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Mac 101: Customize your application toolbars
Many switchers to Mac OS X have the same question: "how can I customize my application toolbars?" While this is fairly straightforward in Windows, Mac OS X makes it much easier. Just open the customization menu by right-clicking (if you have a one-button mouse you can control + click) on the toolbar, then select "Customize..." When you do this, you are presented with a dialog box that "rolls down" to display all of the items that you can add. Just drag the ones you want to the toolbar. If you find you don't want a certain toolbar item, just open the customize panel again and drag the item off the menu bar. For more tips and tricks like these, visit the Mac 101 section on TUAW.
CandyBar 3 available now
This is going to sound sad, but the one application that I have missed the most in upgrading to Leopard is CandyBar 2. I've always been something of a customization addict, and being able to take advantage of some of the beautiful icons that artists have made over the years to make OS X look its best is something I can easily spend hours doing, productivity be damned Fortunately for me, Panic (the guys behind Transmit and Coda) have just released the Leopard-only CandyBar 3, meaning I can now resume wasting time making my desktop look its prettiest. CandyBar 3 adds more than just Leopard compatibility - it is a pretty substantial program overhaul. Not only can system icons be changed, the dock can be now be customized too (free Icon and Dock sets available from the geniuses at Iconfactory). Additionally, Panic and Iconfactory have merged the CandyBar and the Pixadex (kind of like iTunes for your icon sets) applications together, providing icon management and customization in one package, instead of two.From the CandyBar 3 release notes: Integrated CandyBar together with Pixadex with an entirely new interface Added large (512 x 512) icon support Leopard dock customization Additional system icons Quick Look integration More reliable system icon restoration, and much more The program can be downloaded for a 15-day/250-icon limit trial here. The program is $29 for new users. Owners of either CandyBar 2 or Pixadex 2 can upgrade for $24. Owners of both Pixadex and CandyBar 2 can upgrade for $19. Any user who bought CandyBar 2 or Pixadex 2 after October 1, 2007 qualifies for a free upgrade.Now, if we can only get a Leopard-version of Shapeshifter out - I can totally optimize my interface!Thanks, Sebastian
Guess who loves Marth? This girl
However hilariously fitting Elyssa's initials might seem, this personalized DS Phat looks leagues better than the previous project we featured. Nintendo actually threatened a recall after seeing that deformed system. Working under her deviantArt alias, Fruitsexual (lol), Elyssa spent three hours decorating her handheld with plastic paint, immortalizing her favorite video game character and Fire Emblem hero Marth. She must have been really happy to hear that Fire Emblem DS would be a remake of the first game in the series, Marth's debut. But probably not as happy as Kitanara, who commented on the customized Nintendo DS, "Uuuhh ... *moans and shivers* Marth is the best ... I luff him." Having a name like Fruitsexual must attract strange company, we suppose.
iPhone skins from DecalGirl
If going all-out with a custom Colorware paint job for your iPhone is a bit too over-the-top, perhaps some new iPhone skin kits from the everlasting DecalGirl are more your style. Printed on premium grade adhesive-backed cast vinyl with a high-gloss clear protective coating, all of their skins boast easy repositioning and goo-free removal (I've never used one of these - can anyone comment on their experiences with accessories like this and their goo factor?). For the iPhone, DecalGirl already has over 160 designs that can easily be sorted by a large selection of colors and themes, and as a bonus, you also receive a matching iPhone wallpaper to complete the redecoration. Skins seem to all be priced at a reasonable $6.99, with extra protective or stylistic finishes - like Screen Armor, Matte and Gloss - available for $4.50 to $9.99.
