I'm sure Stardock is hard at work at an updated WindowFX release with cool Vista-specific effects, but here's one that I wanna see:


(Screenshot)

OSX's Expose has a 'concentration' feature that allows background windows to be dimmed so that you can focus at the task at hand (e.g., like when you really need to write that essay) instead of being distracted by background windows and desktop clutter. A rudimentary Windows clone called Concentrate was created as part of the Software Jedi App-a-Day project.

But I propose that Stardock really make this function KICK! Here's how:

1. Of course, you should be able to invoke the effect with a shortcut keystroke combination.

2. An always-on option would keep the effect on, but it would follow the mouse; so if you click on a background window, then that window now claims focus, and all the other windows are dimmed. This would be especially cool if you enable x-mouse features via WindowFX, because then the effect would follow the mouse like a spotlight.

3. But ideally, the way it would work is that the effect is only activated when a certain threshold of isolated activity, within a top window, is reached. For example, if a lot of mouse activity is going on in one application (paint program, game, web browser, etc.) for a certain duration of time; or if there is increased activity on the keyboard (word processor, e-mail), the concentration effect would activate, and the background would fade out.

The effect should only disengage when the user decides to focus elsewhere -- that is, it should not break just because the mouse activity or keyboard use slows down, as long as that window is in focus. This is because the person is probably still working intensely, just reading and not typing at that moment. (Although that would be a neat option to allow: To fade in when # words per minute typed increases, and to fade out when #wpm drops down. That might be a way to encourage productivity, because the user will want the application to remain in concentrated focus!)

4. When the effect is activated or deactivated, it should FADE smoothly in and out. Especially in Vista, with its new DWM & WPF, this should be totally possible without requiring much CPU.

5. Disable the effect for windows that are maximized to fill the entire screen.

6. All of these features should work in Windows XP, but to add a great Vista aspect to the effect, allow the dimming screen to be a dark piece of GLASS. Or skip the glass and just add some depth-of-field to the screen, so that things in the background are BLURRED out. Gaussian blur would require some CPU to generate, so you may want to inactivate re-rendering (i.e., unlike the transparent dimming screen, which allows the background to be redrawn to update content, the glass sheet or blurred-lens effect should be a static image until the user causes the effect to deactivate by switching to another window. Otherwise, if the glass/blurred-lens redraws constantly, the CPU drain will be immense.) Likewise, x-mouse activity should be disabled with the glass/blurred-lens effects so that the user actually has to click to switch to another application. Otherwise, if the 'spotlight effect' tries to follow the x-mouse with glass/blur enabled, it is doomed to be slow and a horrible drain on resources.

Thoughts, comments??

Warmest regards,
Alessandro (cavalierex)