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  XSWEEKLY Shell Related News 16.09.00 - 22.09.00
 -------------------------------------------------

	Is it just me or does it feel like a lot of good ideas, mostly starting
off as open source, being raped and then sold?  The Wired article really opened
my eyes to this trend.  Windows, Real Player, etc.  These programs took the 
ideas and coding of open source apps, raped it, and are now selling them.  What
a slap in the face to those of us who put in our precious spare time to work
on these open source projects just too see some fat cat company turn around and
rape our work and ideas.  It really, REALLY get to me and I with they would 
at the very least give credit where credit is due.  But do they?  I don't think
so.

	Along the same idea is the selling out of many of our favorite news
resources.  Slashdot, Lockergnome, Wired, just to name a few.  They are either
so bias or so ad ridden that it makes a mockery of what they used to be.  Also,
the writing and the care that is put into these publications has gone way down
hill since their beginnings.  Wired used to be a really good mag at one point, 
but now its writers are horrible and it takes you 22+ pages of ad's just to 
get to the contents!  WHAT IS GOING ON HERE??  This is a travesty and no one
is making all that much of a fuss about it.  Each day I write more and more
e-mails to the editors and actual authors of articles asking why they are so 
bias, and each day I get fewer and fewer responses.  I go out and seek a new,
unbiased site only to come up empty as after reading an article or two I 
see that the site is heavily slanted to there advertisers.

	I don't know what can be done at this point.  The entire net, even this
early in its infancy, is becoming a business play ground.  Everywhere you look
there are ad's, spam, paid for reviews.  It's getting to the point where I
don't even what to be on the net any more.

	If you are part of this community, and you feel even a tenth of what
I fell, do something about it.  Write to your favorite mags and sites and ask
them to be unbiased and not sell out.  Remember, they will produce what the
public wants.  If you just stand idly by, say hello to the cooperate net where
every page has been bought and paid for by some corporation.

- demigod

  ----------
 [ Mail Bag ]
  ----------

  This weeks mailbag question is:

  What did you think of the Wired article on customization?

  e-mail - demigod@meganet.net
  url - http://www.xsweekly.com/mail.html

  -----------
 [ Spotlight ]
  -----------

- Low Dimension

  Lowspirit, the creator of Quick Notes, runs this site.  Here you 
  will find other skinnable apps like Custo Clock, MadCow, IP Watcher,
  and some screen shots of their up and coming shell.
  
  url - http://www.lowdimension.net

 .................................................
               -= Shell Specific =-
 .................................................

  ------------------
 [ Top News Stories ]
  ------------------

- XSWeekly in PCFormat (14:43 22.09 na)

	jalist just let me know that in the latest issue of the
	uk mag PCFormat that along with ls2k.org, fpn, and another
	site, XSWeekly.com is mentioned along with a shot of the
	page.  This is the first time that I have been mentioned
	in print and I am quite elated about it.  Can't wait to get
	my copy.
	
	url - http://www.pcformat.co.uk

                           +-------<*>-------+

- Azathoth Leaves The Shell Scene (11:04 18.09 na)

	Azathoth, coder of quite a few modules and supporter of the
	lsde, has decided that enough is enough and has left the
	shell scene.  Here is the e-mail that he dropped me:

	"Hello everyone...

	"This will be my final post. I have decided that after 2
	years of work and energy put into the LiteStep shell that it
	is time for me to move on. I feel that the personalities
	involved in LiteStep have begun to matter more than the shell
	and it is this attitude that I cannot take.

	"To me, LiteStep was a shell. Something to make Windows look
	and work well. But recently, the internal feuds and basic
	moroffishness of some of the "community" members has made me
	re-think my current status. When I think about LiteStep now,
	my first thoughts aren't good ones. When it gets to that
	point, I decide to quit no matter what project I am doing.

	"Despite this obvious attack on the community, i still feel
	that there are some invaluable members who i will not mention
	so as not to offend people, but they know who they are. These
	people have helped give LiteStep shape and form and have
	helped nurture LiteStep into something we can all enjoy.
	When these people are being put down for their work, it just
	makes me think. It is unfortunate but more often than not,
	the accuser is usually the least productive member of the
	community.

	"I have to say that an insurmountable degree of respect goes
	out to a section of the DevTeam who do nothing but add and
	improve LiteStep no end.  These are the people who inspire
	and help us. If only there were more of them, maybe then the
	shell might become less about the personalities and more
	about the code.

	"Maybe I'm being romantic, hoping that LiteStep could become
	more than the sum of it's parts. But in the years i have used
	LiteStep i have had great hopes. To see these being thrown
	away due to a few narrow minded sideline screamers seems like
	a waste. But hey, this is a community, and communities have
	to have bad guys right?

