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Today's News by Cletus™ Folder Icon X has been updated to version 1.3.7. Folder Icon X is an Mac OS X-native application providing a simple way to create a customized folder and document icons by placing another icon on a standard plain icon.
 Youpi Key 1.7.5 by Philippe HUPE is the newest version of this Keyboard automation utility. Version 1.7.5 adds the following:
- Improved contextual menu display
- Corrected a problem with viewing help
- Added "Run screensaver" action
- Improve and fix bugs of shortcuts "Simulate menu", "Run script", and "Simulate key."
EarthDesk 1.2.5 is a very cool program that replaces your static desktop picture with ever-changing, beautiful maps of the world with correct sun and moon illumination. The PR states that this latest release fixes a potential crash when using the Robinson projection at zoom levels less than 100% on Mac OS X.
Dock Switcher has been updated fixing a permissions error that sometimes prevented the installation of the preference pane if another preference pane was already installed (x-tunes global). Because of this, the author is providing an incremental number listing of 2.00001 for this release. Hmmm....
The great CMM that allows you to browse Finder windows/folders in popup menus like Dock, Ittec, has been updated. Several bug fixes and enhancements are found in this release.
Pathos Software has released version 1.0 of freeLauncher. It is described as a mini dock for quick access to everything else. I personally have not had time to play with this at all.
Kinda of short today. Sorry, but we got some snow. While not as much as some areas of the country is use to, in our own little way, 7-9 inches is a lot. Plus I have three homes to clear. Ours, my in-laws place and my parents place.
Have a Press Release? Software or General News? Submit it here: Suggestions!
Complete Cable Management For The Home & Office.
Tools of the Trade by Michael Coyle A new theme titled Siemple para X has been released by Kei Kinoshita. It's a simple silver theme with nice looking widgets. Click the preview for full image.  | | Siemple para X 1.5 |
Also in theme news, Mintar has already updated his just released System 7-ish theme titled Gershwix. Are you interested in trying to make or modify a MacOS X theme? A gent named Jason Harris has posted the first installment of "Theme Creation Using ThemePark". When finished, it should be the most comprehensive guide to date.
Astronomy Picture of the Day has posted another spectacular image of a distant galaxy. It's large enough to be used as a desktop picture.
If you use Microsoft products, Jack Kennedy from AmbitiousLemon has posted a page on how to send detailed bug logs to Microsoft in an effort to encourage them to repair problems in their programs. Fortunately, my computer is 100% Microsoft free. :-)
So I bought this new 1G Powerbook (Jealous?) and it occasionally hangs on restart and application launch. I ran disk utilities and repaired permissions, and it still would happen. Then I booted in the 'Verbose Text Mode' (Hold Command-V during boot). As the boot text scrolled by, I noticed it hung up while initializing the ethernet port. I use Airport, not ethernet, so I disabled the port in the Network preference panel. The problem seems to have been solved.
For users of DragThing and iTunes, Edward O'Rourke created a series of Applescripts to control the MP3 player from a DragThing dock! These are pretty slick so give them a look.
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?) - A Chococat makeover was assembled by 'the pinky toe'. It contains a Boot Panel, Login badge, some icons, and even a few Finder window background images. All this for a cute anime kitty?
- This funny Boot Image from Jeffrey Garczewski features his own eyeball staring out of your monitor! Freaky!
- Dude, do ya like Minisry? Elias Sandoval made this MOSS for fans of Waxtrax!
- A very nice Mozilla splash from Anders Martensson features a subtle dragon image.
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Today's News by Cletus™ Back! Although I did not believe I would be back, with the weather turning nasty in Chicago. We got re-routed to Philadelphia and eventually made it home. In any case it was a busy trip, but I did get to spend some time with Mike. Despite the potential for great shopping opportunities, I only bought a hat and picked up another article of clothing somewhere along the line!?
Everyones favorite, Default Folder X, has gone to version 1.6.4. St. Clair's PR says that version 1.6.4 adds a convenient menu to the Dock for quick access to folders, includes the ability to exclude Default Folder X from certain applications, and delivers significant improvements in reliability and performance. You will want to grab the update!
