Here’s your Friday serving of snapshots:

• Bill Bocasumphuss submits this OS X snapshot. DragThing runs along the right edge.
  
  
• Chris Donovan sends this OS X contribution touting a Hebus desktop picture and an awesome custom theme. iTunes is kicking out soundwaves along the top, and various icons from Xicons are visible throughout.
  
  
• A customized desktop picture of unknown origin coupled with Maury McCown’s AquaX III K-Scheme debuts in this snapshot from Hinuvel. SoundJam, retro-fitted with the converted OK Dryer Audion face, is cranking out songs in the upper left. Icons extracted from an Aqua scheme along with some custom icons and selections from Xicons lurk about.
  
  
• Ultima Lamer brings the “AYBABTU phenomenon” to the Snapshot Archive in this OS X submission sporting a quick n’ dirty “AYBABTU” desktop picture. Icons from Xicons are also shown off.
  
  
• With an Internet connection on one hand and a craving for MP3s on the other, Mevans participates in some pretty disreputable activity in this dual-monitor OS X submission. iTunes is dishing out the forbidden fruit in the lower left-hand corner of the second screen.
  
  
• This OS X contribution from Alex Popek features some choice quotes from the likes of Steven Wright, Sun Tzu, Jack Handy, and Albert Einstein. Very cool.

Have a desktop masterpiece you’d like to share with the Mac masses? Read our submission guidelines and then bring it on!

Stocking Stuffers from Kensington and Smalldog.com!

Tools of the Trade by Michael Coyle

I have received dozens of positive emails regarding the recent editorial on Themes and MacOS X. Thanks to everyone who emailed Apple's attorneys and then took the time to snail-mailed letters to Apple.

Tom Hackett was the first to let me know that the URL provided for feedback to Apple may not have been the best possible site. Is seems there is a feedback page for MacOS X issues. If you have an archived copy of your earlier message to Apple and their lawyers, you may want to send it again to the new feedback page, just to make sure it goes to the correct authority.

Some readers have called for an organized shareholder action, but as a shareholder who has seen Apple's proxy voting system, the likely hood of getting a contrary opinion on the agenda are slim to none.

To be honest, I don't believe public opinion will do much good either. Apple is firmly under the control of one man with a strong will. We would have more success against Proctor & Gamble, a large corporation that cares more about what consumers think. What I have learned is that there is broad support in the Mac community to challenge Apple on this point.

There are options. After spending many years in the recording business, I have come to know several copyright/trademark lawyers. I hope to informally poll them on the chances of successfully challenging Apple in the areas of theme creation and reverse engineering. It would also be necessary to get an estimate of how high the legal fees could be. If these lawyers feel there is a reasonable chance of success, we will just have to wait for the proper conditions.

If a theme is submitted to ResExcellence that I feel does not violate any Apple trademarks, I will post it. If challenged by Apple legal on the grounds of reverse engineering, then ResExcellence will open a Kagi shareware account to raise money for a legal challenge. So far, almost 10,000 people have read the editorial. If only half of you have the conviction to send $5 to a Theme Defense Fund, that's $25,000. To be honest, I don't know if that's enough to go up against Apple, but I will do my best to find out.

This is not something that would be enjoyable, but as I have said, I believe the way Apple and their law firm have been theatening artists and developers is just plain wrong. I will keep you updated as the situation unfolds.

Many readers have been asking for an archive of the old Polling Place results. I was surprised that there were results going all the way back to October of 1998! It's quite a trip down memory lane. Enjoy.

For those of you with Photoshop 6, Ryan has created an Action to aid in the creation of MacOS X Dock Poofs. Ryan says:

Here are a couple of Photoshop actions that help create/deconstruct the poof.pdf animation for Mac OS X Dock.app. The animation consists of 10 128x128 images (rendered top to bottom) in a single layer: 5 content 'blocks' on the left, and 5 alpha masks on the right. So far, I think they've gotta be greyscale or b/w. (They'll still work if they're color, but will appear grayscale...)

The action 'Layers to poof.pdf' requires 10 layers, 128x128. For the action to work, the layers need to be named 'Layer 1-5' (ex. Layer 2, Layer 3) and 'Layer 1-5 mask' (ex. Layer 2 mask, Layer 3 mask). The 5 content layers end up on the left, and the 5 alpha masks on the right. Black is transparent, and greyscales get more opaque as they head towards white.) You will end up with a save as... dialog box prompting you where you'd like to save the final pdf.

