
LaunchPad 1.11 - "OK, now this is it, really."
   http://www.nwlink.com/~emilyk/LaunchPad
         (C)1997, by D. Eric Kenslow

*** GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS DOCUMENT FOR A LIST OF CURRENT AND     ***
*** FIXED BUGS, AS WELL AS A LIST OF NEW FEATURES FOR THIS RELEASE. ***

  Foreign-language translations by:
    Darrin S. Altman  - Spanish
    Peter Csurgay     - Hungarian
    Pim Holtz         - Dutch
    Michael Kiesel    - German
    Alain Nicalek     - French

  Thank you all!

What is LaunchPad?
------------------
	A replacement for the built-in Pilot applications launcher.

How much memory does it use?
----------------------------
  Depends on how many apps you have. The LaunchPad program itself is
around 22K, and each application you have installed on your Pilot adds a
little less than 200 bytes to the total size. Each tab adds 12 bytes to
the total size.

How did you make this amazing program?
--------------------------------------
  I used the ASDK (http://www.massena.com/darrin/pilot/asdk/asdknews.htm)
and gcc for Pilot (http://www.ftpx.com/pilotgcc/gccwin32.html)- both are
solid, free packages that I recommend without reservation.

How much does LaunchPad cost?
-----------------------------
  Nothing, it's absolutely free. It's not released into the public domain,
however- I retain copyright on it. If somebody charged you for LaunchPad,
please let me know.
  UPDATE: I've granted a distribution license to Synergy Solutions, Inc., so
if you bought a Synergy CD with LaunchPad on it, that's OK. Remember that
you're still not paying for LaunchPad, which remains free- you're paying for
their CD.
  A lot of people have been telling me that people would be willing to pay
for LaunchPad. Heck, I've got nothing against getting paid :), so here's an
address to send your contributions to.
  Send checks, cash and/or cigarettes to:
    Eric Kenslow
    1122 N. 115th B116
    Seattle, WA  98133

Standard Legal Disclaimer
-------------------------
  LaunchPad is provided as-is with no warranties expressed or implied. You
use this software at your own risk.
  This release of LaunchPad has been tested, and is stable and functional,
on a Pilot 5000 running PalmOS 1.0.6, and a PalmPilot Professional running
PalmOS 2.0.3 Pro. Your mileage may vary.

How can I get ahold of you to complain?
---------------------------------------
  Well, you can't, but if you want to drop me a line and tell me how great my
program is ;) you can send e-mail to erick@metainfo.com. Seriously, though, if
you have a comment, question, or a bug report please drop me a line!
  I will definitely make the source code available online.

  Enjoy!

Planned Enhancements for Later Versions
---------------------------------------

  These are good ideas that didn't get into this version, but that I'm still
  thinking about.

- Gadget for turning the backlight on/off on a PalmPilot. Since I now have a
  PalmPilot Pro (thank you Synergy!) I'm definitely going to do this one.
- Security suggestions have been tossed around- the ability to assign a
  password on a per-app or a per-tab basis. Send me your comments if that
  would be useful to you.
- <Your Idea Here> - Send it to EricK@MetaInfo.com with 'LaunchPad' somewhere
  in the subject line.

Release History
---------------
6/24/1997 OK, now this is it really - Official Version 1.11
  Release notes:
    Although it's technically not necessary, I strongly recommend that you
    delete your old version of LaunchPad before installing.

  Bugs in this release:
    - Application icons are not updated if the application's database does
      not move as a result of a re-install. Workaround: Perform a warm reset,
      which will cause LaunchPad to re-scan all app data at the next startup.

  Bugs fixed in this release:
    - The security (off & lock) gadget did not work on OS 2.0 or higher.
      FIXED! It really is fixed this time! Thanks to jakr@dial.pipex.com for
      accurate and succinct PalmOS 2.0 preferences information.

  New features in this release:
    - More adjustments in the ongoing saga of voltage calculations.

5/18/1997 Final Release - Official Version 1.1
  Release notes:
    Although it's technically not necessary, I strongly recommend that you
    delete your old version of LaunchPad before installing.
    Thanks to everybody who stuck around through all those upgrades, and who
    sent me all the great ideas!

  Bugs in this release:
    - Application icons are not updated if the application's database does
      not move as a result of the install. Workaround: Perform a warm reset,
      which will cause LaunchPad to re-scan all app data at the next startup.

  Bugs fixed in this release:
    - The security (off & lock) gadget did not work on OS 2.0 or higher.
      FIXED!
      UPDATE: Actually not, as I found out later. See above.

  New features in this release:
    - Yet another adjustment for the voltage calculations.
    - Foreign language support.
    - Shortcut to HotSync on the Pilot menu.
    - Slight tweaks in the UI.
    - With LaunchPad set as the default launcher, a second tap on the
      Applications button will re-launch the previous app. This is not nearly
      as seamless as the built-in launcher, but then LaunchPad is a lot bigger
      than the built-in launcher!

5/03/1997 Release 6
  Release notes:
    Although it's technically not necessary, I strongly recommend that you
    delete your old version of LaunchPad before installing.

