hod@tybalt.caltech.edu (Hod Greeley) (04/14/87)
Followup-To: Distribution: Pardon me if I'm rehashing something that has been discussed before, but I'm curious. A friend and I were just looking at a prototype Mac II and I couldn't help but wonder why the icons used look so much nicer than the standard Amiga ones. This isn't restricted to the Mac either. I hate to admit it, but I like the Atari 1040 icons better too. Obviously, the aesthetic value of an icon is a matter of personal taste, and in no way relates to it's functionality, but one has to admit that spiffy icons can contribute a great deal to the image of a machine. For all it's vaunted graphics ability (and don't get me wrong, as usual, I think the Amiga is a great computer), the icons just seem second rate. Is it just a hardware problem, or do people not really care? :-) Hod Greeley hod@tybalt.caltech.edu disclaimer: You don't know who I work for anyway.
lachac@topaz.UUCP (04/14/87)
In article <2332@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> hod@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (Hod Greeley) writes: >Pardon me if I'm rehashing something that has been discussed before, >but I'm curious. A friend and I were just looking at a prototype >Mac II and I couldn't help but wonder why the icons used look so much >nicer than the standard Amiga ones. This isn't restricted to the Mac >either. I hate to admit it, but I like the Atari 1040 icons better too. >I think the Amiga is a great computer), the icons just seem second rate. >Is it just a hardware problem, or do people not really care? :-) > That's basically the reason. The default icons on the workbench are horrible. Most people don't take the time to make nice icons for their program. Marauder II and Scribble are two disks that off the top of my head have nice icons. I don't think the ST or the Mac 2 share the ability of a totally different icon when the file is selected. I could be wrong so just correct me and not flame, I burn easy... The Amiga has some really nice icons, you just haven't been looking in the right places. I have tons of icons from other services (Plink, CIS etc.) Maybe I should post to comp.binaries.amiga???? -- "Truth is false and logic lost..." - Neil Peart (who at the time didn't realize he was talking about RU) lachac@topaz.rutgers.edu <--------OR--------> {seismo|ames}!rutgers!topaz!lachac
carolyn@cbmvax.UUCP (04/16/87)
In article <2332@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> hod@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP(Hod Greeley) writes: >[] >For all it's vaunted graphics ability (and don't get me wrong, as usual, >I think the Amiga is a great computer), the icons just seem second rate. > >Is it just a hardware problem, or do people not really care? :-) We do care how the icons look, but were generally forced to follow certain design rules: - all vertical lines double width (for clarity on composite monitors) - all icons outlined in a contrasting color (for normal and selected visibility with user's default colors) In addition, the icons are generally kept pretty small so that several workbench drawers can be open at once with all icons visible. However, I agree that many of the icons could be improved even within these constraints. I would be interested in knowing which icons people like and dislike. But please don't be too cruel... I designed many of the new 1.2 icons. I'd also be interested in suggestions for replacement images. Better email them to me or we'll have a bunch of complaints from people who don't want to read about icon images. I'll post a summary. In addition (are you listening Fred ?), I think a Fish Disk full of public domain icons would be a great idea. If Fred is interested, perhaps we could all send him our favorite personal icons. I've got a really nice disk icon (with upside down checkmark label) and a great old-fashioned typewriter that needs a program. -- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Carolyn Scheppner -- CBM >>Amiga Technical Support<< UUCP ...{allegra,caip,ihnp4,seismo}!cbmvax!carolyn PHONE 215-431-9180 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
keithd@cadovax.UUCP (04/17/87)
In article <1684@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> carolyn@cbmvax.UUCP (Carolyn Scheppner CATS) writes: > We do care how the icons look, but were generally forced to follow >certain design rules: > > - all vertical lines double width > (for clarity on composite monitors) WONDERFUL :-( How are we going to shake the 'toy computer' stigma by catering to cheapo monitors instead of ones the machine was really designed for? If you have to have a 'design rule', how about: - all horizontal lines double width (for minimum flicker in hi-res) or - make medium res icons slightly tall and skinny so they don't look so comicly short and fat in hi-res Though I'm not crazy about the idea of a 'rule' here at all, at least these seem to hold us back a little less than the other one. > I would be interested in knowing which icons people like and dislike. >But please don't be too cruel... I designed many