More instructions are included, so download it and play around, then send your Poofs to ResEx!

Want to add custom icons to your drives under MacOS X? Matt Busfield heard about this tip.

I was rather disappointed to learn that using the terminal to assign custom icons in place of default ones under OS X resulted in *all* my hard drives/partitions having the same icon.

Are people aware of the fact that hard drives and their various partitions can be given unique icons? A clever chap (jcpowers) who responded to a message I left on a forum advised me that I could do this:

• First turn off the option to have hard drive icons appearing on the desktop (Finder Preferences).
• Next, make aliases of the hard drives (drag to the desktop while holding Option-Command).
• Paste the desired icon into the alias' Inspector window.

The new icon doesn't appear on the alias until the Finder is forced to quit. Different drive icons can now be dropped in the dock too.

It seems silly to me that it's this difficult to change the icon, and Michael Beedle agrees. In fact, he has put together a page outlining his gripes with MacOS X.

Instantly compare over a dozen USB CD Burners. Right Now!

User Contributed Splash Screens: by Michael Coyle

• A big package of items for MacOS X had been created by Thor Hansen. In the style of the Graphite iBook, Thor created Boot and Login panels, plus a SteelBall Dock Poof. Download all three and get a matching MOSS for no extra charge! Call now. Operators are standing by...
  
  
• John "BDog" Bailey has cranked his SoundJam skin up to version 1.7.
  
  
• Hey, who's the guy with the big ears? Billy Mathys created a MOSS featuring Mickey Mouse.
  
  
• Lara Croft is featured in this nice looking Netscape splash by Jaime O. Hilario.
  
  
• I'm sure you haven't tired of his last submission, but Nicolas Cardot has already sent another cool looking MOSS for you to install.
  
  
  

Way-cool! The RIO 600 Portable MP3 Player with Sound Jam

Snapshots by Jeremy Hoesly

Register to Win an iPod at Smalldog.com

Icon & Desktop News: by Dan

According to our stats, Wednesdays are a big day for visitors to the Desktop and Icon Archive each week. I do my best to select what I consider the "best of the best" on those days in order to tempt you to download every single one them. Be my guest to do so... and Enjoy!

Icons - Desktops: One more Spring day dawns with (1) brand new Classic Icon Set and (8) really excellent Desktops. All on display for today's update.

• "Sonofmac Icons" is the first submission we've received from Tim Busscher, with more promised on the way. This set of seven 32 bit photo-realistic icons can be used with system 8.5-OSX.
  
  
• Dressed in frogskin leather and primitive funk, Dragon Tongue's latest 'OSX Desktop" comes in 1024x resolution.
  
  
• Baseball, Chevrolet, Hot-dogs and Apple, all spell USA. Dean Fusaro proudly waves the flag with his latest desktop creation, "Appleusa". Visit Dean's Design's for the download and check out the other goodies to be found there.
  
  
• Another provocative drawing desktop from the sketch book of John Rose, "Beach Sketch comes in 1280x resolution
  
  
• The Archive preview really doesn't do justice to Nicollas Cardot's "Faubles" desktop series. Nicollas created a very stylish and elegant backdrop, and provides you with 13 different variations on the theme, all in 1152x resolution. Please note this is a fairly hefty download of over two megs. But what the heck, the're worth it.
  
  
• After the "new dawn" the horizon breaks with simple but vivid colors in "Mercury Rising". Described by Bradford J. Wiles, this three-d desktop composition comes in 800x and 1024x resolutions.
  
  
• "Realms" by Manny Velazquez is another of his beautiful desktop creation from the renowned "Metaphysical" series. A visit to his website reveals these backdrops to be expressions of Manny's own personal view on spirituality, and is well worth the read for those who want to take a deeper look. This one comes in 1024x resolution.
  
  
• "Desktop Badges" by Brenda of Noen Design is novel concept when it comes to the Yin and Yang of desktop decoration. This set includes 7 clipping files meant to be centered on your screen. Read the instructions for more precise details on their use.
  
  
• Has our cartoon character been caught up in a double dimensional identity crisis? Is Dino on the fast lane to finding his way back to the future? "Stone Age" by Bradford J. Wiles is just a small example of Bryce 4's amazing capacity to combine both 2-D pictures and 3-D objects. This humorous desktop comes in 800x and 1024x resolutions.

News From Around the Web:

Yosh Kondo from Chillyday informs us that he has posted 14 desktop pictures there. They are photos he took with his Minoltas.