 Proteron LLC sent notification of the release of LiteSwitch X 1.5. This very popular utility provides the user with a simple solution for managing open applications using the keyboard. Version 1.5 offers numerous new features, bug fixes and performance enhancements. Features include added options in the preference pane, scrolly-wheel and key-repeat support, custom color and transparency settings, and support for international unicode.
SwapTop 1.9 allows you to set up a schedule to download, randomly, desktop pictures and to search the WebShots image archive. Version 1.9 adds a Mac OS X screen saver module for displaying archived pictures. It also adds new Dock menu commands, and fixes a potential scheduling bug after sleep.
YazSoft has posted Speed Download 1.9.3. This update provides a lot of enhancements and bug fixes for this downloading enhancement utility.
- SD updated for better performance under 10.2.2.
- Updated the connectivity mechanism.
- Dialup modem connectivity greatly enhanced.
- Changed kb to KB on main window for precision.
- Fixed a small memory leak.
- SD now checks /Library as well as ~/Library for browser plugin and CMM.
- Many other technical fixes and updates.
Dock Switcher 2.0 from Majed Itani is now available. Version 2.0 adds hot keys which allow you to quickly change docks. It also now uses the Apple installer which should fix issues with the system wide menu not appearing. Additionally, each Dock in the system wide menu has its own submenu listing all applications and documents in that dock. Selecting an item from the submenu will open that item. Nice update!
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Tools of the Trade by Michael Coyle Two new Appearance Themes have been added to the archive! This first is from a new kid on the block, Mintar. His Gershwix is a great take on the old System 7. The theme includes a new icon set and Login makeover. Max Rudberg has released his 'Dance Remix' of the BBX Mercury theme. This package has it all: Desktop pictures, icon sets, Boot Image, Boot Panel, the list goes on. The BBX Mercury scheme was originally created by William Bart, and with his blessing, Max ported the silver creation to MacOS X (Be sure to read William's comments in the theme file!). Click the preview for full image.  |  | | Gershwix | BBX Mercury X | Last week I comment on the problems I was having installing the Tequa 1.0 theme. Gordon Byrnes was the first to send me a solution. This has worked for Tequa and several other new themes. You can install the Tequa theme via Duality by making a very simple modification. Simply right-click on the .theme file and select "Show Package Contents". Now, open the "info.plist" file in a text editor or Property list editor (if you have the devtools installed). Scroll down to the very last key in the file (<key>os</key) and change the string under it from "10.2.2" to "10.2" and save the file. Duality should now change the theme without error. For some reason, Duality does not recognize 10.2.x OS identifiers. Rev. Mitcz solved the problem by using to Chameleon, a theme switcher by Gumitech: I just read your most recent post about the Tequa theme for OS X. I, too, had the problem of Duality claiming the theme was incompatible with my current OS, and I've had it complain that the themes were in a "no longer supported format". However, Chameleon by Gumitech seems to do the trick on just about every theme I've downloaded. It works as a system preference panel, and while it's not as fancy as duality, I've never had any problems with it. Just thought I'd pass on the info. The current free beta version is good until December 30th, at which point, they will no doubt put out another version, as has been the case for the past several months of updates).
Last month, Joel Crawley was kind enough to submit his Think Digital desktop picture to ResExcellence, and now he is the winner of this month's drawing for a $50 gift certificate for the fine folks at PowerMax! Someone wins every month. Maybe in December it will be you, but you can't win if you don't give, and it hurts less than giving blood!
Most password generating utilities create something like: a2BD492ZOq. Yeah, that's so easy to remember that I'll just jot it on a PostIt note and stick it to my monitor. A better solution is to use Brennan Young's Applescript utility. It generates passwords that sound like they could be real words, but they're not (for example, gilvur14). Now that I can remember. He explains the process better in the READ ME. Download the script and give it a spin.
