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WindowShadeX
http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/wsx

Some of us power users _like_ having control over the bloated window title and dislike its lack of useful functionality such as the inability to "roll up" -- something that EVERY window manager should include out-of-the-box; thankfully some of the *nix Window Managers actually respect power users.

I've given up on Microsoft actually having a clue about useful GUI design after their Metrosexual UI; Apple is slowly heading that way by hiding essential UI elements such as scroll bar arrows. The fact that both companies still group the Close, Minimize, and Maximize buttons together demonstrates they just don't understand UI design to any significant level -- they would rather keep "dumbing down" the UI year after year instead of giving choices to power users and teaching people how to maximize their workflow process. i.e. It took Microsoft how many years to understand the importance of Spatial Positioning of icons on the Taskbar by allowing them to re-arrange running apps??

Well, I spent a total of 5 seconds and found this software:

http://unsanity.com/haxies/shapeshifter

I haven't actually used it, but from its description, it sounds like, yeah, actually you *can* change where your window controls are located. And I can only assume that there are other pieces of similar software out there.

And before you say something along the lines of that software not being included with the normal OS, then you're missing the point of OS X entirely, where things aren't a mish-mash disaster of ppl's desktops looking like ugly WinAmp skins, and actually function (gasp!) consistently.

These guys claim to have fixed some crash problems - have you tried it? Just curious....

http://unsanity.com/haxies/wsx

I don't think this is the first time Apple did this... Especially if you wanted to develop a "plugin" that would override the default Apple behavior for windows borders or other things... At least for a while. It seems likely that Apply may just not be 100% ready to release these features?

This could happen anywhere really, even on Linux (think Ubuntu's graphics drivers), that isn't to say that Linux doesn't try to be 100% freedom.

Please keep in mind I run only Linux and OS X machines at home and program professionally on the Linux/Unix platform.

Double clicking the title bar just minimizes the windows.

The Post was talking about "Window Shade" functionality. Something built into OS 8/9. Double clicking on the title bar rolls the window up into just the title bar.

Unsanity has released a Haxie for this functionality in OS X:
http://unsanity.com/images/previews/wsx/wsx1.jpg

No, WindowShadeX has not been updated for Leopard. http://unsanity.com/haxies/wsx

Absolutely agreed. I am a huge fanboy, and even I don't give a new update this much positive spin when it has just come out.

The third-party window shade is from Unsanity but alas does not work in 10.5

This is one of those legacy features that you'll just have to learn to live without (i.e. use Expose) similar to having to constantly turn on "Windows classic folders" and is nothing compared to some of the BASIC OS functions that need addressing:

- Open a folder in a listview should be one button (i.e. enter, which currenty goes to rename, really??) not Command-O
- Screenshotting needs to be waaaay easier (i.e. single key rather than shift-command-3 or whatever)
Etc. etc.

Sorry Apple, but I'll be waiting on installing this update as it seems little more than a few minor bug fixes (iCal? Yeah it has more problems than that)

Have you tried http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/shapeshifter ?

You expect Aunt Tillie to have installed Application Enhancer?

Get this, Unsanity FINALLY sent out a message to those on their email list. This is their "sage" advice:

"First and formost. *Before* you install Mac OS X 10.5, make sure you have Application Enhancer (APE) 2.0.3 or later installed. You can download it from http://www.unsanity.net/ape-203.dmg (the webpage is at http://unsanity.com/haxies/ape ).

Make *sure* you have APE 2.0.3 or later installed *before* you install Mac OS X 10.5. If you have an earlier version of APE installed before you install 10.5, you may exhibit one of the following symptoms upon booting into Mac OS X 10.5:

- Your goldfish may die.
- A strange dog might bite you on the street.
- A friend may punch you.
- Your computer may catch fire.
- Your loved one may leave you.

All of these things are really bad. So we urge everyone to make sure they have APE 2.0.3 or later installed. If you aren't sure, install APE 2.0.3 or later from the link above. APE 2.0.3 was released on March 14th, 2007. And please, always keep your software up to date.

A note about 10.5 and haxies:

As long as you have APE 2.0.3, nothing bad will happen in 10.5. Well, nothing we can control. However, none of your APE Modules will work either.

Developers in Apple's Mac OS X developer program (ADC) got the final 10.5 GM yesterday. We are still downloading the huge 6.66GB image and as soon as the downloads finish for our developers, we will be hard at work on making our software work on 10.5.

