Our Verdict
Back in June , we coveredUndock , a groovy utility that makes it easier to unmount your magnetic disk , external drive , and internet volumes when you ’re quick to jam up your MacBook and go . Instead of having to open up a Finder windowpane ( or reveal the background ) and then eject each mounted volume individually , you just get through the Undock card in the menu bar and choose Undock Now . Any in - progress Time Machine backup is suspended , your removable volumes are unmounted , and a Growl presentment appears on the covert letting you know it ’s safe to put your Mac to sleep and unplug .
( For the uninitiate , in edict to avoid possible data loss or parkway problems , you should always unmount a intensity before disconnecting it . This is why Mac OS X gives you a “ disk was not ejected properly ” error if you disconnect an external drive without unmounting it first . )
I recently came across a interchangeable utility that have a slimly dissimilar approach . Jettison(Mac App Store link ) does n’t provide as many bells and whistles as UnDock , but it has one unique advantage : It ’s entirely machinelike .
With Jettison go , you just conclude your MacBook ’s eyelid ( or , on a laptop or background Mac , otherwise put the computing machine to sleep ) . Jettison wait slumber long enough to safely unmount international volumes ( USB , FireWire , and Thunderbolt laborious drives ; thumb drives ; electronic internet shares ) , play a verification sound of your choosing , and then set the computer to sleep . Once you hear that confirmation auditory sensation , it ’s safe to disconnect and go . If a Time Machine backup is hightail it , Jettison graciously stop the backup man before ejecting your Time Machine backup bulk .
For obvious reasons , Jettison prolongs the slumber appendage to give the public utility time to ensure all drives are unmounted ( and to play the confirmation sound ) . In my examination on a 2010 iMac with six external volumes mount , and on a 2010 MacBook Air with three volume mounted , redact the computer to sleep with Jettison run take about 10 second .
If for some reason Jettisoncan’tunmount a parkway — for example , if a utility like SuperDuper is presently backing up to that outside drive — Jettison will play an error audio to allow you know it was unsuccessful . You ’ll need to either wait for the task to complete or quit the offending app and then strain again .
Jettison ’s optional systemwide fare provides a few extra options . At any time , you’re able to eject all outside volumeswithoutputting your computer to catch some Z’s or , if you ’ve cause a background Mac or if you desire to keep your laptop computer ’s screen open while it sleeps , you’re able to manually choose to boot out volumes and sleep . And if you do n’t care the main unmount - on - sleep feature , you could disable it — for good or temporarily — and just use the rest period of Jettison ’s features .
What if you don’twantto unmount extraneous volumes for a particular sleep — for example , if you need to save energy , or mesh your Mac ’s screen , while you maltreat aside for a cupful of deep brown ? In this situation , unmounting everything is a hassle , as you ’ll need to manually reconnect to remote volumes and remount outside drives when you wake your Mac back up . And if you ’re working on document hosted on mounted volumes , automatically unmounting could mean full-grown headaches . Thankfully , Jettison offers an leisurely - to - use workaround : If you need to put your Mac to sleep without unmounting any volumes , you just choose the Sleep Now command from Jettison ’s menu .
Jettison does n’t have all of the accouterment of UnDock . For example , UnDock can go AppleScripts when when you opt the undock bid , it permit you configure a keyboard shortcut for that command , and it lets you choose which specific type of volumes are ejected ( drives , net shares , or optical discs ) . But Jettison does n’t ask that you remember to choose a control from a carte , or fight a keyboard shortcut , before you put your Mac to sleep .
Jettison is useful on any Mac with international volume mounted , but road warriors will likely appreciate it the most , as it makes pack up easier than ever — just exit the lid , wait for the sound , and unplug .
