The PI Explorer

Why on earth would anyone call this a PI explorer?

1. The name “Window’s Explorer” isn’t available
2. Portable Interface makes sense:
   • An interface is a common boundary or point of interaction, often involving the flow of data or information.
   • Portable implies ease of movement: both you and your data can easily move between locations without sacrificing ease of use.
   • PI – as easy to say and remember as it is to use; a tasty delight in restaurants and a pinnacle in math.

What can you do with your PI explorer?

1. Drag and drop files and folders in the file pane and/or the folder pane.
2. Instantly rename items (files, books, shortcuts, online documents, webpages, pictures, emails and folders) using your mouse and keyboard.
3. Instantly move, delete, open or reposition icons using your mouse.

Let’s just save some time here: if you have used Window’s explorer, you are ready to use the PI explorer - online, in real time, from any modern browser.

Portable Folders and Files - in real time

Where is the magic in Harry Potter? There must be magic to make this series such a giant success. Isn’t it just that: magic? Don’t we all want to believe, just a little, in magic; that the world is good and magical?

The same is true of technology. Don’t we all want technology to serve our needs in a good, familiar and friendly manner? This doesn't have to be a tail of magic, but rather, a good PI.

Too often users are made to feel like they are serving technology, forced into technology, forced into someone else’s box. This happens far too often and in too many ways.

Online files are no exception, apart from just one exception – Portable Interface (PI) technology and your portable desktop.

In your portable desktop you can quickly and easily create a new folder:

1. “Right click” over the background or in the PI explorer’s file pane.
2. Select the “New” menu.
3. Click on “Folder”.

That's it, you're done.

Interactively drag this Folder (or any other file) and drop it into another folder. Just like on your personal computer, only this real-time file system is portable and available to you from any capable browser connected to the Internet.

Menus: portable and free

Last night I attended the high school reunion for the first high school I taught at. It is a good thing that age is a state of mind, otherwise, I might just be feeling a little old today.
It was wonderful to see that so many students had expanded well beyond the envelop of their studies and where excelling in their chosen professions.

Menu systems need to be capable of expanding in a manner that offers users clear and specific choices that are not limited by the technology at hand. They must be practical enough for programmers to easily create and manage the various “use case scenarios”.

What should we expect online? That which we expect offline:

• Menu bars.
• Tool bars.
• Nested menus.
• Context menus.
• Keyboard navigation.

Context menus "pop up" with a right-click of your mouse , or a double click 2x of your left mouse button; it is your choice.

Nested menus are indicated by an arrow at the right side of the menu item. When you have selected this menu item, its sub menu will automatically open.

Keyboard navigation is supported using the arrow keys on your keyboard. For example, press “Alt p” to open the “Portable menu” in the main menu bar (analogous to the File menu on static desktops), then use your arrow keys to navigate. You may use the “Esc” key to close the menus.

You may accomplish all of this with your mouse if you prefer – it is your choice!

Personalize the appearance of your “portable desktop”.

Yes I have. I have used online dating sites. Very interesting in so many ways, however, I did have one major issue with these websites: they need to allow users to select their font sizes!

I was reading, yes reading, these profiles – but they were killing my eyes. I couldn’t take it for too long. The website designer(s) crammed in so much text using a small font, one that obviously made sense to him/her, but was brutal on the eyes.

Don’t force your visitors, clients or employees into your box! Give them the choice – please.

Personalizing your “portable desktop” is fast and easy:

1. Open the Options Dialog Interface (window) by right clicking over an empty area of your portable desktop and then select properties from the context menu (see my previous post )
   ~ OR ~
   Use the View menu in the Main menu bar.
   
2. If the Appearance menu item is not toggled to on, then click on it with your mouse.
   
3. Press the Titles menu item to personalize the menu and window titles.
   ~ OR ~
   Press the Text menu item to personalize the default text displayed.
   ~ OR ~
   Press the Desktop menu item to personalize the desktop wallpaper and icon fonts and colors.

To change the font size:

• Type your font size into the text box located to the right of the “Font Size” button.
  ~ OR ~
  Press the “Font Size” button and select your font size from the menu that appears.


• Press the “Apply” button to apply these changes,
  ~ OR ~
  the “Ok” button to apply the changes and close the Options Dialog Interface.

Personalize your website – background images

Some say my expectations are too high. Admittedly I do pay a price for them, however in my own defence; I think the price is worth it.

Why does it matter if surfers can personalize a website they are visiting?

While some may not care what a particular website looks like, or feels like – I do. Perhaps those that don’t care simply haven’t discovered that they can personalize their experience of the internet.

Some may argue: “what if I am not a registered user - why bother”. My answer is a simple one: it is fast and easy, so why not?

Right click (that’s correct – using your mouse) over an empty area of your “portable desktop” and select properties.

Next Click on the “Background button”

Finally select an image, or color for your background:

Once you have selected a background click on "Ok" and your done. It really is that easy.

If you are doing this at GoGUI.com, your portable desktop is free. As a registered user, your preferences will be waiting for you every time you sign in.

An Introduction to your "Portable Desktop"

I had originally built the portable desktop to provide for the general public that which I wanted for myself: a portable, real-time, online file system that is user-friendly, "network friendly and "information friendly".

I also wanted a “captain’s chair” from which I could navigate to my favourite stops in cyber space – organizing my favourites in a GUI environment (not a menu system that too easily becomes convoluted and difficult to use when trying to find a particular webpage).

I also wanted online documents: scripts, text, music, video and web-pages. The "webpage" file type is a remnant of a HTML course I taught online some years back. I had wanted a system by which my students could type in their code and instantly render it to see what it looked like – without having to save their webpage, tab over to the browser, and refresh the browser – too many steps and too much time.

Using the PI-tag workshop (online webpage) students, web designers or internet enthusiasts can type in their HTML while toggling back and forth between edit and view modes, using the toolbar or the keyboard shortcut (+ key in the numeric keypad).

I use these online web pages to prototype excitingly new PI tags, such as the doc and t tags.

The t tag produces a standard text box that is anything but standard. If you specify a “field” attribute in this tag, then you have a “sticky note” – just like real, live, pen & paper offices use. Try typing

<p style="font-size:12pt;">I <t field="First Name"style="width:120;"/>, <t field="Last Name"style="width:120;"/> do solemnly swear, etc.</p>

into an online webpage and then hit the + key in the numeric keypad.

Every day or two I will use this blog to publish a tip, module, code or suggestion related to “what can be done with my portable desktop”.

Over the next couple of weeks I will write about:

1. Personalize your portable desktop: the desktop.
2. Personalize your portable desktop: Appearance.
3. Personalize your portable desktop: System preference.
4. The menu system.
5. Files and Folders.
6. The PI explorer.
7. Content management – windows.
8. Content management – document trees.
9. Music and Videos.

quote
Individuals are but the product of one’s thoughts, what one thinks, one becomes.. - Mohandas Gandhi