Nullsoft aO for Winamp v0.60 Christmas Release (24.12.1998)

THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL "FOR-KICKS" RELEASE. IT IS NOT PRODUCTION SOFTWARE.
 [READ: BUGS DO EXIST, GET OVER IT AND LOOK AT THE ESSENCE OF THE PRODUCT]

Please read all of the following Q&A's before installing.

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What is aO?

aO is a little interface system that really departs from existing interfaces.
It is interactively customizable and dynamic -- you can easily move, size,
and color components. 

aO is implemented as a general purpose plug-in for Winamp 2.05+. The basic
playback functionality is implemented, but no playlist editor or graphical
equalizer is implemented at this time.

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How do I install aO?

Simply unzip this file into your Winamp\Plugins directory. Be sure to unzip
with directories in order to put the preset (*.aoc and *.aol) files in their
directory (if it screws up, make a subdirectory Winamp\Plugins\ao and put all
of the preset files in there).

Then, run Winamp. The new interface should appear.
If you click on the 'close' button in the classic Winamp main window it will
disappear and you'll be in aO-only mode (the intended way to use aO).

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How do I uninstall aO?

We're sure most of you will at some point since this is very experimental
test software. If you want to permanently remove aO from your system,
simply close Winamp, remove gen_ao.dll from your Plugins directory, and
remove the ao\ subdirectory of your Plugins directory. Done!

If you'd like to just disable aO, go to the preferences/misc plug-ins tab,
and select 'Nullsoft aO 0.60' in the General Purpose Plug-in list.
Then hit configure, and select 'No'.


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How do I use aO?

Once you have aO open, you'll see the basic interface.
There are numerous components, most of which are pretty self explanitory 
(control buttons, volume slider, position slider, etc)
The interface is customizable, so components may be in different locations,
but the top right corner always has two sets of buttons. 
  * There is a set of two (close and minimize)
  * There is a set of four: 
    * topmost toggle (a pushpin)
    * preferences (a toolbox)
    * track info (INF)
    * window-menu (two little window icons)

The real button of interest is the window-menu button.
Once you click on it, you can do a number of things, such as:
  * Load and save preset layouts
  * Load, edit, and save color schemes
  * Toggle the presence of the different control windows
  * Lock and unlock the position/size of all the control windows

NOTE: all the normal Winamp main window keyboard shortcuts work in aO, too.
X is play, CTRL+P is preferences, etc etc etc.

For starts, try loading different presets. 
                 
Once you get the idea of how the interface is customizable, try making your 
own layouts.

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How do I make my own layouts?

All the control windows are moveable and sizeable (with the exception of the
two upper-right most windows).

You can click and drag the top "bar" of each control window to move it.
If no top "bar" is present, try doubleclicking on where the bar should be
to unlock the window.

Likewise, if you click and drag the bottom right corner of the control window,
you can size it. Notice the contents of that window automagically try to make
best use of the area you give them.

There are some limitations on the organizing process.
Most noticeably, if you make windows overlap, they'll really look bad
(there's no clipping or adjustable Z order).
Remember, this is a for kicks release :)

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Arg!?!?!? Winamp crashes when I load it!
-- or --
The interface looks all screwed up!!?!?!

Try quitting Winamp, deleting gen_ao.ini in your Winamp\Plugins directory,
and restarting. 



Welp, I think that's about it for now. Enjoy, and don't complain to me if it
doesn't work the way you want it to :)

-Justin

