9/29/99
Look what happens when you mix DragThing and Iconographer!
I used Iconographer and an existing photo to make some quick-and-dirty huge icons (48x48). I then dragged the icons onto DragThing to see what would happen.
Remember, while these may look like pictures, they are actually 32 bit huge icons that have been scaled up. The author, James Thomson adds:
Assuming they are stored in 'icns' resources, it should "just work". If you set the size to huge, it will pass the 'icns' off to the OS to draw it, and it should pick the right one.
While I wouldn't want huge icons strewn across my desktop, their judicious use in programs like DragThing can make computing more fun.
Jason Wiggins asks:
 Would you have any idea how to convert a jpeg picture out of a program's resource? I have a program that used jpegs for it's graphics but I can't seem to open them with anything. I've tried to open it in Photoshop by opening it as raw, and to copy the resource info into the data file (using forker) of a previously saved pic.
This resource came from a Nord modular keyboard editor program recently released for the Mac. I was going to try and change the graphics of this program a little to suit my tastes
Open the file in ResEdit and view the JPEG resources. Open an ID number in the Hex editor (this happens be default), and copy all the text to the clipboard. Make sure it's the text you have highlighted and not the Hex.
Open a new document in SimpleText (or use Tex-Edit as I did), and paste in the clipboard. It will look like a lot of garbage.
Save the file as something.jpg and open it in you favorite graphics program. Reverse the process once you have changed the graphic.
As Cletus noted yesterday, the latest beta of AOL's Instant Messenger has been released (3.5.768). Phydeaux's patcher still works if you cut/paste the ResEdit resources. This version also adds the "Buddy Icon" feature.
Software News 9-29-99
Software News: 9/29/99 – Updated 4:30pm – by Cletus
DropIcon has been updated to v 2.5.1. It has been updated in the SW Archive also.
Restore Desktop v 1.0 has been released. This CMM will allow you to "clean up" your desktop after a resolution change has taken place. I have added this to the SW Archive.
Kaleidoscope 2.2.1 has been released! Although at the time of this writing the Kaleidoscope home page doesn't reflect this. Both VersionTracker and MacNN are listing it. MacNN is providing this mirrored download page and VersionTracker is providing this link thus far.
IconMacher , this freeware, "mosaic" creating icon tool has been updated to version 1.5.1
It has been just over one month now that I have been doing the Software News here at ResExcellence while continuing to stock the Software Archive with worthwhile software. Thanks to all of you who have written me about news and to offer suggestions about software. Please continue.
Netscape Communicator 4.7 was released yesterday. Servers may be slow. Try changing the ftp address to ftp1 - ftp10.
I found a little desktop clock on Info-Mac last night called aClock. It looks nice, but I did notice that About This Computer was reporting a 2.5mb use of my Ram. I really didn't have time to play with it. If you try it let me know if the memory can safely be reduced.
MacFixIt is hosting another forum special. Aladdin Systems Software representatives will be taking your questions from September 27 through October 1. A lot of interesting posts have been made and answered already. Check it out.
Submit Software News Suggestions!
Icon/Desktop News 9-24-99
Icon News
(9/29/99) by Ilona
Chemicons
Industries produced some
useful and clean looking icons... about the icon making
process. Let me be a little enthusiastic... I love
them!
Ladies! The Snaky
Reports has just released new
Perfume icons! I tried them all... now I smell like a
perfumery!
You might like to stop by
Dark
Eagle. They have great amount
of good looking System Replacement
Plug-Ins.
There is a new great looking Netscape
replacement icon set in our Icon
Archive.
Many of you have questions like -
where do I find this or that icons... For instance,
someone just asked: Is there any golf icon and if yes
where do I find them? I have good news for you! If there
ever was a golf icon, you can find it by using
ISC(Icon
Search Center). It is a
Filemaker Pro database, containing more that 500 URL(s)
to all existing icon sites, Mac and Windows too. Just
type the word and hit the search button. This great
helper was created and being updated regularly by
Sandy(SMD's
Web) and Sara(Icon
Parade).
You might ask - what about
Iconographer and Icon Machine? I didn't have the time
trying out the newest upgrades of these two promising 32
bit icon editors. I will give a review as soon as I tried
them. They are listed in our Software
Archive, so give them a try
and let me know what you all think.
Give us something to report!
Post
your icon news here!
Use Contributions: (9/29/99)
In the never ending quest to make the site more pleasant for you, the Application Splashscreens have been split into three sections: Netscape, Explorer, All others. The format matches the new MOSS pages. Hopefully, will speed the amount of time it takes for you to get what you want!
- There's nothing like a stiff cup of coffee while logged in on your Mac on a Saturday morning. Thanks to Taylor's Caffinated MOSS, you can have that fresh brewed taste at every boot.
- Scott Chitwood sent a shiney gold MOSS, and Dan Gayhart a nice blue one, both feature our buddy - Smilin' Mac.
- A small Startup Movie accompanies this GreenMOSS from Peter McHugh. Peter also sent an updated version of his NeverGetter splash screen for Netscape.
- Imagine an X-Ray and you'll have an idea of what the Apostate sent to change the look of your Mac. Two MOSS, one ATM, and a Netscape Splash.
Register to Win a iBook at Smalldog.com
9/27/99
 A whopping 44% of you have had to deal with viruses! That equals a lot of headaches!
I have been infected only once, when I downloaded a Quicktime VR of Mars from a Hotline site. It was fairly harmless in that it didn't delete any files, just flashed the menu bar or triggered the alert sound needlessly.
But I guess I haven't learned, because I still don't have anti-viral software installed. It's just too intrusive. To protect myself, I never double-click an unknown download until I have viewed in in ResEdit.
