Avi's Backdrop v1.17
by Avi Drissman, drissman@acm.org
http://detroit.freenet.org/~drissman/newton/

Requirements
A Newton device with Newton OS 2.1 or greater. (That means a MessagePad 2000, 2100, or eMate. It's been tested on a MessagePad 2000 only. There shouldn't be any problems with any others, though.)

About 25K free on the internal store.

Purpose
For those unfamiliar with the concept of a backdrop, there is a program running at all times on your Newton. By default, this is the Note Pad. Since most people don't take notes all the time and the Note Pad is a fairly big resource hog, many people like to make a different program their backdrop. A whole category of Newton programs has sprung up, in fact--programs designed to be nothing but the backdrop. Avi's Backdrop is one of them.

Installation (Read or crash your Newton!)
First, if you are currently using Avi's Backdrop as your backdrop, you MUST set another program to be the backdrop. Open the Extras drawer, tap and hold on the Notes icon, tap the action button, and select "Make Backdrop." If you are upgrading from version 1.0 of Avi's Backdrop, you must erase the old copy of Avi's Backdrop before downloading the new version.

Use the Newton Connection Utilities program that came with your Newton device to download the included package. When the download is complete, Avi's Backdrop will ask you to make it the backdrop. Agree.

Use
Avi's Backdrop was designed to be very simple to use. At the top left of the screen is your name. If you tap your name, you get a pop-up which allows you to quickly select an active owner card and an active worksite.

In the upper right corner are two icons and values. One of the icons is of a battery. The value to the right is the percentage of battery power left. If you tap the value or icon, you get a floater with more extensive battery statistics. To the right of the battery information is the chip icon. The value to the right is the free frames heap. Tapping the value or icon forces a garbage collection. This is fairly esoteric so don't worry if you don't understand it.

Below the gray line is the date. If you tap it, you get your scheduling application. By default, that's the built-in Dates program, but you can configure it for another program. See the configuration section below.

On the right side of the screen below the line is the time. Tap it to bring up your clock. By default, that's the built-in Clock program, but that's also configurable. See below.

Between the date and time are either one, two or three icons. From left to right they are:

Card: This icon is only visible if there is a card inserted into the Newton. Otherwise it is invisible. Tap it to get the standard card slip.

Backlight: Tap this icon to toggle the backlighting setting.

Sound volume: This icon is only visible on a MessagePad, as eMates have hardware volume control, and this icon would be useless. Tap this icon to display the sound volume slider. If you use the sound slider to set a new volume the slider automatically closes. Otherwise, tap anywhere on the screen.

Below the three icons is an area that will usually remain empty. However, if there are any upcoming birthdays or anniversaries in your date book, they will be displayed near the top right of the blank area. (Thanks to Theodorich Kopetzky for his help in making this work with the German Newtons.) The amount of time in advance a birthday or anniversary is displayed is configurable in Prefs. If there are more birthdays or anniversaries coming up than fit in the area (one will be chopped off at the bottom) then tap the birthdays or anniversaries and drag up and down to scroll (a big thank you to Gerd Wagner of Vector fame for inspiration).

In the info button ([i]) there are several options. Selecting "About" tells you about Avi's Backdrop. Selecting "Prefs" allows you to change the Dates application, as explained below. Selecting "Beam Avi's Backdrop" allows you to beam Avi's Backdrop to a friend's Newton quickly and easily. Selecting "Reboot Newton" reboots the Newton safely. Selecting "'61 Memory Fix" attempts to fix a -10061 memory problem. See the section below for instructions. And "Battery Statistics" brings up the same battery statistics window brought up by tapping the battery percentage value.

On the status bar, there is a Recent Apps button (with the speeding package icon) just to the right of the Rotate button. From this button you can run recently-launched applications. The number of remembered applications is configurable in Prefs. Unfortunately, not all applications are remembered by the Recent Apps button. Some built-in apps don't identify themselves and are not remembered; the Styles palette is an example. Also, many of the older applications from the Newton 1.0 days don't identify themselves (all 2.0-only applications are fine). And finally, books cannot be remembered. Occasionally there is a pause before the pop-up menu appears. That's normal.

There is an Easter Egg hidden in the program. It is very hard to trigger. I will give no hints. You'll know it when you see it. Good luck.

'61 Memory Fix
First, credit where credit is due. Frank Wegener (wegener@travel-cs.com), not me, is the person who came up with the NewtonScript code to fix the problem. Secondly, this is experimental! I don't guarantee that this will work on all -10061 problems. In fact, I don't guarantee that this will work on any -10061 problems at all. But it's worth a shot, and it should help.

THIS IS NOT A CURE FOR THE -10061 PROBLEM. Only Apple can provide that. This only alleviates the symptoms, and hopefully will keep your Newton from requiring a restart after a -10061 attack.

What happens is that, for some reason, on Newtons with 4 Megs of DRAM, the Newton OS occasionally loses track of a program. The program is still in flash memory, but it gets disconnected from the dynamic RAM. No one knows why, or how. Then, when the application is accessed, a -10061 error is generated. What "'61 Memory Fix" does is to try to reload and reset the connections to the packages in the flash memory.

To use it, you need to experience a -10061 error. When a -10061 error occurs, switch to Avi's Backdrop, tap the info button ([i]), and select "'61 Memory Fix". The fixing of memory can take up to ten seconds, depending on how many packages you have installed on your Newton. When the [i] icon returns to normal and the Newton makes a "ding" sound, the fix is done. Try whatever it was that you were doing again.

