Rainmeter / WINE / Linux

[Caledfwlch]

No more than a few hours after it's posting, the bug report has given some insight as to what may be occuring. The other commenting party to the bug report posted that he was using a program called 'Winetricks' to load a dependency called GDIPLUS. Upon allowing Winetricks to grab this particular addition, Rainmeter now loads the default skins as well as the skin I was attempting to use.

The bug is now changed to [s]worksforme[/s] INVALID (per the WineHQ Bugzilla resolution descript).

WINE has some issues with transparency at the moment, so a lot of different apps have problems.

The problem now persists regarding transparency. If this issue were taken care of, Rainmeter would be in practical working order with WINE (there are other minor issues, possibly w/ Compiz). I'll attempt to find a working bug report within WINE's bugzilla for transparency in the coming day, and if no bug report is found that is relative to this problem I'll add one of my own.

That's progress.

** EDIT: Bug was reopened due to more people posting and stating it's valid nature. I had assumed that, upon loading the Gdiplus library, Wine was successfully loading the required substance. Apparently I was wrong, and the bug is reopened.

[dragonmage]

Thanks for keeping us posted.

[Caledfwlch]

Not a problem.

In addition to everything else, I have also posted another bug this morning referencing Rainmeter's lack of transparent display under WINE. [ see: http://appdb.winehq.org/ ]

The new, currently unconfirmed bug is listed under Rainmeter's addition to the application database.

[GhostMatrix]

Damn ! I wish they will be able to fix the bugs...

I have Windows XP on my laptop but Kubuntu as well, and I must say that Rainmeter is the application which misses me most on linux !

GM

[Caledfwlch]

The important thing to remember about the WINE community is they're very user-oriented. Applications which are voted on, regularly spoken about, etc., are going to receive the most attention for any number of bugfixes. The drive for you and me, the relatable "consumers" in this effort, is to keep the program we want waving in front of their faces in a healthy way. The last thing we could ask for is to insult or anger a developer, as the likelihood of the problem to be looked at decreases (short of said problem being evident for another program already).

I've known from dealing w/ a couple of programs I've filed WINE bugs about - the development community for WINE is, by and large, a helpful community with one goal in mind: a working Windows program in Linux. If you work with them, they'll work with you.

I have Windows XP on my laptop but Kubuntu as well, and I must say that Rainmeter is the application which misses me most on linux !

The reason I preface everything with what I've just stated is relative to this, and I don't mean in a bad way. It's important for you, the user of Rainmeter, to post your experience within WINE attempting to operate Rainmeter. If your experience is never added, if the figurative problem isn't waved in developers faces, the resolution will be all for naught. There's a fair chance WINE itself will come to within the next few months and resolve this out of simple, regularly-scheduled updates, but for a possible, quicker resolution and a spotlight on the issue, it's up to the user to make their relative case known in a "I'll work with you" way.

In other words: post your problems, baby! It's the only way they'll know.

[sgtevmckay]

Might I suggest dopping th elink here, for the WINE complaint/forum/suggestion board?

[Caledfwlch]

Might I suggest dopping th elink here, for the WINE complaint/forum/suggestion board?

Sure thing.

forums
[ http://forum.winehq.org/ ]

application database
[ http://appdb.winehq.org/ ]

search for a program in the database
[ http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&sTitle=Browse%20Applications&sOrderBy=appName&bAscending=true ]

Rainmeter's appdb entry
[ http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=9565 ]

Concerning WINE's forum, it's a jumbled mess. I can't say I've ever used it beyond simple curiosity, but I wouldn't expect much in regards to actual help provided. It doesn't help matters that every single post is oriented to one forum, and searching through the contents can be a bit tedious.

The Rainmeter AppDB entry I've linked to is a complete uncertainty. As I've already told before in a previous posting, the sure way to find Rainmeter on the application database is via a search/browse applications, link provided above (not sure if it'll work), and entering Rainmeter for the search queue. Upon loading the link or searching for it as posted, click on the version of Rainmeter you'd like to view and you'll be brought to a bug listing referencing the product and what it does.

edit: Another thing needs to be brought to attention, too. I would upload more in the way of screenshots, but sadly I'm a 56k. What I'm saying is - searching for new screenshots can be a royal pain, and grabbing new skins to provide screenshots with can equal the same pain. If someone has a screenshot of their working Rainmeter under WINE or non, I'll be more than happy to edit the thing and post it, provided I throw an e-mail address your way. Of course, credit goes to you by all accounts. Also, I can't see it given I'm a super maintainer of the product, but you may be able to upload screenshots via the WINE'd Rainmeter entry, and I'll approve them.

[sgtevmckay]

Ok, I have agonized over releasing this news, because I would love to see a Rainmeter for Linux version.

But I should in all good faith tell you about Conky.

Conky is a light weight systems monitoring system for BSD and Linux Distros.

I use it for Ubuntu, but it has some limitations, but it also has some things that I wish could be integrated with Rainmeter.

If you are a Linux user, may be you should check this out, but I would still appreciate the latest updates from WINE, and hope that one day someone, or someones, will attempt to code a Rainmeter for linux.

Conky can be found here:
http://conky.sourceforge.net/index.html

[Caledfwlch]

In all due respect, the two programs, Conky and Rainmeter, are incapable of being compared on atleast one point. While it's true Conky and Rainmeter display system information on the desktop, thus bringing in the value of the comparison, the problem is encountered in terms of desktop features, primarily displaying skinned/themed items on the desktop. Conky is a text-only information display, while Rainmeter is a skinned display for the environment at large.

At this time, there is no working program in Linux that even remotely resembles Rainmeter by way of skinability.

[sgtevmckay]

Agreed.

Conky has some serious limitations, and does not soon seem to fix these issues, but it is something for now.

Although metering is capable, no; it does not have near the flexibility of Rainmeter.

I only suggest Conky as an interim, and to frustrate Linux users to program something better :P