53 lines
2.6 KiB
Plaintext
53 lines
2.6 KiB
Plaintext
"Leap Frog" -- a second pre-release version of a multitasking program
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by
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William Gulstad (wogg0743@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu)
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Note on this release--Pre-release means that it works but not all
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the time. A lot more programs will run successfully under this version,
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but I would not (I must emphasize this) use Leapfrog in a situation where
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valuable data could be lost.
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"Leap Frog" is a program which allows up to eight other programs to run
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all at the same time! It is like a combination of Multifinder and Switcher,
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with some advantages all its own.
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What is new in this (pre-)release: Resource-oriented programs should
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now run more successfully, including AppleWorksGS. Also, the Finder will run
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under Leapfrog (though I suggest that you make Leapfrog the Start program,
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and rename the finder to "finder" if you want to try this). You cannot run
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other applications from the finder by double clicking on an icon. All that
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will happen is the finder will start to shut down and the system will crash.
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Probably, though I will prevent the crash in a future version, Leapfrog will
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never allow finder to run other programs. If Apple wants true MultifinderGS,
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they can pay me to edit Leapfrog hooks into their finder code, otherwise
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there isn't much I can do short of writing a program to patch finder, something
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that strikes me as a stupid way of doing things.
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How to use it--Run the program leadfrog from GS/OS 5.0.2 or later.
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It will bring up its menu bar, which has apple, file, edit, and applications
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menus. You may then procede to open applications with the open menu item.
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Shelling out of a program--press Control-@ at any time to return to
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the standard Leap Frog menu bar. Use the applications menu to get back to the
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program you want, open another application, or whatever.
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Selecting windows--like Multifinder (on the Mac), if you click on a
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window, the application owning that window becomes active. This does not work
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while the Leap Frog menu bar is visible, only when an opened application is in
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control.
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Quitting--quitting from a program should return you to the Leap Frog
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menu bar. All other programs opened should be accessable through the
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applications menu.
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How it works--Leap Frog uses patched to TaskMaster and GetNextEvent to
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allow all opened programs to run at once. Only the "hot" program (the one
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owning the top window) will receive input, but all others will continue to
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operate, thus allowing any number of different activities (animation, sound
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generation, computation) to take place in the background.
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william gulstad
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(e-mail me! I like user response. A new version of Carpet Bag is coming
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real soon now.)
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