Customizing the iPhone's background
Look friends, an iPhone with a pretty pic of a butterfly instead of the original all-black flavor. The folks at modmyiPhone have posted up a detailed -- 15 steps of detailed -- how-to if you want to express yourself in a new, more colorful way -- of course, as with any involved bit of fiddling, be warned that this could potentially tank your phone, so customize at your own risk. A couple things that we noticed right off about this mod are that the calendar icon seems to be falling off the display and the icon text is missing -- the author notes a few other issues in the article. This is still listed as a work in progress, so if you aren't brave, you may want to sit on your hands and enjoy the oh-so-slick blackness for a little while longer.[Via TUAW]
Colorware introduces custom colored iPhones
Speaking of customizing your iPhone, why stop at just the background? Never content with the 'average joe' colors Apple designs their devices with, Coloware has just added the iPhone to their lineup of devices they are happy to colorize or - perhaps better yet - sell you pre-pimped straight off their factory floor. Using their proprietary and apparently high-quality process (I've never used their services so I can't personally vouch), you can chose between nearly 30 colors with which to customize the back, bottom, frame, button and logo on the iPhone itself, as well as the earbuds and even the dock (notice the slick TUAW Exclusive™ design featured in this post).What does this customization process cost, you ask? There's the hard news: sending your iPhone in to have it done post-purchase will cost you $149. If you want to purchase a brand new iPhone straight from Colorware with their services already pre-applied, simply tack on that $149 to the original price of either iPhone model, resulting in $649 for a colorized 4GB iPhone or a whopping $749 for the 8GB model. While those prices could easily induce dizziness, the potential for 'exclusive iPhone design!' sales on eBay once you decide to upgrade to the iPhone 2.0 could sober you right back up.[via Infinite Loop]
Fujitsu LiberTouch keyboard lets you have it your way
If Fujitsu has its way, typing on a keyboard that you're uncomfortable with will soon become a thing of the past, and hopefully your children will never have to know what it was like to work on an input device that you wanted to smash against the nearest wall. For those affected by such problems, the company has created a semi-modular system called the LiberTouch which lets you customize the key-layout, as well as attenuate the sound and tactile response of the keys. The board also has a single USB port, and a somewhat surgical looking "tool" used (presumably) to make "extractions" -- so you don't get your hands dirty. No word yet on street date or price.
LOCKJAW: Tetris the way you want it
Fed up with Tetris DS's infinite T-Spin? Looking for a Tetris clone with a ruleset and play style that fits your specific needs? LOCKJAW aims to give you that personalized experience, providing over 20 configurable options. While this homebrew release doesn't have the visual flair of Nintendo's recent remake, you can customize nearly every aspect, from scoring methods to line clear delays.Want to limit the amount of upcoming pieces that are displayed? Or try out a narrower well? Load up LOCKJAW, and fashion your tetromino experience to your heart's content. [Via DCEmu]
Sticker shocking designs from Korea
Gariz's stickers won't upstage mods like yesterday's Zelda-themed DS Lite, but they're an easy way to personalize your handheld with an attractive design. The metal decals emphasize the embossed logo on the system' s lid, surrounding it with either a deco pattern or a miniaturized DS. Both styles come in silver and gold.Selling for approximately $29 at its Korean shop, the're no doubt that the Gariz skins are overpriced, especially when you consider that the rest of the included stickers -- matching borders for your screens, three alphabet sets, and accents for your D-pad/buttons -- are nothing to write home about. We're sure that there'll be people who won't mind paying the premium price though, as there aren't many other options for subtle customizations like these. Jump past the break for more photos.See also: Just about the awesomest skins EVAR
Give the Sudoku grid a new look
The Nintendo DS is rife with Sudoku releases, both commercial and unofficial. Dress them up with mini-cakes or martial arts if you want to, but it's getting harder and harder for these games to keep us interested with each passing week.Leave it to homebrew superstar Mollusk to add some life to the number puzzle. As its name implies, Skinz Sudoku allows you to customize almost every visual detail of its interface. Dropping a PNG template into the game's included PAFS.bat file spits out a unique Skinz Sudoku ROM with your graphics. Jump past the post break for some examples of the different themes.Think of the possibilities! Design your screens with lightning bolts! Replace all of the numbers with Pokémon heads! Scan in a photo of your secret crush with a word balloon that says, "I luv u! Plz date me!" Just don't let anyone catch you locking lips with your DS after staring into his or her eyes for too long. Seriously guys, that's weird.
Willcom shows off customizable WP004 handset
If you're getting tired of the mainstream barrage of handsets rolling out on a near-hourly basis, and don't mind sourcing your mobile from Japan, Willcom's got you covered. The highly customizable WP004 aims to please just about everyone, as it starts out as a basic communication device, but allows the customer to add specific peripherals such as a camera, GPS receiver, fingerprint scanner, and even a USB module to sync with your PC. Of course, everyone will get to experience the joy of W-SIM built right in, but picking out your extra goodies is where the real fun is. Per usual, there's no word about pricing on any of this kit, but as accessories always seem to do, we don't imagine the fully-loaded WP004s coming without a premium.[Via Slashphone]
Sonic-branded Wii Giveaway
Sega's branch in Germany is hosting a contest to celebrate Sonic and the Secret Rings' release, offering up prizes like figurines, signed memorabilia, and a Sonic-Team-branded Wii. The winner of the limited edition Wii will also receive a German copy of the game -- a cruel reminder of the hardware's region lock. We're not sure how faithful the customized console will be to the mock-up pictured above, but the simple stamping of the blue hedgehog's head on both the system and the Wii remote is a lot more attractive than we expected. Entering the contest is as easy as sending an email to Sega's offices with the German title for Sonic and the Secret Rings. They will be accepting entries until March 23rd, so don't put your Google-searching off for too long!