BREDSTIK Entertainment updates with 4 New Animation's, 1 New MAC Icon set, New comics, new monkeys, and a whole lot more!

Dragon Tongue has just put 10 new desktops on his site...The Dragon Rune-Henge Thorne-Crown Series

John's Sketch Pad (http://www.mariposita.com/jcrstuff) has posted about half a dozen new desktops (some have already been shown on ResExcellence).

Blueskyheart posts a new desktop picture titled: "Moon Under My Ami"

Just a note to let the Res Ex readers know that Steve Sobek has posted 4 new desktops , as well as a special "Steve Jobs Dance of Joy" animated splash for ResEdit!

Flax Creations updates over the weekend with four brand new desktops.

Hoeslyvista updates with 5 new "Nature" desktops and has reworked the site code to comply with the W3C's HTML 4.01 standards.

For a view of some cutting edge web design and graphics visit 2advanced.com.

Dean's Designs has updated with 4 new desktops and a few photos from the NY International Car Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in midtown Manhattan.

The old shroom graphics has grown up and is now called Swiss-X Design. To celebrate, there's a spectacular new photo gallery and two new desktop pictures, as well as the hundreds that have already been available.

One Graphics.com has updated their site and has Icons and a New Desktop available for Download.

The Devil's Desktop has been updated with 11 new desktops and 3 new icon sets

Colheres updates with Two new iconsets and a New desktop picture.

Due to time constraints, computer problems, and the occasion glitch, as well as problems with FTP uploads, iDealMac is, for now, going off-line.

Brenda from Noen Design informs us that she has redesigned her website.

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

Support ResExcellence by Visiting our Sponsors!

4/24/01

Snapshots by Jeremy Hoesly

Tuesday’s batch of snapshots is ready for consumption:

• Pete Fugelli contributes this submission sporting the custom “Xaqua” desktop picture. Audion, overhauled with the Epiphany face, is shuffling music tracks in the upper left-hand corner. Icons from Xicons and Icon Factory reside on the desktop.
  
  
• Netkoh submits this OS X screenshot featuring a gorgeous MacPlus desktop picture. Internet Explorer is surfing the Internet in the lower left-hand corner.
  
  
• Paul Sahner sports DV Graphics’ “Oni” desktop picture in this OS X contribution. iTunes is rustling up some tunes in the upper right-hand corner.
  
  
• This screenshot from Gary Shum touts Vir2L’s “Vir2L Collaboration” desktop picture. SoundJam, outfitted with the converted Cryogenesis Titanium Audion face, is kicking out soundwaves along the left edge. Selected icons from Icon Factory and Muroi’s Art Factory are also shown off.
  
  
• Two connecting desktop pictures of Copernicus Crater on the moon in combination with the U.T. 1.3 K-Scheme debuts in this daul monitor submission from Jake Tenenbaum. iTunes is sitting in as digital DJ in the upper right on the second screen, while Icon Factory’s Smoothicons roam about.
  
  
• This OS X snapshot from Manuel Velazquez sports the “X Planet” desktop picture from the Metaphysical series. Cool.

Have a desktop masterpiece you’d like to share with the Mac masses? Read our submission guidelines and then bring it on!

Ilicon Graphic Design

ResExcellence Editorial: I'm Furious at Apple by Michael Coyle

Would themes die with MacOS X? Michael assured me themes were very likely under the newest Apple OS and sent me a work in progress, his recently released Pastel Blue 10. I opened this theme file in ResEdit and confirmed that every resource was unique and there were no elements of Aqua remaining. I was confident that it was an entirely original work that would not infringe on Apple's trademarks. (Continued...)

Today's News by Cletus™

Congratulations to the final two winners of the DragThing Contest, Robert Evans and Doug Korns. They correctly answered the question: "How many different ways can you sort the process dock in DragThing 4?" The answer is 8 total ways:

• by Launch Time (forward or reverse)
  
• by Name (forward or reverse)
  
• by Kind (forward or reverse)
  
• by Most Recently Used (forward or reverse)

ResExcellence and James Thomson would like to thatnk all those who participated in the contest. There will be no contest this week, but there are many more lined up in the upcoming weeks.

Quiet weekend overall for Classic system updates. Maybe everyone is carbonizing? Let's jump into the Mac OS X updates right away then.

RAILhead Design released PasswordMaster 1.0b3 on Saturday. "Easily store and organize all your software serial numbers and registration codes — as well as create 12-character alpha-numeric passwords based on your data input. OS X and OS 9 savvy."

