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LambdaCalculus
New Jersey, USA

Posted Tue Aug 01, 2017 5:36 pm

I'm catching up with learning how to work with Workbench 3.1 (along with AmigaOS 3.9), and there's quite a bit I need to pick up on. That's what I get for not having used AmigaOS much in its heyday! ;)

I set up an emulated Amiga 1200 as my test Amiga system for WB 3.1 in FS-UAE. Setup is as follows:
  • 68020 CPU
  • 2MB Chip RAM; 128MB Zorro III Fastmem
  • UAEGFX
  • Using A2065 Network card emulation
  • 1 floppy (DF0:), 1 CD drive
  • System and Work "partitions" (set as folders on my desktop's HDD)
I set up WB 3.1, then grabbed a ClassicWB package for some add-ons. The result?
amiga1200-crop-1706162231-01.png
My Workbench 3.1 setup isn't much to brag about.

It needs some work. How best can I get my WB 3.1 nice and pimped out and looking good? Anything I need to grab or configure? Any settings I should change in my emulated A1200? I'm willing to get whatever I need from Aminet.

(Also, the emulated A1200 sees only 32MB RAM overall, which is no biggie, but I may want to fix.)

User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Tue Aug 01, 2017 6:13 pm

To be honest, I don't dabble in 3.1 these days. But right before I lovingly downshifted into 1.3, I recall much ado about a package called Magic Workbench. Some of the customizations I've seen done with that is remarkable.

Unfortunately, I don't know how to easily grab it or install it. The only place I've seen hosting it has it broken into 28 archive files (maybe it was on a CD originally, I don't know). It's not supported any longer as (IIRC) the pirating of it really bummed the developer out big time so he quit.

But do hunt around for Magic Workbench and see what some folks have done. It's pretty cool. That's the neatest thing I've seen done to 3.1.

Heck - I think Shot even got his WB 1.3 icons looking a lot like Magic Workbench somehow. It's all... magic to me.

User avatar
LambdaCalculus
New Jersey, USA

Posted Tue Aug 01, 2017 6:19 pm

I remember coming across Magic Workbench many moons ago in my journey across the internet to discover more Amiga info, and have seen that many Amiga users recommend it as a good WB enhancement.

I guess one of the reasons I do want to play around with it is to create a nice looking desktop (hence why I named this thread "Pimp My Workbench" ;) ), but also to get a feel for just how flexible Amigas truly are.

Thanks for the advice! :)

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icbrkr
Particles! BBS

Posted Thu Aug 03, 2017 5:14 pm

It's too bad it's not there anymore, but there used to be a great section that showed off workbenches on amiga.org and how they did it. I know VisualPrefs helps you modify the windows/etc which I used a lot on 3.9 (pretty sure it works on 3.1)

User avatar
icbrkr
Particles! BBS

Posted Thu Aug 03, 2017 5:33 pm

I guess I lied.

You can get some good ideas here:

http://www.amiga.org/gallery/index.php?c=1

User avatar
LambdaCalculus
New Jersey, USA

Posted Sat Aug 05, 2017 7:58 pm

Wow, there are some really nice Workbenches in this gallery! :D

This is one thing I always enjoy doing with any operating system I use: I love to customize them and truly make them feel like my own; like they're an extension of me! It's a form of self-expression, I suppose! :)

Thanks for the link, icbrkr!

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LambdaCalculus
New Jersey, USA

Posted Wed Aug 30, 2017 6:44 am

Beside icbrkr's link, I remembered that there's a whole slew of Workbench screengrabs up on Aminet that one can browse through to see what others have done with their Workbench setups as well! Link is here if anyone wants to take a peek!

User avatar
LambdaCalculus
New Jersey, USA

Posted Tue Oct 17, 2017 8:17 pm

So after some learning curve, a combination of having to hunt down not only utilities and tools on Aminet, a copy of AmigaOS 3.9 and its Boing Bags (which I finally found after some hunting around!), and of course a ClassicWB installer, I finally got myself a very nice AmigaOS 3.9 setup that's going to be going into my Amiga 4000 when it arrives! There are more utilities for me to install still, but I've got a solid basis underneath it all from which to build up! Needless to say, I will truly be pimping this setup out! :lol:

My Amiga 500, on the other hand, will be getting a Wicher 500i accelerator and a very nice Workbench 2.1 setup, which I also started to get some preparation done on! :D
amiga4000-crop-1710172238-01.png
My AmigaOS 3.9 Workbench

amiga600-crop-1710162203-01.png
My WIP Workbench 2.1 setup


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mattsoft

Posted Tue Oct 17, 2017 8:42 pm

Hah hah! The Nagel desktop is so 80s appropriate. :)

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LambdaCalculus
New Jersey, USA

Posted Wed Oct 18, 2017 7:57 am

I know, right?? It was one of the example .IFF files that was included with the utility, so I decided to use it as a test. I quite like it, though, so I may keep it! :D





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