6/29/98
Your faith is Apple Computer is outstanding! Eighty percent of you believe OS X will see the light of day.
Microsoft has been dominating the headlines lately, but it's tough to tell if this company is a friend or foe of the Mac. For years I kept my Mac 100% Microsoft free, but my company's recent purchase of Word 98 for my Powerbook, and my own recent switch to Explorer as my main browser, has me questioning my software prejudices. This week's Polling Place asks, "How many Microsoft programs are on your computer?".
The User Contributions Page receives five new files today. Rocky Bomgaars sent a nice looking "About This Mac"; and I hope you like Garfield the Cat, because Mark Vasquez has submitted four various splash screen replacements featuring this lazy feline.
Mathemaesthetics updated Resourcerer to version 2.2. For those of you who own version 2, you can download the free update. If you have never tried this excellent replacement for ResEdit, download the demo.
If I had a million dollars, I would try to be a cool guy like Steve Wozniak. Mariel Lohninger dropped a note about Wozniak's Web site and the WozCam. Steve is so cool, he has a T1 link to his home. Of course, he can't fill that big a pipe, so he donates the extra bandwidth to a local school.
Whenever I help friends set up their new Macintosh computers, the only additional utility I install is DragThing. That's why ResExcellence is proud to welcome them as a sponsor. If you've never seen it in action, stop by their web site to check it out. James Thomson, the program's author, works at Apple's European Software R&D Group right alongside Turlough O'Connor, the author of another fine Mac utility, FinderPop. What do you think these two guys talk about at lunch? :)
6/26/98
 Two authors who have written some amazing Mac software, Alessandro Levi Montalcini and Alberto Ricci, have teamed up to create an outstanding new program - Icon Tool CCM. You really have to goto the web site to see and appreciate everything this CCM does. It also supports icon plug ins, so I'm sure we'll have some new items for the User Contributions page. :)
John Baltutis delivered a quirky Progress Bar Startup Screen to the User Contributions page.
Late one night, while digging through the wastebaskets in the marketing department, I uncovered a scap of paper outlining a July promotion that ResExcellence is having with a software company involving a major Macintosh utility. Hmmm...
Replace an icon with a picture in a dialog box. This is really a fun little edit that lets you replace one of the three standard System cicn's with any PICT. (continued...)
6/24/98
 Ryan Gould sent some snazzy Explorer icons, and a great new "Waiting" cursor. The cursor has matching ID numbers for Explorer, but I also dropped it into my Finder. (User Contributions)
Anther item was submitted by Allen from PowerOnMac. He sent a nice set of Outlook Express replacement icons.
 Kris was asking where the Toolbar icons are stashed in Netscape's Browser. They're in Netscape's "Essential Files" folder, in the Netscape Resources file. Open it with ResEdit to see all the cool icons.
Use your browser as a universal document viewer. This edit doesn't involve ResEdit in a big way, but in a pinch, it can solve a big problem. (continued...)
6/21/98
In the Polling Place, it looks like a statistical tie as to whether people want to keep their windows square. The download statistics show people by the thousands are trying the new 2.0 Schemes. I wonder how many of the users keep them for more than a week?
Since the failed Copland OS, Mac users have suffered though many broken promises waiting for Apple to provide a truly modern OS. This week's Polling Place asks, "Do you believe Apple will deliver OS X?".
Take a look at the User Contributions to see the Internet Explorer make over that Samo Umer has created It swaps out the splash screen and many icons to give Explorer a more Maclike look.
Info-mac just posted the latest version of Peek-A-Boo, a utility that provides a multitude of information on running processes, even hidden applications. This is very useful to keep track of those resource hogs. For example, even when it's in the background, Internet Explorer is monopolizing the processor. I wonder what it is doing? Hmm.....
Hello Apple! Ever since ResExcellence has opened, I have noticed a daily hit from Apple's domain in the web server statistics. I was vain enough to believe someone there may be enjoying the site, but the cynic in me has come to the realization that it's probably an Apple Legal Scout perusing the page, looking for some illicit pictures of some not-yet-released OS. Have no fear you legal eagle, the only crime you'll see committed on these pages, is the ending of a sentence in a preposition.
Change the word "Trash" in SpeedDoubler 8.1. Previously, we changed the name of the Trash on the Desktop, but if you erase items using SpeedDoubler's Speed Erase, it still calls it Trash in the dialog box. Michael Addison sent in this edit to rename Trash in Speed Doubler. (Continued...)
6/19/98
Another great source for Progress Bar Startup Screens is maintained by Leo Prietoat of IM-Studios. He just added two new images for the G3 Powerbook and iMac. (Thanks Gilles Durupt).
