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Tools of the Trade by Michael Coyle If you like your desktop to run a little darker than Aqua, then you gotta take a look at the new 10.2.3 theme from Mike Wallace. Safety First is grey, but not boring. The window title bar has a bevel that has a single crease down the middle. It's an interesting look and comes with two desktops containing the Red Cross logo! Click preview image.  | There are also five updated themes in the archive. Takashi Izawa released Alumite, MaggraX, MakkiX, and DSX for 10.2.3. From Swizcore and Kevin Husted two pieces of news. Snag the updated NeXT theme. It has been redesigned from the ground up! Kevin has also released a beta of his anticipated ChosenOS. He includes an A-Dock skin and desktop picture. Grab it from his web site and report any comments in time for the final release.
Can't Boot Classic, even with a valid System Folder? My son has my old Pismo Powerbook. Shortly after reformatting the drive and installing MacOS X 10.2, he found an old game he wanted to play that was MacOS 9 only. At the time of the 10.2 install, I didn't bother with Classic because I thought those days were behind me. Anyway, I dug up my old MacOS 9.2.1 install CD and booted it on the Powerbook. Surprisingly, the internal hard drive did not appear as an install option. In fact, it didn't even appear on the desktop! That was odd, but by hooking up an external Firewire drive, I cleverly installed MacOS 9 onto the removable, then booted back into MacOS X on the internal drive and copied the Classic System Folder to the internal drive. The Powerbook now had a functioning Classic environment under MacOS X, but the computer still would not boot natively into MacOS 9! What the heck was going on! It seems when I reformatted the internal Powerbook drive, I neglected to install the proper disk drivers for MacOS 9. This is not an option and is no longer done by default. Depending on your format options, you can find the two check boxes in the Disk Utility windows shown below. Because this is an option, perhaps this is one of the methods Apple will use this summer when it ships computers that no longer support MacOS 9. If they fail to provide the correct disk drivers, it will not be possible to boot into the older operating system. In another scenario, Apple could provide the drivers, but it would require a reformat in order to install them. This would effectively remove MacOS 9 for a majority of users.
Follow Marathon lover, Jay Faircloth, created the wall, floor and ceiling textures used in the Unreal Mod Marathon:Resurrection
. Jay has a page up with a lot of his Marathon- and Halo-related artwork. Check it out. A lot of the images would make great gaming desktops.
Peter Valencia, also known as "the pinky toe" has sent many contributions to ResEx this past year. He will be pleased to hear that he was December's lucky winner of a PowerMax $50 Gift Certificate! Peter's name was randomly drawn for a list of everyone who contributed to ResEx in December. Props to him!
Looking for a little action? There are some new GUI sites posted in on the ResEx Links page.
 Have you been paying attention? If you had been you would know that I am an Audio Engineer by trade. That means I use ProTools. In fact, I regularly use ProTools on my Powerbook. One problem with this portable setup is the lack of an extended keyboard which ProTools uses for extra command keys. For example, Command-5 on the Qwerty keyboard is different than Command-5 on the extended numeric keyboard.
Those extended keys are critical for marking location points in the ProTools edit window, so I purchased a Kensington Pocket Keypad to plug into the USB port on my Powerbook. About the size of a Palm Pilot, the Keypad looks great and provides two additional USB ports (though they don't provide much power). While is will come in handy when paying the bills in Quicken, it's of no use at all in ProTools. This is because (for some reason unfathomable to me) Kensington did not use the standard extended keycodes on the key pad. Instead, the digits 0 through 9 output the same keycodes as their Qwerty counterparts. Kensington Technincal Support stated, "Unfortunately there is no utility that will make this keypad function the way you request. It is a simply a numeric keypad and there are no plans to make any drivers of the sort." Too bad, because while I love my Kensington trackballs, this Keypad is going back..
My bags are packed and Thursday morning Cletus™ and I will arrive in San Francisco for Macworld. While we will tour the show towards its end, we will continue to hunt for the unusual items that you won't see mentioned on the big news sites. Watch for a special Friday update.
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?) - Using one of his own photographs of the California coastline, Mark Wright created a peaceful Boot Panel.
- Three beautiful witches from the TV series "Charmed" make an appearance in a Classic MOSS from T. Maaz.
- An admitted anarchist, devios plans to disrupt the New World Order by created anime Boot Panels. The download also includes a makeover package for the Login screen.
- Using original Pacific Northwest Coast Indian art, Elias Sandoval sends this MOSS.
- Use a snarling Jaguar as your startup Boot Image by grabbing this Boot Image from Brian Freeman.
REALbasic News by Erick Tejkowski  | This week in REALbasic news: - Audio and Video Capture
- A REALbasic Switcher
- Palm Converter
- FTP Suite
- Drag-and-drop 3D Scene Creation
(Continued...) |
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Today's News by Cletus™ Things have grown quiet while people await MacWorld. What will be the big news of the upcoming week?
Another new beta version of iCan is available. I had a lot of readers write in for a valid link for downloading the software. For some reason the author was a little late in updating the homepage offering a link for a download. That has changed and you can grab the new version now. The new version is posted now and you can find the link easily. iCan's customize options can let you choose from any of the supplied iCan themes, set the trash to any size from 32 to 128 pixels, play sounds for moving to trash and emptying it, customize the caption.
SmallScreenX 2.0 is a Cocoa port of the old "Small Screen" for the pre Mac OS X. Further described as an new version by a different author allowing you to have multiple-moveable-resizeable screens open at a time (supports dual-monitors) along with other nifty features. Screenshots can be found here.
