Olympic Water Drums

Female water drummers put on a pretty cool show in the water polo arena at the Beijing olympics. Have a look.

Check it out here.

Check it out here.

using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace MyTrayApp
{
    public class SysTrayApp : Form
    {
        [STAThread]
        public static void Main()
        {
            Application.Run(new SysTrayApp());
        }

        private NotifyIcon  trayIcon;
        private ContextMenu trayMenu;

        public SysTrayApp()
        {
            // Create a simple tray menu with only one item.
            trayMenu = new ContextMenu();
            trayMenu.MenuItems.Add("Exit", OnExit);

            // Create a tray icon. In this example we use a
            // standard system icon for simplicity, but you
            // can of course use your own custom icon too.
            trayIcon      = new NotifyIcon();
            trayIcon.Text = "MyTrayApp";
            trayIcon.Icon = new Icon(SystemIcons.Application, 40, 40);

            // Add menu to tray icon and show it.
            trayIcon.ContextMenu = trayMenu;
            trayIcon.Visible     = true;
        }

        protected override void OnLoad(EventArgs e)
        {
            Visible       = false; // Hide form window.
            ShowInTaskbar = false; // Remove from taskbar.

            base.OnLoad(e);
        }

        private void OnExit(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            Application.Exit();
        }

        protected override void Dispose(bool isDisposing)
        {
            if (isDisposing)
            {
                // Release the icon resource.
                trayIcon.Dispose();
            }

            base.Dispose(isDisposing);
        }
    }
}

As always, you should add error handling where appropriate.

• Set the current wallpaper.
• Get the path of the current wallpaper.
• Detect when the current wallpaper changes.

How to set the desktop wallpaper:

using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
private static extern Int32 SystemParametersInfo(
    UInt32 action, UInt32 uParam, String vParam, UInt32 winIni);

private static readonly UInt32 SPI_SETDESKWALLPAPER  = 0x14;
private static readonly UInt32 SPIF_UPDATEINIFILE    = 0x01;
private static readonly UInt32 SPIF_SENDWININICHANGE = 0x02;

public void SetWallpaper(String path)
{
    SystemParametersInfo(SPI_SETDESKWALLPAPER, 0, path,
        SPIF_UPDATEINIFILE | SPIF_SENDWININICHANGE);
}

How to get the path of the current desktop wallpaper:

using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
private static extern Int32 SystemParametersInfo(
    UInt32 action, UInt32 uParam, IntPtr vParam, UInt32 winIni);

private static readonly UInt32 SPI_GETDESKWALLPAPER = 0x73;
private static readonly int    MAX_PATH             = 260;

public String GetWallpaper()
{
    String wallpaper = new String('\ 0', MAX_PATH);
    SystemParametersInfo(SPI_GETDESKWALLPAPER,
        (UInt32)wallpaper.Length, wallpaper, 0);
    wallpaper = wallpaper.Substring(0, wallpaper.IndexOf('\ 0'));
    return wallpaper;
}

How to detect when the desktop wallpaper changes:

using System.Windows.Forms;

public class MyApp : Form
{
    private static readonly UInt32 SPI_SETDESKWALLPAPER = 0x14;
    private static readonly UInt32 WM_SETTINGCHANGE     = 0x1A;

    protected override void WndProc(ref Message message)
    {
        if (message.Msg == WM_SETTINGCHANGE)
        {
            if (message.WParam.ToInt32() == SPI_SETDESKWALLPAPER)
            {
                // Handle that wallpaper has been changed.
            }
        }

        base.WndProc(ref message);
    }
}

Of course, you should add return value checking and exception handling where appropriate.

Note: I have only tried this on a fresh install of Vista Ultimate x64 with no existing SoundBlaster drivers installed. It may or may not work for you. Try it at your own risk.

1. Download the required drivers. You’ll need both the 2.12.0002 and the older 2.12.0001.20 drivers.
2. Install the newer drivers and Audio Console by running SBAXVSD_PCDRV_LB_2_12_0002.exe. Follow instructions and reboot.
3. Extract the contents of SBAX_2_12_0001_20.zip into a temporary folder.
4. Run the extracted Setup.exe and select “Driver Uninstallation” and “Delete all shared Creative audio driver files”. This uninstalls the drivers without removing the Creative Audio Console.
   
   Reboot.
5. Run the same Setup.exe again, but this time select “Driver Installation” and “Overwrite existing shared Creative audio driver files”. This installs the older but functional drivers.
   
   Reboot.
6. Driver installation is now finished. Open the Creative Audio Console and adjust your settings. CMSS2, Stereo Surround, Dolby Digital, and DTS are all available and working.
   
   

Creative recently released an Audigy series beta driver for Vista. I have not tried it as the above solution is working very well for me, but it may be worth checking out if you have tried this without success or you don’t like hacks like this.