Skip to content
Thoughtful, detailed coverage of everything Apple for 33 years
and the TidBITS Content Network for Apple professionals

TenBITS/03-Sep-01

Mac OS X 10.1 should be arriving soon, and Macintosh developers are lining up with compatible revisions of their Mac OS X software. Here are a few of the ones that we found most interesting.

OmniWeb 4.0.5 Adds Languages — The Omni Group has released OmniWeb 4.0.5, fixing bugs and improving international support in the Mac OS X-native Web browser. OmniWeb adds Spanish (with documentation), Dutch, and Italian to its list of languages, which already includes Japanese, Danish, Swedish, French, German, and English. Other changes in version 4.0.5 include improved handling of RGB colors defined by Cascading Style Sheets, compatibility with developer releases of Mac OS X 10.1, and a few bug fixes. OmniWeb is a free 4.1 MB download; a $30 license removes occasional payment reminders. [JLC]

<http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omniweb/>

<http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omniweb/ releasenotes/>

Replace Your Apple Menu — Gideon Greenspan of Sig Software has released Classic Menu 2.5, a shareware utility that returns the user-customization features of the Apple menu to Mac OS X. (The previous version of Classic Menu, version 2.1, worked only with Mac OS X Public Beta.) After launching Classic Menu, the Apple menu acts as it did in Mac OS 9, displaying icons and names for items you’ve placed in a special folder (the Classic Menu Items folder in your user’s Preferences folder). Classic Menu supports files and folders, and folders show up as hierarchical menus up to five levels deep. Classic Menu even improves on the original Apple menu approach with three functions in the Menu Folder hierarchical menu. You can add an alias (through a standard file selection window) to the Classic Menu Items folder, open the Classic Menu Items folder in the Finder, and select a folder to use instead of the Classic Menu Items folder (making it possible to switch between Apple menu "sets"). Plus, in Classic Menu’s preferences, you can choose the color of your Apple logo and the way you want to be able to access the default system Apple menu. Missing from this version is a replacement for the classic application menu, though Gideon said he hopes to bring it back once Mac OS X 10.1 is out. The $10 Classic Menu is a tiny 38K download, and it costs only $20 bundled with Sig Software’s Drop Drawers X, an interesting take on launcher utilities. [ACE]

<http://www.classicmenu.com/>

<http://www.sigsoftware.com/dropdrawers/>

Snapz Pro X Captures Mac OS X Screens — Snapz Pro X has been out for about a month, but I’m blaming our tardy coverage on mail servers, which failed to deliver the press release for almost a month. But it’s here now, and I’m glad to see an industrial strength screen capture application for Mac OS X, which has up to this point offered only the minimal Grab utility. Snapz Pro X can save any portion of the screen (such as windows, menus, or dialog boxes) as a .gif, .jpg, .pict, .tiff, .png, .pdf, .bmp, or Photoshop file, and (for an extra $20) it can even record QuickTime videos of screen actions. Features in Snapz Pro X that are unique to Mac OS X include the new Fatbits tool for zooming in on your screen, automatic generation of thumbnails, and the addition of watermarks to images. The shareware Snapz Pro X is a 4.5 MB download and costs $29, or $49 for Snapz Pro X w/ Movie Capture. Users of Snapz Pro 2 or St. Clair Software’s Screen Catcher can upgrade for $19 ($39 for the movie capture functionality). For more details on Snapz Pro, see "Say Cheese! Snapz Pro" in TidBITS-372 and "Snapz Pro 2 Adds TIFF, QuickTime Movie Support" in TidBITS-488. [ACE]

<http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/>

<https://tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=00696>

<https://tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=05467>

DragThing 4.1 Released — The latest version of James Thompson’s alternative dock utility DragThing adds a number of new features plus compatibility for the upcoming Mac OS X 10.1. Dock items now support Unicode and long file names, docks can have custom backgrounds, and other interface improvements abound (such as hiding a dock’s window shadow or manipulating the size and look of a dock’s tabs). The arrival of Mac OS X 10.1 will bring the capability of hiding and showing applications, plus ejecting disks by dragging them to the Trash in DragThing docks. DragThing 4.1 also works on computers running Mac OS 8.6 or later, is a free update for owners of version 4.0 or later, and is a 1 MB download. [JLC]

<http://www.dragthing.com/>

Get More Info with Super Get Info — Apple has plastered over many of the holes left from grafting the classic Mac OS on top of the Unix-based Mac OS X. One that remains, however, is the morass of file information, since files in Mac OS X have both standard Macintosh types and creators and Unix owner, group, and permission settings. Worse, the Mac OS X Finder’s Show Info command opens only one window at a time, making it difficult to compare files. The $20 Super Get Info 1.0.1 from Bare Bones Software addresses many of these shortcomings, letting you view and edit both Macintosh and Unix file information, change creation and modification dates, open more than one info window, copy a file or folder’s path, preview file contents, and more. If you’ve been chafing at the minimal amount of information available via Apple’s Show Info command, give the demo of Super Get Info a spin. [ACE]

<http://www.barebones.com/products/ supergetinfo.html>

Keep It Up X Monitors Mac OS X Servers — We’ve long relied on Karl Pottie’s Keep It Up to watch our Internet server applications and restart them should anything go wrong. Though we’re not running any Mac OS X-based servers, those who are can use Keep It Up X 3.0 for the same purpose. New features include enhanced system load and volume info reports, the capability to force quit any native Mac OS X application, a forced restart that can shut down non-responding applications, and enhancements to the Weblaunch capabilities for launching items remotely. Karl isn’t abandoning his Mac OS users though, and Keep It Up Classic 2.4.5 will be developed more or less independently from the Mac OS X version. Even if you’re familiar with Keep It Up 2.x, Karl recommends studying the manual for Keep It Up X 3.0 because of subtle changes in the way some features work. Both versions remain $22 shareware, and Karl tells us that Keep It Up X 3.0 is considered a new product and thus requires a new registration. It’s a 463K download. [ACE]

<http://www.vl-brabant.be/mac/kiu.html>

<https://tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=05139>

QuickSilver Ejecting under Mac OS X — Thanks to Chris Breen of Macworld for passing on this tip from Apple’s Knowledge Base. If you’re using a keyboard that lacks an Eject key with a Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver), there’s no way you can open the CD/DVD tray if it’s empty or the disk inside isn’t mounted. In Mac OS 9.2, there is an Eject application and control strip module in the Eject Extras folder (search with Sherlock, or look in the Apple Extras folder). Either run the application to open the tray or install the control strip module in your Control Strip Modules folder in the System Folder, restart, and use the Control Strip’s new Eject control. Under Mac OS X, you must instead use the Eject button of an application like iTunes that can open the tray when empty. (Chris confirmed for me that the Eject application doesn’t work under Mac OS X.)

MacFixIt posted a few other methods that work at boot time (not that you’re rebooting Mac OS X often, right?), including holding down the mouse button at startup; holding down Option at startup and then pressing Command-period at the System Folder selection screen (mostly useful for booting from a CD – click Rescan after closing the tray to see the CD); and booting into Open Firmware by holding down Command-Option-O-F, typing "eject cd", press Return, then type "mac-boot" and press Return to continue the boot process. This admittedly unusual situation is just crying out for a simple shareware solution. [ACE]

<http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n25345>

<http://www.macfixit.com/>


Subscribe today so you don’t miss any TidBITS articles!

Every week you’ll get tech tips, in-depth reviews, and insightful news analysis for discerning Apple users. For over 33 years, we’ve published professional, member-supported tech journalism that makes you smarter.

Registration confirmation will be emailed to you.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. The Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.