Geek & Mild by Sean Sperte
Hello. Welcome to the weblog of Sean Sperte. This is an article originally posted on August 27, 2009. Read more →
I agree with, and live by, many of al3x’s ‘Rules for Computing Happiness’. I would add:
- Have a backup strategy and practice it.
- Have a ‘refresh’ strategy – a complete software reinstall, from OS to applications – and perform it at least once a year.
- Keep as few email ‘inboxes’ as possible – but as many email addresses as needed.
- Don’t over-complicate file organization. Use categorized ‘dump’ folders and Spotlight.
- When using the date for file naming or similar function, use 6 or 8 digits, and start with the year first (e.g. “09-08-27” or “20090827”) so that you can sort by date effectively.
- Don’t use Microsoft software unless it’s absolutely necessary – and only within a virtualized machine
Have any more?
#2 is absolutely unnecessary. We are not Windows users afterall. Just keep things clean as you go along with a utility like Hazel and trust the OS. There are a few places to check for rogue startup items:
/library/startupitems
/user/library/starupitems
launchd (use Lingon to check)
cron (use Cronnix to check)
Account login items
§ Rick Roberts · 27 August 2009
To that last point, I’m no friend of Microsoft (I am softening because they treat developers WAY better), but I’m actually really happy with the latest Office for Mac. It’s more Mac like than anything I’ve seen from Microsoft. When I need Office, I need it for compatability, and I would certainly prefer using the Mac version over installing Parallels or the like for only that purpose.
Also, to second Rick, I’ve had so few problems since I’ve come back to Mac that I have never reinstalled my OS (I have upgraded). I don’t even know how it would work, and I doubt I’ll ever need to. I can’t imagine it’s too tricky if I have been following point #1.
Otherwise, I agree with your advice and al3x’s. Many of these were concepts I’ve had that never quite became rules, but this is a really clear list.
§ Chuck Skoda · 27 August 2009
Rick, I consider a system refresh a function of productivity not technical necessity. When you clear your system you’re in a better position to audit your workflow and optimize how you compute. I like to call it an ‘application audition’, where I only re-install an application when I have the need for it — only after I’ve attempted to fulfill the task by some other means.
§ Sean · 27 August 2009
Sean, with due respect, dude, what you just said is complete gobbledygook. You and I may know about cloning and whatnot and which files go where, but your average user does not. Trust Apple on this one and stop giving people such crummy advice.
§ Rick Roberts · 27 August 2009
Rick, I’m pretty sure you’re missing the point. You’ve just inspired me to write a post about how and why do to a system refresh.
I’ll welcome your input on the post, but until then, save your judgement.
§ Sean · 27 August 2009
I’m with Sean. A system refresh once in a while could more accurately be labelled a “mental refresh” and is a good practice.
§ Chris · 28 August 2009
Sean, I see your point. I don’t really have need to do a refresh for usability sake. My Mac isn’t my work computer, and most of the tools I use on it are either from Apple, something I don’t have a choice with, or something for which I can’t afford a better option.
My workflow on my Mac is pretty much constantly changing whenever new software comes into the picture, and I pretty regularly clean up things that are in the way. On Windows I’d be afraid to do this, because I feel like traces of applications get left around everywhere and system performance seems to go down over time. I feel pretty confident though that my Mac keeps itself pretty clean with only minor interventions from me.
§ Chuck Skoda · 29 August 2009