WhiteCap is a MacAMP, SoundJam, and Winamp visual plugin. Please read all of this file--it has key info you'll want to know. Finally, I dedicate this entire project to Jesus, the light of my life╨╨praise God! Without Him, I can do nothing.
Instructions
1) Move the two items inside "(into Plugins)" into MacAMP's "Plugins" folder.
2) Run MacAMP and select WhiteCap from the Visualization menu.
3) To change the displayed 'config,' click on the title of the currently displayed config title (you will then see a list of the text files that are inside the folder "WhiteCap Configs").
4) To go into fullscreen mode, double click on the WhiteCap window. If nothing happens, it's probably because you don't have DrawSprocketLib in your extensions folder. If this is the case, there's a copy of Apple's distribution archive of it inside the Source archive. Just extract DrawSprocketLib from the archive into your extensions folder.
FAQ
Q: How can I learn about WhiteCap config files so I can make my own?
A: The config file titled "ArcticFox Memories" is documented.
Q: Why doesn't WhiteCap show up as a plugin in MacAMP and/or why won't it go fullscreen?
A: You probably don't have DrawSprocketLib in your extensions folder. There's a copy of Apple's distribution archive inside the "WhiteCap Source.sit" archive. Just extract DrawSprocketLib from the archive and put it into your extensions folder.
Q: Can I resize the WhiteCap window?
A: Just drag near the bottom right of the window.
Q: Can I make WhiteCap act like a screensaver?
A: Open the text file "WhiteCap Preferences" in your Preferences folder. The parameter 'SSvr' is the number of minutes WhiteCap waits before switching to fullscreen once your mac has been left idle.
Q: How do I make WhiteCap display random configs every so often?
A: When WhiteCap starts up, it's automatically in 'slide show' mode. After a certain number of seconds it will automatically switch to another config. To change the time delay, open the WhiteCap preferences file. The parameter 'Slde' is the number of seconds WhiteCap waits before switching to a new config. For example, you could have WhiteCap always be morphing between configs by setting Slde to zero.
Q: What else is in the WhiteCap Preferences file?
A: When WhiteCap switches to another config, it has to know how long to make the transition from one config to the next. WhiteCap decides this period of time by picking a random number of seconds between TrLo and TrHi. The MScl parameter scales the aplitude of all music samples (x1000), so if most of the music you play is soft, try increasing this to 1500 or higher (1.5+).
Q: How do I display multiple configs?
A: Make a folder in the "WhiteCap Configs" folder and place the config files you want to be displayed at once inside that folder. See "RGB Rave" as an example.
Q: Why does the green factory config keep appearing when I select a config?
A: WhiteCap falls back to an internally stored 'factory' config if there's a problem loading a config. Try double checking your config for missing/extra quotes, commas, and comments and make sure it's not open in another application.
The only thing I ask in return for using WhiteCap is an email saying hi with some feedback. Also, if you make a cool 'config', include a copy of it to me and I'll put it in the next release of WhiteCap. If you send me a config, please put some info about yourself in the config file (alias, email, config title, etc). To give you an idea how far this plugin has come from user support, most of the WhiteCap configs are configs you guys have sent me. Remember, WhiteCap cannot improve unless you send me ideas, feedback, and bug reports. Email, email, email! Also, I'd like it if you mentioned what configs you like so I can try to make more along those lines.
Important
Ñ Don't blame WhiteCap for messing up your HD when you happened to be defragging your HD, while installing Stacker, while you were using Netscape, while you were running Microsoft Office 2000 in Virtual PC.
Ñ Don't steal the source code (feel free to use it, just give credit to where you got it from). I include the source code because I want to expose possible software designers to code other than snippets and freeware hacks for UNIX that nobody cares about--it's the kind of thing I wish I was exposed to when I was starting out. I ask other software authors to consider this and do the same.
On The Horizon
Way back I said I had two new plugins simultaneously under development. WhiteCap 3 was one of them and the other is nearing completion. Time is scarce, but this other plugin will happen within 1-2 months. I look forward to its release more than I did WhiteCap's release if that's any encouragement. Thanks in advance for your patience and support.
My third project, a mac port of of Icecast, a mp3 streaming server, has been at a standstill. With so many other exciting projects on the to-do list, I've abandoned this project.
Thanks to an email from a guy, it got on a line of thought that led to a radical new idea. I was so excited, I retreated into my room to code for three days straight (no kidding) to prototype this idea. I'm excited to say I now have proof of concept for this technology, and I'm really optimistic about it. It's coded "Project: Escape," and to give you an idea of how excited I am about it, it's stolen all my excitement from my (unnamed) new plugin. Project: Escape is a 3D technology that's proven to have serious potential, and I have to choose among the ways it can be used. If you're in a market associated with computer eye appeal (screensavers, music/artistic visualization, 3D interactivity/games, or eye-grabber technology) and are interested in a unique venture, email me.
Andy O'Meara
aco5@cornell.edu
9/6/99
"A leader is 5 things: a moralist, a teacher, a writer of law, a steward, and a philosopher."
-VADM Stockdale (Ret.), POW for 7 Years, Awarded U.S. Medal of Honor
