Bar Tending
Today I posted a screenshot of my menubar via Twitter, noting how ridiculous I thought it was getting. Grant Blakeman said it best in his reply:
the top-right of the osx menu is the bastard step-child of window’s task-bar. i often won’t use a program if there is no hide option
He also noted in a followup response that developers have gotten into a bad habit of assuming their app deserves (or requires) ubiquitous accessibility. I agree.
Later, I audited my menubar and revised it:
From left to right: Droplr, Dropbox, VPN (built-in), Battery status, Wi-Fi, date and clock, Accounts (built-in), and Spotlight.
(Worth noting: this is my work computer. My personal laptop doesn’t include the VPN or Accounts icons.)
I removed the Tweetie icon because, while I like the subtle notifications it provides, there’s no (supported) way to remove the Dock icon, so the menubar icon was repetitive.
I removed the Pastebot Sync icon because, well, it’s not really necessary. In my real-world tests, Pastebot has worked flawlessly, without the need for access to the Preference Pane.
I quit ExpanDrive and removed it from Login Items because I haven’t been using it lately. If and when I need it, I can launch the app.
I removed the MobileMe Sync icon because I rarely need to manually initialize a synchronization operation.
I removed the Sound icon because I have access to audio controls on my keyboard.
Interestingly, I got quite a few replies with screenshots to my tweet:
And I thought my menubar was bad.
I’ve simplified mine quite a bit too in light of this. What’s most shocking to me is how all these Mac users use the translucent menu bar when there was such an outcry against it when it was first introduced.
Here’s mine: http://drp.ly/42X6B
§ Chuck Skoda · 17 December 2009
Apps that do not allow the user to remove the menu bar item bother me. Unfortunately, there are some apps I rely on extensively (Dropbox, Fastscripts, Caffiene) that require the menu bar item. I almost wish there was a function similar to the Windows task bar that would only show recently used menu bar items, hiding the rest with an arrow to reveal them.
§ Pat · 17 December 2009
@Pat You can hide the Fastscripts menu bar with a script.
tell application “FastScripts” set visible of fastscripts menu icon to false
end tell
I found this tip in a Red Sweater forum post linked here
§ Kev Rodgers · 18 December 2009
Ha, thanks Kev!
§ Pat · 18 December 2009
I keep my menubar almost empty. I slowly removed things over time and have found that there are items I really ever need to see all the time.
http://emberapp.com/cawlin/images/menubar
When my laptop is plugged in the battery indicator disappears, since I don’t need to see that my battery is charging. The menubar is overrated and overkill for most applications I find.
§ Colin · 23 December 2009
Nice, Colin. I tried the fuzzy clock app but couldn’t get used to it. I’m terrible at remembering the date, so I really appreciate Snow Leopard’s support for showing the date in the menubar.
What about AirPort? How do you manage your Wi-Fi connection(s)?
§ Sean · 23 December 2009
I don’t take my laptop many places other than work, a few coffee shops and my home. I’ve entered all those passwords so my mac always remembers them.
If my internet stops working I can always just pop open the system preferences. I generally find I am either on the internet or not. I don’t need the visual feedback. This may not fly for folks who travel a lot but it works great for me.
I am also terrible with the date so I have a little script that I can trigger with a keystroke that displays todays date in a big quicksilver “large type” dialogue.
Can you tell I hate clutter?
§ Colin · 23 December 2009
I was wondering what a barback makes and how long it’ll take to bartend in Austin, no nightclubs more like restaurants, Dave and Busters etc…
§ Schools in NCR · 19 January 2010