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RetroMac Special– a Look Back at 9

Steve Jobs may have held the funeral service, but the OS now termed a classic is far from dead.

Years of Mac OS programming has left us a legacy of great software and freeware for Mac OS 9. This week we’ll take a look at a few of my picks…

FileCM

Most of these enhancements mimic what were envied Windows features that have since been incorporated into OS X. The first of which is FileCM by Andy Finnell. This indispensable add-on comes in the form of a Contextual Menu item.

filecm1 RetroMac Special   a Look Back at 9

When installed, FileCM adds the ability to copy files from one folder and paste them into another with a “right” or control click.

filecm1 RetroMac Special   a Look Back at 9

Going one step beyond OS X, it also allows you to cut a file from one location to paste elsewhere and allows you to paste items as an alias. Nice.

Joke Ridge

This control panel adds the ability to open Windows “Joliet” formatted CDs without file name truncation. This may not seem like a big deal, but when you have to rename a dozen or so GRAPH~01.JPG files, you won’t be laughing.


Natural Order

Another quirky little feature of OS 9 was it’s habit of listing numbered files out of order.

naturalorder1 RetroMac Special   a Look Back at 9

As cute as that was, it’s nice to see things in their “natural order”. This System Extension by Stuart Cheshire fixes the Finder’s and other applications’ dialogue boxes to list numbered files like this:

naturalorder2 RetroMac Special   a Look Back at 9

Essential? No, but it is a great fix. This is the first and only of today’s utilities that will function in the “classic mode” of OS X.

Jerry’s Finder Patch

Before you get scared by the idea of a “patch”, know that Jerry has this down to a science. This self applying patch to your Finder adds useful keyboard shortcuts for things like sleep and shut down along with a slew of other enhancements. Jerry’s redefined Finder also has a larger memory heap and a “quit finder” command.

jerrysfinder RetroMac Special   a Look Back at 9

Install it for yourself to find its many more features, but remember, should something go wrong and cause you to lose your data (including your 700 megs of ABBA mp3′s) it’s not our fault. I claim no responsibility for your music tastes. Having said that, I have never had a problem with this patch, or ABBA.

Until next time, keep it real with the Classic OS.

Brian

Adobe Photoshop– Adding a Style to Photoshop’s Styles Palette

style Adobe Photoshop   Adding a Style to Photoshops Styles PaletteTo
add a Photoshop Style to it’s Styles palette, open the Styles palette and use
its flyout menu to choose "Load Styles…" Direct your way to the
location of the downloaded style and click "Load".

Moblogging–Wardriver style

“According to the Oxford-English dictionary, the word ‘snapshot’ was
first used
in 1808 by an English sportsman by the name of Sir Andrew Hocker.
He noted in his diary
that every bird he shot that day was taken by snapshot.
meaning a hurried shot,
without deliberate aim. Snapshot then… was originally
a hunting term.”
-One Hour Photo

Over a month ago I
announced
that the articles formerly known as “Road Warrior Wednesday”
would take a new name to depict the “edge” that it was intended to
ooze. Since that time I have brought you such terrifying and controversial topics
as USB gadgets, messenger bags and presentation remotes. I know, I haven’t been
keeping up my end of the bargain. Well, this time around, I”m hoping to ruffle
a few more feathers…we’re going MobloggingóWardriver style.

Moblogging?
Moblogging is short for “mobile blogging” which, in tern, is short
for “mobile web logging” It is a activity practiced by a growning
number of people who form a community of web sites that document the events
and experiences of the various lives through the use of digital cameras both
standalone and those that come with some of the latest mobile phones. Mobloggers
take these snapshots and post them on their web sites. They often offer insites
into the meaning the particular image has for them and invite you, the visitor
to leave a comment of your own.

I’ve been moblogging
for a few months now as part of my
personal blog
. And, of course, I invite you to get involved and interact
with me there also. But today I have another activity in mind.

Warchalking?
Warchalking is commonly
conducted in the course of wardriving. (If you don’t know what wardriving is,
why are you here? Okay, it’s when you drive around looking for open wireless
internet connections. Happy now?!) A wifi hotspot is often chalked with a symbol
to denote the type of access, the degree of protection that is in play, the
quality of that signal and sometimes the distance to the actual access point
from the chalk mark. That is warchalking.

Moblogging Wardriver style
Now this is a bit of an experiment and how well it works is entirely up to you
wardrivers. What I propose is that you go out wardriving and when you find a
nice, free, unprotected hotspot that, instead of pulling out your chalk and
marking the sidewalk, take out a camera and email
it to the MacMerc.com
Wardriver Wednesday Moblog.
Here’s how:

Take a picture of the building from which the discovered signal is
emitting.

Attach that image to an email
message addressed to the MacMerc.com
Wardriver Wednesday Moblog
.

In the subject line of that email, enter the name of the signals location.

Use wardriving software like MacStumbler or iStumbler to find out the
name of the access point (the SSID), the channel the access point is using,
the signal strength, whether or not it is protected by WEP and the type
of router. Also take note of your physical location; the street you’re
on and the address of the building that houses the wifi signal. If you
want to get really high tech, use a GPS unit to find your global location
or enter the street address online at Maporama.com.

Now, in the body of the email, type the information you gathered thusly
(replacing the italicized parts with your own information):

SSID = Name of access point
Channel =
Channel number
Signal = Signal strength
WEP = WEP protected? Yes or No?
Router = Router Manufacturer
Location = City, State/Prov, Country
(
GPS location)

Submit that email and watch for your submission
to appear on the MacMerc.com
Wardriver Wednesday Moblog
.

Again, for this idea to work it hinges on the participation of you wardrivers
out there. Get out there and photograph your local hotspots (protected or unprotected,
public or private) and send submit them as I have detailed ablove. The most
recent submission appears below:

Keep an eye on the MacMerc.com
Wardriver Wednesday Moblog
for wifi hotspots in your area.