Yes, I know that leaves a lot of room for infection, but that's the risk I'm willing to take.
After the recent poll on Virtual Memory, I though this week's Polling Place could ask a related question, "How much RAM is in your main Mac?".
Just a couple more notes on LinuxPPC. Several readers have commented on the steep learning curve. Well, duh, it ain't MacOS! :)
Here a couple of sites to get you started:
LinuxPPC isn't easy, and it's not for everyone. Like learning to water ski, you will fall many times before you finally get up, but once you are jumping wakes, it's a great feeling of accomplishment!
 Add Smileys to AOL's Instant Messenger.
Have you often wished you had more icon choices when viewing smileys in AIM? This edit will allow you to add icons for any contortion you can bend your face into!
After installing the icons, you will see the effect immediately, but your Mac using friends won't until they install the icons too!
Have Windows users on your Buddy list? Sorry, tell them to get a Mac! (Continued...)
Software News 9-27-99
Software News: 9/27/99 – by Cletus
UPDATED!! 9/27/99 at 8p.m.
Kaleidoscope has posted the new and updated schemes for this week.
ACTION WYSIWYG has been released by Power On Software.
The new beta of AOL Instant Messenger has been released!
Every now and then a person gets to really enjoy a weekend off with nothing really pressing to do. This was how I spent mine. A round of golf on Sunday really capped off a restful weekend. Now on with the big update!
I hope your beginning to check ResExcellence on a daily basis because both Ilona and myself will update when it is warranted. If you did check, then I hope you caught the updated release of the Dark Platinum Theme. But this wasn't the only theme updated over the weekend. Jinsan updated his NeXT Theme also to version 1.0. I have been waiting for this one!
If you want to simulate another OS, but use Kaleidoscope you probably already know about this page!
Speaking of Kaleidoscope, Greg Landweber has updated his email address and has included it with his two updated programs over the weekend. Power Windows and Smooth Type. Both are listed as OS 7-OS 9 compatible and have several minor fixes included! I have updated Smooth Type and added Power Windows to the SW Archives.
Two Icon related software programs were updated over the weekend also: DropIcon went to version 2.5 and added a new feature – Finder Icon Pictures -- generate a picture in a Finder window. DropIcon is the first utility to do this is beautiful, 32bit color!
IconMachine is at version 2.0 and adds support for 32-bit icons. Both have been updated in the SW Icon Tools Archive as well!
A reader wrote in to tell me about a site he says is worth checking out! Karl Bunker's called Iron Software.
Want the new Virex 6.0 updater but can't get through? Try Here!
Submit Software News
Ilicon Graphic Design
9/24/99
 Judging from my email and the kid's iMac, everyone agrees transparent desktops are cool. Ray Johnson sent in this six step process to guide you through the creation of your own custom picture. Download his prepared file to guide you as you get started.
To make a desktop picture from the PhotoShop document.
- Turn all layers on.
- Turn off the background layer.
- Merge all visible layers.
- Select the layer you just merged (should be selected automatically).
- Select all
- Drag the selection to the desktop (or other finder folder).
Feeling the need to take my Powerbook for an "off-road" drive, I've been running LinuxPPC quite a bit these past few days.
My goals were simple. have the OS recognize and use my PC Card ISDN modem, and configuring Eterm under KDE.
 Eterm is one of those cool transparent terminal programs you see in desktop snapshots. After downloading the package, I installed it with the command:
Next, copy the folder /usr/share/Eterm to your own directory and stick period in the beginning of the name to make it invisible (.Eterm).
Inside the .Eterm folder is a text file called MAIN. It contains all the color settings for the terminal. Look for things like:
Feel free to change these settings. If you screw up, you can always get the original back in /usr/share/Eterm.
To get the desktop to show through, you have to set it with Esetroot. I typed the following:
Once the background is set, assign a menu command, or program template to execute Eterm with the following parameters:
The results can be seen in the by clicking the preview picture above.
Software News 9-24-99
Software News: 9/24/99 – by Cletus
 UPDATED- 9/25/99 – 1330hrs. est.
Please check back throughout the weekend as Dark Platinum is being actively worked on by Ben Mackin. The New Changes are listed below.
-Dialogs and Alerts are 75% done. I need to redo the Movable Modal dialogs a bit, but for now they work (racing stripes are a little messy though).
-Document Windows and Menus are 100% done!
I am really excited by this announcement. Ben Mackin has been hard at work getting a beta version of his "Dark Platinum" theme released. There is still a little work to do but he is asking for your input and feels he can get a final version out in about a week or two depending on his school work load. He writes: The document window is 95% done. It is missing the racing stripes. All the icons should be in there. Scroll bars should be working (a few minor GUI issues with the thumbs),....file size is pretty big right now due to using 32 bit parts for ease of making. This will be changed to 4 bit later. Give it a try and let him know!
If Themes aren't your cup of tea and you prefer Schemes, you may want to check out this piece of software called "Scheme Factory" by the Kaleidoscope folks. Documentation can be found here and notes you will need to use clip2cicn which is in our Software Archive!
Clixsounds has released another Alert sound for your enjoyment called: Transponder 9 Alert Sound!
I have been a dedicated Claris Emailer fan from 7.1 through 8.6 and it has never left me down. Just in case it doesn't work in OS 9, I have been dabbling with Outlook Express but it just isn't the same. There is another one in the mix now called "Green." While it is still in the beta phase, it sounds promising. Let me know how it is if you are using it.
Submit Software News Suggestions!
Icon/Desktop News 9-24-99
Icon News
(9/24/99) by Ilona
These iBook, G4, iMac, G3, icons are
continuously popping out like crazy popcorns from a
heavily warmed oven. It's a HOT subject! The "Apple
September 99" has popped out from Calles'
Custom Icons pixel
kitchen.
