The customization of one’s workspace tells a lot about your personality. Some even go to such extents to heavily modify their OS’s appearance until it doesn’t look like anything known to the average computer user. That got me thinking… what options are there for those users who are happy with their Mac’s looks, but want to give it an extra “oomph?” Here’s a basic guide compiled to get any user started in personalizing their Mac.
Candybar 3. This collaboration between Panic and The Iconfactory has given us the best version of Candybar to date. It allows for easy system icon and dock visual modification — including support for the all-in-one iContainers — and Pixadex, which is like a photo library for your icon collection. A single license of Candybar costs $29.
LiteIcon. This is a free alternative to Candybar, which allows for easy system icon swapping. But while it lacks some of the differentiating features of Candybar, anyone just looking to changing the icons and nothing more, this is the perfect choice. If you like it, please consider sending a couple of bucks in donation to the developer.
Magnifique. A fantastic app that allows for user-created themes to be applied over Mac OS X. With support for multiple apps, Finder, and the dock, the only thing that will come out of it is a new, shiny Mac OS X. Oh, and it’s free! Again, donations are appreciated. (And the website is a great starting point to look at some ideas/mods).
Dock Library. If you’re just looking to change out the dock, Dock Library is the perfect choice. As you add new designs, you can quickly change the dock to any of them with the click of a mouse (and a Finder restart, most likely). And just like the best things in life, it’s also free. (Donations are also accepted here).
GeekTool. Here comes the fun stuff. GeekTool is mainly used to add decorations with some kind of functionality over your desktop. The best way you can get into the fun stuff is by using some scripts similar to those used in the Mac’s terminal. Basically anything can be added: from a clock to a weather watcher to anything limited to your imagination (and knowledge of such scripts!). Geektool is also a free download!
Bowtie Themes. Bowtie is a magnificent and free iTunes controller. What makes it even more special is its support for user-built themes. Take a look around, and you’ll probably find one you like — and if not, the documentation on how to get started in making your own.
Adium Xtras. Nowadays I find it rare to find fellow Mac users who haven’t at least tried Adium, the free, multi-protocol chat client. Besides immense functionality, Adium is also highly customizable! Take a look around the Adium Xtras page and you will find anything from replacement icons and themes to system sounds.
Resources. Now that you have these fantastic apps installed in your Mac, where can you gather the inspiration and new designs to give Mac OS X a makeover? The best place to get started probably is the MacThemes website, which covers all of this. Even better, said website has a very big user community where they trade inspiration and art for the improvement of everyone’s Mac. Then there’s websites like Dockulicious that have a big catalog of dock replacements, and some fantastic guides from Lifehacker to get started with Geektool.
Extra: SizeUp. Even though it may not be a tool to aesthetically modify your Mac, SizeUp offers its help to keep it clean from window clutter. What it does is allow you to set the areas within your workspace to dedicate to windows, and allows you to move them there with a few clicks or keyboard presses. It’s difficult to imagine the benefits that such app offers until you’ve tried out the demo. And once you’ve done that, the developer wants to sell you a license at the price you’re willing to pay (the minimum being $4.99, and the developer suggesting $12.99) which is different to all other shareware, to say the least.
Conclusions. With this quick introduction to apps that will allow to alter a Mac’s appearance, I quickly got to work on mine after getting some inspiration from this workspace featured in Lifehacker. What I did was use the same black Mac theme; I got some different Mac icons to the ones mentioned; I Google searched for that wallpaper; I added a Geektool clock, local Yahoo! weather, and battery status; I changed Bowtie’s theme to one inspired by Geektool, as I did the same to Adium’s. After that, I set up that space of the screen as one big margin for SizeUp to never cover, and now I basically have my dream workspace which has actually boosted my productivity. Whether the productivity boost was done thanks to actual organization or some aesthetical psychological factor (if not both), it’s still there. Check out the final product below.
