Commander X16

This is Volume Control Release Candidate 3.
This is a two phase multi-platform Audio Book Manager & Player. The Commander X16
is Phase 1 & I consider that code to be 99.9 % complete barring major bug fixes. I don't
currently plan any major new features for that code.

There is now a comprehensive README.TXT for Volume Control

Major enhancement in RC3. Volume Control now "remembers" the last folder browsed
when exiting and will return there on startup.

Phase II is the Windows & Linux code (and hopefully if I can enlist aid MACOS)
the Windows & Linux code will be largely look & feel compatible with the X16 code and
have enhanced capabilities. I have made a good start on this but work remains to be
done. A "Book authoring tool" and "Book Conversion Wizard" are to be part of phase II

The "64 bit Book Player" is complete and can now play Volume Control books
without opening the X16 emulator. Book Marking is compatible between the X16 Volume Control
and the 64 bit player. Look & Feel is as much as possible the same.

The previously included helper programs are now included in the FOLDER QB64SRC. Source
code (QB64PE) and Linux Executables are currently included. I will do Windows Builds for all
the executables in the next day or so and upload a supplementary ZIP file. What documentation
I've scraped together is included in the file README.64BIT.TXT. This needs improvement and
will come up as the programs are developed.

The Book DARWIN (The Origin of Species) is included in the archive
and I do have it configured for TRYIT NOW. I've tried it out a bit before committing.

2 comments for TRYIT NOW

1. It takes a good bit to load initially. Be patient.

2. Apparently the Web Emulator is doing some folder
stuff that does not occur on Hardware or the Desktop
Emulator. Occassionally when returning from the "book"
the browser "loses" the Darwin folder. Loading another
Folder then navigating back to the root appears to fix this.
This does not happen on the Desktop Emulator or Hardware,
I am not sure I'm even going to treat this as a bug to fix.

Try It Now!


VOLUME CONTROL Release Candidate 3 Windows 64 Bit Executables (Linux Executables and QB64PE source in Main archive)
You will also need ** AT LEAST ONE BOOK **
(Darwin is Included with the archive)


The books for this app are also linked here . Some of them are quite large downloads and I can't directly Host them here on the forum. I've set up a Google Drive specifically for them for the time being. So here's some books.


THE BOOKS
(I have a couple more BOOKS in the Works and I will take requests for anything in the Public Domain.)

NEWEST

First LensMan E.E. "Doc" Smith, From the LENSMAN series, a scifi classic.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rgFzq0 ... sp=sharing

Mark Twain The Adventures of Tom Sawyer & The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
TOM SAWYER
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ukDU2r ... drive_link
HUCK FINN
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X1jzZv ... drive_link
(These books are considered literary classics. However, they contain
casual use of racial slurs that are considered offensive today. If
this may bother you then don't download them. )

Two books by Washington Irving Rip Van Winkle & The Legend of Sleep Hollow
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18Xg2Xn ... sp=sharing

Galactic Patrol E.E. "Doc" Smith, From the LENSMAN series, a scifi classic.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n624RQ ... drive_link

12 Creepy Tales (Edgar Allen Poe, includes a few Classics)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bdqJQY ... drive_link

The Iliad
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dSBtFD ... sp=sharing

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KCpasj ... drive_link

A Tale of Two Cities
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XKrBpE ... drive_link

The Little Lame Prince
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1upBseY ... drive_link

The Canterbury Tales
https://drive.google.com/file/d/182Xtqx ... sp=sharing
(Warning: 1.8 gb download, 2.2 gb's unzipped)

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13k7MEc ... drive_link
(I made a tiny error in setting this up. Publication Date is incorrect. Should be Dec 1889. Somehow
I got a date before Mark Twain was born BOOK.DESC is a regular Text file that can be edited. If editing
the file make sure it is saved with Carriage Return as the line terminator (not line feed))

A Christmas Carol
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vi5I8X ... drive_link

Alice Adventures in Wonderland
https://drive.google.com/file/d/17lqHSp ... drive_link

Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GYiYzl ... sp=sharing

The Time Machine
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NHZSyd ... sp=sharing

The War of The Worlds
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pvZzPS ... sp=sharing

Dracula
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dV29Ne ... sp=sharing

Frankenstein
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YY9xTB ... sp=sharing

BEOWULF (A Reading in Old English)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/128KdMA ... sp=sharing

Wild Apples (A long Essay by Henry D. Thoreau)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ybpMkf ... sp=sharing

On the Origin of Species
(Removed from GOOGLE Drive because it is now included with the program)

If it's in the Public Domain I'll be taking requests until my Google Drive is full..

Posted a link to "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" converted for Volume Control.

Anything available by Carl Sagan? Cosmos would be great, but probably "too soon"?

Epic of Gilgamesh? Odysseus? the Argonauts? Lliad?

Greek stories? Not sure of any concise titles... But Clash of the Titans?
Fate sisters? Pandora's Box? Prometheus? Athena and the olive tree?
Icarus and those silly wax wings? How the Aegean got its name?
The sad story of Niobe and the Weeping Rock?
But I'm not sure where modern English translation stand for these.

voidstar wrote: ↑Thu Sep 12, 2024 6:22 am Anything available by Carl Sagan? Cosmos would be great, but probably "too soon"?

Epic of Gilgamesh? Odysseus? the Argonauts? Lliad?

Greek stories? Not sure of any concise titles... But Clash of the Titans?
Fate sisters? Pandora's Box? Prometheus? Athena and the olive tree?
Icarus and those silly wax wings? How the Aegean got its name?
The sad story of Niobe and the Weeping Rock?
But I'm not sure where modern English translation stand for these.

All great ideas, I'll certainly try to do some of these. (Gilgamesh was already on my list) These take some time because I haven't written all my "Authoring" helpers yet. I plan "Authoring/Building/Converting" eventually as part of the package, though it will be a 64 bit program and not an X16 program.

One of the features I have planned for "Authoring" is easy conversion of "Audible" books. I've already done one at home, so it's just a matter of automating the process. That way any X16 owner that is subscribed to Audible can convert their own.

Posted a New Book for Volume Control:

The Canterbury Tales

Also Posted Volume Control BETA 4

UPDATED BETA 4 TO BETA 4A Due to report of Volume Bug. Please Re Download.

Linked in Top Post
viewtopic.php?t=7928

Feedback:

• Cool app! I find myself using it more when i want something playing in the background

• Startup screen: I don't mind the audio sample of the turning pages but whatever is at the end is harsh.

• Startup screen: Consider displaying the text "Loading..." with the cover art. When I first loaded the program, I wasn't sure if the screen froze and i started pressing keyboard buttons.

• Audiobook screen: First experience loading the audiobook, I see the cover art but no sound. It took me far too long to realize that the audiobook was indeed playing but inaudible. I needed to increase the volume.

• Audiobook screen: First experience loading the audiobook, I see the cover art and have no idea how to access the menu. After mashing the keyboard I was able to pull it up. I think defaulting to the menu view or displaying the main controls with cover art would improve the user experience.

• UI colors: I think limiting the number of colors to 3 in the UI would simply things visually. White, Green, Yellow?

** POSTED BETA 6 **
(At top post)

Several bug fixes to account for unexpected folder configurations.

Program and assets may be installed in the root directory of a drive (for instance for a dedicated book sd-card)

Seeking during play enabled. (Backward & Forward in 20 second increments)

Implemented wrapping for chapter titles > 36 characters wide.

Posted another converted book to the list for Volume Control.

12 Creepy Tales by Edgar Allen Poe

Includes the Classics, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven & Other's

See Top Post: viewtopic.php?t=7928

Have another book converted.

Galactic Patrol
from the LENSMAN series
by E. E. "Doc" Smith.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n624RQ ... drive_link

Posted Volume Control Release Candidate 3
viewtopic.php?p=34516#p34516