Dos based jukebox with vertical monitor support

[Mosez]

Is there a Dos base jukebox available with the facility to rotate the display and have it fit on a vertical monitor?  I believe Doscab will have this in the future, but are there any I can use in the iterim, I'm getting a sore neck trying to read the screen  

[Mosez]

Another thing, I'm running an arcade monitor and it doesn't like the high resolutions of MPX or DOSCAB.  Am I missing something here?

[BobA]

I don't think you are missing it.  It is just that there is no such creature to find.  In all my looking I never found a satisfactory solution for a rotated monitor.  I think there maybe some comming but those will probably not be DOS based.  

A Windows based program used on a Vert Mon where you have rotated windows with an aux prog or the driver of a newer vid card maybe the only currently available option.

BobA

[Chris]

I get the message... time to buckle down and get to work!  

--Chris

[Mosez]

Chris, please don't take my comments as a criticism.  I'm still relatively new to the arcade/jukebox thing.  I am of course eagerly anticipating the updates to your software, as it is at present the closest thing to what I want that I am aware of.  I just thought there may be something to use in the interim.  I read that you are working on the vertical screen update, is there an update for the lower resolutions in the pipeworks as well?  Thanks for your efforts.

[Chris]

Mosez, I don't take your comments as criticism at all!  I know I've been slow... I've been promising updates for months now. The problem is that I'm trying to do all the updates at once, in very little free time.... I need to get the changes out in bite-size chunks....

The other big problem is that when I wrote the original program, it was a quick and dirty hack to get a jukebox running on my cabinet, so there were a lot of assumptions hard-coded into it about its use and interface that are starting to bite me as I try to make it more flexible.  For others to use it, I need to be able to deal with different color depths, a variety of control panel layouts, different resolutions, dealing with unusual MP3's (all of mine are at 128K, encoded by the same encoder), vertical orientation, invisible mouse support (for touch screens), joystick navigation (for cabs with limited buttons like a Pac-Man cab), using joystick, gamepad, or mouse buttons as inputs (to cover all of the hacks out there), GUI configuration, etc.  And it all needs to work the same in both DOS and Windows. (Even though my cabinet has gone Windows, I will NOT leave the DOS version behind.)

In addition to these structural changes, there are all the features to add: different sort methods, CD-style layouts, radio/play stimulator, screen saver, album cover support for CD mode, skins, documentation, remote control, etc.  And I have to do this all efficiently (or make those features that aren't efficient optional), so the older processors running DOS cabinets aren't left behind.

All this work is gonna take at least an hour or two but I rarely have that kind of time to myself lately...

It is coming, though!  I promise!  Again!  

--Chris

[Mameham]

<bow before Chris>

I'm still waiting too but since I've started this new job I haven't even had the time to glue... yes... glue... just two drops of superglue... the switch back on my pedal of Mamehac...

Oh well... who really needs to be the first wallbox anyway? Now I'll just have to aspire to be the best!

- Eric

[Mosez]

Chris, keep up the good work!!  I'm certainly looking forward to seeing it progress.

cheers.

[Mosez]

bump...


Just wondering where its all up to, any luck with the rotation thing?

[Chris]

I must sincerely apologize to all who have been waiting for me to get off my tail and update the DOSCab Jukebox!  There has been so much going on in my life over the last few months that I've done no work at all on it.  Im just now getting my computer room set back up after moving into a new house, so hopefully I can get back in the saddle.  Oddly enough, I've goten about a dozen jukebox inquries in the last week, whereas before that I'd heard little about it for a long time; I think I had assumed that with the success of Virtual Music Jukebox, people had lost interest in DOSCab.  But that appears to not be true, and people are still forging ahead with DOS based projects, so I guess it's time to get an update going for those of you who have been patiently waiting for me to produce.

--Chris

[BobA]

All the best in your new home.  Hope you got a nice new computer room in it.    

I use VMJ in my newer cabs but am very interested in a vertical screen jukebox for a cab that I have already built.   PS could you look at both right and left rotation so that a vertical screen would work no matter which way it was rotated to vertical. (problem I have with game launcher)

Thanks for the work.

BobA

[Chris]

All the best in your new home.  Hope you got a nice new computer room in it.    

I use VMJ in my newer cabs but am very interested in a vertical screen jukebox for a cab that I have already built.   PS could you look at both right and left rotation so that a vertical screen would work no matter which way it was rotated to vertical. (problem I have with game launcher)

Thanks for the work.

