I've done a little research on this and have found some promising results. It appears the most popular and full featured svg editor out there does not have support for animation, but animation can be achieved in conjunction with other programs.
The most mature svg editor I can see is Inkscape.. http://www.inkscape.org And animation can be achieved using programs listed on this page... http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/Animation-%28Timeline%29 Its not ideal, but it's a workable solution for now. If support for rendering svg were added, as the svg tools mature further, the results would improve. It does appear possible, using completely free tools, to create animated gorgeous menus in svg. Examples of what can be done with inkscape can be found here... http://inkscape.deviantart.com/favourites/ Given the option, the community would support this feature and set Elisa apart from its competitors. Consider the artists already using inkscape, as represented by the deviantart community set up for it. On top of animation, add unparalleled scriptability and you've got the best looking UI in the game, and its also the most flexible. Thank you, John Doe Manager of Wi-Fi Operations XXX-XXX-XXXX Office XXX-XXX-XXXX Mobile -----Original Message----- From: Florian Boucault [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 5:34 PM To: Ryan Felder Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Elisa] A concrete suggestion for UI improvement Hello Ryan, Thank you for your detailed post. I am all with you about having an easy way for non programmers to design and implement a user interface for Elisa. However, my feeling is that this kind of tool requires a lot of time to develop. Talking about SVG animation, as far as I am aware of, there are no tools up to speed with what we would need. If anybody proves this to be wrong, this would probably be an interesting option. In the meantime, we'll do our best to try implementing ideas from users and designers. Florian Le dimanche 08 avril 2007 à 15:46 -0500, Ryan Felder a écrit : > Proposal for a standards based UI > > Because I'm making a case for a change in UI, I'm going to use apple > to illustrate a point. > The Ipod is one of the most feature limited mp3 players, however it is > the most popular. It was made popular by their interface, the touch > wheel. The Macintosh operating system sets itself apart, again, by its > interface. The IPhone is relying heavily on new interface technology > to succeed. Even Tivo has interface patents and understands the > importance of a good interface. > > The feature set is fairly standard across dvr devices. > > * Watch TV > * Timeshift TV > * Playback Recordings > * Play Music > * Show Pictures > > What can set your device apart from the rest? More features are good, > but the users most significant needs are already being met by their > current solutions. > > I suggest your 'killer app' will be an interface which is easily > customizable using standardized technology already in widespread use. > > I am suggesting that you replace your proprietary interface with an > interface based on one of the widely used vector art libraries which > are already widely used and mature. > > The possibilities of this are... > > * Already widely accepted by ARTISTS > * Mature designing tools for quick development of UI skins > * Widely varied UI skins to suit any taste > * Ability to easily mimic any desired UI scheme, such as the > ITunes music player interface or Tivo's dvr interface > > The specific technologies I am suggesting are > > Adobe Flash, which: > > *already has a linux implementation in Firefox > *has the most mature desiging tools > *is most widely adopted amongst designers > *requires licensing > > > > or > > SVG > > *standardized > *feature similar to Flash > *has existing rendering implementations available > under open source > *less developed designing tools > > > > Imagine a ferarri themed dvr, complete with swooping logos and engine > sounds, or a garden themed dvr with vines that grow and crawl around > text boxes Or a Windows Media Center/AppleTV/Tivo exact look alike > > all these created and maintained by the community. > > They could take pieces from one ui, mix and match with another to > create the ui that suits them best. > > Finally, add a page into the default ui scheme where they can find and > download the ui schemes that others are using, ranked by popularity, > and allow them to download and install directly from that page and > you'll find have a TRULY UNIQUE FEATURE. > > I originally posted this to the trac ticket system and got a response > from philn. > > In it, he makes a good point why flash wouldn't be optimal, because it > can't use hardware acceleration and licensing costs, but this still > leaves SVG open for consideration. > > I have posted this here in the hopes of spurring some conversation > about how it could be done ;) > >
