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iStat Menu 5 for Mac brings big improvements
iStat Menu is a powerful system monitoring tool that gives you a clear, simple, explanation of the resources your computer is currently using. For US$16 the app monitors everything from CPU activity to your internal fan speed, showing you real time results at a glance via the menu bar. The app has just been updated to iStat Menus 5, and developer Bjango says it's their biggest update yet. The app has been redesigned, including new menu bar icons, dropdown menus, and an overall refreshed look to the interface for a cleaner experience. iStat Menus 5 introduces new Yosemite and Mavericks only features including support for memory pressure and compressed memory, as well as showing which apps which are using significant amounts of energy. The update also introduces enhanced per-app stats which show how much bandwidth an app uses or its upload/download activity. Network stats have also been improved, bringing more details than ever before including router address, subnet mask, DNS and MAC address, and Wi-Fi details like signal to noise ratio. You can find iStat Menu for download here. The app costs $16 brand new for a single license or $24 for a five computer license. Users who have already purchased iStat Menu 3 or 4 can grab a single license for $9.99 or a family pack of licenses for $14.99.
TUAW's Daily Mac App: Translucent
For the most part your Mac just works, but for some of us, we want a little more information on how well our Macs are working and what's doing what, when. That's where apps like the mainstay of the Mac monitors, iStat Pro and iStat Menus come in. Today we'll be taking a quick look at a small, US$2.99 Mac App Store iStat Menus alternative called Translucent. Translucent sits in your menu bar, just like iStat Menus, providing real-time information on processor utilization, memory and disk usage (including USB mass storage), as well as network activity. You can customize what's shown, the color, the number of CPU cores displayed and a disk activity indicator. The problem with Translucent, however, is that it takes up between 3 percent to 8 percent of your CPU capacity on its own. Now 3 percent isn't a lot, but if you're interested enough to monitor your computer utilization on a minute-by-minute basis, then you're unlikely to want anything taking up unnecessary resources. The other thing is that because it sits in the menu bar constantly, you're going to want it to look good. It's not that Translucent necessarily looks bad, it's just that the icons and activity monitors don't look sharp and contrast heavily with most of the other well designed icons I have sitting in my menu bar. While aesthetics come down to personal preference, other donation-ware options, such as the iStat Pro Dashboard widget or the more fully featured $16 iStat Menus, offer more options, look better and use less resources. Translucent is not bad for the price, but there are better alternatives out there.
iChatAgent process shows up in iPhone OS 4.0 -- video conferencing coming?
As expected, Apple didn't introduce any new iPhone hardware today; knowing Steve Jobs & co., they still want to save some surprises when they unveil the 4G iPhone later this summer. Could one of those surprises be a front-facing camera with iChat support? Close TUAW reader AW sent us this screen shot that shows an iChatAgent process showing up in iStat ($0.99 in the App Store) on an iPhone running the new iPhone OS 4.0 SDK. The process is new to iPhone OS 4.0 and it suggests that Apple plans to implement iChat on the phone in some form. It seems unlikely that Apple would merely introduce an instant messaging app without support for video conferencing. Although a front-facing camera on the iPhone has been rumored from time to time and it's one of the most requested hardware features for the iPhone, battery drain during video conferencing is always a concern on a mobile device. If Apple has found a way to support multitasking without significant battery drain, it's possible that mobile video conferencing battery drain has been overcome as well. UPDATE: another screen shot from within Activity Monitor (sent to us by reader Mr. X) after the break.
What's that menu item mean on my Mac?
Ever since you've started using your Mac, you've been looking at those icons towards the top right of your display in your menu bar. These items can direct to many different things, from connecting to a wireless network, to finding items on your Mac. These items not only can be clicked on to show a pop-up menu to perform actions, they can also indicate activity depending on what that icon if for. Here's a summary of some of the most widely-used icons, some menu items you might not have seen before on your Mac, common applications that have uses for menu items, and some extra functions in these items. Spotlight: The Spotlight menu item provides an easy shortcut to finding files on your Mac. Clicking it will show a search box directly under the menu bar, and will provide a summary of results when searching. This icon will also indicate when your Mac is indexing new search results, like when you plug in a external hard drive, by a pulsing dot inside the magnifying glass. Bluetooth: This icon (which is a Bluetooth logo) will show the current status of Bluetooth on your Mac. If Bluetooth is turned on, it will simply show the Bluetooth symbol. If it's turned off, the item will appear faded. If the Bluetooth part has been unplugged, it will slow a line and it will also appear faded. If your Mac is connected to a Bluetooth device, it will show three dots along with a faded Bluetooth logo. If your Mac is connected to an Apple Wireless Keyboard or Mouse, there will be a low battery warning displayed on the icon if their batteries are running low.
