11–20 of 92 posts
I'm not sure being ignorant of things running inconspicuously in the background is much better than having an icon there.
When apps install in the menubar, my biggest concern isn't their visual presence, but the resources they are taking up by being one of those apps. The Adobe updater app for example doesn't need to be anything more than a cron job. I only tolerate the Adobe app because I use Illustrator and Photoshop, but I certainly don't need the other crap like Behance and Typekit. the the Google+ification of services everything. I…
I don't think you get to complain about these sort of things when you make the choice to use OSX.
Unfortunately, neither Illustrator or Photoshop are available on Linux. Are their open-source equivalents anywhere near the quality of their Adobe counterparts yet? I've yet to try InkScape, but I know that the last time I used Gimp, it was excruciating. I would rather work via ImageMagick, RMagick or node-canvas than subject myself to gimp.
Isn't the better option to just not install crap on your computer? This sounds like complaining that you don't like television shows on a certain channel when you have a thousand to choose from...
That said, the menubar is a legitimate place for lots of things. It's great for services (eg dropbox), status (eg battery), and shortcuts (eg wifi).
It's a useful distinction from app icons in the Dock, which generally use more traditional desktop windows. I always like it when an app in the grey area (eg Twitterific) lets users choose where the icon lives. Like the author, I resort to Bartender to manage them all.
I wonder if menubar apps will eventually be moved into OSX's Notifications sidebar. I don't want them there, but I'd guess Apple prefers shoving into a drawer rather than sherlocking Bartender.
[edited a li'l so it made more sense]
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think you get to complain about these sort of things when you make the choice to use OSX.
I'm on the verge of setting up my MBP to double boot to Arch or Debian and slowly moving as much as possible to Linux. Unfortunately, neither Illustrator or Photoshop are available on Linux. Are their open-source equivalents anywhere near the quality of their Adobe counterparts yet? I've yet to try InkScape, but I know that the last time I used Gimp, it was excruciating. I would rather work via ImageMagick, RMagick o…
Isn't the better option to just not install crap on your computer? This sounds like complaining that you don't like television shows on a certain channel when you have a thousand to choose from...
Not everything that puts crap in the menubar is crap. The Google Chrome Notification is an egregious offender - it appeared without warning, ugly and unretinafied, and can only be (temporarily) removed by (1) doing everything it asks, (2) then quitting and relaunching Chrome. It's highly-visible systemwide placement for minor system-oriented tasks, and unnecessary given how much interface Chrome already has to work w…
There is Bartender (http://www.macbartender.com/), which lets you shove all your non-critical menu bar items into a second menu bar like thing that you can hide away. So, while I have 18?? some odd status item apps running right now, by default I only really see the 6 or 7 most critical ones.
Bartender doesn't work with all status menu items, notably Chrome's notification status menu (maybe it's changed in the month or so since I last checked)... but Bartender "solves" the "GTFO out of menu bar" problem.
When apps install in the menubar, my biggest concern isn't their visual presence, but the resources they are taking up by being one of those apps. The Adobe updater app for example doesn't need to be anything more than a cron job. I only tolerate the Adobe app because I use Illustrator and Photoshop, but I certainly don't need the other crap like Behance and Typekit. the the Google+ification of services everything. I…
I don't think you get to complain about these sort of things when you make the choice to use OSX.
Are you under the assumption that OS X can't be changed? 'Cause with plists etc, you can do a great deal...
The scenario sucks, and I really do like apps that give you the option (display in the Dock or display in the menu bar). There is Bartender ( http://www.macbartender.com/ ), which lets you shove all your non-critical menu bar items into a second menu bar like thing that you can hide away. So, while I have 18?? some odd status item apps running right now, by default I only really see the 6 or 7 most critical ones. Bar…
And combined with iStat menus I even make for instance my battery-icon hide whenever docked and fully charged.
Also, quite some icons such as the WiFi, Volume, Bluetooth are only visible at all times in my case because I need a quick and easy way to alter the settings or be aware of them. This problem can be solved for me by automating these settings by profiles or my location such as School/home/on-the-move. This can be achieved by apps such as ControlPlane (http://www.controlplaneapp.com), you can even dimm your screen, kill apps that need a network connection to work such as Dropbox/Droplr/Twitter...
Very similar to what Llama (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kebab.Llam...) does on my Android phone.
When apps install in the menubar, my biggest concern isn't their visual presence, but the resources they are taking up by being one of those apps. The Adobe updater app for example doesn't need to be anything more than a cron job. I only tolerate the Adobe app because I use Illustrator and Photoshop, but I certainly don't need the other crap like Behance and Typekit. the the Google+ification of services everything. I…
I don't think you get to complain about these sort of things when you make the choice to use OSX.