Public OWB (beta) release

Note that SOManager will refuse to die with active clients. There’s a command to override this (for example, if something crashes and doesn’t tidy up SOManager will think it’s still active). You might like to call that command first, just to be sure the module can be shut down correctly.

Until I know what command that it, I’ll have to remember to shut down the one first, before running the second.

I have been using OWB all day today for ROOL site and it does work ok. There are some glitches with scrolling ,, example click icon to get to latest post. But, just scroll a bit with you scrollweel and it goes back to non-glitch :)

New update available. Make sure to be on my list by sending me a email!
Address in this thread.

I have yet to find the best way to merge all my shared libs in one (easy for Iris VS the rest of the world, since their libs are in two different subdirectories).

Anyway, OWB is really a cool offer. Between NetSurf and Iris.

Don’t even think about asking how! It hurt is all is I will say. It is incomplete and not entirely perfect.

I need to work out how SharedLibs handles version numbers.

Most of the OWB libraries are just the same as the one provided with Iris, but with a difference: there are much bigger.

It would be really nice to have – at least – a common base of shared libraries (abi-2/0, vfp and armeabihf). And then to provide a merge tool for additional shared librairies.

Or to use Packman for everything…
Possibly with private sources for commercial projects.

Or – simply – to sync the efforts from Mickael and Andrew around a common set of tools and libs.

It does appear to be possible to merge the Iris and OWB SharedLibs into a single SharedLibs that will work with either Iris or OWB. What does not work well is trying to use both browsers together.

Both browsers on their own are fine but a reboot or *rmkill somanager, if not in use elsewhere, is required on changing browser.

The key to this may be in SharedLib’s ReadMe, “Shared library naming”.

If the older otter-browser is required then that does required a contemporaneous SharedLibs because of a breaking change made to one of the libraries.

The other dependencies, CaCertificates, UnixFC and UnixFont are common.

Both Iris and OWB are works in progress so a little caution with SharedLibs is appropriate at the moment.

OWB works well here and as already said is somewhere between Netsurf and Iris.

Probably me :)

It does appear to be possible to merge the Iris and OWB SharedLibs into a single SharedLibs that will work with either Iris or OWB. What does not work well is trying to use both browsers together.

That just did not seem right.

The errors are failures to load SharedLibs libraries.

Further investigation found that in three other RISC OS installations the two browsers could fully co-exist. By substitution the difference was found to be in Choices.Boot.PreDesk.DALimit. The working version set the maximum values to 256M whereas the ‘broken’ one only set 128M, which is the default.

We have been here before

There is a case to made to increase the defaults.

There is a case to made to increase the defaults.

What about users with earlier/lower spec Pi hardware where the total RAM is 512MB ?
Wouldn’t that be a case of needing to detect the hardware and set the default accordingly?

What about users with earlier/lower spec Pi hardware where the total RAM is 512MB ?

It’s limited to avoid virtual address exhaustion, not physical memory.

And using that bloody Cogwheel logo still gives me the scremaing heebie heeies (a Monty Python disease?) and why not continue The Acorn, nice and green as it is. Way better marketing too.

I mean, even as a metaphor it stinks to high heaven due to all the things RISC OS lacks.

As has been explained repeatedly to you. We can not use the Acorn logo anymore, we do not have the legal rights to be able to use it. Acorn Computers Ltd and it logo were sold to another compnay who no longer exist…. The logo is owned by a trademark company. If you have a few thousand of pounds you might be able to buy it, but it means little to todays users.

but it means little to todays users

Sadly not true, most of today’s users are yesterday’s users.
The Acorn was a brilliant choice for a logo. It is organic, a symbol of hope, and as British as can be. It is not surprising that the owner wants to hang on to it.
The cog has not he same positive connotations. It is essence of analogue, ie old-fashioned, clunky, and insignificant as in just a small cog in the wheel.

It is worth some effort looking for a better logo. But not in this thread!

The Acorn was a brilliant choice for a logo.

Yes, it was.
But its time has come and gone. RISC OS came from Acorn, just as the ARM processor did, but Acorn pretty much ceased to have relevance to either in 1998.

It is essence of analogue, ie old-fashioned, clunky, and insignificant

And yet it seems to be the universal symbol of “your settings are here”.

It is worth some effort looking for a better logo.

I’m not entirely sure what the cog is supposed to symbolise. At least it is distinctive.
Maybe RISC OS needs a better logo, maybe not. I don’t know what logo it would be, but I know that it wouldn’t be a green tree-born rodent-feeding nut. Sorry, but that just doesn’t make any sense. The Acorn logo is like Econet, an anachronism of the past, best left fondly remembered but in the past.

I asked Dall-E2 to design a simple logo for an operating system…
https://labs.openai.com/e/yf2BrRnBjAKonrUF3KMRNvvM/n2LU3YYftC3e93CVddJzpKAX
I, actually, quite like the look of this one (ignore the crappy text), it’s very organic and colourful.

Being a bit more verbose in the description and throwing a nod towards the heritage…
https://labs.openai.com/e/Lb0q1yjtlyVDAckt4mIGDtch/VYKBHyrRcbg8odPfkr086dsQ

If you’re not aware, both of those links just go to a login page.

I’m not entirely sure what the cog is supposed to symbolise. At least it is distinctive.

http://www.riscos.com/the_archive/rol/logos/cogwheel.htm

And yet it seems to be the universal symbol of “your settings are here”.

Yeah, about that – in keeping with the rest of the world, shouldn’t clicking the icon with the left mouse button, or the right take you directly to the settings?

If you’re not aware

Sorry, try these.

https://labs.openai.com/s/n2LU3YYftC3e93CVddJzpKAX
and:
https://labs.openai.com/s/VYKBHyrRcbg8odPfkr086dsQ

Cogwheel… component style nature. Okay, yup, totally my first guess. 😋

But, then, designing logos isn’t easy. To summarise an entire concept down into a simple easy to recognise drawing…

take you directly to the settings?

Youda thunk, wouldn’t you? 😉

Both links lead to an equally blank page.

They both work at my end (Firefox on Windows). Thanks for the new links, Rick :)

The acorn in the second pic looks disturbingly similar to the evil robotic policemen who killed Muzzlehatch, as drawn by Mervyn Peake.

Both links lead to an equally blank page.

Indeed. I needed to disable uBlock Origin to see anything there.