Kerovan@UMass.BITNET (04/26/88)
Greetings,
The following is a rather interesting press release I recently downloaded
from GEnie. It details a new product which is appaerently intended to be a
replacement for the normal desktop we all know and love.
The press release follows in full:
---------------------------------
Ok, quick! What's the one thing you would give more than anything to see on
your ST? Allright, BESIDES MacPlaymate! What about the desktop of your dreams?
Introducing....
N e o D e s k, the Desktop Alternative
(copyright 1988, Gribnif Software)
So, what's it do? Better ask, "what's it NOT do?" Here is an exhaustive, well,
extensive, well, allright, SHORT list of some of the features:
o All icons used are editible and an icon editor is included AT NO
EXTRA COST! (Does it sound like I'm selling kitchen knives yet?)
o All menu options have keyboard equivalents!
o The normal GEM "rubberbox" that is used to encircle a
number of icons has been rewritten so that the box can
move in any direction, not just to the lower-right!
o Up to seven windows can be open at once, not just four.
o Each window can have a search template associated with it.
If, for instance, you only wanted to see those files
ending in .ACC, you would set this to "*.ACC".
o You will never see a horizontal scroll bar. Why not?
Simply because there are never any files off the right-
hand edge! NeoDesk always draws exactly the number of
files that will fit within the window and wraps to the
next row only if there is not enough room for half of the
next icon.
o The information line in a window not only displays the
number of files and their total size, it also displays the
creation time, date and read/write flag of any file that
is selected by iteself (by single-clicking) or the total
size of any number of selected files.
o When performing a diskcopy, three options are available:
copy files only (same as dragging icon to a window), copy
with format (any format reproduceable with normal GEMDOS
calls), and, if the source and destination formats match,
copy without format. The number of disk swaps is dependent
upon free RAM and is displayed for each type of copy. It
is even possible to use copy with format to make a direct
image of a RAM-disk.
o File copying is performed in a buffer as large as the
currrent free memory. This means faster copying and fewer
disk swaps on single-drive systems!
Ok, like, how much would you pay, eh? But don't answer yet! We also include
the following totally awesome, mega-fantastic features for no extra (don't
believe it for a minute) cost! For all the geeks, er, "applications
engineers", we add:
o Show Information for disks includes the number of sides,
sectors per track, tracks per sector, etc.
o Numerous floppy-disk formats are available, rather than
just one.
o All files on a disk can be deleted without re-formatting
by merely dragging the appropriate icon to the trashcan.
o Up to ten environment strings can be defined. These are
passed to any program executed from NeoDesk. At last! You
can compile from the desktop!
o The parameter tail for TTP programs has been expanded to a
maximum of 128 characters. They are not mapped to upper-
case, as Atari's desktop does.
o Execution of TTP programs can be redirected so that input
normally taken from the console is instead taken from a
file or so that anything that normally goes to the output
portion of the console is written to a file or the printer!
o Install Application WORKS! ('nuf said?)
o If one or more filename icons are highlighted when an
application is opened, their names are automatically
passed as parameters in the command tail, assuming they
all fit, of course.
o Yes, Virginia, it runs batch files!
o Up to ten files of any type can be "dragged" to the
desktop. Once there, they can be executed or displayed
exactly as if they were in a window, so you don't have to
keep going down 5 folders just to get to your favorite program.
o When an application has terminated with any status other
than zero, this number is displayed before returning to
the desktop.
o An option is available to pause after executing TOS and
TTP programs. Too often programs that were written to be
used in a shell do not do this and their output is erased
before the user has a chance to see a bloody thing.
o Pressing the <Control> <Alt> and <Delete> keys
simultaneously will cause the system to perform a "warm-
start". <Control> <Alt> <Undo>, on the other hand,
performs a cold-start.
o A printer queue program is also included. You can drag files
right to the printer icon, go run any GEM program while they
print, and even change their order in the list!
Ok, NOW how much would you pay? I mean, for all this you would expect to
have to pay the poor guy who wrote this "beelyuns and beelyuns" of dollars,
right?? WRONG!! It's yours for just $29.95. That's right, folx. At that
price it could be total trash and still be worth it, so whaddaya say? Did
I mention it's not copy protected? Go ahead, kick the tires a few times,
take 'er for a test drive...
Gribnif Software
P.O Box 350
Hadley, MA 01035
(413) 584-7887
(Call for quantity pricing and club discounts.
Dealers, ask for a free demo copy!)
(MacPlaymate is a product of Griffin Software, which is in no way associated
with Gribnif Software)
------------------------------------------
Well, I already ordered my copy. The person on the phone said they expect to
start shipping May 2nd. (Hey, it's a local call for me :) ). I also asked him
if it would work allright on my Mega-2 and he assured me that it was written
completely with legal calls, and so would always work correctly. Sounds like
a great program to me!
Disclaimer: I am not associated with Gribnif Software. I am merely a
(hopefully, soon-to-be) satisfied customer, and all that rot.
==========================================================================
Kerovan@UMASS.Bitnet "My other program is also a Porsche."Gribnif@UMass.BITNET (Dan Wilga at UMASS Amherst) (04/29/88)
I was surprised to see the press release for NeoDesk appear here recently. Due to its appearance on GEnie, it has also found its way onto Compuserve, Delphi, and the program has been receiving attention on FidoNet for some time now. The press release certainly did succeed in its task. It got people talking. My reasons for writing this letter are twofold: The first is to dispell the idea that the press release I wrote is for a fictitious program that will either never ship or was merely a late April Fools joke. As the person who has put every waking hour of the past 3 1/2 months into its creation, I can assure one and all that it is far from a joke. The program exists and *is* going to ship. Which brings me to my second point. It ships tomorrow (okay, "today"), April 29. Our original shipping date was to have been May 2, but we found that we were in a position to tempt fate and do the impossible; ship early. The first copies will be going-out to the people who have so far ordered the program, as well as several dealers and magazine reviewers. Also, a large number will be available at the Atari fair in Bellport, NY (on Long Island) this coming Sunday, May 1. To be a bit more technical than my lighthearted press release would have allowed, NeoDesk is an alternative to the normal GEM desktop written by Atari. It makes no attempt to rewrite GEM itself, only the "application" which is the desktop that allows you to manipulate files and run other programs. As such, it is subject to all of the normal GEM inadequacies, though it tactfully avoids the more obvious ones, such as the underline bug, for instance. NeoDesk is being marketed by The Computer Bug, Inc. Allthough they are responsible for answering any technical questions received on the order line, I would not be totally against answering the more complex ones that arise from its use here. However, please be reasonable: my mailbox is only so big and if the number and types of improvements suggested by people placing orders so far is any indication, I may get swamped for volunteering. Gribnif Software should also be available in the near future on one or more of the large BBS systems I mentioned earlier, though we are still working on that. Short of repeating the press release (which, for me, would be unethical :-() I can say that it appears in Digest #216, along with the phone number and address for orders. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "In those days, men were real men, Dan Wilga women were real women, and small furry creatures from Alpha Gribnif@UMASS.BITNET Centauri were REAL small furry Gribnif%UMASS.BITNET@Forsythe. creatures from Alpha Centauri" Stanford.EDU
Allanon@cup.portal.com (05/24/88)
I bought a copy of NeoDesk at COMDEX, and I must say, BUY THIS PROGRAM!! It does everything it claims to do, and at $30, you cannot afford to be without it. You will NEVER go back to the standard desktop. What more could I say? Arnie Elkins Allanon@cup.portal.com sun!portal!cup.portal.com!allanon