Desktop background generator

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- said...
- User
- 23 Apr 2007, 17:46
Version 3.2

NEW: Regenerates missing XML files
NEW: Falls back to 3-monthly charts if the weekly charts are empty
NEW: Context menu's for fake covers
NEW: Automatic album-size selector (gcd algorithm)
FIXED: No-image cover filtering (again)
FIXED: Works with site-updates again
FIXED: Weekly charts work correctly again
FIXED: Some minor GUI issues

Get it here

[quote][b][user][/user][/b] said: [b]NEW:[/b] Regenerates missing XML files [b]NEW:[/b] Falls back to 3-monthly charts if the weekly charts are empty [b]NEW:[/b] Context menu's for fake covers [b]NEW:[/b] Automatic album-size selector ([url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclidean_algorithm]gcd algorithm[/url]) [b]FIXED:[/b] No-image cover filtering (again) [b]FIXED:[/b] Works with site-updates again [b]FIXED:[/b] Weekly charts work correctly again [b]FIXED:[/b] Some minor GUI issues Get it [url=http://gijsco.student.utwente.nl/projects/last.fm/]here[/url][/quote]

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- MightyJay said...
- Moderator
- 23 Apr 2007, 19:04
Let me just join in the fun by saying: Very cool!

System Status | Problems Scrobbling? | Frequently Asked Questions

[quote][b][user]MightyJay[/user][/b] said: Let me just join in the fun by saying: Very cool![/quote]

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- sifelltneytandi said...
- User
- 3 May 2007, 18:27
I'm still getting missing album covers. I've cleared my cache and I've asked the program to filter them out. What could be causing this?

[quote][b][user]sifelltneytandi[/user][/b] said: I'm still getting missing album covers. I've cleared my cache and I've asked the program to filter them out. What could be causing this?[/quote]

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- MikeManger said...
- User
- 5 May 2007, 21:57
(still) Great stuff, what about a way of saving custom dimensions for the image, or remembering the last few ones used.

In fact, it would be pretty awesome to be able to have more than one set-up/profile saved, each one could have different dimensions stored.

I suppose the easiest way of doing this would be by having a 'save settings' button, which could just creat a new settings.xml - so you'd have settings1.xml, settings2.xml and so on.

Hope your exams went well.

Reed Foo: [Last.fm System Status]|[Known Issues]|[Site Update Lowdown]
Some Groups:[All Your Bass Are Belong To Us]|[Classic Rock]|[I Still Buy CDs]

[quote][b][user]MikeManger[/user][/b] said: (still) Great stuff, what about a way of saving custom dimensions for the image, or remembering the last few ones used. In fact, it would be pretty awesome to be able to have more than one set-up/profile saved, each one could have different dimensions stored. I suppose the easiest way of doing this would be by having a 'save settings' button, which could just creat a new settings.xml - so you'd have settings1.xml, settings2.xml and so on. Hope your exams went well.[/quote]

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- halnine said...
- User
- 5 May 2007, 22:06
MikeManger: Until then, the easy workaround is to have several copies of the app (since it desn't deal with registry or has an installer), one for each setup.
I've been doing this for quite a while - I have one copy that deals with the online datafeeds and another for local album covers (since "cache dir" option doesn't filter out the blank/corrupt images).
The only overhead is having separate cache dirs, which takes up some space.

· FB2K · VU Player · FlashNote · DropBox · LastFMDesktop · LastTV

[quote][b][user]halnine[/user][/b] said: [user]mikemanger[/user]: Until then, the easy workaround is to have several copies of the app (since it desn't deal with registry or has an installer), one for each setup. I've been doing this for quite a while - I have one copy that deals with the online datafeeds and another for local album covers (since "cache dir" option doesn't filter out the blank/corrupt images). The only overhead is having separate cache dirs, which takes up some space.[/quote]

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- MikeManger said...
- User
- 6 May 2007, 11:56
halnine said:
The only overhead is having separate cache dirs, which takes up some space.
Quite true. However, I must admit I wasn't really thinking about the cache directory, but more what settings are applied (e.g. what sort method is used, what fade settings used and so on - pretty much all the stuff stored inside the "settings.xml").

Creating multiple instances is a good workaround though, so it might not be worth the trouble!