Some caveats: First, there are other reasons why a -10061 error might happen. The Fix only attempts to fix the infamous memory-mapping bug; it does not affect other reasons. Secondly, if Avi's Backdrop itself gets disconnected by the -10061 bug, you won't be able to access the Fix. You'll have to restart.

The Fix is harmless if accidentally selected.

Making your own background picture
Making your own background picture is easy. You need to make a Newton book. A real Newton book. Use Newton Press if you have it, try BookMaker if you don't (I personally haven't tried BookMaker). Unfortunately, Newtscape and Paperback won't work.

Run Newton Press, and create a new book. Add your desired picture. (If you want to ensure that your picture will be fully visible in both portrait and landscape orientation, you'll have to restrict its size to 320 pixels horizontally by 240 pixels vertically. If your picture exceeds these limits, be aware that it may not be fully visible in some screen orientations. Background pictures are not scaled if they don't fit.) Then click the "Title" button on the toolbar to get the title window. You must click the "More Choices button". Fill out the fields as appropriate, but the ISBN field must start with "A!:". No, not including the quotes. Now, save the book and download it to the Newton. It is now available for use by Avi's Backdrop.

Once the desired picture is selected as the background picture, you may erase the picture book from your Newton, if you wish, to save space.

Configuration
If you tap the info button ([i]), then tap "Prefs", you get the preferences slip. The configurable options are:

Use the picker labeled "Dates application" to select an application to be opened when the date is tapped.

Use the picker labeled "Clock application" to select an application to be opened when the clock is tapped.

Use the picker labeled "Bday/Anniv lookahead" to select how far in advance birthdays and anniversaries are displayed in the birthday/anniversary area.

Use the picker labeled "Number of Recent Apps" to select how many applications are remembered for the Recent Applications button.

Use the picker labeled "Background Picture" to select the background picture.

Story time
This is actually my second Newton app. My first was Newton Joke (or Newton Joker, I still don't know which), which was hastily written for MacHack '95. It's a good thing almost no one has a copy. I wrote Avi's Backdrop for myself, but it's slowly becoming configurable. Email me if you feel there is some aspect of it that should be configurable.

Version History
Version 1.0 (15 February 1998)
Initial release

Version 1.01 (21 February 1998)
Moved the three icons over
Tweaked the birthday area and documented it (no, that wasn't the Easter Egg)
Updated the copyright information in the package
Fixed the developer signature (unfortunately, "Avi" was taken, so I now have "AviD")

Version 1.02 (22 February 1998)
Fixed the auxiliary button problem

Version 1.03 (22 February 1998)
Fixed the auxiliary button problem, again

Version 1.1 (28 February 1998)
Made the slider a pop-up, so it closes with a tap anywhere on the screen
The Easter Egg now works
The application opened by tapping on the date is now configurable
Tapping your name now brings up a picker allowing quick switching of owners and worksites
Can automatically make itself the backdrop
Can beam itself to another Newton
Minor code changes
New About box

Version 1.11 (2 March 1998)
Changed the triggering mechanism of the Easter Egg
Tapping the icons for memory and battery do the same things as tapping the values

Version 1.12 (15 March 1998)
The memory status no longer prints to the Inspector (programmers rejoice!)
The easter egg has temporarily been removed pending further investigation of a conflict with the Extras key on the eMate keyboard (Doh!)

Version 1.13 (22 March 1998)
Tapping on the memory status icon now works again (got broken in 1.12)
The memory status is now really silenced in the Inspector
The "New About box" introduced in 1.1 is now opaque (Duh!)
The flickering on and off of a person's birthday on the first and last day of the display range is fixed, finally
More minor tweaking of the auxiliary button handling
The easter egg is back, in a different place but with the same triggering mechanism, more complicated than ever

Version 1.14 (5 April 1998)
The card icon now opens the card slip the Right Way
The status bar now adds and removes auxiliary buttons the Right Way
The owner card/worksite switcher now switches the Right Way (and accommodates long names better, too)
Avi's Backdrop now registers for time and store changes the Right Way

Version 1.15 (6 May 1998)
The application opened by tapping on the clock is now configurable
Birthday advance warning is configurable
Birthdays in list are now sorted by date
Volume button hides itself on eMate
Birthday area also shows upcoming anniversaries
Birthday area now scrolls
Added reboot command to info button
Added '61 Memory Fix to info button

Version 1.16 (24 May 1998)
Tweaked volume slider
Tweaked date and time buttons (MoreInfo should work, now)
Added relative dating to birthdays/anniversaries (i.e. today, tomorrow)
Birthdays and anniversaries now work on German Newtons

Version 1.17 (1 June 1998)
Added Recent Applications button
Added background picture

Legal stuff
The application Avi's Backdrop is freeware. Please feel free to give a copy to anyone you wish. You are not allowed to charge any fees for distributing it without express written consent from Avi Drissman.

You may not modify the package in any way, and must transmit the package and this documentation file together at all times.

If you run this package on a Newton device that is not available for sale to the general public, you must email me with comments on the performance of Avi's Backdrop on that device. You are not required to disclose any information that you are prohibited from disclosing due to contractual obligations.

Avi Drissman will not be held liable for any damage caused by the package Avi's Backdrop. Even though Avi Drissman has worked his darnedest to try to eliminate all problems in the package, some may still exist, so you use this package at your own risk. If you don't like it, erase it from your Newton device. That is the only recourse you have if Avi's Backdrop does not suit your needs.

The package and this documentation are copyright © 1997-8 Avi Drissman. All rights reserved.