Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!njin!princeton!phoenix!bskendig
From: bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: _Launch 2.0 Suggestions
Message-ID: <13040@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 18 Jan 90 04:21:53 GMT
References: <1881@mrsvr.UUCP> <1990Jan17.174433.4896@smsc.sony.com>
Reply-To: bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig)
Organization: Systems Engineering, NASA Space Station Freedom Project
Lines: 79

In article <1990Jan17.174433.4896@smsc.sony.com> dce@Sony.COM (David Elliott) writes:
>In article <1881@mrsvr.UUCP> hallett@gemed.ge.com (Jeff Hallett x5163	) writes:
>>I wish I had an email address for Lunarmobiscuit (aka Mike Libes), but
>>since I don't and I think he reads the group, I'll start this thread.
>
>I think it's ml10+@andrew.cmu.edu.

It is.  Those `About...' boxes are good for sumthin', y'know...

>>On the whole, it looks kinda neat, but I wanted to comment on his wish
>>list.  He states that he wishes  that the icons  could be  dimmed when
>>the application is  running.  I disagree.  I would  like the button to
>>either start the application or bring that  running application to the
>>foreground.  
>
>I don't think that dimming the icon precludes that functionality.
>After all, that's what the Finder does.

But if you have several icons dimmed, how do you tell them apart?
It's hard, sometimes.  I could probably remember which applications I
had open better than I could remember how I had organized my icons in
the dock.

>For launching, I'd like the following enhancements:
>
>	1. When the icon has been successfully clicked and _Launch
>	   has started executing the application, it should hilight
>	   the icon (reverse mode is fine) and leave it hilighted
>	   for a second.  It's hard to know if the application is
>	   starting.
>
>	2. Once the application is running, dim or otherwise
>	   hilight the icon.

Good ideas.  I've been known to double-click on an icon and have it
not do anything - meanwhile I'm staring dumbly at the screen, waiting
for it to open.  Maybe he should implement a `zoom' effect such as the
one in the Finder?

>It would also be nice if _Launch had a mode in which it did an
>auto-"Set Aside" after it runs.  It could either do this by
>selecting the menu item in MF 6.1b[79], or by hiding its window
>when it isn't in the foreground, and maybe supplying a small
>button to bring it to the foreground (a la PowerStation).

Now *there* I disagree.  The dock is relatively unobtrusive; why have
to fish for it in the Apple menu every time you want it?

>Finally, switching to _Launch takes way too long on a color
>machine, and it doesn't seem to like floppy disks.  I sometimes
>insert a floppy under _Launch and it never gets seen when I
>switch to Finder.

So *that*'s where the disks have been going!  Silly me, I've been
blaming it on System 6.0.4 all this time.  Should've realized that
Apple neeever makes mistakes...

'Mo, are you reading this?

     << Brian >>

P. T.: Goshdurnit, the mailer rejects this article because I quote
more than I say originally.  Guess it's time for some good ol'
fashioned

   filler
     filler
       filler
         filler
           filler.

There!  That should do it.


-- 
| Brian S. Kendig      \ Macintosh |   Engineering,   | bskendig             |
| Computer Engineering |\ Thought  |  USS Enterprise  | @phoenix.Princeton.EDU
| Princeton University |_\ Police  | -= NCC-1701-D =- | @PUCC.BITNET         |
|   Systems Engineering, NASA Space Station Freedom / General Electric WP3   |