Weblog of a “Switcher”

Have you ever accidentally dragged an icon off of your Dock thinking it was the actual icon and not the top most icon on a Leopard Stack? Man I have, many times. One thing I really miss switching from Windows XP to OS X is the ability to lock down the Dock so that I can't accidentally remove an icon or change the size of the Dock icons or even move it to a different side of the screen.

DockLock is a shareware program that actually locks the Dock down so that you can't accidentally remove an icon, move an icon to a different location on the Dock, or even change the size of the icon magnification.

The program takes 0 bytes of memory after you run it because all it really does is change some settings in Leopard's Dock process. So, if you have an Applescript or Automator script that does the same thing, or you have a program like MacPilot, you might not feel you need this program. However, this program puts all the adjustments needed to make this work into a nice single little package that eliminates the need to have the other options mentioned.

The DockLock application icon, if stored on the Dock, lets you know the Dock is locked or not.

The program's preferences are pretty extensive considering all it does is modify "default" commands in Leopards Dock process.

As you can see, it even allows you to switch the 3D effect of the Dock on and off.

The best part is that they are only asking $8 for the program. Considering the amount of work that goes into writing Macintosh applications, this is quite a deal.

I'm still evaluating the program myself, but considering the ease of use, I'm probably going to go ahead and purchase the program.

Check it out at: http://www.armelline.com/DockLock_2.0.html

written by Dave M. \\ tags: dock, Leopard, lock, shareware

When Leopard first came out, one of Leopards new features, Stacks, didn't allow for the ability to display the contents of a folder on the Dock in the way that Tiger used to which was to display all the files and folders in a popup list menu. Later versions of Leopard added this feature back in.

Quay is a great replacement for Leopard's (OS X 10.5.x) Stack feature. It was first released in public beta form not long after Leopard was released and has gone through 7 revisions since. I have been using it since Version 1.0.1 and have found it to be a great extension of Leopard's Dock.

First, it does what Leopard should have done from the beginning. Allows you to display the contents of a folder on the Dock in an easy to setup fashion.

As you can see from the above screen shot, Quay lists out all the files in a given folder, nothing really all that different from Leopard. What sets Quay apart from Leopards built-in feature is configurability.

Along with all the options that Leopard supports, Quay allows you to display more information than Leopard like Folder item Counts, Invisible Items, and Package Contents.

You can sort the list in a few more ways that Leopard; Application, Label, File Size. Quay also displays icons for the items in the folder where Apple decided that icons were not necessary.

Quay allows you to adjust the size of the icons or show a preview image which uses the preview images used in CoverFlow.

The best feature of Quay is the ability to display a little more information than just the name of the file. You can display the Date Modified, Date Created, Label, or File Sized of each item in the list.

Quay also allows you to customize the icon that will appear in the Dock after it's added. You can add an icon or badge over the folder image, change the color of the folder, and even choose a different image for the folder itself. This is done from within the application that is run from the first menu item of a Quay options menu.

You can even place the folder on the left side of the Dock usually reserved for Application icons.

If this was all that Quay did, the €7 or about $10 being asked for the program would be a steal. However, Quay does a few more things.

If you hold down Command and Option when clicking on a running program in the Dock, Quay displays some statistics about that running program. The version of the program, the memory it is currently using, Average and current CPU percentage.

Lastly, Quay supports Leopard's Smart Folders. Just drag a smart folder into the Dock and Quay displays it just like any other folder. Leopard doesn't support this at all. You can place a smart folder in the Dock, but when you click on it, it just opens the folder in the Finder.

This is one of my "must have" programs for the Mac. Before Quay, I had very little in the on the right side of my Dock. Now I have 10 Quay folders helping me find documents and applications I open/run frequently.

It's a great buy for the €7 or ~$10 being asked. There isn't a trial version, but the first folder on each side of the Dock will work until registered.

written by Dave M. \\ tags: dock, Leopard, popup menu, quay, Stacks

Is this a sign that Leopard has become the new Linux? I say this because in the past, enterprising hackers have put Linux on just about every device that can run a program. From iPod Nano's to LinkSys routers to game consoles, and more.

With this news from TUAW.com, it's seems like we are seeing Leopard running on WinTel computers (as expected), now an OQO, what next? An iPhone? Woops, to late, Apple already did that with the iPhone software. Maybe we'll see Leopard running on Blackberry's and Windows Smart Phones soon. That would be truly amusing.