of the new 1.2 icons. >I'd also be interested in suggestions for replacement images. I don't care too much for the 'drawer' icons. I prefer the 'folder' style on the Mac and GEM, or maybe even something else. I suppose a sexy enough drawer icon could change my mind though. Somebody's got one that 'opens' when you click on it, all I can say to that one is 'big deal'. Gotsta do better than that. > I've >got a really nice disk icon (with upside down checkmark label) and >a great old-fashioned typewriter that needs a program. I've seen the disk icon, and agree it looks real good. Got to get the 1.2 Format program to put it on disks instead of the old one. Keith Doyle # {ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax}!trwrb!cadovax!keithd # cadovax!keithd@ucla-locus.arpa
fnf@mcdsun.UUCP (04/17/87)
In article <1684@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> carolyn@cbmvax.UUCP (Carolyn Scheppner CATS) writes: > In addition (are you listening Fred ?), I think a Fish Disk full of >public domain icons would be a great idea. If Fred is interested, >perhaps we could all send him our favorite personal icons. I've >got a really nice disk icon (with upside down checkmark label) and >a great old-fashioned typewriter that needs a program. Yes, definitely! I've occasionally released a few icons as I stumbled across them (despite the fact that most of my disks are for CLI users I *do* know what an icon is :-). Probably the best way to submit them, considering that they are usually relatively small, is to uuencode them and mail them to me. If you did not personally develop the icon, please try to let me know who did and a phone number for the developer so I can verify that it is ok to use it. Thanks. -Fred -- = Drug tests; just say *NO*! (Moto just announced new drug testing program) = = Fred Fish Motorola Computer Division, 3013 S 52nd St, Tempe, Az 85282 USA = = seismo!noao!mcdsun!fnf (602) 438-5976 =
hutch@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU (Jim Hutchison) (04/20/87)
In article <1489@cadovax.UUCP> keithd@cadovax.UUCP (Keith Doyle) writes: >In article <1684@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> (Carolyn Scheppner CATS) writes: >> - all vertical lines double width >> (for clarity on composite monitors) > >WONDERFUL :-( How are we going to shake the 'toy computer' stigma by >catering to cheapo monitors instead of ones the machine was really >designed for? Toy computer? That is something you have to do for any composite monitor. It is very helpful when playing in analog land (NTSC) also. On monitors with a low dot pitch, you need wide vertical lines to improve your ability to distinguish the line. Yes, I am saving up for a nice Sony. Artistry is the problem at hand. Creativity is not all that predominant in controlled societies :-). The icons for the "Jay Miner Pics" are very pleasing (mountains with clouds). Scanners and DpaintI/II/? can perhaps be used through the clipboard, although I must admit to be in the dark as to how (sorry, *please* no non-instructive flames). -- Jim Hutchison UUCP: {dcdwest,ucbvax}!sdcsvax!hutch ARPA: Hutch@sdcsvax.ucsd.edu Disklame'r: One greater than the greatest signature representable with 184 symbols.
upl@puff.WISC.EDU (Future Unix Gurus) (04/21/87)
In article <3019@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU> hutch@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU (Jim Hutchison) writes: > Scanners and DpaintI/II/? can perhaps >be used through the clipboard, although I must admit to be in the dark as >to how (sorry, *please* no non-instructive flames). > No flame, just a suggestion. I make Icons using Dpaint and a wonderful little PD utility called Zapicon that was floating around a while ago. Zapicon makes an icon from a Dpaint brush file .I have another one (that I haven't used yet) that is supposed to join 2 icons together into a selected/deselected pair. One warning on Zapicon. I am told (by a source who is sometimes right on, and sometimes way off, so take this with a grain of salt) that when brushes get over a certain size, Dpaint shifts to run-length encoding. Zapicon doesn't know what to do with that. Jeff Kesselman uhura!captain@puff.cs.wisc.edu
qix@mit-prep.ARPA (Ed Puckett) (04/22/87)
In article <1684@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> carolyn@cbmvax.UUCP (Carolyn Scheppner CATS) writes: > I would be interested in knowing which icons people like and dislike. >But please don't be too cruel... I designed many of the new 1.2 icons. >I'd also be interested in suggestions for replacement images. I especially liked the EMACS icon, and those for MORE and SETMAP. They were a welcome change from the two-dimensionality of previous icons. As for suggestions, adding slight shadows to an icon gives it more "substance". Doing this to the Preferences and NewCLI icons produced an immediate improvement, it seemed to me. On a similar subject, here is how my pointer is currently set. Its shadow adds an interesting effect. (Guess I'm just a shadow-person!) * # # * is red # # # is green + # # + is black + + # + + + -Ed Puckett.
blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) (04/22/87)
in article <1489@cadovax.UUCP>, keithd@cadovax.UUCP says: > In article <1684@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> carolyn@cbmvax.UUCP (Carolyn Scheppner CATS) writes: >> I've >>got a really nice disk icon (with upside down checkmark label) and >>a great old-fashioned typewriter that needs a program. > > I've seen the disk icon, and agree it looks real good. Got to get the > 1.2 Format program to put it on disks instead of the old one. Is this possible? Is there some hack that could be done to change the default disk icon? Also, is there some way to tell Format _not_ to put a trashcan icon on the disk (when run from the WB, I know it's possible from the cli). My Workbench trashcan is a cute animated icon (a litte monster pops up from a beat up trashcan), but when Format copies it to the new disk, it really messes up the icon. I'd rather have no icon than a broken one. Is there some Tool Types that can be set in the Format icon? Or can someone tell me where to hack Format with a disk zap program? -- Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland UUCP Address: {ihnp4,decvax}!decwrl!esunix!blgardne Alternate: {ihnp4,seismo}!utah-cs!utah-gr!uplherc!esunix!blgardne
kent@xanth.UUCP (Kent Paul Dolan) (04/27/87)
Summary:I'd liek a little help with the windows, too In article <66@esunix.UUCP> blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) writes: > Is this possible? Is there some hack that could be done to change the >default disk icon? > > Also, is there some way to tell Format _not_ to put a trashcan icon on >the disk (when run from the WB, I know it's possible from the cli). My >Workbench trashcan is a cute animated icon (a litte monster pops up from >a beat up trashcan), but when Format copies it to the new disk, it >really messes up the icon. I'd rather have no icon than a broken one. Is >there some Tool Types that can be set in the Format icon? Or can someone >tell me where to hack Format with a disk zap program? In the same vein, is there some workbench oriented way to copy the snapshot location of the main disk window when copying a disk to ram:? I get all the icons in their right locations, and all the other windows come out right, but I always have to resize, reshape, and relocate the main window to fit the icons when I copy my workbench to ram: to run; somewhere the snapshot information for this window is getting lost. This is a real nuisance, because I like my workbench window to be tall and skinny, with lots of nice stuff like sclock and vt100 and gfxmem icons in it, and have it fit side by side with a tall skinny system window, which also has lots of neat junk in it, rather than ahveing them come up blocky and overlapped. I can get everything but the main window to stay right on a copy, but that is always messed up. No big deal, but can anybody tell me a (non-programming) way to fix it automatically, rather than by hand? Kent. -- The Contradictor Member HUP (Happily Unemployed Programmers) // Yet // Another Back at ODU to learn how to program better (after 25 years!) \\ // Happy \// Amigan! UUCP : kent@xanth.UUCP or ...{sun,cbosgd,harvard}!xanth!kent CSNET : kent@odu.csnet ARPA : kent@xanth.cs.odu.edu Voice : (804) 587-7760 USnail: P.O. Box 1559, Norfolk, Va 23501-1559 Copyright 1987 Kent Paul Dolan. How about if we keep the human All Rights Reserved. Author grants free race around long enough to see retransmission rights, recursively only. a bit more of the universe? P.S. It would really bum me out to see the planet trashed; could we find some other neat way for the kids at the Kremlin and the Pentagon to get their kicks? I've got three kids of my own who'd make great asteroid tug jockeys, if the military Hottentots need a big useful project that costs a lot so they can still be wined and dined by the contractor types. Hate to ruin anybodys life style, wish they'd think extend me the same privilege.
page@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu (Bob Page) (04/27/87)
Any possible way to change the icon for the RAM disk?
