[openbeos] Re: bounties for the new website...

DarkWyrm <darkwyrm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Perhaps we might be able to pick up the now-abandoned app Helios. As far 
> as my experience has been, it's pretty usable and the guy who wrote it is 
> no longer maintaining it. Just a thought.

If I'm not mistaken, I obtained the most recent source code. That was a 
little while ago, but I suppose no one has worked on it since. The problem 
I have with Helios is that it is not absolutely reliable (sometimes it 
hangs, forgets settings and so on). What I do like a lot is the interface, 
much better than any windows app I've seen. I also like Jabba on ZETA very 
much, and it had been very reliable for me so far. The code of Helios is 
not that pretty. It is very much "grown code" that has never been cleaned 
up / refactored. Cleaning it up would go a long way towards making it more 
reliable I suppose. (Enforcing code paths, applying design patterns, stuff 
like that.)

In any case, I'm absolutely pro bundling a CD writing app. I consider it 
essential. I run quite a few BeOS+eXposer machines in the film school here 
in Potsdam, and it is a must have.

So, for someone with a reasonable amount of application design experience, 
it would be a good project to pick up Helios, cleanup/refactor the code as 
necessary and make a rock solid app from it. It is not that hard to do and 
you get to start from a more or less working app.

I gotta finish this email with a disclaimer: I *really* didn't mean to hurt 
anyones feelings with the stuff I just wrote. I have produced tons of 
"unreliable" apps throughout my BeOS coding years. WonderBrush, which I 
consider the most reliable so far, crashes too once in a while. So I really 
didn't mean to put a dent into the accomplishment of the people involved in 
Helios. I'm just saying it makes sense to pick it up, but it needs some 
work before it is perfect. :-)

Best regards,
-Stephan

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