Question on the colors of the ST Desktop

[zzip]

11 hours ago, Cyprian said:

GEM screen resolution depends on the capabilities of the graphics card, at that time (1985) 640x200 was quite popular. I see there https://www.seasip.info/Gem/Drivers/video.html drivers for GEM 1.x for e.g. Hercules 720x348

 

Actually PC GEM 1.1 in 640x200 wasn't so bad:

 

 

 

 

Clearly the icons are scaled there to compensate.    What version of GEM is this?   The version that was out in 85, or a later release?

EDIT: nevermind, 1.1  just reread the message

Edited January 19 by zzip

[Cyprian]

"GEM Desktop 1.1 was released on 10 April 1985"

[Zogging Hell]

I've never used medium on a wide screen monitor/ TV, does it work better when it is stretched out by upscaling (i.e. do the pixels look squarer?).

Medium today seems awful but for when I only had a TV with my ST it was the only usable resolution for word processing etc. Having 80 columns was kind of essential back then, it was the main reason computers like the Atari 800 were not taken seriously by business, so you literally had to have it to be taken seriously.

[oracle_jedi]

Interesting,

 

If you have the old ST boot ROMs that display the rainbow logo and prompt for a TOS boot disk... 

 

GEM boots up to a pale green desktop, which I think is actually a green/white pattern effect.  It looks decidedly more soothing that the garish kelly-green of TOS-in-ROM GEM desktops.

 

Of course these early STs only had RGB out.  I am wondering if composite artifacting might have been a reason behind switching to the solid green color on the later units that included RF out?

 

Personally I with they had chosen a more subdued color scheme like they used on the Falcon.

 

[thedocbwarren]

18 hours ago, oracle_jedi said:

Interesting,

 

If you have the old ST boot ROMs that display the rainbow logo and prompt for a TOS boot disk... 

 

GEM boots up to a pale green desktop, which I think is actually a green/white pattern effect.  It looks decidedly more soothing that the garish kelly-green of TOS-in-ROM GEM desktops.

 

Of course these early STs only had RGB out.  I am wondering if composite artifacting might have been a reason behind switching to the solid green color on the later units that included RF out?

 

Personally I with they had chosen a more subdued color scheme like they used on the Falcon.

 

Think the Falcon is what the STe should have been.  They did a nice job with Mega STe minute I still think it should have had higher graphics (but it's upgradable) and a 68020.  Colors, and ugly medium resolution seems like an oversight, rushed release, or apathy.  Given they only fixed with TOS 4, tells me apathy and rushed initially. 

 

I'm attempting to work on an enhancement for making medium look nice in EMUTOS, no idea if it gets accepted but will give it a shot.  

[+remowilliams]

It's because Little Brown Desktop wouldn't have sounded right.

[Atari030]

TOS 2.06 uses the lighter shade of green. I actually like that. ColorTOS is an nice fix for TOS 2 as well but does not much for medium res. I usually change my TOS 2.06 machines to the Falcon type Aqua in colour resolutions. Xcontrol is pretty good.