Mac OS X may be the best operating system around , but that does n’t imply it could n’t bear a few under - the - hood alterations . We ’ve look far and wide for the best system utilites available for less than $ 50 . Here are 17 low - monetary value utilities that will fine - tune your oxygen .

CharViewer 1.1

; MacParc ; free

OS X ’s Character Palette is extremely useful for adding vague characters to your documents ; unfortunately , the only way to access it is by spark the Input Menu in OS X ’s outside preference window glass , which adds yet another item to the Finder ’s computer menu saloon . ( Some app provide approach to Character Palette , but most do n’t . ) CharViewer is a midget app that , when launched , opens the Character Palette — nothing more , nothing less . adhere it in the Dock , in a menu , or on the Desktop , and Character Palette will always be close at hand without the need of another menu - bar icon.—DAN FRAKES

Compost 1.2

; Greg Weston ; $ 5

The Trash in OS X is an all - or - nothing matter : When you empty it , everything inside it is deleted — whorl , stock , and drum . And if you forget to empty it , it can spring up too huge in sizing . Compost tally more feature to OS X ’s Trash , giving you a selective Trash that mechanically deletes item-by-item files once they ’ve been in the Trash for a sure amount of time , or empties the Trash only when it develop large than a particular size of it ( or when a volume ’s free space dips below a sure size ) . you could have Compost delete locked items and delete single file so they ca n’t be resurrected by phonograph record - recovery software . you’re able to also have unlike scene for each volume.—DAN FRAKES

CornerClick 0.4

; Greg Schueler ; free

By assigning frequent action to the box of your screen , CornerClick makes executing them as easy as a quick pic of the wrist joint . you could delegate each corner a single action mechanism , a episode of actions , or multiple individual actions . These actions include opening a file , folder , or applications programme ; hiding the current app ; hiding other lotion ; opening a URL ; and running an AppleScript . You trigger off a corner ’s activity or chronological succession by clicking on the recession . Each action mechanism or episode of actions can also be assigned a qualifier winder , so that , for example , break - clicking does something dissimilar than option - clicking.—DAN FRAKES

DockFun 4.6

; Donelleschi ; $ 20

DockFun lets you have multiple OS X bobtail , each of which can contain unique collections of apps and document , and have its own sizing , filmdom location , and background scene . A be adrift window identify the active loading dock and makes it easy to switch between dock in your collection . In the new Dockpit windowpane , you manage your solicitation of sorrel , adding and removing sour grass , documents , and apps without breaking a effort . DockFun can facilitate you insure the size and complexity of OS X ’s original Dock by unload workplace to other docks that you call upon only when needed.—ROB GRIFFITHS

Do Something When 1.0

; Azarhi Software ; free

If you have an international hard campaign , there ’s a in effect chance that you want to launch an software , such as a backup utility , when you connect the crusade . likewise , you may often tie to a remote server to open a special document . Do Something When can automate these process — and many others — through actionrules . These rules can mechanically launch or quit app , or even unmount specific volumes , when particular action come about — for example , when you jump on or unmount a specific book , or set in motion or drop by the wayside a particular lotion . Using various combinations of rules , you may save yourself a lot of repetitive work.—DAN FRAKES

Ejector 0.6

; Jeb - diffuse ; shareware ( donations accepted )

It ’s fairly easy to eject get on book in OS X if you ’ve select ( via Finder preferences ) to consider them on your desktop or in Finder - window sidebar . But if you prefer to keep your desktop sizable and do n’t have any Finder windows open , ejecting these loudness becomes a modest hassle . Ejector ’s low menu - bar computer menu lets you quickly eject any ride loudness : CDs , DVD , iPods , connection volumes , flash drives , and even mounted disk images . The program is also handy for figuring out whether your iDisk is presently mounted.—DAN FRAKES

FastScripts 2.0

; Red Sweater Software ; $ 15

OS X ’s Script Menu is a great means to quickly access AppleScripts and plate scripts , but by supervene upon it with FastScripts , you gain even more functionality . The biggest vantage is the ability to well make keyboard shortcuts for scripts . But FastScripts also provide right carrying out , by preloading scripts into memory so they execute straightaway ; warm access to both user and systemwide Scripts folders ; and just menu organization — lotion - specific playscript , those that appear only when a particular app is alive , show up at the top of the menu for easier access . ( Apple ’s Script Menu sticks them at the very bottom.)—DAN FRAKES

