[ajshades]

ok I tried searching for this and I couldn't come up with anything, I apoligize if this has already been covered but I thought it was a pretty cool thing and I want to know how to do it....

I was in the apple store today - Barton Creek Mall Austin Texas - and on one of the mac's they had this sort of mini dock built into the desktop. I asked one of the managers there how they did that and he told me "I can't tell you how we did that because that is something we did internally".

Basicly what it was, was a mini dock built into the desktop. It was a rectangle with rounded corners that was transparent, and it had 4 icons (ical, stickies and 2 webpage icons that included links). You couldn't move it or add or take away any of the icons but it would be really cool to build something like this for my computer.

Does anyone know what this is called and how I might can create something like this.

(sorry for my awful spelling - I typed this in a rush)

thanks so much
- aj

[Fluid]

Sounds like Apple + Tab.

[roosta]

sounds like they had command-tab held down

[rjenkinson]

something like this? http://www.macosxhints.com/article.p...40810091734861

-r.

[Mac Guru]

Hey Adam, what Apple store was it? Austin?

Mac Guru

[fireside]

Originally posted by Mac Guru:
Hey Adam, what Apple store was it? Austin?

Originally posted by ajshades:
Barton Creek Mall Austin Texas

[Mac Guru]

Hehehe thanks

Guess I glossed over that part. (i'm at work)

Mac Guru

[DigiHal]

I saw this today as well in our apple store here in Aventura mall (ft. lauderdale, fl.)

Looked cool.

It may be a widget or whatever they are calling that thing in Tiger. . . maybe.

Hal!

[AU_student_iceBook]

Originally posted by DigiHal:
I saw this today as well in our apple store here in Aventura mall (ft. lauderdale, fl.)

Looked cool.

It may be a widget or whatever they are calling that thing in Tiger. . . maybe.

Hal!

This is in the indianapolis IN store as well.

It is something weird. They definitely built it at apple and it is like it is sitting on the desktop.

It can be covered by other apps, and it can be killed from the terminal.

The employees don't know exactly what it is.

[ender2002]

someone steal it. NOW!!

[ajshades]

I'll be back up at the mall on thurs and if no one knows or finds out what this is, ill take a couple screen shots and post em so everyone knows what im talking about.

I really want this mod on my mac

I doubt it's a widget but I really don't know as much as some people do on this site. So this may be a feature that will come along when the next os rolls out. It just seams strange to me that they would preview a new feature on an soon to be outdated OS.

me likie

[BurningBright]

Silly GUI Junkies!

That store manager clearly comes from a retail backround and not a technical backround.

It's not a widget. It's simply a semi-transparent app that has a window at the lowest level - much as one can set apps like adium or the various launchers to appear at the lowest window level, to appear as part of the desktop, unless a button is clicked on. The buttons, in this case, launch various weblinks. This app was coded to combat people constantly messing with the names/icons of the Genius Bar/Contact Me icons that appear on the desktop. It looks cool, but it isn't new technology.

Cheers!

[BurningBright]

Almost forget to mention - it's a feature available on 10.3 is what I mean by available now - not the 10.4 preview.

for similar functionality, try the various launcher programs.

rjenkinson also has the concept right in their posting

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.p...40810091734861

gives you an idea.

[ajshades]

i've been looking around but does anyone know a launcher program that will do this?

[Snake]

I saw this at my Apple store in Orlando FL. The icons are integrated into the wallpaper. The standard blue wallpaper has a set of about 4 icons for various things, like a tour of explanation of features I think. But it was like an interactive wallpaper, you move your cursor over the icon and it does shade. Interesting..........

[gautch]

Originally posted by ajshades:
I'll be back up at the mall on thurs and if no one knows or finds out what this is, ill take a couple screen shots and post em so everyone knows what im talking about.

I really want this mod on my mac

I doubt it's a widget but I really don't know as much as some people do on this site. So this may be a feature that will come along when the next os rolls out. It just seams strange to me that they would preview a new feature on an soon to be outdated OS.

me likie

Yeh if you (or any one) could get a screenie of this that would help the discussion.
If the apple store wont let you on line you can take a flash drive and copy it to that.

