Comments on: What Icons Do When You’re Not Looking http://nslog.com/2003/01/17/what_icons_do_when_youre_not_looking The Weblog of Erik J. Barzeski Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:52:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Anne Franklin http://nslog.com/2003/01/17/what_icons_do_when_youre_not_looking#comment-219 Anne Franklin Thu, 22 Apr 2004 03:40:22 +0000 http://nslog.com/2003/01/17/what_icons_do_when_youre_not_looking/#comment-219 I just wanted to ask how I can find the site for the "what icons do when you're not looking" thing. I have tried and tried to click on a link that works and I always get an "error, Page not found". I loved that and I wanted to show it to my daughter and now I can't find it. Please help me find that again!?!?!?!? Thanks so much, Anne I just wanted to ask how I can find the site for the "what icons do when you're not looking" thing. I have tried and tried to click on a link that works and I always get an "error, Page not found". I loved that and I wanted to show it to my daughter and now I can't find it. Please help me find that again!?!?!?!?

Thanks so much, Anne

]]> By: Lewis http://nslog.com/2003/01/17/what_icons_do_when_youre_not_looking#comment-218 Lewis Tue, 02 Dec 2003 20:48:35 +0000 http://nslog.com/2003/01/17/what_icons_do_when_youre_not_looking/#comment-218 Im bored with my desktop icons.... Im a mac OS X user and work for the creative dept. of a production co. And ofcourse all our pc's are networked. I have four harddrives in my G4, while my partner has 3 in his G5. Being the "creative" department, we decided to go with a theme when naming all these drives to alleviate confusion.... We went with an X-Men characters theme. I have all the bad guys... Magneto, Sinister, Mystique etc. And obviously my partner has the goodies. Now for reasons no more than to look good, i would like to change the icon/alias of the drives on my desktop to its accosiated character. Instead of the current "harddrive" icon. So for Magneto i would have a little pic of, well Magneto and so on... Is this possible, and if so, how ? Im bored with my desktop icons....

Im a mac OS X user and work for the creative dept. of a production co. And ofcourse all our pc's are networked. I have four harddrives in my G4, while my partner has 3 in his G5. Being the "creative" department, we decided to go with a theme when naming all these drives to alleviate confusion.... We went with an X-Men characters theme. I have all the bad guys... Magneto, Sinister, Mystique etc. And obviously my partner has the goodies.

Now for reasons no more than to look good, i would like to change the icon/alias of the drives on my desktop to its accosiated character. Instead of the current "harddrive" icon.

So for Magneto i would have a little pic of, well Magneto and so on...

Is this possible, and if so, how ?

]]> By: Matt http://nslog.com/2003/01/17/what_icons_do_when_youre_not_looking#comment-217 Matt Sun, 19 Jan 2003 20:02:58 +0000 http://nslog.com/2003/01/17/what_icons_do_when_youre_not_looking/#comment-217 I use the desktop in much the same way (as Erik), as well as a workbench of sorts; if I'm creating an image, all the PSDs and exported versions will be littered down one side. If I'm testing a bit of code, the PB project folder goes there too. I have this pathological need to initially save things to the desktop, then move them to their final home later, in the Finder. I find it difficult (meaning uncomfortable, obviously not actually tricky or complicated) to save a new file anywhere else. I like to be able to "see" the file itself for the window I have open. I probably need professional help. Oh, and I also have this personality quirk which makes me insist on playing with the View Options for the desktop at least once a month. I toy with labels on the right, icon sizes, bigger or smaller text, show item info. I always turn it all off again, leaving it back at the default settings. I've always done this (played with view options), and I have no idea why. I just seem to feel conflicting needs to personalise the desktop (more so than any other 'folder'), but also to keep it really clean. One day I'll hit on a setup that truly satisifies me. Final note: regarding the supposed "uselessness" of the desktop as a concept, I don't agree. I still use NS 3.3 in VPC from time to time, and I find the lack of icons on the desktop very jarring. Need to have Fiend installed to feel comfortable. ;) I use the desktop in much the same way (as Erik), as well as a workbench of sorts; if I'm creating an image, all the PSDs and exported versions will be littered down one side. If I'm testing a bit of code, the PB project folder goes there too.

I have this pathological need to initially save things to the desktop, then move them to their final home later, in the Finder. I find it difficult (meaning uncomfortable, obviously not actually tricky or complicated) to save a new file anywhere else. I like to be able to "see" the file itself for the window I have open. I probably need professional help.

Oh, and I also have this personality quirk which makes me insist on playing with the View Options for the desktop at least once a month. I toy with labels on the right, icon sizes, bigger or smaller text, show item info. I always turn it all off again, leaving it back at the default settings. I've always done this (played with view options), and I have no idea why. I just seem to feel conflicting needs to personalise the desktop (more so than any other 'folder'), but also to keep it really clean. One day I'll hit on a setup that truly satisifies me.

Final note: regarding the supposed "uselessness" of the desktop as a concept, I don't agree. I still use NS 3.3 in VPC from time to time, and I find the lack of icons on the desktop very jarring. Need to have Fiend installed to feel comfortable. ;)

]]> By: Shawn http://nslog.com/2003/01/17/what_icons_do_when_youre_not_looking#comment-216 Shawn Sun, 19 Jan 2003 16:32:21 +0000 http://nslog.com/2003/01/17/what_icons_do_when_youre_not_looking/#comment-216 I keep my desktop as minimal as possible. Like you, when working on a project, I keep aliases to project folders on the desktop. If I have a presentation, I might keep some of the files on the desktop as well - although I have gotten to the point where I keep a "presentation" folder in the dock, so I can have a nice link to the presentation materials and related websites. The whole dock thing is still a little bizarre to me... not in a bad way, but in a "what else can or should I do with it". I keep my desktop as minimal as possible.

Like you, when working on a project, I keep aliases to project folders on the desktop. If I have a presentation, I might keep some of the files on the desktop as well - although I have gotten to the point where I keep a "presentation" folder in the dock, so I can have a nice link to the presentation materials and related websites. The whole dock thing is still a little bizarre to me... not in a bad way, but in a "what else can or should I do with it".

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