Tweaking OS X and monitoring system performance. Or not tweaking OS X and not monitoring system per

Feek · 1 Aug 2011 at 13:18

When I first started using OS X, I felt the need to customise it. I changed a load of icons, I tweaked the dock to be 2d and totally transparent, I installed monitoring software which gave me CPU and memory usage in the menu bar and various other things. I spent a lot of time changing stuff and I found myself looking for new icons for applications because the standard ones were just not good enough.

Since getting the new iMac, I’ve not felt the need to do that at all. I’ve not bothered to install Candybar, I’ve not loaded iStat Menus (or the iStat Pro widget). Everything is left at default.

Is this like my coming of age with OS X? Tweaking, changing things and system monitoring seem like a throwback to Windows where it’s second nature to have active desktops with performance monitoring and I notice many people who have come from Windows tend to do that on their Macs but really, when it comes to the system monitoring, they’re just not needed. I really don’t care what speed my fans are running at, the temperature of my CPU or the CPU utilisation. It’s just not important.

Is anyone else of the same mindset? The ‘meh, it works, why change it’ attitude?

^187 · 1 Aug 2011 at 13:23

The same for me, I like to spend my time using the OS and Apps and not buggering about with it. No interest in temperature, fan speed and neon lights!

yashiro · 1 Aug 2011 at 13:24

It's nothing to do with OSX, it's you and your attitude. You're older and have realised that faffing around with useless **** serves no purpose.

Brian8bit · 1 Aug 2011 at 13:26

When I was using Windows, I always had monitoring software. Theming was done by the uxtheme.dll hack on XP. With Windows 7 I felt no need to theme, but did still use monitoring software.

Linux. Linux I used for years and it got to the point where I hated doing installs because of all the modifications of config files and the like you had to do to get everything setup how you like.

Then I moved to OS X. I haven't felt the need to use any monitoring software. I tried it, but ultimately ended up saying to myself "I have absolutely no reason to be using this stuff" so removed it. As for theming on OS X, changing the wallpaper is all I do. I don't mess with the icons or overall look. I haven't felt the need to. As I've gotten older, spending time customising themes and config files has got less and less appealing. It's why I like using OS X now. It's why I went from using Gentoo/Crux or Arch to using Ubuntu when I was using Linux. It's why the most complicated thing I did on Windows was registry hacking to make certain 8bit filetypes play in XMPlay.

FishFluff · 1 Aug 2011 at 13:43

I'm the same. It's partly because I don't really feel the need to with OS X but also partly because I just can't be bothered nowadays. There's no real need to tweak/overclock to get every last drop of performance out of a system that works perfectly well.

Ev0 · 1 Aug 2011 at 14:43

Whilst I was never a huge windows tweaker in the first place I've not really done anything to my MBP to 'customise' it as such bar changing the wall paper.

I'm trying to use it with installing as little extra as possible, for instance using quicktime for everything rather than downloading another media player as I like how it works and looks.

Although do have the perian plugin thing installed so it now plays everything I have.

I just don't have the need or incling to faff about with stuff.

Hxc · 1 Aug 2011 at 14:48

Since getting my MBA I have done barely anything. The exception is ditching iTunes (as it's useless) and installing BetterSnapTool which is just... required for me to be productive.