The popular Folder Icon X has been bumped to version 1.4. Two features have been added including a "Trim Unused Border" command to the Edit menu to eliminate the unused transparent border. Another command is "Copy To Clipboard" which will not ask for either a complete icon or selection. Try out this new version.
MoreClocks version 2.5 allows the use of multiple clocks appearances. "It has a multi-alarms feature, and a multi countdown clock. Alarms can be used with any clock. More Clocks contains also a perpetual calendar, and a time zones window list." The new release adds the ability to choose via the preference panel to display or not display a menubar or Dock icon.
Have a Press Release? Software or General News? Submit it here: Suggestions!
Polling Place by Michael Coyle  As expected, the poll on human cloning was a hot topic in the forum. Unfortunately, I think most people missed the point. Most of the discussion centered on wealthy people cloning themselves and then transferring their 'personality' into a new body. Based on this belief, many said they couldn't support cloning if it were only for the rich (I guess if poor people were also allowed to be cloned it would be OK!).
I think for the for seeable future, human cloning will be use for the very reason this woman has her DNA cloned: as a form of infertility treatment. Way back in 1978, Louise Brown was the first child born from in vitro fertilization. I can remember at that time people wondered if the child would be born with a soul. Today, thousands of children each year are born to parents who otherwise wouldn't have a choice. No one considers these children freaks, and I'm sure that once the world sees the first human clone baby, no none will question his/her humanity. I suspect that in twenty years, cloning as an treatment for infertility will be common and no one blink an eye. Maybe by then, the big question will be whether it's ethical to clone a body with out a brain, but with a functioning brain stem. Such a brain dead body could be used as an organ farm for the DNA donor. But that is a question best left to anther Polling Place question... My kids drive me crazy when I try to offer assistance on their Mac OS X desktops! They both hide the Dock and they both use non-standard Dock positions. I feel like I'm looking for a needle in a haystack! Is this why Apple doesn't want us customizing out computers? :-) This week's Polling Place asks, "Do you hide your Dock?"
Icon & Desktop News: by Dan
 Icons - Desktops: Yo! We've got another great selection of icons and desktops to feed your need for desktop decoration. Starting off with (6) New Desktops, (2) New Icon Sets, and of course, updated "News From Around the Web", take your time going, and hurry back!
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Due to the technical problems we experienced over the holiday, a hunk of the Desktop and Icon Archive was lost, and wasn't recoverable. The time period spans from the third week of July to December 23. If one of those unfortunate files was yours, and you want it re posted, please re send it to me using our Browser Based Upload Page. Make sure to mark these files somewhere with the word "REPOST", and include your name, email address and website url if applicable. They will not be re posted without it. I will certainly do my best to add those back to the archives. 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 piece of cake!
- Agrapha Animal Icons Vol. 1-3 by Harvey Lubin of Agrapha Design would even make Noah jealous. The first three volumes of this series includes an assortment of thirty different animal icons for OSX. Keep your eyes posted for the next installment from this menagerie.
- Lars Wiegman wondered why most people always make "happy" icons for Christmas. He speculates that maybe it's because it's a holiday and you get lots of presents. This self admitted pessimist put together a Not so Merry Christmas set of icons for those with the same sentiments in the crowd. You know who you are!
- Wynn Fermin submits a fun and funky retro style desktop titled Sexy Classic. This one is available in three different resolutions.
- The folks over at Digikitten have sent us another batch of their fine desktop submissions to share with ResExcellence readers. By way of introduction, one of Digikitten's missions has been to provide a free place for digital artists to display their work without having to pony up for a server. Blot by Ichra will be the eighteenth desktop we have the good fortune to post from this ongoing display. This one is available in three different resolutions.
- "Stream in Winter", by Peter Grosett, was snapped the day after the 2002 "White Christmas" snowstorm in Montrose, NY. This amongst other great photographs can be found in his "Snowfall" gallery at The Museum of Modern Grosett. Comes in 1024x resolution.
- An anonymous reader sent us a handsome looking Mac X Desktop you might like in 1024x resolution.
- "Anime Girl" by Trc3's is another of the many great desktops on display here by the author. This one comes in 1024x and 1600x resolutions.
- Simpsons fans will enjoy this pop collage created by Dustin Parsons. Simpson's Apple comes in 1024x resolution.
News From Around the Web: Whythemacissogreat.com updates with New Icon Set: "Themed Folders II. Live Pencil updates with new live animals, new emoticons, clip art, and much more to make you smile. Macuserx has been updated with 6 new desktops! Mando would like to inform you that http://www.mandolux.com has issued a new theme of desktops titled 'Bonzai/Taran.' Marmalade Moon releases a couple of new icons at the Marmalade Moon, "Celebration". Break out the party hats! The Rampant Ranch is alive and kicking with all main galleries back online plus new gui goodies to boot! Meramec at Onondaga is a personal photo taken on a camping trip over April Fool's Day weekend 2002, Dogwood is a stock image heavily modified in Photoshop, both Rivendell III and Think Stooge are updated desktops based on earlier art. The Museum of Modern Grosett has added a new gallery entitled "Snowfall." Timeoutofmind.com updates his Desktops page with two new pictures. A new gallery has been added to Hoeslyvista with eight pictures from Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park. MacMonkies cracks open a brand New Year with cool new GUI and a smooth new look. This week's GUI goodies come from fine GUI palaces such as RAD.E8, miX the piX, EA Design, WatiWorks, Prevision, and MacMonkies. In addition, the ole Monkie gets another face lift. 'Nuff said! Grab a vine, swing by MacMonkies, and check 'em out! So what's up WWW? Icons? Desktop Pictures? News? Inform us! We'll post it!
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