OdoClock is just a silly little desktop clock with a difference. You can drag any picture you like onto the current OdoClock to have it change form and style to match your picture.
OdoClock is delivered as a Control Panel, but its natural place is in your "Startup Items" folder. It does not patch any traps or install any init or use any memory if you close its window.
Requirements?
System 7 or better with Drag & Drop (DragManager) installed. Probably a 68020 or better - we don't have any 68000 machines at hand - someone borrowed our PB100.
Why the hell did you waste your time doing that?
Hell if I know. I released the OdoWDEF but never saw anyone use it, so I wanted to use it in something myself. I also wanted to learn Drag & Drop for other projects and needed the practice :)
What else?
OdoClock doesn't accept Picture files - only clippings. If you've got a picture file, the easiest way to get it to OdoClock is to drag it into the ScrapBook (or ClarisWorks 4.04) and then drag it from there to OdoClock.
Drop a clipping with the command-key to create the region out of frames in your picture. (May work better for some graphics).
Drop a clipping with the option-key to have all white areas transparent. (Works better with the default images in the ScrapBook like the Sun).
I have included a few quick clippings. These are not ultra-high quality, just examples of what you can do yourself. If you make a cool swatch that you would like to share, e-mail it to me and I will include it in the next release.
(There are a couple of settings you can mess with if you wish in the 'PREF' resource. The only supported parameters are the offset, dimensions, hand thicknesses and "Clock is more Square" which gives you longer hands. In OdoClock V1.01 you will be able to drag text infos to the window to configure it or I'll have a Pop-Up menu come up. I will document the preferences then. Of course if there are no reactions to OdoClock, I won't bother bothering you with another release.)
What should I watch out for?
If you drag a Picture to Odo that would make it disappear, it will open up as a standard square window. If you drag something silly that would make it almost disapper, you must open OdoClock and type "akua" into the (invisible) window. You won't see anything show up while typing, but if you type it correctly, you should see the OdoClock reset to a circle.
Be careful using too jaggy pictures. On our PowerMacs, this was OK, but on lesser Macs, this causes really slow dragging and redrawing of the window.
Technical: The picture is made purgeable - i.e. if the System needs the memory, it can have it. OdoClock will reload the picture when it next needs it. This does not mean you should be throwing 200KB pictures or JPEGs onto OdoClock.
Can I distribute it?
Yes. OdoClock is free. Have fun with it, use it to make your own company's clock, throw it away, eat it for dinner or lie to a girlfriend and tell her you made it just for her (after throwing a picture of a red heart onto it).
Can I use the OdoWDEF?
See the ReadMe for the OdoWDEF for questions concerning it.
Who wrote it?
For questions, comments, or to let me know you hate OdoClock and think it is worthless, contact:
Gregory Lemperle-Kerr
AKUA interactive media AG, ASTARTE GmbH & AKUA interactive media, inc.
Internet: ASTARTE@AppleLink.apple.com or 100441.1272@CompuServe.com
(Don't bash me, I travel a lot and thus wouldn't gain from a local internet provider until I move to Zurich later this year.)
Why the silly title?
OdoClock is named after Odo WDEF which is named after the shape-changing chief of security in "Star-Trek DS-9". OdoClock likes to sleep in a bucket.
