|
Today's News by Cletus™ Well the answer is– yes! I am still sick and have actually taken off two days work now. How bad is it? I actually canceled a round of golf. That should speak volumes.  Drop Drawers1.5.7 is the next release by Gideon Greenspan of this floating draw, multi-purpose storage application. Made for both Classic and Mac OS X, this version fixes a crash on 680x0 machines only. It also provides the following enhancements:
- Theme tabs with custom colors display the chosen color more closely.
- Page up, page down, home and end keys are now recognized in clip drawer edit text windows.
- Remote volumes containing aliases in clip drawers are no longer mounted involuntarily.
- Dragging items out of arrange-by-position clip drawers no longer causes occasional reordering within the drawer.
- Codes for unknown data types are displayed correctly in the Show and Remove sub-menus of a clip drawer items contextual menu.
- Keys to instantly insert clip drawer items have been re-implemented. (OS X)
- Pasting within modeless dialog boxes (e.g. Edit URL) has been fixed. (OS X)
- ToolTips are no longer occasionally obscured by their drawers. (OS X)
Loren's Mac Software has posted version 0.7 of Panel Manager. Panel Manager is an application to manage the "panels" on the bootup screen and login screen of Mac OS X. This release adds support for Mac OS X about box panels and importing panels from .tpkg's. Your primary source for these panels is of course right here for login panels and here for boot panels. Dock-It 0.5 by Gideon Softworks Inc. is a configurable dock and shelf for Mac OS X. There are a couple of know issues still and those can be found on the homepage. Changes in this version include. - No longer have to click in title bar to change time and count items
- You can now drag and drop items to the favorites table
- Custom labels for your favorites in the dock
- You can now toggle whether or not the top dock item is used as preference access
- Fixed bug where Dock-It shelf would remember old labels
- Items dragged onto a favorite/drive will now be copied if they can't be moved there
Scheme News: Updated: Check back Monday for the DT Desktop picture for the DT K-Schemes. Dan was having a bit of ISP problems that prevented him from uploading the desktop.  Dragon Tongue writes in with an announcement that— "I have completed four new K2 schemes." This is great as we have all taken notice to the Kaleidoscope Scheme Archive inactivity. There is even more related to these schemes. DT included a great Desktop pic to go along with all of the Copper K-Schemes. Check Dan's news below to find out more.
- "DT•CopperPeaked (leather)",
- "DT•CopperSkin (cream)",
- "DT•CopperSkin (chocolate)"
- "DT•Brass&CopperSkin"
Submit Software and General News Suggestions!
Support ResExcellence By Visiting Our Sponsors!
Tools of the Trade. by Michael Coyle
Several artists have already submitted their new or updated iTunes skins after modifying the scroll bar. On Monday, I hope to post them all in the new iTunes Skin Archive. If you haven't updated yours, send it soon!
Alessandro Levi Montalcini has uploaded a free early beta version of a Mac OS X key-swapping driver for Microsoft USB keyboards. All it does right now is to swap the Windows and Alt keys so that their physical locations match the Command and Option keys on Apple keyboards. All the current Microsoft USB keyboards should be supported.
User Contributed Splash Screens. by Michael Coyle
Remember, each month the most popular contribution (includes Snapshots, Desktops, Icons, Splashes, etc...) will win a prize!
- If you missed it, Michael Rabe released a new Classic Theme yesterday called Delta. Today Sébastien Lavoie submitted this makeover for iCab so it ties in beautifully with the theme.
- Shaun sent a nice looking Giant Boot Panel for Mac OS X, and I must admit I have no idea what the topic of it is.
- This AIM anime splash by Channy Loeum was inspired by Ayanami Rei!
- If you're a teacher, this "A is for Apple" MOSS by Waldemar Exkul would look great on your Mac.
- Chris Shewchuk updated his iTunes Radioactive throbber for Internet Explorer.
- In this final series of MacOS X Boot panels by Mark Boszko, there are panels to match every color of iMac and iBook, plus a cool looking G3 series Powerbook!
Support ResExcellence By Visiting Our Sponsors!
Snapshots by Jeremy Hoesly Friday has arrived bearing snapshots: - This OS X submission from Pete Fugelli features a custom desktop picture of a soldier crab, a colorful crustacean indigenous to Australia. iTunes is serving up music in the lower right, and iconic selections from Perfect Yosemite and Xicons abound.