You can keep up to date with the status of haxies and 10.5 by viewing http://unsanity.com/products/compatibility/ and we will post more information as we have it on our blog at http://unsanity.org/ . Mac OS X 10.5 compatibility is currently our number one priority.

"If APE doesn't work in 10.5, shouldn't I just uninstall it?"

No, you should not. Just make sure you have APE 2.0.3 or later. A lot of third party (and Unsanity made) utilities depend on the APE framework itself being there. As it has some extremely useful functions. Removing it may cause these Applications and/or preference panes to stop launching."

They tell you specifically NOT to do the one thing that you probably should do. Worst of all, they try to be funny while doing so.

Get this, Unsanity FINALLY sent out a message to those on their email list. This is their "sage" advice:

"First and formost. *Before* you install Mac OS X 10.5, make sure you have Application Enhancer (APE) 2.0.3 or later installed. You can download it from http://www.unsanity.net/ape-203.dmg (the webpage is at http://unsanity.com/haxies/ape ).

Make *sure* you have APE 2.0.3 or later installed *before* you install Mac OS X 10.5. If you have an earlier version of APE installed before you install 10.5, you may exhibit one of the following symptoms upon booting into Mac OS X 10.5:

- Your goldfish may die.
- A strange dog might bite you on the street.
- A friend may punch you.
- Your computer may catch fire.
- Your loved one may leave you.

All of these things are really bad. So we urge everyone to make sure they have APE 2.0.3 or later installed. If you aren't sure, install APE 2.0.3 or later from the link above. APE 2.0.3 was released on March 14th, 2007. And please, always keep your software up to date.

A note about 10.5 and haxies:

As long as you have APE 2.0.3, nothing bad will happen in 10.5. Well, nothing we can control. However, none of your APE Modules will work either.

Developers in Apple's Mac OS X developer program (ADC) got the final 10.5 GM yesterday. We are still downloading the huge 6.66GB image and as soon as the downloads finish for our developers, we will be hard at work on making our software work on 10.5.

You can keep up to date with the status of haxies and 10.5 by viewing http://unsanity.com/products/compatibility/ and we will post more information as we have it on our blog at http://unsanity.org/ . Mac OS X 10.5 compatibility is currently our number one priority.

"If APE doesn't work in 10.5, shouldn't I just uninstall it?"

No, you should not. Just make sure you have APE 2.0.3 or later. A lot of third party (and Unsanity made) utilities depend on the APE framework itself being there. As it has some extremely useful functions. Removing it may cause these Applications and/or preference panes to stop launching."

They tell you specifically NOT to do the one thing that you probably should do. Worst of all, they try to be funny while doing so.

(since back in the days when the Reality Distortion Field convinced people, myself included, that they only needed 2 colors)

Some things never change. For instance, in Tiger you can have any desktop color scheme you like, so long as it's graphite or blue. About the only thing you can customize is the background image.

I've learned that they both have their flaws and any reasonable person is perfectly capable of hating them both equally

Exactly. For this specific issue, Windows does allow much more customization of the look and feel, but even that has its limits. If you want more, both Windows and OS X require $20 third-party programs to load custom themes. In other words, they BOTH suck.

That's not true. It's easy to change your shell (using NetInfo Manager, included with every copy of OSX). bash is default, and zsh, csh, ksh, wish, tcsh, tclsh are also included by default.

File Manager is fairly easy to replace, though the only other decent option I know of is Path Finder.

Icons are trivially easy to replace using the built in Finder's "get info" window-- just copy & paste 'em in there.

Window themes are the only thing that are a bit of a hack to change (though certainly not "illegal")--the tools I know of are somewhat unstable, the best supposedly being ShapeShifter. But if I recall, it's a bit of a hack on windows as well...

So yeah, I guess that makes you 25% right, 75% wrong.

A quick google results in "ShapeShifter" http://unsanity.com/haxies/shapeshifter

I've had good fun with ctrl scroll-wheel-up and ctrl scroll-wheel-down though. So that might be a way to go for visually impaired.
It doesn't solve the menu bar problem though. Whilst annoying at times, I've recently seen a widescreen windows notebook with adobe reader within a browser. My word! There was hardly any space for the text left due to the sheer number of toolbars present.

Good luck.

B.

And here is the other.
If you want a "maximize" function (Mac OS X only shows a "zoom" function), you can use a collection of handy applescripts: Spooky
It will be linked to a keystroke. If you really want to link it to the finder buttons, someone could hack it with APE or SIMBL.

