wmlaptop 1.0 - Xmas LdP Release

all that you need if you have a laptop shrinked in a 64x64 small application :)

-- Are you in a hurry ? read below.

INSTALLING:

before typing 'make' you could want to open the Makefile and edit
some installation and compilation option like INSTALLDIR or the C compiler

$ make
$ su
# make install

Warning: the 'make install' script will suid the binary file (+s) to allow
normal user to change the cpu's frequence

wmlaptop is now installed on your system!

-- What is wmlaptop ?

wmlaptop is a WindowMaker dockapp that includes all that a linux user with a
laptop needs. The smartests should have guess that wmlaptop includes an advanced
battery information interface, with an estimated battery duration time
indicator. but that's only one of the useful fuctions provided by wmlaptop:

* Battery estimated time remaining
* Multi Batteries support
* Battery remaining charge (visual and percent)
* Auto-Frequency Scaling
* Manual Frequency Scaling
* 0-100 Cpu Load indicator
* APM and ACPI support
* sysfs and /proc filesystems support
* Kernel 2.6 series fully compatible

-- I have seen battery indicators in other apps, but what is Auto-Freqency
Scaling ? Is my laptop supported ?

Auto-Frequency turned on means that when cpuload is at its maximum, processor
frequency is automatically increased until it reaches the max frequency.
when cpuload returns to a low level, the frequency is decreased until min
frequency.
this feature is useful for laptops in particular, because you can save much
battery charge, but use all the power of your processor when needed.
to toggle this feature on and off, simply left-clic the central rectangle with
AUTO-FREQ written inside.

wmlaptop was inspired by a new Intel Centrino (Pentium-M) laptop, which comes
with Enhanced SpeedStep Technology from Intel. So Pentium-M processors are fully
supported. Also Pentium III and Athlon XP have frequency scaling support, check
your kernel settings and eventually recompile it.

-- The battery estimated charge time doesn't work ! I see a 00:00 !

is impossibile to estimate this value at the moment when the laptop is alimented
only with battery; we must wait a few minutes for the value to be more accurate.
the indicator will show 00:00 for a little bit, and then it will show a hour and
minutes time that indicates laptop battery remaining time. this value will be
more accurate more is the time passed from the moment when the laptop goes only
with battery.

-- Are there special settings that I should set ?

before 'make', you can edit MODIFY_ME file (src/argsConfig.h); in it there are
some default wmlaptop's behaviours and parameters. if you don't like this way,
don't worry! you can change these parameters from the command line, when you
start the dockapp.


INTERFACE:

                                  +-------------+
   left battery's percentage -->  | 58%   02:27 |  <-- remaining time
       adapter AC plugged in -->  | -< ||||||   |  <-- left battery's graphic
                                  |-------------|
                                  | cpuload   0 |  <-- cpu's load
                                  | [AUTO-FREQ] |  <-- automatic frequency-
                                  |-------------|      scaling ON/OFF
   decrement cpu's frequency -->  | < 1 4 0 0 > |  <-- increment cpu's frequency
                                  +-------------+
                                      ^^^^^^^
                               actual cpu's frequency



That's all, folks ! Enjoy with your laptop and much more with wmlaptop !

CONTACT THE AUTHORS:

- Giacomo Galilei (code and a bit of graphics)
matic _at_ libero _dot_ it

- Lorenzo Marcon (graphics and a bit of code)
stclaus _at_ libero _dot_ it

Perugia (Italy), December 24, 2003

This project is released under GNU GPL license
See LICENSE for more information