Of course, this all depends on wether or not the news that the OQO is running Leopard is really true.

(Via.: The Unofficial Apple Weblog)

written by Dave M. \\ tags: Hackers, Leopard, Linux, oqo

A friend of mine wrote up an interesting take on the value of some products and if they are really worth anything at all:

Radical Liberation: Worth What You Pay:
...
"If you’re interested in being able to do even more with your phone, like surf the web, then the iPhone quickly becomes worth the additional cost. Studies have already shown that even though other phones are capable of doing things like surfing the web it is only on the iPhone that people actually do such things regularly. That is no accident. If a user interface is so poor that people tend not to use a feature then, for all practical purposes, the feature might as well not be there in the first place."
...
A perfect example of this is the new Time Machine feature in Leopard. This is essentially a backup program, definitely nothing new in the world of personal computers. Not only have backup programs been available for decades, but every computer expert has pleaded with users to backup their important data. The reality though, according to a study by Apple of its customers, is that 90% of people do not backup regularly. (Regular, automated backups is pretty much the only way to have the backup you need when disaster strikes).
...

I would also say that some smart phones like Blackberry also fall into iPhone's category. However, I fully agree with the browsing part. I use my iPhone almost exclusively now for browsing when I am not in front of a computer. Even when my MacBook is just a few feet away. It's just easier and way more convenient. I would never ever consider browsing with any other phone, smart or otherwise. There really is something to having a real browser in the palm of your hand.

As to backing up home computers... Microsoft Windows Vista is suppose to have a backup solution that is pretty much always on. The interesting thing about it is that it's on for all versions of Vista as far as backing up goes, but is only accessible to restore on the most expensive versions of Vista: Business, Ultimate and Enterprise. This is great for businesses, but they already have backup solutions that work for them and really don't need something added on to that. Home users are where backing up a computer is really important and yet they don't allow Vista Home Basic or Home Premium to restore from the backups that Vista creates. Plus, there is the issue of the space those backups take.

I often wonder what was going thru the engineer's heads when they created this feature. I would love to know why they didn't allow home users access to such a useful feature.

There are folks out there that think that Time Machine is over the deep end when it comes to it's interface. The animation and windows that go off into infinity do seem a little over the top. However, those animations don't really slow down the feature all that much and really help the user understand what they are doing when it comes to restoring a file or folder. This also works for iPhoto, Address Book and other applications. It really gives the user a great idea of what they are about to do as well as helps them find a file or address that might have been removed my accident or somehow become damaged.

I would have to say that Apple has raised the bar for quite a few products that we use everyday. Phones, computers and even portable media players.

written by Dave M. \\ tags: backup, Backup Program, Blackberry, Cell Phones, computers, Home Computers, iPhone, Leopard, Macbook, Microsoft Windows Vista, opinion, Palm Of Your Hand, Personal Computers, product, Smart Phones, Time Machine, User Interface, Versions Of Vista, worth

As I run this site and keep track of the statistics from Google Analytics, I have had a couple of search hits from people looking to know how to remove a Preference Pane from System Preferences.

When I first got my Mac's, I too didn't know how to do it and relied on 3rd party programs like AppZapper and CleanApp to help me remove them. Later I found out exactly how to do it via OS X and so I thought I would pass along that knowledge.

So, say you have a Preference Pane you don't use anymore and want to remove it from System Preferences. Obviously, the first thing to do is Launch System Preferences.

As you can see, I have quite a few installed, but I am not currently using Witch, so I'll walk you through the process of removing it.

First thing you do is while holding down the Ctrl key, click on the Preference Pane icon you wish to remove. Now this is not the same as Right-Clicking on the Preference Pane icon. In fact, Right-Clicking on a Preference Pane icon will simply display the Preference Pane.

When you Right-Click on the Preference Pane icon, you will see this popup menu appear. Actually, you won't see the exact one because I have a few Context-Menu plugins installed as well. However, the "Remove "preference pane name" Preference Pane" menu item will be present when you do it.

No all you have to do is select the "Remove "preference pane name" Preference Pane" menu item and that Preference Pane will be a thing of the past. It's just that easy.

