Extensions Strip 1.9.3
Chris Lawson - 2000.12.04
Low End Mac Reader Specials
Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com
LA Computer Company: LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, Apple Displays, MacBooks, iMac's, MacBook Pros, Laptop and iPod accessories and more. Apple A/C Adapters for laptops starting at $25.00 Call 1-800-941-7654 or Click Here.
OWC: OWC Mercury On-The-Go FW400/800/USB2/eSATA Portables High Performance A/V Rated, **Bus Powered** **Up to 500GB in the Palm of your Hand** Macworld Editor's Choice, CNET 'Very Good' - from $75.99!
Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.
MacPro Memory 667Mhz With Apple Spec Heat Sink 2GB $90 / 4GB $134 / 8GB $264. Click to Maximize your Macs...
Extensions Strip, a $15 ($8 educational) piece of shareware written by Ammon Skidmore, is the best Control Strip replacement there is. Apple would do well to follow Ammon's example.
If you're not using Control Strip, you should. Apple's implementation is a real time saver. Extensions Strip is fully compatible with both 68K and PowerPC and runs native in either environment. It requires about 300K of disk space and 100K or so of RAM. The latest version is 2.0b3 (a beta), which I've been using since mid-July with no problems at all. I believe the last non-beta version was 1.9.3.
Extensions Strip works just as the Control Strip does: It uses small (generally 40K or less) "modules" that bring additional functionality to the Mac OS via a small floating window on your screen. The Control Strip itself was originally introduced with the PowerBook versions of the Mac OS back in System 7.1; it became part of the Mac OS in general with Mac OS 7.6. In my control strip, I have modules to control my monitor bit depth and resolution, my CD-ROM drive, the speaker volume, the sound input device, Location Manager, File Sharing, QuickTime, Energy Saver, and many others - all available with a single click at the bottom of the screen.
Where Extensions Strip excels is in ease of use and flexibility. While both Extensions Strip and Apple's Control Strip can be hidden with one keystroke, Extensions Strip can be moved about the screen to wherever you wish it to be. Apple's Control Strip is chained to the two sides of the display.
Extensions Strip supports multiple horizontal or vertical strips; you can put your seldom-used modules into their own folder and get them out of the way by minimising their strip. (Control Strip supports only a single horizontal strip.) Extensions Strip takes up somewhat less screen real estate than the Control Strip and even supports a "mini-module" mode to take up still less screen space. Extensions Strip loads and unloads modules as they are dragged into and out of the Control Strip Modules folder; the Control Strip requires a restart for this.
Because Extensions Strip is an application, it can be quit and restarted at will, but Control Strip cannot. Extensions Strip also supports "themes" for the strips that control the appearance of an individual strip's "title bar." Different strips can have different themes, and Ammon conveniently includes a theme modeled on Apple's Control Strip if you desire that particular look.
Extensions Strip allows full control over the fonts and styling of the menus that modules pop up; Control Strip does not. One module included in the package, Ammon's own Process Manager, gives the user a great deal of control over running applications. Keystrokes can be set for a variety of different controls, most notably application switching (very useful if you're using a pre-Mac OS 8 system). Process Manager is one of what Ammon calls "ES-savvy" modules that take advantage of the added features of Extensions Strip.
Extensions Strip's only drawback is that it requires System 7.5
or better to run, whereas Control Strip can on PowerBooks with
System 7.1. 
Resources
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Mac Pro overclocking, Windependence with Darwine, Blu-ray for Macs, and more, Mac News Review, 07.04. Also more on running Leopard on non-Apple hardware, Ubuntu on a Mac mini, the first autofocus webcam with Zeiss optics for Macs, and more.
- Wouldn't life be great with an iSlate?, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 07.04. PDAs and smartphones are too small for some tasks, full-fledged Tablet PCs are overkill, and ebook readers are too limited. Apple has the tech to own this niche.
- Mac of the Day: Original iMac G3/233, Aug. 98 - The Bondi blue wonder that bounced Apple back to profitability and into the public eye.
- List of the Day: Mac Pro List is for those using a Mac Pro.
- July 5 in LEM history: 98: The iMac: First of a family? - iMac Perfect for schools - 00: Apple is not your friend - 01: 75 Mac Advantages - Do you trust me? - 02: The joy of X with Classic - The good, the bad, and the intrusive - 05: No Quartz Extreme for Pismo - A brief history of NeXT - 06: Education iMac - iTunes and the French interoperability law - TopXNotes - Apple's secret battery reset utility - Misleading hard drive capacity
- The Macintosh Portable started a notebook revolution, Carl Nygren, Classic Macs in the Intel Age, 07.03. Before Apple introduced the Mac Portable, notebook computers were text-based and ran MS-DOS. Ever since, graphical interfaces have been the norm for laptops.
- More links in our archive.
About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts
Have a question?
Ask an expert!
Navigation
Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum
Favorite Sites
MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System
6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
Mac FAQ
Abandonware
Petition
Mac vs. PC Info
Affiliates
The Apple
Store
Mac
Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial
Memory
batteries.com
Advertise
