On Fri, 2008-08-01 at 10:41 -0400, Eben Eliason wrote: > > On Fri, Aug 1, 2008 at 10:29 AM, Erik Garrison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > On Fri, Aug 01, 2008 at 10:19:50AM -0400, Eben Eliason wrote: > > Another potentially interesting solution is a pseudo-spring > algorithm, by > > which we detect some numbers of neighbors (O(n)) and then we > "push" those > > neighbors away with some force vector, the magnitude of > which is weighted > > based on the size of the nodes, and the direction of which > is calculated as > > the angle between them. This solution doesn't, in theory, > yield results > > that are as good as the other options (since it pushes away > at a fixed > > angle, instead of towards nearby positions with ow weights), > but it should > > be really quick. > > > > I'm sure there are other options, or combinations of these, > that we could > > explore as well. > > > > > Could we be positioning icons on the basis of prior usage > patterns? By > this I mean that icons are spring'ed toward the XO icon with a > force > vector related to their recent usage patterns. Additionally, > activities > which are started at similar times could be spring'ed > together. I'm > envisioning a learning layout algorithm to distinguish the > most-used > activites. This layout necessitates the collection of usage > data which > could also be shared with our developers. > > > This is a good point, and I have to say "yes" and "no" at the same > time. I think your solution (I could be wrong!) is somewhat biased > toward the particular case of the Home view, but this algo needs to > work on the Groups and neighborhood views too. Perhaps there are some > (non-historical) ways to compare data in those views, but I'm not > sure. > > > In any case, there is another variable I would like to propose, which > is a suggested distance from the center of the screen -- or, if you'd > like, a spring of a particular k value between the center of the > screen and the object. My particular use case is that of search. I'd > like to see a bunch of search results slide onto the screen (and > non-results slide off), and I'd like it even more if the most relevant > matches moved closest to the center. This is essential for > scalability in the Groups and Neighborhood views. > > > I could also see this working to bring frequently used activities to > the center of the screen, and less frequently used ones to the edge > (thought that interferes with free placement). I also see it making > for an intuitive activity search in the favorites view. Even though > only favorites are shown on screen by default, anytime a search is > entered, the non-favorites (which, I propose, lay beyond the screen > edges) which match can slide in, and non-matching favorites slide off, > presenting this weighted view of matches. Clearing the entry, of > course, returns the view to its natural state, with only favorites > showing. >
What about doing collision detection with Box2D (fast, well maintained etc..) ? This would enable any of the layout discussed here (and funny animations when new icons are dropped in the layout ;). > - Eben > > Erik > > riccardo _______________________________________________ Devel mailing list Devel@lists.laptop.org http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel