Autoplay at CD-ROM

AutoPlay

AutoPlay is for CD-ROM-based titles and games - most often consumer products. Customers use them because they want to, and they expect the experience to be easy and enjoyable. Too often, it isn't.

The purpose of AutoPlay is to make multimedia title installation and configuration under Microsoft® Windows®
95 virtually as simple as putting a cartridge in a home video game machine. Simply put, AutoPlay notices when the
user loads a CD and immediately launches whatever application is named in the AUTORUN.INF file on that
disk. This modest feature will make Windows 95-based multimedia titles and games accessible even to the most
electronically challenged consumer. From the consumer's perspective, AutoPlay-enabled CD-ROM-based products run themselves.

Running AutoPlay-Enabled Titles Under Windows 95-98

If a CD-ROM-based product has the Windows 95 logo on it, you know that it is AutoPlay enabled. To run it under Windows 95, just insert the disc in the CD-ROM drive. The software automatically does the right thing.

How AutoPlay Works

New 32-Bit Driver Architecture - AutoPlay is functionality enabled by the new 32-bit, protected-mode driver architecture in Windows 95. Because
the operating system can now detect the insertion of media in a CD-ROM drive, it has the opportunity to do
some intelligent processing whenever this occurs. In Windows 95, whenever a CD is inserted, Windows
immediately checks to see if the CD has a PC file system. If it does, Windows 95 looks for a file named
AUTORUN.INF.

The AUTORUN.INF File

The minimalist AUTORUN.INF file need contain only three lines of text:

[autorun]
open=filename.exe
icon=filename.ico

FILENAME.EXE can name any executable to be run when the CD is inserted. Unless a path is specified, Windows 95 looks for FILENAME.EXE in the root of the inserted CD. You can specify a relative path in order to locate FILENAME.EXE in a subdirectory. For example, to run FILENAME.EXE from the FOO directory, use the syntax

open=foo\filename.exe

This will run the file in the FOO directory on the CD, regardless of whether the user's CD-ROM drive is mapped
to D:, E:, or something else entirely. Note that executing a file located in a subdirectory does not
change the current directory.

Microsoft recommends that you always use the open= line of the AUTORUN.INF file to launch a "teaser" application. See the following section for details.

The expression "icon=filename. ico" specifies an icon to represent the AutoPlay-enabled CD in the Windows 95 user interface. This feature makes it easy for users to identify the contents of the CD-ROM drive without having
to pull out the disc to look. When the drive does not contain an AutoPlay-enabled CD, the system uses a default
icon in its place. You can also specify a .BMP, .EXE, or .DLL file on the icon= line. If a file contains more than
one icon, specify the icon number that you want. For example, icon=filename.exe,1 would display the second
icon from FILENAME.EXE. (The first icon is number 0.)

Note The icon= line of AUTORUN.INF always executes relative to the directory where AUTORUN.INF is located. If you want to specify an absolute path location for an icon, use the syntax "defaulticon=path".

When users point to an icon in the Windows 95 user interface and right-click, Windows 95 presents a shortcut
menu for that icon. If an AUTORUN.INF is present on a CD-ROM, Windows 95 automatically adds "AutoPlay" to the shortcut menu and sets it as the default behaviordouble-clicking the icon will execute whatever is
specified on the open= line.

You can add additional shortcut-menu items for your CD by adding them to the AUTORUN.INF file. To add shortcuts, use the following syntax:

shell\verb\command=filename.exe
shell\verb=Menu Item Name

In the above syntax, "Menu Item Name" is the shortcut-menu item that users will see. It can contain
spaces and mixed-case letters. To set a keyboard accelerator for the menu item, precede any letter with an
ampersand. Use a verb to associate the command and executable using a short name without spaces. Users will
not see the verb unless you omit "Menu Item Name" from AUTORUN.INF.

For example, to add the command "Read Me" to the shortcut menu for your product, include the following in
AUTORUN.INF:

shell\readit\command=notepad foo\readme.txt
shell\readit=Read &Me

Normally, "AutoPlay" is the default menu item defined for any AutoPlay-enabled disc. If you would like to set a
different verb as the default, add the following line to your AUTORUN.INF:

shell=verb

When the user double-clicks the icon for your disc, the command associated with "verb" is executed.

Suppressing AutoPlay

AutoPlay can be suppressed by holding down the shift key when inserting a CD. This will prevent AUTORUN.INF from being parsed and executed.

Writing Good AutoPlay Applications

AutoPlay is a simple yet tremendously powerful feature. For the AutoPlay feature to work well, it is very
important that CD title developers abide by certain conventions. Several of the conventions are as follows.

Launch a "Teaser" Application to Provide Instant Feedback to the User

It is very important for users to receive virtually instantaneous feedback when they insert an AutoPlay CD.
We strongly suggest that you use the "open =" line of the AUTORUN.INF file to launch a small "teaser" .EXE file
that loads very quickly. Please note that some CD drives take longer than others to report a disk-insertion event
to the system just because it seems fast enough on your machine doesn't necessarily mean that your customers will
be so lucky! Small is good.