There were two Volume Docklings updated over the weekend. DVolume 1.1 by Stas Pietrucha allows you to set the System Volume and the Alert Volume from the Dock. Volume Dockling 1.2.0 by On-Core, Inc. allows you to quickly and easily adjust the system volume directly from the dock. Look at both and pick the one that suits your needs the best.

illumineX Screen Saver Pack 1.0.2 is a freeware set of screen savers. "Original screensavers including BabelBloX, based on the upcoming arcade game, as well as updated implementations of classic screensavers like Warp, Spline, and Planets. All screensavers offer tunable options."

• Updated implementations of classic screen savers including Warp, Planets, Spline and others
  .
  
• Active screensavers@illumineX.com link in Configure panel for email feedback
  
  
• These Screen Savers are written in Objective C, using Cocoa.
  
  
• One ultra-classic saver, Fireworks, not because it's cool, but because it amuses us. We hope it amuses you, too.

MenuStrip 1.6 has been updated. MenuStrip is a multi-purpose utility for Mac OS X that allows quick access to frequently used settings, such as the computer volume, monitor resolution, and color depth, right from the OS X menu bar. This version fixes a few bugs with resolution switching and provides for a 10 day nag-free trial period.

Are you superstitious? If so, you may want to give EightBall 1.1 for Mac OS X a shot. A similar product exists for Classic in the form of a CSM and is probably still available here. This happens to sit in the Dock as a "dockling." I refer to it often before a round of golf and without fail it has predicted how I will do.

Submit Software and General News Suggestions!

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VillageTronic Video Card For Only $99 at Smalldog.com!

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Polling Place by Michael Coyle

Some of you are so mean! You would begrudge me a little time of from my duties at ResExcellence! :)

I wish I could say I was well rested, but as anyone with two kids knows, you're never well rested.

With MacOS X you have a wide range of sizes for icons. This week's Polling Place asks, "What size are most of your icons under MacOS X?"

Tools of the Trade by Michael Coyle

Melissa has done again. She has posted six more sites in the ResExcellence Links archive for you to explore.

The latest version of Snoop has expired and company has disappeared. What other tools are there for swapping the resource and data forks in MacOS X? Ryan Schwartz recommends QuickConvert. It's the easiest utility yet to do the job.

Fontosaurus Text has released two new fonts for Macintosh and PC!. Enibrut, a dumbed-down and backward version of Turbine Sans, and Uhop Deluxe which includes a full character set, and bold, italic, and bold italic faces. Watch for more fonts later this week and maybe a new desktop wallpaper and conversion of the BePeople icons to Windows (*gag*) format.

Instantly compare over a dozen USB CD Burners. Right Now!

User Contributed Splash Screens: by Michael Coyle

• Nickolas Cardot has submitted another in his series of MOSS screens that feature the bushed look of Quicktime.
  
  
• Direct from Poland, Tomasz Styn created this About this Mac replacement with the eyes of Natalie Imbruglia!
  
  
• Wow! SuperBeef sent this MOSS of the lovely Ali Larter.
  
  
• A series of Netscape splashes featuring Ghost in the Shell were sent by Scott Simons.
  
  
• George Krueger sent another of his great looking iTune skins. This one is available for both the Classic and MacOS X versions.
  
  
• Another great looking MOSS was contributed by Ken Messick.
  
  

Way-cool! The RIO 600 Portable MP3 Player with Sound Jam

Snapshots by Jeremy Hoesly

Welcome back! Launch yourself into the new week with Monday’s dosage of snapshots:

• Scott Chitwood submits this screenshot sporting Apple’s “Abstract 7” desktop picture. iTunes is cranking out songs in the center. Icon selections from RAILhead Design and Icon Factory reside on the desktop.
  
  
• A desktop picture from Mandolux’s Letterbox series debuts in this submission from Jim Dusbiber. Xicons’ XMario icons are situated along the bottom edge.
  
  
• The “Bayport” desktop picture and Indigo Kelleigh’s Obsidian K-Scheme share the spotlight in this snapshot from Tim Fehr. Audion, equipped with Blue Sky Heart’s Epiphany face, is providing the background music in the upper left-hand corner.
  
  
• This contribution from Sean Nelson touts Digital Blasphemy’s “Glenwood” desktop picture. iTunes is churning out tunes in the lower right-hand corner.
  
