The OS X menubar is a strange beast. It never goes away, changes with every application, and most users couldn’t care less what is on or off it. However, there comes a time in every geek's life when the menubar is simply too...simple. Lucky for you, we have a list of the 10 best completely free applications that run solely from the menubar. Of course, if you are an organization freak, look elsewhere, because the multiple new icons WILL clutter up the otherwise pristine menubar, but we guarantee they will exponentially increase the usefulness of your Mac. To reduce the clutter, you can hold the command key while clicking on a menubar app, and drag it off. For example, unless you have a wicked Bluetooth-based secret lair, there is no particular reason why you have to keep Bluetooth in the menubar 24/7.
Dropbox
It seems as if every service is going to the cloud, with cloud backup, cloud operating systems, and most popular, cloud storage. There are a number of options in the cloud storage game, like SugarSync, Windows Live Sync, Windows Live Mesh, and Syncplicity, but Dropbox is the most feature rich, and is incredibly simple to maintain. When you install it, it creates a folder on your hard drive (you can also choose an existing folder) and will keep that folder in sync with all the Dropboxes on your different computers. Of course, you will need to install the Dropbox application on each computer you want to sync to, but with builds available for OS X, Windows, and Linux, it is an easy affair. If you are running Amiga OS, we can’t help you. Dropbox also has some additional features worth mentioning. You can share public links (albeit with slightly slow download speeds of about 75-100 kb/s) to any of your files, create a photo gallery viewable on www.getdropbox.com, and package and download your files easily from the Web interface.
Quick tip: If you want to sync files or folders to Dropbox without having to put them in the Dropbox folder, contrary to popular belief, you can. You need to use Terminal (Applications/Utilities/Terminal) and type in the following command:
ln -s {Path to file or folder you want to sync} {Path to Dropbox directory}
For example, if we had a folder called ToBeSynced in my Documents folder, the command would be:
ln -s /Users/Arvind/Documents/ToBeSynced /Users/Arvind/Dropbox
VERY IMPORTANT - Keep a space between the two paths
You can download Dropbox here.
Visor
Nothing says “geek cred” like firing up the Terminal and controlling your friend’s computer with SSH. Nothing says “über-geek cred” like having the Terminal drop down, and then controlling your friend’s computer with SSH. Visor is essential for anyone that uses the Terminal frequently, as it allows you to assign a hotkey to bring it onto the screen. It will save your Terminal window without keeping the window open or having to keep it in the Dock. Visor requires the SIMBL plug-in, and full installation instructions can be found here.
iStat Menus
Some call us the RAM Nazi, and for good reason. We obsess over memory usage. Thus, we find ourselves in a conundrum, because if we keep Activity Monitor open to track application memory usage, we waste RAM by having it open. Also, we don’t like to admit to being neurotic. iStat Menus keeps track of not only RAM usage, but also CPU usage, hard drive temperature, hard drive space used, network usage, read/write speed, and a plethora of other esoteric information. There is probably a module that lets you monitor the Mars Rover (no promises). All of this information can be accessed through the menubar, and you can pick and choose exactly what to monitor. We liked the calendar and clock in iStat so much that we replaced the default OS X clock with it.
iStat menus can be downloaded here.
fork12
May 24, 2010 at 11:03pm
i was not aware about this version.it is easy to set up and in customizing.thanks for sharing.
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Airic04
April 30, 2010 at 8:42pm
Hey i went to the website for iStat Menu and now its a 14 day trail or $10 to buy????? Anyone else run into this?
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February 16, 2010 at 3:38am
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November 27, 2009 at 4:49pm
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November 11, 2009 at 7:55am
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November 10, 2009 at 7:42pm
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abastian
October 04, 2009 at 4:00pm
https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTIzMTYyOTM5
use the link above to get 1/4 GB of free space for you and me
Thank you
wstokyo
July 22, 2009 at 10:22pm
I had been using the iStat widget for a long time and wasn't aware of the menubar version. It's a great app. Easy to set up, customizing is fantastic. As for Dropbox I really like the syncing and sharing.
golf25radioman
July 16, 2009 at 12:48pm
I contacted the developer and the extra 250MB was added, not a problem. Thanks for everyone's input.
Tom
Hutif
July 03, 2009 at 8:56pm
Used the link for an extra 250MB. Also @edwinblaw , I get the feeling you are just looking at the first page. Correct me if I'm wrong...
edwinblaw
July 02, 2009 at 3:21pm
Must have done something wrong .. I only see three (3) apps and the dropbox is great.Ed The only love you can buy is that of a dog.
bpettis
August 10, 2009 at 9:22am
Just click on the next button on the bottome of the pag. Below the article, but above the comments.
edwinblaw
July 02, 2009 at 3:17pm
I did the same as you but then moved that copy from my finder to trash and went back using the url given and it offered me the free space so I signed up and downloaded.A little extra trouble but you can still get the extra 250MB if you wanr ;-)Ed The only love you can buy is that of a dog.
golf25radioman
June 30, 2009 at 4:39pm
I didn't know that, to get the extra space offer, you had to set up the account with that link before installing the software and setting it up through the installer. Now I can't take advantage of your most generous offer. :(
Tom
ilikeimac
June 30, 2009 at 8:28pm
Sorry Tom. I didn't know about these offers either when I signed up and I'm pretty sure I could have found a referral link pretty easily. Anyway, you can still get extra space by inviting other people to Dropbox.
ilikeimac
July 25, 2009 at 1:42pm
Dropbox is really awesome, and if you sign up using this link you and I both get 250 MB of extra space: https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTk2MzEyNzkSo help yourself, and a fellow Mac user!
abastian
October 04, 2009 at 4:54pm
https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTIzMTYyOTM5 CLICK the link above AND CREATE AN ACCOUNT USING THAT PAGE to have you and me get 1/4 GB because ilikeimac probably has gotten 3gb, the maximum that you can get with the free account. Thank You very Much
ilikeimac
November 04, 2009 at 2:16pm
You are correct abastian, I not only got my account maxed out with referral credits, but edited the comment above and changed the link to a friend's referral link, then did it again with my brother's referral link. So 3 accounts are now maxed out. Thanks everyone who used my links.
I wonder if this is why it no longer seems possible to edit past comments on this site. Methinks I might have inspired a rule change by abusing the privilege :-D
P.S. Here's yet-another link for another brother (I'm shameless!) https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTI4NDc0MzY5