Well, there is Silk which allows you to turn off antialiasing. Sure, everything looks like crap with corn in it... but at least it's not "blurry".

Uh...then look at the source code yourself.

Nothing is hidden, and Landon isn't trying to hide anything that's being done.

Also, these fixes are runtime fixes via APE modules. They only place they're "installed" is into APE, so they can all be easily removed/disabled at will (as can APE itself). There is nothing wrong with the principle of runtime patching, and this is really a technical exercise more than anything. But again, the code is all right there, and you can see exactly what is being done.

All this is a little fun exercise and a public service, if you will. Also, anyone can examine the code.

How do you uninstall these quick fixes? Simple. They'll almost all invariably be runtime fixes with Application Enhancer (APE). APE modules are just self-contained directories; nothing more. They can be unloaded on demand, and APE itself can be easily installed, uninstalled, disabled, and modules can be loaded and unloaded at will.

Also, Landon Fuller is anything but an "Apple fanboy", or in any way remotely interested in "saving Apple's rep". The idea is to look at the bugs, and see if a quick technical solution or remediation can be provided. No one has to install them. Since the code is available, anyone can see what's being done, including the rest of the community. If one wishes to wait for Apple's official patches, fine.

Aside from all of this, of course Mac OS X, like any other operating system or large software project, has bugs. Some of these bugs will enable vulnerabilities that can be exploited. I fail to see how any of this is surprising. If you're actually interested, I've summed up my thoughts on this here.

#7. System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts [tab] > Full keyboard access: [at bottom] > Select "All controls"

#2. I assume you're you talking about menu acceleration; you could try this: http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/menumaster. Otherwise: you could access the menu bar on a Mac by doing Ctrl+F2, but then you have to arrow-key around. For anything repetitive, there obviously should be a regular keyboard shortcut. What most people don't know is that they can add their own in the same control panel as #7, although that doesn't always work 100%.

My story: I used to be a Mac-hater... I hated Windows but accepted it as life... then I saw someone use Macs to do the same work I was doing (web-based software development), and it seemed awfully nice. Made the jump with a Powerbook over 3 years ago and never looked back. I am able to do everything I was able to do on a PC and more (my favorite "more" being the BSD core and having a proper shell, it allows you to do a lot of Linux-like things that you can't do easily in Windows). About the only thing I missed was Windows-only games, but Boot Camp has solved that now that I have a Macbook Pro.

I just wish they would do something about my biggest gripe with mac osx. the biggest thing i miss from os9, thats included in Windows and Linux consistently, is the fact that YOU CAN CHANGE THE COLOR SCHEME. I miss the themes of tangerine, strawberry, grape, and would appreciate maybe a black liquorish. Even Unsanity cant give me this. I dont want to have to pay Unsanity for something that should be free, that means sound scheme too.

This list reflects a lot of "windows user" bias and ignorance about the features currently in tiger.

I'll go through the points I take issue with.. if I don't touch them it means I think theyre valid.. and there were at least a few valid ones.

14 - a widget on the desktop is called an application... exactly what is so inconvenient about pressing the f12 key. Even on a several year old system the dashboard loads quickly enough.

13 - it's called fruit menu, a convenient little shareware app which, among other features you'll like (which i'll get to later), gives you about a million different ways to customize contextual menus with negligible resource footprints.

12 - I think someone doesn't know what the f10 key does ; )

11 - valid, but I for one don't like the idea of windows resizing on me when i want to simply move them to the side, so make it optional like hot corners.

10 - remember fruit menu? it makes the apple menu customizable like the windows start menu.. simply add your application folder to the apple menu with this baby installed and it's right there.

9 - next you'll be complaining that because GM put's their headlight switch on the dash rather than the steering wheel, asian imports should do it to. Don't like raising your finger to hit the FN key? get a pc.. geez.. i'm a touch typist and have never had a problem with this.

7 - This is not a functionality issue.. it's an "I don't like it" issue.. well some people like to have a bit of asymmetry in their surroundings.. i don't know about you but if every room in my house was painted the exact same color i'd get really really bored..

6 - valid but nitpicky...i've never had the screen dim at an inopportune time.. i've compiled mplayer and run it from a shell and have watched 2 hour movies on my macbook without troubles with it. if youre really anal about it i'm sure there's a hack for it somewhere..

4 - interesting.. but another point which i'd like to see as optional.. I often come across files from places like image boards where the name is a VERY long hash value. I don't want a column that's 1200px wide and hanging off the screen, thank you.

