Introducing: Caravelle³

[RomanK]

First, I want to say, that about 2 or 3 programs like Caravelle³ already exist at the autoitscript forum.

And my program isn't a revolution, I don't praise it as perfect and you don't need to tell I had stolen your ideas:

1. I didn't.

2. they aren't yours, out of the autoit range there are progs like Objectdock or even that bar a Mac OS X has.

3. I did not know that there are already progs like this in autoit when I made my program.

But, now, to the friendlier part...

What is Caravelle³?

Caravelle³ is some kind of quick launch bar, which allows you to start all programs and open all your files with one mouse click. It gives you the ability to access all your files and programs within a second and a mouse click. You will not need desktop icons anymore.

While there are some other programs like Caravelle³ out there, my program takes no load on the CPU and takes only between 2 and 3 Megabytes of your computer's memory. Imagine that - you have for example 1024MB RAM, and my programm only takes 2MB of it! Other ones need about ten times more...

I hope I didn't forget something on the...

Feature List:

- Intuitive User Interface, which is extremly easy to use

- Drag'n'Drop reordering of the items

- No CPU load

- Only about 2 - 3 Megabytes in RAM

- Adjustable Transparency

- Allows to add: - Files - Programs - Folders

- Folder Contents can be displayed as kind of Drop-Down List

- C³ offers various settings to change the visual appearance

- C³ brings an Icon Library, with over 1400 Icons (!!!) you can choose from

- It's no payware

;-)

I made a screencast to better show you how Caravelle³ works.

You can watch it in bad Youtube Quality by clicking here

or in great 800x600 resolution at screencast.com.

Now, you will ask: Where is the AutoIt-Code?

And you will tell me: I won't run this without seing code!

I will not post the complete code of Caravelle³, but still: If you want to know how I achieved some part of the program, feel free to ask me and I will cut out some of the code and post it here.

Caravelle now also has a homepage: caravelle3.owns.it

Interested? Go here for the download page .

Thank you!

Roman

Edited December 19, 2008 by RomanK

[RomanK]

I just saw someone decompiling my setup program.

How did that guy do it?? Okay... I'm taking concequencies:

I thought this is a forum with nice people, but now, I say I don't want to give you the full code and some idiot uses a hacked decompiler and ignores what I said.

I will teporarily take my software offline until I made it un-decompilable (or at least so that guys can't decompile it in seconds).

I am really angry about that.

I thought you were honest. But as you aren't, I don't need to be:

Here a screenshot of the user decompiling my software. Just look at the taskbar...

And I am not sure but his IP might have been 99.12.85.169 when he downloaded my prog. He is using XP and lives in the -7 hours timezone, so that's somewhere central in america.

And see, his username is Jim.

Edited December 19, 2008 by RomanK

[spudw2k]

Very neat looking tool (watched your video). I can see you've put a lot of work into it and I understand your frustration, but it's pretty rude to play the screw-you-guys card just cause one guy was able to extract your script. It's kind of naive to post anything on a public forum like this and not expect folks to "play" with it; after all, everyone who uses autoit has intentions of performing a task that is outside the scope of whatever they are manipulating....so we're all hackers in that sense.

I'm not trying to make any judgements about your programming abilities (I'm no programmer and I don't pretend to be) but hopefully AutoIt has given you some insight as how to write such a tool in C++ or C# for example. A compiled program (versus compiled autoit script) is much more "protected", but still not totally secure.

edit: btw. it wasn't me.

Edited December 19, 2008 by spudw2k

[James]

This looks very nice RomanK. I am extremly impressed by the video. I also see you have spent a lot of time in it.

Please don't be angry with the whole community for one persons immature act

[RomanK]

You're right. I think in my frustation my reaction was too fast and I didn't think about it.

I will do some minor changes in code and do some more "obfocusation" but that seems to be all I can do.

About other languages: I can "speak" Visual Basic more or less, and I'm trying to get back into it as I haven't used it for some time - well, now there is also WPF which makes some things easier and some others more complicated. But these languages are more useful for big projects (well, actually when I wrote Caravelle³ I didn't believe it would become so much work).

I'm not trying to make any judgements about your programming abilities (I'm no programmer and I don't pretend to be)

Well, when can someone call himself a programmer? See, when I go to my aunt, I can tell her I am a programmer. But when I go to some Microsoft-ers, I am only a wanna-be-scripter.

Oh and, I now decided to take Caravelle³ back online tomorrow.

[TehWhale]

\rant\

Whos to say that was a dev that decompiled it?

When you say your not giving the full code, users that have a decompiler may want to decompile it to check for their safety. You only have 12 posts and been here 4 months.

So your program is an executable for one, so we can't see the code, and then it takes screenshots of the users desktop and sends them to you? You can't make a AutoIt executable safe, just so you know. Most decompilers can reverse the AutoIt obfusicator as well.

\endrant\

But, by the looks of the video, it looks fairly well done. I'd like to see it.