Kevan Staples asks,"When pasting in a new Progress Bar Startup Screen, does it have to be set to any particular resolution? Could it be 8, 16 or 32 bit? I have tried all types and they all seem to work, but I was wondering if there is a protocol for these resources."
ResExcellence replies: The original Apple image (ID#-16506) is indexed to 22 colors, but I have used 24 bit images without any trouble. If your system is set to display 256 colors, you may notice the startup image draw on the screen a little more slowly as it is dithered down.
The User Contributions page as two new additions from Maury McCown, and the Resource/Template Archive has an additional item.
Replace the spinning animations in Netscape and Explorer. Throbbers - the name given to the little spinning animations that run when your web browser is busy fetching a page When Mark Friedlander asked how to change them, I never realized I would stumble upon a little cottage industry. (continued...)
6/17/98
 One more major addition has been made to ResExcellence:
The User Contributions Page. Submissioned graphics and other resources will be posted here. In addition to the Splash Screens, take a look at the replacement Explorer document icons I whipped up.
If you would like to see a great selection of progress bar startup screens, pay a visit to MOSS, The Mac OS Splash Screen page. View and download over two dozen high quality replacement screens.
Felix Velarde reminded me that you can set Eudora to immediately deliver threaded messages. Open Settings and scroll down to Threading. Set the Wait Time Until Filtering to zero seconds.
ResExcellence's roving reporter, Marlon Dreason has delivered an excellent article on ResEdit and Templates.
A Simpler Way to Add Fonts to the Appearance Extension. Previously, ResExcellence outlined a method for adding fonts other than Chicago and Charcoal to the Appearance Manager. Nicolas Ojeda Bar sent in a trick for using a TEMPLATE to make it even easier!
6/15/98
According to last week's Polling Place, 95% of ResExcellence readers have performed at least one edit. I wonder what's stopping the other 5%?
Kaleidoscope 2 is an amazing program, but I gotta tell ya, I can't use most of the new schemes. On my desktop, I usually have several windows open at one time, and efficiently organizing them is next to impossible with those funky shaped schemes. Am I simply a crabby old man, unbending in my opinions? This week's Polling Place asks, "Should windows be square?" (Vote in the sidebar!)
On a related topic, Mihai Parparita of GUI-Central, has released clip2cicn. It puts the clipboard contents into a cicn. It's intended to get around ResEdit's limitation of not being able to easily create cicns with custom palettes. Although this is focused towards the creators of Kaleidoscope 2.0 schemes, it could be useful to others too.
Do you have a folder full of photos with gerenic icons? Then Abbott Software has a new utility for you to try. DropIcon will batch process a group of pictures dragged onto it, and give them all custom icons representing snapshots of the pictures.
Before DropIcon
 |
After DropIcon
 |
An often requested addition to ResExcellence is a page that describes the various resources in a file. This week, witness the unveiling of the Resource and Template Archive. Every couple of days, I'll add descriptions of various resources, and include editing templates when appropriate.
MacPlaza is continuing its series of "Hints & Tips for Beginners". The fourth article, "Start(up) the Day with a Smile", looks at StartupScreens and what else you can do to your Mac while booting.
Adding a Command Key for the Tasks Window in Eudora. One of the best features of Eudora 4.0 is the ability to download mail in the background. (Continued...)
6/12/98
This month's MacAddict, with iMac on the cover, has a special program on the CD that lets you order Resorcerer for only $88. This is an outstanding deal for a program that makes ResEdit look like stone knives and bear skins.
Download a demo of Resorcerer 2.2 and check it out.
Today, ResExcellence will start featuring individual resources. Most updates will have a description, perhaps an example, and include any templates for that particular resource. We'll start with cursors.
 The CURS resource contains the black and white cursors for an application. Learn which cursors you can edit in the Finder, System, and other programs. Also covered are Colored Cursors.(continued...)
Don't forget, your suggestions are what keep this site going. Send in your ideas today.
6/10/98
Acouple of additions to ResExcellence make their debut today. We now have a Site Map to make it easier to find articles, exclusive offers, and get an overview of the site, and a Search engine is now in the left border of this page. These new items, in conjuction with the Previous Edits page, allow you to quickly find your way around the site.
Unfortunately, adding these two new items monopolized my time, so a new resource edit will be a little late in coming.
Thanks for your patience, and enjoy the new features.
6/8/98
As expected, the results of last week's Polling Place were inconclusive. Half of the respondents use their floppy less than a couple of times per month -a high enough number that I believe Apple was justified leaving the floppy out of the iMac.
As I sit here updating the site, I wonder how many people actually perform the posted edits. Some readers may come for the news, some may come to see what can be accomplished with ResEdit, and some read and perform the edits. How many are voyeurs, and how many are performers? This week's Polling Place asks the question, "Have you ever performed a ResExcellence Edit?".
