Little Tools That Make Mac OS X Easier To Use.

I tend to be very careful about the utilities and enhancements that I add to my Macs. I prefer my Mac work for me, not me work on my Mac.

One of those areas in OS X Leopard that needed attention right away was the Dock. Apple screwed it up, then repaired it, while Mac software developers improved it.

Leopard gave us Stacks in the Dock, which, in general, I like, especially the grid display. Adding folders to the Dock these days gives Mac users plenty of choices and opportunities for improvement and customization.
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What Apple gave us back in later versions of Leopard is the hierarchical menus. That’s a good thing, a nice touch, handy and easy for Mac users of any experience level.

If you’re just a little geeky and always looking for something extra that makes your Mac work better, more efficient, and matches your way of working, try Quay.

Why? More information, better Dock functions, improved access, more capability, more menu selections.

Quay isn’t the only Dock star that is worth consideration. I like WeatherDock, too. It’s another quick way to see the current weather conditions, and a click gets you even more detail and long range forecasts.

Interestingly, the Dock itself can be customized, either using a Mac customizing tool such as Panic’s CandyBar, which I love, or little utilities such as SuperDocker.

SuperDocker gives you a 2D or 3D Dock and modifies the display features of the Dock, including a separation bar. I’m an iTunes kinda guy so I’ve got music playing all the time. DockArt pops up the album cover art for the currently playing iTunes song-- right inside the Dock.

Quite a few Mac users didn’t like the Leopard implementation of the Dock. The little aluminum shelf is reflective, a bit gaudy, and cluttered.

There are many ways to customize your Mac, though the Dock is rather plain and uninviting, it can be prettied up and made more useful at the same time.

Dock Doctor lets you get funky with your Dock. Change the background, go 2D then 3D then back again. Subtle, visual only, not an improvement to you work day.

Dock usability and visual cues are important to me. I added Ecamm’s DockStar because it tells me what’s in my Mail inboxes without me opening Mail.

What I like about CandyBar is that it customizes not only the Dock, but the icon sets that show up in the Dock, and it does it only a couple of clicks. Don’t like it? Click and everything goes back to normal.

Other than desktop photos and screen savers, it’s unlikely that most Mac users actually customize their Macs to any notable degree. What about you? Do you have a special utility for the Dock? What have you added to your Mac to customize, make it yours, and reflect your special tastes?

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