CandyBar Updated! (11.14.02) - With the recent release of Mac OS X 10.2.2, our friends over at Panic have been working hard on an update to CandyBar that is ready to use with the new OS. We're pleased to say that CandyBar 1.0.2 is available for immediate download and is fully qualified for use with OS X 10.2.2. This is a free upgrade to registered users, so don't delay, go grab it people!!


I'm back... (11.12.02) - Hi, it's me your resident news hound! Well, what started off as a little cold turned into the beginning stages of pneumonia. I'm doing better now and I'm slowly getting back to work. I just wanted to say thanks for ALL of your well-wishes and patience. Take care!


News Updates Temporarily Suspended (11.7.02) - Our faithful news editor, Mindy, has unfortunately been sick since this past Sunday. She continued to update the news for a few days, but we all thought that she should stop, rest and get better rather than let her condition get any worse. So in order to give her a break, we're suspending news updates for the time being. If you have news items, we would ask you to hold off sending them for the moment. When Min get's back on her feet, we'll be happy to resume normal daily updates. Thanks for your patience!


Important Milestone Reached (11.4.02) - We can't tell you how pleased we are to announce that our online database of GUI websites, the DeskBase, has reached the 400 site mark. That means that there are litterally hundreds of web pages to explore and download cool stuff from. The Deskbase has proven to be one of the most popular aspects of The Iconfactory, and so we have to send out a special thanks to all those webmasters who have signed up in the last year and a half. So hop on over and check out the latest offerings as well as a new link of the week. Enjoy!


"All I got was a bag full of rocks." (10.31.02 Boo!) - Oh how time flies! The day we love so much is finally here and that means soon it will be time to put away the costumes and the Jack-O-Lanterns and return to our normal lives. But not before we howl the night away, OD on candy and get comfy on the sofa for a good scare from our favorite horror movie. We hope you've enjoyed The Iconfactory's annual spooky make-over as well as our two holiday icon collections and all the goodies that have popped up in The Web's Attic over the last few weeks. Come Monday, all will return to normal and then we have Thanksgiving and Christmas to look forward to. In the meantime, have a happy, scary and safe holiday everyone. Happy Halloween!


Announcing Ravenswood Revisited (10.26.02) - Little did you know that we had one more holiday trick up our collective sleeves! That's right, resident artist Dave Brasgalla is pleased to announce that his latest freeware icon collection has been completed and is ready for download. Ravenswood Revisited is an update to Dave's classic spooky set released at Halloween in 2000. The entire cast of characters has been re-assembled for your haunted journey through the halls of Ravenswood. The set even includes a special desktop picture of the manor (and more) with other desktop resolutions available at Dave's personal website, The Pixelhaus. All Hallow's Eve is fast approaching so don't wait to get your claws on this all new icon collection from The Iconfactory. Trick or Treat everyone!


More Holiday Goodies at theDeskStop (10.25.02) - The treats just keep on coming cause our sister site, theDeskStop, has posted 4 all-new desktop images just for you. A Halloween pooch takes center stage in these fun and holiday inspired desktop picts. This plus a new and slimy Spotlight Texture are just waiting to be downloaded, so hop on by and see what you can scare up. Enjoy!


Link of the Week Sweetens CandyBar (10.21.02) - This week's featured web site has been updated and is offering something special, especially for user's of Panic & The Iconfactory's CandyBar OS X icon customization application. If you're looking for a new way to spice up your OS X toolbar and dock icons, then be sure to stop by the Deskbase and see what we're talking about. Enjoy!


Things That Go Bump In The Night (10.18.02) - We're pleased (and scared) to announce the release of our latest freeware icon collection, Macabre. Just in time for Halloween, these portraits in fear will spookify any self-respecting Mac desktop. The Foreman invites you to stop by the Showroom today and download his latest creations as either standard folder icons optimized for Mac OS X, or as an organized icon pack that can be used in conjuction with IconBrowser on Mac OS X or IconDropper on OS 8.5-9. We hope you enjoy this special holiday collection. If so, write us and let us know. Thanks everyone and Happy Halloween!


Best of the Web Survey Returns (10.17.02) - Those of you who gave the factory a thumbs up in the last survey will recognize the return of this poll that rates 100 of the top Mac Internet destinations. The latest round of the survey is now up and available online, so if you are inclined, take a few minutes and rate The Iconfactory along with other sites that just may be in your list of bookmarks. Thanks everyone!


Site Updates Galore (10.14.02) - We have a bunch of updates to let everyone know about this week. First, our spooky page of Halloween links, The Web's Attic continues to be updated prior to the October 31st holiday. Be sure to check it out for the latest cool and creepy Halloween GUI goodies.