InforMac 0.03

; Maconnect ; costless

Apple ’s System Profiler utility is quite useful , but it could use a practiced interface . InforMac provides just such an improvement , along with more information than System Profiler does for some gadget ( though it does n’t display logarithm files ) . And it has a few extra lineament . Like System Profiler , InforMac get you save a summary of your Mac ’s information , but InforMac render the ability to write in code that data , so it ’s safe when you send out it via e - mail . And if you manage a bunch of Macs , you’re able to also create quick - cite Identity Cards for each calculator ; each card contains the model name and number , successive number , installed RAM , hard - crusade size ( and amount used ) , processor speed(s ) , OS translation , IP speech , and current user at the fourth dimension the card was created . InforMac ’s Library view lets you quick browse these cards.—DAN FRAKES

IPMenu 1.1

; Loopware ; free

If your Mac has a dynamic IP address , other hoi polloi may have a unvoiced time connecting to it for personal file sharing , WWW sharing , or even cyberspace or LAN gambling . Because your IP address may shift regularly , you have to figure out what your IP computer address is at a given moment and then provide it to those people . IPMenu pose in the menu cake and kick in you instant access to your Mac ’s IP address ; if your Mac is behind an cyberspace router , it supply both the local ( internal ) and Internet ( external ) IP addresses . IPMenu can even send you ( or someone else ) an e - ring mail message when your extraneous IP savoir-faire changes , which can be useful when your Mac is also a server.—DAN FRAKES

Konfabulator 1.7

; Arlo Rose and Perry Clarke ; $ 25

Apple ’s prevue of Dashboard , a feature film that will be include in Tiger ( the next edition of OS X , which will be out sometime next twelvemonth ) , created quite a stir — because of its impressive show and its law of similarity to Konfabulator . But if you do n’t want to wait until next year , give Konfabulator a effort now . Each of Konfabulator ’s JavaScript - basedwidgetsperforms a specific function , and you’re able to run as many of them as you want . Widgets include clocks , calculators , calendars , and iTunes restrainer , and they can provide information such as stock quotes , weather alert , and battery levels . ( Those are just a few examples — more than 700 widgets are atwidgetgallery.com . ) Each widget can be adrift on your desktop , over your screen background , or above all other windows — or you may quickly reveal or cover it via an Exposé - like feature calledKonsposé.—DAN FRAKES

Net Tool Box 2.5

; Charlie Boisseau ; see Web site for pricing data

Apple ’s internet Utility is a sufficient internet - monitor putz for most of us , but power exploiter and meshwork administrators should check out Net Tool Box . With 23 internet tools — from DNS queries to MX lookups to SSL terminals — Net Tool Box has closely every feature that power users need for internet testing and monitoring . It also has some nice surprise : its Mapper display — on an actual map — the location of any computer on the cyberspace , Rendezvous functions let you test your local web functionality , and Favorites lists put in frequently used addresses . An editable , searchable port database is include as a handy reference.—DAN FRAKES

Peek-a-Boo 2.0

; Clarkwood Software ; $ 20

Peek - a - Boo is similar to Apple ’s Activity Monitor . At its simplest , Peek - a - hiss is a substance by which you may consider a leaning of running game processes , sort in various agency . But you may also well transfer the pri - ority of any yield cognitive process , and you may export a logarithm of process activity into a text edition Indian file . ( These log could help a developer work out out why a syllabus crashes on your political machine . ) My favorite Peek - a - Boo feature is its ability to create CPU - custom graphical record for case-by-case covering . By check out a computer programme ’s usage graphical record , which is display in a minuscule drift profits - dow , you ’ll be able-bodied to rapidly spot a program that ’s using more of the CPU than it should be.—ROB GRIFFITHS

CronniX 2.1

; Koch und Schmidt Systemtechnik ; shareware ( donation accepted )

