With over 1200 respondents, the Polling Place shows that a good chunk of readers have already upgraded to MacOS 9. Add in the users of 8.5 and 8.6, and 89% are running very recent System releases.

What surprises me though is the three dozen of you still running System 7. Come on! Either update, or pay a visit to LowEndMac!

Banners. Everybody seems to hate them , every Webmaster needs them.

Thousands of ResExcellence readers click on ads, so someone is finding a need for them!

Judging by the number of Sherlock Patches being released, it's obvious there are strong opinions with regard to banners in that utility. This week's Polling Place asks the question: Are you bothered by Sherlock's banners?

---

Jonathan Clarke tipped me off to a new beta version of the RC5/DES client for the Macintosh. This new version works faster in the background. So load it up and crunch those keys for Team ResExcellence.

---

Nicholas Shanks is writing a new resource editor called ResKnife. It's still in alpha, but he is providing source code if you want to take a peek. There is an effort underway in the Forum to update the existing ResEdit. Give it a read and see if you can help out with Templates or Editors.

---

It seems that Haiku error messages really exist!

Kevin Brahl: I was reading about the haiku error messages on your page and had to laugh. I recently installed BeOS on my 8600/250 and was having a hard time getting connected to the internet. Whenever I couldn't access the net I would get a haiku error message from Be's web browser Netpositive. After some investigation I found that this is actually an option that you can turn on and off in Netpositive. Kinda strange coincidence (at least I think so).

Marla Erwin: On the topic of haiku errors -- I've seen quite a few uses of haiku lately, one of my favorites being the Not Found page at Archie McPhee's website:

Sorry, page not found.
Our website is like the wind:
It flows and changes.

More pages await.
The links at left may help you
Find that which you seek.

Or try our search form.
It is erratic but it's
Better than nothing.

---

Eighth-grader, Brian DePalo, webmaster of Mac OS Resource Plaza, found this Easter Egg in MacOS 9, then he describes how to change it!

If you click on the "Mac OS 9" picture in the ATC (About this Computer) screen while holding down the Apple key, you go to http://www.apple.com/macos/.  Suppose you have a different ATC picture and want to change that web address to your favorite site.

Make a copy of the Finder by holding down the option key while you drag the Finder to the desktop.

• Open the copy of the Finder in ResEdit/Resorcerer
• Find the "STR#" resource
• Double-click to open it
• Find ID "4000", open it
• Go to item number 18 and change the address to whatever you like!

---

Panels are a new feature in MacOS 9 under MutipleUsers. Want to use them as a normal user? Andrew Alexander offers this tip:

I modified the Type code in ResEdit to APPL and it works just like a normal application! I thought you might want to know.

(The application Panels is located in your System folder.)

---

Michael Roman wondered: "What are the good books to learn Linux from? Are there any slanted towards Mac users?"

While LinuxPPC is a free OS to download, it's the cost of the books that will kill ya! I must have spent over $100 before I stumbled upon this book by Arman Danesh: Mastering Red Hat Linux 6.

While not specifically for Mac users, it does cover the same Red Hat distribution on which LinuxPPC is based. This made it easy to read and follow along on my computer. At three and a half inches thick, and a cost of $31.99, it's not a light book by any means of measurement, but if I were stuck on a deserted island with my Powerbook and LinuxPPC CD, this is the one book I would want. :)

11/24/99

Remembering that at one time I had MacOS 8.6, LinuxPPC, and MacOS X Server on my Powerbook's hard drive, Neil Laubenthal was wondering it was possible to select one of the three systems at startup from a list.

Unfortunately, it's not. The Apple System Disk control panel that comes with MacOS X Server doesn't recognize Linux Boot partitions. Attempts by me to use Linux Open Firmware settings with the control panel didn't work on my Powerbook. (If anyone does succeed at this, I'd like to hear about it.)

So the best you can do right now is select MacOS or MacOS X, and then if you choose MacOS Classic, select LinuxPPC from BootX.

---

Jeremy Hoesly, an AOL Instant Messenger chat buddy of mine, put together four new Smileys that you can paste into your copy of AIM. He created the angry face after a particularly boisterous discussion on the meaning of life, and a smiley face just wouldn't do!

As an added bonus, Jeremy created a ResEdit template for AIM's Smly resources, so adding your own icons is even easier.

