home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Almathera Ten Pack 3: CDPD 3
/
Almathera Ten on Ten - Disc 3: CDPD3.iso
/
ab20
/
ab20_archive
/
graphics
/
blankers
/
works121.lzh
/
works.doc
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1989-03-30
|
8KB
|
158 lines
FIREWORKS_DISPLAY Release 1.21
Copyright 1988/89, Brian Fehdrau
What You Should Get In WORKS120.ZOO
-----------------------------------
README 38 - Tells you to read this file
works 9220 - Executable file
works.doc 7621 - This file
works.mod 3163 - Modifications, past and present
If that does not accurately describe the contents of your Zoo
archive, then the archive has been altered and I would ask that you
not distribute it and also that you ask your source (such as a BBS
or disk collection) to remove it and try to get a proper archive.
Distributing an altered archive violates the distribution liscense
(described below).
A Screen-Sortofblanker for the Amiga
------------------------------------
This program, given a number of minutes to wait after an action
from the user, will blank the screen. However, unlike the usual,
mundane black screen you usually get with a screen blanker, you get
fireworks. And no, this doesn't defeat the purpose of a screen
blanker. The purpose of a screen blanker is to prevent steady
images (such as the title bar of a screen) from burning into the
phosphor of your monitor, and because fireworks aren't terribly
steady, the blanker still fulfills its obligations.
This program considers the following to be "actions" from the
user, which will prevent or turn off the blank: keypresses,
mouse movements, mousebutton clicks, insertion or ejection of a
disk, and, unlike a certain other program I won't mention but
whose initials are "MachClk", joystick movements. You can
instantly blank the screen with ALT-HELP (good when someone walks
in on you when you have an X-rated HAM pic on the screen), or quit
the program altogether with CTRL-HELP. I tried to pick rarely-
used keys, so I hope they don't get in the way of any programs you
use. Tell me if they do, and I'll consider changing them.
Note that this program requires around 12K of chip memory to
display its screen. If it can't get that memory, it will open up
a one pixel screen and perform the more mundane variety of screen
blanking. If you want that kind of blanking all the time, you can
just bloody well use MachClk or some other thing. I call this
program FIREWORKS_DISPLAY for a reason.
This program can be invoked by typing "works <x>" at the CLI
(or Shell, I guess, since WB1.3 is out now) prompt and hitting
return, where "<x>" is the number of minutes of inactivity the
blanker will wait through before blanking. Remember to "run" the
program if you want your CLI back. It's a MANX program, so if
you want to be able to close your initial CLI and open up a shell
or some such, run it after, from the shell. All Manx-written
programs prevent closing a CLI, whether runbacked or run >NIL:.
Call it with no arguments if you have such a bad memory that you
can't remember what they are, and you'll get a little usage/info
message.
SEMI-INTERESTING SIDE-NOTE
--------------------------
This is the first program, of at least a few hundred, that I
have ever finished. I didn't mean to do it. I just wrote for a
while and discovered I had inadvertantly finished¹ the program.
Normally, I just write a program until I'm sufficiently convinced
that I have all the inner works (pun intended) right², then decide
I no longer have any inclination to work on a program that works
and start something else. So please don't hold it against me that
I actually finished a program.
------------------------------------------------------------------
1 - A programmer's "finished" and a normal person's "finished" are
not the same thing.
2 - A programmer's "right" and a normal person's "right" are not
the same thing.
SHAREWARE NOTICE
----------------
This program is ShareWare. Is not, repeat and emphasize, NOT
public domain. They are not the same thing. You can use this
program for free at first, but if you continue to use it, then you
obviously like it, and you can show it really easily by giving me
some money. I'm a university student damn near $6000 in debt from
student loans... I COULD USE SOME MONEY. If you don't want to
feel guilty for the rest of your life, send donations of $5 to $15,
or any spare real estate you have, or whatever you can afford, to
me at this address:
Brian Fehdrau
186 Goerzen St.
Saskatoon, SK, CANADA
S7K 7E3
I don't promise anything in return, but if you include your
address (or, more preferably, a FidoNet node where I can send you
NetMail) and the version of the program that you have, I can at
least tell you if and when there's a "New, Improved" version, or a
bug fix, or something like that. That reminds me... send any bug
reports (please, no suggestions) to the same address, or to FidoNet
node 1:140/22 if you have access to FidoNet Mail.
DISTRIBUTION LICENSE
--------------------
You may upload the archive this document came in, COMPLETE and
UNCHANGED, to any public bulletin board, so long as that board does
not charge fees specifically for downloading or access to files.
You may not upload said archive, or any parts of it, to any service
which would claim any sort of ownership or copyright over it, such
as CompuS*rve does. This program may not be included on any
commercial disk without my consent, which would involve a sizeable
chunk of money coming my way. This archive (or, alternatively, its
complete unchanged contents) may be included in any public domain
or ShareWare collection of disks, such as the Fred Fish collection,
so long as no fee beyond that of the media, shipping, or copying
(as long as it isn't something like $10 to type DISKCOPY DF0: TO
DF1:) is charged to the user for said disks and no ownership or
copyright is claimed. (If it IS included, I'd be interested to
know about it.)
Also, if possible, please try to use the name for the archive
that is mentioned at the start of this document.
This license overrides all previous licenses for Works.
A PERSONAL VIEW
---------------
I've switched from ARC to ZOO because of the SEA - Phil Katz
litigation. SEA is a group of self-serving idiots and I want
nothing to do with their archiver. If and when PK's new ZIP is
ported to the Amiga, I'm switching to that, because quite
simply, SEA's software is slow and stupid and PK's is fast and
efficient. Suck on that for a while, SEA.
Brian Fehdrau
30 Mar 89
PS: oO/
((_)=
U| Ack! Thppt.