HyperDock adds a handy ability to preview and select windows abd tabs just by moving the mouse over a dock item. Although this has been made obsolete somewhat by previews introduced into Snow Leopard, HyperDock includes the use of shortcuts to quickly open new windows and documents with a simple mouse click. It also improves your workflow by using advanced window management features like Window Snapping.

HyperDock previews open windows and includes customizable keyboard shortcuts and windows that enable you to filter certain elements. It also allows you to add specific functions such as the previewing of tasks in iCal and iTunes playback controls. HyperDock also allows you to maximize windows, either the whole screen or just one half.

Although many of HyperDock's functions are now default in Snow Leopard, HyperDock adds some useful functions for those with older operating systems.

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TinkerTool is one of the best tools around for tweaking and changing the preferences on your Mac.

The reason for this is that TinkerTool assumes no prior expert knowledge providing you with a simple interface from which to modify a number of Mac settings such as the Dock, fonts and Safari. Simply check or uncheck the options you wish to keep or not from the different menus. In the Dock for example, you can choose to show system files and animation effects when opening. Just pressing the 'Relaunch' button at the bottom will bring changes into effect. In this latest version, you can also block the Expose feature in the Dock on Snow Leopard.

Many of the features you will find in TinkerTool are however duplicated in free applications such as Onyx but there's no doubt that this app does go a bit deeper and offers more at the end of the day. For example, the uninstaller is useful because it removes associated files for all users on a system whereas free removal tools such as AppDelete only usually remove files for the logged-on user.

Snow Leopard users are at a slight advantage because TinkerTool will recognize what version of Mac you have and show only the preferences that your version supports which are considerably more in Snow Leopard than Leopard for example. Be aware though that changing too many settings can have all sorts of adverse effects on your Mac. Fortunately, TinkerTool includes a 'reset' button on the right of the interface to return to default settings.

The only thing that some existing users may complain about is the fact that no discount is offered for upgrades but for the modest price the developer asks for such a great app, it's a small price pay.

TinkerTool is a powerful and well designed application which will give you far greater control over the look and functionality of OS X.

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keka supports compression to 7z, Zip, Tar, Gzip and Bzip2 and it can extract from RAR, 7z, Lzma, Zip, Tar, Gzip, Bzip2, ISO, EXE, CAB, PAX, and ACE (PPC). Accessibility is keka's strong point - just drag and drop files into the keka Dock icon and you can decompress or compress instantly.

Unfortunately, you can't preview the contents of archives although you can split archives. Although the drag and drop function is handy, it would also be nice to be able to access it from the context menu. This feature has been added to Snow Leopard however although you need to download it separately here. Note this add-on won't work for anything OS X 10.5 and lower.

Quick, fast and easy to use, Keka is an excellent free archiver for Macs.

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If you're still using OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard don't forget to check out our advice and words of caution beforehand - some older applications simply won't work on OS X Lion due to Apple's decision to drop Rosetta support. This means you will have problems running applications like Quicken 2007, Microsoft Office 2008 and other apps which supported Power PC Macs - PPC support is gone forever in OS X Lion.

According to Apple, OS X Lion comes with more than 250 improvements and new features although many of these are minor tweaks. The biggest change however is far closer integration with iOS, the operating system of the iPhone and iPad. To take advantage of the many new finger gestures to navigate OS X however, ideally you'll need either a MacBook Pro with Magic Trackpad or an external Trackpad (around $69) although a Magic Mouse will also suffice.

For those used to using an iPad and iPhone, the OS X Lion gestures will come more naturally but for others, there will be some learning to do, although there are some excellent video tutorials included in the new Trackpad preferences pane. While some will no doubt love the new way of navigating OS X, others may not want their Mac turned into one big phone or iPad - in which case you can always still use the mouse as normal.

The other major change in OS X Lion is that you can only upgrade via the Mac App Store. There's no installation DVD as with previous versions of OS X. This obviously means that you won't have a recovery disk if something goes wrong with OS X Lion, but OS X Lion creates its own "Recovery HD" partition which, while taking up valuable disk space, means that reinstalling should be easy enough.

The most important new features in OS X Lion can be summarized as:

Multi-Touch Gestures:

Thanks to the MacBook Pro Touchpad, the Magic Trackpad and the Magic Mouse, you can perform actions using various finger movements in OS X Lion.

Launchpad and Mission Control:

Get a convenient overview of your open windows and applications in OS X Lion's Mission Control and access/organize applications much quicker with Launchpad. This provides a more iPhone like way of accessing apps as an alternative to using the Dock but unfortunately, unlike the Dock there's no way of seeing which apps are open and which aren't.

Full Screen Apps

All of your applications can now take advantage of full screen mode in Mac OS X Lion. This is something that Windows users have enjoyed for years and means that users can finally use their apps without any background distractions from OS X.

