kwiniec's Mac OS X Desktop and enhancements - "Tranquility Base"
[ The Eagle has landed. Click for full size. ]
Hubble Ultra Deep Field space background. I downloaded the 110 MB 6200 x 6200 pixel TIFF, scaled it to the display width using the Lancoz 3 transform, cropped it to the display height, and blacked out the bottom 8 rows of pixels. I also rotated (uncropped) a quarter-turn and cropped 3 more times to get 4 images for the "Change picture every minute" effect. TIFFs work fine as Desktop images but /System/Library/CoreServices/DefaultDesktop.jpg must be JPEG so I converted a TIFF using 100% Quality, Progressive Codec, and 4:4:4 Subsampling.
Nocturne can make the Menubar black and dim it until mouseover by checking only the two "Menu bar" options "Invert menu bar" and "Dim when inactive", setting the latter's slider anywhere but fully dim (to avoid a bug), leaving it in Day Mode, and adding it to System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items. Sadly the author abandoned it in 2009 before completing debug: there's the full dim setting bug (workaround: avoid full dim setting), a color inversion bug (10.5 workaround: invoke, background, and dismiss the Nocturne Preferences window; 10.6 workaround: check "Invert Hue"), a fully-dimmed-on-startup bug (workaround: mouseover the menubar once), and the omission of the conventional option to hide the Menubar icon (moot for 10.5 since the user keeps needing to access its Preferences). Fortunately, none are showstoppers.
Mirage 1 v.1.1 (or from me if dead) (for 10.5 and earlier) and Mirage 2 v.1.0.1 (for 10.6) can make elements of the 2-D and/or 3-D Docks transparent. I used it on the Dock background and separator while the Dock was in 2-D mode, leaving the 3-D mode elements unaffected.
DockMan "The Dock Manager" (v.2013-09-20, 58 kB ZIP) is a hybrid AppleScript/shell-script application I wrote to manage some of the well-documented "hidden" Dock preferences shell commands. (And made a fancy icon.) It serves equally well as an AppleScript template to manage any shell commands -- see the script listing.
DockMan can:
| * | pin the Dock at its "start" end, to stop at least the app icons dodging around |
| * | add spacers, to organize and shift everything centerward (except the Finder...so use the Fyndyr!) |
| * | enable translucent icons to denote hidden apps |
| * | switch to less-bilious 2-D mode (made transparent with Mirage, above) (note: when transparent, manual resizing may not stick and spacers cannot be grabbed, so for those, temporarily suffer opaque 3-D mode) |
| * | restart the Dock (also done automatically after any change) |
| * | provide an AppleScript template to manage shell commands in general |
Declutter. Stop using the Desktop like a garage. Go to Finder > Preferences > General and uncheck everything in "Show these items on the Desktop". Put everything into the Dock, the Finder window toolbar & sidebar, and hierarchical folders. Navigate from those, the Menubar "Script" hierarchical menu (via /Applications/AppleScript/AppleScript Utility with /Library/Scripts/ and /Users/<user>/Library/Scripts/ folders - not just scripts, put anything in them, very powerful), Spotlight, Finder > Go, Finder > File > Find, EasyFind, &c.
Free the hands. Keyboards are for typing. If something doesn't need to be typed, the trackpad-hand shouldn't have to be forced off its trackpad, and the free hand shouldn't have to surrender its freedom. Gestures are cool, but some of us have less-able trackpads and haven't spent the time investigating the 3rd-party software. Some folk are enamored of combination keystrokes...but another set of manacles. Hot-corners solve some problems...but are too few, too mistriggerable, and too far from the action. Menubar, Dock, and Finder-window applications are best. They can be placed more centrally, provide predictable visual targets, and cannot activate without a tap (except by design). Unfortunately the only Xcode-less Menubar solution I ever saw (besides the aforementioned AppleScript Utility "Script" hierarchical menu which for some tasks is too inefficient) was Tapir by Sveinbjorn Thordarson which requires Rosetta. So that leaves...
...El Clickables.
[ A more efficient Dock and Finder window. Click for full size. ]
[I tried to write self-documenting code showing informative, reusable examples of AppleScript solutions I developed from scratch when I couldn't find them with Google. I wrote them under OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, which should run as-is on later versions; older versions might need re-saving with, and possibly copy-pasting into, AppleScript Editor. Just make sure to save an original copy in order to transfer any LSBackgroundOnly or LSUIElement properties I might have added to the <...>.app/Contents/Info.plist file, or files I might have added to the <...>.app/Contents/Resources folder, or icons.]