Secondly, a few weeks ago we asked users of CandyBar, the OS X icon customization tool from Panic and the Iconfactory, to send us screen grabs of their Mac desktops with CandyBar running. We're pleased to report that these screen images have now been posted on our Scrapbook pages and are ready for viewing. Thanks to everyone who took time to send us their creative desktops. Neat stuff people!

Last, but hardly least, is that we have a new Link of the Week at the DeskBase. Our database of GUI sites continues to grow at an astounding rate and we're closing in on 400 individual sites. So much awaits you in the Deskbase, you only have to look to find tons of cool, downloadable goodies. Try doing a general search for "Halloween" and see what comes to life. :-> Enjoy!


"...and things that go bump in the night." (10.10.02) - Welcome to our annual Halloween make over! Every year we let the ghosts and ghouls out of their tombs and they somehow manage to take over the factory. We hope you enjoy the slight change of pace and make The Iconfactory your number one stop for Halloween GUI goodies.

Once again our dank and dark attic is alive with the links that will take you to all things spooky on the web. Our News Hell Hound has been pressed into service by throngs of zombies to keep the page up-to-date. Actually, that's not true, she's relying on all of you out there to send us your holiday related URLs. So if you spot an appropriate set of Halloween icons, a scary font, desktop pict or whatever, send it to us at xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx and she's sure to get it posted in a single flap of a bat's wing.

Watch for more scary stuff in the days ahead leading up to Halloween. You never know what's going to pop out of the ground! Boo!


The Cat Is Out of the Bag (10.9.02) - Those of you who keep up with the technical side of icons may have noticed a small blurb posted at ResExcellence on Tuesday regarding animated folders in OS X. This feature / function is based around a set of icon states that Apple planned to integrate into Aqua a long time ago, and seems to only now be implementing (at least partially). We'll, we're here to officially state that the next revision of IconBuilder Pro will indeed support the creation of the new "Open Drop" state for folder icons in OS X, so you'll be able to create and test your very own animated icons. Not only that, but they'll be fully compatible with CandyBar as well.

Will it be cool? Will it open the flood gates of creativity for icon artists? Will making icons take longer? The definitive answer to all these questions is a resounding, "Yes!". We can't give you a date as to when the next version of IconBuilder will be out, but we promise it will be cool! Stay tuned folks!


We're Still Looking for A Top Notch Pixel Pusher (10.5.02) - Just a quick note to remind everyone that The Iconfactory is still conducting an employment search for a full time icon artist at our Greensboro, NC office. If you have a degree in design and / or illustration, are interesting in joining a company that does work for some of the best known software developers in the world, and are willing to re-locate to North Carolina, we urge you to learn more.


A Request For IconBuilder Users (10.4.02) - If you regularly use The Iconfactory's IconBuilder Pro filter for Adobe Photoshop, and have made the switch to Mac OS X, we invite you to take just a few seconds to participate in a new poll over to the right. We're trying to gather some data on the screen resolutions of our IB users, and the more hard numbers we have, the better. If you don't use IB Pro on Mac OS X, just ignore us :-) Thanks for your help!


Ghosts & Ghouls Are Gathering (10.1.02) - Any long time fan of the factory can tell you that the workers just love Halloween to death (sorry, no pun intended). As the time for our annual spooky make-over approaches, the news hound wants to let everyone know that now is the time to send us your Halloween related links. If you've got a set of scary icons, desktop pictures, patterns, fonts, games or even just cool haunted trivia or info, send it along! Simply send your spooky links to us at xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx and we'll see about adding it to our collection of websites in the Web's Attic. October will be over before you know it, so get cracking people!

PS - Thanks to all those who sent us desktop screen caps of CandyBar in action. Watch for those picts to be posted soon.


Announcing CandyBar 1.0.1 (9.16.02) - That's right folks, Panic and The Iconfactory are pleased to announce the immediate availability of version 1.0.1 of our popular OS X icon switching application, CandyBar. Since its release, CandyBar has been getting rave reviews and users love the control that the application gives them over their OS X toolbar and system icons. There have been many suggestions for improvements and we're pleased to say that this release addresses the primary request from users - the ability to customize the Finder icon in the dock. But this isn't all that's been updated, so don't take our word for it, head on over to the CandyBar homepage and get the full skinny on this new version. You'll find links to download the software there as well as so the product's updated FAQ page. This upgrade is free to registered users. Enjoy!


Reflections (9.11.02) - It is difficult to believe that a year has already past since the fateful events of September 11th, 2001. As we move forward with our lives and our day to day routine, we pause with the rest of the country to keep those who lost their lives a year ago today in our thoughts and prayers. We look to the future with hope, but we will always remember what happened on this day in September 2001.