SPEED UP MAC OS X LEOPARD

After a year and a half of running Mac OS X Leopard things have become extraordinarily slow on my MacBook Pro. After googling how to speed up Mac OS X Leopard I have decided to write my own brief tutorial on a handful of things you can do to effectively increase the performance of OS X. This is meant as a programmer’s quick reference guide so if you are not technically savvy you may want to google “performance tune mac os x” for more verbose explanations.

THE 15 BEST MAC PERFORMANCE TUNING APPLICATIONS AND TIPS

1. Disable Dashboard Widgets. Each dashboard widget you enable consumes both processing power and valuable memory. To disable widgets and speed up your mac follow these steps:
   • Open up terminal.app located in Applications > Utilities > Terminal
   • Copy this, paste it in the terminal and hit enter: defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES
   • Then enter this: killall Dock
   • That’s it! Dashboard widgets are now disabled
2. Run the Mac OS X disk repair utility location in Applications > Utilities > Disk Utilityand then run repair disk permissions.  See this article on the repair functions of the disk utility.
3. Download and run Monolingual to remove all the additional languages that are built into OS X by default and you are likely to never use. I removed everything except English, Spanish, German and French since those are core languages on websites I sometimes frequent.
4. Download and run XSlimmer to remove all unnecessary PPC (PowerPC) code from Universal Binaries. Only use this if you are using an Intel based Mac. Additionally it is worthwhile noting that I had problems with Photoshop after slimming the application, so perhaps avoid using XSlimmer on CS3 or CS4.
5. Download and run OnyX. Run the daily, weekly and monthly scripts. Clear out all log files.
6. Removing unnecessary login items by going to System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items. Note that in order to actually remove a login item you need to select the item and then hit the minus button at the bottom of the preferences screen.
7. Even though Mac OS X has a journaled filesystem that should automatically handle defragmentation on the fly, it doesn’t do a great job of keeping the drive from becoming fragmented. iDefrag solves these problems and more, by defragmenting and optimizing your Mac’s filesystem at boot time. All you have to do is restart your computer, run the iDefrag boot DVD and it will defragment the entire hard-drive. I noticed a substantial performance boost (I would say up to around 20%) after using this.
8. Minimize by using the scale effect by going to System Preferences > Dock and changing the default from the Genie effect to the Scale effect. Also you can uncheck “animate opening applications” to boost performance.
9. Ensure you have a minimum of 10% disk space available so that OS X can run effectively. If you don’t have this much space free try using GrandPerspective to determine what is using space on your hard drive and what you might be able to delete.
10. Remove fonts that you don’t use. You can do this by going to the finder and removing fonts from your home folder > library > fonts.
11. Turn off Universal Access by navigating to System Preferences > Universal Accessand turn off anything you’re not using.
12. Turn off Bluetooth by navigating to to System Preferences > Bluetooth.
13. Turn off Internet Sharing by navigating to to System Preferences > Sharing > Internet.
14. Check the Activity Monitor located in Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor to see if there is anything running that is consuming processing or memory resources. This should go without saying.
15. On older computers you may notice massive performance issues particularly when Spotlight is running. To avoid these issues disable spotlight from indexing your entire hard-drive. You can do this by navigating to System Preferences > Spotlight and then unticking anything that you don’t want to see in search results. If you hit the Privacy tab you can also remove specific folders. I typically remove the Library folder, and also the System folder.

4 COMMAND LINE PERFORMANCE TUNING TIPS

1. You can speed up TCP connections by opening the terminal.app and typing pico /etc/sysctl.conf and adding the following lines to the file:
   net.inet.tcp.mssdflt=1460
net.inet.tcp.sendspace=262144
net.inet.tcp.recvspace=262144
net.inet.udp.recvspace=74848
net.inet.udp.maxdgram=65535
2. You can speed up SSH connections by opening the terminal.app and typing pico ~/.ssh_config and adding the following lines to the file:
   host *
controlmaster auto
controlpath /tmp/ssh-%r@%h:%pIt should be noted here that this may cause some glitches as I have run into some odd controlmaster errors after implementing this command. You can always try it and remove the code if it gives you problems.
3. Disable dashboard by opening up the terminal.app and running the command:
   defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES
   and then run killall dock to restart the dock.
4. To optimize firefox’s tab/bookmarks/cache databases on OSX, close firefox, open terminal.app and run #cd ~/Library/Caches/Firefox/Profiles; for i in */*.sqlite; do sqlite3 $i VACUUM;done; cd ~/Library/Application\ Support/Firefox/Profiles; for i in */*.sqlite; do sqlite3 $i VACUUM;done;

Ref: http://simplestation.com/locomotion/speed-up-mac-os-x-leopard/

Make Multi-Page PDF Files in Mac OS X

Have you ever had a bunch of PDFs you wanted to assemble into one unified document?  Most people will tell you need Adobe Acrobat.  But in fact, OS X already has you covered with a nifty little program called Automator.  Automator is an ingenious and easy to use tool that lets you build sequences of system tasks like moving, converting or renaming files.  In this tutorial, we’re going to use Automator to create a multi-page PDF from a folder of single page documents.

