TUAW Tip: Stop Backup.app from bouncing

TJ Luoma recently shared the solution to an annoying problem. Specifically, he wanted to keep Backup's icon from frantically jumping in the Dock like so many hepped-up toddlers in a bouncy castle. The Backup icon typically bounces in the Dock for a minute two before it even begins backing up any data.

We know what you're thinking, "Just go to the application's preferences and disable the Dock animation." The problem is that Backup has no preference pane! Fortunately, TJ found a fix.

While browsing "defaults read com.apple.backup" in Terminal (as suggested by a Twitter helper), he found

Realizing that's how long the app is supposed to wait (and toss its icon up and down) before executing a backup, he entered

which forced it to bounce only once. Alternatively, you could install Dockless, which prevents running apps from showing up in the Dock (or vice versa). Check out TJ's post and enjoy!