New Alphablended Os X Cursor Set In Xp Format!


Recommended Posts

I'm running WinXP Pro (non-SP1), not using any sorts of transparency programs like WindowsFX or anything, and I have a Radeon 8500 Retail with the latest (6218) drivers (so scratch that Nvidia theory). This is the only set of cursors I've tried where this happens; it occurs both when cursor shadows are enabled and when they are disabled in the mouse control applet.

Edit: BTW, I'm not using CursorXP or anything either, just loading the cursors through XP's default interface.

Edited by Explicative

OK, I found a workaround. Go to display properties (right-click desktop, properties), then go to the Settings tab and click on the Advanced button. Under the Troubleshoot tab you should see a Hardware Acceleration slider, it's probably all the way to the right (full). Slide it back one notch to the left, this disables bitmap and cursor acceleration in hardware.

For me the problem has totally disappeared, although window drawing (e.g., maximizing and minimizing windows) is slightly slower, maybe by a second or so though, nothing major. Still, you'd think ATI and Nvidia (I'm assuming it's their fault) would have gotten a pretty good handle on the 2D stuff by now. Oh well, maybe it varies according to driver revisions, I'll keep this in mind next time I update.

OK, I found a workaround. Go to display properties (right-click desktop, properties), then go to the Settings tab and click on the Advanced button. Under the Troubleshoot tab you should see a Hardware Acceleration slider, it's probably all the way to the right (full). Slide it back one notch to the left, this disables bitmap and cursor acceleration in hardware.

For me the problem has totally disappeared, although window drawing (e.g., maximizing and minimizing windows) is slightly slower, maybe by a second or so though, nothing major. Still, you'd think ATI and Nvidia (I'm assuming it's their fault) would have gotten a pretty good handle on the 2D stuff by now. Oh well, maybe it varies according to driver revisions, I'll keep this in mind next time I update.

Yeah that works , thanks. Haven't noticed any slowdowns yet :)

i also, wanted to add, that the cursors looks the same whether or not the 'shadow' option is turned on or off, there aint shadows.

hope it helps...just sharing.

hope u get it binary {:o)

warm regards.

aniba!

there are shadows, they're just subtle. The shadow checkbox wont do any good because they are alphablended, so the shadows wont apply to an alphablended cursor. Which is why I added their own shadows ;)

And it's great you guys found a workaround.

Chris

Are any of you running ANY extra programs that would affect XP's alphablending? i.e. y'z shadow, windowfx, or any transparency programs? It also might be a graphics driver issue. Are you guys having issues by any chance using nvidia gfx cards?

Chris

i dont use any of that poop. i just rebooted and it worked fine after that.

I guess it's just a bug in XP (I assume this happens with all alpha-blended cursors, not sure though since these are the only ones I've tried), or else it's a problem with certain sets of video drivers, because I don't understand why it apparently doesn't happen for some people. From what I understand, alpha-blended cursors are 32-bit, 24-bit color channel and 8-bit alpha channel, and windows is supposed to display the composite channel. However, with these cursors when you drag a file it stops outputting the composite channel and instead displays just the color channel (hence the black outlines). I think what might be happening is that it uses the 8-bits of alpha to make the dragged icon transparent, which somehow messes up the cursor rendering when done in hardware.

I don't know if there is any way to correct it, but since usually you only drag stuff with the default cursor, I converted it to 24-bit and added a bit of shadow underneath. Looks pretty close to the original (to me), if Binary wants I'll email it to him and he can distribute it.

BTW, I converted it because I noticed that when you disable cursor acceleration in windows you tend to get flickering in transitions. I prefer to use the 24-bit cursor and have acceleration on.

Edited by Explicative
  • 7 months later...

I noticed a problem, using the cursors, its REALLY REALLY slow in Firebird 0.6.1. Anyone else getting this? In Internet Explorer, its smooth as.

I believe Firebird has a problem with alpha transparent cursors cause when I use the WinXP default ones its fine.

Edited by Long

SO THESE ARE YOURS BINARY!!!!!! :woot:

for the past few months ive been using your colorful rainbow busy cursor, and some month or so ago, i had to format and lost it.. since then, ive been looking all over dART and deskmod, and no sign of the coolest XP busy cursor EVER..

im only using that one, tho.. for my other cursors im using this theme i found on dART a long time ago.. it has the standard clock pre-OSX busy ani's, which ive replaced with yours.. here's what they look like, if someone's interested i might upload them, since i cant find the damn thing on dART again..

i like them over Binary's (which are incredible as well) only because they're smaller and shorter.. much nicer, IMO, although not quite faithful to the OSX version, im sure..

heres the preview

post-67-1060141845.jpg

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • When will the Photos app be updated to remember the window size and position when reopened? They addressed this issue in a 2024 version of the app (though I can't recall the build number). Unfortunately, after that specific version, the problem persists! Please prioritise this fix in your K2 schedule. Additionally, the Snipping Tool has lost the ability to capture the Windows Taskbar starting from the 2024 version!
    • Same, never saw it on Android or iOS. Guess only some people got it *shrugs*
    • Anthropic pulls Fable 5 and Mythos 5 after US export control order by Pradeep Viswanathan In April this year, Anthropic launched the Claude Mythos Preview frontier model with state-of-the-art cyber and coding capabilities for a select set of companies around the world. After preparing appropriate guardrails, early this week, Anthropic launched Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5, its most capable AI models. Claude Fable 5 is for general users and comes with strict safeguards, while Mythos 5 is designed with fewer safeguards for cybersecurity and biology use cases. Today, Anthropic abruptly suspended access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models for all customers after receiving an export control directive from the US government. The company received the directive from the government today at 5:21 p.m. ET, and the received letter did not provide any details regarding the national security concern. Anthropic understands that the government became aware of a method to bypass, or “jailbreak,” Fable 5, which might be the reason behind the directive. The order was issued under national security authorities and requires the company to suspend all access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 by any foreign national, whether they are inside or outside the United States. The restriction also applies to foreign national employees working at Anthropic. As a result, the company has disabled both models for all customers to ensure compliance. Access to previous Anthropic models like Opus and Sonnet is not affected by this government order. The company highlighted that it had developed strong safeguards to reduce the possibility that Fable is misused for tasks related to cybersecurity. In fact, many developers are complaining that the safeguards are going overboard. Additionally, the company worked with the US government, the UK AISI, multiple private third-party organizations, and internal teams to red-team Fable’s safeguards for thousands of hours. Finally, Anthropic noted that no testers have yet been able to find a universal jailbreak on Fable 5. As expected, Anthropic disagrees that a narrow potential jailbreak should lead to the recall of a commercial model used by hundreds of millions of people. It warned that applying this standard across the AI industry could effectively halt new frontier model deployments. Anthropic concluded by mentioning that it is working to restore access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 as soon as possible and plans to share more details within the next 24 hours.
    • Brave Browser 1.91.172 is out.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Contributor
      MarkHughes4096 went up a rank
      Contributor
    • Dedicated
      jordanspringer earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Rookie
      Rimplesnort went up a rank
      Rookie
    • One Year In
      Markus94287 earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Month Later
      Markus94287 earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      503
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      176
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      147
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      92
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      79
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!