TrashMan "The Trash Manager" (v.2015-09-12, 178 kB ZIP) is a drag-&-drop(New!) AppleScript application I wrote to manage the trash folders of volumes/users individually and securely.* (And made a fancy icon.) I keep it in both the Dock and the Finder window toolbar. Additional(New!) features include multithreading (via second AppleScript application contained within the application bundle), and major improvements to programming and readability. For audio feedback it uses OS X's /usr/bin/afplay and /System/Library/Components/CoreAudio.component/
Sleep Displays (v.2013-02-21, 5 kB ZIP) is a "faceless" binary application version of the Expose' Sleep Display hot-corner functionality originally by M.H. of Aspecto Software for which I fixed Info.plist errors, added an LSBackgroundOnly key, and made a fancy icon. Putting displays to sleep reduces burn-in and extends component life while avoiding the delays of sleeping and waking, useful for frequent switching between computing and non-computing tasks. I keep it in the Dock.
Brightness Off (v.2013-03-09, 34 kB ZIP) is a "faceless" hybrid AppleScript/shell-script/binary application I wrote to turn off the brightness of a primary display (MacBook) to view video on a secondary display (DVI port) and then restore it upon an application-switch (clicking the Desktop). (And made a fancy icon.) It uses the brightness binary (included) by Nicholas J. Riley unless the Finder is frontmost, in which case it uses the "sleep display" binary (above, included) by M.H. of Aspecto Software on all displays. I keep it in both the Dock and the ViewSourceWith Firefox addon menu. See the script listing.
Brightness Cycle (v.2013-02-21, 8 kB ZIP) is a "faceless" shell-script application I wrote using Riley's "brightness" binary (above, included) to cycle through my 4 favorite brightness settings: 100%, 73%, 37%, and 1%. (And made a fancy icon.) I found that this was all I ever did with my F1 Brightness Down and F2 Brightness Up (below) anyway, so I replaced them with Brightness Cycle in the Dock, reusing my icon from the latter. See the script listing.
F3 - Mute (v.2013-03-07, 63 kB ZIP) is a "faceless" hybrid AppleScript/shell-script/binary application version of a MacBook2,1 F3 function-key I wrote using OS X's /usr/bin/afplay and /System/Library/LoginPlugins/BezelServices
F4 - Volume Down (v.2013-03-07, 64 kB ZIP) is a "faceless" hybrid AppleScript/shell-script/binary application version of a MacBook2,1 F4 function-key I wrote using OS X's /usr/bin/afplay and /System/Library/LoginPlugins/BezelServices
F5 - Volume Up (v.2013-03-07, 65 kB ZIP) is a "faceless" hybrid AppleScript/shell-script/binary application version of a MacBook2,1 F5 function-key I wrote using OS X's /usr/bin/afplay and /System/Library/LoginPlugins/BezelServices
Overscan (v.2013-02-22, 29 kB ZIP) is an AppleScript application I wrote to toggle the Overscan setting of an Apple Mini-DVI to Video Adapter, because I usually prefer to trade low-value widescreen side content for a taller picture on a standard-width (4:3) display. (And made a fancy icon). I keep it in both the Dock and the ViewSourceWith Firefox addon menu. This version is for 10.6; other OS X versions may require tweaking the code -- see the script listing.
F8 - Spaces Replicating a MacBook2,1 F8 function-key in the Dock is easy -- just drag /Applications/Utilities/Spaces into both the Dock and the Finder window toolbar. Bam.
F9 - All Windows Replicating a MacBook2,1 F9 function-key in the Dock is easy -- just drag /Applications/Utilities/Expose' into both the Dock and the Finder window toolbar. Bam.
F10 - App Windows (v.2013-09-12, 64 kB ZIP) is a "faceless" one-line AppleScript application version of a MacBook2,1 F10 function-key made possible by the application-bundle Info.plist key LSBackgroundOnly (prevents running from adding a Dock icon) replacing all the code otherwise needed to return focus to the originally-frontmost app afterwards. (And I made a fancy icon.) I keep it in both the Dock and the Finder window toolbar. The one line:
tell application "System Events" to key code 109
If yours differs from MacBook2,1 Key Codes, try Dennis Bajram's handy Full Key Codes utility.
