Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!portal!atari!mui
From: mui@atari.UUCP (Derek Mui)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: TT desktop & prices
Message-ID: <2295@atari.UUCP>
Date: 13 Sep 90 22:05:19 GMT
References: <7739@neptune.inf.ethz.ch>
Organization: Atari Corp., Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 103

in article <7739@neptune.inf.ethz.ch>, felner@inf.ethz.ch (Tomas Felner) says:
> 
> In article <2283@atari.UUCP> mui@atari.UUCP (Derek Mui) writes:
>>	We would love to put the new desktop in the above machines. 
>>Unfortunately, we don't have enough ROM space to fit everything together. 
> 
> Derek, do you think you could elaborate a little bit on the new desktop,
> telling us about interesting new features that I have not mentioned in my
> 'trade show report' and give us more detailed info than I did? I believe
> that many ST netters would be interested. Thank you!
> 
> Tomas Felner, felner@inf.ethz.ch

 
Tomas Felner writes about the features of the TT desktop:

- quite a few new menu entries have been added in the desktop
- most (or all?) menu entries can be invoked with a single keystroke and
  those keys are user configurable
- you can assign a full pathname to the function keys and thus invoke your
  favourite programs with a single function key keystroke
- you can now have an unsorted index (nice for auto folders)
- you can choose the background color from a menu entry
- there's a menu entry 'Desktop Configuration' where you can set and
  configure quite a few things, which I don't all remember
- you can select a number of logical drives and then search for a
  file/folder on all those drives. When the search was successfull, a
  window with the file/folder opens. And this search is very fast!
- you can read another .INF file and thus change the look of the desktop
- you can switch between several different color tables
- you can have a different border, text and background color for each part
  of a window (like close button, expand button, title bar, vertical scrollbar,
  left arrow, up arrow, etc ...)
- you can drag any files on the desktop, leave them there, assign different
  icons to them, and give them different names (i.e. move the 1stWord icon to
  the upper left corner, change the icon to something cute looking, and name
  it "Wordprocessor")
- those icons apparently can be edited somehow and you can add you own ones
  (I didn't see this but someone told me)
- there's a completely new control accessory with many new options
- there's a new and fast GDOS

Here are additional features that Tomas Felner missed:

- FILE MASK to select the type of file ( *.prg, *.tos atat*.* etc )
  that you want to see in the windows.
- SELECT ALL function to select everything inside a window.
- Items will stay selected inside a window until the operation is
  finished. For example, drag a bunch of files to copy to a floppy disk
  and that floopy disk runs out of room in the middle of the operation. 
  All the copied items will be deselected and unfinished items will stay
  selected ( Great for doing backup ).
  Scrolling the window contents up and down will not deselect items either.
  You can use cursor keys to scroll the window contents!
- INSTALL DEVICE to install new partitions icon automatically.
- Desktop will look for deskicon.rsc during the boot up time to load in 
  users designed iocns.
- Choice of passing in file parameter as full path or just file name only
  and choice of setting the default directory according to the appliction or
  top desktop window when launching an application.
- Support GEM take parameter ( GTP ) type.
- DELETE ITEM to activate delete file operation. This is useful when 
  you open full screen window that covers the trash can icon.
- ALTERNATE + ? to open a device where ? is the drive that you are interested.
  ( This is the most popular fearture ).
- CONTROL + ? to replace the top window contents with the new ? drive.
- All the desktop icon's path ( the ones that reside on the desktop ) 
  will be updated if that item is being deleted, renamed or moved.
- Option to or not to preserve file date or not when doing file copy operation.
- DESKTOP CONFIGURATION also shows current total free memory size of the 
  system.
- Key stroke to change resolution.
- Print out current window's contents in text form.
- Maximum seven possible desktop windows.
- User selectable window and desktop backgorund colors and patterns.
- SIZE TO FIT all the items horizontally inside a window.
- Most of the operations in the desktop are loop alike. For example,
  if you select four items inside the window and then select the SHOW
  INFORMATION menu. The show info dialogue will display the info of all 
  the selected files one after one. Drag text files to printer icon will
  also print out all the files one after one.
- HELP menu.

 .....	For the rest of them, please read the official owner manual.

	Basically, all the features that we have provided are based on 
what an ordinary user will need the most and from all the COMPLAINTS and 
CRITICISMS ( please, no more ) that we have received in the past several 
years. The TT desktop is nothing fancy, all we wanted to do is to make the 
desktop to be truly useful and hopefully people will enjoy using it.
	
	As usual, the above features are subject to change without 
notice :-) :-)


==================================================================
Derek Mui, Atari Corp, 1196 Borregas Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94086

UUCP: {..ames!atari!mui}

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are my own and they may be 
	    hazardous to your mind.
==================================================================