Like most version of Unix , OS X includes the cron utility program , which runs in the background , always checking for any actions — contained in schedules calledcrontabs — that are due to run . Although editing crontabs is n’t for novice , there ’s no in effect utility for doing so than CronniX , which provides a graphical interface for editing both the organization crontab and individual - user crontabs . With CronniX , you could qualify subsist events — for example , altering OS X ’s build - in Unix maintenance routine so they ply during the daylight ( see “ Easy Mac Maintenance,”Hands On , December 2003 ) — or create your own events , which can be used to run Unix statement , AppleScripts , or OS X app on typeset days , particular date , and times . Unix geeks will also apprize the fact that CronniX allow them redact the environment variables for each crontab event.—DAN FRAKES

GeekTool 2.1

; Tynsoe project ; devoid

GeekTool turns your Mac ’s background into an selective information resource . The contents of a Indian file , the output of a Unix command , or an double from the Web can seem on the background . All of this information update mechanically accord to a schedule you set , and you’re able to put each GeekTool object to a unlike schedule . For illustration , you may display your calculator ’s CPU usage updated every few seconds , your Web server ’s log file updated every five minutes , a radar weather condition map updated hourly , or a serial publication of pedigree charts update at 15 - minute time interval . GeekTool ’s ability to show the output of Terminal mastery contribute to a world of possibilities , specially if you have Unix experience : resource utilization via

R-Name 3

; Yoichi Tagaya ; detached

roentgen - Name is a one - trick utility program , but it ’s a very utilitarian magic . gas constant - Name lets you rename multiple files quickly and easy , such as all thoseIMG_files from your digital camera . you may replace text strings in file public figure , bring or move out characters from the beginning or destruction of file names , alter the names ’ character case , and more . If you know Unix , you may even utilize regular expression for brawny form - matching replenishment tricks . I also value the New Name Preview , which shows you exactly how each file will be rename before you rename anything . With 14 different method of modifying Indian file name calling , gas constant - Name offers a lot of flexibility for the unglamorous but necessary labor of wad Indian file renaming.—ROB GRIFFITHS

MemoryStick 1.3

; Matt Neuburg ; spare

OS X ’s advanced memory board computer architecture means that you do n’t have to worry about memory issues as much as you did under group O 9 . But you ( and misbehaving applications ) can still push your Mac ’s memory system too far , especially if you do n’t have enough strong-arm RAM , result in performance slowdowns , spinning beach ball , and excessive practical - memory swop files that can take up significant amounts of hard - driveway space . MemoryStick help oneself you keep an eye on your remembering allocation by providing a modest graphic showing of your Mac ’s RAM use breach down into Wired , Active , Inactive , and Free category . It can also notify you when unexampled virtual - memory board swap files are created and when pageouts — retentiveness content being swapped between actual RAM and your difficult drive — occur . MemoryStick is a great tool for figuring out when you have too many diligence heart-to-heart , or when it ’s time to purchase more RAM.—DAN FRAKES

RCDefaultApp 1.1

; Rubicode ; complimentary

RCDefaultApp is a predilection pane that combines the skillful features of More Internet (; November 2003 ) , MisFox (; March 2004 ) , and OS X 10.2 ’s Internet preference pane , and then adds even more functionality . Using RCDefaultApp , you’re able to choose your favorite benefactor app program for each of the principal Internet protocols ( Web , due east - mail , newsgroups , and FTP ) , as well as the helper for each URL protocol — from AFP ( Apple Filing Protocol ) to whois and everything in between ( such as HTTP , HTTPS , ITMS , and SSH ) . MIME Types preferences let you decide the nonremittal lotion for each sort of MIME content — such as the Windows Media telecasting and PNG images you bump on the Web . RCDefaultApp also lets you choose the software that should be used to open files with finicky file - name extension phone ( such as.rtf , .doc , and.mpg ) and data file types ( the osmium 9- styleType Codes , such as TTXT and ttro ) . Unlike other utility , RCDefaultApp also get you disable type of files or protocols , such as universal resource locator schemes that put surety risks , allow for you with a one - stop solution for customizing default program preferences.—DAN FRAKES