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In OS X odyssey 131 we explored how to extract the cool images contained in the OS X Screensaver module to use as ordinary Desktop pictures. In the article, I expressed puzzlement as to why Apple did not include these picture sets in the default Desktop picture collections that can be accessed using the Desktop preferences pane. Well, I'm still puzzled about that, but it turns out that its pretty easy to add the various Screensaver picture sets to the Desktop preferences pain menu anyway. Yesterday, PowerPage's Sarah Friedlander / posted a little tutorial entitled Desktop Pattern Organization In Mac OS X on how to do this, and last evening I tried her suggestions out. I wanted the set of Beach pictures from the Screensaver package especially, but you could use this same procedure to add any folder full of images to the Desktop preferences pane menu and thumbnail preview. The first step is to either log out and log back in as root, or to log in as root using the terminal, which I have done before, but have forgotten the procedure, so I just did the log out/log in routine. Once logged in as root, open your hard drive or partition window where OS X is installed, and then drill down through System -> Library -> PreferencePanes. 
Find the DesktopPictures.pref Pane, Control Click on its icon, and select the "Show Package Contents Dialog" contextual menu item. When the window opens, you will find a folder named "Contents," inside which there will be another folder named "Resources." In the Resources folder you will find a file called "Collections.plist." Open this file with a text editor (It is also probably wise to make a backup copy of Collections.plist and store it safely elsewhere before proceeding). I used Tex Edit Plus, but any text editor will do. 
I then made a cut and paste copy of one of the menu item reference strings in the Collections.plist text and pasted it in among the existing strings has shown in this graphic. I changed two pieces of syntax, substituting " beach" for "nature" which was the original string that I had borrowed. I saved the document, and that was that. 
Now I needed a folder with the Beach pictures for the system resource to access. I logged back out and logged in as me again. Back to the hard drive window -> System -> Library -> Screen Savers. I then Control-clicked on Beach.slideSaver and selected "Show Package Contents" from the contextual menu. The folder containing the 13 beach images is in: Contents -> Resources. I Option-dragged the Beach images folder out onto the Desktop to make a copy, leaving the original unmolested, and then went back to the hard drive window ->Library (not the System Library this time) - > Desktop Pictures, and put the copied folder of Beach images in the Desktop Pictures folder. 
I opened the Desktop preferences pane, pulled down the collections minion, and voila! There were the 13 Beach pictures. A simple click on any of the thumbnail images will select it as the current Desktop picture. Cool! 
OS X browser speedstakes Browser shootout
I want Netscape 7 for OSX... but how?From Kate Hi, I read your OSX browser shootout with great interest! If you have a moment i'd really appreciate some advice on Netscape 7 I tried to download netscape 7 for osx, but it only comes through as a Classic application... I went to the Netscape website to download, and it didn't even ask me what OS I wanted it for... so I assumed it was a carbon application... but it downloaded one of those smaller installer-coordinator type programs, which itself was Classic... and installed a Classic version of Netscape... I read the download instructions and they didn't even seem to pertain to the same thing... Any ideas? did you get it from a special place? I actually really like Netscape's all-in-one approach. but the previous releases have been so slow that i've been using ie! after reading your review, I'd really like to jump on this bandwagon!
Hi Kate;
Netscape's download site always confuses the heck out of me. In this case, the trick is to go to the ftp site here:
You will find download files for both OS X and OS 8-9 there.
Charles Re: I want Netscape 7 for osx... but how? From Kate Wow! Thanks so much for the help... and that great article! The speed increase is truly tangible...! Thanks again, Kate From Dan Knight One huge variable you might want to mention in future browser comparisons: ads. You might access a site once and have a huge 20-30k animated GIF banner ad, and the next time it could be a slim, fast loading 6-8k banner. That can make a huge difference, especially at your connection speeds. Multiply by 2, 3, or more ads in rotation, and there's just a whole lot of room for variance that isn't browser related. Based on your article, I'll be loading Netscape 7 and adding it to my OS X setup. From Craig Hunter Hi Charles, I wonder how much your timing benchmarks were affected by the 26.4K modem connection. I have noticed that browser performance differences are much more dramatic on a fast network (cable modem, Ethernet, etc), where you see the effect of the browser's HTML rendering capabilities without a network bottleneck. The 26.4K connection probably has a larger effect on timings than the browsers themselves. Do you have an idea how repeatable your timings were? Craig
Dr. Craig A. Hunter
Hi Dan and Craig;
I agree that transient ad content could affect results, but in running these shootout tests over the past six months or so, I've been surprised by how consistant the results have been. For example, iCab has always been sluggish loading Low End Mac, regardless of ad content. Two of the pages I used for this most recent shootout also had static content during the run of the test (Daily News and the weather radar image).
I have also experimented with re-timng a download of a specific page several times (dumping the cache prior to each time, and found the results consistent at a particular date and time of day. I try to pick times with low Web traffic (eg: late night) to minimize that variable.
In the past two shootouts, Netscape 7.0 was fastest by a significant margin, which inclines me to think that the results are consistent, at least for dialup users.
Charles
The OS X Odyssey archives may be accessed here: Note: Letters to Moore's Mailbag may or may not be published at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context. Opinions expressed in postings to Moore's MailBag are those of the respective correspondents and not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Editor and/or Applelinks management. If you would prefer that your message not appear in Moore's Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published. CM
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