Reed Foo: [Last.fm System Status]|[Known Issues]|[Site Update Lowdown]
Some Groups:[All Your Bass Are Belong To Us]|[Classic Rock]|[I Still Buy CDs]

[quote][b][user]MikeManger[/user][/b] said: [quote][b][user]halnine[/user][/b] said: The only overhead is having separate cache dirs, which takes up some space.[/quote] Quite true. However, I must admit I wasn't really thinking about the cache directory, but more what settings are applied (e.g. what sort method is used, what fade settings used and so on - pretty much all the stuff stored inside the "settings.xml"). Creating multiple instances is a good workaround though, so it might not be worth the trouble![/quote]

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- Greg_x7 said...
- User
- 6 May 2007, 14:45
Feature request: if possible "Fade to Transparency" and "Set Transparency" both for album images and overlay image.
With every version this app is becoming better and better :)

Edit: an example of what I mean. If this is possible now please tell me how.
[/url]

"With my feet upon the ground I lose myself between the sounds"

[quote][b][user]Greg_x7[/user][/b] said: Feature request: if possible "Fade to Transparency" and "Set Transparency" both for album images and overlay image. With every version this app is becoming better and better :) Edit: an example of what I mean. If this is possible now please tell me how. [url=http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=eyescat400x100croppedalbz3.png][img=http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/9084/eyescat400x100croppedalbz3.th.png][/url][/quote]

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- MikeManger said...
- User
- 6 May 2007, 15:17
Greg_x7 said:
Edit: an example of what I mean. If this is possible now please tell me how.

Go into options then 'image overlay', there is an option of applying transparency there! - Opacity is what you want (I use this to apply a title to the wallpaper such as "weekly top albums"..)

Reed Foo: [Last.fm System Status]|[Known Issues]|[Site Update Lowdown]
Some Groups:[All Your Bass Are Belong To Us]|[Classic Rock]|[I Still Buy CDs]

[quote][b][user]MikeManger[/user][/b] said: [quote][b][user]Greg_x7[/user][/b] said: Edit: an example of what I mean. If this is possible now please tell me how. [url=http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=eyescat400x100croppedalbz3.png][img]http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/9084/eyescat400x100croppedalbz3.th.png[/img][/url][/quote] Go into options then 'image overlay', there is an option of applying transparency there! - Opacity is what you want (I use this to apply a title to the wallpaper such as "weekly top albums"..)[/quote]

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- Greg_x7 said...
- User
- 6 May 2007, 16:34
Yeah, quite obvious :/ Sorry for that.
While I'm here, what exactly the "transparency" option in Image Overlay does? I can see no effects.

"With my feet upon the ground I lose myself between the sounds"

[quote][b][user]Greg_x7[/user][/b] said: Yeah, quite obvious :/ Sorry for that. While I'm here, what exactly the "transparency" option in Image Overlay does? I can see no effects.[/quote]
Edited by Greg_x7 on 6 May 2007, 16:37

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- said...
- User
- 6 May 2007, 16:36
... it would be pretty awesome to be able to have more than one set-up/profile saved, each one could have different dimensions stored.

Nice idea, would be useful indeed, I'll put it on my to-do list :) And like halnine said, until then you could use the workaround, since I (intentionally) only look for the settings.xml in the app's directory.

[quote][b][user][/user][/b] said: [quote]... it would be pretty awesome to be able to have more than one set-up/profile saved, each one could have different dimensions stored.[/quote] [/quote] Nice idea, would be useful indeed, I'll put it on my [url=http://gijsco.student.utwente.nl/projects/last.fm/todo.php][b]to-do[/b][/url] list :) And like [user]halnine[/user] said, until then you could use the workaround, since I (intentionally) only look for the settings.xml in the app's directory.[/quote]

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- halnine said...
- User
- 9 May 2007, 00:45
Wonderful improvements to the new version - '--save' switch (especially when it's combined with the save customization from the last version) and the weekly chart - now that it actually works I can see a totally different collection every time, even though the top albums turn out quite different from the top artists due to LastFM's filtering & album 'detection' (guesswork, that is). But it still looks neat:

And while you're into adding things to the ToDo list - how about throwing in
- data source (overall/weekly/3-months/CacheDir etc) commandline switch
- cache "no image" filtering
- off the top of my head - 'artist chart'. This might turn out to be a bit tricky as LastFM doesn't restrict the proportions of artist images, but it's rather a sweet concept they added on their flipping-quilt widget (which works quite nastily for them, but might be better if you try it).
Come to think of it, maybe an option to combine artist images with the album charts might turn out better.

