Toybox II
Published by Virtual Magic SoftwareAge Group: Adults
Type: Computer Toolbox
License: $29
Description:Mark J. Kaufman writes:
I see lots of posts here from time to time looking for a good safe desktop for kids. An inexpensive answer has been around the net for years, yet I never see it mentioned any more. It is "Magic Desk", distributed in shareware form as "Toy Box II". I registered my copy shortly after trying it and have never looked back. In fact, my wife and I use it to keep all of our games and aplications organized!
Several important features of Magic Desk:
It is a DOS application. Running other DOS programs from it causes NO problems, and it occupies minimal memory in the critical first 640K until you exit back to it. It has effective security and adequate editing/administration. You can use any of a decent set of its own icons, convert from a larger set of Windows .ICO format icons that come with it, convert from other .ICOs, or use a built in editor to paint your own. You don't have to double click on an icon - single click only, either mouse button. It works on older machines with EGA. VGA resolutions give you five by four icons per page, and you can go up to five page levels deep in your menu "tree". You do the math :-). As some of you know, you *can* run Windows applications from the DOS prompt... Just enter "win xyz" to start Windows and run "xyz". There are several very effective and very simple Windows security add-ons out there to keep the resulting Windows environment secure too. E-mail me for details, or perhaps I will make that the subject of another post.
Windows95 is inevitable, but until it takes over entirely I urge those of you to whom the above matters to investigate Magic Desk. I recommend this software without reservations.
No association with Magic Desk except as a satisfied user/customer.
And Kevin M. Jarrett writes:
This is a nice GUI front end for DOS applications. It is reasonably configurable, fast, almost bulletproof, and easy to learn (aren't all GUIs?).
Before Jamie had her own PC, I had this set up on my 486 system, and it worked beautifully. The interface is a little clunky when you're setting it up, but once you've got that done, it works well.
You can nest groups, and have many pages of icons. It includes a nice little icon painter program, plus a utility to convert standard .ICO files to what their own proprietary format (.ICN files).
MAJOR LIKES
1.IT'S EASY. Once it's set up, it looks and feels like Windows.
2.IT DOESN'T HOG MEMORY. When it runs, it (the shell) unloads.
3.IT'S PRETTY. Default icons are nice, and you can make your own!
4.IT'S STABLE. I've yet to hang it up, and I run some odd programs!
MAJOR DISLIKES
1.IT LOSES ICONS SOMETIMES. Every now and then icons will dissapear from the desktop, often with whole sub-icon collections underneath. It's not fun having to reconfigure! In fact, it's a major pain in the duff. Toybox exhibited this problem on my 486 as well as Jamie's 386, so, I don't think it's hardware related. No, I haven't asked the author about it!
2.SCREEN REDRAWS CAN BE SLOW. On Jamie's low-end 386, the screen paints pitifully slow...but what the heck, she needs to learn patience anyway!!! On my 486, it rips, but not everyone has a 486...
OVERALL RATING: B-
A solid performer with just a few annoying quirks. Well worth the download. If it's stable for you, register it!
Download Details
Requires:
MS-DOS 3.0 or higher / EGA or VGA / 512K RAM / Hard disk / Mouse (optional)Filename: toy202.zip
Filesize: 117 k
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