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The 10 Commandments of Mac Optimization

Macs are ready out of the box, but what happens after they’re removed from the cardboard cocoon? Lethargy. Torpor. They get
slower, too.

Like all computers, you’ll find gunk is gradually–and quite literally–accumulating inside your Mac. It needn’t be that way. For the sake of your Mac’s soul, I present the 15… oy… 10 commandments of keeping your Mac fresh - Cupertino fresh.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s new Mac.
It happens to most Mac users - the breathless anticipation of a newly announced Mac and the despair when your Core2Duo suddenly feels
more like a IIe. You were the vanguard yesterday; today you’re an antique.

Before you empty your wallet for that new iCandy, consider extending
the life of your current Mac. If you’re using an older OS X version (e.g. Panther), an upgrade to the latest iteration will give your
previous-generation Mac that just-out-of-the-sexy-styrofoam feeling. New versions of OS X typically make
older machines run faster than their predecessors.

Also, keep your applications up-to-date. To do so,
download AppFresh
(free beta) to automatically check for software changes. A
MacUpdate subscription ($40) includes a similar app that integrates with
their site. If you’ve migrated to an Intel Mac from PowerPC, it’s
vital that you use the Universal Binaries of your applications; generally, the most recent version of an application will be Universal.

You should also consider updating your Mac’s hardware. New sticks of RAM (preferably in matched pairs), an external hard drive, and a new monitor are cheaper options for giving your computer a new lease on life.

9. Thou shalt not bear false security.
Sure, your Mac is a stable and secure machine, but a false sense of
security can allow performance to deteriorate unnoticed. Be aware of what your Mac is doing.

MenuMeters
(free) is an essential app that resides in your menubar to give you
instant access to system activity. I use it to show RAM and processor
usage, but it’s flexible enough to fit most needs. Highly recommended. iStat Nano
(pictured, left) is a free Dashboard widget that also gives ringside seats to the
internal action by displaying temperature, fan speed, uptime, disk usage,
processor-hogging processes, and much more. Some users also prefer the newer iStat Menus (free) to the more established MenuMeters.

For automated piece of
mind, Onyx (free) and MacJanitor
(free) are unbeatable for scheduling the regular execution of
maintenance scripts that clean and optimize your system (Note: Tiger
automatically runs these scripts, too). Onyx is an essential app for this and a
host of other reasons, and is quite similar to the equally excellent Cocktail ($15).

8. Thou shalt not steal. From developers.
This commandment involves long-term concern for your Mac. Stealing or
cracking an application means that the developers–all of whom put
food on the table with their software revenue–don’t get compensated
for their hours of grueling labor. This gives the developer less
incentive to develop new applications (or continue development on
others), which hurts the entire Mac ecosystem.

If you enjoy using a
platform for which a plethora of software is available, help foster
creativity by paying for the apps you use. It’s easy to steal
software… but then the moral life isn’t an easy one. The
straight and narrow road is difficult, but there’s generally less traffic.

7. Thou shalt not commit peripheral adultery.
Adding peripherals to a system can enhance productivity… and lead to sloppy habits. Take a moment and observe the
devices plugged into your Mac. Have you used all of them recently? Do
all need to be powered-on? Removing unnecessary and unused
peripherals can lead to a more productive workspace and less power consumption.

The wages of peripheral sin also come in the form of heat build-up.
While reflecting on this article, I realized that my two external hard
drives were sitting directly below the monitor of my newish iMac, an
arrangement that not only generates considerable heat (for both the
HDDs and iMac) but also blocks the Mac’s airflow. Heat
is lethal to electronics, so ensure that your peripherals are arranged
for maximum heat dissipation.

Speaking of beating the heat, a quick shot of canned air through your
Mac is a prudent move. Dust clogs fans (making them noisier),
contributes to heat build-up, and may actually be toxic. Remember, cleanliness is next to godliness.

6. Thou shalt not murder thine files. (But if thou doest, be of thankful heart for thine merciful backups)
File backups, like all maintenance, should be done consistently and
comprehensively. OS X Leopard’s Time Machine will solve most of our
backup woes, but until then we’ve got numerous options… some of which
you’ll want to keep when the new cat arrives.

Superduper is often recognized as the king of Mac backups; it’s free for the basic version and $30 for the full, scheduled version. BackityMac ($10) is another recommended backup app. You can even backup your Mac with online hosting or storage. It doesn’t matter how you go about it. Just do it.