3 - it's called drag and drop.. you can find the file you want in finder, drag it and drop it into the column view application dialogue. (sometimes it needs twice).. there is a second option of simply grabbing the icon of the file in the title bar of the window you have it opened in and dragging it to the dialogue that way.

2 - nitpicking again. I regularly drag files into a space 3 px across.. have a lot of windows? that's what expose' is for. Additionally, if youre moving files between drives it helps to prevent loss in the event of some catastrophic failure.

1 - i do a lot of file manipulation on my computer.. use it intensively.. and i've never had issue with dynamic updating. In fact the one thing I do notice is a nifty little feature in the finder where a renamed file will wait about 10 seconds before refreshing to it's proper location on a list or column.. in the case of folders this is very helpful.

finally.. that list really betrays some bias.. come on.. that same tired "second mouse button" thing?

This list reflects a lot of "windows user" bias and ignorance about the features currently in tiger.

I'll go through the points I take issue with.. if I don't touch them it means I think theyre valid.. and there were at least a few valid ones.

14 - a widget on the desktop is called an application... exactly what is so inconvenient about pressing the f12 key. Even on a several year old system the dashboard loads quickly enough.

13 - it's called fruit menu, a convenient little shareware app which, among other features you'll like (which i'll get to later), gives you about a million different ways to customize contextual menus with negligible resource footprints.

12 - I think someone doesn't know what the f10 key does ; )

11 - valid, but I for one don't like the idea of windows resizing on me when i want to simply move them to the side, so make it optional like hot corners.

10 - remember fruit menu? it makes the apple menu customizable like the windows start menu.. simply add your application folder to the apple menu with this baby installed and it's right there.

9 - next you'll be complaining that because GM put's their headlight switch on the dash rather than the steering wheel, asian imports should do it to. Don't like raising your finger to hit the FN key? get a pc.. geez.. i'm a touch typist and have never had a problem with this.

7 - This is not a functionality issue.. it's an "I don't like it" issue.. well some people like to have a bit of asymmetry in their surroundings.. i don't know about you but if every room in my house was painted the exact same color i'd get really really bored..

6 - valid but nitpicky...i've never had the screen dim at an inopportune time.. i've compiled mplayer and run it from a shell and have watched 2 hour movies on my macbook without troubles with it. if youre really anal about it i'm sure there's a hack for it somewhere..

4 - interesting.. but another point which i'd like to see as optional.. I often come across files from places like image boards where the name is a VERY long hash value. I don't want a column that's 1200px wide and hanging off the screen, thank you.

3 - it's called drag and drop.. you can find the file you want in finder, drag it and drop it into the column view application dialogue. (sometimes it needs twice).. there is a second option of simply grabbing the icon of the file in the title bar of the window you have it opened in and dragging it to the dialogue that way.

2 - nitpicking again. I regularly drag files into a space 3 px across.. have a lot of windows? that's what expose' is for. Additionally, if youre moving files between drives it helps to prevent loss in the event of some catastrophic failure.

1 - i do a lot of file manipulation on my computer.. use it intensively.. and i've never had issue with dynamic updating. In fact the one thing I do notice is a nifty little feature in the finder where a renamed file will wait about 10 seconds before refreshing to it's proper location on a list or column.. in the case of folders this is very helpful.

finally.. that list really betrays some bias.. come on.. that same tired "second mouse button" thing?

If you really want it get WindowShade from Unsanity. You can roll up windows, make them transparent, make any window float, etc..

http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/wsx

I'm very very pleased with finally getting virtual desktops. I've been using Desktop Manager and will continue to until I get a computer with Leopard on it (probably a few more years), but it annoys me that I *need* a third-party app for that. (And window shading, for that matter.)

I fired Shapeshifter (theme util) http://www.unsanity.com/ , got more than perfect windows XP theme by Max Rudenberg http://www.maxthemes.com/themes/?theme=Mac%20OS%20 XP (free) and fake leopard about box http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/ 30318 (free)

That was a perfect plan including opening a archive.org page with Apple advertising G4 as some supercomputer. (They now say Mactel is 4x faster)

Here is the result which I am not very proud of:
http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=faketestt t0.png

I am not a graphics artist of course and my toolset is limited. That is not an excuse. You know why I gave up and didn't work on menu extras and add the trollish (4x faster) to about box? I could NOT STAND TO XP! Yes, I was surprised that as a guy who used PC until 2003, I get psychologically effected by a theme!