Five widgets for Friday
As we've previously pointed out, in many ways, Dashboard Widgets are the precursor to iPhone apps. Need to know when your latest packages will arrive? Yes, there's an app for that. But there's a widget too. Need to figure out how many pesos are in a dollar, or what a Quarter Pounder with Cheese comes out to in the metric system? There's an app, and a widget, for that as well. For this Friday afternoon, here are five useful Widgets to help you make the most of your Mac. And best of all, they're all free.
All is right with the world; iStat Menus 2.0 is here
The world was looking bleak and dreary after Snow Leopard arrived last week, for my little menu bar friend, iStat Menus for Mac, was incompatible with the new version of Mac OS X. This morning, however, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, fluffy kittens are playing again (see image at right for proof), and all is right with the world! iStat Menus 2.0 has arrived, and now my CPU monitor, calendar, and clock are back in the menu bar where they're supposed to be. The new Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard compatible version is running just fine, and less than a week of darkness filled the hearts of all of those who love iStat Menus. You can download it for free, although a donation is requested. While iStat's developer, iSlayer, has resolved this disturbance in The Force, there's still a dark and evil presence in the universe. Apple, taking on the role of Emperor Palpatine with gusto, recently forced all iPhone developers to remove or retool apps that use a Free Memory function to display memory usage and/or clear out wired or inactive memory. As a result, iStat for iPhone [App Store] version 1.1 was released with the Free Memory function removed. Bjango (the iPhone arm of iSlayer) has kindly posted instructions for how to use version 1.0 to keep the function intact, but we're all wondering why Apple decided to axe all apps that performed this useful function. Since this latest kerfuffle has forced Bjango to release a feature-limited version of iStat for iPhone, the company has reduced the price to US$1.99. There's no word from Apple on why they chose to kill all of the Free Memory apps. When you're the Emperor, you don't have to give any reasons for stomping on kittens.
First Look: iStat for the iPhone
My very favorite Dashboard widget is iSlayer's iStat Pro. It is invaluable for figuring out how fast Internet connection is moving, tracking down what processes are hanging up the system and monitoring CPU usage.But what if you want to monitor your systems performance remotely? What if you have a Mac server and you want to keep track of the memory and network usage? This is exactly what iStat for the iPhone was designed to address. Bjango (the new venture from part of the iSlayer team) was nice enough to let me try the app before it hits the App Store, and put it through the paces.This is how it works:You install the lightweight iStat Server deskop app (you need to be running Mac OS X 10.4 or higher) and then you run the iStat app for the iPhone to connect it to your Mac.If you are on the same local network, Bonjour will take care of everything, you'll see your computer name on a list and you just need to enter in the passcode displayed in the iStat Server app to access your data.If you are connecting to a remote server, just enter in the IP address and port number (the default is port 5109) and your passcode and you're good to go.The iStat program will show you information on your iPhone or iPod touch and any computers or servers that you've configured with your device.Take a look at the gallery and read on (the next page) for more details.%Gallery-42277%
iStat menus 1.2 monitors your Mac's innards
I'm definitely a big fan of iSlayer's iStat Pro widget. Whenever my older Powerbook acts a little weird, I can just pull up the Dashboard and tell at a glance what's going wrong ("Oh my, the CPU is running at 150 degrees again. Time to quit a few apps"). Now they've sent word that iStat menus, an even bigger and better stats program available to sit on the menubar, has hit version 1.2.New to this version is process monitoring, better temperature and fan support in G4 Powerbooks (like mine), and a disk activity graph that let's you monitor disk performance over time. For keeping an eye on what's happening under your Mac's hood, there's almost nothing better, and all the iStat stuff is free.Of course, if you do use one of their apps, make sure to send them some cash to help them keep up the good work. Always support good software, people. Just like NPR, if you don't support it, you'll lose it.