- Matthew Grans submits this OS X screenshot touting MacDesktops’ “Beatles” desktop picture. iTunes is cranking out selections in the lower right. Icons from Xicons are scattered throughout.
- Pablo Mingo sends this contribution sporting a desktop picture from Arena Design. Audion, overhauled with the F2 face, is tickling the eardrums along the right edge. Icons from Perfect Yosemite and icons.cx are also present.
- Our resident theme artist, Michael Rabe, has been hard at work on a new X Theme: VRX. He provides this snapshot with a matching “VRX” desktop picture that offers everyone a first glimpse at what he has described as a distinct departure from his previous X Themes.
What’s your Mac look like? Send a snapshot for all the Mac world to see.
Icon & Desktop News: by Dan  Icons - Desktops: We've got (6) great Desktops and (1) new Icon Set for OSX to dress up your desktop. All on display for today's update!
- "Star Trek Icons" for OSX by Hein Mevissen boldly goes where no icons have gone before. Actually, this is a nicely done set of 19 different warp powered Star Trek themed icons and folders.
- Have no doubt that Richard Morley is a talented digital artist, as you will see with his "Glass Skull" desktop submission. This very cool 3-D picture is available in three different resolutions.
- Bradford J. Wiles of the newly opened MacMonkies website begs the question: Could there be "Life on Mars?" with his latest 3-D desktop creation. This one comes in 800x and 1024x resolution.
- "OSX Aqua" desktop by Gigi is a nicely done Apple-Centric backdrop which comes in 1024x and 800x resolutions.
- Thomas Haller sends us a desktop featuring his current object of lust, the "2001 Suzuki" 1200cc Bandit motorcycle. It's been made from two pictures Suzuki provided on their website, and comes in 1024x resolution.
- Henry Sigall sent us a large collection of backdrops titled "SciFi Surreal #3". The entire set includes 25 different pieces and would make for a mega download. So, over the next few weeks I will be posting smaller chucks. Today's selections include 3 different colorful pattern desktops , all coming in 1024x resolution.
- Rob Jones whips up a stylish set of background "Panels" to help you organize you desktop. This is the third and final set from a group of 3, and comes in 800x and 1024x resolutions.
News From Around the Web: The Iconfactory is proud to announce the release of Smoothicons 3 for Mac OS X. This small set includes the 2001 iBook, the "new" G4 tower, invaluable disk icons and more for OS X users in the bold Smoothicon style. Nicolas Cardot posts a new OSX icon set to his site. Mando Gomez wanted let you know that there are 40 new desktops at http://www.mandolux.com. These desktops are a continuation my Money Series with more Chinese bills and now bringing Japanese money into the collection. Flax Creations updates with two new desktop pictures. After a personal hiatus, Jason Maki is about to reopen his website with a new look and artwork. Tray's Trove updates July 15, 2001 with eight new desktop designs! Macuserx.com has been updated with 6 new desktops and a new icon set, "Laundry". MacMonkies will be updating with four new pics on Wednesday, July 18. Included will be one new Desktop and three 3-D desktops. There is a new Mac OS X icon set, sixteen new folder icons available at resource Mac Ra announces the release of two new desktops for download at this site. The Iconfactory is pleased to announce the immediate availability of IconBuilder Pro 3.0, a filter for use with Adobe Photoshop for constructing Macintosh and Windows icons. Mike Davidson's Mac File Library has recently been updated with some I love "Apple" NY desktops, in both transparent and non transparent versions, with many styles to choose from. The Iconfactory announces the release of "World of Aqua 2" Icons for OSX. This is the second installment in the series, and are available for download. DV Graphics (http://www.geocities.com/dvgraphics2 ) has updated with two new OS X icon sets and a new, large desktop set. Gridface has just posted "Railyard Desktops" - five new photos of metal textures for your Mac.  So what's up WWW? Icons? Desktop pictures? News? Inform us! We'll post it!
Visit the Mac Experts!
Delta - in the Archive now!
 |
Theme News by Michael Rabe
Today I have some good news. I have created a new very stable "X" theme titled "VRX" that is in its 4th beta testing phase. If all goes well you can expect to see it here in the next 2 weeks.
