Icon & Desktop News: by Dan

In an ongoing effort to make it easier for you to send us your Icons and Desktops, we've designed a new Browser Based Upload Page for the task. Just follow the easy to use instructions, and you'll find submitting your artwork is a snap!

• One of the beloved featured missing in OSX is the ability to view icons in button mode, as you can do in OS9. Flax Creations decided to upgrade the feature for OSX with Transparent Button Icons Vol. 2. This set features eleven semi transparent buttons coupled with some commonly used system level and application icons. The nifty part about this set is that whatever background you happen to be using, it will show right through.
  
  
• Adam Dickson Icons vol. 1 is a very cool grouping of stylized folders designed for OSX. The set includes 35 different multipurpose "briefcase" icons.
  
  
• Feeling the need for some speed? An anonymous Titanium Powerbook user sent this super slick looking Supersonic desktop to us in 1152x resolution.
  
  
• The small preview of Hoshi's Arctic Flower desktop will give you no clue as to how fine this piece of work really is. Well worth the download, this modern looking creation comes in 1280x resolution.
  
  
• Daddy likes! iStylus Black by Michael Addison of Macalodeon is another rendering from a series of 3-D renderings, featuring a highly imaginative, and awesome looking prototype Macs. Michael uses a large variety and range of software to achieve his effects, including Photoshop, Carrara, Bryce, Infini-D, Cinema 4D, Poser, Tree Pro, and Amorphium Pro. This one comes in 1024x resolution. Black.
  
  
• Shaman by Jeffrey Mumford is a gorgeous piece of digital artwork. Combining subtle texture and color, this desktop is bound to please. Comes in 1024x resolution.
  
  
• The learned Jedi Yoda graces the background of this Star Wars desktop picture made by Nils Raab. Different Think is available in 1024x resolution.
  
  
• Life imitates art with this very interesting close up photograph of a Compass sent by Adam Dickson. You may also wish to visit their website, where you will find a number of other extraordinary shots to decorate your desktop.
  
  
• Aqua by John Rose is a cute and slightly naughty desktop sketch from the master of the female form. This one comes in 1280x resolution. If you're so inclined, visit John's Sketchpad for even more saucy and less censored drawings.
  
  
• Order In A Land Of Choas by Alan Sherwood of EA Design, is a piece based around his glass set, the simplicity still holding through but with the tweeks of some very odd, 'chaotic' landscapes for the surroundings. He notes that this is his way of showing that there is some hope for our (or possibly just his) sanity. Comes in 800x and 1024x resolutions.
  

News From Around the Web:

Warrior Poet is happily puttering about with heraldry-inspired designs, although shields have been put aside for Charges (objects depicted on shields). The set includes six designs, each glowing and gleaming in six colors.

Macuserx.com has been updated with 2 new icon sets, Mad Max and Akira Set II.

http://www.mandolux.com. has issued a new desktop, representing a continuation of the Technosis/Anthraxis theme - the new desktop is name 'Snake Ribs.'

MacMonkies e BEST GUI artists in the world! Well, maybe not the entire world...BUT! Dishin' out those iconian beauties are: Pixel Jerk, Flax Creations, DV Graphics, and miXthepiX! Gallery Goodies are comin' at ya from EA Design's Alan Sherwood, Mr. Todd "Jar Jar" Darland, Rampant Mac's "Cool Cat" Scott Chitwood, MAJArch Studios' Majestic Melissa, EMK Design's Evan Kaufman, and MacMonkies. All this and more at MacMonkies.com!

Mikawares has updated and is back with 22 desktops.

Tray's Trove updates with eight new desktop designs.

Live Pencil updates with new wall papers, live animals and all sorts of other goodies to make you smile.

Ethereal Creations pleased to announce the addition of perhaps the finest fantasy artist on the web as Jessie Ferguson joins their contingent of 3D addicts. You can read more about Jessie from her about page listing, catch up on the latest site news and also browse the sixteen new images uploaded to our galleries. See you there!

DV Graphics announces the release of a new icon set, MacGeeks2. MG2 features some of our favorite, well-known Mac personalities. Including Shawn King, Bob LeVitus and Andy Ihnatko. A total of 11 brand new icons is included in the set. The icons are available for immediate download.

So what's up WWW? Icons? Desktop pictures? News? Inform us! We'll post it!

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Tools of the Trade by Michael Coyle

If you are looking for an easy way to change the splash screen on your browser, Greg Fiumara has updated Custom Splash Installer (CSI). Previously, this free utility only worked on Mozilla, but this newest release can change the splashes on OmniWeb, Netscape, and Explorer.

Let's talk more about changing splash screens...

CSI will change your browser splash, but what if you want to modify some other application's splash? Using Mozilla as an example, here are some general steps that should work on many MacOS X applications.

Most MacOS X applications are packages of related elements. If you Control-click this type of application, you'll notice the "Show Package Contents" menu option.

The application will now be converted to a folder. Open it and navigate into the /Contents/MacOS

Generally, inside the /MacOS directory is what we use to think of as the Classic MacOS application. If you open it with ResEdit (or MacResourceDog under X) you will see the usual ResEdit resources. In most cases, splash screens will be stored in the PICT resources.

Paste in your replacement image and save your work.

Remember, these are general instructions and while they won't work for every application, they should get you started on the correct path.

Sosumi for Classic MacOS

Coming to the rescue of readers in this forum thread, Ben Boldt is in the process of converting the popular Sosumi Appearance Theme to a Classic MacOS version. Release 1.0 is available.

User Contributed Splash Screens. by Michael Coyle

It's easier than ever to contribute using the new Browser Based Upload Page! If you contribute a file to any section of ResExcellence, you could win a PowerMax gift certificate worth $50 ! (How?)

• I love to give credit where it is due, but without a READ ME it's impossible! Someone sent a cool MOSS and ATM combo of a good old fashion VU meter.
  
  
• The Darkside clouds everything! Checkout the Yoda Boot Panel from Nils Raab.
  
  
• For users of Internet Explorer, John-Michael Mulesa sent a smokey throbber.
  
  
• Are you into gunk? Conrad's latest Boot Panel is titled Industrial Waste.
  
  
  

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Today's News by Cletus™

We are back! Did you miss us? My wife and I enjoyed a very relaxing, and fun week at the Coyle's lake side home. I even managed to get Michael and his son out on the golf course. There is potential there. 1600 miles later though, it is time to return to ResExcellence away from scary beasts and coyotes in the night. The week was spent computer/internet free believe it or not, and I do not want to rehash old news, so I will pick up with PR received only since last Friday.

John Lowrey from Northern Softworks wrote in about the updated release of Hostal. It is a hosts file database and editor. You no doubt have heard Mike mention host files at various times. It is available for Mac OS and Mac OS X. Here is a more complete overview:

Before the DNS system, IP address mapping was done locally at each computer by means of a specially formatted host file. Today the host file goes virtually unused even though most operating systems still support them. A properly designed and formatted hosts file can not only help speed up the web surfing experience, but can allow simple, effective content filtering as well. Hostal allows easy control and editing of the Host file on your computer. Hostal supports both host mapping and host blocking. Hostal supports Time to Live to prevent stale host mappings. For users on a network, Hostal detects an existing Hosts file and incorporates those settings as well.

While it is very common place to work within virtual desktop settings in Unix, there really was nothing similar in Mac OS X, until now. Enter CodeTek VirtualDesktop! CodeTek VirtualDesktop allows you to have up to 100 separate desktops that you can use to divide your applications' windows any way you wish. For example, as a developer, you may have Project Builder , Terminal, Internet Explorer, etc. all running at the same time. Instead of hiding applications when you need to get them out of the way, with VirtualDesktop you can set up Project Builder and your Cocoa documentation IE windows on one desktop, Terminal on a second, and a general IE windows on a third. Then, when you want to use terminal, simply select that desktop with a single mouseclick or hotkey sequence and you only see the Terminal's window. Now you can switch to the third desktop and see what's new on ResExcellence!

MacMotiva have posted a couple of new Screensavers for Mac OS X. They are IGS Twisted 1.2 by DJ Brad Anderson and SereneScreen Marine Aquarium. Looks interesting, check them out.

Did you catch this? Turly hangs up his OS X compiler team spikes in favor of walking shoes as he leaves Apple. Sorry to hear this. Thanks for the great FinderPop program that I use to this day when in Mac OS 9.x!

Teaser.... Expect to see a couple of small Jaguar-only features in the small DragThing update coming to a store near you "very soon, along with some fixes specifically for the next version of Mac OS X."

Quick freebie time! How about a nice looking and extremely useful calendar program where, when you print it, it prints according to the size of the window you have set? Nice! QuicKalendar is just such a program. Below is a quick run down of a program that should find its way on to everyone's computer.

• Simple, easy to use interface.
  
• Calendar window resizes from 400 x 250 to full screen.
  
• Prints the current calendar in it's current size.
  
• Highlights the current day using the highlight color selected by the user in the Appearance Control Panel.
  
• Remembers the dimensions and position of the calendar window
  You can also choose to have the Calendar Window resized to full screen on launch.
  
• Supports both the American Calendar Format, and the European Calendar Format
  
  

Have a Press Release? Software or General News? Submit it here: Suggestions!