1. Open a new Finder window and navigate to your Applications folder. Find Automator in the list of programs.  See the cheery looking robot? Double click him to launch the program!

2.  You’ll now be presented with Automator’s various service templates.  For this tutorial, we’ll be creating an Application, so select it from the menu. Next, before we add steps to our workflow, let’s save it.  Once saved, you can Drag and Drop files on Automator workflows to have them run without even opening Automator. But more on that later.

3.  Now that our Automator application has been saved, let’s add the files we want to work with.  Notice the large gray space with ‘Drag Actions or files here to build your workflow’. Open the folder where your source PDFs are located and drag them into Automator.

IMPORTANT: To ensure that Automator combines the files in the correct order, you should name your files to reflect the pagination that you want.  In this case, I named them Page 1, Page 2 etc.

4. Now that we’ve told Automator which files we’re going work with, we need to tell it what to do with them.  Down the left side of the Automator window you’ll notice a drop down menu calledLibrary.  Below it, you’ll see different types operations that can be applied. Since we’re working with PDFs, select it from the list.

Just to the right of the Library, you’ll now get a second list of all the things Automator can do with PDF files.  Three items down from the top is what we’re looking for: Combine PDF Pages.  Double click it to add it to the workflow.  Since our source docs are single page, select Append Pages to add them sequentially based on the names we gave them.  This is what you should have so far:

4. Next, we’re going to add an operation to copy our multi-page PDF to the Desktop. Since Automator is a robot, he likes to save files in weird folders deep in the system. But don’t worry – we’ll get him to save us a copy right on the Desktop for easy retrieval.   In the Library menu, selectFiles & Folders from the list and then Copy Finder Items. The default location is Desktop, but you can choose another from the menu if you wish:

5. Did I mention that Automator is a robot?  He also likes to name files strangely, so we’re going to add an operation to give our PDF a more descriptive name.  Again in the Library menu, selectFiles & Folders but this time choose Rename Finder Items.  From the list choose the last option Name Single Item. Make sure to leave the second menu set to Basename only. This will ensure that our PDF has correct file extension (.pdf, duh!)

6. Here’s what your fancy new Automator workflow should look like:

7. Ready?  It’s time to pull the trigger – Hit the Run button on the right.   But wait – you just got error!  Don’t worry this is normal. Hit Okay to have the workflow run and create your PDF, then read on to see what happened.

Here’s the explanation of the alert: Remember at the beginning when we saved the Automator Application?  Saving an Automator application creates an icon you can drag files on to at a later date to perform the same operation without having to set it all up again.

This warning is Automator reminding you that the application won’t run as a Drag and Drop because the first operation in the workflow was to add our single PDFs, which effectively cancels the Drag & Drop.  If, after completing this tutorial, you wish to have Drag & Drop functionality for future PDF creation, simply delete that first operation where we added our single PDFs from the workflow by clicking on the X in the top right corner and hit Save.  Just remember that the final step in the workflow we set up was to rename the file, so you might want to change that too.

7. Okay, having Run the workflow, you should now have your renamed, multi-page PDF sitting on your Desktop.  Let’s pop it open to have a look. Double click the icon to open it in Preview.

8. Success!  You have just created a multi-page PDF from a handful of singles using the power of our little robot friend Automator.

40+ Eye-Catching Mac Screensavers

Running screensaver can help you relax your mind and suppose to reduce damage to your display screen. But most importantly, nowadays screensavers are used to mesmerize everyone around them.

Knowing the importance of having unique, stunning screensaver, we are here to present you this article which consists of many screensavers that would catch your attention. No need to have long introduction here, let's see what are those screensavers.

Note. Click on the title to go to screensaver download page.

Luminous Screensavers

Cause of its shining, glamorous moving particles, these screensavers achieve their best performance in the middle of darkness.

Ignis Fatui

Ignis Fatui is a screensaver that displays a simple particle system of drifting lights. By running this screensaver, you can create a romantic, comforting ambience around your Mac.

Strands

Strands is a screensaver that shows a weave of glowing, flexing lines. Many selection of colors are available for this screensaver.

Phantom Butterflies

Phantom Butterflies is a screensaver that shows a flock of glowing, ephemeral butterflies.

Helios

Helios is a particle attraction/repulsion screensaver where blobs emit and receive multi-colored particles.

Skyrocket

It's a firework screensaver!

Sprite Swarm

Screensaver that produces sprites of light. However, waiting for sprites of light to replicate sure takes a long time.

Matrix Saver

MatrixSaver is a screensaver for Mac OS X that replicates the screen effects of the motion picture The Matrix.

Leopard Screensavers

Vortex, aurora, and time machine background are applied as the basic concept of these screensavers.

X-Galaxy

Using the same concept as Leopard vortex wallpaper, the animation of this screensaver achieved a truly fantastic and hypnotic view with animated, full 3D version of moving star objects.