If you can't get enough of the above
mentioned icons, you can expand your collection with
these great looking creations from AtsD
Homepage.
How many facial expression do you
think a cat(or what ever that cute thing is) can have?
Well, here is your chance to educate yourself in this
serious subject! Doreamon
can help you.
Do you like "Cute Girls" on your
desktop? Visit Jen's
Pages!
Icon
Tools, listed in our
Software
Archive, added new stamps to
their collection. These set is for helping the
Kaleidoscope Scheme Artists with the tiny symbols needed
in a scheme.
Iconfactory
released a beta public version of the... the new look of
their site! We had the chance
yesterday about four hours long to peek into
what's cooking in the factory.
While that cookie thing may annoy some people, I'm sure
many beginner iconists can learn
from the best icon tutorial ever made! The new site will
also provide news about icons,
fonts, etc. And of course the good old quality icons that
have spoiled us for years.
Don't forget to look into our new
Icon
Archive, showing three new
contributions!
That's it for this week!
Post
your icon news releases here for
next week!
User Contributions: (9/24/99)
- Dan Gayhart send in the Control Strip MOSS featuring big ol' Smilin' Mac.
- I can't tell if they're real action figures, or cgi, but this Photoshop splash by David Katz featuring Star Wars Jedi is cool!
- Limp Bizkit is Chris Donovan's favorite band (my daughter's too). He put together a slick looking MOSS for the band. I bet they use Macs!
- Douglas Polk likes to keep everyone happy, so he sent retro splash screens for both Communicator and Explorer.
- In addition to patterns, and a MOSS, Peter McHugh submitted detailed documentation for all of you budding MOSS artists.
Get OS X plus free Ben + Jerry's at Smalldog.com
9/22/99
Several readers have written in to report that MacOS 9 uses huge icons (48x48) in the large panels. This is sort of a bummer since I was hoping they could be used on the desktop, or at least in the Launcher.
Perhaps docking utilities like DragThing will be updated to accommodate the new format.
ResExcellence editor Michael Coyle is profiled today at the MacDaily web site (hey, that's me!). She will hate me for telling you, but the lovely lady standing next to me in the featured photo is Sharon Chan, MacDaily Producer.
Last night, the CAPS LOCK light on my Powerbook starting flashing vigorously. Quickly realizing that it was Morse code, I grabbed a pad of paper and started writing...
Greetings Earthing,
If you have the Netscape version of AOL's Instant Messenger, the previous patch for version 3.0.750 will work, but you must manually cut and paste the included resources with ResEdit.
Also, I was scanning your primitive newsgroups and I have a query: what is a microsoft?
Between the stars,
phydeaux
 Now here's an interesting piece of software that a reader tipped me off to - Copernic 99. It's a search tool similar to Sherlock, but in many ways more useful. All of your searches are automatically saved for you. I did several test searches and compared the outputs to Sherlock, and Copernic 99 seemed to prioritize better.
One major drawback is the inability to use Sherlock plug ins, or create your own for Copernic. They do include several Mac sites with the standard distribution.
The software is cross platform and comes in a "light" free version, and a more full featured (and banner free) Plus version for sale.
Test drive the software before the end of the month, enter your correct email address into the registration field, and you will be automatically registered for a $1000 drawing. Of course, you will have to balance the money against all the spam you are sure to receive.
If you would like to try some simple folder action scripts, Joe Williams offers these:
I'm a bit of a stickler for keeping a neat desktop on my PowerBook. I maintain a set of "Pending" folders which I use to hold materials for transfer to my Palm III, my iMac at home, and for eventual archival. Although this sytem satsified my sense of neatness, I found that I would not make a regular habit of checking the contents of the Pending folders.
To encourage me to check the folders, I took an idea from the Trash Can and built a set of Folder Actions which change the state of the Pending folder icons. When empty, the folders display a normal folder; when not empty, the folders display an open folder with exposed sheets. That way, I have a visual cue as to when a folder contains something, and I'm able to keep my desktop neat and tidy.
I've also included a pair of regular (non-Folder Actions) Applescripts which will change the folder icons as well. I used these for testing outside Folder Actions.
Software News 9-22-99
Software News: 9/22/99 – by Cletus
Kaleidoscope Scheme winners have been announced. Stop on over and check out the winning schemes on the new Bondi Blue site! They have also released a new batch of schemes.
Alessandro Levi Montalcini dropped us a note mentioning an update to his USB Overdrive driver. It says: "This new release adds some useful new features, fixes all known problems, and improves performance for many existing features." It is fully Mac OS 9 compatible too!
Is everyone as excited about OS 9 as I am? We have heard and read many things about it and I can't wait to get my hands on it. AppleInsider has a large gallery of images from the new system to give you a preview of what to expect from this new software!.
When I got home from work yesterday my copies of the new Norton's Utilities 5.0 and Norton's AntiVirus 6.0 were waiting for me on the kitchen table. So they are now shipping! Have you ordered yours? That is if you use such programs! 
Please feel free to send me your suggestions!!
User Contributions: 9/22/99
EZQuest 100GB FireWire hard drive only $399 at Smalldog.com
9/20/99 (drum roll please...)
ResExcellence is proud it announce the opening of its new Icon Archive! All of the old files from the User Contribution's page have been moved, and some great new additions are ready for you viewing.
The new archive was designed and will be maintained by the talented Ilona Melis. In addition to her own icon creations on Ilicon, she is also an outstanding painter and sculptress. Starting with her heading logos, which have already started appearing in several sections, Ilona will slowly transform ResExcellence into a site that is a little more pleasing on the eyes! Be sure to download her new System folder replacement icons from the new Icon Archive!