Edited December 19, 2008 by TehWhale

[Tomb]

I just saw someone decompiling my setup program.

how did you see them? does your program send screenshots and possibly more to you through email?

[Valuater]

Very Nice Work!!! ...5 stars from me!!

8)

[TehWhale]

Very Nice Work!!! ...5 stars from me!!

8)

How did you download it?

[Valuater]

How did you download it?

I just watched the intensity in the video!!!

I have not used it ( I should have said that )

8)

[TehWhale]

I just watched the intensity in the video!!!

I have not used it ( I should have said that )

8)

Ah, true it does look very good!

[Tomb]

I just watched the intensity in the video!!!

I have not used it ( I should have said that )

8)

what would you rate this one

[RomanK]

First I want to thank you all for the positive reactions to the video. (@Tomb: funny dog )

how did you see them? does your program send screenshots and possibly more to you through email?

Later I guessed someone will ask this . I don't know why I really did this with the screenshot, maybe I feared something to happen like this, maybe I was just curious.

However, by that I get Information about the users screen and also things like dpi resolution what we don't get by some autoit variables I think.

(that is a very important thing for GUIs!). And only one screenshot is taken during installation, then no more!!!

the "possibly more" I get is the operating system, so whether XP or Vista, the OS language and the exact time of installation.

But more important for me, is that I get to know if the user is installing Caravelle³ the first time or if he is updating from an outdated version (the setup is installer, updater and uninstaller together).

And in 3.41 I also got the IP of the user (but which seemed to be never correct), and I excluded that, I'm no hacker so I don't need IPs.

Please don't think to bad of me, but somehow I now understand why Microsoft is doing so much to protect its operating systems (see the activation or SpyNet).

Also Google is doing things like this - and chrome is not the worst: Ever read the licence when creating a googlemail account? Google will create a complete index of all your files on your computer ;-)

I am sorry that I can't re-up the file now, my internet connection is very bad at the moment, I will need to try again this evening.

[TehWhale]

First I want to thank you all for the positive reactions to the video. (@Tomb: funny dog )

Later I guessed someone will ask this . I don't know why I really did this with the screenshot, maybe I feared something to happen like this, maybe I was just curious.

However, by that I get Information about the users screen and also things like dpi resolution what we don't get by some autoit variables I think.

(that is a very important thing for GUIs!). And only one screenshot is taken during installation, then no more!!!

the "possibly more" I get is the operating system, so whether XP or Vista, the OS language and the exact time of installation.

But more important for me, is that I get to know if the user is installing Caravelle³ the first time or if he is updating from an outdated version (the setup is installer, updater and uninstaller together).

And in 3.41 I also got the IP of the user (but which seemed to be never correct), and I excluded that, I'm no hacker so I don't need IPs.

Please don't think to bad of me, but somehow I now understand why Microsoft is doing so much to protect its operating systems (see the activation or SpyNet).

Also Google is doing things like this - and chrome is not the worst: Ever read the licence when creating a googlemail account? Google will create a complete index of all your files on your computer ;-)

I am sorry that I can't re-up the file now, my internet connection is very bad at the moment, I will need to try again this evening.

Thank you for this response! But I am impatient!!! I already got my desktop ready for it, so all I have to do is add my shortcuts! Haha, guess I'll have to wait. I'm sure others are happy to hear your response. Can you try to upload the file anyway?

[RomanK]

EDIT: Now it is finally online! You can download it from my homepage =)

By the way, can someone try out if it works to use programs and type some arguments in the path field? It should work but I haven't tested much on that, there were things more important to test.

Hmm, but as you can guess from the version there shouldn't be much more bugs

And finally a third EDIT: Here a link to another video I made for C³ some time ago. I believe you won't need it, and it was recorded with a version of Caravelle³ a bit buggy but that's fixed now.

http://www.screencast.com/t/pRX1glae

Edited December 20, 2008 by RomanK

[James]

Wait, so the installer sends you a screenshot?

[TehWhale]

Wait, so the installer sends you a screenshot?

Yes.

[rambo3889]

Appearently it does. And just to clarify for you Roman, that is probably not so smart. Invading peoples "privacy" how knows what sorta information that you can see on the screen? MSN talks, passwords ( e.g files open with passwords for those that have trouble remembering). Background picttures and lots of other stuff that could be private.

Well i just installed Caravelle and have to say that it is very good but still i don't like the fact that my background image of myself and my trainer is sent to you just so you can get some information.

Edited December 20, 2008 by rambo3889

[Tomb]

Wait, so the installer sends you a screenshot?

i don't believe it sends a screenshot.

in the screenshot posted the installer isnt even being ran.

which leads me to believe it sends many screenshots.

[TehWhale]

i don't believe it sends a screenshot.

in the screenshot posted the installer isnt even being ran.

which leads me to believe it sends many screenshots.

which leads me to believe this program is invading my privacy.

Anyways, I like this program. It would be great if it was just spyware free.

Edited December 20, 2008 by TehWhale