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?) - According to a news story, Marijuana may not lead to the use of hard drugs. On that note, take a look at our newest skin called High-Tunes from iBeer. :-)
- Pbdiscool took three Star Wars logos in three colors for a total of nine combinations of Boot Images for your computer.
- Austin Adams calls this Boot Panel "Retro", but to me it just looks cool.
- Based on the Royal Mayan shield, which happens to contain a jaguar, Brian Freeman created this boot image.
Calendar & Appointment Scheduler for Mac OS X
Today's News by Cletus™ I decided to go ahead and squeeze in an update despite the fact that by the time you read this I should be freezing in Chicago. Much different then the last time I was there in the middle of the summer.
We haven't heard a whole lot from Jérome Foucher about software for Mac OS X. But that is about to change as the creator of the A-Dock prepares the dock for Mac OS X. A public beta is just around the corner! So.... how about if I post a quick sneak peak? Remember it is not out yet, and is only for your eyes......
The picture below is of A-Dock set with a black background 80% transparent, and sports the Lawn theme courtesy of Matthew Bice from IHeartNY.com). A-Dock will be released with 4 built-in themes from Matthew : Fire, Lawn, FrostBite and WaterBath. These Themes are the ones found in SkinADock.
Several readers have suggested I mention the Andreas Amann Mail Scripts that are available. If you are using the Apple Mail.app program, you may just be interested in this nice set of freeware scripts. The newest release fixes a few problems with two of the scripts: Export Messages and Create Mailing List. This is a highly popular set of scripts that really helps improve some areas of the program that are lacking..... thus far! I agree with the readers that they deserve a quick mention and try out by all of you.
Folder Icon X has received further improvements for Mac OS X. This program allows one to create custom icons under Mac OS X. - Improve compatibility with Mac OS X 10.2.2.
- Folder Icon X can search for Template folder when it is moved to another place.
- Fixed drag and drop bugs.
DragThing 4.5.2 was released last week. My constant companion on all Mac systems. This is primarily a maintenance release which fixes some problems with the drawers and the Desktop Trash, but it also adds Dutch language support to all versions, and items are now deleted from docks with an accompanying puff of smoke. I missed mentioning this and apologies to all, but I am making up for it now. A full review of the release history can be found here.
Creature 1.1.2 has been released. This update is a bug fix for a crash under Mac OS X 10.1.5 and earlier. John also left me know that Creature 1.2 should be just around the corner, with plug-in support for more actions and skins! Great news.
Have a Press Release? Software or General News? Submit it here: Suggestions!
Polling Place by Michael Coyle  Excuse me. I'll return shortly, I'm going downstairs to cut my hair...
...there, I'm back. I look good AND saved money. :-) 25% of ResEx readers cut their own hair. When I was a young lad, I paid as much as $40 to have my locks layered and feathered. Nowadays, I wouldn't pay 40 cents to buzz the little bit of fuzz remaining on my dome. But that's just me. Friday evening I dragged my fuzz covered head to Oakbrook Mall for the opening of the newest Apple Store. Oakbrook is an open-air mall and the temperature was a freezing 35 degrees! Unbelievably, there were hundreds of people waiting outside in line. Having already been to an Apple Grand Opening in Woodfield, Illinois, I opted to buy a Mrs. Field cookie and do some Christmas shopping while waiting for the line to shorten. Two hours later, there was still a long line. So I went to a restaurant for dinner... One hour later, there was still a line, but it was down to a fifteen minute wait... Eventually, I gained entry to the new store. Compared to the Woodfield store and photos I have seen of other Apple stores, this new one in Oakbrook is small. The other stores have at least 200 feet of shelves stocked with software, but this new store has barely fifty. There is no multimedia stage in the rear of the store, instead, the checkout registers are on the back wall. It's easily half the size of the Woodfield store. Still, the employees were knowledgeable and friendly and I scammed a few more t-shirts and wrapping paper! With 50 Apple stores across the country, it seems everyone has had a chance to visit one. How about you? This week's Polling Place questions asks, "Have you visited an Apple Store?"
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