If you are an icon artist without a web page to call home, a couple sections of the Archive need contributions. We would love to host your work!
Ilona isn't the only new face in the halls of the ResExcellence corporate office. Cletus Waldman has a shiney new cubicle! His new duties include maintaining the best Software Archive for utilities to alter the MacOS.
Both of these fine people will be adding their reports on the worthy Icons and Software that they have found around the net to the main news page on ResExcellence!
 Based on last week's polling results, the golden days of RAM Doubler have passed. Only 14% of you still use it. What was surprising is that by a small margin, most readers don't use virtual memory at all!
How do you play Unreal? :)
This article from Apple's Tech Library describes the benefits of having virtual memory on.
The other day, someone asked me what virus protection software I used. My answer was none. What would yours be? This week's Polling Place asks the question, "Have you ever had a computer virus?".
Neophilia Design has updated their web site and added a ton of new MOSS creations. There are over two dozen waiting to be downloaded.
There have been several threads in the User Forum detailing 32 bit icon problems after running Norton Disk Doctor. David McMyler put it best:
Symantec has said that the 32 bit icon thing is a known bug. You see, the Disk Doctor program looks for the old icon resources, not the icns. If it doesn't find the old resources in the file it is scanning, even if it has the new 32 bit resource, it says that it is a badly marked file.
The solution to rectify the situation is to use ResEdit to turn on the custom icon flag of all the items that had a 32 bit icon, or for a simpler solution, use FileTyper or FileBuddy.
Next, to prevent this from happening again, don't ever use Norton. Get Alsoft DiskWarrior. It is much more powerful than Norton and made by a more Mac-friendly company. Just use Norton to defragment your drive when it's needed, but don't use Disk Doctor. It doesn't matter if the icons were your own or not, Disk Doctor has this problem.
MacFixit has covered this topic extensively and has a great summary on their web site.
Part of the problem stems from the way MacOS 8.5 handles 32 bit icons. For example, you create an 8 bit icon in ResEdit with all the bit depths and sizes. You give it an ID of -16455 and check the Info Box that reads "Use Custom Icon". When you save your work, you are left with a ResEdit resource file showing the new icon on the Desktop.
If you use the "Get Info" method to cut/paste that icon into an untitled folder, the Finder creates an invisible file called Icon, but it will contain only a 32 bit icns resource. The other sizes and depths are lost.
You end up with a 32 bit icns resource, even though you never created one. If you run Norton Disk Doctor, it will delete this icon and return you to a generic folder. To save all the icons bit depths and sizes, you need to manually open the hidden Icon resource and paste the correct resources into it.
Software News 9-20-99
Software News: 9/20/99 – by Cletus
UPDATED!!
Drop Drawers has been updated to version 1.0.1 fixing several bugs and tweaking it a bit over the previous version.
Weekend is over! Grrrr!!
Thanks to the many folks who wrote in to tell me about how much they liked the sites posted last time dealing with screenshots of the other OS's. Many offered suggestions as to more such sites. The most common of which was Customize.org! Keep the suggestions coming and I will try to let you know when these sites update!
Iconographer, mentioned last week on ResExcellence seems to have gone through a series of significant bug fixes before I could even post it to the Icon Tools Software Archive. Version 1.0.2 is the newest and it is there now!!
Mihai Parparita, author of the program Iconographer has apparently been following the forum discussion on the application. This would be a great time to visit and voice your opinion.
I have been getting many positive feed back comments about the NoFlet beta I made available in the SW Archive and compatibility with 8.6. Although several readers may still be having some problems with it according to the Forum discussion on this topic, it seems it may actually be related to another conflict beside 8.6.
Keep me posted on this topic and anything else you feel is of software interest.
User Contributions: 9/20/99
- Five more Giant MOSS of G4 hardware have been submitted by Jason Wiggins!
- Karl Meiner sent this Explorer splash screen featuring Chicago Legend, Michael Jordan.
- Richard Hamilton once again graces the pages of ResExcellence with three new ATM screens for people who can't wait for MacOS 9!
- Peter McHugh sent one of his nifty Giant MOSS that displays a different picture with each text element.
Ilicon Graphic Design
9/17/99
When it rains it pours! Propaganda has released Propaganda Volume 12: NO SYMPATHY FOR REDMOND 2 . Niinty images of 512x512 Desktop perfection!
Digital Blasphemy has posted three new desktop pictures.
Are you a WebMaster? Jean Le Clerc designed an AppleScript application that builds an index of all the keywords in a webmaster's web site called Index It!.
Be sure to stop by Monday for a nice surprise!
Software News 9-17-99
Software News: 9/17/99
Part of the reason for customizing your beautiful Mac is to give you inspiration and break the tedium of sitting in front of it for perhaps hours on end. I thought it would be interesting to give you a peek at what other OS's are doing to break the tedium. Plus I just like screenshots in general. Below are a couple of interesting sites you may want to check out to give you some customizing ideas.
WindowMaker is one such site that for me at least provides a lot of inspiration and ideas. He has some of the best screenshots using NASA/space images for the desktop picture.
Themes.org is another site that has many different links to satisfy your Afterstep/Openstep thirst. This site not only has a tremendous amount of screenshots it also has many applications for downloading. Give these two sites a peek!
Along the same vein is a piece of software from Lunar Software that gives you a clock that is the same as the one on many of the NeXT desktops. It has many different interfaces to choose from also. Best of all it is Freeware!
Know of any good screenshot sites from other OS's? Let me know!
Icon/Desktop News 9-17-99
Icon News
(9/17/99)
Pseudoroom
released Batman Ultimate!
Reby's
Page offering you the whole
Solar System in 32 bits!
Perfect
Yosemite updates the set with
36 more new icons.
