A monologue about what is wrong with the world, and how im perfect. Basically useless tripe I write about to relieve my boredom.
Videolan Player is the best player around, and it kicks every other players ass.
It can play almost sadistically corrupted video and audio. You can check out the source too.
Get it here
[The 0.8.4 version]
The idea of making a skin was born when I saw a page about writing skins in XML for VLC.So after downloading the few skins on the site and seeing how it was done, I realized that it was perfectly simple.[NOTE: My stupid monitor doesnt do colors very well !]
1. Read the page about making skins.
2. Download a vlt file, change its extension to .tar.gz and unzip.
3. Observe the theme.xml file.
4. Crib about how you can make a better skin.
5. Plan a layout for the skin.
7. GIMP stuff:
9. Once the image looks ready, scale it down.
10. Cut out the buttons into separate files and and export to png files.
11. Paste the other branches [pressed, mouseover] into the image and cut out the images with the SAME mask.This ensures that all the buttons are the same size, and you dont spend hours aligning them.
12. Get some free fonts from the net appropriate to the theme.
13. Write the xml file to load the buttons.
15. Rename to vlt
16. Test the skin [with debug interface of VLC]
17. Remove any thing buggy.
19. Play around with it till you lose interest.
Download the skin here
It can play almost sadistically corrupted video and audio. You can check out the source too.
Get it here
[The 0.8.4 version]
The idea of making a skin was born when I saw a page about writing skins in XML for VLC.So after downloading the few skins on the site and seeing how it was done, I realized that it was perfectly simple.[NOTE: My stupid monitor doesnt do colors very well !]
1. Read the page about making skins.
2. Download a vlt file, change its extension to .tar.gz and unzip.
3. Observe the theme.xml file.
4. Crib about how you can make a better skin.
5. Plan a layout for the skin.
- This is what takes the longest.Its very easy to miss a few important buttons.
- Better make a sketch of what its supposed to look like.
- Look at skins for other players to see whats good and whats not.
7. GIMP stuff:
- Increase the undo level
- Make a base version without any effects [like mouseover or pressed], if something screws up, you can always get back to this.
- Search for plugins to do what is needed, perhaps with a little tweaking.
- Use the selection tools wisely, do NOT feather the selections as VLC might not handle alpha values != 0,1
- Make a sample button and load it in an existing skin to tr it out.
- Make the initial images larger than you intend to use them, you can always scale them down, the effects look crappy if applied on a small image
- The buttons can be made using webdings or other symbol fonts, [unless you want to make custom buttons]
- Make sure the buttons are each in a separate layer
- Too many colors hurt the beholder.
9. Once the image looks ready, scale it down.
10. Cut out the buttons into separate files and and export to png files.
11. Paste the other branches [pressed, mouseover] into the image and cut out the images with the SAME mask.This ensures that all the buttons are the same size, and you dont spend hours aligning them.
12. Get some free fonts from the net appropriate to the theme.
13. Write the xml file to load the buttons.
- Get the window priorities right, or dragging the window will have terrible results.
- Do write the tooltip text.
- Dont forget to add close and resize buttons where needed.
15. Rename to vlt
16. Test the skin [with debug interface of VLC]
17. Remove any thing buggy.
- Missing/ Open tags
- Missing files
- Typos
- Tooltip text
- Adjust the Font size/color to be visible
19. Play around with it till you lose interest.
Download the skin here
Bad move. Aeon Flux was great as the series of small clips. An evil female in latex, with no conscience, killing tons of people,doesnt speak ..very little to dislike. And then just a few months after I learn about AF, I realize that Charlize theron is playing her!Charlize theron is nice. But not aeon flux material, here is why
Now all that remains is to check out the movie and see if it is better than I expect it to be.After the horrible mangling of batman in the recent movies .. i shudder to think that AF will be going the same way.
Of course it is impossible for a human being to be like AF, but charlize ...? No way. Jennifer garner would have been better. Some comics do not make good movies. Next thing i know there will be a GITS movie with real characters.
Update: My worst fears are confirmned, The movie sucks so bad, that I could not make myself watch it completely. What a waste...
| AEON FLUX | CHARLIZE THERON as AF | |
|---|---|---|
| impossibly thin | chubby | |
| Looks wicked | Looks like an overgrown child | |
| Crazy hairdo | My hair looks like this in the morning | |
| Doesnt talk | Bet there will be lots of whining | |
| Kickass costume | Lame costume, no big boots | |
| wears black or nothing | wears white sometimes | |
| impossibly thin | chubby |
Now all that remains is to check out the movie and see if it is better than I expect it to be.After the horrible mangling of batman in the recent movies .. i shudder to think that AF will be going the same way.
Of course it is impossible for a human being to be like AF, but charlize ...? No way. Jennifer garner would have been better. Some comics do not make good movies. Next thing i know there will be a GITS movie with real characters.
Update: My worst fears are confirmned, The movie sucks so bad, that I could not make myself watch it completely. What a waste...