The Apple Blog

The invasion of the PodPeople.

Ever notice that your OS X system isn’t running as quick and efficient as it once seemed to? Are things opening slower, taking more resources to operate, and generally causing you to become more impatient while using the computer? It’s probably time to deal with the gunk build-up that’s accumulated over time in OS X. Here are a few tips that will help you regain that lost efficiency from your system.

Unix has a lot of utility apps built into the operating system, and since OS X is built on a Unix framework, you’ve got those utilities right there and waiting to be used. In fact, you don’t even have to know what those utilities are, or how to use them! I know, right now you’re going, “Huh?” Here’s the trick:
Let your machine run while you sleep at night. (If necessary, tell it not to go to sleep, or to automatically wake in the early AM.) OS X has a few tricks up its sleeves, but they’re only set to run in the middle of the night by default. So letting things run on their own while you rest will help to keep your system running a little smoother than it would otherwise. You really don’t have to do anything about it!

Last week we posted an introduction piece to Quicksilver, meant to walk the un-innitiated through the world of Quicksilver.
This week Dan Dickinson has a great mid-level piece on tweaking Quicksilver. It’s meant for the more Quicksilver-familiar crowd, and is a great next step for those who didn’t get enough from our piece last week.
Dan [...]

UPDATE:
I’ve noticed this post getting a lot of play lately. Glad to see it’s viewed as useful to so many! Look for a Quicksilver & Tiger piece with new and exciting Quicksilver goodness in the coming days, here on The Apple Blog.

Quicksilver is one of the most innovative applications to be found on OS X. That may be my opinion, but there hasn’t been a person I’ve introduced to it that hasn’t said [in some form], “It’s changed the way I use my computer!” That’s awfully telling I’d say.
To be fair, LaunchBar and Butler are two more popular alternatives to Quicksilver - LaunchBar is $30 for a 5 computer license and Butler is Donation-ware. In contrast, the founding developer of Quicksilver (known as Alcor on his forums - look for an interview with Alcor in the coming weeks) seems to spend more of his time working on QS than getting around to creating a donation section on blacktree.com.

Why is it better? Alcor is one of the most responsive developers I’ve come across. Beta updates seem to come - on average - about every couple weeks. He is constantly answering questions and listening to the multitude of fans on his forums. I’ve not seen a similar, consistent practice by a developer…in my memory. So not only is Quicksilver fully featured and powerful as all get-out, but it’s always evolving.

OK, what does it do?!
Short answer: It’s a launcher. It allows you to open files from a keystroke instead of clicking through the Finder for them.
Long answer: What doesn’t it do? QS indexes your hard drive into a Catalog. That Catalog is available at a single keystroke and then allows you access to everything on your computer. Not only can you open applications, but using QS, you can move files around, append text to files, locate a file and attach it to an email…The list goes on and on and on and…

But to really appreciate Quicksilver, you’ve got to dive in. Nothing I could write would explain it nearly well enough (you’re probably saying to yourself, “Yeah, that’s painfully obvious…”). Seeing absolutely is believing. And as it says on the Quicksilver Preview page:

In the end, Quicksilver has one very important effect. , The effort associated with frequent tasks fades into the background and you are able to act without thinking. After an adaptation period, Quicksilver becomes an extension of yourself; the process fades away leaving only the results.

So let’s get started!

Recently, I was fortunate enough to get a Cingular-branded Treo 650 for my birthday. This was an upgrade from my Treo 270, and included a number of new features including Bluetooth and an SD slot for PalmOne peripherals and SD memory cards. Since I’m a geek, the first question I had was “Can I get [...]

In DAILY FEEDING, I’ll attempt to help you simplify some of the more daily and mundane tasks of computing. To kick things off, I’ll start with protecting your data through regular backups.

I consider myself somewhat of an expert on this topic - why? I’ve lost way too much data due to poor back-up practices. But the past few months have brought some break-throughs that will hopefully help you avoid my mistakes.

I actually lucked out about 5 months ago: I’d just run my first backup of my Home folder (after having my powerbook for almost 2 years), when I hosed myself the very next day. Thank goodness I’d made a backup the night before! And oh yes - the biggest issues arise from user-error, and I generally know what I’m doing on a computer…

If you’ve not yet picked-up or installed the new iLife ‘05, then heed some warnings from folks who have. Learn from their experience my friends.
Ya know the readme files? Read them!
First off, there are txt files with each of the iLife apps that give information about installation, preparation, caution, etc. READ THEM. [...]

While no computer system will ever be secure in absolute terms, analyzing which routes toward security the two major consumer operating system vendors have taken, ought to provide some valuable insight as to why so many of us are staunch advocates of the Mac platform, and most specifically Mac OS X.

One thing I did when I was planning my trip to MacWorld was plan for how I was going to handle internet access in the hotel room. I’d stayed at the King George Hotel off of Union Square before for WWDC and had liked it, so I was going to stay there again this time [...]

The innovations and potential uses for the Mini Mac are running wild since it’s announcement earlier this week.
One of the more interesting ideas comes from car-modders. They’ve taken notice that the size of the Mini Mac makes it ideal for fitting into a DIN slot where your car stereo goes. Brings a whole [...]

MacMerc has a great article on the maintenance you should run to keep your machine in tip top running condition.