User Contributions: 9/17/99
- We're talking big! Jason Wiggins sent 4 Giant MOSS featuring Apple's new hardware offerings.
- It has been a long time since I felt the need to change the Netscape splashscreen on my Powerbook, but after seeing Christer Stenman's submission, ResEdit was launched in two seconds!
- Dan Gayhart sent a cool looking MOSS that matches the planetary style of the "About this Mac" graphic.
- In you're like Richard Hamilton, you can't wait for MacOS 9! These three About this Mac submissions are for MacOS 8, but may prepare you for OS 9!
- Dan Schumacher put a humorous spin on this Giant iMaul MOSS submission.
EZQuest 100GB FireWire hard drive only $399 at Smalldog.com
9/15/99
Odds & Ends: T-shirts are still on the agenda for ResExcellence. It's proving to be harder that expected because I want to be able to accept credit cards and ship overseas.
Speaking of over seas, several readers have written to say the Pacific Island of Niue, with its top level domain of .nu, is used as a bounce.to/ site in Sweden where "nu" means "now". As in: ResExcellence.now. Well I don't believe it! I'm going to cling to my image of a man in khakis siting by the beach, Powerbook on his lap, a Pina Colada in his hand, and a bookmark that reads ResExcellence!
A gracious thanks to everyone offering to translate ResExcellence into the many tongues of this planet, but if it ever comes to be, it will all be handled by a third party publishing company. Thanks again for offering!
Mscape Software has released Iconographer! I was fortunate enough to beta test this software. As a standalone editor, it's very easy to use. It feels like more like a ResEdit editor than a Photoshop plug in, so if you prefer ResEdit, be sure to check this out.
In addition to editing Windows and MacOS X icons, Iconographer can create MacOS 8 Huge icons. Do any of you know anywhere huge icons are used in either OS 8 or the upcoming OS 9?
ResExcellence is also looking for any information on the new cursor plug ins for MacOS 9.
The MacOS Page, a site with Mac tidbits of an unusual nature, has moved. The webmaster is based in Singapore, so he often has information about Asia sites that many others miss.
If you're looking for a quick option to run through some of the cooler resources in a file, VSE File Pirate 3.0. will extracts sounds, PICT's, patterns, icons and text from any item you drag onto it.
Rams created a few AppleScripts for keeping Sherlock sets on Mac OS 8.6. Similar to Apple's Sherlock scripts, these take advantage of the new Sherlock's scriptablity (Rather than moving around all those aliases). After downloading the scripts, save them in Script Editor as Applications.
Also included is a folder action script designed to detect several types of trojan horse viruses. Just attach it to your download folders, and any applications (for example, malicious scripts that appear to be data files) will be detected and handled. This script has three properties listed at the top for easy adjustment of files to look for and keep.
Yesterday, Microsoft released its own Instant Messaging Client, MSN Messenger 1.0. It requires that you have a Hotmail email account! This excerpt is from the Standard's Protocol:
Implementation note: In the initial release of the client and server, user handles are Hotmail account names. All user handles must contain the "@hotmail.com" domain name, and user handles that do not contain a domain name are not valid.
Ummmm, no thanks.
Software News 9-15-99
Software News: 9/15/99
Today I added Menu Shade to the Software Archive based on not one but several readers suggestions. Although it is from 1996, several readers report success with this little extension that will hide the menu bar when not in use. Your milage may vary with it though.
Kinetic Creations has updated once again with another interesting set of Kines. The set is called "Pharmaceuticons" and look like pills. Is this what they mean by a Mac on steroids?? ;)
SchemeChecker 1.4.7 was added to the Software Archive pages also after a request. This updated version provides support for Kaleidoscope 2.2 and the new Photoshop clut was also added to the package.
Someone suggested I add SmoothType to the Archive. Actually it has been there. Does this mean no one is checking the Software Pages?? 
Remove the blue box around the iCab throbber.
 The latest release of the iCab web browser supports new icon sets that make it ease to change the look of the toolbars. If you ResEdit pros want dig a little deeper, you may want to create your own throbber, or download on from ResExcellence, but if you do, you be in for a little surprise! (Continued...)
User Contributions: 9/15/99
- A High-tech MOSS was submitted by Jeff Crump.
- Are you a fan of college basketball? Then this Arizona Wildcat splash screen by Karl Meiner may interest you!
- Anto has created a turquoise blue MOSS especially for the owners of 233 iMacs.
- Quan Nguyen sent two more nice looking MOSS screens. One of Smiley, and the other features the multicolored Apple logo.
- Audion is a program that plays mp3's, CD's, and streaming player. John Queenan created a Face (skin) that features the new G4. If you use Audion, this face has some great transparency effects. If you use it with a transparent desktop picture, you can actually see through your monitor.
- Tetsuo Akira submitted this MOSS that prominently features the new Apple Studio Display.
- Here's another Linux/Mac MOSS that does of nice job of blending the two OS's.
Register to Win a iBook at Smalldog.com
9/13/99 ResExcellence: read by one man on the island of Niue!
Sylvain Le Borgne thought I may have been telling a white lie when I said ResExcellence is popular in France!
Maybe I'm not as popular as Jerry lewis, but server logs show that after the US, France is number 2 out of 71 countries, followed by Japan, and Australia. (And a personal hello to the guy on the island of Niue in the South Pacific!)
Sylvain also asks about the possibility of a French translation of ResExcellence. While it's very preliminary, there has been talk of translating ResExcellence to other languages, but because these things take time, don't expect it by Christmas!
 Why do the Poll results surprise me so often! I was expecting a bell curve on the usage of Sherlock, but instead it was just the opposite. People either use it, or they don't.
