davel@booboo.SanDiego.NCR.COM (David Lord) (02/19/91)
I just picked up a shareware program called Aporia that I think may be of interest to some of you. It replaces the Windows Program Manager and File Manager with a radically different interface. It provides a set of tools who's icons sit right on your desk and you customize it and add your own tools. For instance my desktop now has a desk icon, a help icon, a trash icon, etc. I open up the desk and have several drawers: tools I use alot, games, tools I use less often, window's controls, etc. I open up the first tools drawer and have Notepad, List (the Dos shareware program), Elvis (vi clone), Dos prompt, etc. I click on the Tree tool (File Manager replacement) and get a directory tree, I select a directory, grab a file and drag it over to the Elvis icon where I can edit the file. All in all I'm pretty impressed. It makes using Windows almost a pleasure. A couple of minuses: It uses it's own Icon format and while there is a program which will convert icons and even allow you to create new icons by grabing an area off the screen, the initial setup of Aporia would be alot easier if the icons were converted automatically. The setup program will create drawers for each of your Program Manager program groups and make tools for all the programs but they are just scattered haphazardly across the desk and you have to organize them yourself. One thing to be aware of there, moving a drawer icon moves all the tool icons associated with that drawer, and may leave tools located off-screen. All in all I'd say this is an extremely high-quality program, especially for shareware. There is some work involved in setting it up initially but I'd say it's worth it. By the way, I'm not associated in any way with the authors of this program and haven't yet even sent in my registration, but I'd say this is one of the rare shareware programs I've seen that's worth the cost of registering. (I think they want $50). The unregistered version pops up a screen every hour or so asking you to register (nagware). Oh, and don't ask me to send you a copy, sorry but I just don't have time. I got mine from a local shareware vendor PC Shareware in San Diego 619 272-6673. Dave Lord
leoh@hardy.hdw.csd.harris.com (Leo Hinds) (02/19/91)
In article <1991Feb18.233534.12482@SanDiego.NCR.COM> davel@booboo.SanDiego.NCR.COM (David Lord) writes: >Oh, and don't ask me to send you a copy, sorry but I just don't have time. >I got mine from a local shareware vendor PC Shareware in San Diego 619 272-6673. You have time to "talk" for 49 lines about a program and then indignantly say don't bother harassing you for it ... tsk tsk P.S. That program (Aporia) has been on cica for a while now & was covered in the last issue of PC magazine ... leoh@hdw.csd.harris.com Leo Hinds (305)973-5229 Gfx ... gfx ... :-) whfg orpnhfr V "ebg"grq zl fvtangher svyr lbh guvax V nz n creireg ?!!!!!!? ... znlor arkg gvzr