Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!att!bu.edu!purdue!haven!mimsy!mojo!russotto
From: russotto@eng.umd.edu (Matthew T. Russotto)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Software controlled screen brightness on Mac Classic <-Need info
Message-ID: <1990Oct30.030147.25084@eng.umd.edu>
Date: 30 Oct 90 03:01:47 GMT
References: <10195@milton.u.washington.edu> <40750@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
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Organization: College of Engineering, Maryversity of Uniland, College Park
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In article <40750@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> tj@kona.cs.ucla.edu (Tom Johnson) writes:
>In article <10195@milton.u.washington.edu> busey@blake.u.washington.edu (Thomas Busey) writes:
>>A recent spec sheet indicated that the Mac Classic's screen brightness
>>is software controlled via the Control Panel.  Does anyone have more 
>
>Yet another new thing with these new machines that I don't like! :->
>The brightness can only be controlled by the Brightnes cdev.  It cannot
>be set to completely black Otherwise, how would you ever set it back?
>Hunt around the screen, clicking randomly until you happen to click on
>the cdev's slider control? And the value you select is not stored
>on restart.  It appears to be reset to some median value, which, of course
>is not what you would have picked, if given the choice.            

Long ago, I wrote a DA (an ugly one, too) for an ancient machine known as the
Lisa.  The characteristic of the Lisa most important for this thread is that
it, also, had software-resettable contrast, and that MacWorks, the Mac
emulation software for this dinosaur, provided no provision to change.  Apple,
in their infinite wisdom, provided no documentation on how to change it.
Fortunately, I was able to figure it out, and wrote this DA to change the
contrast, plus an INIT to set it on MacWorks startup.  (the DA also did other
neat things, like setting the brightness level for the built in screen
saver-- also restored on startup, plus shut the machine down for a certain
amount of time, after which it would turn back on).  Perhaps someone in
a similair situation with a Classic will write an INIT to restore the control
panel brightness on boot.

(BTW, I'll write one for you-- just send me a Classic 2/40. :-) ...)

Now, of course, a really slick person will make a hardware device which hooks
into the ADB and can be hooked onto the side of the keyboard.  It will have
a little knob in it which will send signals to a driver which will change the
screen brightness.  They'll call it-- a brightness knob-- and charge $50.00
or so for it :-)
--
Matthew T. Russotto	russotto@eng.umd.edu	russotto@wam.umd.edu
Tax the rich, and feed the poor -- until there are, rich no more.