One of the handy little features added in OS X 10.4.7 is OS-support for Minolta’s RAW format, MRW. This means that images from my 5D DSLR can be displayed in Preview, which makes for a very fast first weeding out of dreck.
It's not all caviar and baby wipes, mate
Apple
Camino
I tried to like Safari, I really did. I’d read that it’s performance was much better than other OS X browsers, and one less thing to install seemed like a good idea. But ultimately there are just too many niggles that I can’t fit around. Pages seem to open in new windows when I don’t want them to, find-as-you-type isn’t included (and the hack available doesn’t work on mactels), and even the WordPress toolbar I can see just above where I’m typing now is absent in Safari.
It is therefore with relief, tinged with a little regret, that I move back to Camino + CamiTools, which offer all the key customizations I need from Firefox while still fitting in with OS X. I haven’t noticed any loss of performance, and it just feels right. And things feeling right is why I use Macs.
Torrents
Now that QuickSilver is installed I can relax into my Mac and deal with a few more ordinary chores. One early one to deal with, because of a bit of geekery I’ll post on later, is to install a bittorrent client. There are two main options that I favour, depending on use. For heavy lifting the java app Azureus covers pretty much anything you might want, but for the modest role I envisage for the MacBook Tomato Torrent does the trick. It’s lightweight, lets you limit traffic levels in and out, and has a tomato for a logo.
I’ve installed the 1.5 beta client, and in the limited use I’ve made of it I can say this is no rotten tomato. Thank you, I’ll be here all week, try the salmon.
I’ve also tried Bits On Wheels, which is a really cool idea that in practice I just didn’t get. But if you like to watch simulations of bits move along the spokes of a virtual wheel, this one’s got you covered.
No, please no
Don’t besmirch my beautiful MacBook. It appears that at least some white MacBooks turn orange after 2-3 weeks of use. As cool as a colour-change laptop might be, it would be nice to have the choice. I hope not to update you on this story later.
Moving the Dock
Once I’ve setup Quicksilver the next thing to do is to move the dock. By default the dock is centered at the bottom of the screen. On a widescreen like the MacBook has (and my iMac) I prefer it on the right side of the screen, but the standard setting available in OS X again centers the dock on the right side. This makes dragging things to the dock difficult; the position of the trash varies depending on how many items are on the dock.
Enter Tinkertoy. This is a great piece of donationware that, among many other things, lets you move the dock with greater control than OS X allows. A couple of clicks and the dock is pinned to the bottom right corner, and I know that mousing to the corner will get me to the trash every time.
Combining this change with Quicksilver, I can take everything off my dock (except for the Finder icon, I’m still working on that) and easily see what’s running (because only running items are shown). It ends up looking like this (Safari is shown because I’m writing this blog entry – I know it’s actually running because it’s in the dock):
The dock is often criticized, with some justification, but with this setup launching is easy (Quicksilver, no dock required) and the dock actually provides useful, easily understandable feedback and an easily usable trash.