I get the impression that the designers of OS X wanted to make sure that removing a Preference Pane is something that you actually want to do and not do by accident. That is the only explanation I can come up with that explains why you have to use the Ctrl key instead of just Right-Clicking. Which, by the way, is what the Ctrl key is for when you are using an Apple one button mouse.

There is a drawback to removing a Preference Pane this way. You don't remove all the preferences for the just removed Preference Pane. Each Preference Pane has options that a user can set. Hence it being a Preference Pane. Those options are stored in a special folder in the users home directory kind of hidden away. Typically the path is {your home folder}/Library/Application Support/{name of preference pane}. It's usually pretty difficult to find the correct files to remove. Fortunately, these files are not big enough to be a bother and they are just text files so they won't slow down the OS like Windows' Registry typically does.

AppZapper

CleanApp

AppCleaner

If you are like me and really want to make sure that you have all the files to a Preference Pane removed, then I would suggest a program like AppZapper ($12.95), CleanApp ($10) or the free program AppCleaner (free). Each of those programs help you remove Preference Panes as well as Applications and other files that you may not need to help you recover space on a Hard Drive. I personally use CleanApp, I found it to have more features than AppZapper and it's a little cheaper. I have not looked at AppCleaner, I wasn't aware of a free Application Uninstaller like AppCleaner until after I had purchased CleanApp. However, I don't mind paying the $10 for a program. It's less than a trip to the movies these day.

written by Dave M. \\ tags: how to, Leopard, Mac, Os X, Preference Pane, remove, System Preferences, Tiger

Update: OK, I feel pretty darn stupid now. I found out why so many people are not able to restore closed tabs in Safari like I have been able to.

Turns out it's because I'm running an extension I found for Safari called Saft. Actually, I'm running a bunch of extensions for Safari. I liked a lot of the features I had in Firefox thanks to the extensions I had installed over there, but Safari doesn't really support extensions like Firefox does. However, it does support InputManagers or SIMBL programs. Saft can be run as an InputManager or as a stand alone application.

I run Saft as an InputManager so that it's around when ever I launch Safari. It does a bunch more things along with restoring closed tabs so head over to the programs website and check it out. It's not expensive at all and in my opinion, well worth what the developer is asking for it.

If you accidentally close a tab and want to reopen it, just type Ctrl-Z, or use the Edit menu and select "Undo Closing Tab".

I have no idea if this is a new Safari 3.1 feature or it's been in all versions of Safari since the beginning. I just had no idea it was there until today. Interestingly, it does not work in the Windows version of Safari 3.1. Can't say I understand why that is, they should be from the same build branch.

Here is why I'm posting this:

I just found a great feature of Safari totally by accident. Sometimes I close tabs I have open by mistake. It's pretty easy to hit Ctrl-W one too many times or just when you thought you were in a different application. At least for me it is. :shrug:

So I was working on an article I am going to post next when I accidently hit Ctrl-Z to undo something I had done in Snapz Pro X thinking I could undo something I had done. However, Snapz had completely gone away and Safari was the top app. I noticed that the page I was looking at had changed. I got a little worried since I had some text in a window I had typed and was afraid that I had lost it by closing the tab. So I looked at the tab bar and noticed that there were more tabs than should have been if I had closed it. I hit Ctrl-Z again and saw another new tab appear. I then realized that I was restoring tabs I had closed out earlier.

So I looked at the Safari menu bar to see if I could find out what Ctrl-Z did, not really thinking that it was Undo. I looked at the History menu first, then went over to the Edit menu and saw "Undo Closing Tab".

Now, at this point, I was saying to myself: Duh! Of course. Still, I wouldn't have thought to use Undo to restore a closed browser tab in a thousand years. Especially since Firefox and other browsers have other ways to restore closed tabs or no way at all.

So I pass this info on to others in hopes that it will make their decision to use one browser over another a little easier.

written by Dave M. \\ tags: Leopard, Os X, Safari, Tiger, tip

Secrets is a Leopard Preference Pane that allows it's users to modify settings in Leopard that before were only accessible from Terminal.app. This allows the "less savvy" population of computer users to customize their Leopard installations as a pro might.

It all starts with downloading and installing the Preference Pane from http://secrets.textdriven.com/. Just unzip the downloaded file and double click on the "Secrets.prefPane" file. Leopard knows that this is a Preference Pane and will copy it to the correct location. OS X is just awesome that way.