Automatic Save and Resume:

When you resume or restart your Mac, OS X Lion will resume or recover all of your documents and windows open from the last version. In addition, your work will be saved automatically and you can go back and re-visit old saves and backups. However, OS X Lion relies on the application being "Auto-Save Aware" for this function to work.

There are many other enhancements to OS X Lion too such as the ability to backup to local drives with Time Machine and there's a new handy migration tool for those switching from Windows to Mac. You can also now simply drag and drop files to other Macs in your vicinity or network via your Mac's AirPort wireless connection - a nice little feature that makes working with other Mac users easier then ever.

OS X Lion is an impressive operating system that brings the Mac closer to the iOS experience than ever before. If you're an iPhone or iPad user that loves iOS, OS X Lion can't fail to impress. If you're not, then the appeal may not be so great but there are plenty of other features and enhancements in OS X Lion worth checking out.

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OnyX is a simple but incredibly powerful maintenance and optimization tool for OS X. Note that this version is only for OS X 10.5 Leopard. There are alternative downloads for OS X 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7.

Onyx is completely free and will help you keep your Mac clean and in perfect running order. The first time you run OnyX it'll verify S.M.A.R.T status of your disk to prevent failure and analyze the structure of your volume. Every action is well explained and OnyX also includes a help guide for anything you're not sure.

OnyX allows you to set a number of parameters to check including Dock, Exposé, iTunes and Spotlight. It is most effective at fully cleaning your files including system, user and fonts. You'll have to make sure all other applications are closed to allow it to perform all the tasks it needs to do. The automation section in OnyX will let you maintain, rebuild and clean your drive.

Obviously, some of these operations will take some time to perform. However you should see some notable improvements in the way your Mac runs afterwards. The only downside to Onyx is the overall interface which is very basic but it's a minor drawback to an excellent app.

OnyX is a very handy application to have around. It'll ensure your Mac is always clean and tidy. And best of all, it's completely free.

Download OnyX for Leopard 2.0.6 in Softonic

Refinements include a more responsive Finder, Mail that loads messages up to twice as fast, Time Machine up to 80 percent faster, a Dock with Expose integration, QuickTime X with a redesigned player that allows users to easily view, record, trim and share video; and a 64-bit version of Safari 4 that is up to 50 percent faster and resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins.

Snow Leopard is also half the size of OS X 10.5 Leopard and frees-up to 7GB of drive space once installed. For the first time, Finder, Mail, iCal, iChat and Safari are all 64-bit and Snow Leopard also features support for 64-bit processors which uses a lot of RAM but increases performance and improves security.

Finally, Snow Leopard also introduces Grand Central Dispatch (GCD) which provides a revolutionary new way for software developers to write applications that take advantage of multicore processors.

Snow Leopard makes OS X faster and more powerful than ever and is an essential upgrade for any Mac user.

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iCleanMemory can be configured to automatically start when you startup your Mac so that all you need to do is click "Optimize Memory" when you need to clean memory. You can hide it in the Dock or Menu Bar as well as integrate iCleanMemory with Growl to notify you when a cleaning action has been completed.

iCleanMemory displays how much RAM you have remaining at any one time and clears it by simply optimizing the balance of RAM in your Mac to allow other apps to function more smoothly. It should be used with caution however - OS X is designed to balance and manage your RAM, and interfering with this could lead to instability and potential crashes.

iCleanMemory is however particularly useful for those that use highly intensive graphical applications such as graphic designers and video editors. It's also handy if you run intensive applications such as Parallels. For those with at least 4GB of RAM, it's probably not necessary but for those struggling on 2GB it could be ideal, especially if you've just upgraded to Snow Leopard.

iCleanMemory is a powerful tool that helps you instantly free-up space for applications.

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Dock Spaces is a small application that allows you to have up to 10 different docks and switch between them anytime you want from the menu bar. The organizational possibilities are endless. You can have one for work, one for leisure, one for games, one for video players etc. No longer will you spend precious time scanning your dock trying to find the right application.

You have some control over customization such as choosing between 2D and 3D icons, adjusting the transparency and it also supports stacks and Growler notifications. The previous version was a little slow switching from one Dock to another but the latest version, which is fully Snow Leopard compatible, makes it almost instantaneous meaning you don't miss a beat accessing your different Docks and applications. However, it is still occasionally subject to crashes and instability so use it with care.

There really isn't much to criticize about Dock Spaces other than it will probably tempt you to go crazy on installing new apps as organizing applications has never been easier.

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You can also use the application to create your own tasks and events, although you will not be able to add an alarm, set attendees or attachments. Today can be opened from either the menu bar or Dock for quick access.

Today almost works like a widget. You can bring it up in a click and have an overview of all the tasks and events for the day. It's perfect if you need to focus and do not want to open up iCal. Having it perfectly synchronize with iCal and Apple Mail means you never have to worry about if events and tasks are updated on all your different applications.

Although offering basic event and task creation, Today is a great tool to immediately see tasks and events for the day. It boasts perfect synchronization with iCal and Apple Mail.