Give the User a Way Out

The teaser application also allows the user a way to cancel the loading of a title. With a pile of disks
sitting on a desk, it is easy to accidentally pop in the wrong one! The teaser applet should put up a dialog box
that includes, at minimum, OK and Cancel options. It may also include other options, such as Install and
Uninstall, but the most important features of the teaser are that it responds quickly, clearly identifies the
title played, and makes backing out a simple step for the user.

Don't Hog the Hard Disk

AutoPlay opens a whole new set of distribution possibilities for multimedia titles: Because
AutoPlay-enabled titles are so easy to run, they could be rented in the same way as are video tapes and game
cartridges. To minimize support hassles, retailers should avoid selling or renting PC titles that are "drive hogs."
It will be bad for the industry in general if multimedia applications eat up drive space to such an extent that
consumers can't install additional products. To avoid that problem:

If possible, run from the CD directly, without running any installation program.

If your title has installation requirements that must use the hard drive, it should install only the functional
components necessary to execute the title and should provide complete uninstall options for those components.

If you want to use the drive as a temporary or permanent data cache, provide the user with options in the teaser
application that will enable the cached data to be discarded when quitting the title or game.

AutoPlay for MS-DOS Applications

In addition to being a great solution for native Windows multimedia applications and games, AutoPlay can also be
extremely useful for MS-DOS-based titles. AutoPlay can be used to install, configure, and run MS-DOS-based
applications as easily as it can Windows-based applications. Because each MS-DOS-based application in
Windows 95 can be configured with its own unique icon, CONFIG.SYS, and AUTOEXEC.BAT, it is possible to use Windows 95 to intelligently generate correct configuration files for an MS-DOS-based application
specifically for the machine it is being installed on. The startup application can then cause the MS-DOS-based
application to launch and boot within a window, or even cause Windows 95 to effectively reboot to run it if
necessary, and immediately return to Windows when the application closes.

How AUTORUN.INF Behaves on Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS

Because AUTORUN.INF is simply ignored by MS-DOS and Windows 3.1, there is no harm in putting it on titles in preparation for Windows 95. Thus, a Windows 95 AUTORUN.INF and an AutoPlay teaser are wise things to consider for any MS-DOS or Windows title shipping today, if it is anticipated that the product will still be in the market when Windows 95 ships.

小小軟件‧大大成就

小小軟件‧大大成就
副刊 新媒體 2009-09-13 16:03
電腦小工具或小插件Widget，原本是一種小程序、小軟件，能附加在瀏覽器上，或安裝在電腦內，只要電腦一聯線上網，就能傳發最新的資訊給用戶。後來手機上網愈來愈普遍，Widget也就進入了手機內。
千萬可別小看這些幾百KB或幾MB，才賣幾美分或幾美元的小軟件，蘋果電腦今年7月份就公佈了一個驚人數字：至今全世界共下載了15億次這種小軟件。如果每個軟件只賣1美元，這就是一盤15億美元的大生意！
全世界超過10萬名軟件開發商，為蘋果電腦的App Store編制了6萬5000多款iPhone小軟件，而且數目仍在增加中。這盤大生意，引起了他人的眼紅而紛紛模仿，Nokia是其中一家最早跟進的手機商，最近推出了大同小異的OVI網絡服務。
為了裝大OVI的陣容，Nokia想盡法子吸引軟件開發商加入。最多創意人才的地方，就是大專學府。因此，Nokia最近與林國榮創意科技大學合作，辦了一場“2009年Nokia手機小插件精靈大賽”，以發掘本地年輕創意人才。
這場大賽，吸引了30多項作品參賽，其中15項入選，進入製作期。優勝作品將於9月22日公佈。

智能手機推動手機媒體‧大馬30%用戶用手機上網

智能手機推動手機媒體‧大馬30%用戶用手機上網
Created 10/07/2009 - 11:42
英國調查諮詢公司Wireless Expertise的最新預計，到2013年時，智能手機年銷售量將從2009年的1億6500萬增加到4億2300萬，全球智能手機的用戶人數也將達到16億。

報告稱，電腦的數量大約在10億左右，但手機用戶的數量卻達到了40億。包括遊戲在內的手機應用市場的產值於2013年也將有一個比較大的飛躍，將從目前的46億6000萬美元上升到166億美元。

全球市場調查與資訊公司，法國的泰萊‧尼爾申‧索福瑞集團（Taylor Nelson Sofres）提及，大馬是目前世界上擁有最高智能手機使用率之一的國家。由於用戶開始使用先進的新工具來替代傳統手機，目前的數據顯示大約有30%手機用戶使用智能手機，並預料將會繼續增長，達至每年增加10%的水平。

智能手機越來越普及，跟用戶隨時隨地要上網的需要有直接關係，它是順應市場需要而延伸出來的工具，使用戶可以無時無刻都能與外界保持聯繫，隨時都能掌握最新消息和安排生活作息。

