It's been just shy of three years since Michael Coyle and I started tossing about the idea of ResExcellence being passed from his hands to mine. Of course, had I known what I was getting into I may have poured a few more beers for him and put it all back in the trunk of his car. I can see him now... "Honey, I'm home, check all these cool fireworks I brought back from Missouri, they're right here... in the trunk... oh, $#*!!!" :^)
But hey, all kidding aside, Michael gave me a fantastic opportunity to make my mark in this space and kept me from stumbling too much along the way. One couldn't ask for a better friend and mentor in this endeavor.
Now it's my turn to pass the torch of ResExcellence to a new lead editor and crew of GUI enthusiasts, a group who is committed to the tradition of ResExcellence and is equally committed to moving the site forward to keep pace with and embrace this time of exciting transition in the world of Apple, Mac OS X, and Intel.
Before I head down that "long road ahead" it is only proper to give thanks to a few folks.
A lead editor can't be much of a leader without a dedicated and knowledgeable staff to keep him on his toes. Big shouts go out to Cletus™ Waldman, Dan Flax, Jeremy Hoesly, Erick Tejkowski and Seth Willits. You guys are the best, peace always my friends.
Our advertisers are also well deserving of our thanks. We wouldn't even be here without the support of the great folks who've sponsored ResExcellence. Our glass is raised to our friends at REAL Software, Econ Technologies, Kanzu, Pixlegirl Presents, Roundtree Enterprises, Sonic Amigos, Icongalore, Buy Templates.net, PowerMax and the many other fine sponsors we were priveleged to host over the years.
And hey, how about those whose creativity and talents have been showcased here in our archives? Our contributors all deserve special recognition for their efforts and inspired works. Hats off to you gang, we're honoured to know you. These thanks are also extended to our forum users who, quite frankly, had to put up with four different variations of the Users Forum over my tenure. It wasn't always easy, but perhaps that is what makes our current forum extra sweet.
For my part, there's much that I'm proud of from my days here and a few things that I'd just rather forget ever happened :~) But all things considered, life goes on and it's all good. Where to now for me? A nice break from daily deadlines and writing (or attempting to write) will take some getting used to. Beyond that, the "long road ahead" lays before me and eagerly awaits my step.
"Follow every dream"
~Scott
And now, heeerrrrreeeeee they are, I'm pleased to introduce you to your new lead editor and GUI crew.
Bryan Lund. Some of you may know Bryan as one of the folks behind Radical Breeze software (makers of DiscBlaze, Footlights, etc).
Chris. Uber-geek-extraordinaire. This man installs every single Linux distribution the second they're released. Why? We have no idea. Luckily, at the end of the day, he sits back in front of his Mac and begins to make fun of Windows.
Seth Willits. Your current and future REALbasic editor and all around Smart Guy™ signs on for an extended tour.
Thursday 23rd February 2006
ThemePark 3.0, No more waiting for apps to be supported!
Geekspiff is thrilled to announce the release of ThemePark 3.0, the system theme creation tool!
Finally, creators of ShapeShifter themes for Mac OS X have complete freedom in which applications and icons they can theme. ThemePark includes an application skin template editor that makes it a breeze to create templates for any app. You can even share the templates online with a click of a button.
The structure of Application skins and the application portion of icon sets can now be completely customized, and new application skins may be added. The customized templates can be shared with other ThemePark users. You no longer need to wait for a ThemePark update to add a new or updated application to your theme.
Added a new element editor which combines an image and a mask into a single editor. This simplifies creating iTunes application skins dramatically - the images no longer need to be broken apart into image and mask sections.
Added the guiKit variant manager component that first debuted in the guiTweak portion of ShapeShifter.
It's now possible to change the pressed state text color of push buttons independently from the other text colors.
Added support for 'wbmp' resources, as used in Microsoft products. The support includes transparent integration of the "magic pink" BMP hack.
Moved the window backgrounds in the Backgrounds category in with the rest of the window elements and consolidated them so only one background needs to be edited. Did the same with the Toolbar Background elements.
The 'ppat' editor has received some speed improvements.
