Introduction
BackOnTrack allows you to relaunch the Tracker or Deskbar if it is quit, killed, or if it crashes. In addition, you are given the option to open a Terminal to help deal with more serious problems.

I got the idea to write BackOnTrack after a discussion on one of the BeOS mailing lists. Because the Tracker is so essential to the operation of the OS, it's important that it be kept running at all times. Without the Tracker, the user is unable to launch any program even if the Deskbar is still running. The Deskbar isn't quite so essential but it is still a central location for many commands and functions.

There are several important things to note about BackOnTrack. It doesn't just blindly relaunch the Tracker or Deskbar. An errant replicant on your desktop could cause a vicious infinite loop of crashing and relaunching ultimately leaving the system even more unusable than before. Therefore, you are given the choice of either relaunching the Tracker/Deskbar or opening a Terminal.

I would like to improve on BackOnTrack as time permits. Right now, it's rather limited in that it only relaunches the Tracker and the Deskbar. I hope to possibly expand it to become a more generalized utility. As networking performance improves under the BeOS, it won't be uncommon for users to be running various servers. BackOnTrack could possibly fill a niche by making sure your system is running smoothly by restarting servers or other background processes if they crash. As always, feel free to send me comments or bug reports. My contact information is listed below.

Requirements
Any BeOS compatible computer running R4.5 or higher.

Installation
Simply double-click the Installer and relax. The installer will move the utility to the proper folder and modify your boot and shutdown scripts so that it will work properly. If you want to install manually, read the step by step instructions.

Uninstalling
Future releases will probably have an automatic uninstaller but for now, you have to do it manually. Sorry. It's pretty straightforward but if you get stuck, you can always read the simple uninstall directions.

Usage
In the unlikely event that your Tracker or Deskbar crashes, BackOnTrack will kick in and give you the choice of either relaunching the Tracker or Deskbar, launching a Terminal, or doing nothing. Here is an example of what that looks like:

Example Alert Box

Launching a Terminal gives you the chance to remove faulty add-ons or replicants that are causing the Tracker or Deskbar to crash. Cancel just dismisses the dialog without doing anything.

NOTE: If you close your last Terminal window without relaunching the Tracker, you will have no choice but to reboot to get the Tracker back.

Known Bugs
Nothing serious so far. Just make sure your UserShutdownScript quits BackOnTrack or else whenever you restart or shutdown, it will kick in and halt the shutdown process. As soon as the BeOS has some facility to notify applications that the system is shutting down, I'll fix this but until then, you have to alter your UserShutdownScript.

License and Distribution
BackOnTrack is freeware but copyrighted. You are free to copy and distribute only the original, unaltered ZIP archive. Distribution of this product or any files contained therein for the purpose of profit is expressly prohibited. Please contact the author in case of publication on CD-ROM. Source code is provided in this package for reference. If you wish to use portions of the code in your own projects, please contact me.

TYLER RITI PROVIDES THIS SOFTWARE "AS IS", WITH NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

IN NO EVENT WILL TYLER RITI BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT DAMAGES OR OTHER RELIEF ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM INCLUDING, BY WAY OF ILLUSTRATION AND NOT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS, LOST BUSINESS OR LOST OPPORTUNITY, OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF SUCH USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM, EVEN IF TYLER RITI HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY.

Version History

Version	Date	Description
v1.0	February 28, 1999	Initial public release.
v1.1	June 21, 1999	Fixed a bug in the installer script that would cause it to choke if the path to the source directory had a space in it.
v1.2	February 6, 2000	Fixed a few compile-time errors and changed the archive so you are no longer required to have a compiler installed to install but I also raised the minimum system requirements. Muah ha ha! And, for various reasons, a PPC binary isn't included. I promise that the next version will have one, really. Until then, the source and makefile are available. Just "cd" to the tome folder and type "make" and press Return. You'll find BackOnTrack in the obj.ppc folder now. Then, just run the installer.

About the Author

Name:	Tyler Riti
Occupation:	Full time Psychology student at The University of Texas at Austin Senior Student Associate at the ACITS Help Desk
E-mail:	fizzboy@mail.utexas.edu
Web:	http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~triti/

Special Thanks
To Be for creating such a great OS to program for. Computing should always be this much fun.

To my roommate who keeps my world-view level and open. I don't think he'll ever come to like the BeOS at all but at least he's a great conversationalist and an even better friend.

To Albertson's and their strawberry cream cheese sugared pastry bites. They are the world's best comfort food. Mmm... So good... So sweet...