Aimp 2 Adds Windows 7 Jumplist Support
Many software developers are beginning to add support for new features that Microsoft added to their upcoming operating system Windows 7. One of the major points of interest for developers is the new taskbar that is introduced in Windows 7. The taskbar in Windows 7 offers a new feature called jumplists which allow users to right-click icons in the taskbar to access features of the application.
The developers of Google Chrome have added jumplist support recently and it was only a matter of time when other developers released versions of their software programs with jumplist support as well. The latest beta versions of the popular software music player AIMP 2 are also offering jumplist support.
Users who install the latest beta version of AIMP 2 in Windows 7 will notice the jumplist menu when right-clicking the icon in the taskbar. The jumplist provides quick access to recently opened songs in the music player.
There does not seem to be any other features yet but this might change in future releases. The changelogs suggest that the developers are still working on improving compatibility with Windows 7 which could mean additional feature support. Users who are interested in downloading the latest version of AIMP 2 can visit the developer's website to do so.
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Well yes, but absolute minimal programs (if they are resident, rather than single-run) would likely occupy the system tray more often than a live task position. The fact some developers don’t know how is a good possibility, however there is a lot of information that has been pushed in the last few months, and so unless you’ve been unaware of it or ignoring it, chances are you have at least heard of some of it. I’ve played around with adding some Windows 7 specific features (AppID, JumpLists, and some other things) here and there to some of my internally built and used applications, and some of them are almost drag and drop simple for implementing.
Because some people just don’t know how, or that they want their app to do only the bare minimum, or maybe their app just doesn’t need it. I mean, where’s the benefit in having a jumplist for something like System Optimizers – maybe a slight benefit- but not much of one.
Oh, I would totally expect multi-hundred dollar applications to have these sorts of features when they are so easy to implement. True, not everybody wants to cater to a Windows environ. If your project is multiplatform and you would rather not deal with the added complexity of platform specific special-features, then I can completely understand why you wouldn’t want to add them in. That said, if your program is exclusively for Windows (or Mac OS X, or OpenBSD, or whatever), then why not take advantage of the APIs that are built into the system to make your life easier, and to add in easy to implement features?
I didn’t say you didn’t – I was just giving a example of application type that uses small jumps and lets people edit the very latest versions. People may not even want to cater to windows anyway – but you can expect most paid for applications to have them – Dreamweaver, etc.
When did I say anything about open source? Big steps are fine. If new versions are still in development then it takes a few minutes to plan for this feature. The fact that these developers may be making efforts towards it (even if it the update hasn’t been released) is good.
Because not every one is open source – they like to release products as big steps, not nightly builds or whatever. They could have added it, but it’s currently built in to a larger update, and that may still be in development. Another reason is, there’s very little point, and it’s a new concept for Windows developers – maybe they just haven’t thought about it.
Noah:
I would think that they would do it because the OS _IS_ out? Tons of people have been using the beta, and the RC. Already Microsoft has released the RTM (essentially final version) to Technet Plus and MSDN folks. This means a large number of developers, IT Pros, and even enthusiasts are already on the final version. The OS _IS_ out. If you are still developing for your application and making updates, why not add in goodies for the folks who are making the plunge first? It might get a few more users and possibly even paying customers or contributors that way.
DataCabbitKSW :
Why would they even bother making something for a Operating System that isn’t out yet. They may have versions with jumplists ready, but they won’t have made them available to the general public.
Jumplist additions, Application ID, and several other of the nifty features are _REALLY_ dead simple to code in. I wish more developers would take the time to update their apps to include these features as they are really easy to do. There are tons of drop-in bits of exaple code on how to utilize this. There are some video/code demos overe here from Microsoft as well: http://tinyurl.com/oh8nx8 . If your application is written with the .NET framework in mind, then there is zero excuse not to use it. However, if you are coding in other languages (trying to be cross platform, coding for speed and/or resource usae, or for whatever other reason) there are exampes that can be ported, and external API calls that can be utilized pretty easy as well in order to get these things done. I look forward to more features being implemented via the JumpList.
Recent files is something Windows 7 provides by default in the jump list to every application.
I don’t see how AIMP 2 provides support for jump lists in this manner :S