Apparently, the next version due out with MacOS 9 may boast enough new features to convert more Mac users.
Outside of Apple Computer, I think the brightest minds work at Connectix. Their list of software accomplishments is outstanding. RAM Doubler was one of their original releases and was so popular, that it was considered standard equipment on the well oiled Mac. But recent releases of Apple's OS have improved in the area of Virtual Memory, so this week's Polling Place asks, "Do you use RAM Doubler, Apple's VM, or none at all?".
Bart Van den Broeck is looking for user feedback on his new GUI Docking Utility, bKinderFinder. It's an application, so you won't have to worry about conflicts. It reminds of a mix between DockZone and Greg's Browser, but has nifty features that they lack. If you want to take a crack at the code, it's included under the GNU license.
Evan Francois tipped off ResExcellence about a cool AppleScript that can preview and change the MacOS Startup Screen (MOSS).
You can download the script, or go to the Akua Sweets web page and view over 150 additional scripts! (The script requires the latest version of Akua Sweets.)
Matthew Cone, the sixteen year old wiz-kid behind MacInstruct, has posted his latest tutorial for "Troubleshooting and Fixing Startup Problems". You'll want to bookmark this page to get easy access to all those archane startup key sequences:
- Bypass the internal drive
- Boot from a CD-ROM
- Rebuild the Desktop
- Zap the PRAM
- Bypass the Startup Items
Forward it to all those new iMac users that constantly call you with their problems.
Software News 9-13-99
Software News: 9/13/99
Want to try something really cool? iMacolor is a control panel from Hide's Software that will allow you to change the little apple in the menu bar to one of the five iMac colors or to Java Brown or Dark Gray. But it gets even better! You can have a matching Trash can. It has been added to the Software Archive.
Don't you hate to begin a download, go to do something else and come back to find it stalled and your disconnected from your ISP!! Keep Me Online will help you avoid these problems by keeping your browser surfing the net automatically so your ISP doesn't think your idle.
Graphic Converter was updated over the weekend to version 3.7.1. It fixes a display bug that occurred on the B&W G3's and several other bugs.
Unfortunately I can not add Mac OS 9 to the Software Archives but you can reserve your copy of it here.
Voting has started for the Kaleidoscope scheme contest! Go Vote
Remember, if you feel really passionate about a piece of software for the archive drop me a line!
User Contributions: 9/13/99
- Vince Healy submitted three new MOSS creations:
- a bikini-clad Lara Croft
- the new G4
- and one featuring the game Diablo.
- If your Mac System font is Gizmo, you'll love this whimsical MOSS by Chee Cheng.
- Kevin Hessel created a slick looking ATM replacement for Yosemite G3 computers.
- Toren Valimir sent a sparkling MOSS he named Miracle.
- A Giant MOSS featured a shiney new AltiVec enhanced G4 was created by Jason Wiggins.
Ilicon Graphic Design
9/10/99 ResExcellence: very popular in France!
In the past, ResExcellence has talked about the iDo Scheduler, a utility that's supplied in the Extras folder of the Mac system install CD.
iDo Script Scheduler 1.1 is now in public beta, and they're looking for people willing to test the new software.
The new version of iDo Script Scheduler will offer a new "Enhanced" mode which lets you create an unlimited number of schedules and adds two powerful new triggers: when a "hot key" is pressed, and when the system is idle. We're , so if you're interested in these new features, go sign up.
 There was a flash of light on the backyard deck. When the smoke cleared, a freshly burned CD was left on the ground. This note was attached:
Greetings Earthling,
This patcher works on AOL AIM beta 3.0.750 to remove ads and AOL buttons from the buddy list, matches button sizes between Online and List Setup panes, minimizes the Sign On Status window. PLUS, it keeps the stock ticker!
From the inventor of Ohm's Law,
phydeaux
After I put an LED behind the Apple Logo of my WallStreet Powerbook, I wondered how much it would shorten the battery's life.
Apple employee Bobby Kinstle, who was the first to put an LED behind the logo of a Powerbook, calculated the LED would run for 63 hours and 20 minutes on a Powerbook battery, and wouldn't shorten the overall life of a charge by more than a few seconds.
(That's Ohm's law right? E=IR. Or was it Murphy's Law, E=mc2?)
If you have been following the rumors on MacOS 9 at AppleInsider, you may have seen the new "About this Mac" window.
For the artist who want to get a jump preparing a User Contribution, the new single graphic's size is 454x90 pixels.
Software News 9-10-99
Software News: 9/10/99
We always try to listen to our readers suggestions and in this case we were asked to check out IconMacher from Purple E. Software! Well, we listened, we checked and it is cool! It will allow you to make full fledge pictures out of numerous icon folders in the Finder and Finder windows. It has been added to the Software Archive!
How would you all like to Save a Bundle?? No this is not a gimmick! A reader sent in a program for us to add to the Software Archive called Save a BNDL It allows the Finder to recognize changes in a file's BNDL resource without requiring rebuilding the Desktop or rebooting. It only runs under System 7.0 and later.
KaleidoscopeDotNet (hey its on their header) has added 22 new schemes and announces that submissions for the Design Competition is over!
Icon/Desktop News 9-10-99
Icon News (9/10/99) I don't know what iMac Sidan is about (it is not in English), but they're showcasing two of the most beautiful 32 bit icon sets you have ever seen! These sets are simply breathtaking. I swear these icons look better than the original objects - Yosemite, iBook, G4, Cinema/Studio Display, and all the gadgets from the peripherals... Impressive gallery sets indeed!
Kineticons added new Kines--Xenocritters to their collection of untiringly moving icons...
Change AOL 4.0 email message reply.
This little tip was devised by Guy Thompson after he noticed that the Windows version of AOL had a more descriptive email reply header.
