Re: SETUP: default to mintty

[Andy Koppe <andy.koppe@gmail.com>]

On 3 August 2011 15:43, Corinna Vinschen wrote:
> On Jul 27 17:52, Corinna Vinschen wrote:
>> On Jul 27 16:15, Andy Koppe wrote:
>> > On 27 July 2011 10:43, Corinna Vinschen wrote:
>> > > On Jul 27 09:07, Andy Koppe wrote:
>> > >> On 27 July 2011 08:46, Corinna Vinschen wrote:
>> > >> > On Jul 27 08:24, Andy Koppe wrote:
>> > >> >> I meant cygicons-0.dll,9.
>> > >> >
>> > >> > Yes, I like that one, too.  we could use it as the default 48x48 and
>> > >> > 64x64 icons.  Per the MSFT guidelines in
>> > >> > http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511280.aspx#size, smaller
>> > >> > sizes should stick to a 2D look.  Maybe we can simply use the old
>> > >> > icon for these sizes?
>> > >>
>> > >> The way I understand it, I think it's just that they shouldn't use
>> > >> perspective. Compare for example the drive icons in the "Computer"
>> > >> window, where they appear tilted in the main part of the window, but
>> > >> straight-on at 16x16 in the sidebar. The small icons do still have
>> > >> some depth to them.
>> > >
>> > > Well, ok.  I was just thinking that at 16x16 there's no such thing
>> > > as edginess.  And at that size an icon should make a rather clear,
>> > > simple impression.
>> >
>> > FWIW, 'cygicons-0.dll,9' looks better to me even at 16x16, not least
>> > because of the anti-aliasing. Also, it's this size that appears in the
>> > upper-left corner of windows, and I think it's good to have this
>> > correspond closely to the 32x32 icon appearing in the Windows 7
>> > taskbar.
>>
>> Fine with me.
>
> Ok, here's my final(?) patch to make setup install mintty as "Cygwin
> Terminal" desktop and start menu entries.  Apart from the cygwin.ico
> file, there's now also a cygwin-terminal.ico file and a cygwin-setup.ico
> file.  The latter is used as the default application icon.  Only the
> first two are installed into / as Cygwin.ico and Cygwin-Terminal.ico.
>
> See below for the patch.  Attached are the new ico files for the setup
> repository.

The Cygwin-Terminal.ico isn't good enough IMNSHO, and I'm disappointed
with how this has suddenly become the "official" proposal, riding
roughshod over much of the previous discussions.

- Above you'd agreed that fatbuttlarry's bulgy icon was fine in the
16x16 version, and that was before making it bigger and turning its
outline grey to lose that "eerie" look. Yet here we are with a murky
flat effort that looks no better than ye olde Cygwin.ico. (This size
is used for the window icon, so arguably this is the most important
one.)

- The terminal frame at the 32..64 sizes isn't as sharp as it could
be, because it's copied from one of my attempts before I worked out
how to render it like in the original Konsole icon.

- The 256x256 version still has Warren's dark border around the
terminal. Not only is this spoiling the KDE Oxygen team's work, but it
also makes it pointlessly different from the smaller versions.
Furthermore, the "C" still has rough corners due to the bottom line
being too low, and its shadow makes little visual sense inside the
terminal frame.

- The Cygwin-symbol-in-terminal approach remains a dodgy compromise.
It doesn't fit into 16x16, and as Warren pointed out, the removal of
the prompt means that the terminal is hard to recognise as such. I
can't remember a case for why this compromise is preferable over the
Cygwin symbol on its own.

To avoid being entirely negative, here's my proposal: forget about
Cygwin-terminal.ico and just use Cygwin.ico.

I like the setup.exe parcel idea, but this also needs improvements. In
particular, the 16x16 version doesn't work, with the parcel just an
ill-defined grey blob behind the C. Also, the shadow behind the C on
the 256x256 makes even less visual sense here than in the terminal
frame.

> Andy will also have to
> change the mintty postinstall script so that the mintty entry is not
> added to the start menu anymore.

Yep. (That should make for a fair few complaints about how mintty has
suddenly disappeared from the start menu though.)

Andy