T11M

I’m always trying to find ways to customize my Mac so it and I can work efficiently together.  I use Exposé and Spaces to spread tasks out across three desktops, but one application I try to avoid at all costs is the Finder.  It adds windows to my workspace that I then must either work around or close.  I usually opt to close them and less than a minute later have to open another one to pull out another file.  Don’t get me wrong, I much prefer Finder of Windows Explorer, but my goal is to get away from launching new windows when accessing my most used files and folders.  Stacks has helped greatly in making those files and folders readily accessible by placing them in my Dock, however I still feel that there must be a better solution available.

The latest piece of software that I have been testing to see if it will integrate well and solve this issue is called MaxMenus.  This handy little piece of software creates colored activation points in each of the four corners of the screen.  When clicked, these colored corners display a menu that contains the content you specify in the MaxMenus preferences (located in System Preferences).  At first I was a little hesitant because the corners of the screen are Exposé’s activation point.  Exposé allows me to view and select from all my open windows or my desktop by simply pushing the mouse to the corner of the screen (Exposé offers more customization, those are simply the two functions I use all the time).  I can then access anything on my desktop or select the open window that I want to work in next.  So, as I said I was hesitant of using a program that might encroach on Exposé.  But after some use and much customization, I’ve found that MaxMenus allows me to have quick access to the files and folders I use most with minimal interaction with Exposé.  I now have the upper and lower right corners of my screen dedicated to Exposé and the upper and lower left corners of my screen dedicated to MaxMenus (the activation points still show in all four corners, but that I simply ignore them).  The one downside to MaxMenus is the inability to move files and folders around within the views – that functionality is still relegated to the Finder.  Ah well, can’t have everything I suppose.

Take a look at a few screenshots which show MaxMenus in action.  If you like the looks of MaxMenus there is a free download on Version Tracker.

MaxMenus Preferences Pane

MaxMenus Activation Point

Recent Documents in upper left corner

You can set folders to be in expanded view (like “JS” above)

I’ll be honest, I don’t use Gmail on a daily basis.  I use Mail.app.  In fact, I’m not a big fan of the Gmail web interface.  I don’t like the way emails are displayed in threads and I much prefer to file my emails in folders and have it done automatically with rules.  That way I can automatically triage my email and it keeps me with a nice, tidy inbox.  On the other hand, there are some pretty impressive features that Google has added and is continuing to develop for Gmail.  One of the more usable features that I have seen is the Advanced Search Features. 

Say you want to view all emails that you have received from a specific person simply type “from:(name)” (where name=the email address or name of a contact and without quotes) into the search mail bar and up pops all email from that name.  How about all email that has an attachment – “has:attachment”.  Or what about unread or starred mail – “is:unread” or “is:starred”. 

As usual Google has made search incredibly efficient and easy.  Now you never have to go scrolling through hundreds of emails looking for that lost attachment again.

So yesterday I got my invite to the Boxee alpha.  It is based off of the XBMC (Xbox Media Center) platform, and currently runs on Mac OS X, Ubuntu Linux, and the Apple TV.  For still being in alpa I’m really impressed with the interface, functionality, and lack of crashes.  I’ve used it for probably 3 hours and so far not a single crash.  There are a couple of bugs in the features (scrolling issues mainly) but other than that I have been able to stream Netflix and Hulu as well as listen to internet radio.  Here are a couple of screenshots:

If you want an invite to Boxee leave me a comment.