delaney@wnre.aecl.CDN (Grant Delaney) (09/25/87)
REVIEW OF IIGS SYSTEM DISK VERSION 3.1 9/
21/87
By Joe Jaworski [73307,310]
I was fortunate enough to get a copy of the yet-to-be-released IIGS System Disk
Version 3.1 (That's right 3.1). If you've ever used the Macintosh Finder
(especially on a Mac II), you will see your IIGS act and feel like the newest
color Macintosh!
What's On The Disk
The System disk comes with ProDOS 8 (V1.4) and ProDOS 16 (V1.3). There is no
more "Desktop" program- it has been enhanced considerably and now carries the
file name "FINDER" just like the Mac.
The Finder (Desktop) is in color. At first glance, you may think you're in the
old LAUNCHER (which by the way is still on the disk). The icons that are shown
for the devices are very detailed; including a tiny picture of a RAM board for
/RAM5 device (Which now works properly!). a 5-1/4" disk is shown as two icons-
a
picture of the disk drive (including a "red" activity light) and an icon of a
diskette. You can "unmount" the 5-1/4 inch diskette by dragging it to the trash
can. Since there is no more "Check Drives" command in the SPECIAL pull-down
menu, you simply re-mount a 5-1/4" diskette by double-clicking on the picture o
f
the diskette drive.
The trash can must be emptied just like the Mac. You can double-click on the
trash and open its window, and see all the files you deleted! You can then move
them back to any active device if you like. The trash gets emptied automaticall
y
when you leave the Finder.
A new "Color" menu bar allows you to color-code your icons in anyway you choose
.
You have 16 colors to work with (Dithered), and you can change both the
foreground and background colors of folders or any file.
There is a new sub-folder in the System Folder called ICONS. This file is loade
d
with the actual icon information by file type. What this does is "draw" a custo
m
icon for a particular file type, and saves its Launcher prefix. What this means
folks, is if you want to run an application you just click on the application's
file: The application is loaded and then your file is loaded and you're ready t
o
go. The Icon folder contains the icons for Basic.System and AppleWorks.
AppleWorks icons are unique for the three types of files (i.e., the spreadsheet
looks like a little spreadsheet, etc.). I recently purchased the new GS BASIC
from APDA, which included its own icon folder to mark and launch GSB files. I
imagine that most software suppliers will be suppling icon folders to launch
their particular file types from the Finder.
When windows and colors are set/opened, the Finder remembers their size, shape,
color, and order. The Finder creates a file called "ICON.DATA" on every folder,
so it remembers where and how you placed your windows the next time you boot up
or re-open that window. You can arrange your programs anyway you like, such as
putting your most frequently run programs at the top of the windows, plus
color-coding them. The Finder even has an option of hiding its ICON.DATA files
so they don't show up in folders!
Disadvantages? There is a lot more disk activity going on now, so a fast hard
disk is a must. Likewise, I kinda got attached to the old SELECTOR, which is no
w
gone. You also need to drag disks to the trash can to remove them, or they stay
there "dimmed" just like on the Mac.
All in all, the new System Disk and Finder is a new generation of user
friendliness for the IIGS owner, and a giant step in making the IIGS the
personal computer of choice.
- Joe Jaworski gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn ) (09/26/87)
In article <396*delaney@wnre.aecl.cdn> delaney@wnre.aecl.CDN (Grant Delaney) writes: > REVIEW OF IIGS SYSTEM DISK VERSION 3.1 9/ >The trash can must be emptied just like the Mac. If you just keep working, the trash can eventually empties itself. >When windows and colors are set/opened, the Finder remembers their size, shape, >color, and order. The Finder creates a file called "ICON.DATA" on every folder, >so it remembers where and how you placed your windows the next time you boot up >or re-open that window. The file is FINDER.DATA, and whether it is created is configurable. If you don't have a large disk, you might want to disable this feature. > - Joe Jaworski It *is* pretty nice. In case you were wondering, IIGS System Disk 3.1 does work with the old ROM. Another really useful feature is the ability to obtain "INFO" about any selected file. (Analogous to UNIX "ls -l", in a sense.) An important point is that the new FINDER works in 16-bit mode (ProDOS-16).
ranger@ecsvax.UUCP (10/01/87)
Just a note to those who are interested, Apple passed out an icon editor for the new finder at a dinner for developers on the night before the AppleFest trade show started. The editor will be available from APDA soon. It allows you to easily create and edit custom icons for programs and data files under the gs finder. Rick Fincher ranger@ecsvax