[Kde-announce-apps] Kirocker Music Display 1.2

[Sébastien Laoût]

Name: Kirocker Music Display
Version: 1.2
Type: Amarok Script
Depend: KDE 3.x
License: GPL
More Info:
http://www.kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=52869

Description:
 Make your Kicker (the KDE main panel) rock with
your music.

It is a Kicker applet that displays what you
listen to in Amarok

You then always know what you are listening to,
and watch its cover: it is always visible on your
panel.
It allows you to rate your music with one click:
you can quickly change the number of stars of your
musics from anywhere on your desktop.

To install:
- Extract the archive
- Open a konsole in the extracted folder (in
Konqueror, go to the extracted folder and press
F4)
- Run this set of command: ./configure
--prefix=$(kde-config --prefix) && make && sudo
make install
- It will ask your root password to install the
applet on your system
- Right click the Kicker, choose "Add an Applet to
the Panel..." (once the panel is unlocked)
- Double-click "Kirocker Music Display"
- Start playing a music: the applet is empty when
Amarok is stopped or paused, to not annoy you with
useless information when you are working

Also included in the package: the Kicker right
translucent white background.

How to make the kicker translucent:
- Your screen resolution need to be 1280*800. If
not, you will need some artistic skills and a Gimp
experience to modify the given background
- Extract the image "Kicker Right Translucent
Background.png" located in the Kirocker Music
Display archive
- Open your desktop background image with The Gimp
- Drag and drop "Kicker Right Translucent
Background.png" to the Gimp window of your
background image
- Save the image and set it as your desktop
background image
- Right click the Kicker and choose "Configure the
Panel..." (once the panel is unlocked)
- Place the panel on the right (click the button
on the right)
- Set the size to "Personalized" and enter "96
pixels"
- In the "Appearance" tab, check "Enable
transparency"
- Click "Ok" and you're done: ENJOY!

Changelog:
 1.0:
- Initial release

1.2:
New Features:
- Clickable length progressbar to change the
position in the track
- Scroll wheel to change the position in the track
- Added progress time and time left in the tooltip
Bugs & Crashs:
- Do not crash if the panel use no background
image (only a flat background color)
- Good looking shadow if the background image is
very small (was buggy with the KUbuntu background
image)
- Do not freeze the panel while Amarok is starting
(and Amarok take 20 seconds to start, so it was a
long freeze)

PLANNED for 2.0:
- Player controls (play/next/prev)
- Resize down the applet when nothing is playing
- Options to remove some parts
(progress/cover/stars/information)
- Crossfade animations
- Full screen view