the Rave: Taskbar v2.62- by David Gaskill

Have you noticed when you go to see a senior executive in his office that, not infrequently, mostly what you see is the back of his gigantic monitor? Senior executives have big monitors. Very senior executives have very big monitors. (I sometimes wonder what they do with those acres of phosphor, sales projection bottom left, Quake top right?)

I like to see my visitors; whether they like to see me or would prefer the back of a large monitor is another matter. I have a 14 inch monitor. It is the type that doesn't bother to scan the whole of the screen so the actual diagonal of the scanned area measures nearer 12 inches. "How do you manage with a postage stamp size screen?" you ask; some have even inquired unkindly where I keep the microscope.

The answer to the problem is not a microscope but a magnificent little utility called Taskbar.

Because of my restricted screen acreage I run nearly everything full screen. Taskbar puts a coloured line down one side of the screen. (Which of the four sides, the colour and thickness of the line can all be selected.) When the mouse pointer hits the line a margin appears (GIF, 4.8K) in which are displayed the icons and names of all open windows and applications. I left click an icon and that window is brought to the top of the Z order, right click and a list of options is presented, maximise, minimise, etc.), click both mouse buttons and the application is closed.

But wait, there is more; touch the line at the edge of the screen and in addition to the list of open applications, the launchpad is displayed so that I can start additional applications. The real beauty of Taskbar is that as soon as I move the mouse pointer away from the icon display it closes leaving me an uncluttered screen on which to work.

So you don't want to display icons of applications that you always have running, (NPSWPS, VoiceType, etc.) when you touch the edge of the screen? Another setting in Taskbar allows you to determine which applications should be ignored and not have their icons and names displayed when the margin is touched.

The thing is an indispensable masterpiece.

Do I hear cries of, "What about Object Desktop"? I have it, and a very fine piece of software it is too. I was in the early experience programme and like to think I contributed something. The discs (for v1.5) currently live in the box with the original version of OS/2.

If you have got the room for all the things it provides and like to know what is going on underneath the hood then there is nothing better; but for simple souls like me with little monitors, Taskbar is truly indispensable.


 * Taskbar v2.62
by Rick Yoder
download from Hobbes (ZIP, 417K)
MSRP: US$15
David Gaskill, who lives in North West England, is keyboard illiterate and uses VoiceType and other OS/2 applications in his attempts to scrape a living as a Project Consultant.

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