· FB2K · VU Player · FlashNote · DropBox · LastFMDesktop · LastTV

[quote][b][user]halnine[/user][/b] said: Wonderful improvements to the new version - '--save' switch (especially when it's combined with the save customization from the last version) and the weekly chart - now that it actually works I can see a totally different collection every time, even though the top albums turn out quite different from the top artists due to LastFM's filtering & album 'detection' (guesswork, that is). But it still looks neat: [IMG]http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/3747/07050621h33m47yx1.jpg[/IMG] And while you're into adding things to the ToDo list - how about throwing in - data source (overall/weekly/3-months/CacheDir etc) commandline switch - cache "no image" filtering - off the top of my head - 'artist chart'. This might turn out to be a bit tricky as LastFM doesn't restrict the proportions of artist images, but it's rather a sweet concept they added on their flipping-quilt widget (which works quite nastily for them, but might be better if you try it). Come to think of it, maybe an option to combine artist images with the album charts might turn out better.[/quote]

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- said...
- User
- 9 May 2007, 10:33
- data source (overall/weekly/3-months/CacheDir etc) commandline switch
That should be an easy fix

- cache "no image" filtering
The only way to know if an image should be filtered out, is if you know the image's URL, this is only saved to the XML file since version 3.0 or so, so some filtering would still have to be done manually.

- off the top of my head - 'artist chart'.
Been on my Todo -list for a while, and would still be a cool feature, but might not be as easy as it looks on first sight.

Come to think of it, maybe an option to combine artist images with the album charts might turn out better.
Better yet, wouldn't it be nice to combine any data sources, like weekly and 3monthly, or any other combination... :)

[quote][b][user][/user][/b] said: [quote]- data source (overall/weekly/3-months/CacheDir etc) commandline switch[/quote] That should be an easy fix [quote]- cache "no image" filtering[/quote] The only way to know if an image should be filtered out, is if you know the image's URL, this is only saved to the XML file since version 3.0 or so, so some filtering would still have to be done manually. [quote]- off the top of my head - 'artist chart'.[/quote] Been on my [url=http://gijsco.student.utwente.nl/projects/last.fm/todo.php]Todo -list[/url] for a while, and would still be a cool feature, but might not be as easy as it looks on first sight. [quote]Come to think of it, maybe an option to combine artist images with the album charts might turn out better.[/quote] Better yet, wouldn't it be nice to combine any data sources, like weekly and 3monthly, or any other combination... :) [/quote]

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- halnine said...
- User
- 10 May 2007, 06:05
- cache "no image" filtering
The only way to know if an image should be filtered out, is if you know the image's URL, this is only saved to the XML file since version 3.0 or so, so some filtering would still have to be done manually.

hmm. Isn't there some sort of a checksum check for the default "no image" image from LastFM?

· FB2K · VU Player · FlashNote · DropBox · LastFMDesktop · LastTV

[quote][b][user]halnine[/user][/b] said: [quote][quote]- cache "no image" filtering[/quote] The only way to know if an image should be filtered out, is if you know the image's URL, this is only saved to the XML file since version 3.0 or so, so some filtering would still have to be done manually. [/quote] hmm. Isn't there some sort of a checksum check for the default "no image" image from LastFM?[/quote]

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- said...
- User
- 10 May 2007, 10:54
- cache "no image" filtering
The only way to know if an image should be filtered out, is if you know the image's URL, this is only saved to the XML file since version 3.0 or so, so some filtering would still have to be done manually.

hmm. Isn't there some sort of a checksum check for the default "no image" image from LastFM?
I guess I could do something like that, would require to load each image in memory, what could be quite slow.

Perhaps an easier solution would be a seperate (read: quickly hacked together) tool to find and delete "no image" images in cache directories?

[quote][b][user][/user][/b] said: [quote][quote][quote]- cache "no image" filtering[/quote] The only way to know if an image should be filtered out, is if you know the image's URL, this is only saved to the XML file since version 3.0 or so, so some filtering would still have to be done manually. [/quote] hmm. Isn't there some sort of a checksum check for the default "no image" image from LastFM?[/quote] I guess I could do something like that, would require to load each image in memory, what could be quite slow. Perhaps an easier solution would be a seperate (read: quickly hacked together) tool to find and delete "no image" images in cache directories?[/quote]

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- said...
- User
- 10 May 2007, 13:22
NoMoreNoImageImages.exe

This should do the trick ;)

see NoMoreNoImageImages.exe in this folder

[quote][b][user][/user][/b] said: This should do the trick ;) see NoMoreNoImageImages.exe in [url=http://gijsco.student.utwente.nl/projects/last.fm/Tools/]this folder[/url][/quote]

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- halnine said...
- User
- 10 May 2007, 18:38
Won't deleting the NoImage image files would cause the app to re-download them on each online run which would slow things up?
Just asking (I have over 1200 images in the 'online' cache folder, so I'm kinda scared to try it).