而且，隨著技術的改良，今天的智能手機不但擁有光澤亮眼的設計，還置有特別的手機界面，譬如說觸控屏幕或集合電腦所有的QWERTY鍵盤。另外，智能手機還置有讓用戶能更快速鏈接互聯網的強大軟件。

此外，你還可以在智能手機內輸入其它軟件，例如商用軟件、遊戲等等，把你的手機變成一台迷你電腦。

這種趨勢也影響傳統媒體的生態，就像90年代互聯網所帶來的影響一樣，10年過去，今日的傳統媒體多以“報+網”的姿態在市場立足，但如今又迎來手機媒體的挑戰，使媒體格局發生更巨大的變化，及時性、互動性變得越來越強，並且也真正實現了媒體“隨身攜帶”的特性，造成市場覆蓋面也出現級數化的發展趨勢，也因此促成“報+網+手機”的情況出現。

但要塑造手機媒體，也不是單靠那台先進的智能手機就行，追新聞、傳電郵、聽歌、讀文章等等都是重要內容，這就要內容供應商和通訊公司的緊密配合，以星洲媒體為例，從報紙到網站，再到手機媒體，就扮演了傳統的報紙編採兼現今的數碼內容供應的角色，沒有了這些內容，手機還不能被稱之為媒體，更不能成為黏性最大和覆蓋面最廣的媒體。

中國市場趨成熟
舉辦手機文學原創大賽

在中國，手機媒體服務商已看準了這個發展趨勢，於今年8月推出手機新文學原創大賽，這是手機媒體成熟運作的一個典型例子。這項比賽由空中網舉辦，中國作協副主席陳建功以及劉震雲、莫言等擔任評委，大賽持續3個月，共同打造100經典手機文學文庫。

參賽者可使用電腦或手機登錄參賽，也可以手機短訊的方式投稿。超過1億名的手機網上用戶可隨時隨地瀏覽這些作品。大賽的五種文體是：空中故事匯、話裡有畫、真人秀、信手拈來、移動新小說。評委劉震雲對“信手拈來”這樣的短訊文學很感興趣，表示近期會創作一篇70字之內的文學作品，供參賽者參考。

大賽除了會有一名超級黃金大獎優勝者將會獲得10萬元（人民幣）獎金外，另外5種文體分別設有各類獎項和其他商業模式的收入分成。

由於手機具有覆蓋率高、使用率高、操作簡便等特點，手機文學近年來呈現了較快的發展速度。手機文學大賽正好順應了這種發展趨勢，同時證明手機媒體有能力完成製造、傳播的一般過程，這對手機媒體的長遠發展有著重要意義。

手機上網的革命過程
iPhone 3GS改變溝通模式

越來越多的消費人開始趨向使用這種先進的手機工具，它不但能讓你撥打電話，發送短訊，還可讓你上網，交友，玩遊戲和得到更多的娛樂資訊。很多消費者更通過手機來完成日常瑣碎的事務，好比移動銀行服務、手機固本、移動支付服務等手機付費功能。

大馬人，包括所有的明訊用戶是世界手機上網使用率最高的用戶群之一，超過40%的明訊用戶經常使用手機上網功能。

今年3月，當明訊把極具革命性的iPhone 3G引進大馬，iPhone 3G的多功能性和超過5萬種的功能改變了大馬手機用戶在工作和玩樂上的溝通模式。iPhone 3G有趣並且容易操作的界面設計，讓用戶與外界保持聯繫和享受無窮歡樂，還大大的提昇了用戶的手機上網使用量。

今年7月，明訊推介升級版iPhone 3GS。它的內置應用處理器比iPhone 3G快速兩倍，而且電池的持久性更長，還置有高品質的300萬象素自動聚焦攝影功能，輕易操作的錄影功能和免手提聲量調節功能。明訊是東南亞第一家提供這款革命性iPhone 3GS的通訊公司。

小資料：“手機伴我行”是由星洲媒體、星報集團、馬來西亞前鋒報、明訊和Aegis媒體合作，鼓勵大馬人使用手機上網。

明訊用戶可於8月31日至10月31日，免費瀏覽三大語文媒體的WAP網站：

星洲媒體：http://wap.sinchew-i.com
星報：http://thestarmobile.com
馬來西亞前鋒報：http://m.utusan.com.my

其它資訊：

1.明訊用戶訂閱星洲簡訊方法：輸入BUY SINCHEW傳至26000，每月收費RM5

停止訂閱方法：輸入STOP SINCHEW傳至26000。

2.明訊3G用戶可輸入*22822，選擇Video call觀看視頻和音頻新聞，每分鐘收費RM0.20。

3.明訊手機用戶可用3G或GPRS上網鍵入網址wap.sinchew-i.com/liveoutloud進入《生活我做主》WAP版，內容包括：最娛樂、我最型、生活派、男女戰國、咖啡店、理財王和超十。用戶必須付上網收費。