5. Honour thy startup and thy reboot, that thy days may be long upon thine Mac.
Our Switcher
brethren know the perils of too many Windows programs opening at
startup; hours (well, ok, minutes) of toil in MSConfig made us rejoice
when our Macs were instantly ready upon boot. After a few
months, though, well-meaning apps can claim startup privileges that
may slow down your machine.

Thankfully, it’s simple to change startup applications. To adjust your settings, visit System

Preferences > Accounts. Click on the account you’d like to edit and
then click the Login Items view. Add, modify, or delete entries to your
contentment. Another tip: to set an application to start at login,
right click on the app’s Dock icon and select “Open at Login.”

Once you’ve edited your Login Items settings, a reboot is in order.
Though often neglected, rebooting your Mac creates a clean slate from
which to work. No forgotten-but-open programs hiding in your dock; no
memory leaks.

4. Remember the Stevenote day and keep it holy.
I’ll admit that this commandment isn’t essential to Mac maintenance, but it will make your Mac experience more pleasant. Steve
Jobs’s keynote addresses are the highlights of the Mac fanboy’s year
for numerous reasons; new hardware and software is usually announced, and the presentations are always informative and entertaining. Plus, iWork and iLife users will find that
Steve’s keynotes are a wealthy resource for discovering new
features of the latest iSuite.

3. Do not use the Mac’s brain in vain.
Just as it’s unhealthy to fill the human brain with too many episodes
of Grey’s Anatomy, it’s equally unwise to fill your computer’s hard
drive with drivel. Reclaiming your disks will make your Mac
faster and more efficient.

Start with OmniDiskSweeper, which the OmniGroup (purveyors of other fine applications, such as OmniWeb)
states, “is a utility for quickly finding and deleting big, useless
files and thus making space on your hard disks.” That sums it up,
really; it’s a free app to discover where your disk space went.

What about file fragmentation? Windows users will be familiar with the
defragmentation process, in which related but distant files are placed
side-by-side on the disk. OS X uses the HFS+ filesystem, which
degfragments most files on the fly. Apple doesn’t recommend defragmentation for most users,
but states that it may be beneficial for those who consistently work
with large files (the rumor is over 20 megabytes, but I couldn’t find supporting documentation). Anecdotal evidence would suggest
that defragging isn’t highly effective. Final verdict: defrag your drive with an
application like iDefrag ($30) or Techtool Pro ($98) only if you’re a Paris Hilton tape home movie aficionado.

2. Thou shalt not worship graven icons.
A cluttered desktop obliterates my productivity like an icon-covered
Death Star staring down my Planet Dangihatethesespreadsheets. The
problem is made worse by the fact that OS X treats each icon as a tiny
window, wasting system resources.

Thankfully, I’ve found a new hope. Two, actually. The first is simple:
clean the desktop. File things into proper folders and get them off
the wallpaper. If you’re still distracted by the remaining icons, try
out Desktopple Pro
($17) to hide them temporarily. Incidentally, Desktopple is also
a great productivity app; it automatically hides unused windows and can
block the entire screen to eliminate
the peskiest distractions.

1. Thou shalt have no extra apps before me.
I’ve observed two types of computer users. One type -
the Swadites - tries a new application each week. We’re constantly
downloading, griping, critiquing, deleting, and then griping that we
deleted what we downloaded. Then there’s my grandmother
(for whom I also setup a Mac) who is happy alternating between
Firefox, Solitaire, and Mah-jonng. And back to Solitaire.

Those appaholics like me should take a stroll through your
applications folder to find the apps you really don’t need. You’ll
free up disk space, prevent future
I-wanted-to-open-this-file-in-iTunes-but-it’s-opening-in-this-app-and-oh-my-what-
is-this-thing-and-how-can-I-force-quite-this-hideous-UI
moments, and bask in a cleaner machine.

Two other applications that may go unused: Dashboard and Spotlight.
If you like the Dashboard but don’t use it often, simply remove all but
the essential widgets (a few suggestions). If it sits permanently hidden in your F12 key, just disable it or switch it off using Onyx. Either way, you’ll be freeing system resources and memory. To turn off Spotlight, you can head to the terminal or use Cocktail. Make sure to erase the index to free up additional space.

Conclusion
Keeping your Mac in top form is easy with the correct tools and a personalized maintenance schedule. Use the tools listed here or find what works best for you. If you’ve got something I should add to this list, let me know in the comments. After all, these are just suggestions - few things are written in stone.

If you liked this article, why not subscribe to this blog?
In the coming weeks I’ll post about my personal essential apps, how to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome using your Mac, and more. Besides, it’s a fun place to be. Welcome!

Updated 7-27-2007: Added iStat Menus