Converted documentation to HTML.
Use ThemePark to create or modify the way Mac OS X looks, as well as to change the appearance of individual applications. Just draw titlebars, buttons, and other widgets in the graphics editor of your choice, and move them into ThemePark to create a new theme or modify an existing one. Also use ThemePark to create icon sets that can change every icon on your system, even common document icons.
Disc Cover, new DeLight from BeLight
BeLight Software announces the forthcoming release of Disc Cover, the new software for designing CD/DVD labels, inserts, jewel case covers, and mini-CD's on a Mac. The program features diverse import capabilities plus an extended clipart library.
Disc Cover inspires your creativity with 50+ professionally designed templates and a collection of 23.000+ images. You can apply more than 100 unique masks, fill text blocks with colors, easily handle transparency and circle text. Insert your own pictures in various supported formats. The Background and Foreground layers serve to implement the advanced design ideas.
Disc Cover prints all types of design elements: CD/DVD covers, labels, tray inserts, folded booklets, mini discs labels, VHS wraps, etc. The program has extended library of label and paper layouts from most popular manufacturers (Avery, Neato, Memorex and others). Advanced printing technology supports direct-on-CD printers. You are assured to receive the high-quality output on most ink jet and laser printers.
Import data from Finder, music CDs, text files and more.
Direct-on-CD printing.
Great library of label paper templates.
HistoryHound 1.9.2 Released as a Universal Binary
St. Clair Software is pleased to announce the availability of HistoryHound 1.9.2, their fast, efficient utility for searching the contents of web pages and RSS feeds that you've bookmarked or visited recently.
HistoryHound 1.9.2 is a Universal Application, taking full advantage of the speed and power of Apple's new Intel-based iMac and MacBook Pro, including using both processors while downloading and indexing pages. It also delivers updates to improve its functionality and user interface. You can now type in a keyword and find matching web pages and RSS feeds even faster!
The update is free for registered users, and is localized for English, Japanese, French, and Danish-speaking Mac OS X users.
ShapeShifter 2.3 Released Unsanity LLC announces the availability of ShapeShifter 2.3. This update adds new features, more theme capabilities, and fixes bugs.
ShapeShifter's Download tab now has a shiny indicator that lights up when new themes are available for download.
guiTweak now allows you to manually set colors in any theme. For each color present in a theme, you can change them to the color of your choosing, let Core Image set them, or remove them from the theme. You can use this to easily turn off stuff like Mail list background or Dock customization, or to add it to a theme that doesn't have it. You can also tweak text colors after hue shifting a theme.
You can now type the name of a theme to select it (Tiger only).
ShapeShifter can now optionally notify you when a new version is available.
"Growl" (if present) will be used to indicate that themes were applied successfully when the normal indicator sheet has been turned off.
Completely revamped the app skin compatibility system. ShapeShifter is now much smarter about how it disables app skins when a new version of a skinned application has been released.
Minor improvements in menu drawing performance and in application launch speed when a theme is applied.
New Theme Capabilities
Dark themes with light text colors are much more usable within Carbon apps such as Photoshop.
ShapeShifter now honors the Aqua/Graphite setting in menu highlights for themes that were designed to differentiate between the two.
DVD Player can now use custom application skins.
guiTweak now works properly on "pct" images.
Since you can never have enough application replacement icons, The Iconfactory is pleased to announce this week's freeware icon release - Smoothicons 12. Resident smooth freak, Corey Marion has whipped up new replacement icons for iWeb, Pages, Adobe Acrobat plus a whole lot more including the latest Apple hardware. So if you've been craving a Smoothicon replacement icon for World of Warcraft, or any of the other apps in this week's set, you're in luck!
With Olympic Gold and the recent X-Games, and being a snowboarder and all, Ernie Joy adds a few Shaun White desktops to the mix at Erniesthings.
Following the fantastic success of Peter Jackson's King Kong, widget:widget has released a special set of icons in homage to the big guy himself. This set contains everything from swamp-worms to a T-Rex and will be sure to appeal to you, whether you've seen the film or not!
Geekspiff is thrilled to announce the release of 