Sounds like it not a mod, if several stores across the country have them. Check the "About This Mac" and let us know what version its running that might help.

This sounds exciting!

[ender2002]

simple finder?

[phillryu]

If you're at the Applestore, find the app, iChat it to me (phillryu) and I will post it online.

[ojnihs]

I've seen this too and I wondered also how they did it. I've been meaning to go back to the Apple Store near by to check it out again, but I haven't had the time.

[BurningBright]

Guys, please read my explanation from above and stop guessing what the app is... I told you already, lol. The app is called DesktopButtons.

Here's a copy of the app (someone grab it and mirror it on a non-.Mac server please?):

http://homepage.mac.com/WebObjects/F...topButtons.zip

Enjoy.

[ajshades]

well thanks for the app

now for the newb here

How do I edit it?
(i.e. programs, how to)

[BurningBright]

aj,

it's a carbon application - you'd really have to build one of your own, from what I've seen =)

[BlueIce]

BurningBright is right. This app is a build-to-order sort of thing. I opened it up in Resourcer and while you could edit the icons themselves, I'm not enough of a programmer to know how you would link any new icons to the program. I'm guessing you'd either need to build your own (as previously suggested) or have the source code. And since option #2 is most likely out of the question, that only leaves option #1 as a possibility.

[monkeybrain]

I can see the reason why they would have this in a store, but why would anyone need it on a home computer? What advantage does it have over putting a few aliases centred on your desktop and making a desktop picture with an event bezel superimposed upon it?

[aristotles]

Those are mainly web links. You can do the same thing with a local HTML page and webdesktop.

About the only thing you can do is edit the store code to point to an Apple store near you.

[MacDog]

You can do this with Konfabulator right now... several widgets offer the functionality.

[boy8cookie]

...namely?

[BurningBright]

Any Konfab widget can be made to sit at the "desktop" level, like this app does. There are plenty of "launcher" widgets for konfabulator, such as can be found at http://www.widgetgallery.com/

[Synotic]

Originally posted by monkeybrain:
I can see the reason why they would have this in a store, but why would anyone need it on a home computer? What advantage does it have over putting a few aliases centred on your desktop and making a desktop picture with an event bezel superimposed upon it?

One click launching?

[BurningBright]

Originally posted by Synotic:
One click launching?

/me stares at my dock

[boy8cookie]

/me stares at my over crowded dock and sighs, then continues to mod the app from the MacAddict mag to act as a second dock. sighs again.

[Banghazi]

You can get an effect similar to this with the existing OS X dock using TransparentDock.

In "Dock Setup", check 'Lock Icons in Dock' and uncheck 'Float Dock Above Other Applications'.

[crooner]

For those who haven�t seen this application in action, here's a screen grab a managed to take and e-mail to myself from the Vegas Apple Store last night.

http://idisk.mac.com/crooner/Public/...s/appleapp.jpg

Questioning employees resulted in the same kind of answers that others here have heard... "We don't know what it is, exactly, but Apple told us to put it on the Macs and that's what we did.

To see what would happen, I downloaded Desktop Buttons (linked above) and ran the included Quit Desktop Buttons script. Sure enough, the little Apple desktop-level launcher disappeared. Launching Desktop Buttons made it reappear. This probably isn't earth shattering news, but I thought it might interest some of ya'll.

[ajshades]

so I'm not able to use widgets yet and I don't really have the skills to build an app like this from scratch

so again the question remains

are there any programs out there like this?

(i.e. not like a widget or a widget - or by using the dock)

[Jaey]

The best launcher-app by far is Quicksilver

[Lord Sith]

This foobar widget needs updating but can easily be modified to do exactly/whatever you want it to do or look like.

[Banghazi]

What the is wrong with the dock??

[Jaey]

Originally posted by Banghazi:
What the is wrong with the dock??

