Remove white border on a Treo 680 ?

[juggernaut#2]

I know this has been asked for a lot of times, but my search didn´t come up with anything useful ... I´d REALLY like to turn the white border on my Treo680 from white to black, since all of my skins are black.

from what I found, there´s "FrameTX" which does that, and "BlackBorder" by 1src member robbietaille, but both of ´em state that they are for TX, LD and T5 only, BlackBorder even states that it is NOT compatible with a Treo680.

what can I do ?

[Clie Patra]

Besides using white skins, I see no immediate solution to your problem. I've been looking for this too, to no avail.

[scottl]

I've often wondered what makes it so different on the Treo. I'd sure like to see it blacked out as well! It's so obnoxious on some apps - and the skins and backgrounds I'm using now are dark which make it stand out that much more.

[PalmSole]

Just a minor correction but scratch the T5 from your list above. I've tried all of the above programs and would love to see that annoying white two pixel border disappear on my trusty old T5 as well :(

[icefireicefire]

You can always use a thin sharpie on a screen protector (but you have to be VERY precise) :)

[pruss]

I can't remove the border on my 700P either. It would be really nice to be able to do it for night mode purposes.

[dmitrygr]

it can be done
but it's a pain to do.

[Clie Patra]

it can be done
but it's a pain to do.Do you think it would be possible without hooking into hede?

[dmitrygr]

hede is for losers

next question

[juggernaut#2]

next question

who´ll do it ?
:cool:

[Clie Patra]

who´ll do it ?
:cool:The obvious "next question" ;-)

[dmitrygr]

not me
no fun in it
no reason to bother

[rial]

anybody with enough knowledge to do it?

[Pgr]

I would say there is hope, because Alex Pruss stated he was interested in this, even though he doesn't know how.

So, if Dmitry can explain to Alex how it can be done... give him some clues... I'm sure he could pull it off. :)

[Clie Patra]

not me
no fun in it
no reason to botherBut it could bring in some bread for you! I bet we 're all willing to pay a reasonable amount if this patch came available. And by the number of posts I've come across about users whining about the border, I bet it will be a lot of bread :-)

[pruss]

no reason to bother

There is actually a reason for it. Devices with the white screen border are probably unacceptable for serious use in amateur astronomy--the white border is sufficiently big and white, even at a low screen brightness, that it may damage dark-adaptation.

[dmitrygr]

what i meant by that comment, is that it would take 40-50 hours to program it and that time investment in unwarranted

[juggernaut#2]

but if you might just hint alex´ towards how it could be done ?

please ?

[dmitrygr]

sure

restart lcd controller with correct lcd parameters, remap memory for new framebuffer, restart lcd dma using it, tell Os old framebuffer is free, edit OS globals to point to new framebuffer, rewrite palmos HAL display drawing code to use new framebuffer but keep old<->new size relation in mind [thus need for rewrite]


very simple, you see </sarcasm>

[Pgr]

If I understand correctly, that sounds like it's trying to use the extra screen space; but perhaps it could be simpler just to paint it black, without actually using it.

Do I understand correctly? (I bet not! :o )

[scottl]

Why didn't those Palm guys just put one silly byte in the code that says border is white/255 that someone could change to 000 and poof... border is black.

I was about to ask why they made it white anyway, but I suppose it's because a stock Palm spends a lot of time with a white background for the rest of the screen. Still, it should have always been a selectable palette from the Color Theme config page.

I also wonder why the Treo & Centro hardware/OS interface is so different from the other Palm devices. The black border (or is it lack of a border, period) on my TX sure made many apps look a lot better.

Maybe if we expressed our thoughts in public forums Palm would come to our rescue and release an update/patch... </super sarcasm mode!>

[Clie Patra]

sure

restart lcd controller with correct lcd parameters, remap memory for new framebuffer, restart lcd dma using it, tell Os old framebuffer is free, edit OS globals to point to new framebuffer, rewrite palmos HAL display drawing code to use new framebuffer but keep old<->new size relation in mind [thus need for rewrite]


very simple, you see </sarcasm>Oops. I had no idea it was that complex...