  Bugs in this release:
    - The security (off & lock) gadget does not work consistently on OS 2.0
      or higher. I'm researching this.
    - Application icons are not updated if the application's database does
      not move as a result of the install. Workaround: delete & re-install
      the app. This version will automatically re-scan all apps the first
      time you run it.

  Bugs fixed in this release:
    - Tab hilights were not drawn correctly. Fixed.
    - Tab scroll was reset when you exited & restarted LaunchPad. Fixed.

  New features in this release:
    - Now auto-shifts the input area for a new tab name.
    - Got rid of the black tabs (boy, what was I thinking there!). Now all
      the tabs are the same color, but the active tab is drawn wider to make
      it appear to be above the inactive tabs.

4/28/1997 Release 5
  Release notes:
    Although it's technically not necessary, I strongly recommend that you
    delete your old version of LaunchPad before installing. This release
    incorporates some relatively radical features and bug fixes.
    If you have any problems with LaunchPad, definitely try deleting &
    re-installing it as the first troubleshooting step.

  Bugs in this release:
    - The security (off & lock) gadget does not work consistently on OS 2.0
      or higher. I'm researching this.

  Bugs fixed in this release:
    - Doing a command shift graffiti stroke (lower left to upper right)
      caused 'Saturday' to be displayed where the 'Command:' text is normally.
      Fixed.
    - If 'use shortcut gadgets' was unchecked, memory icon was erased but
      could still be pressed. Fixed.
    - If an app was reinstalled, sometimes trying to launch that app from
      LaunchPad would cause a fatal exception (soft reset). Fixed.
    - If an alarm went off while LaunchPad is up, the Pilot would freeze
      or get a 'fatal exception' box. FIXED!!!!

  New features in this release:
    - Revamped UI (thanks to Jim McCarthy at Webscapes Corporation for the
      inspiration).
    - The lock gadget now also hides secret records.
    - Stays as default launcher through warm resets.
    - Battery bar now shows how much juice you have left before the system
      refuses to start up because of low voltage.
    - Shortcut gadgets can now be enabled and disabled individually.

4/27/1997 Release 4
  Release notes:
    OK, you should be able to install this one without deleting 1.00.3.
    Remember to deselect 'Always Use LaunchPad' in the preferences, or you
    will have to WARM RESET your pilot.

    Note that there is a known issue with this release- I'm putting it out
    to get final user comments on this 'feature complete' version.

  Bugs in this release:
    - If an alarm goes off while LaunchPad is up, your system will freeze
      or get a 'fatal exception' box. Workaround: switch to a different app
      before turning your Pilot off. I'm working on a fix for this.

  New features in this release:
    - Shortcut gadget to the memory applet (thanks to Jim McCarthy at
      Webscapes Corporation for the great icon!)
    - The lock gadget now actually locks & powers off your pilot.
    - 5 column mode (!).
    - Shortcut keys for menu commands.
    - Allows scrolling of tabs.

4/22/1997 Release 3
  Release notes:
    Well, bad news again- you'll have to delete the current version of
    LaunchPad before installing this one. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I
    had to change the database and preferences format yet again to accomodate
    feature requests.

  Bugs fixed in this release:
    - Tapping the time or voltage to switch views took up to a second. Fixed.

  New features in this release:
    - If you're using LaunchPad for your default launcher, repeatedly pressing
      the applications button will cycle through your tabs.
    - Cute little buttons for turning off & locking your Pilot. For now, the
      'lock' button just brings up the security application.
    - Finally completely conquered the startup speed issue- now, there's
      no need to manually refresh your apps, because it's just as fast to
      rescan them all every time! Don't believe me? Try it!
    - Visual feedback while dragging apps (full drag- almost :]).
    - Variable number of columns for icons, so you can cram 'em in
      like sardines or leave them loose and relaxed, for easy tapping.
    - Added 2 new info modes, 1 each for time and voltage: day of week and
      percentage, respectively.
    - Tabs can now be moved.
    - Warm reset menu option.
	  - Option to cycle time/voltage displays every n seconds.

4/17/1997 Release 2
  Release notes:
    You'll have to delete the current version of LaunchPad before installing
    this one. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I had to change the database
    and preferences format to accomodate feature requests.

    The good news is that this release is a major feature upgrade from release
    1, thanks primarily to the great feedback I got from users! Keep it up!

  Bugs fixed in this release:
    - If an app was deleted, LaunchPad would leave a 'hole' in the apps list
      where that app used to be. Fixed.

  New features in this release:
    - The much-requested apps button hack so that LaunchPad can completely
      replace the default launcher.
      IMPORTANT: If you use LaunchPad as your default launcher but then decide
      to delete it later, uncheck the 'use as default' preference BEFORE
      deleting LaunchPad. Not doing so will require a SOFT reset before your
      Pilot is usable again.
    - Equally requested speed improvements- you now have the option to turn
      off LaunchPad's new apps scan at startup. To go along with this feature,
      I've added a 'Refresh apps' option under the Apps menu.
    - Tab names can now be up to 11 characters in length
    - Option to scroll a page at a time, rather than a line at a time.
    - Option to not switch tabs when moving apps.
    - Option to always start on tab 0.
    - Date/time display is now toggled in-place, rather than showing an alert
      with the current date and time.
    - Battery power can be toggled between voltage and a power bar.

4/15/1997 Initial public release

