Re: 8-bit GUI desktop organizers and launchers

[obsbedia2@aol.com (Obsbedia2)]

<< 
>                             _Improvements desired:_
>                                  (Drum roll, please...)
> 
> 1.  Increase the number of desktop volumes to 13, as MD1 allows.  Do this by
> decreasing the size of the volume icons, limiting their "displayed" name size
> for the bottom row (after all, who picks 15 character names for HD volumes?),
> or simply using the same layout as MD1.   It's hard to give up 96 Megs of
disk
> space! 

> Is 13 the maximum possible? I used to use A2DeskTop all the time on my
GS, but now I've got a 800MB "GarberDrive" with 16 Partitions plus 2 -
3.5's and 2 - 5.25's (so now I'm stuck with GS/OS)... sure would be nice to
have DeskTop running on it :) >>

On my //e, I've just recently been using a program from SoftDisk #98 that
unhooks the computer's recognition of whatever drives you select.  You can also
use it to rehook the drives recognition by the computer.  Where I had been
required to give up three 32 Meg volumes to allow the use two 5.25 and one 3.5"
drives AND the use of Apple Desktop II, now I "unhook" the floppy drives  so I
have "access" to 13 volumes in MouseDesk2 and Apple Desktop2, IF I "unhook" at
least three of them and never have more than 10 volumes online at a time. 

These can be rotated with the unhook program -- which also hooks slots and
drives back up, but it hooks the physical slots and their drives, so 13 volumes
is the 8-bit A2 limit IF all slots are active. 
 
Using a 13-volume FOCUS drive, 2-5.25" drives and 1-3.5" drive, unhook slot 5,
drive 1 and slot 6, drives 1 & 2.  What you'll see are 10 volumes present on
the MouseDesk1 desktop, not the full13 volumes that are actually on the FOCUS
drive.  Unhooking the floppy drives also shut off the FOCUS drive's ability to
commandeer the slots and drives that the floppy drives were using.  The only
way that I know of to have access to all 13 partitioned volumes of a hard drive
on an 8-bit Apple II is to pull all other drive cards from the slots.


JaY Edwards