If Apple has more consumers like me, they can switch to anything, any CPU and still win. Note I am one of rare people out there which never had virus infection,worm infection, spyware infection in my life.

GUI functions like virtual desktops

I've done virtual desktops, but personally, I found them less productive than productive. It always annoyed me that when I wanted to do a DND on something or that window was "all the way over there", and I had to either go and make it "omni-present" or scoot it over to where the other app is or whatnot. I find multiple real screens better than virtual desktops. Also, there are 3rd party things you can get for OS X to add virtual desktops to the system. http://www.codetek.com/ has one, and there are many others. For most users, they are a source of confusion and loss of productivity, but they have been around for many years, so get one if you want one.

window shading

I like window shading as well. Its more handy and intuitive than minimizing a window, so I bought Window Shade X, and it works like a charm.

a dock that doesn't try to be everything else too, or failing that, will at least go away

The dock is OK, but I'm happier when I can't see it or just don't use it. I only have a couple of icons in it and only use it to launch a handful of apps when I reboot or login or something. I much prefer Quicksilver for launching apps. To start up X11, I hit Apple-space, type x, hit return. I don't know of a faster or easier way to launch an app than that.

a theme that doesn't include stupid glowing gumdrops everywhere

Yeah, the gumdrops are silly. I'll admit. That is why I paid for ShapeShifter. Personally, I use a brushed metal theme so that all apps look the same, and no gumdrops required. I find it very aesthetically pleasing.

file manager that doesn't INSIST on blocking up with a spinning beach ball while it calls the server EVERY SINGLE TIME the cursor rests on a video file quicktime doesn't have a codec for

Yes, the Finder sucks at times. It is essentially unusable in Tiger when viewing files in list view, which is almost exclusively how I view files because I have so many in each folder. Fortunately, I don't use it that much, and would like for a better alternative. Suggestions?? Quicktime is bullshit, and I wish it would die a silent death and never come back to life. I'm going to get flamed for this, but I have never worked with such a resource hog, nagware by default player, non-codec supporting, unable to stream worth a shit... I could go on. I've tried to ignore Quicktime for years but it keeps coming back.

It's a step up from Windows, but then again, anything is. It's an obvious step backwards from either OS9 or a decently configured X11 system.

Yes, its about 10 years ahead of Windows. I could not use OS 7, 8, or 9 because the underlying OS was too unstable, so I never got to appreciate the GUI. I used X exclusively for years, and it was OK for the time. I used OpenLook, TWM, FVWM, AfterStep (how I found chips-n-dips -> slashdot :), and then settled with WindowMaker. I hacked WindowMaker (or is it two words now), to add functionality that I missed from either AfterStep or FVWM. KDE and Gnome simply do not cut it. If I wanted a less than functional Windows knockoff, I would just settle for Windows. I'm a UNIX/Linux admin, and support both Solaris and Linux systems with CDE, KDE, and Gnome. KDE seems to be the better of the mix, but Gnome has its perks, but neither are something I would want to spend more than 1/2 an hour in front of, if that. Even though X support on Macs is not the best, its still better for me than any exclusive X desktop.

GUI functions like virtual desktops

I've done virtual desktops, but personally, I found them less productive than productive. It always annoyed me that when I wanted to do a DND on something or that window was "all the way over there", and I had to either go and make it "omni-present" or scoot it over to where the other app is or whatnot. I find multiple real screens better than virtual desktops. Also, there are 3rd party things you can get for OS X to add virtual desktops to the system. http://www.codetek.com/ has one, and there are many others. For most users, they are a source of confusion and loss of productivity, but they have been around for many years, so get one if you want one.

window shading

I like window shading as well. Its more handy and intuitive than minimizing a window, so I bought Window Shade X, and it works like a charm.

a dock that doesn't try to be everything else too, or failing that, will at least go away

The dock is OK, but I'm happier when I can't see it or just don't use it. I only have a couple of icons in it and only use it to launch a handful of apps when I reboot or login or something. I much prefer Quicksilver for launching apps. To start up X11, I hit Apple-space, type x, hit return. I don't know of a faster or easier way to launch an app than that.

a theme that doesn't include stupid glowing gumdrops everywhere

Yeah, the gumdrops are silly. I'll admit. That is why I paid for ShapeShifter. Personally, I use a brushed metal theme so that all apps look the same, and no gumdrops required. I find it very aesthetically pleasing.

