Thread: hAv1c+ v3.02 - the fastest and most stable RR skin - v4 coming very soon!

I'm just now looking into the new plugin, there's so much to it, but I think it's a great way to manage music, and will be in a future release of either hAv1c+ or mAv1c or both.

there's a version considered the "weather fixed" version that came out in may,
thread here
Which is what I am using, and is considered the most current official beta, and it's based from the 11/02/07 release, so it should work for you and allow you to use the weather features.


The issues I stated in the earlier posts will be fixed in a future release which will also include a new set of sliders for songpos, volume, possibly laptop battery, and a few indicators maybe.

It's also been suggested that high daytime visibility skins are white background with black text, and I will include a new version of the speedo with black text. And if I get time to go through all the new media plugin, that may make it into the new update.

new update posted

I decided to document some of the reasons this skin is the way it is:

There are a few rules for making a safe skin:

Easy to Read - The font and color contrast with the background needs to be easy to read, so that the driver is not staring at the screen for ten minutes just trying to find out something simple like the time or current song. Fancy fonts may look really nice, but try reading that same font on a 7" lilli in bright daylight (Which is what most of us have to do on a daily basis.) Consider using symbols instead of text, but make sure they are universally understood for the function they represent. Using an image of a football to load up the music isn't really that smart. The most important information should be in the same place in as many screens as possible. Your eyes will start to be trained to that spot on the screen and it becomes second nature. Having the functions move around becomes confusing, causing the driver to avert their eyes to the screen rather than the road.

Easy to Target - The buttons need to be large enough to press accurately while driving, taking into account the fact that our roads are not even close to smooth. The easiest places to target are the four corners of the screen, the next easiest targets are the edges of the screen. Buttons that float in the middle are a little harder to target, but if they are large enough, it won't matter, even on the bumpiest of roads. The general rule is about 100 pixels (height or width) or so on a 7" screen at minimum.

Consistent - Your eyes and fingers will train themselves to functions that are frequently used, like play/pause, next, etc. If these functions move around between different screens, the driver has to first find the new location of the function, and then consciously remember where it is for next time, rather than instinctively targeting the right function after a short amount of use.

Focus on what is important - These skins are designed for CarPC's, and their main functions are music and GPS. Music controls should be in all screens if possible. This way the driver doesn't have to press two or three buttons just to get to the next or pause button.

Navigate smart - Reduce the number of presses the driver has to make to get to the more important functions. For example; It's easier to press one button to get to GPS than to press menu then GPS.

Automate Functions - If possible, create scripts in auto-it to automate multiple button presses. For example, in iGuidance, instead of having the driver press "GPS Menu" then "Shortcuts" then "Go Home" one button that loads a script that automates this is a lot safer. There are a lot of skins that have already done this and include the scripts in their skins, so asking the skin creator to use it would be a good idea.

Reduce Clutter - RR has so many features, and we may find some more usefull than others. The main.skin is the first screen that starts with RR, and should be the "home" screen, and have easy access to the most used features, but should also leave out features that aren't necessary.

Overally just keeping it safe is the point. The driver's first responsibility is to drive safely, and skins that are distracting and hard to use detract from that.

The resize issue is related to the Ovelay plugin, but I think I want to refine the overlays a little bit anyways. Right now, they cover the edges of the GPS Menu, and trying to use the edge buttons on the osk is a little difficult without hiding the overlay.

rrgas plugin screen:



2.1 will be released soon...

Changes for 2.1:

2.1 - 08/06/08 - Added rrgas plugin support, redesigned sliders, left slider represents volume level, bottom slider represents song (and video) position, and if enabled the right slider represents the laptop battery level, changed mainmenu.skin and menu.skin to include button for rrgas, to access the visu from the menu.skin, press and hold the music button, to access the mixer from the mainmenu.skin, press and hold the apps button, other minor changes.

As soon as enforcer releases the RRGAS plugin, the update will be ready to go.

v2.1 posted on first post. gas prices won't work until the plug in is released.