	"I suppose, i could put down another reason for leaving the
	LiteStep scene would be my approaching school finals. I wish
	to take some time out to study and hopefully do well in my
	exams. LiteStep causes me too much grief and too many
	headaches for me to devote any more time to it. So giving up
	the scene was the only real course of action i could for see.

	"Having said all this, i will still continue to use the shell,
	and check on updates etc. as i still believe LiteStep itself
	is a great shell. I will just be withdrawing from direct
	activities.

	"I have to thank people like jalist, demigod and dreamer who
	have talked to me and helped and supported me. These guys are
	great. Shout outs also go out to gundams, who became a good
	friend, NeXTer. Headius, grd, MrJukes and the other coders in
	the LiteStep scene. These people have been my inspirations
	and their influences will stick with me for a long while.

	"I thank everyone in the shell community who has been
	supportive throughout my rocky presence.

	"I hope that upon my return (after my exams) that the shell
	shall be a better place and shall embrace the new users, not
	reject them.

	"Thank you all again. So long.

	"I got it all back, now I'm something. Azathoth"

	(source: Azathoth via e-mail)

  ---------
 [ Modules ]
  ---------

- jKey .31 ~ jugg (11:06 18.09 pls)

	jKey.dll is Hotkey manager for Win32 Shells. jKey is based
	off the idea of LiteStep's Hotkey.dll, but offers more
	features and configuration options.

	New in this version:

	- Added "jKeyVKTable"
	- Removed "jKeyCtrlEscKey"
  	- Removed built in special virtual key lookup table.  Now it
  	  is accessed through "jKeyVKTable"
	- Changed a bit of the internal code workings.
	- Fixed potential to not unregister a hotkey when exiting.
	- Fixed no warning boxes showing up when a hotkey was not
	  registered correctly. Now they do.

	url - http://jugg.logicpd.com
	e-mail - jugg@earthling.net
	(source: http://jugg.logicpd.com)

                           +-------<*>-------+

- Litescript 1.2 ~ MrJukes (11:14 18.09 ls)

	This appears to be a scripting module that allows for not only
	the basic scripting functions, but window control also.

	%%UPDATE%% (9:24 20.09)

	- Fixed a bug causing litestep to hang on recycle
	- Added a basic if statement to the language
	- Variable expansion
	- Added OnTop, NotOnTop, Sticky, NotSticky commands
	- Added Prompt commands (Pops up a message box)

	url - http://www.ls2k.org
	e-mail - mrjukes@purdue.edu
	(source: http://www.ls2k.org)

                           +-------<*>-------+

- WinCtrl 1.4 ~ mirul (11:18 18.09 ls)

	This module give you a ton of commands for controlling
	your windows like min, max, etc...

	New in this version:

	- Added var WinctrlHotkeyOnly, which makes it use
	  GetForegroundWindow instead of relying on
	  LM_WINDOWACTIVATED msgs.

	url - http://modulo.litestep.org
	e-mail - mirul88@pd.jaring.my
	(source: http://modulo.litestep.org)

                           +-------<*>-------+

- geOMoltofill ~ luke (11:45 18.09 geo)

	"geOMoltofill is a plugin for geOShell, which fills some
	holes in a geOBar so that it's nice always (nice = same
	width)."

	url - http://www.handshake.de/user/geoshell
	e-mail - hinnerkfd@hotmail.com
	(source: http://news.geoshell.com)

                           +-------<*>-------+

- LsSlider 1.1b ~ Black Hawk (10:07 19.09 ls)

	"LsSlider is a general Slider loadmodule for Litestep. 
	You can use LsSlider to control Winamp, any given Channel
	of your Soundcard or you can use LsSlider to call Bang 
	Commands."

	New in this version:

	-Added new flag to start Sliders Hidden
	-Minor fixes to the Show/hide/toggle bangs
	-Experimental code to load LsSlider in LsBox

	%%UPDATE%% (9:19 20.09)
	
	- Removed the experimental code - it didn't work :/

	url - http://www.blkhawk.de
	e-mail - blkhawk@blkhawk.de
	(source: http://www.blackhawk.de)

                           +-------<*>-------+

- lsCDEject 1.0 ~ Chao-Kuo Lin (10:14 19.09 ls)

	lsCDEject is a small ls mod that gives you three commands to
	eject, close, and/or toggle the cd tray.  This mod will also
	give you the option to choose a drive letter.

	url - http://cklin.cjb.net
	e-mail - chaokuo@iname.com
	(source: http://floach.pimpin.net)

                           +-------<*>-------+

- jamp 1.2 ~ MrJukes (10:26 19.09 ls)

	"It is a very similar module to AmpTitle but without the
	nasty memory leak and it works in NT/2k. It basically
	displays the currently playing Winamp song on your desktop
	in a fully customizable window."