..Bob
--
Bob Page, U of Lowell CS Dept. page@ulowell.{uucp,edu,csnet} lachac@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU (Gerard Lachac) (04/28/87)
In article <1225@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu> page@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu (Bob Page) writes: >Any possible way to change the icon for the RAM disk? > >..Bob >-- >Bob Page, U of Lowell CS Dept. page@ulowell.{uucp,edu,csnet} In your startup-sequence add these few lines before you loadwb: copy df0:disk.info ram:disk.info Or if you have a different .info for a ramdisk (like me) you can copy df0:ram.info ram:disk.info This also works with vd0: if you have it... -- "Truth is false and logic lost..." - Neil Peart (who at the time didn't realize he was talking about RU) lachac@topaz.rutgers.edu <--------OR--------> {seismo|ames}!rutgers!topaz!lachac
rgm@utcsri.UUCP (04/28/87)
In article <683@puff.WISC.EDU> upl@puff.WISC.EDU (Future Unix Gurus) writes: >No flame, just a suggestion. I make Icons using Dpaint and a wonderful little >PD utility called Zapicon that was floating around a while ago. >Zapicon makes an icon from a Dpaint brush file .I have >another one (that I haven't used yet) that is supposed to join 2 icons >together into a selected/deselected pair. One warning on Zapicon. -------------------------------------- Is there any way of doing this from the usual icon eds around here ? If no.. can someone mail me a copy of a good util that will help me do this. Also , If anyone can send a copy of this Zapicon, I'd appreciate it thanks.. ============================================================================ Gideon Sheps (or Cheops, as my Egyptian relatives spell it) I am not a number !... ...I am a free variable ! gbs@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu /// @utorgpu.bitnet/EARN/NetNorth \\\/// I don't need a disclamer 'cause nobody listens to me. \\\/ ============================================================================
carolyn@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (Carolyn Scheppner CATS) (04/28/87)
In article <66@esunix.UUCP> blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) writes: > > Is this possible? Is there some hack that could be done to change the >default disk icon? You can edit the Disk.info with the IconEditor. One warning though. If you copy your new Disk.info to another disk, reboot before trying to reposition the drawers and icons on the disk. Otherwise, some type of system confusion between what's ON the disk and what the foreign Disk.info contains can cause files and drawers to disappear in a puff of smoke when you attempt to re-arrange them. Rebooting and the subsequent loadwb seem to remove the confusion. (That all sounds real technical, eh?) Note that changing a disk's Disk.info will NOT change what picture FORMAT installs on a disk. The plain vanilla disk and trashcan images are hardcoded in the Format command. If you want to play around and you have data for an replacement image of the same size, you could use a hex file editor and change the image bits in Format. I don't have time to look for them but this should help you find them: UWORD diskBits[] = { 0x0000,0x0000,0x3FFC,0x3F00,0x3FFC,0x3FC0,0x3FFC,0x3FF0, (6 more lines of data, then last line:) 0xC000,0x0003,0xC000,0x0003,0xC000,0x0003,0xFFFF,0xFFFF }; UWORD trashCanBits[] = { 0x0000,0x0000,0x0000,0x0000,0x0000,0x0000,0x0000,0x0000, 0x0000,0x3FFF,0xFFFF,0xFFF0,0x3FFF,0xFFFF,0xFFF0,0x3FFF, (9 more lines of data, then last line:) 0xFFFF,0xFFFC,0xFFFF,0xFFFF,0xFFFC,0x3FFF,0xFFFF,0xFFF0 }; (Note - If you want to convert an Icon you've drawn to hex data, you can use my Icon2C program on one of the recent Fish Disks) > Also, is there some way to tell Format _not_ to put a trashcan icon on >the disk (when run from the WB, I know it's possible from the cli). No. WorkBench wants (and possibly requires) a Trashcan directory. If you initiated the Format from Workbench, it assumes the disk will be used in the Workbench environment and places a Trashcan on it. -- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Carolyn Scheppner -- CBM >>Amiga Technical Support<< UUCP ...{allegra,caip,ihnp4,seismo}!cbmvax!carolyn PHONE 215-431-9180 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
4526P@NAVPGS.UUCP (04/29/87)
In <1225@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu> Bob Page
( page@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu ) asks:
>Any possible way to change the icon for the RAM disk?
If the first thing you do with the Ram-Disk is to write disk.info to
it, that icon will be used rather than the default.
LT Scott A. Norton, USN
Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, CA 93943-5018
4526P@NavPGS.BITNET
carolyn@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (Carolyn Scheppner CATS) (04/30/87)
In article <4685@utcsri.UUCP> gbs@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu (Gideon Sheps) writes: >In article <683@puff.WISC.EDU> upl@puff.WISC.EDU (Future Unix Gurus) writes: >>[] >>I have another one (that I haven't used yet) that is supposed to join 2 >>icons together into a selected/deselected pair... > -------------------------------------- > > Is there any way of doing this from the usual icon eds around here ? >[] > Also , If anyone can send a copy of this Zapicon, I'd appreciate it > My IconMerge on the 1.2 Extras disk will merge 2 icons created with IconEd. Make sure you save both icons as the same size or you'll get leftover pixels when you select or deselect the merged icon. ZapIcon is on the release IFF disk. Note that on our first IFF release, ZapIcon had some Xmodem trash at the end and AmigaDOS would not load it. I corrected this for the second release. (Current IFF is third release) -- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Carolyn Scheppner -- CBM >>Amiga Technical Support<< UUCP ...{allegra,caip,ihnp4,seismo}!cbmvax!carolyn PHONE 215-431-9180 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=