If "Classic" themes are your cup of tea, "Delta" has been added to the Theme Archive..
See ya on the flip flop!
If you have a theme you wish to add to the Archive, drop me an email.
Today's News by Cletus™ Sorry for the brief update today. I do not feel well. Summer colds are the worse they say. When it is hot and humid and you are running a temp, it makes one feel even sicker. UGH!  Carnation Software has posted the next version of Desktop Screen Saver v.2.1.3. The read me describes it this way: Desktop Screen Saver uses your currently selected desktop picture as the screen saver picture. It will display your desktop picture after your Mac has been idle for a while. If you have Desktop Pictures set to display a different picture each time you re-start your Mac, Desktop Screen Saver will automatically create a slide show from all of the pictures and display them during idle time.
SysMenu 1.0.4 by The Macintosh Developer Center is a comprehensive launch menu for the Mac. It features "submenus, plugins, customizable options, and more, you can now launch any application, document, control panel, or use one of many plugins in any application, including the Finder." This version fixes a problem with the registration system. Users of version 1.0.3 who could not get their information saved should reenter their code in this version.
Teng Chou Ming & Peter Hardman have released Extension Overload 5.8.6. This is a very popular management application. Changes in this update include: - Fixed the bug that causes crashes on earlier systems such as 8 and 8.1.
- Revised the price of single user license to US$20.00
DockFX 1.0 will change the standard geni dock effect to scale or suck in Mac OS X. DockFX is freeware put out by RealMac Software. Submit Software and General News Suggestions!
Tools of the Trade. by Michael Coyle
After mentioning that the MacOS X/Unix command tar does not archive the resource fork of Mac files, Matthew emailed to let me know about Howard Oakley, an independent developer from England, who working on a tool named hfspax which allows the Unix "pax" utility to backup Resource Forks from an HFS+ volume. The tool is still being developed, but may be downloaded freely from his website.
Fontosaurus Text has posted three different styles of fonts. Tatebats: outlines of the US states to scale with each other, Pornstar: a groovy little 70's-esque font (looks best at larger sizes) and Speeddealer: a grungy little handwriting font.
 Skin the Scroll Bar in iTunes by Michael Coyle
If you have created skins for iTunes, one evasive area of modification has been the Aqua scroll bar. If you know where to look, all the pieces are there as PNG images. Unfortunately, none of the current resource editors can display PNG images, so you have to jump through a few extra hoops. (Continued...)
User Contributed Splash Screens: by Michael Coyle
Remember, each month the most popular contribution (includes Snapshots, Desktops, Icons, Splashes, etc...) will win a prize!
- Peter McHugh has made a throbber for Internet Explorer of the Netscape 6 throbber!!
- The next pair in the series of MacOS X Boot panels has been sent by Mark Boszko. These match the G4 Cube and the new iBook.
- Taking his obsession to the next level, Matt Nickels has created a MOSS featuring Megan Morrone from TechTV!! Give it up Matt. It can only lead to a broken heart and your picture on the cover of The National Enquirer!
Calendar & Appointment Scheduler for Mac OS X
Snapshots by Jeremy Hoesly Get your snapshots for Wednesday: - The “Vortex” desktop picture and Michael Rabe’s Glass Theme debut in this OS X contribution from Justin Conn-Powers. Audion, equipped with the Cryogenesis face, is dishing out tunes in the upper right.
- Dahood sends this Classic Mac OS screenshot. iTunes, outfitted with an alternate skin, is kicking out soundwaves in the lower left.
- Scottpie returns with this OS X snapshot featuring the “Serial Experiments Lain” desktop picture. iTunes is serving up music towards the bottom.
- Batman descends upon the Snapshot Archive in this OS X submission from Spordoff touting the custom “Dark Knight” desktop picture adapted from the 1986 mini-series “The Dark Knight Returns.” MacAmp is sitting in as digital DJ in the lower left.
What’s your Mac look like? Send a snapshot for all the Mac world to see.
Icon & Desktop News: by Dan  Icons - Desktops: We've got (6) excellent Desktops and (1) new Icon Set for OSX to dress up your desktop. All on display for today's update!
- By popular demand Flax Creations releases the second Resx exclusive installment of Techno Folders for OSX. Volume 2 includes 14 new and unique Hi-Tech themed folders.
- "Aqua Drop" is a way cool OSX desktop sent to us by Dogbyte. This one comes in 1152x resolution.
- Peter Mac sends some us variations on a shot taken of a Sugar Glider (small furry marsupial less than the size of a mouse). Yes, as the name implies it can glide from the top of a 60 meter tree. Cute barely describes this Outback critter desktop which comes in 1280x resolution.
- Check out John William's latest group of desktop creations titled "Colored Apples". The download includes four different backdrops, all featuring our favorite Apple logo on a brushed metal background in four iMac colors. This fine set of backdrops comes in 1024x resolution.
- The talented Gary Principato created "Mystical Mountain" using Bryce 4.1 and his trusty iMac. This nicely done 3-D desktop comes in 1024x resolution.
- We suspect that this "OSX File" desktop was left here by the elusive Smoking Man, and comes in 1024x and 800x resolutions.
- Two turn tables and a microphone... "Spin City #5" is the fifth and final release from a funky new desktop series by SoulRocka Nasty Nene to add to your Nene collection. This one comes in 1024x resolution.
News From Around the Web: Flax Creations updates with two new desktop pictures. After a personal hiatus, Jason Maki is about to reopen his website with a new look and artwork. Tray's Trove updates July 15, 2001 with eight new desktop designs! Macuserx.com has been updated with 6 new desktops and a new icon set, "Laundry". MacMonkies will be updating with four new pics on Wednesday, July 18. Included will be one new Desktop and three 3-D desktops. There is a new Mac OS X icon set, sixteen new folder icons available at resource Mac Mando wants to let you know that there are 36 new desktops at http://www.mandolux.com continuing his Money Series. Most of these new desktops are Chinese money and they are just beautiful! Ra announces the release of two new desktops for download at this site. The Iconfactory is pleased to announce the immediate availability of IconBuilder Pro 3.0, a filter for use with Adobe Photoshop for constructing Macintosh and Windows icons. Mike Davidson's Mac File Library has recently been updated with some I love "Apple" NY desktops, in both transparent and non transparent versions, with many styles to choose from. The Iconfactory announces the release of "World of Aqua 2" Icons for OSX. This is the second installment in the series, and are available for download. DV Graphics (http://www.geocities.com/dvgraphics2 ) has updated with two new OS X icon sets and a new, large desktop set. Gridface has just posted "Railyard Desktops" - five new photos of metal textures for your Mac. So what's up WWW? Icons? Desktop pictures? News? Inform us! We'll post it!
Visit the Mac Experts!
Theme News by Michael Rabe
Erik Thorteran has released MetamorphX v2.2.1. A lot of hard work has been put into this new version. Here is a list of some of the new features:
- Support for .tpkg.
- Preview and description support
- Post-switch script feature added, allowing themes to switch desktop pictures, etc. with the theme.
- Ability to change dock orientation/pinning/minimize effect, and Terminal Opacity.
- Bug fixed that prevented saving when a theme was opened from the Recent Items menu.
- Bug fixed that would open new themes when switching to MetamorphX.
- Fixed a bug that caused no themes to be displayed, even when they were in /Library/Themes/.
- Better window layout.
Colin Cornaby has released XMorph v2.0. A Glimpse of the next step in XMorph's evolution. Here is a list of some of the new features:
- It's faster than previous versions.
- Supports the reading of TPKG2 themes.
- Easier to use interface.
- Along with more great tools .
Colin is hard at work working on v2.1 which is due out some time next month.
Don't forget to stop by Thursday to pick up your copy of the classic theme "Delta" From the Theme Archive.
See ya on the flip flop!
If you have a theme you wish to add to the Archive, drop me an email.
