It seems like forever since I’ve been behind the mic recording my very own segment for the podcast. But sure enough, here I am.
fseventer First off this week is a tool from FernLightning called fseventer. This app gives you new visibility into just what files on your hard drive are modified by the tools you use every day. It was quite remarkable to me to start fseventer and just allow it to run while I wasn’t using the computer. In a matter of seconds my “idle” computer had performed dozens of operations and written to lots of files.
The tool presents the information in a variety of ways not the least of which is the uber-cool tree view. This app seems to do a pretty good job of finding all of the changed files, but I haven’t tried doing ay specific research with the tool.
Warp Warp is an application that uses mouse gestures to control switching between your OS X Spaces. I realize that I’ve been on the anti-mouse bandwagon for some time now, but some things are so slow and unproductive that you can fix them with mouse gestures.
The application installs an OS X preference pane to control Warp which is tied to the existing Spaces panel. When you activate warp it also verifies to ensure that Spaces is active.
Warp is a great shortcut for those who use the mouse alot and don’t want to memorize keyboard shortcut; or for those who simply prefer shudder to use the mouse.
Download Warp by Kent Sutherland.
Teleport If you’ve ever wanted a great way to control multiple macs in your house from one keyboard & mouse the AbysSoft‘s Teleport just might be the solution you’ve been looking for. This gives you much of the same functionality that you’d get from using a KVM switch, but without the unnecessary hardware.
Teleport provides a single interface for controlling other Macs that have teleport installed. In some ways it behaves like Spaces, but with each space being a separate physical machine. I really wish I’d had a chance to try this one, but with only the one Mac in the house, that makes things a bit difficult.
Teleport a great way to make use of existing network infrastructure to reduce your cable load and make your digital life that much easier.
Licensed This next application is one that should be in everyone’s utility toolbox. Licensed by Amar Sagoo is designed to one things, and one thing only: keep track of your software licesnses. Licensed has a quick to learn and easy to use UI and takes no time to learn
Licensed falls into the category of tools that most good freeware and open-source applcations are famous for: simple applications that do what they say they will.
One thing I would suggest is a prompt on the delete button. Not a big deal, but usually a good practise to avoid accidental loss of data.
Front Row “Remote Control” Last up this week is Bert Ramakers’ software-based Front-Row remote. This app allows you to control Front-Row over the network on other machines that are Front-Row enabled (Tiger and later).
It’s not clear whether this application will work with other applicances like the Apple TV, but its a creative remoting solution nonetheless.
Thats it for me this week. Due to the trouble with the TPN servers there will be no show again this weekend, but we’ll have another one out as soon as life and fate permits.
http://bertramakers.com/?page_id=19
I’ve been trying to give my ol’ Vista install a bit more of a “wow” factor recently, and I’ve come across some great tips to help make your PC unique.
This app’s not Vista specific, but Logon Studio will allow you to completely customize the way that your login screen looks. Make your Windows Vista look like Mac OS X or Fedora Core 6. The only downside to the Vista version is that it will only allow you to change the background, whereas previous versions provided a finer degree of cotrol.
