A bit of history

Because I am deep into the internal sea of details, I get too carried away and show you all the technical details which are either not interesting (to those who have no idea what I am talking about) or just have no actual use. They are more usefull to me when I want to port Screens to other operating systems without hacking my head like I have done for the last three years. I haven't had a single day of screens without indulding my brain into it day in and day out. Screens has changed alot over the years... who would believe that it was first created to be a common library so I could code some PalmOS games (still planned after Screens) and become a full-fledged multi platform environment designed to be a merging layer among operating systems to bring that unity to coding and user interfaces. If you look at my development history you wont find anything... sounds a bit suspicious but then again I only got an internet connection when I worked for NDS (The company that creates the smart cards for DirectTV and other sattelite TV providers) in Jerusalem (Israel) in 1999. I just turned 16 when I finished a summer work for them so I was allowed legally to continue working for them. I worked on many internal projects for them and got alot of focus on MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes) user interface development in Visual C++. I worked there for 3 years and it was basicly a walk in the park. I realy enjoyed my time there (mostly playing starcraft when fellow employees would pass by my office). I only got my first home computer when I was 13 and was so amazed by it. Learnt Word Basic (for Word 7.0) and Visual Basic for Excel 7.0 and had my first environment where it was my solution to allow kids to have a customized user experience (with even a desktop background and per user settings) without ruining the computer for thier parents. I did alot of small projects for myself which sadly were lost with confronting the Chernobil virus twice (yep... 26th of april two years running because I replaced the computer but left the virus on the hard drive). I would like to thank my father because not only did he get me interested in computers, he got me the summer job in NDS in the first place. Anyway... So I was 17 or 18 (cant remember) when my girlfriend (now my wife, so far married for 7 months) gave me her Palm III device which she had no use for at all. I was absolutely amazed! I had noticed the Palm V devices in the stores but never bought my self one (although I could afford it then). It had 2MB of memory, small but expandable, pen based and fast... I enjoyed it for at least a year untill I found it dead from being sat on again and again in my jeans back pocket (where does it say not to put it in your back pocket in the instructions?). So my next device was the Visor Platinum with a Visor Phone. Walking around with that brick felt so good when people would stare at me. I loved being checked by security gaurds at the bus station to start having a convesation with them with 'what is that?' questions. My cat pushed the phone off a shelf and because I was basicly life dependent on it, I replaced it within a week with a Visor Pro. That lasted me untill I got a Tungsten E last spring when I got engaged with my wife and her father gave the handheld as a present (the ring was about the same price, so it felt even). So where does Screens get in the picture? Just the spring before I left NDS I got inspired by a PalmOS application called 'Extended Window Demo' by Andrew S. Downs developed in 1999. It had movable windows which just sparked in me and thats how Screens started. It just continued from there, starting to add more and more ideas and the shedule just moved on and on. You can see most of the history still on 1src at http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5646 Carefull... its alot to read. So thats basicly it... I have been working on Screens since... try to recode here and then (have rewritted just the few base components over 17 times) and redesign when I get stuck. Currently coding is going well and hopefully this will be the last rewrite untill the demo. I realy have a hunch on this version. The best way users can help me is to chat with me when they can via MSN Messenger or post comments on my blog or on 1src. The more questions the better it helps me fill the holes in my design and it allows me to get Screens out faster. For those who have sticked around since the beggining... THANKS. I know it must be hard to have faith with little substance but it will be fruitfull in the end and you will be graitfull for your support (I am already).