e3 – Kaleidoscope scheming

December 13, 2014

Ed tells the story of his efforts to make System 7 look like Yosemite by creating his own Kaleidoscope scheme. In the process, he remembers just how painful it was to work in a fragile, crashy, data-loss-prone OS.

Links for this episode:

Last episode: intro to Kaleidoscope
ResEdit
the large cicn hack
- clip2cicn
- waferbaby's pixhell cartoons
software and tools for editing schemes
- University of Michigan software archive
- Emaculation
- K official site "tools and goodies"
  includes Pink Elephants, Scheme Factory, Regia scheme template
- Basilisk
- Stuffit Expander (OS X version!)
- ClarisWorks emulation kit
- GraphicConverter
  - current version (9.4)
  - old version (5.9.5)
  - ancient version (2.2)
scheme format reference guides
- K2 resources [PDF]
- K2 intro [PDF]
type and creator codes
xScope
features that haven't always been in Mac OS
- Quick Look (10.5)
- window edge resizing (10.7)
- app switching
  - Application menu
  - LiteSwitch [WayBack Machine]
  - Application palette (8.5)
- click-to-open menus (8.0)

Behold, the (un)finished product:

e2 – Kaleidoscope

November 29, 2014

We revisit the golden age of Mac interface customization: the development of the Kaleidoscope control panel, the extensive Kaleidoscope scheme archive, and the limited possibilities for theming in OS X.

Links for this episode:

Kaleidoscope
The Kaleidoscope scheme archive
"the golden age"
- John Siracusa's Yosemite review talks about K
- Appearance Manager
  - Copland
  - Gizmo and Hi-Tech
  - System fonts: Chicago, Charcoal, Espy Sans
  - the Appearance control panel
- Aaron extension
- Greg's shareware
K's creators
- Greg Landweber
- Ed Voas
- Arlo Rose
  - Konfabulator [WayBack Machine]
  - aka Yahoo! Widgets
K's features
- version history
- zoom rectangles
- icon replacement
  - The Iconfactory's system icon sets
  - CandyBar (no longer supported)
- WindowShade
scheme inspirations
- Echelon, Echelon 8.5, and Kidcon icon sets
- Layne Karkruff – blueskyheart.com
- BeOS and NeXTSTEP
reduced perspective in Yosemite icons
the schemelist archives
OS X theming
- Unsanity
  - unsanity.com [WayBack Machine]
  - APE and haxies
  - ShapeShifter [WayBack Machine]
- Gruber on Dashboard vs. Konfabulator
- Flavours
  - themes for Flavours
- the true story of audion.
next episode: Ed tries something really stupid

Scheme gallery!

Innovative schemes

OS Mimicry

Minimalist

Getting a little silly…

…and now really impractical

Ed and Brian's picks

e1 – Startup Chime

November 15, 2014

Our first episode takes a tour of the Macintosh startup chime, from drilling holes in a prototype Mac case in 1982 to the current chime we've known and loved since 1999.

Links for this episode:

Origin of the chime
- From the Apple II to the Macintos h
Jim Reekes
- Interview about the chime, Sosumi, and more [NSFW audio]
- Several retellings of the story: [1] [2] [3] [4]
- Reekes' (nonexistent) Wikipedia entry
Stanley Jordan
- artist of the Power Mac 6100/7100/8100 chime
The chime in pop culture
Trademark on the chime

Silencing the chime
- Silent Start [MAS link]
- Macworld tips article [November 1997 issue; link requires library/university access]

"A number of readers have contributed more ideas for turning down or silencing the start-up chime. Instead of plugging in headphones or an earphone as suggested in August's Quick Tips, Jeffrey Lomicka of Maynard, Massachusetts, plugs in a 1/8-inch flathead nylon screw. He cut it to 5/8 inches in length and tied a string to the head to make it easy to remove."