  
• A custom “Dark Angel” desktop picture and Arlo Rose’s Onyx K-Scheme are showcased in this contribution from John Rose. Audion is tickling the eardrums in the lower left.
  
  
• Willy Wang submits this OS X snapshot featuring a desktop picture included with OS 9.1. iTunes is serving up music in the upper left-hand corner.

Have a desktop masterpiece you’d like to share with the Mac masses? Read our submission guidelines and then bring it on!

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Stocking Stuffers from Kensington and Smalldog.com!

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Icon & Desktop News: by Dan

Just a little note of appreciation for all of those who consistently submit their Icons and Desktops to the archive. I know it takes a bit of guts to put them out there for the whole world to see. Granted, it's not quite as risky as standing naked in a shopping mall, but at times I'm sure feels the same. Thanks!

Icons - Desktops: Another gorgeous Spring day breaks with (1) brand new OS X Icon Set and (8) excellent Desktops. All on display for today's update.

• Wake up all you arm chair internet travelers, Hein Mevissen outfits you with the right stuff for the trip. His latest set for OS X is titled "My Travel Icons" and includes six jumbo sized icons representing your favorite European countries.
  
  
• Our very own Snapshot section manager Jeremy Hoesly, also of Hoeslyvista must have a case of spring fever and so snapped three "Spring" flower scenes to brighten up your desktop in 1024x resolution each.
  
  
• Digital dynamo Henry Stidston has submitted to us a whole pile of extra fine 3-D desktops for display. Today's rather fun selection includes "Bender Cartoon" which is a two picture set, both coming in 1024x resolution.
  
  
• No drooling on the keyboard now. John Rose submits "Dark Angel", another of his sexy celebrity desktops in 1280x resolution to add to your collection.
  
  
• The final installment from the very creative Josh Bishop's "desktop dump" is "G4RetroGreen" This stylish backdrop comes in 1152x resolution.
  
  
• "Uraniumm", a three-d desktop composition by Bradford J. Wiles is difficult to describe. Bradford hints that this shot might be the first mutant alien life form that's ever traveled here from Mars, but that information is classified. Download this one in 1024x and 832x resolutions and decide for yourself.
  
  
• "Xtreme" by Manny Velazquez is another of his beautiful desktops from the "Metaphysical" series. A visit to his website reveals these backdrops to be expressions of Manny's own personal view on spirituality, and is well worth the read for those who want to take a deeper look. This one comes in 1024x resolution.
  
  
• "Ginsing" by Brenda of Noen Design is a nicely done set of desktops to match the recently released appearance Theme "Ginsing", authored by our very own Theme Department Manager Michael Rabe. Comes in 1024x and 800x resolutions.
  
  
• The dream like "Daffododdle" desktop by Welles B. Goodrich makes for an interesting backdrop, and come in 1024x resolution.

News From Around the Web:

Blueskyheart posts a new desktop picture titled: "Moon Under My Ami"

Just a note to let the Res Ex readers know that Steve Sobek has posted 4 new desktops , as well as a special "Steve Jobs Dance of Joy" animated splash for ResEdit!

Flax Creations updates over the weekend with four brand new desktops.

Hoeslyvista updates with 5 new "Nature" desktops and has reworked the site code to comply with the W3C's HTML 4.01 standards.

For a view of some cutting edge web design and graphics visit 2advanced.com.

Dean's Designs has updated with 4 new desktops and a few photos from the NY International Car Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in midtown Manhattan.

The old shroom graphics has grown up and is now called Swiss-X Design. To celebrate, there's a spectacular new photo gallery and two new desktop pictures, as well as the hundreds that have already been available.

One Graphics.com has updated their site and has Icons and a New Desktop available for Download.

The Devil's Desktop has been updated with 11 new desktops and 3 new icon sets

Colheres updates with Two new iconsets and a New desktop picture.

Due to time constraints, computer problems, and the occasion glitch, as well as problems with FTP uploads, iDealMac is, for now, going off-line.

David van Wert announces some two desktop pictures now available at his site: http://www.davidvanwert.com/

Brenda from Noen Design informs us that she has redesigned her website.

Tray's Trove updated 4-15-01 with eight new desktops :)

"My Copland World" Icon set has been just released at the IconHQ.

'Mike Davidson's Mac File Library has been updated with a series of new transparent desktop pictures and OS X ready icons. Don't miss the "Steve Jobs Yin Yang" desktop pict and the heart shaped "Favorites" icon.

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

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