· FB2K · VU Player · FlashNote · DropBox · LastFMDesktop · LastTV

[quote][b][user]halnine[/user][/b] said: Won't deleting the NoImage image files would cause the app to re-download them on each online run which would slow things up? Just asking (I have over 1200 images in the 'online' cache folder, so I'm kinda scared to try it).[/quote]

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- said...
- User
- 10 May 2007, 22:04
if they are downloaded again, they atleast have a correct xml file, which should help with filtering them out. (it's more like an emergengy solution if you can't get rid of the no image covers in your wallpaper)

[quote][b][user][/user][/b] said: if they are downloaded again, they atleast have a correct xml file, which should help with filtering them out. (it's more like an emergengy solution if you can't get rid of the no image covers in your wallpaper)[/quote]

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- sifelltneytandi said...
- User
- 24 May 2007, 01:09
I'm still getting dead covers. When I use that program, it does delete them, but as soon as I run it again they're right back.

What happened with last.fm that changed this aspect of the program? I never had problems with it before.

[quote][b][user]sifelltneytandi[/user][/b] said: I'm still getting dead covers. When I use that program, it does delete them, but as soon as I run it again they're right back. What happened with last.fm that changed this aspect of the program? I never had problems with it before.[/quote]

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- said...
- User
- 24 May 2007, 09:18
I'm still getting dead covers. When I use that program, it does delete them, but as soon as I run it again they're right back.

What happened with last.fm that changed this aspect of the program? I never had problems with it before.

That is strange, I don't think anything changed with last.fm, and I can't seem to reproduce this problem. Can you send me your settings.xml, that would help a lot to figure this out.

[quote][b][user][/user][/b] said: [quote]I'm still getting dead covers. When I use that program, it does delete them, but as soon as I run it again they're right back. What happened with last.fm that changed this aspect of the program? I never had problems with it before.[/quote] That is strange, I don't think anything changed with last.fm, and I can't seem to reproduce this problem. Can you send me your settings.xml, that would help a lot to figure this out.[/quote]

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- sifelltneytandi said...
- User
- 25 May 2007, 17:48
Ok -- I just sent it to you via PM.

Also, I want to mention that I have this problem at work and at home with two separate installations of the program. The settings.xml I sent you is the one I use at work.

[quote][b][user]sifelltneytandi[/user][/b] said: Ok -- I just sent it to you via PM. Also, I want to mention that I have this problem at work and at home with two separate installations of the program. The settings.xml I sent you is the one I use at work.[/quote]

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- said...
- User
- 26 May 2007, 14:29
Thanks, I'll look in to it

[quote][b][user][/user][/b] said: Thanks, I'll look in to it[/quote]

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- sifelltneytandi said...
- User
- 29 May 2007, 18:47
Did you find anything? I've been able to correct the problem by manually replacing the files in my cache with my own cover art, but...y'know. :)

[quote][b][user]sifelltneytandi[/user][/b] said: Did you find anything? I've been able to correct the problem by manually replacing the files in my cache with my own cover art, but...y'know. :)[/quote]

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- said...
- User
- 29 May 2007, 21:11
Yes, i know what is wrong, don't know how to fix it yet, and unfortunately I'm extremely busy atm. So it will be atleast a few weeks before I have the time to realy look in to it, sorry.

In the mean time you could filter them out manualy or use a website-datasource instead of a XML source

[quote][b][user][/user][/b] said: Yes, i know what is wrong, don't know how to fix it yet, and unfortunately I'm extremely busy atm. So it will be atleast a few weeks before I have the time to realy look in to it, sorry. In the mean time you could filter them out manualy or use a website-datasource instead of a XML source[/quote]

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- magnoz said...
- Subscriber
- 2 Jun 2007, 17:41
Hi, thanks for this nice tool!

Would it be possible to add some basic image processing to it?

It would be nice if the generated wallpaper could be made less obtrusive automatically:

I'd like to be able to
- convert the image to gray scale
- set contrast
- set brightness

Bye,
magnoz

Maybe you've been brainwashed, too?

[quote][b][user]magnoz[/user][/b] said: Hi, thanks for this nice tool! Would it be possible to add some basic image processing to it? It would be nice if the generated wallpaper could be made less obtrusive automatically: I'd like to be able to - convert the image to gray scale - set contrast - set brightness Bye, magnoz[/quote]

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- said...
- User
- 3 Jun 2007, 15:56
convert the image to gray scale
[Options > Desaturate] and set ammount to 100

set contrast
set brightness
These, (and other) are in the pipeline, as soon as I got some free time on my hands, but that won't be until 3 or 4 weeks. But perhaps the fade effect [options > fade] does something similar to what you are looking for

[quote][b][user][/user][/b] said: [quote] convert the image to gray scale[/quote] [Options > Desaturate] and set ammount to 100 [quote]set contrast set brightness[/quote] These, (and other) are in the pipeline, as soon as I got some free time on my hands, but that won't be until 3 or 4 weeks. But perhaps the fade effect [options > fade] does something similar to what you are looking for[/quote]

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