Oblique Strategies for Pilot Version 1.0 Based on original code by Dave MacLeod Copyright ©1998, Lonnon Foster All rights reserved. The original Oblique Strategies are Copyright ©1975, 78, 79 by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS 1. What Are the Oblique Strategies? 2. Files Included 3. Installation 4. Using Oblique Strategies 5. Source Code Notes 6. Copyleft Information ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. What are the Oblique Strategies? The Oblique Strategies are a creativity tool designed by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt. Originally published as a deck of cards, they are intended to provide an extra creative push when working on artistic pursuits under a tight deadline. When experiencing artist's block, simply draw a card and apply its instructions to the work in progress. The original Oblique Strategies were published in four editions, each one modifying, adding, and removing cards from the set before it. Oblique Strategies for the Pilot includes multiple databases, allowing you to pick your favorite edition or install a merged list of Strategies from all four. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Files Included readme.txt The file you are currently reading. license.txt A copy of the GNU General Public License; see Copyleft Information, below. obstrat.prc The Oblique Strategies program itself. ObStratDB_Ed1.pdb First edition Oblique Strategies database. ObStratDB_Ed2.pdb Second edition Oblique Strategies database. ObStratDB_Ed3.pdb Third edition Oblique Strategies database. ObStratDB_Ed4.pdb Fourth edition Oblique Strategies database. ObStratDB_diary.pdb Additional Strategies from Brian Eno's diary. ObStratDB_signal.pdb Additional Strategies from "Signal: A whole earth catalog - Communication Tools for the Information Age" (ed. Kevin Kelly, 1988, Harmony Books, p.17). ObStratDB_all.pdb A merged database containing everything from editions 1-4, the diary, and Signal. ObStratDB_lonnie.pdb A database containing my own favorite Strategies. src This directory contains the GCC for Pilot | source code for Oblique Strategies. -- makedata This directory contains the source code for | the Makedata program, which was used to | generate the pdb files listed above. -- readme.txt A file explaining how to use the Makedata code to make new Oblique Strategies databases. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Installation To install Oblique Strategies onto your Pilot, you will need to install both the program itself (obstrat.prc) and one of the database files (files ending in .pdb). The program will not work without a database installed. Run the PalmPilot Install Tool which was installed with the Pilot Desktop software. This program will allow you to specify .prc and .pdb files which will be downloaded to the Pilot during the next HotSync. If you want to change which database you are using, simply use the intsall tool to install a different .pdb file. It will replace the database that is currently installed on your Pilot. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Using Oblique Strategies There is little to say about the interface for Oblique Strategies: Random button This will display a random Strategy from the database. Previous button Displays the previous Strategy in alphabetical order. Next button Displays the next Strategy. The hardware scroll up and scroll down buttons will also display the previous and next Strategy, respectively. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Source Code Notes The "src" directory contains the GCC for Pilot source code used to generate the Oblique Strategies program. There is a subdirectory of src called "makedata" which contains the code for Makedata, another small Pilot app which I used to generate the .pdb files. The readme.txt file in the makedata directory explains the somewhat bizarre method I used to generate the databases. It's an ugly hack, but it works. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Copyleft Information Oblique Strategies for Pilot is based on original code by Dave MacLeod Copyright ©1998, Lonnon Foster All rights reserved. The original Oblique Strategies are Copyright ©1975, 78, 79 by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program (see LICENSE.TXT); if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.