---

There was something else I was suppose to mention. Now what was it... Oh! Now I remember.

Brett Christoffersen has released a small AppleScript program that quickly launches at startup and reminds you of events that you have previously typed in to a list. Reminder 1.02 is available from his web site with more information.

Bobby Kinstle supplies the source of our Haiku Errors...

I found the source if the haiku I sent you last week: Care of Machine Design magazine:

A joke circulating on the internet has Sony creating its own computer operating system for its new VAIO laptop. Instead of producing the cryptic error messages characteristic of operating systems like Windows 95, 3.1 & DOS, Sony chairman Asai Tawara, so the joke goes, wants "to capture the high ground by putting a human, Japanese face on what has been - until now - an operating system that reflects Western cultural hegemony. For example, we have replaced the usual impersonal & unhelpful Microsoft error messages with our own Japanese haiku poetry."

---

Use Contributions: (11/24/99)

• A simple, but cool looking Netscape splash was created by Victor Ong. I don't know why, but the first thing I thought of after viewing it was Speed Racer!
  
  
• Peter McHugh submitted a package of eight new Eudora splash screens. These has got to be one in there for you!
  
  
• Featuring a "Poser" type of character, Abraham Metta created a nice looking splash for Explorer.
  
  

---

ResExcellence will be closed Friday in observance of Thanksgiving Day. If you need a ResEdit fix, be sure to visit the Previous Edits, peruse the Icon and Desktop Archives, look for hidden Software, or explore the Forums. See you on Monday!

11/22/99

All last week, the results of the Polling Place hovered around the 50% mark. I'm not surprised at the number of readers connecting to the net through ethernet-like connects.

As more companies connect, and more readers get cable modems or DSL medems, maybe PPP connections will go the way of Kermit transfers. (Raise your hand proud if you remember Kermit!)

As the pictures of MacOS X DP2 start appearing around the net, I thought it may be time to get a snapshot view of the current OS version being run by readers. This week's Polling Place asks, "Which version of MacOS are you running on your main machine?"

---

Steve Haddock has put together a great page with instructions for remapping the Function keys to serve as PageUp, PageDown, Home, End, and Forward Delete. While geared towards the Powerbook user, the modification should work for any Mac.

---

Dan Harrison submitted a new hack. It's how to change the "Get info" window's title box. This may not have a use, but it's an interesting idea.

• Open the "STR " recourse in the finder.
• Select number ID #1328.
• Change text string item 1 to whatever you want. Remember to leave the "^0" in there somewhere.

---

When he is an old-timer like me, seventeen year-old Matthew Cone will wish he had goofed off more through his teen years! Instead, he has worked hard to release another MacInstuct tutorial, "A Greenhorn's Guide to Virtual Memory!".

---

Modify an Apple SoundSet to play only select sounds.

I like the idea of Apple's Theme Soundsets, but after a short time, they start to drive me crazy. What if you want only a few key sounds, like emptying the trash? Here's how...

---

Use Contributions: (11/22/99)

• Lucas Everett from InterfaceLift submitted two nice About this Mac replacements for both MacOS 8, and MacOS 9
  
  
• Peter McHugh created two giant , transparent MOSS that I think you'll like!
  
  
• Peter also sent along a replacement splash for Eudora.
  
  
• A subtle MOSS was created by Anto!
  
  

11/19/99

In addition to a nice set of speakers for the person who views the one millionth page, we now have a great prize for the reader who comes closest to guessing the time of the Big Event™ - Resorcerer!

Unless you have been lost on the Island of Nu, you know that Resorcerer is the king of resource editing programs. It's so good that I suspect it is the reason we will never see another update to ResEdit from Apple!

---

Paul Albert passes along this information about today's date:

Today 11/19/1999 is an 'Odd' day, meaning all the individual digits 1,5,9 etc. in the date are odd.

After this, the world won't see another 'Odd' day until 1/1/3111.

The next even day will be 2/2/2000, the previous one was on 8/28/888 !

Fortunately, the next odd date will not break the Mac's internal date clock. This is also the date that Windows 2000 will finally be released.

---

A reader without a lawyer updated his Sherlock patch based on reader feedback. Download the new version to find out more.

---

LinuxPPC 1999 ships with version 1.1 of KDE. If you would like to add support for the newer themes with the K-Theme Manager, you need to move up to version 1.1.2. Here's how.

Take a look at these screenshots here and here of KDE 2.0, currently under development. Not only is it free, but it ships with a full office suite. (thanks slashdot)

---

Dave Johnson wonders if I have any idea how to change or add to the available icons (for channels) in Sherlock 2.

Well sure Dave! The pictures are nothing more than 32 bit icns resources. The easiest way to add one to your new channel is to drag and drop an icon onto the Channel window.

If you want to add an icon to the New Channel selection box, so that it is permanently available, it's a little trickier.

• To permanently add an icon picture:
• Open Sherlock in ResEdit and paste in your new icns icon.
• Get Info on the new icon ID and change the ID a number between 1000-1999.
• Next, open the Pcnt resources and increase the HEX number by 1 for every icon you add. By default, the number is 19h (25).
• Save you work and enjoy the new icons.

---

Regarding the recent Keyboard layout icon edit, Dale Craddock sent this diamond icon that for you to paste into the Keyboard control panel to replace the default US Flag. While I don't remember because I never used the function, it apparent is the same as the default icon used in previous MacOS versions.

---

Many readers open the Finder and increase the SIZE resource to give the program a little extra breathing room. Antonio Flores Aldama submitted two patches that will do this for you - one for the Finder, one for the System. I tried them and using Peek-a-boo, I could see the change. If you are having Out of Memory errors, download and give them a try on copies of your system files.

---

Two ResEdit resource templates in the same week!

Believe it or not - Jeremy Hoesly created this template for editing the sysz resources, which control memory allocation for extensions.

According to David Arthur, the other template we received this week for kind resources is used or the following:

The idea is that if a program contains a 'kind' resource, files will be listed in the Finder's Kind column as, for example, "WordPerfect macro," rather than the generic "WordPerfect document."

I've seen some strange uses of this; if you get info on a Netscape cookie file, the kind is listed as "Munchies."

---

11/17/99

Now here's something you don't see everyday - a new ResEdit Template!

Damian Carter created this template for kind resources that you can download from ResExcellence.

While I must admit that I haven't figured them out yet, a kind resource seems to be a list that determines which file types an application may open. If you can shed more light, let me know.

Stop by Damian's Software page to download some of his free creations. My favorite was MacLoad. It displays the cpu load of all the curent;y running applications.

---

Simon Helton at X Appeal has some great screenshots of MacOS X DP2. Looks good!

---

Mozilla 11 has been posted. One step closer, runs a little longer... Be sure to increase the memory partition by a few meg to keep it happy!

---

Noel Esty send this itm that may be of interest to you.

After downloading the FWD-key edit from your web site, I did some edits that seem more useful to iMac users like myself. Especially if they use Word. I have remapped:

• Clear -> Fwd Del
• Help -> End

I hope some of your readers find it useful. Download here.

---

Change the Keyboard Icon in the Menu bar.

---

Use Contributions: (11/17/99)

Three Outlook Express splash screens

• Sandra Bullock looking lovely by Erik Barzeski. This one comes with a PPob resource to adjust for the non-standard picture size.
  
  
• Shania Twain for OE5 also by Erik Barzeski.
  
  
• Classic black and white OE5 splash featuring Betty Page.
  

Three MOSS Rplacements

• Miguel A. D'Amico submitted a nice looking giant 3D MOSS.
• Based on the box artwork from MacOS 9, Rick Roe created these two MOSS replaces.

11/15/99

Proving again that ResExcellence is the site for Macintosh power users, by a margin of 2 to 1, most of you have reformatted your drive to add partitions.

Before the HFS+ file system, there were major space savings if you partitioned a drive to keep the minimum block size low. There is an old Apple TIL that covers the topic.

With the installation of a T1 line at work, I can finally do away with my ISDN modem and Remote Access settings. Now as I move my Powerbook between the two locations, I only have to switch a TCP/IP configuration. Five years ago, Apple was heavily criticized for the second rate implementation of ConfigPPP, now I suspect in another five years, we may not be using PPP at all!

This week's Polling Place asks the question, "Is your main connection to the internet done with PPP?".

---

Propaganda has released Volume 13 - "MICKEYSOFT EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION DAY. A set of 72 beautiful desktop tiles. While President Kennedy generally likes to limit his releases to the Linux world, he has seen the fine work of ResExcellence readers, and dispatched a CIA agent with this encrypted announcement.

At the site, browse individual tiles on the site, of download the entire volume. If you go for the entire volume, to decompress it correctly, first run it through EasyGZ, then MacTar. (Or from LinuxPPC just type tar xvfz <filename>!)

---

Thanks to Small Dog Electronics, we have our Grand Prize for the Thanks a Million Contest. See the sidebar.

---

MacInstruct has posted another great tutorial - "Managing Memory on your Macintosh".

---

A reader without a lawyer created this patch for Sherlock2. The icons are from Matthew Ward's previous patch. The only problem I saw with it was that after removing the banner, you don't reclaim the space at the bottom of the window, but it certainly makes Sherlock feel more like it was made by Apple. ;)

Important Note: Due to an apparent bug in the patching program, it will not save the patched file to a volume with more than 2GB free. Try a RAM disk!

Quick Summary:

- Changes the window to a standard Mac window
- Changes background to solid gray
- Fixes channel icon buttons to look like real buttons
- Fixes the "magnifying glass" icon - uses a normal "Find" button
- Eliminates the ad banner

---

Has Jeremy LaCivita stumbled upon a bug in AppleScript under MacOS 9?

I have an applescript that runs at startup. It sets the position of all my HD icons to line up across the top in stead of along the side.

It worked fine until I installed MacOS 9, and now I this error.

It's easy to reproduce. This simple script, recorded in the Script Editor, triggers the error.

tell application "Finder"
activate
select startup disk
set position of selection to {853, 82}
end tell

Any ideas readers?

Update: Emmanuel Halligon sent this solution:

Since MacOS 9, you cannot move icons via AppleScript when the view options for the window/desktop are set to "Always snap to grid". I do not know whether this is a bug or a feature (I don't have OS9) but the workaround is (obviously) to turn grid snapping off through the View -> View Options... menu item.

And Joseph Williams adds:

I saw a brief mention of this problem in Bill Briggs' AppleScript Primer column on MacCentral. The solution is to change the icon arrangement to "none" within the Finder's View Options. You can do that from within the script itself if you prefer, using the following:

--put this at the top of the script
set viewVar to (spatial view arrangement of desktop)
set spatial view arrangement of desktop to not arranged

--put this near the bottom of the script
set spatial view arrangement of desktop to viewVar

---

Use Contributions: (11/15/99)

• As a Powerbook owner, I like the Giant MOSS Mike Orticari submitted. It has cool mockup artwork of a possible future Book.
  
  
• Ben Hodge send this hi-tech Startup Movie. To use it, just drop it into your System Folder and restart.
  
  
• The team of Alex McHugh & David Robinson has created and submitted a Eudora splash screen.
  
  
• Based loosely on the brushed metal Quicktime look, this MOSS by Richard Hamilton features Smilin' Mac.
  
  
• For Outlook Express 5, Kevin Hessel submitted a splash of a lovely lady in a rainbow background.
  
  
• A nice Blue MOSS with matching About this Mac replacement was put together by Stephan Roth.

11/12/99

One of the hardest working people in the world of icons is Sara from IconParade. Her list of accomplishments is many. This week, she sat down with Ilona Melis and gave this great interview for ResExcellence.

---

The author of ROAM, Steven Bytnar, weighs in with his comments on the possibility of getting the Keyboard function keys working on older Macs.

ROAM copies your ROM into RAM. It doesn't make your current ROM look like a NewWorld ROM. It just allows ROM code to execute from RAM instead of from the ROM DIMM. The NewWorld ROM seems to be a requirement for the Keyboard Control Panel. If you use MacsBug to watch for "atb _Gestalt d0.l='mach'" during control panel initialization, it does some comparing against 0x0196. This is the ID for the NewWorld ROM.

Beyond that, I dug quite a bit deeper into the Keyboard CP. The most significant thing to look for are the routines that are doing the compares against the results of "atb _Gestalt d0.l='kycp'". If you register a fake gestalt of 'kycp' you can get the Function Keys button to appear, and actually use it, but assigning any keypresses caused EBBE to say that location 0x00000000 was overwritten.

Either this Gestalt is registered under some weird special conditions that I couldn't emulate, or the ROM actually registers this Gestalt!

Hope someone else takes a look into this since I've satisfied myself so far that it requires a NewWorld ROM.

To be honest, I didn't understand most of that. :)
but I love it when he talks technical!

Another way to assign Function keys was suggested by Basil Grammaticos, who recommends FunKeys. And Tim Carlyle mentioned KeyboardLauncher.

---

Robert Percival submitted a large collection of clocks he created using ZenmaiClock. With over nine to choose from, there should be something for everyone!

---

Charles Gaba was deep in his dark lab experimenting one late night, and discovered that the previous edit to modify Quicktime Player 4's window definition also works on Sherlock2, adding a widowshade widget and the other standard window boxes.

---

Use Contributions: (11/12/99)

• MacNewbie created three sets of cursors that are worth a look. Take a peak at their website too, especially the disclaimer.
  
  
• For Outlook Express 5.0, Chris Friend created the Iconic Splash screen.
  
  
• Mike Harrison form Unkindesign sent us his MacOS 9 makeover package. The kit includes two MOSS replacements, and one for the About this Mac window.
  
  
• Geez, what's with all the Jennifer Lopez this month! Michael Munger submitted this Netscape splash screen of the actress/songwriter.
  
  
• Ethan sent two more splash screens: RunDMC for Hotline, and another for Stuffit Deluxe.
  
  

11/10/99

Regarding the Keyboard control panel and its ability to assign actions to function keys, an Apple TIL article describes why:

Programmable keyboard function keys only works on computers that have the ROM-in-RAM feature (iMacs, iBooks, PowerBook G3 Series (Bronze Keyboard), Power Macintosh G3 blue and white, Power Macintosh G4 (all models) and later computers). Other computers do not have this button in their Keyboard control panel.

I have started a thread in the User Forum to track any progress ResExcellence readers may have in working around this limitation.

Here is what I have tried so far to trick the Keyboard control panel to work on older Macs.

• Edit DITL -4046 and DLOG -4046 to display the "Function" button. Just resize the window and drag the button into view. This allows you to bring up the FKey dialog box and even assign apps to launch, but alas, it's not enough.
  
  
• Edit mach -4046 from 0000 FFFF to FFFF 0000. This is suppose to allow the CP to work on all Macs. Alas, it's not enough.
  
  
• Installed ROAM, a ROM in RAM utility. My hope was that it would provide the correct set of conditions for the Keyboard CP to work, alas, it's not enough.

So I suspect all that is left is to hack the conditions in the CODE or INIT resources, but I'm too stoopid to even know where to begin to look.

In the meantime, here are some other programs that assign actions to function keys:

• KeyQuencer
• Launch Key
• QuickPop
• T-Minus 10
• Easy KEYS
• Quickeys

Thanks to everyone who sent links and suggestions.

---

Mounting Mac HFS Partitions in LinuxPPC.

---

Matthew Ward has spent quite a bit of time snooping around in Sherlock2, and reports the following.

The picture on the left shows Matt's Sherlock Facelift. Download the resources and paste them into a copy of Sherlock to smooth out the look and provide buttons that depress when you push them. There are also makeover resources for Apple's Quicktime Player 4.

Another tip removes any default channel.

In the System Folder is a folder called "Internet Search Sites". Inside there are about eight default Channels from Apple. Any attempt to delete these only causes them to be recreated the next time Sherlock is used.

Replace the unwanted folders with an empty text file of the same name. No more Shopping, no more People!

---

Use Contributions: (11/10/99)

• Ethan created a stark black and white replacement splash for Netscape. To se some cool icons, check out his web site.
  
  
• A red replacement cursor set was submitted by Bob Friede. The high tech pointed supports all the contextual variations.
  
  
• Shidoshi Naga sent two ATM replacements for MacOS 9 that feature Kajiwara Mayumi. I'm too much of an old geezer to know who she is, but she's from the band Shape Up Girls!
  
  

11/8/99

As I suspected, the majority of Mac users are not using Sherlock's disk indexing feature. I would bet that our hard disks are more organized than Apple gives us credit for!

I can't think of a situation when I knew a piece of text was somewhere on my computer, but had no clue as to which set of files or folder to look in.

When all of us bought our beloved Macintoshes, their hard disks were formatted with a single partition. But maybe as time went by, you installed Linux, or wanted a separate partition for your System folder. One way or another, you reformatted your drive into additional partitions. How many of you have done this? That's the question in this week's Polling Place.

---

Here's another tip to make Microsoft Windows look more like a Mac. Cameron Knight sent a link for WindowBlinds. This looks to be part of a comprehensive Windows makeover, much like Kaleidoscope on the Mac.

---

Replace the Voice Login Sound Effect

My family is about to declare me insane. All weekend, the only sound they heard emitting from my office was, "My voice is my password...".

But the effort paid off. I now understand the conditions that need to be present in order to hear the login sound effect on MacOS 9, and how to change the sound. Thanks to all the readers who sent tips. (Continued...)

---

I may have solved the login sound mystery, but now another one has presented itself!

Timothy Brister dropped me an email to point out a cool new feature in the Keyboard control panel. It seems that you can assign actions to your functions keys!

The only problem with this new feature is - once again, I don't have it! Timothy talked with several of his MacOS 9 buddies, and some of them have the button, some don't. The version installed on my computer is 8.3.2.

So once again readers, any ideas?

---

Long time contributor to ResExcellence, Lucas Everett, has hung out his own shingle and opened InterfaceLift with his buddy Romain Gauvin. The two have posted tons of icons, desktop pictures, and other goodies they have made.

---

The best thing about Apple's recent computers is the lack of SCSI.

I hate SCSI.
I have always hated SCSI.

But if you are forced to routinely pick a number from 1 to 6, stop by MacInstruct and read their latest tutorial on SCSI Voodoo.

---

An often requested edit in my email and the User Forums is to allow font smoothing on smaller point sizes. Steven Bytnar has create a little extension called SmallerFontSmoothing v1.0.1 that will bo the trick!

---

Use Contributions: (11/8/99)

• Influenced by the original About this Mac screen featuring the Earth, Mike send this updated version for MacOS 9.
  
  
• Lorenzo Raphael created a tech looking splash for Netscape.
  
  
• This MOSS, created by jason Wiggins, features the brushed look of Quicktime 4, and also incorporates some transparency effects.

11/5/99

Eighty-five generous people contributed to ResExcellence last month. Thanks to all of you for your hard work. Scott Chitwood was randomly selected from among you, and for a gift can choose between a LinuxPPC 1999 CD, or a copy of the Star Trek Encyclopedia!

---

Robert Friede updated his FreePPP makeover and sent a great looking preview for you to check out.

---

Are you in the same difficult position as Adrian Spiegel, who is forced to use a Wintel box at work?

Andrian wanted to make his computer look more Mac-like and sent the following links:

Themes Unlimited has both desktops and icons, E-Icons 98 has several sets of Mac icons, and MFactory has two pages for icons and desktops.

---

ßob let me know about this Apple Tech article that shows you some tricks to reorder and customize items in the Apple Menu. While the article is interesting, I think Apple should just cave in and purchase the rights to BeHierarchic!

Another article discussed MacOS 9 voice password recognition, and why you may not be able to speak your name from the login list.

---

Even with all the email generated by the topic, I still don't have a firm answer on the Log In Drum roll!

The sound is stored in the Voice Verification extension as a SND resource with ID 500, yet I have never heard it!

Some suggested that I use the default phrase, "My voice is my password", but it didn't make a difference. Others suggested it was a feature only present in the betas.

If a reader with a true MacOS 9 install off a retail CD can swap out the SND resource and let me know if it works, I'll put together an edit - even if I can't hear the sound!

---

Based on an earlier edit to disable the Help key, Don Tipton send this keyboard map that turns the Help key into a Forward Delete!\

---

Use Contributions: (11/5/99)

• There is nothing worse than another overachieving teenager! This time it's 16 year-old Mathew White who runs the British web site, power/Mac. Mathew submitted a great looking Netscape splash screen (with a beautiful 32 bit icon). Checkout power/Mac to see more of his work, especially the desktop pictures.
  
  
• Brian Milburn sent an About this Mac replacement matching his MOSS screen that features Jennifer Lopez.
  
  
• Calvin and Hobbs was on Jim Pelletier's mind when he made the splash screen for Internet Explorer.

11/3/99

A couple of software items have been updated that have previous edits on ResExcellence.

OSA Menu 1.2 has come out of a long beta period. This new version doesn't need the OSA Runner application. From personal experience, I would say this version also sports speed improvements, especially triggering Photoshop Actions. You can shorten the width of the menu by deleting the phrases, "Open Some Folder...". Open the OSA extension in ResEdit and find STR# 1024. Delete the text from items 4 and 5 to clean up the menu.

Gromotki has been updated to fix a bug with MacOS 9. There isn't a preference to change the default note color from Yellow, so check out this previous edit.

---

The staff at ResExcellence has a cool new way to keep track of time!

Robert Percival put together this slick looking timepiece using ZenmaiClock the freeware clock program/editor lets you design the perfect clock! Robert offers his creation to all who want enjoy it!

---

Several readers have written asking me how to change the drum roll sound after a logging in under Multiple Users in MacOS 9.

Well, the odd thing is, I have never heard a sound when I logging in! I hunted around the resources of all the likely suspects, but couldn't find a thing. If a clever reader has the solution, I'm willing to post it.

---

Bryan Harris wondered, "By any chance have you heard of a ResEdit hack to add keyboard shortcuts to OE5 commands, Edit Message in particular?"

Any of the previous command key edits can be used as examples that will translate to most other applications. ResExcellence has examples for Quicken, Netscape, and Eudora. Just find the correct MENU resource, and enter a unique command key letter.

---

Sergik Web Space has been updated with tons-o-desktops and icons.

And OmegaDawn Grafix has posted 6 new Apple related desktop designs.

---

Get rid of the Penguin from the Login screen.

---

Use Contributions: (11/3/99)

• Chee-Cheng Fam has updated his great looking Black MOSS for MacOS 9
  
  
• Nightmare submitted a series of Netscape splashes featuring Kelly Brook, Gina Gershon, and Shirley Manson.
  
  
• As president of his own Jennifer Lopaez fan club (membership 1), Brian Milburn created this Giant MOSS featuring her!
  
  
• Robert Friede submitted this makeover for the FreePPP status window. It's smaller and more compact.
  
  
• Benjamin put together a more colorful variation of a MOSS featuring the HAL 9000.

11/1/99

My Bookmark menu under Netscape contains a dozen submenus with an average of 20 individual URLs. After a particularly frantic spree across the web, it can get a little messy, but I always sort thins out - eventually!

The situation is reversed on the family iMac. Their Bookmarks scroll through a list 100 strong!

To the 17% of you who responded "Huh?", sit back and relax. The nurse will arrive shortly with your medication.

After updating to MacOS 9, I found myself disabling several extensions that were all the rage just a few months ago. An example would be Sherlock's indexing. When it first appeared in MacOS 8.5, it seemed like a "can't live without" feature. So this week's Polling Place asks, "Do you use Sherlock's Indexing?".

---

Here are the preliminary details for the ResExcellence "Thanks a Million" event. If you are the viewer of page number 1,000,000, send a snapshot of the window (Shift-Apple-3) to be the Grand Prize Winner.

Send me your prediction for the date and time when the one millionth page will be served. Time is assumed to be my local time. The closest guess will win something cool, and the next four runners up will get ResExcellence t-shirts.

All predictions must be received before the counter reaches 990,000.

As we get closer to the Big Day™, I will announce the main prizes.

---

If you have admired the translucent desktop overlays that Anthony Saxton has created, and wondered how to make your own, here are his tips.

Create your graphic using layers in Photoshop. Assign the desired translucency to each layer. Greyscale works best so it works with any background pattern. This isn't a requirement though. You can get some interesting effects with color!

When you've got the picture complete, add a transparent pixel to each corner to identify the boundaries of the picture. Actually, only three pixels are needed to identify width and height. Place two of them at the top as they would be normally hidden by the menubar. The third pixel can then be anywhere along the bottom of the picture to represent the height.

Merge Visible Layers, Select All and copy. You now have the complete graphic in the clipboard. This can be pasted into the Scrapbook and then dragged to the desktop to create a clipping file. This clipping file can be used directly for your desktop picture or you can drag it onto my ClipDragon utility to convert it into a usable PICT file.

---

This is a little odd, but look at this kid's Halloween costume!

---

Use Contributions: (11/1/99)

• A cool looking, metallic Eudora Splash was created by Nick Muerdter.
  
  
• Chee-Cheng Fam sent a beautiful MOSS in the style of Quicktime 4.
  
  
• Kevin Hessel sent splash screens featuring lovely ladies for the following applications:
  
  
  • Netscape 4.7
  • Explorer 4.5
  • Explorer 5.0
  • Outlook Express
  • Hotline