file manager that doesn't INSIST on blocking up with a spinning beach ball while it calls the server EVERY SINGLE TIME the cursor rests on a video file quicktime doesn't have a codec for

Yes, the Finder sucks at times. It is essentially unusable in Tiger when viewing files in list view, which is almost exclusively how I view files because I have so many in each folder. Fortunately, I don't use it that much, and would like for a better alternative. Suggestions?? Quicktime is bullshit, and I wish it would die a silent death and never come back to life. I'm going to get flamed for this, but I have never worked with such a resource hog, nagware by default player, non-codec supporting, unable to stream worth a shit... I could go on. I've tried to ignore Quicktime for years but it keeps coming back.

It's a step up from Windows, but then again, anything is. It's an obvious step backwards from either OS9 or a decently configured X11 system.

Yes, its about 10 years ahead of Windows. I could not use OS 7, 8, or 9 because the underlying OS was too unstable, so I never got to appreciate the GUI. I used X exclusively for years, and it was OK for the time. I used OpenLook, TWM, FVWM, AfterStep (how I found chips-n-dips -> slashdot :), and then settled with WindowMaker. I hacked WindowMaker (or is it two words now), to add functionality that I missed from either AfterStep or FVWM. KDE and Gnome simply do not cut it. If I wanted a less than functional Windows knockoff, I would just settle for Windows. I'm a UNIX/Linux admin, and support both Solaris and Linux systems with CDE, KDE, and Gnome. KDE seems to be the better of the mix, but Gnome has its perks, but neither are something I would want to spend more than 1/2 an hour in front of, if that. Even though X support on Macs is not the best, its still better for me than any exclusive X desktop.

Shapeshifter.

Unsanity makes some other pretty cool stuff, too.

Welcome back into the fold ;)

"For the record, Smart Crash Reports is not an Apple product. It is third-party software by Unsanity: http://www.unsanity.com/smartcrashreports [unsanity.com]"

For up to date info: They will now ask whether user needs to report the applications crash to developer or not. How evil the developers are asking anonymous, already sent to Apple by default crash data! :) (This is my take, I am not affiliated with Unsanity except buying/using their products)

http://www.unsanity.org/archives/000447.php

If Apple shared crash reports of Applications with developers, there wouldn't be need for such software. It is in fact a great favor to community and developers asking NOTHING at return. They give a very expensive functionality for free. Ask Netscape Inc how much they paid for talkback agent or similar companies.

I was naively sending crash reports to Apple which they don't really care if it is not their software or OS crashes with full descriptions for 2 years. When I figured even Adobe sized companies doesn't get them... Well you know...

That blog guy (grandparent mentions) did not mention any of these facts I bet. That is what I hate. I even shared some "interesting technology news" with Unsanity and they responded, they are a responsive team which does/did great favors to community asking nothing in return. To hell with his "famous" blogs Google whatever ads really.

For the record, Smart Crash Reports is not an Apple product. It is third-party software by Unsanity: http://www.unsanity.com/smartcrashreports

Yep, Mac OS X can be hit with a Trojan not a big suprise there. Symantec has some info on this 'MP3Concept Trojan Horse', which is benign. It does use a neat trick to imbed the code in an MP3, but other than that it isn't that special. Tricking someone to run your program isn't really something that we will ever make impossible under every circumstances, but I will admidt that using filename extensions to identify file types is one very stupid thing that Mac OS X copied from Windows, and then hiding them by default only compounds the stupidity.

Exploit, infections from not known: http://www.macintouch.com/opener.html

But "opener" requires a previously comprimized system. A "rootkit" without a viable delivery mechinism isn't really a "virus" or "worm" or even a "trojan". Acording to McAfee: "This threat does not make use of an exploit, so to have the script run successfully on a system and make changes, the user account from which the script is run must have sufficient rights. If no superuser/root/admin access is available many of the subroutines will fail and generate errors." I don't know why McAfee classifies it as a virus/worm since it doesn't seem to have any propagation abilities.

In Wild exploit, known infections: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,390203 75,39155837,00.htm

True, the exploit mentioned is a tricky thing (potentially allowing code that was downloaded to be run as trusted), however I don't know if any was ever found in the wild - and even then it would still require an administrator's password to do system damage. The "hole" was supposedly patched by Apple's Security Update 2004-06-07 according to Unsanity who had released a little application to guard against the exploit.