AOL for Windows replys:
In a message dated 8/1/99 12:00:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time, whomever writes:
While the Mac only says:
In a message dated 8/1/99 12:00:01 PM, whomever writes:
(Continued...)
User Contributions: 9/10/99
- Made to compliment the K-Scheme MacOn, Peter McHugh created a MacON MOSS. If you use the ROBOT Scheme, or any dark scheme, Peter offers a regular and Giant MOSS called MechOS. They all come with desktop patterns.
- Jjaro upgraded his PowerMac with a 466 Mhz. G3 card. His flashy "About this Mac" contribution reflects the change.
- Doug Polk created three splash screens for Netscape: Retro, G3, and G4.
- Vince Healy submits three more great looking MOSS for beige G3's, Rainbow iMacs, and original Bondi.
- After seeing his buddy Vince Healy getting 15 micro-seconds of fame, Dan Schumacher created a MOSS of his own featuring Dr. Evil! :)
Get OS X plus free Ben + Jerry's at Smalldog.com
9/8/99 ResExcellence: only 195 iCab errors!
 Oh my! It's already Wednesday. Tempus Fugit!
A small surprise from the last week's poll regarding instant messengers. AIM held a 37% total, the combination of ICQ & Gerry's ICQ came out on top with 45%.
Hmm... Maybe AOL knew what they were doing when the bought ICQ!
With a new souped-up version of Sherlock due in the next MacOS release, do most of you still use the nifty Mother of All Search Devices, or has the energy required to launch and dismiss another application let you to apathetically revert to your old web based search engine? This week's Polling Place asks, "What percentage of your web searches are Sherlock's?".
Upon hearing from an informant that ResExcellence readers love the desktop tiles at JFK's Propaganda, I received the following email:
President John F. Kennedy wishes to reward you for your kind words and dedication to Propaganda. You're as American as they come! Please collect your reward, a preview of the next volume, for yourselves and your loyal ResExcellence readers.
While JFK fights for the Linux cause, he sees a kindred spirit and allies in Macintosh users!
Kudos to Lon Hutchison for tipping us off to the latest release of the iCab browser. They must be adding lots of cool new features because ResExcellence is up to 195 html errors!
Judging by the incoming mailbag, many readers never knew of the transparent desktop picture option.
Is it not working for you? Make sure you have at least Quicktime 3.0 installed.
 If you don't want to be limited to 256 colors, your Mac can display a transparent PICT clipping! Just set the transparency in Photoshop, drag the image to the desktop, and then into the Appearance control panel.
Want to see how cool that can look? Download this picture from Patrick Kelleher and set it as your desktop picture.
Another transparency example: The Mystery Science Theater 3000 K scheme from Off The Cuff Designs, includes a desktop picture that puts Mike and the 'bots at the bottom of your screen and the planet logo at the top-left.
Jeff Moss believes transparency has lost some features recently:
Regarding the use of transparent GIF files as a desktop picture: when Apple first put the desktop picture feature in (8.1 or 8.5, I can't remember which...), if you used a GIF that was small, chose 'Center On Screen', you could move the image around to nine points on the screen by holding down the option button and using the arrow keys. That feature was lost in 8.6, as far as I can tell. Does someone know how to get this back, without creating a GIF the screen size and setting the image in the place one wants?
If you are one of the poor unfortunate souls who has a Geoport modem installed on your Macintosh, then stop by MacInstruct for a tutorial on how to speed that puppy up!
Software News 9-8-99
Software News: 9/8/99
The ever wonderful Graphic Converter from Lemeke Software has been updated to version 3.7. (Full install or Updater both available). Improved/added is: DICOM import, a new slide show feature including effects features and transparency in file icons.
In case you have not been checking out the new Software Archive pages regularly you may have missed the new addition of ALM and AR Icon Tools software. It is found ironically on the Icon Tools Pages. This is a fully loaded icon customization/manipulation program, plus it is just plain fun to use.
The current hot topic on the ResExcellence User Forums Page has been what has happened to NoFlet (formerly Teflon). You have been following this right? Well, I dug around a little bit and came up with what we believe is the latest version of NoFlet that has worked well up through Mac OS 8.5.1. If you have success with it under 8.6 let us know! It can be found on the Software Archive Pages!
Appearance Editor mentioned on Fridays news has been added to the Software Archives also!
Icon/Desktop News 9-8-99
Icon News
(9/8/99)
- What a week! Iconists pushed their
pixels hard to serve you with great icons!
-
- Starting with Mad
Science Laboratories... they
beloved Igor, a new friend Bee-gor and their "Stupid
Dogs"! Massive update with some other things you might
find entertaining.
-
- Icon
HQ surprises you with a set
called Characters of Ancient Lore. This otherwise Copland
style icon wizard, now created some kind of fantasy
characters you can't see in any comic books!
-
- Pseudoroom
released G4&G3 Minitowers icons.
-
- Iconfactory.
updated their G4 icons and if you don't know this
already, also check the "rebuilt" Apple Icon
Garden.
-
- Etherbian
has at least four new icon sets and CompactDisco is a
winner!
Have you noticed some of the great looking title graphics that have started appearing on some of ResExcllence's pages? They're the work of artist Ilona Melis. She is also the resident icon goddess at Ilicon.
User Contributions: 9/8/99
- Based on the blue iMac logo, Kevin Hessel submitted this MOSS.
- Sensing my desire for a nice pint of dark ale, Kris Beaudoin created this ATM replacement for Guinness.
- Once again, Fam Chee Cheng created a beautiful shiney black MOSS for MacOS 8.6.