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The program allows you to open, close and switch from applications in seconds. You can also browse through all of them via Application Wizard's expandable menu view. The program lets you create and open groups of applications, depending on your needs, and find frequently used apps. You'll be able to set behaviors for applications, like if they open up at startup or for background-only applications to quit.

The transparent interface is unobtrusive and actually quite elegant on your Mac and having all applications shown in a menu view puts everything in your reach. When closed, the application is still available as a little panel in your menu bar, which you can also set anywhere else on the screen. It did feel a bit unintuitive, as you do not know what each light corresponds to.

Application Wizard almost works as a replacement to your Dock and Finder, as it not only shows applications, files and drives but also available and used space. You can also preview files and images. Although some of these things you'll more or less get in Leopard, Application Wizard offers up a new way to browse through your Mac.

Application Wizard lets you handle all your Mac's content from one sleek menu.

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When OS X 10.5 (Leopard) changed the way that folders are represented in the Dock, users lost a useful hierarchical start menu that you could create simply by dragging the Applications folder to the end of the dock.

Why Apple chose to do-away with this feature is not clear but AppMenuBoy is an attempt to restore this option to Leopard. AppMenuBoy is a small Cocoa application that creates a hierarchical menu in the dock which displays all of your applications in alphabetical order simply by Ctrl-clicking or right-clicking on the AppMenuBoy icon.

I can definitely see how AppMenuBoy sould be particularly useful for those that have recently switched from Windows as it brings Start Menu style accessibility to the Mac. It's also nice to have your applications listed in alphabetical order because going into Finder to find an app you know you've got but can't find can be pain. I'd say the only downside of AppMenuBoy is that you can't edit the names of the entries which is annoying when my Yugma app simply appears as the version number instead.

AppMenuBoy is a great tool for anyone that misses the Windows Start Menu, doesn't like the Mac Dock or just wants a quick alphabetical reference of what's installed on their system.

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Have you ever been in a situation where your Dock or Dashboard is not loading properly or even crashing?

If so, quitDock widget can help you, by performing a simple reset of your Dashboard and Dock. It's ideal if you've suffered problems with either, or are concerned that one or the other is consuming far too much memory and is slowing down your system. Alternatively, developers can use it to test and retest components and widgets which they're designing for the Dock and Dashboard.

The Dashboard will be terminated immediately until you press F4 again to activate it. The Dock will reset and reappear within a few seconds. You can choose from three jazzy skins including a Tiger, Leopard and Dashboard theme. You can also choose whether you want a confirmation dialog before you quit anything.

quitDock is a handy reset tool for anyone suffering problems with the Dock or Dashboard. However, the fact that it's a dashboard widget means that if you have problems with the latter, you might not be able to access it anyway.

Download quitDock 1.2 in Softonic

Trampoline is a Dock-like application that brings your most used Mac applications onto your desktop in a smooth circular palette. Choose and arrange the programs, folders and files that you use most in the palette and you're ready to go. We quite liked how easy Trampoline was to activate, whether by hotkeys or mouse movements. This last option is quite fun if you haven't selected too many programs in Trampoline.

With a clear interface, Trampoline blends in perfectly on your desktop and makes your most used applications easily accessible. However, we do wonder whether it will be that useful once Leopard is launched, as the Finder and Dock will offer many ways to quickly access and even organize your applications and Finder.

Trampoline is an attractive Dock replacement to quickly launch any application or file.

Download Trampoline 2.4.1 in Softonic

Magnifique is an application that changes the themes of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard at the flick of a switch. In just a few clicks, you can have a totally new look on your Mac.

Best of all, it's completely free but note that it doesn't come pre-installed with themes. You have to download them from the developer's site where you'll find 17 different ones to choose from. If you're a developer, Magnifique can also help you distribute your own themes. In fact, it's a perfect tool for developers that need to find a wider audience for their themes and work.

The interface is fairly self explanatory but the Add Theme button allows you to add themes to your library while the Remove Theme button deletes the selected theme from your themes directory. Make Theme is aimed at developers who want to create their own theme. Refreshing the theme list will add or remove any themes you added or removed while Magnifique is running. Finally, Restart Finder will allow you to see the effects of changing a theme although this is like killing the Finder process in activity manager which I don't like doing at the best of times. Restart Dock does exactly the same thing with the Dock.

Magnifique is an interesting tool although it should be used with care. If you apply a theme and it damages your default OS X theme there's little you can do so make sure you've backed up everything first.

Download Magnifique 2.1 in Softonic

Dockchanger is a simple application for anyone who just can't get used to the new 3D dock in Mac OS Leopard. Thanks to this app you'll be able to revert to a more traditional 2D dock, although it'll incorporate new design features of the updated Dock, like the transparent look and light dots under active items.

We hope that Apple will incorporate a similar feature in later versions of Leopard, so users can decide what they like best.