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iStat menus v1.1 preview screenshot and details
The iSlayer crew has released a preview screenshot on the company's blog that highlights a few key features coming in v1.1 of iStat menus, their utility for keeping an eye on your Mac's various statistics from the menubar. Specifically new in this upcoming version will be network graphing, monitoring of S.M.A.R.T. hard drive temperatures, a breakdown of every temp sensor on a CPU and what looks like a significantly redesigned calendar. Stat junkies will likely appreciate these new and finely tuned features, though there's no word on when this new version will become available.iStat menus, like every one of iSlayer's mostly statistic-obsessed products, is still provided as freeware.
Widget Watch: I Love Lamp heats up to 2.1
Marc from iSlayer sends word that they've updated the best little lava lamp widget ever: I Love Lamp is now at version 2.1.New to this version is the ability to actually change the color of the "lava" and the "water" inside the lamp (which, in real life, is actually transparent oil and translucent wax-- the more you know), as well as a little extra optimization and a little more randomness. As before, you also have a few options for style and color of the lamp. I Love Lamp is sweet and a cool little addition to your dashboard-- get it for free from iSlayer.
Widget Watch: iStat pro 4.1 released
iSlayer has released v4.1 of their killer iStat pro widget for monitoring system performance and statistics right from within Dashboard. In this new version, the team has added a new Fire skin (pictured, and apparently a mod of a much-requested skin from the previous v3), support for monitoring temps of S.M.A.R.T.-capable hard drives, better network change detection, support for 30 new temperature sensors in Intel Macs and even updated fan support for iBook users. As usual, iStat pro is provided as donationware and should be available via its own update system if you already have the widget installed, or from iSlayer's site.
First Look: iStat menus beta and screenshot gallery
For what seems like forever (or at least since April 29th, 2005), the crew at iSlayer have leveraged their obsession with system performance and statistics and provided us with arguably the best darn donationware iStat widgets on the block. For a little while now, they've been teasing their fellow stat enthusiasts with screenshots on the iSlayer blog of their latest creation, iStat menus, which is currently in a private beta. As you might guess, iStat menus is an app (installed and managed as a System Preferences pane) that will display your vital system stats in the menubar, complete with a thoroughly customizable set of options for displaying just the information you want to know. Thankfully, the iSlayer folks were kind enough to give me a copy of the beta, along with permission to post thoughts and a screenshot gallery for your perusal. While I've been trying iStat menus out, I've also been asking the crew a few questions surrounding how it stacks up against iStat pro and nano, especially in terms of performance. One catch with the way iStat menus runs is that it doesn't create its own separate process that can be monitored in Activity Monitor (or, I assume by relation, the Terminal). Instead, each menu item monitor you activate runs as a Menu Extra which lumps itself into the SystemUIServer thread, so the only way Marc Edwards at iSlayer recommended I could compare iStat menu's performance against my long-time favorite iStat pro is simply to watch that thread before and after enabling iStat menu's items. %Gallery-3291%
iStat Pro 3.3 widget brings temp and fan readings for Intel Macs and more
The feature-packed iStat Pro Dashboard widget is a reigning favorite here at TUAW, and its recent v3.3 update has heralded some handy new features. First, it now includes (though prompts you to install upon first run) a new module that can read the temperature and fan speeds of Intel Macs. That's right - SpeedIt-be-gone. The other nice enhancement is an active AirPort signal quality meter - the AirPort icon in iStat Pro's network section will now dynamically display a quality meter based on the network you're connected to. Of course, for the record, other bugs and "various minor improvements" made this new version, and it's available either by running the widget (it auto-checks for updates by default), or by heading over to iSlayer.com.
iSlayer - Vector, Bitmap, and Resolution Independence
Dashboard developer iSlayer has posted an interesting article examining the implications resolution independence (a new feature in Leopard) will have on icon design. Even before the issue of resolution independence, UI designers have been in two camps regarding the use of bitmap vs vector files for icons. It is in the nature of vector images to scale, but things get a bit out of proportion and wonky- looking after a while. Bitmap images can be tweaked to a designer's heart's content, but that means they have to produce a different image for each possible eventual icon size. iSlayer breaks down the deeper pros and cons of each format, including resource usage and if there is really a need for such high resolution interface components. Definitely a must read for those in, or interested in Mac interface design.
iSlayer releases 7 new mini stat widgets, iStat app
iSlayer, makers of the istat widgets we're all such a fan of, has just announced 7 new Dashboard system monitoring widgets, as well as a full iStat application (call me crazy, but I think these guys like keeping an eye on their systems). The new widgets more or less cover the same ground their iStat nano and iStat pro widgets do - they just take on the individual tasks of monitoring everything from CPU, memory, wireless, battery and even temperature performance.The standalone iStat app offers a bit more customization options, as well as the ability to make it float above other applications or even stay at desktop level, so it can't get in the way of anything else you're doing. It also features a more standard Mac OS X preferences window, including a pane which states that Growl support is coming soon (for Growl cliffnotes: it's a system-wide monitoring utility through which 3rd party apps like Transmit, Quicksilver and - soon - iStat can display notifications of things like completed tasks).All of these widgets and the new app are, surprisingly, donationware, and available now from iSlayer's website.