- It may be the fact that summer is unofficially over, but there has been a flood of bikini-clad submissions. This set of splash screens for AOL, Netscape, and Hotline were made by Kevin Hessel. (While women are generally more mature than men, I wonder if one will ever submit a Fabio splash screen. Remember gang, keep them covered or they'll only be seen in my private collection!)
- Peter McHugh submits a scenic Giant MOSS that displays a different scene depending on the startup sequence (normal, no extensions, debugger, etc...).
- Believing that the hot air from Redmond is only good for flying kites, Brett put together this StartupScreen.
- Mike Orticari submitted his version of a Quicktime 4 MOSS.
- This PerfectMac ATM replacement was fashioned by Richard Hamilton.
- Even though he had to make it on his family's PC, Marc Andryuk created a nice looking James Bond 007 MOSS.
EZQuest 100GB FireWire hard drive only $399 at Smalldog.com
9/3/99 - ResExcellence, where all the GIF's are legal!
Over seventy readers contributed to ResExcellence last month! In our monthly random drawing of appreciation, Donald Tipton's name was pulled from my old White Sox baseball cap, so he is now the proud recipient of the kick-butt game, Unreal!
Did you know that you could use transparent GIF's as your desktop picture? Well I didn't until Peter Mellows set one as a User Contribution (see below).
That gave the idea of creating a dock on the right side of the screen, like the Control Panel DockZone. You can see in the graphic on the right how the underlying desktop pattern is visible where the GIF is set to transparent. Download my test picture to experiment on your own.
In the Appearance control panel, after selecting a desktop pattern, place the GIF as you would any desktop picture. The areas that are transparent will have the reddish color. "Set Desktop" to see the effect.
Eric Meek sent this little AppleScript application he created for readers of ResExcellence.
Appearance Editor 1.0 configures both the scroll bars and Application palette using friendly dialogs.
He even took the time to add extensive help text describing the function of each option.
After upgrading to MacOS 8, Klaas Dijkhuizen noticed that his modem scripts had lost their cute little phone icons and were now generic. Follow these step by step instructions to get them back! (Continued...)
Software News 9-3-99
Software News: 9/3/99
Window Monkey from Tiger Technologies has been updated to version 1.3. The Window Monkey menu now works with Navigation Services (the new Open and Save boxes used by a few applications in Mac OS 8.5 and later). Numerous other fixes are listed on the Version History page.
While you are downloading the update cruise back here to read an interview with the author of Window Monkey, Robert Mathews.
Right on the heels of Window Monkey, the folks at Tiger Technologies also updated Menuette. Numerous fixes were made and the reviews have been so good about this control panel we thought it should be added to the Software Archive!
Use Contributions: 9/3/99
- Here is Peter Mellows transparent GIF desktop picture that I refer to above. It's shows his desire to have Donkey Kong released for Nintendo 64.
- Prolific Vin Healy sends this ATM replacement featuring an ocean filled Apple logo.
- What do you get when you mix Prozac and MacOS? Find out in this desktop picture from Taylor.
- Try a Smilin' Mac splash screen for Internet Explorer by Karl Meiner.
- William Marler contributes two nice looking MOSS: a large smilin' Mac and Crystal Blue MOSS.
- In the early days of Apple, they considered a different type of logo. You can see it in this MOSS by Damian Chadwick.
- Peter McHugh created this Remote Access Skin in the style of Quicktime 4.
- Gunaseelan submitted this smooth looking MOSS.
Register to Win a iBook at Smalldog.com
9/1/99
Few things excite me more that than stopping by Propaganda and finding a new set desktop tiles. Pathetic, I know.
This new set of 74 is sure to please. Instead of browsing the tiles one-by-one on the site, I recommend downloading the entire volume and viewing the images offline. Don't worry that it's a tar archive. Stuffit 5 can decode it.
If you have Propaganda bookmarked, note the URL has changed.
The response for ResExcellence t-shirts has been surprising! Maybe by Monday, I can get a page together with better photos of the shirt, and tell you how to order. Don't worry, I will ship overseas.
Blue Sky Heart Graphics has released Desktop Consoles Volume 5. . 5 free images are ready for immediate download. Register to get all 22 images, plus there are 6 Bonus images available for previously registered users, for a total of 28.
 Well that didn't take long. The world already has a set of icons for the new G4 computers.
Not to be outdone, John Conner whipped up this G4 MOSS in record time.
In the style of the original Macintosh desktop patterns, Scott Chitwood from Rampant Mac has created a dozen ppat's for you to view and download. Don't forget to checkout his Desktop Pictures and MOSS files!
Converted Window's Theme
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Jeff Ferrell was wondering:
Is there any way to yank desktop pictures and sound files out of a PC Desktop Themes package (.exe files), without actually having to open them in Windows first?
Head over to ThemeWorld and snag yourself some Window's themes. Of the several I downloaded, they all had .wav sound files and desktop pictures that were ready to use on my Mac. To use the Window's icons, download GraphicConverter. It will batch process the files to ResEdit resources.
Use Contributions: 9/1/99
Starting today, the MacOS Startup Screens (MOSS) archive has a new look. The previews are smaller so you will see more at a glance, and the page should load quicker. Watch for updates to other sections of ResExcellence in the coming months. Today's contributions are all MOSS!
- Vin Healy has been a busy little artist! his latest creations are MOSS for all the colors of iMacs, iBooks, B&W G3, and Bowerbook.
- For those of us running a dual boot Linux/Mac system, Jeff Diet made a nice MOSS.
- Peter McHuge has taken the old Powerbook Shark and turned him into one lean, mean Giant MOSS.
- Anyone remember turntables? Taylor made a MOSS for you.
- Now we have it all. Our first parody Blair Witch MOSS by Jim Fossel.
- Fam Chee Cheng created a beautiful borderless MOSS.
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