It will then open the Preference Pane which looks like this:

As you can see from the screenshot, there are quite a few "Secrets" to choose from. The light blue (iTunes like pane) on the left side of the window shows all the programs that have "Secrets" to choose from. There are also two special items. "Top Secrets" shows the most popular secrets and "All Secrets" which will show all the secrets that can be chosen.

When you find an item you which to change, clicking on it will reveal a bit more information about the secret:

You can then click on the User Interface control that changes the secret. In the above example, that would be the checkbox. Depending on what the secret changes, you might be prompted to quit the application that will be effected. This appears at the bottom of the Preference Pane next to the "Revert" button.

A really nice touch to this Preference Pane is the "Update Secrets" button. Clicking this button will tell Secrets to go out to the server that holds the database of all the secrets and see if there is a need to update the database stored on your computer. It also checks to see if the Preference Pane needs to be updated as well. The "?" (Question Mark) button takes you to the Google Code page where the Secrets Project is being maintained. The "Revert" button will restore the secret setting back to it's default value and the "More Info ->" button takes you to the database entry were the selected secret is stored on the server's database.

I personally am not all afraid of using Terminal.app to make these kinds of changes. This can be a problem since I don't always remember that I have made them and then don't know how to set them back to their default value. The Secrets Preference Pane makes this a no-brainer.

If you like the idea of personalizing your installation of Leopard, hope over to their website and give it a try. Best of all, it's free.

Update (5/8/08): It looks like development on the Secrets Preference Pane has either stopped or really slowed down. I talk about it here along with a really good replacement program and a possible reason for the lack of development here: MacPilot: New Version Kills Secrets Preference Pane Utility

written by Dave M. \\ tags: Checkbox, Computer Checks, Computer Users, Correct Location, Customize, Database, Database Entry, Double Click, Downloaded File, Google, Info Button, Interface Control, iTunes, Leopard, Os X, Population, Preference, Preference Pane, Question Mark Button, Screenshot, Secrets, Top Secrets, Unzip File, User Interface

Man, this problem has been driving me crazy for quite some time. So let me explain what I have been going through before I describe how I finally found and fixed the problem.

Problem:
So for quite some time, my Mac ran really well. However, sometime down the line, I started noticing that, as I was watching videos in QuickTime, the video would just stop for about 5 seconds. This happened pretty consistently. I tried several things to fix it, but never really found the problem. I switched to my Admin account on my Mac and found that the pause wasn't happening. So, now I was really confused. However, this did tell me that it was something that I had installed that was cause this.

Troubleshooting:
Since my Admin account wasn't pausing, the first thing I tried doing was disabling as many programs that start up when I log in as I could. I pretty much disabled all of them and found the pausing was still present.

I looked at my System Preferences and disabled quite a few "Other" Preference Panes as I could. I really thought that Hazel might have been doing it the way that Preference Pane works, but alas, I still had pausing even after disabling it.

All this was done before Leopard came out. When I got my copy of Leopard, I installed a clean copy on my MacBook and tried an update on my Mac Pro. I noticed some odd problems after the upgrade and decided to wipe the Mac Pro and do a clean install.

After that, the pausing went away of course. I figured it would.

I started installing the tools and programs I usually have on my system and for quite a few months my Leopard install ran great. Then, like with Tiger, I started noticing the annoying pausing again.

So I finally got fed up with the problem and went over to Apple's support discussion forums to see if someone else was seeing this same problem. Thank all the gods that be, that someone else had the same problem. Over the course of a few posts in the topic: OSX 10.5 freezes 5 secs every 5 mins, he described the problem that I was having exactly. I was a little worried at first that the problem wasn't going to be discovered since he wasn't really seeing any responses to his query. Fortunately, he was able to figure out what was happening and posted his solution.

So Mr. Michael Q is my hero here. He found that iStat menus has an option to Monitor S.M.A.R.T. drive that was causing the system to pause. When he disabled this option, the pausing stopped. So, I went into System Preferences and disabled the feature myself, and low and behold, the pausing indeed stop!

This is one Preference Pane that I didn't really disable since I couldn't imagine how a set of tools that monitor the system would cause these pauses. Especially since I also use iStat (the application) to conserve menu bar space.