BobA

I would definately make the rotation selectable, including allowing you to select a rotation or flip on the fly (this one specifically for cockail cabinets).

--Chris

[Mameham]

 Hey Chris... yeah, I'm still patiently waiting out here for your project too... one request, one idea...

 Keep system requirements as low as possible. Should be easy enough, that's what makes it good being in DOS... My target machine is a 120Mhz laptop...

 And an idea... to make the "cd like function" of VJB that you were planning a ways back, how about borrowing his "interactive mode"... then you can keep the flavor of your jukebox with the CD function of a bigger one...
 Basically, have the program list Artists on the center bar of your "labels" with Album names ( instead of songs ) on the top and bottom portion of the labels. Then when you select an album all the labels on the screen would change to the album contents ( with album names in the middle and song names on the top and bottom of the labels ).
 As I visualize this set up in my head I think it would be cool as hell. A full cd jukebox that looks like an old jukebox. If course you run into a problem in that each "CD" could only have 20 songs per ( if you do change to 5 labels per side like you were considering ) but then how many CDs have more than 20 songs anyway?

 Yeah... that's really cool. I hope you can/do impliment something like that... I think that would definately make DosCab my #1 jukebox...

- Eric

[Chris]

Keep system requirements as low as possible. Should be easy enough, that's what makes it good being in DOS... My target machine is a 120Mhz laptop...

Well, the lower resolution versions should definately require less of a machine, although MP3 decoding is tricky on slow machines...

And an idea... to make the "cd like function" of VJB that you were planning a ways back, how about borrowing his "interactive mode"... then you can keep the flavor of your jukebox with the CD function of a bigger one...
 Basically, have the program list Artists on the center bar of your "labels" with Album names ( instead of songs ) on the top and bottom portion of the labels. Then when you select an album all the labels on the screen would change to the album contents ( with album names in the middle and song names on the top and bottom of the labels ).
 As I visualize this set up in my head I think it would be cool as hell. A full cd jukebox that looks like an old jukebox. If course you run into a problem in that each "CD" could only have 20 songs per ( if you do change to 5 labels per side like you were considering ) but then how many CDs have more than 20 songs anyway?

Well, I've deliberately avoided downloading VMJ because I don't want to subconsciously steal anything from it... ordinarily, I wouldn't worry, but since he's trying to make money off his, I don't want to get in the way.  My jukebox was originally made for me, and making it available is my way of giving back to the community that has given me so much, but I don't want to step on any toes....

That said, I was just going to do the CD labels as rectangles rather than individual labels, with either two CD's per page or one CD and one CD cover.  They should take the same amount of space as the two columns of labels now, though, so the overall look will still be the same... and you'll be able to redefine that look in the next version anyway.

If, of course, I get off my tail and write it....

--Chris

 Yeah... that's really cool. I hope you can/do impliment something like that... I think that would definately make DosCab my #1 jukebox...

- Eric

[Mameham]

 Awe phoo... I like my approach. I like the old style look of DosCab with the fuctionality of full CDs... maybe I should get off my butt and learn a non-web programming language and write it myself. hehe.

- Eric

[Chris]

Awe phoo... I like my approach. I like the old style look of DosCab with the fuctionality of full CDs... maybe I should get off my butt and learn a non-web programming language and write it myself. hehe.

Your way is innovative... I jyst worry that the two-step navigation process will feel too "computer-menu" and not "real jukebox".  Since it involves no graphical changes, though, I can look into including it as an option, even if I don't think I'll ever use it...

[Mameham]

Your way is innovative... I jyst worry that the two-step navigation process will feel too "computer-menu" and not "real jukebox".  Since it involves no graphical changes, though, I can look into including it as an option, even if I don't think I'll ever use it...

As usual, you rule.

[Chris]

Your way is innovative... I jyst worry that the two-step navigation process will feel too "computer-menu" and not "real jukebox".  Since it involves no graphical changes, though, I can look into including it as an option, even if I don't think I'll ever use it...

As usual, you rule.

Thanks... I'll rule if I write some code, though... I was hoping to make progress this weeend, but an emergency is calling me away until Sunday... <sigh>

--Chris

[Mosez]

Chris, please no apologies.  I'm sure everyone here appreciates what you have done to date!!!  Hope your new place is going well, and also that it inspires you to reel off yet more kickass code!!  Good luck with that emergency.

cheers,
            John.