Today's News by Cletus™ Another relatively slow weekend on the GUI front. Folks must be on vacation! I must try to squeeze one of those in myself sometime soon. We had another great giveaway week featuring Gramotki. Many thanks to all those who participated. You all must love free stuff! Dennis Ionov and ResExcellence congratulate the winners. AppleScript Central has posted another slew of scripts for a variety of applications including the Finder. Chances are that if AppleScript Central does not have what you are looking for, then it does not exist.  Angelo Scicolone has posted a new beta version of PrefsOverload 3.0b3. This fixes Type 1 and 3 errors that cropped up in last weeks release. If you are using that version you should download this new beta. Other changes with this release include:
- Now you can add files to the exclusion list directly via a menu or typing command-E
- Now you can decide what type of files have to be considered damaged directly from the preferences dialog
Lemon 1.0 lets you create patterns that can be repeated without any visible borders, perfect for desktop patterns or backgrounds on web-pages. This is done by wrapping a larger image, fading the overlap. It is freeware too! Jeremy's CSM Bundle 2.1.7 provides a plethora of Control Strip Modules that covers just about everything you could imagine. A full list of features and images of each module can be found here.  The ever popular Volume Dockling 1.2.1 is now available for Mac OS X. Volume Dockling allows you adjust the system volume level from the dock. Here is what is new:
- Fixed a cosmetic bug when a skin did not include an info file.
- Skins are sorted in ascending order now.
- Added a fix to make iBook's volume keys work at startup.
- Volume window no longer closes while the slider is being moved.
Submit Software and General News Suggestions!
Click here to learn more about Toast 6 Titanium
 Polling Place. by Michael Coyle
Almost 25% of ResEx readers come from (what I would call) a fairly small town, less than 20,000. As a resident of Illinois, I relate these numbers to areas with which I am familiar. For example, Lanark: a few thousand people on either side of a mile long Main Street. Freeport posts more than 25,000 residents and puts on a fireworks show to rival Chicago. Only a handful of cities in Illinois cross the 100,000 mark, one of them is Springfield, the state capital. And them my hometown, Chicago, on the shore of Lake Michigan.
As I see the poll results, I can't help but picture a high-schooler in Lanark typing on his iMac, and a state representative in Springfield answering constituent email from her Powerbook. Hello readers, where ever you are!
Ten years ago, my audio studio had six ash trays and the ventilation system was designed to suck the air from above the chain-smoking clients head. These days, I have one ash tray in a corner and on the rare occasion a client does want a cigarette, they leave the room! How things have changed.
Oddly enough, I have never smoked a cigarette. I must have always needed the money for gas. What about you? This week's Polling Place asks, "Are you a cigarette smoker?"
Tools of the Trade. by Michael Coyle
by Michael Coyle
Gorn caught me playing a little fast and loose with my terminology. The other day I mentioned using the command tar cfv archive.tar /source_folder to compress a folder. The truth is that no compression takes place, the files in the folders are merged into one file - sort of like a MacOS Disk image. To create an archive and have it compress, use tar cfvz archive.tar.gz /source_folder . Notice the addition of a z command and .gz suffix.
Just a reminder, these Unix command lines will not work on any file with a resource fork. I suspect that this is why Apple is moving away from the dual-fork file type and to the .app package with any resources copied to the data fork.
 Many readers who are also audio professionals wrote to say they enjoyed the recent article on portable audio recording with my Powerbook. One readers correctly chastised me for using the adjective "inexpensive" when the microphone costs $1200! True, I was able to borrow the mic from work, but I have had good success recording with an old $30 Radio Shack Electret Microphone (33-1065).
Because most location recording is at a noisy locale, the noise floor of the cheaper mics is not a concern. Frequency response and headroom (how much level the mic can accept) become the concerns. Boy, I gotta tell ya, a $1200 microphone Shure sounds sweet! :)
Coming Wednesday: If you create skins for iTunes, stop back Wednesday for information on changing the color and look of the Aqua-styled scroll bars...
User Contributed Splash Screens: by Michael Coyle
Remember, each month the most popular contribution (includes Snapshots, Desktops, Icons, Splashes, etc...) will win a prize!
- The next pair in the series of MacOS X Boot panels has been sent by Mark Boszko. These match the TiPowerbook and Bondi desktop Macs.
- It's only appropriate with the Shuttle Atlantis in orbit that Paul Weinstein submitted an About this Mac replacement featuring the Shuttle Columbia.
- "To know the taste of an Apple, you must change the Apple by eating it" - Mao. Do you think he was referring to customizing your Mac at ResExcellence? Waldemar Exkul created this MOSS of Mao for your Mac. (Say that fast three times!)