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.
iStat menus 1.0 released
Last month, the iSlayer crew allowed us to review a beta copy and post a screenshot gallery of iStat menus, their new full-blown app that brings system statistic and resource tracking to the menubar. Known widely for their iStat line of high-quality Dashboard widgets, iStat menus ushers in a new era of customizability and - as I discovered in my review of the beta - noticeably better performance and less resource requirements (hey, it's only fair to test how many resources are used by tools designed to track resources and system statistics). Unfortunately at the time, iStat menus was in a private beta, which meant our dear readers weren't able to get their hands on their own copy. Until now - iSlayer today has announced the availability of iStat menus 1.0. As far as I can tell, not much has changed from the beta I saw in May, but that simply means that an awesome, streamlined app for monitoring your system stats in the menubar has only gotten better since then. Amazingly, iStat menus is still provided as freeware (no, seriously: I would try to get the iSlayer crew committed if I knew where they lived) with the rest of their vast collection of widgets and apps, so grab a copy and start keeping an eye on your system from the comforts of Mac OS X's menubar.
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%
Widget Watch: iStat Pro 4, iStat nano 2
The crew over at iSlayer have been busy releasing major updates to their killer system monitoring widgets, and not a moment too late for this year's Apple Design Awards (entry deadline is April 23rd). Earlier this month we missed a major upgrade and UI overhaul to iStat nano, bringing the compact system monitoring widget to v2 and adding a ton of new features.With the release of what almost looks like an all-new version of iStat pro v4, however, iSlayer has brought a consistent, uniform UI to both widgets. While I agree that you should probably sit down and take a deep breath before reading through the extensive list of changes, the big-hitters include: support for the battery meters in bluetooth keyboards and mice, instant update for things like network changes and disk mounting, a choice between memory and CPU usage in the process panel, as well as drag and drop re-ordering of sections inside the widget, allowing you to customize the layout to your heart's content.That isn't all though - go check out the huge list of changes for either of these widgets and consider showing iSlayer some donation love for all the stellar work they've done on two of the inarguable kings of system monitoring widgets for Mac OS X.
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.
TUAW Desktop of the Week - Happy Puppy
Since we've already taken care of the holiday-themed Desktop of the Week, we can get back to the fundamentals of the ideal desktop like function, form - and a happy puppy! Flickr user bc_lau wins the award for *almost* making me spit out my morning coffee with a desktop like this.Besides a happy puppy (sure, that could be a yawn, but 'happy' is more fun), bc_lau is clearly a freak for at-a-glance information and statistics. The first row of transparent info (two clocks, the date, the temp, and current iTunes track) is the work of Panic's Stattoo. The second row, with system statistics like CPU usage, hard drive space and temperatures is the iStat 2.0 application we're such big fans of here at TUAW (both as an app and as widgets). As one comment on this photo at Flickr already states, bc_lau gets bonus points for using a Boba Fett Dock icon for Safari.If you'd like to see your unique, functional or otherwise interesting desktop featured in our TUAW Desktops of the Week series, check out past featured desktops as well as the original post for the rules and to get an idea of what we're looking for. Then, upload your desktop screenshot to our TUAW Desktops Flickr group. We'll feature one or more desktops each weekend, giving credit to the desktop owner, wallpaper creator and any apps featured in the screenshot. Keep those desktops rolling in!
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.
iStat nano updated with support for Intel Mac CPU temp
iStat nano, a handy system monitoring Dashboard widget, has been updated to version 1.51b with support for CPU temps on Intel Macs. The one catch is that you'll have to install SpeedIt, a System Preference pane and kernel extension that allows this kind of functionality (and much more). We've heard nothing but good things about SpeedIt and the features it provides (such as controlling CPU whine by regulating voltage), but we'd understand if the thought of installing kernel extensions has already made you skip this post in your newsreader.If you're still reading this, however, it seems both iStat nano and the SpeedIt kernel extension are provided free, so have at it.[thanks Aaron]
Widget Watch: iStat pro and nano updated
Two of my favorite system monitor widgets have been updated: iStat pro 2.3 and iStat nano 1.5. The main new additions are drive filtering, as in: CDs, DVDs and .DMGs will no longer appear in the drive list, and support has been included for MacBook Pro batteries. Unfortunately, it looks like the temp and fan monitors don't support the MacBook Pros just yet.Both of these widgets are available from iSlayer.net, apparently for free, as I can't even find a donation link. Also: their download links do point to these new versions, so don't pay any attention to the versions listed on their site, as it seems they haven't updated it to reflect these new additions just yet.