If those are the only ones you've found, you haven't really shown any "exploit[s] for a Mac OS X vulnerability", although the MP3Concept Trojan I guess uses some "social hacking" types of tricks that would also work in Windows by hiding that it is an application rather than an mp3 file. Even if we accept a count of 3 (or ten or twenty), Mac OS X would still be comparitively malware-free.

But "opener" requires a previously comprimized system. A "rootkit" without a viable delivery mechinism isn't really a "virus" or "worm" or even a "trojan". Acording to McAfee: "This threat does not make use of an exploit, so to have the script run successfully on a system and make changes, the user account from which the script is run must have sufficient rights. If no superuser/root/admin access is available many of the subroutines will fail and generate errors." I don't know why McAfee classifies it as a virus/worm since it doesn't seem to have any propagation abilities.

Exploit, unknown level of infections: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,390203 75,39155837,00.htm

True, the exploit mentioned is a tricky thing (potentially allowing code that was downloaded to be run as trusted), however I don't know if any was ever found in the wild - and even then it would still require an administrator's password to do system damage. The "hole" was supposedly patched by Apple's Security Update 2004-06-07 according to Unsanity who had released a little application to guard against the exploit.

If those are the only two you've found, you haven't really shown any "In Wild, known Infections" in my opinion.

This is the best news I got this weekend!

Working for a certain college in Boston, I have to deal with MacIE for all my web applications. Why? Because of PC users.

On our campus, we have eMacs as kiosks in the halls. Using Fruitmenu, there are three programs in the 'Internet' folder: Safari, Firefox, & MacIE. For the Mac users, they all go for Safari or Firefox. However, PC users will use Internet Explorer. Why? Because that's what they use on the PC, so it must be the same, right? :rolleyes:

It wasn't removed due to a bit of bureaucratic mixups and politics. As a web developer, I was breaking one of my rules and using user-agent detection to sniff out MacIE and explicit instructions to use Firefox or Safari on that kiosk.

Now that I can point to Microsoft officially stopping support, it will be a lot easier to get the application removed all together.

That wasn't my response at all, you just seem to be hell bent on seeing things your way. My response is that there are things that not all users need, or even of those things that most users need and want, that there may be a thousand different ways to accomplish them.

Now, I mentioned three options, and indicated that I'm not even an expert in the "lock my computer" area because I don't need to do it often.

But someone else, mention a perfectly reasonable alternative. That's far better for your situation and the hospital guy, than my options.

Use the KeyChain!
I tried it. I works fantastically well, I even assigned Control+Alt+Delete as the command key to activate it. Basically, all you have to do, is open the utility, Keychain, located /Applications/Utilities/Keychain In the application preferences turn on menu access. A little lock will appear in your top most menu, by the date, or your wireless symbol. Mine appears next to my iSync symbol.

To lock the I can click and choose "Lock Screen", but better yet, I use Menu Master by Unsanity, so I assigned the Menu item, Control+Alt+Delete as the command key, and it can now be activated at a keystroke.

I'll remove it, because, well, I don't need it; and my laptop is set-up to require that someone still type in a password to get root access. But that said, sometimes the information you need is just a search or a question away from you, if you look for it, instead of focusing on what's worked before.

Mac OS X has had the ability to label files for years, as did OS 9. (I switched to Mac after X, because of the BSD core and terminal, so I really can't comment on file labels prior to this.) It's not a feature that I use, but if Apple's labels don't offer enough for you, Unsanity offers a "haxie" (Labels X) that offers more features.

Happy birthday, Google! you've been my primary choice for searches for years, and I've gotten a lot of use out of Google Maps so far.

Its a name of Unsanity product, Mighty Mouse does change cursors on OS X and yes, I have license :)

http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/mightymouse

After "K" incident, I heard news on web about mighty mouse, not knowing its an actual device I said "OMG Kleptomania" :)

Apple sued people who copied the design for use in Windows. However, you can get theme changers quite easily. Like [unsanity] ShapeShifter. There's no problem with modifying the theme as long as you don't port it elsewhere. I can and have used themes that are quite different from Aqua, and there's no legal worry about doing so.

I concur.

You're not the only one who has moved to OSX. A few linux buddies (who used to run it on the Desktop) have all moved to OSX.

When you're 20, tinkering around with Linux was great way to spend time learning.

When you're 30, you just want an OS that works -- so you can spend time on your REAL passions.

With OSX, I get the best of Windows + Unix.

BTW, you'll probably wan these essential Mac UI apps...