[juggernaut#2]

i wonder why it seems to be somewhat easier to do it for a TX than for a treo. wouldn´t they be using the same controller mechanism for 320x320 like the TC ?

[dmitrygr]

nothing to do with controller. TX has programmable pullups/pulldowns that are enabled with gpios. thus the time when no data is output on LCD_data pins can be programmed. other devices do not. when no data is present the output pins for LCD_Data are Hi-Z, and the LCD's internal pullup end up making them all be "1" creating white

[juggernaut#2]

... and I suppose there´s no way to just make data present all the time thus making it "0" ... pity.

[Chastreo]

Sounds like a job for Black Tip-Ex :)

[dmitrygr]

the method i describes makes the OS know the screen is indeed 324x324, and fill in any color you want. but it is hard...

[bh77a]

true it is annoying... i hate it on my Treo 680
good thing though... it's not there on either of my Centro's ;)

[pruss]

Thanks, Dmitry, for the explanations. Too bad it's like that.

For the LCD reprogramming code, I suppose one could use tcpmp code (if one is willing to work with the GPL). But the hard stuff is the HAL rewrite.

[juggernaut#2]

I suppose that means noone´s gonna do it ... :mad:

[Pgr]

It seems there is a glimpse of hope coming from another thread (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1061580#post1061580)... post #26 :)

[scottl]

Dmitry, due to your response in the skin thread (http://www.1src.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1061580&postcount=26) I have an addition for the Black Border wish-list while you're digging deep in the mind of Frankengarnet.

Would it take much more to tell it to blank (draw black) the display when switching apps rather than the blinding white we have to stare at now?

The app switch time on my Treo can be a few seconds at times and I would expect I'm not alone. I also mentioned the possibility of alternate border colors (http://www.1src.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1061667&postcount=30) in the other thread, but not sure where you may be following.

I don't want to haunt you because of one little statement, but just in case you do feel like taking this on... ;)

Thanks!

[pruss]

When I set my 700 to a theme with black backgrounds, I get black backgrounds when switching apps, except for those times when screen mode changes between apps.

[scottl]

Thanks for the tip Alex. As nice as that sounds and I do like the black themes, I have had other issues with black backgrounds and have saved those skins on my card, but don't really make us of them. Maybe I'll try again since you mentioned this :)

[pruss]

Thanks for the tip Alex. As nice as that sounds and I do like the black themes, I have had other issues with black backgrounds and have saved those skins on my card, but don't really make us of them. Maybe I'll try again since you mentioned this :)

Yes, not all apps work well with black backgrounds. Fortunately, most of the apps I want to have working in night mode (AstroInfo, Plucker and ChronMemo) do work with black backgrounds (Plucker needs the latest cvs snapshot). It would be nice if Bible+ worked with a black background. Maybe soon (e.g., tonight) it will.

[pruss]

Would it take much more to tell it to blank (draw black) the display when switching apps rather than the blinding white we have to stare at now?

1. Download and install: http://pruss.mobi/dl/BlackHack.prc
2. Enable "Black" in YAHM, at your own risk.

Tell me if it helped.

[pruss]

It would be nice if Bible+ worked with a black background. Maybe soon (e.g., tonight) it will.

Now it does:
http://pruss.homeip.net/alex/PB-beta.zip

[scottl]

1. Download and install: http://pruss.mobi/dl/BlackHack.prc
2. Enable "Black" in YAHM, at your own risk.
Tell me if it helped.It helps. Thanks! Not 100%, but it goes all white, then to black w/white border, then to the next app. I suppose I'd have to do some timing to see if it reduces white screen time or just adds a moment of black time before launching the app. It "feels" like the former so congrats on the improvement. :cool:

[pruss]

The "Reveal hidden text" "More" option in FontSmoother 2.33d helps some apps work with black-background themes:
http://pruss.mobi/dl/FontSmoother.prc
I think this option should work even if FontSmoother is expired (if not, let me know).