	%%UPDATE%% (9:25 20.09)
	
	- jampAlwaysOnTop
	- !jampMove X Y
	- !jampHome
	
	%%UPDATE%% (10:13 22.09)
	
	- jampNoScroll
	- jampFormat "%title% - %status% - %length% - %pos% - %rem%"
	- jampLeftClick !bang, jampRightClick !bang, jampMiddleClick
	  !bang
	- jampNoWinampText "jAMP"

	url - http://www.ls2k.org
	e-mail - mrjukes@purdue.edu
	(source: http://www.ls2k.org)

                           +-------<*>-------+

- WharfX 0.3 ~ TrOgI (9:13 20.09 ls)

	WharfX is a modified wharf.dll module that allows for
	the wharf to be horizontal or vertical.  Other improvements
	are on the way.
	
	New in this build:
	
	- Added bang commands !WharfToggle, !WharfMove, !WharfMoveTo
    	- Added WharfStartHidden setting
    	- Added ability to set the tile size for each folder

	url - desktopsource.mindjunction.com
	e-mail - crouson@inreach.com
	(source: LS Mailing List ~ WharfX b0.3 coming at ya!)

                           +-------<*>-------+

- LiteRunner 1.0 ~ MrJukes (10:19 21.09 ls)

	This module will execute a bang command or an executable
	every time it sees that one of the specified applications
	has been launched.

	url - http://modulo.litestep.org
	e-mail - mrjukes@purdue.edu
	(source: http://modulo.litestep.ort)

  -----------
 [ Web Sites ]
  -----------

- geoXplain ~ CoolerFlex (11:32 18.09 geo)

	"It will be a special geoshell help site for newbies, and
	will contain screens and skins!  I would like to ask you to
	put it on your site, if you will it'll be great!"

	url - http://geoxplain.cjb.net/
	e-mail - coolerflex@freeze.com
	(source: http://news.geoshell.com)

                           +-------<*>-------+

- geOShell SS site ~ Daemon (11:09 19.09 geo)

	geOShellShots is exactly what it sounds like, a repository
	for geOShell screen shots.  If you want to show off your
	geOShell desktop, stop by there and upload shot.
	
	url - http://communities.msn.com/geOShellShots/
	(source: http://news.geoshell.com)

                           +-------<*>-------+

- LiteStep Default Theme Contest Site (12:53 22.09 ls)

	c0mrade has put up an area on litestep.net just for uploading
	you entries into the LiteStep Default Theme Contest.  Right
	now there are only three themes up.  Stop by and check out
	the themes and post your own.
	
	url - http://www.litestep.net/dthemes.php3
	(source: http://www.ls2k.org)

  ------
 [ Misc ]
  ------

- LiteStep .ndf File for NeoPlanet ~ ChromeTiger (19:49 22.09 ls)

	This is a huge list of LiteStep related sites compiled by
	ChromeTiger for use with NeoPlanet.
	
	url - heep://www.ls2k.org
	e-mail - chrometiger@citynet.net
	(source: http://www.ls2k.org)

  ---------------
 [ Latest Builds ]
  ---------------

- LiteStep
     o 24.6 build 090400
     o http://builds.litestep.net/builds/ls-0246-dev-20000904.zip 

- DarkStep
     o 0.971
     o http://www.darkstep.com/files/DarkStep971.zip

- geOShell 
     o 4.6.5a
     o http://news.geoshell.com/Plugins/Download/geoshellr465a.zip

- PureLS
     o 052900
     o http://209.46.69.134/purels/binaries/00-05-29r.zip

 .................................................
               -= Alt OS Specific =-
 .................................................

  -----------
 [ Web Sites ]
  -----------

- FreeDOS/SEAL page moves (10:30 21.09 sel)

	The FreeDOS/SEAL website now has its own vhost and a
	new look.
	
	url - http://www.seal.de.vu/
	(source: http://members.aon.at/seal)

  ---------------
 [ Latest Builds ]
  ---------------

- SEAL
     o 1D (042900)
     o http://www.home.sk/public/seal/sealexe.zip

- V2_OS
     o 0.63.2a
     o http://www.v2os.cx/downloads/dl_system.htm

 .................................................
            -= Beyond the Specifics =-
 .................................................

  ------------
 [ Interesting ]
  ------------

- Informit Free Library

	I am not sure where I got this from, but it is sitting in my
	bookmarks and it is quite a nice little resource.  It 
	includes full books on c/c++, java, OS's, CAD, DB, and much
	more.  Worth the time just to stop by and see what is
	available.

	url - http://www.informit.com/itlibrary/

....................................

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