I actually thought that monitoring S.M.A.R.T drives might cause a problem. I use a program called SMARTReporter and I had disabled that program. Plus there is nothing in iStat menus "Drives" pane that mentions monitoring S.M.A.R.T drives. Oddly enough, the setting for monitoring S.M.A.R.T drives is in the "Temps" pane. S.M.A.R.T drive monitoring doesn't really involve temperatures, it monitors the Hard Disks for possible impending failures.

Solution:
So the solution is to simply disable monitoring S.M.A.R.T drives with iStat menus. If you use this Preference Pane, bring it up, switch to the "Temps" pane and uncheck "Monitor S.M.A.R.T drives".

I wanted to post this account for a couple of reasons. One, to burn the solution into my brain so that if I notice pausing again later, I can fix it quickly instead of scratching my head for weeks. I also want to post this so that there is another location on the web that describes the problem and shows how to fix it.

I really hope that this post finds a person scratching their head looking for a solution like I was.

written by Dave M. \\ tags: Admin Account, Apple, Crazy Man, Discussion Forums, Freezes, Hazel, Leopard, Mac, Macbook, Odd Problems, Panes, Preference, Quite Some Time, System Preferences, Tiger, Tools

Temporarily change Dock magnification settings |
Dock/Exposé/Dashboard | Mac OS X Tips
"Here's a quick tip about a keyboard shortcut new to Leopard (OS X 10.5) that I didn't know about.

If you normally have Dock magnification turned off, holding Control and Shift while moving the mouse along it will temporarily turn on magnification. As soon as you let go of the keys, the magnification will turn back off again.

The Dock will magnify based on the settings in the Dock section of System Preferences, which you can only change when magnification is turned on. As a result you'll have to turn it on, choose your preferred magnification level and turn it back off again.

The keyboard shortcut works the other way round too. If you normally have magnification on, holding Control and Shift will temporarily turn it off.

I'm not sure how useful this feature is, but it's interesting none the less. "

This is the kind of thing that sets Macintosh and OS X apart from any other OS out there. It doesn't seem like much, but it's just the level of thought that is put into every application written for the Mac.

Thanks a bunch Mac OS X Tips for such a great tip! I'm so loving this tip!

(Via Mac OS X Tips.)

written by Dave M. \\ tags: Control, Dashboard, Keyboard Shortcut, Leopard, Mac Os X, Mac Os X Tips, Mac Tips, Macintosh, Macintosh Os, Magnification Level, Magnification Settings, Os X, System Preferences, Thanks A Bunch

Another Get a Mac ad: are they even trying anymore?: "The tone of the commercial also makes Time Machine seem a bit like you will never lose anything again, when in actuality if you create a document and delete it in the same hour Time Machine wont save you, no matter how many cables Mac has coming out of him."

(Via Ars Technica: Infinite Loop.)

This is actually a good point made by Charles Jade (Wasn't he a private-eye from Alpha-verse?). If a user creates a document minutes after Leopard's Time Machine finishes it's backup, then 45 minutes later, he accidently deletes the file and want's to get the file back. He's S.O.L. I guess that's one thing that Microsoft Windows Vista has over Leopard. Vista uses a file versioning system similar to CVS or SubVersion where every time the file is changed, a record of the changes made to the file is recorded. This way, Even if the file was created, then deleted by accident immediately afterward, you would be able to recover the file. Of course you have to have Vista Business or greater in order to take advantage of this feature. Vista Home Premium doesn't have a way of recovering the file. (What were they thinking!)

Even with the above mentioned flaw in Leopard's Time Machine, it's nice that there is a backup system that is basically invisible to the user. Just plug in an external Hard Drive and tell Leopard that it's a Time Machine drive and your finished.

My concern is mostly things like iTunes and iPhoto getting it's data files corrupted. I used to do a daily backup that would overwrite the backup everyday. So if I didn't notice the corruption quick enough, I would loose the files. With Time Machine, I can go back to just before the file was corrupted to recover the file and I'll be good to go.

written by Dave M. \\ tags: Actuality, Ars Technica, Backup System, Cables, Corruption, Cvs, External Hard Drive, Guess, Infinite Loop, Iphoto, iTunes, Leopard, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows Vista, Private Eye, Subversion, Time Machine, Vista Home Premium