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+Extantz is a front end to virtual world viewers, mostly of the SL
+(Second Life) variety since that's my focus.  Most SL style virtual
+world viewers can be invoked with options to start them logging on, and
+skipping the login screen.  So this project aims to be that login
+screen, doing all the things that can be done from the meta-impy login
+screen, plus more.  Once the user hits the login button, extantz figures
+out what parameters to pass to what viewer, then starts it up and gets
+out of the way.  Following the ClientHamr philosophy of breaking the
+viewer up into modules that do simpler tasks, and do them well.  So that
+means that meta-impy will eventually loose it's login screen, to be
+replaced by extantz.
+
+Extantz is a made up word.  The challenge was to find a word beginning
+with E, is as traditional with EFL (Enlightenment Foundation Library)
+projects, that has not been done to death, and thus has some reasonable
+chance to turn up in google searches.  It also helps if it somehow or
+other reflects what the project actually is.  lol
+
+Extant means "still existing, surviving", or the more archaic meaning,
+from it's original Latin roots "standing out, be visible, exist".
+
+Extent means "an area or volume, the range over which a thing extends"
+among other things.
+
+So I hope to invoke thoughts of a volume that exists and stands out.  In
+other words, virtual worlds.  Meh, I'm not that artsy, it needed a name. 
+lol
+
+Extantz starts off looking like any other viewers login screen, showing
+the login page of the default, or last visited grid, a small menu at the
+top with the usual functions, and the usual login buttons at the bottom. 
+Added to that will be a better grid manager, with proper user
+management, suitable for people with more than one account per grid. 
+The user will have the ability to choose a virtual world viewer to be
+the default, and even to associate a particular viewer with a particular
+grid.  This is useful, for instance, for grids that have their own
+custom viewers, but the user wants to use a more generic viewer for all
+the other grids.  Or if the user wants to use one viewer for OpenSim
+grids, but another for LL (Linden Labs) grids.  Coz perhaps their chosen
+viewer is not TPVP (Third Party Viewer Policy, an LL thing) compliant,
+and Ll are just more anal than the rest of the universe.
+
+The grid manager will also include some sort of search capability, as is
+currently being discussed by various people in the OpenSim universe. 
+There might even be several search systems in place, so supporting
+existing ones, and the ability to add more might be useful.  Extantz
+should be the only thing registered to handle hop:// and other such URLs
+in whatever web browsers you are using.  Though most viewers want to
+register themselves, so tends to be that which ever one you started up
+last, or first, gets that privilege.  That's a whole can of worms, sane
+policy and code should help.
+
+It might be useful to have extantz be able to download viewers,
+including checking for updates and offering to download them.  As well
+as updates to common things like viewer tag definition files.
+
+Extantz, unlike the LL viewer code base, will be designed for relogging. 
+Once the viewer it starts quits (or crashes), extantz, which was still
+running, can pop again and let the user relog, or log to some other
+grid, or same grid as different a user, or even same grid as same user
+with a different viewer.
+
+Viewers can be made extantz aware, like meta-impy will be (since it's
+handing it's login screen functionality to extantz).  A few more things
+make sense to be added in this case.  For instance, you might want to
+have some or all of your LMs (LandMarks) be usable at the log in
+screen, so you can log directly to them.  The user might want the choice
+when they HG (HyperGrid teleport) to actually start up a new viewer and
+just login to the other grid instead (if they already have an account
+there).  While HGed to some new grid, the user might want to add that
+grid to the extantz grid manager at a simple click of a button, perhaps
+complete with an LM for their current position.  The grid searching
+capabilities mentioned earlier might be needed while in world. 
+Certainly the grid manager functions in meta-impy will be handled by
+extantz, even if in world.
+
+In order to display the login page of a grid, which is a web page, a web
+browser will be built into extantz.  It could be used to display web
+pages within an extantz aware viewer.  Though perhaps not for MOAP
+(Media On A Prim), unless extantz grows the ability to incorporate
+itself into the viewers 3D landscape as part of a prim.  Which is a good
+idea, then meta-impy no longer needs a web browser.  Though other things
+in the viewer are implemented as web pages, and LL are moving more stuff
+to the web.
+
+One of the things on the login screen is the menu option to start up the
+preferences window and change the viewers preferences.  Viewers use XML
+files that not only store the preferences, but also a description of
+them.  The preferences window and it's various parts are also stored as
+XML files.  There is a bit missing that is in the viewer source code
+that ties all of this together.  So it might not be possible to do this
+for all viewers.  Extantz aware viewers can naturally provide the
+missing bits to Extantz, even if not running, or even pass that entire
+functionality to extantz, just like meta-impy will do.
+
+For the purposes of keeping resource usage low, it should be possible
+for the user to configure extantz to go away when it starts a viewer. 
+Might be a good idea even for extantz aware viewers, that can start it
+up again if it's functionality is needed while in world.  Note this "go
+away" means to stop running and free up any resources it was using;
+which is different from the "gets out of the way" it usually does, still
+running, just not on screen.
+
+
+
+
+