It's ugly and it crowds the desktop.

[Banghazi]

you know, it can be hidden

[bluevertical]

iNotify will do this too... and rather well

http://macupdate.com/info.php/id/11780

peace.
bv.

[WICKEDfour]

Originally posted by Jaey:
The best launcher-app by far is Quicksilver

Yes.

Sorry, had to add my 2� in there. That little app's cute, but it doesn't seem very useful outside of the Apple Store. Though, if someone wants to post a new thread in the Quicksilver forum for a new look to the shelf, I wouldn't complain!

[NetworkShadow]

Originally posted by WICKEDfour:
Yes.

Sorry, had to add my 2� in there. That little app's cute, but it doesn't seem very useful outside of the Apple Store. Though, if someone wants to post a new thread in the Quicksilver forum for a new look to the shelf, I wouldn't complain!

QuickSilver rocks.

[ajshades]

there is nothing wrong with the dock but I want something on the desktop that is functional and looks cool because there are a few programs like ical, dreamweaver and photoshop that I want quick acess to. Ya I know I could use the dock but i have....let me count...25-30 icons in my dock. I try to use the finder as little as possible.

im checking out quicksilver right now, and it similar to the app in the apple store

couple questions and i'll go check out the qs forums...

can you add more than one app? it seams It only keeps one icon/app in the launcher (true you can do stuff with the app, open files and things) but i want more or apps to be listed.
also
what about keeping it on the desktop?
and
what about it being transparent?

am i just missing these things?

[Wiskedjak]

Originally posted by ajshades:
there is nothing wrong with the dock but I want something on the desktop that is functional and looks cool because there are a few programs like ical, dreamweaver and photoshop that I want quick acess to. Ya I know I could use the dock but i have....let me count...25-30 icons in my dock. I try to use the finder as little as possible.

Do you use everything in your dock frequently? If I finding something I use less than once a week is in my dock, out it goes.

I have a folder of alias' of my next most used applications in my dock. I also have an alias to my Applications folder in this alias folder. Right-clicking on the alias folder in the dock gives me quick access to all of it's contents and, by extension, everything in my Applications folder. without having to open up a finder window.

[Randman]

I hide the dock and use F10 to get to other items.

[ajshades]

ok no offence but I think some people are missing the point.

I use my dock a lot but it would be easier for me (seeing how I have like 30 apps in my doc) if I could make a sort of mini dock 'like' the app that apple uses, to place a few programs like ical and some other things. and have it mounted on the desktop and allow programs to float over it but it to stay there if i was to press F10 to grab something real quick.

I'm wanting something that�s cool looking functional and editable. otherwise as it looks right now I am simply going to have to wait till the new os.

[Gerrit Vanoppen]

A discussion about a file/app Launcher would probably be OT, nonetheless perhaps interesting ?

[demograph68]

Originally posted by ajshades:
ok no offence but I think some people are missing the point.

I use my dock a lot but it would be easier for me (seeing how I have like 30 apps in my doc) if I could make a sort of mini dock 'like' the app that apple uses, to place a few programs like ical and some other things. and have it mounted on the desktop and allow programs to float over it but it to stay there if i was to press F10 to grab something real quick.

I'm wanting something that�s cool looking functional and editable. otherwise as it looks right now I am simply going to have to wait till the new os.

Make alias of apps and drag them into a folder. Drag folder onto dock. Problem solved.

[boy8cookie]

anyone read mac addict, im sure there is atleast ONE person who does. the last issue had a tuturial on how to build a cocoa app and the app u make is a launcher that is based off ur recent items. im trying to mod it to use a different folder so you can customize what apps appear in it. it will be cool, it will work with f10 and it will be customizable as far as colors and apps go, maybe even window size and a few other features. i'll post a link when i finish.

[Banghazi]

Originally posted by demograph68:
Make alias of apps and drag them into a folder. Drag folder onto dock. Problem solved.

I'm guessing you're one of us who're missing the point..