Posts tagged “manual” — Blog of independent game and app developer Matt Sephton. Featuring vintage Macintosh, game development, digital artwork, Japanese esoterica, video game reviews, hacks and tips, and much more. https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/tag/manual/ Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:09:47 +0000 Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:09:47 +0000 Jekyll v4.4.1 <p>One of my favourite Google products is their Custom Search Engine (CSE) feature. It allows you to create walled-garden search engines that return results only for chosen selection of websites. This is ideal for creating interest-specific search engines.</p> <p>These days they seem to be calling the feaure Google Programmable Search, though I’m not quite sure where the programmable aspect comes in? Back in 2006 the feature was introduced as Google Co-op, but whatever. I mention those only for SEO purposes! Cheeky.</p> <p>I’ve been using CSEs for years to help with finding files related to my various hobby interests, mostly retro gaming and computing. Heck, for a few years a decade ago my way of downloading music files was through a CSE I called “one click wonder”. They work really well.</p> <p>Given the nature of the web, and the fact that CSEs benefit from continued maintenance, a lot of mine have gradually withered away. But a few of them have survived the test of time.</p> <p>Listed below are a handful of what I would consider are the most useful CSEs I’ve created, I won’t list the domains involved because the information would need to be updated over time, but you can try each one and use the top tabs to get a handle on exactly which sites are being indexed.</p> <h2 id="classic-macintosh">Classic Macintosh</h2> <p>Software and PDF books downloads for pre-OSX Macintosh systems.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://bit.ly/searchclassicmac" title="https://bit.ly/searchclassicmac">bit.ly/searchclassicmac</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="palmos">PalmOS</h2> <p>Software downloads for PalmOS-based devices.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://bit.ly/searchpalmos" title="https://bit.ly/searchpalmos">bit.ly/searchpalmos</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="japanese-software">Japanese Software</h2> <p>Software downloads for vintage systems: Windows, Macintosh, Sharp X68000, PC-98, Palm, etc.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://bit.ly/searchjapansoft" title="https://bit.ly/searchjapansoft">bit.ly/searchjapansoft</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="rom-finder">ROM Finder</h2> <p>Classic/retro video game ROMs, ISOs, disc images.</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://bit.ly/searchroms" title="http://bit.ly/searchroms">bit.ly/searchroms</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="manuals">Manuals</h2> <p>Consumer Electronics operation manual or user guide PDFs.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://bit.ly/searchmanuals" title="https://bit.ly/searchmanuals">bit.ly/searchmanuals</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="ace-answers">Ace Answers</h2> <p>Vintage FAQs and repair guides for the Toyota TownAce and Space Cruiser vehicles.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://bit.ly/searchaceanswers" title="https://bit.ly/searchaceanswers">bit.ly/searchaceanswers</a></li> </ul> by Matt Sephton Tue, 20 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2021/04/20/interest-specific-search-engines/ https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2021/04/20/interest-specific-search-engines/ <p>I received a package from America: the 30-year-old manual for UltraPaint, Deneba Systems’ Macintosh graphics program. It doesn’t get much more exciting for me than this!</p> <div class="carousel__holder"> <div id="carousel0" class="carousel"> <input class="carousel__activator" type="radio" name="carousel0" id="0a" checked="checked" /> <input class="carousel__activator" type="radio" name="carousel0" id="0b" /> <input class="carousel__activator" type="radio" name="carousel0" id="0c" /> <input class="carousel__activator" type="radio" name="carousel0" id="0d" /> <div class="carousel__controls"> <label class="carousel__control carousel__control--backward" for="0d"></label> <label class="carousel__control carousel__control--forward" for="0b"></label> </div> <div class="carousel__controls"> <label class="carousel__control carousel__control--backward" for="0a"></label> <label class="carousel__control carousel__control--forward" for="0c"></label> </div> <div class="carousel__controls"> <label class="carousel__control carousel__control--backward" for="0b"></label> <label class="carousel__control carousel__control--forward" for="0d"></label> </div> <div class="carousel__controls"> <label class="carousel__control carousel__control--backward" for="0c"></label> <label class="carousel__control carousel__control--forward" for="0a"></label> </div> <div class="carousel__track"> <ul> <li class="carousel__slide" style="background-image: url('https://cdn.gingerbeardman.com/images/posts/ultrapaint-manual-1.JPG');"><img class="carousel__staticimage" src="https://cdn.gingerbeardman.com/images/posts/ultrapaint-manual-1.JPG" /></li> <li class="carousel__slide" style="background-image: url('https://cdn.gingerbeardman.com/images/posts/ultrapaint-manual-2.JPG');"><img class="carousel__staticimage" src="https://cdn.gingerbeardman.com/images/posts/ultrapaint-manual-2.JPG" /></li> <li class="carousel__slide" style="background-image: url('https://cdn.gingerbeardman.com/images/posts/ultrapaint-manual-3.JPG');"><img class="carousel__staticimage" src="https://cdn.gingerbeardman.com/images/posts/ultrapaint-manual-3.JPG" /></li> <li class="carousel__slide" style="background-image: url('https://cdn.gingerbeardman.com/images/posts/ultrapaint-manual-4.JPG');"><img class="carousel__staticimage" src="https://cdn.gingerbeardman.com/images/posts/ultrapaint-manual-4.JPG" /></li> </ul> </div> <div class="carousel__indicators"> <label class="carousel__indicator" for="0a"></label> <label class="carousel__indicator" for="0b"></label> <label class="carousel__indicator" for="0c"></label> <label class="carousel__indicator" for="0d"></label> </div> </div> </div> <style> .carousel__holder {width: 100%; 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} else if (($style.display === 'block' || $style.display === 'inline-block') && $style.height === '0px' && $style.overflow === 'hidden') { return false; } else { return $style.position === 'fixed' || isVisible(el.parentNode); } } } setInterval(function(){ var j=0; var elements = document.querySelectorAll('#carousel0 .carousel__control--forward'); for(i=(elements.length - 1);i>-1;i--) { if(isVisible(elements[i])) j=i; } elements[j].click(); },7000); </script> <p>I love how the Option key in printed material from this era looks more like a 2-way switch symbol from an electrical circuit diagram than it does today.</p> <p><img src="https://cdn.gingerbeardman.com/images/posts/ultrapaint-manual-option-key.JPG" alt="JPG" /></p> <h2 id="similar-books">Similar Books</h2> <p>The contents of the manual are very naïve compared to today, talking you through how to use menu items and dialog boxes. UltraPaint (and it’s follow-up artWORKS) was a sister app to Canvas. If you’re looking for something with the same tone and content as the manual, check out Deke McClelland’s <a href="https://archive.org/details/canvas30book00mccl">Canvas 3.0: The Book</a> over at Internet Archive.</p> <h2 id="dear-reader">Dear Reader</h2> <p>If by chance you have some old Deneba Systems software for Macintosh that you’d be happy to sell then please <a href="https://www.gingerbeardman.com">get in touch</a>. Specifically I’d like to buy copies of UltraPaint, artWORKS and Canvas 3.0 or 3.5. I don’t mind what condition they are in, I’m sure it adds character!</p> by Matt Sephton Tue, 06 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2021/04/06/ultrapaint-manual/ https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2021/04/06/ultrapaint-manual/