iWebFlinger - the HTML and FTP uploading tool
iWebFlinger is great for those who want to use HTML to customize their iWeb sites, but they neither have nor want a .Mac account with which to publish. On the customization front, this useful tool allows you to insert code into your iWeb sites by wrapping it in a specific tag, as well as customizing the site-wide header and footer with dedicated chunks of code (pictured). As far as getting your recently-created iWeb site to where it's going, iWebFlinger's FTP features are pretty handy. Your password is stored in the system-wide Keychain, and you can even upload a favicon (the neat little custom icons that appear alongside a site's URL in the address bar). iWebFlinger also has the option to be smart about exactly which files it needs to upload and replace, which can save a lot of time when you make additions or changes to your site. iWebFlinger is donationware from Chris J. Shull, and it's available at his site.
Visage Login - customize Mac OS X's login screen
If the design of Apple's Mac OS X login screen just isn't floatin' yer boat, Visage Login might be worth a look. With two separate versions - one for 10.4 and another for 10.1-10.3 - this is one of the few apps I remember where 10.3 users have some features to brag about over Tiger users. As an app for 10.4 Tiger, Visage Login allows you to alter the login screen's logo and desktop image, while a preference pane for 10.1-10.3 has the ability to run screen savers as your desktop background, personalize system alerts, randomize the login screen background, and more.Visage Login is shareware with a fully-functioning 3 day demo. A single license costs a mere $4.95, while a 50+ machine license for businesses and corporations is $29.95.[via digg]
mimiFoto
mimiFoto is simple, yet brilliant. Do you tire of the stock iPhoto icon with that silly default picture? miniFoto lets you customize iPhoto's icon with any photo you like. And when you're sick of the TUAW logo peeking up from the Dock you simply 'Get Info' on iPhoto and cut the icon, which reveals the default icon that never went away.Neato! Now, keep in mind this is a .1 release, so things might go a little wonky.Thanks, Mark.
Edit Mac OS X's custom spelling dictionary
Mac OS X's built-in spell checking abilities are fantastic, but what if you need to edit the custom list of words you've been building, or you want to nail a few birds with one stone by adding a collection of words in one fell swoop?Christopher Breen at Macworld has a good tip for just such a case. It turns out that once you begin adding custom words to your dictionary (by right-clicking them in most Cocoa apps and choosing 'Learn Spelling'), a folder aptly named Spelling appears in your Home user folder. In there is a file that I believe is named after your particular language; in my case - English.Opening this file in something like TextWrangler (or possibly OmniOutliner?) will allow you to edit the dictionary, including adding your own words a little more efficiently. Check out Macworld's tip for the details on how the rest of this works, including a basic method for (sort of) synchronizing your dictionary between Macs.
Forza Motorsports 2 faceplate
This Forza Motorsports 2 faceplate popped up at EBGames, on sale September 12. Now we just need a game and a racing wheel to go with it.[Thanks Crimson Angelus]
GamerCard design winners now available
The winners of MyGamerCard.net's design poll are now available and ready for use by the geek public. H2O has a "water-cooling" theme (the tube changes color depending on your online status) while Recessed incorporates a nifty status light. Better yet, there are sub-themes available for both.[Thanks YLA G]
Bored with Mail.app's icon? Roll your own
Are you getting tired of other good icons? Hawk Wings, obsessed with all things Mail.app, has tracked down a Photoshop template for creating your own Mail.app icon. Courtesy of John Godfrey, this Photoshop template contains instructions for inserting your own images into a Mail.app icon, and Tim Gaden also recommends rotating your inserted image to 11.2 degrees counter-clockwise, as well as using an 85 x 90 size to get just the right fit.But, "how do I turn an image into a Mail.app icon?" you ask. Hawk Wings has a solution for that step too: img2icns is a Universal Binary freeware app that can convert JPEGs, PNGs, TIFs and GIFs to the ICNS format, ripe for using a previous (and simple) TUAW Tip for replacing Mail.app's icon with your much more exciting new creation.
Changing Mail.app's icons
I'm a pretty boring guy when it comes to my OS UI. I don't change the default icons, I don't change the sounds, heck I hardly even change the desktop picture. Now, I know some other folks like to go crazy and if Mail.app's defaults are too bland for you, this tutorial is the cure.