PathFinder
http://www.cocoatech.com/

- WindowShade X
http://www.unsanity.com/

- ASM (Application Switching Menu)
http://www.vercruesse.de/software

- FruitMenu
http://www.unsanity.com/

- DragThing
http://www.dragthing.com/

(Four out of the Five are mentioned by here)
http://www.asktog.com/columns/060MonsterMac.html
(Tog was one of the orginal designers on the Mac UI)

Peace

I concur.

You're not the only one who has moved to OSX. A few linux buddies (who used to run it on the Desktop) have all moved to OSX.

When you're 20, tinkering around with Linux was great way to spend time learning.

When you're 30, you just want an OS that works -- so you can spend time on your REAL passions.

With OSX, I get the best of Windows + Unix.

BTW, you'll probably wan these essential Mac UI apps...

PathFinder
http://www.cocoatech.com/

- WindowShade X
http://www.unsanity.com/

- ASM (Application Switching Menu)
http://www.vercruesse.de/software

- FruitMenu
http://www.unsanity.com/

- DragThing
http://www.dragthing.com/

(Four out of the Five are mentioned by here)
http://www.asktog.com/columns/060MonsterMac.html
(Tog was one of the orginal designers on the Mac UI)

Peace

You can use thirdparty apps to do it if you don't like the default look:

[unsanity] ShapeShifter - Unsanity - Makers of Haxies, small useful utilities that enhance and redefine how Mac OS X works.

Personally, I tend to change themes from time to time, and wander back to Aqua from time to time, but it's nice to be able to switch if I want to. Too bad too many menus etc. have hardcoded black letters and icons that assume the background is white and thus break dark themes.

Apple has always imposed the most limits on the user's ability to customize his computer look and feel of any OS.

Actually, Mac OS X is extremely customizable down to a very low level. Apple doesn't give you a nice GUI for making these changes, because they consider the look and feel a brand, but neither have they made any deliberate effort to prevent people from providing the missing components. In fact, if they didn't hold their developers responsible for maintaining that look and feel it would be harder to go in and modify the GUI.

The company that is currently doing the most to take advantage of and develop the various hooks Apple has provided is Unsanity, and Shapeshifter is the premier tool of this type:

http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/shapeshifter

But there's also an open source project:

http://themechanger.sourceforge.net/

And there have been other applications going all the way back to Kaleidoscope on Mac OS 8. These apps don't just change the window borders, they change every detail of every control in every application... and Kaleidoscope did it first.

you can. now whether there's another (free) way to do it, i don't know.

I would rather use default OSX over default Windows, but give me a customised Windows, and I'll take it over any other OS.

I suppose you do know you can customize OS X as well, don't you? Everything from WindowShade to Desktop Manager to LaunchBar to Quickeys and a few thousand others!

I agree with your point though: "people are most productive in whatever they're used to, and whatever suits them." I hope that's the theme that emerges from this Slashdot discussion.

Try this.

I have the Dock at the TOP with Aqua.

And I have mine at the bottom left so the trash is always locked in the same place.

Yes there are many, many options to fool around with. Step into ~/Library/Preferences and start looking at all the stuff you can tweak with the 'defaults' command (for example, bandwidth limiting iChatAV even lower than the slider allows). I think a more interesting form of tweaking, beyond just moving the dock around is software like this:

http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/shapeshifter

I haven't tried it in a long time now (not since enlightenment

Well I think that says it all right there. I grew attached to Afterstep in the Redhat 5.x days, but I don't think it's what I would want in a modern window manager. There are TONS of window managers with much more functionality and various levels of bloat to please just about anyone. I think we've moved beyond Nexstep (in most ways)... and the dock still sucks.

Actually it's sort of funny that I say that because I just recently purchased windowshade x which allows you to minimise much like afterstep...

Most hack are actually souping it up, with some exception of course... There are even "hack managers" to create an extended platform and decrease the risk of incompabilities. One example is APE http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/ape

It is also amazing how much stuff that is hidden in os X, some hacks only change the config files to turn on stuff already there...

What the hell are you talking about? Apple's IDE is free beer, and the vast majority of its APIs are published. Reverse-engineering is only necessary if you want to, say, change the fundamental behavior of the Finder (examples), or interface with the occasional inexplicably undocumented API (e.g. iSync.) You certainly don't need it to write a native office suite.

You can change mouse cursors with Mighty Mouse. It costs $10 which I think is silly (stuff like this should really be part of the base OS), but it works great.