F11 - Desktop (v.2013-09-12, 57 kB ZIP) is a "faceless" one-line AppleScript application version of a MacBook2,1 F11 function-key made possible by the application-bundle Info.plist key LSBackgroundOnly (prevents running from adding a Dock icon) replacing all the code otherwise needed to return focus to the originally-frontmost app afterwards. (And I made a fancy icon.) I keep it in both the Dock and the Finder window toolbar. The one line:
tell application "System Events" to key code 103
If yours differs from MacBook2,1 Key Codes, try Dennis Bajram's handy Full Key Codes utility.
Fyndyr (v.2015-09-13, 176 kB ZIP) is a vastly superior Finder surrogate -- a drag-&-drop AppleScript application that works the way the real Finder should have in the first place. Like the Finder: clicking the Fyndyr brings all unminimized Finder windows forward; if the Finder is hidden, Fyndyr unhides it; and if no Finder windows are open, Fyndyr opens a New one (unless...). UNLIKE the Finder: Fyndyr avoids opening or unminimizing anything just for bringing the Finder to the foreground, thus providing an informative check for existing visible windows; if all Finder windows are minimized, Fyndyr unminimizes them all instead of just one; Fyndyr updates all visible Finder windows every second (replacing Finder Defib below), updates the Desktop when clicked, and (New!) quits when no Finder windows are visible or were visible at open; dropping things on the Fyndyr tries to move them to their parent folder ala UNIX "../"; and the Fyndyr icon can be positioned anywhere in the Dock and the Finder window toolbar and sidebar. Also new (New!) are major improvements in efficiency, operation, programming, and readability. See the "About" page and script listing.
Hidden Files (v.2014-12-28, 55 kB ZIP) is a hybrid AppleScript/shell-script application I wrote to toggle the display of hidden files by the Finder, and to be vastly more reliable other such scripts I saw on the Web. (And made a fancy icon.) I keep it in the Finder window toolbar. See the script listing.
OSXServerNanny (v.2014-03-21, 6 kB ZIP) (formerly SystemUIServerNanny) is a "faceless" shell-script application I wrote to manage memory leaks in WindowServer and SystemUIServer of (at least) OS X 10.6.x, the latter possibly triggered by at least some versions of at least some Menu Extras including iStatMenus and possibly SophosAV. It is designed to be added to System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items, and to be quit by logging out, the Activity Monitor, or the Terminal. See the script listing.
IgnoreUSBWake (v.2014-05-15, 22 kB ZIP) is a "faceless" shell-script application I wrote to immediately put my MacBook back to sleep whenever it is so rudely awakened by a mysterious "Wake reason = USB2 USB4 USB7" (I suspect static electricity in the audio cable running across the carpet leaks through my USB sound card). It might need one code tweak for systems other than MacBook2,1 running OS X 10.6.8 -- see the script listing. It is designed to be added to System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items, and to be quit by logging out, the Activity Monitor, or the Terminal applications. It is entirely reliant on Bernhard Baehr's SleepWatcher 2.2, included.
FractionFinder (v.2014-01-28, 87 kB ZIP) is a mathematical AppleScript application I wrote that takes a decimal number and a maximum fraction denominator and finds the nearest fraction and binary (power of 2) fraction. (And made a fancy icon.) Operation is self-evident; see the script listing. I could just as easily done a UNIX shell script or javascript, I just wanted to see how AppleScript would do.
--- currently unused Clickables ---
Finder Defib (v.2014-02-03, 246 kB ZIP) [replaced by Fyndyr, above] is an AppleScript application I wrote to...
F1 - Brightness Down (v.2011-10-11, 8 kB ZIP) [replaced by Brightness Cycle, above] is a shell script application version of my MacBook2,1 F1 key I wrote using Riley's "brightness" binary (above, included) which stops before going fully dark (rendering the trackpad unusable) and made a fancy icon. (To go fully dark I use Brightness Off or Sleep Displays, above.) I kept it in the Dock. See the script listing.
F2 - Brightness Up (v.2011-10-11, 8 kB ZIP) [replaced by Brightness Cycle, above] is a shell script application version of my MacBook2,1 F2 key I wrote using Riley's "brightness" binary (above, included) and made a fancy icon. I kept it in the Dock. See the script listing.
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