Mac360 Twitter TweetsSponsorship and Advertising on Mac360Forums Member LoginRegister for Mac360 ForumsFrequently Asked QuestionsYouTube Video WatchDashboard Widget WatchPolls & SurveysMac360 Power Search Options
RSS FeedThe Mac360 Article ArchiveThe Cheap MacWhat's New!Mac Tips & TricksMacintosh User ForumsMac360 Reviews

Is It Really OK To Pimp Up And Trick Out Leopard?

PimpThe Mac is a personal computer, right? Mac OS X Leopard unifies the Mac’s look and feel on screen, but what can you do to pimp up and trick out Leopard?

Does Apple make it easy to customize the most personal of personal computers? In a word, no. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make your Mac look the way you want.

If there’s one subtle change that I truly like about Leopard vs. Tiger, it’s the unified windows. Gone are the brushed aluminum windows, replaced almost all over with Apple’s new unified platinum plastic look.

Except for the Menu Bar, which, on some Macs with the right graphics cards, has a Gawd-awful translucent look. I’m convinced that Apple doesn’t want Mac users to muck around and customize OS X Leopard.

Apple gives Mac users a few customize crumbs here and there. There’s the desktop pictures; wallpaper to Windows switchers. Not only does Apple give us plenty of desktop options, we can even customize the desktop with our own photos from iPhoto.

See? That’s customization, Apple style. Forget the fact that most of the desktop is covered with windows from various applications and utilities.

What else? How about those great screen savers. Apple gives us a few, each with a couple of options that Mac users can select.

Some Mac developers have created a few screen savers that go beyond the offerings in Leopard. Again, it’s user customization, Apple style.

How about that Dock? Apple provides a handful of options for Dock customization. Left. Right. 2D. Bottom. 3D. Magnify or not. See? Not many options from Apple for customizing anything on Leopard. Apple may be the most anal retentive, obsessive compulsive, control freak computer maker on the planet.

When they’re right, they’re really right. But, when Apple is wrong…

In System Preferences there’s the Appearance Pane. Not much going on there for those of us who desire a more than stock, out-of-the-box Mac. Blue or Graphite. Change the highlight color.

Expose and Spaces provides for a measure of Mac customization, though always within parameters provided by Godfather Steve and the design geniuses at Apple. We’re allowed to choose which hot corner we use to invoke Expose or Spaces. There’s additional options on the Mighty Mouse.

But you see what’s happening? We’re given Options, which we use to Customize our Macs. Options are not really customizations, are they?

For the sake of argument, lets take a look at the areas where we truly are allowed by Apple’s design overlords to customize our Macs. Desktops. What else? Not much.

Mac users and developers to the rescue. No Mac that’s truly pimped up and tricked out would be complete without some modification to the Dock that goes beyond what Apple provides. Enter Leopard Docks, the little site that could.

With some work, Mac uses can modify the Dock over 100 ways. Make the Dock uglier than it is, or add a Dock theme that suits your taste. Drag and save and drag and drop and drop down and pray you don’t screw up the Dock forever.

Leopard Dock carries an assortment of Dock designs in a variety of styles and themes, at least one of which will be better than the one Apple gave us.

Leopard Dock won’t fix the issues with Fan or Grid or lack of hierarchical menus in the Documents section of the Dock, but it’s a start toward true customization, Mac user style.

Some Dock customizations are quite innovative, including those from Optica Optima. Brush up on your Japanese. Still, regarding customizations, someone is thinking outside the box. The bento box.

Leopard brings Mac users plenty of new and candy coated features to get used to. But when it comes right down to it, the Mac doesn’t offer much for true personalization, the customizing that makes the Mac truly personal. Not yet, anyway. If necessity is the mother of invention, expect Mac users to come up with more ways to pimp up and trick out the Mac.

Got a beef with the lack of customization capability in Leopard and Tiger? Got another cool way to make a Mac even more personal, truly customized? Talk Back to Mac360 readers in the Comments section below.

Post your own Comment.

Classy Mac360 PhotoBy Alexis Kayhill | I'm a 20 year Mac user veteran, writer, photographer, wife, and mommy. I live in sunny San Diego with my husband, three children, two dogs, one mean old cat, and an SUV with a back seat full of beach sand. Follow me on Twitter.

• Email This Article  •  Follow Mac360 on Twitter
• Posted in the Tips and Tricks Section

Mac360 posts daily Mac updates on Twitter, too. If you Twitter, give Alexis, Bambi, or Ron a tweet and follow Mac360 on Twitter to get daily Mac tips and tricks.

Say No To Mac
Do Mac users need all that power and flexibility? Or, just convenience?
Thu Mar 11 - Full Article »
Dock
A new way to use what you already know how to use to find files.
Wed Mar 10 - Full Article »
Email
Hidden inside a Mac is an email monster. Turn it on with a click or two.
Tue Mar 9 - Full Article »
Database
Database users rejoice. FileMaker Pro is easier and more powerful.
Tue Mar 9 - Full Article »
Docks
Love the Dock? Hate the Dock? Here's how to make the Dock better.
Mon Mar 8 - Full Article »
Walmart
Apple's market value skyrockets ahead of the iPad launch.
Mon Mar 8 - Full Article »
Predictions
Can you predict Apple success or failure as well as technology pundits?
Fri Mar 5 - View Topic »
SyncMan
Keep your contacts fully synchronized online with the SyncMac.
Fri Mar 5 - Full Article »
Books
What do you need to publish a book? A Mac and plenty of money.
Fri Mar 5 - Full Article »

Off Topic Note: Need more Mac software reviews? Check out Page 2 for encore articles. Help support Mac360 by visiting the Mac360 Store (it’s really Amazon). We get a small commission on every purchase you make through the Mac360 Store (it’s really Amazon). You get discounts on Mac software such as Snow Leopard, iWork ‘09, iLife ‘09, Adobe Photoshop Elements, all MacBook and iMac models, and all iPod models.

Snow Leopard
What's in the FORUMS?
Mac360 Link Farm