 Arlo Rose has put his mark on the MacOS. While at Apple, he led the Human Interface group and created the Platinum appearance. Now he's with Greg Landweber on the Kalidoscope team, and has created the new Schemes released with version 2.0. A little known program of his is EudoraThing. EudoraThing colors the reply text in your Eudora email. For example:
>> Hello Michael, How is everything at ResExcellence?
>Great! I hope readers visit my advertisers, their patronage make this site possible.
Oh yeah? Well I better go visit one of them right now. :)
You can change the text colors by editing CLUT 1000 with ResEdit.
Remove the Preferences menu item from the Finder. At the computer lab where Mike Hadley works, the students keep changing the Finder Preferences. Since our new Finder Template makes modifying the menus so easy, Mike wants to know how to remove the Preference menu item. (continued...)
6/5/98
Pictured above is my Netscape menu bar. Notice that the two icons for Bookmarks and Window are gone! Vic Wertz sent in the hot tip leading to the NukeIconMenu Extension. It's free, and you can download from the Software page.
The good folks at Mathemaesthetics have posted an update for bringing Resorcerer up to version 2.2. The update requires that the original CD is mounted, so make sure you have it close by.
Several ResEx'ers have sent me customized splash screens that they've created for various past edits. They're beautiful enough that they deserve to be posted, so I've added another item on the ResExcellence ToDo list: a page for user contributions.
Since there are already several excellent sites for items like Startup Screens, Desktop Pictures, and icons; please limit your submissions to the truly unique items the require the use of ResEdit to install. Attach them to an email with your name (and optional URL), and send them to me.
The Help menu item certainly is a cause for great concern in OS8. Everyone wants to rename it, make it an icon, and now move it back to the right side of the menu bar! On the Software page is Helpless, an extension to move the help menu back to the correct, er, I mean right side of the menu bar.
Put the "Check Mail" menu item back in Communicator's Browser. In older versions of Communicator, there was a
menu item/command key to check your mail. Sure you can click the little envelope icon, but PowerUsers love command keys.
(continued...)
6/3/98
As a registered user of PopUpFolder, I received this email from Highware Software:
As you are all well aware of, Highware has been trying to get this great little utility compatible with OS 8 for several months. But unfortunately, to date, we have not been successful.
The delay has been a result of the original programmer/developer of PopupFolder not being able to work on the program due to major health reasons. And as simple a product as PopupFolder may seem, it is in fact a very complicated utility for which Highware has not been able to find a new programmer/developer. Although we are continuing to try and get PopupFolder compatible, we cannot give a committed date or even guarantee completion.
For now, we can only refer you to some other utilities, shareware or not, which will offer some of the features of PopupFolder:
FinderPop
PowerMenu
I'd say this would be the last nail in the coffin of PopUpFolder. FinderPop is one of the best new Control Panels to have been spawned for OS8, and I highly recommend it. You can't beat the price - Free!
MacPlaza has posted the third installment of "Hints & Tips for
Beginners - A Picture is Worth a Thousand Desktops". It covers everything you ever wanted to know about Desktop Pictures.
There are several requests that consistently appear in the ResExcellence mailbox:
Can the white color behind the name of a desktop icon be made transparent? Not yet, but Reality has a report that states this feature will be present in OS 8.5 due at the end of summer.
In Netscape's browser, can you get rid of the Bookmark and Window icons in the menu bar? I've looked into this and can't find a way to do it. I thought there was once an extension, or patch to fix it, but I don't know what became of it. If you know where I can find it, please let me know.
Can you tell me how to get around my programs request for a serial number? Finally, a question I know the answer to! Buy the program, register your shareware.
Part two of our interveiw with Robert Mathews of Tiger Technologies. Read more about the business of being a shareware author, and find out how Robert feels about Apple and Steve Jobs.
6/1/98
Last week's Polling Place results have been tabulated, and an overwhelming number of ResExcellence readers are running MacOS8. Not a surprise really since we all know ResEx'ers live on the bleeding edge.
There has been so much discussion about the iMac not having a floppy, that this week's Poll asks, "How often do you use your floppy?". The kids have a Starmax clone and they've never stuck in a floppy. My Mother-in-law has an LCIII, and I'm sure she thinks the floppy slot is for ventilation! My Powerbook floppy sits on a shelf while a VST hard disk fills the expansion bay. So how often do you use your floppy?
Many emails have come in stating the edit to remove the italic from the alias font is working fine under OS 8.1. I repeated the edit on a clean system, and it still doesn't work on my PB 3400. Odd...
An Interview with Robert Mathews of Tiger Technologies.
Part I
I've always been fascinated by shareware authors, and Robert Mathews, the author of Window Monkey and several others, has been one of my favorites. What does it take to be a successful shareware author?
previous news pages... . |
