My Dock (Part One)

May 24th, 2010

Apple / Mac

My dock is normally positioned on the left, since it’s more space-efficient there. I also use the 2D dock and not the pseudo-3D one. It’s just too glitzy for me. (Reflections! Everywhere!) Now here’s what’s in my dock:

dock1.png

Finder — I prefer the spatial Finder, so I always hide the Finder’s toolbars (yet they somehow manage to pop back up from time to time).

Safari — My browser of choice. Simple, clean, fast, and it has WebKit. I use ClickToFlash to cut down on some of the annoyances of the web (like those gigantic banner ads on YouTube’s homepage).

Firefox — Honestly, the only real reason I have Firefox in my dock at all is because the Safari icon would look weird next to the Adium icon. I’m shallow, I know. I do use Firefox sometimes for doing something with a website for which I need an extension, but that doesn’t happen that often.

Adium — I don’t get on IM that much, but it’s nice to have.

Mail — I love Mail for the same reasons I love Safari: simple, clean, fast, and you can’t beat WebKit. And it doesn’t take up a gigantic amount of screen real-estate, like some clients do (ahem, Entourage).

NetNewsWire — NetNewsWire is, without a doubt, the best RSS reader out there. It’s my gateway to the Tech universe. Built-in browser, Google Reader syncing, desktop integration- the list goes on. I use the widescreen view to take advantage of my MacBook’s screen.

Pages — I use this occasionally for more complex writing tasks, like writing research papers. It blows the hell out of Word 2008.

dock2.png

iTunes — Yeah, it’s bloated, but I still love it.

Stickies — For notes that I may need for later. I have them all arranged in their own virtual desktop via Spaces.

WriteRoom — My word processor of choice. Nothing but a black background and green text. I’m prone to distractions, and this cuts down on them when I really need to get work done. I’m excited for the iPad version.

OmmWriter — A more serene alternative to WriteRoom. I use this sometimes when I want to relax and write a nice, long, angry diatribe against this or that. And it’s free!

Yojimbo — I use this to organize all my ideas for blog articles, stories, whatever. I haven’t upgraded to the latest version yet, as this one still works fine on Snow Leopard.

MarsEdit — Blog editor of choice. It allows me to use Markdown for when I write for WordPress and Tumblr blogs, and it’s native features are awesome. Also haven’t upgraded to the latest version.

Camino — I want to like Camino- I really do–but there’s just too many issues with it (jerky two-finger scrolling, slow rendering, crappy bookmark favicon caching) that I just have it there because it goes well with the next app’s icon.

dock3.png

Tweetie — Best Twitter client on the Mac. I used TweetDeck for awhile, but I just can’t get behind Adobe Air, not to mention the exorbitant amount of screen real-estate it uses. Super excited to see Tweetie 2 come out, and the iPad version.

System Preferences — Just ’cause.

Applications — Because opening the folder every time you need an app that isn’t in your dock is just a pain.

Documents — My important work stuff goes here.

Downloads — Totally unorganized and filled with cruft. I need to clean it out.

Well, that’s my dock. Stayed tuned to see Thomas’s, and tell us about yours in the comments.

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4 Responses to “My Dock (Part One)”

  1. Alexander Brown

    I use mine every day as my main computer. Macs are much more expensive in Australia in comparison to the United States.

  2. Alex

    I think Thomas still uses his. Mine serves as a backup computer now. You just can’t beat the real thing.

    • Thomas

      Yep, still going strong on my hackintosh, though I use it much less frequently. As it ages and continues to slow down (or I perceive it to), I’m using my Desktop more and more. Nevertheless, every now and again I’ll pop open the 1525 and boot up Leopard 10.5.7 (the most stable release, in my opinion).

  3. Alexander Brown

    Does nobody use their HackBook anymore? You’ve all moved to MacBooks!