it asynchronously, and just have it display a "loading" message while it is waiting for data Another EDIT: Since posting I've updated it to version 1.4, which mainly has upgrades to the way it is animated, not to mention a new "reload" button for the recently played songs list.
Sorry, I've been out on a small vacation so I wasn't able to reply. Looks good! Only problem is that I forgot that streaming is blocked at work, so I'll try at home. Again, looks good man!
I just happened to glance at this thread and mainly just wanted to say congrats for getting recognized for your work. I think it's great when any of us (geeks) get recognized for doing something geeky that "non-geeks" think is cool. Are they giving you any kind of prize or anything for making this? Congrats again!
Nah, I'm a member of what my church calls its "Web Servants". Some guys volunteer by helping out in the community (i.e. building wheelchair ramps for people, helping the elderly mow their lawn, cooking food in soup kitchens, etc. etc. etc.) Our skills have less to do with physical labor and more to do with development and overall geekyness. Plus if you notice on the "about" screen, my logo with a link to my site is there, which is props enough for me. EDIT: I heard rumor they will be posting the widget page on their site today or tomorrow. (just FYI) http://www.m88.org