Complete Cable Management For The Home & Office.
Snapshots by Jeremy Hoesly Monday’s snapshots are here: - Ryan Campbell sends this OS X contribution sporting MacDesktops’ “Twisted Americana” desktop picture. iTunes is tickling the eardrums in the lower right.
- This OS X screenshot from Kevin Kelleher features Digital Blasphemy’s “Tropic of Capricorn” desktop picture. iTunes is churning out music along the bottom.
- Jason Kemp is certainly no Windows fan as can be seen in this submission touting the “Burn” desktop picture. Custom icons are distributed throughout the screenshot alongside selections from Icon Factory.
- This snapshot from Cantus Vetustus sports a “Webshots” desktop picture. Audion, retro-fitted with the Proteron face, is kicking out soundwaves in the upper right. Icons from Xicons and icons.cx abound.
What’s your Mac look like? Send a snapshot for all the Mac world to see.
Icon & Desktop News: by Dan Icons - Desktops: We've got (6) fine Desktops and (1) new Icon Sets for OSX to dress up your desktop. All on display for today's update! - The name "Fender" and Rock and Roll go hand in hand. Musicians lucky enough to be using some of this famous equipment for music making will appreciate this small set of 7 "Fender Icons" for OSX created by Hein Mevissen.
- Ben wants us all to know about his recently opened website titled Brain of the monkey, and supplies us with a signature desktop picture to help get the word out. "Agent" comes in 1024x resolution.
- Subtle beauty and raw power unite in Gigi's latest desktop creation titled "After a storm". This simple but exceptional desktop comes in 1024x and 800x resolutions.
- The artwork being submitted by John William's really does rock. Check out John's latest desktop creation titled "Imagine That". The download includes two different desktops, both with a glossy red and gray metal theme and matching wrap around docks. This fine set of backdrops comes in 1024x resolution.
- Julie Sadler left the spotlight on overnight in her yard and it attracted all sorts of wonderment! She got a couple of luna moth photos....and then noticed on the screen this most bizarre little yellow and pink fuzz ball of a moth! She doesn't know what kind he is, so now he's her "Wunderbug" and you can enjoy it too in 1024x resolution.
- Rob Jones whips up a stylish set of background "Panels" to help you organize you desktop. This is the second set from a group of 3, and comes in 800x and 1024x resolutions.
- Two turn tables and a microphone... "Spin City #4" is the fourth release from a funky new desktop series by SoulRocka Nasty Nene to add to your Nene collection. This one comes in 1024x resolution.
News From Around the Web: After a personal hiatus, Jason Maki is about to re-open his website with a new look and artwork. Tray's Trove updates July 15, 2001 with eight new desktop designs! Macuserx.com has been updated with 6 new desktops and a new icon set, "Laundry". MacMonkies will be updating with four new pics on Wednesday, July 18. Included will be one new Desktop and three 3-D desktops. There is a new Mac OS X icon set, sixteen new folder icons available at resource Mac Mando wants to let you know that there are 36 new desktops at http://www.mandolux.com continuing his Money Series. Most of these new desktops are Chinese money and they are just beautiful! Ra announces the release of two new desktops for download at this site. The Iconfactory is pleased to announce the immediate availability of IconBuilder Pro 3.0, a filter for use with Adobe Photoshop for constructing Macintosh and Windows icons. Mike Davidson's Mac File Library has recently been updated with some I love "Apple" NY_ desktops, in both transparent and non transparent versions, with many styles to choose from. The Iconfactory announces the release of "World of Aqua 2" Icons for OSX. This is the second installment in the series, and are available for download. DV Graphics (http://www.geocities.com/dvgraphics2 ) has updated with two new OS X icon sets and a new, large desktop set. Gridface has just posted "Railyard Desktops" - five new photos of metal textures for your Mac. There's a new icon set at http://mypage.bluewin.ch/d-design, titled "Feuilles" (in english, leaves). So what's up WWW? Icons? Desktop pictures? News? Inform us! We'll post it!
Visit the Mac Experts!
You can now upload your contributions (include a READ ME) to the ResExcellence
ftp drop box, and let us know with an email. Be sure to read the Submission Policy
|