Time Machine

Combining the awesomeness of time machine background animation, time machine screensaver has created a mind-blowing screensaver. This screensaver can also be used to visualize your RSS Feed.

Clock Screensavers

Sometimes, we really need to pay close attention to our time…

PolarClock

Screensaver that shows current date and time with rings of colors. The animated change in color and updating of clock are simply stunning.

Fractal Clock

Using fractals to build hands of clock and animate it according to the change in time makes this screensaver an attention getter, especially for those in love with abstract art.

DropClock

DropClock is an aesthetically intriguing motion clock screensaver. Every minute of real time is numerically expressed with heavy helvetica number dropping into water in super slow-motion.

Word Clock

Word Clock is a typographic screensaver for Mac OS X and Windows. It displays a fixed list of all numbers and words sufficient to express any possible date and time as a sentence. Word Clock displays time by highlighting appropriate words as each second passes. In the snapshot above, we are using Rotary Word Clock.

Analogy

Analogy is a typographic clock which fuses the immediacy of digital with the visual-spatial quality of analogue into a hybrid format. It presents an everyday object with a fresh twist.

Due3 Clock

Screensaver that shows Date&Time and visualizes an analog clock.

Digg Screensavers

As the most popular voting sites, it seems that Digg doesn't want to lose to others in building their own unique screensavers.

Digg Swarm

Digg Arc

Digg Stack

Digg BigSpy

Colorful Screensavers

Screensavers that are enhance by animation of multi-colored lines and shapes.

Fireflies

This screensaver displays an animated blob of liquid glass that flows and deforms according to various patterns.

Flux

This screensaver creates tons of moving light particles that occupy customizable number of flux fields. Many settings are available for you to play around with.

Watching these virtual fireflies dancing around your screen and leaving colorful trails will surely stupefy your mind.

Flocks

A screensaver that depicts a groups of flocks flying together by following defined leaders. With proper settings, the movement of all particles can produce a stunning scene.

Solar Winds

Another amazing screensaver that draws a movement of light particles with customizable number of emitters, winds, and particles.

Hyperspace

Hyperspace is a screensaver that sends its users on a virtual trip through a wormhole, just like the ones in some sci-fi TV shows and movies. Meanwhile, nebulas and stars fly by.

Cyclone

This screensaver simulates the shape of cyclone that can sweep through every corner of your screen display.

Euphoria

With layers of plasma-like objects, this screensaver keeps your eyes entertained. Good eye-candy for those who love colorful objects.

Filigree

Filigree is a screensaver that shows a network of lines as they weave elaborate and chaotic patterns through space.

Liquid Screensaver

Metamercury

Ridiculously hypnotic, this screensaver lets you watch blobs of liquid material bouncing around, melding, separating, and bouncing some more. This screensaver is fully adjustable for a range of processor and 3D card speeds.

LotsaGlass

Plasma Tunnel

A screensaver that brings you to travel through an endless dimension of plasma tunnel.

Functional Screensaver

Besides being the eye-candy for you, these screensavers have other functionality, such as running movie, providing status notification, etc.

MovingPhotos3D

This screensaver arranges your photos to form 3D constructions, such as a city block with buildings. It works better on machines with good graphics, such as the iMac or MacBook Pro.

Status Screensaver

Status screensaver allows you to have quick notification of changes to your applications while your Mac runs in screensaver mode. You can choose any other screensaver you would like to run simultaneously (as the background) with the status bar at the bottom of the screen.

SaveHollywood

This screensaver allows you to display QuickTime Movies as a screensaver. You can also either select a file or a directory to watch. If you select a file, the movie will loop. If you select a directory, files within this directory will be played sequentially.

Econ

The screensaver that loads your icon and uses it as the moving objects.

ShuffleSaver

Screensaver that uses Flickr API to load millions of photos or pictures from Flickr and display them in a slideshow mode with certain transition.

DashSaver

A screensaver that shows user's Dashboard upon activation.

Special Effect Screensavers

Fenêtres Volantes

After some idle time to enter the state of screensaver, all opened windows will fly off from their position on the screen and flutter in the void. Upon exiting from screensaver mode, the windows will immediately fly back and stuck to their original position.

LotsaWater

This screensaver renders a fairly realistic water effect over your desktop, showing it distorted through the wavy surface of the water as raindrops fall on the surface.

Desktop Tiles

Desktop Tiles is a simple screensaver that takes a screenshot of the entire screen and turns into a puzzle, randomly moving the tiles.

Scattered Flurries

Scattered Flurries is a screensaver that shows snow falling gently in the breeze. Customizations up to certain level are provided, such as background image, wind speed, and amount of snow.

Snowfall

Screensaver that adds snowflakes to static background image.

Panoramic Screensaver

It's the real world scene…

Sunset 23

Watch the wind blowing; watch dogs, horses and even a helicopter passing the iconic white letters as the blue sky fades to blush before dissolving into a rich black velvet nocturne; backdropping the flickering jewels of the city lights of Los Angeles.

Ref : http://www.usingmac.com/2009/5/13/mac-screen-savers