Source: TUAW
Anyone have recommendations (or disrecommendations) for the best Mac OSX app for both system error monitoring and tune-up? If so, please let me know or post a comment below.
I’ll be the first to admit that the Mac Pro I use at home is probably being pushed beyond what it should be. I bought it back in 2008 and I use it in very abusive (aka “power-user”) ways. :) I’ve installed and uninstalled 100+ apps on it, checking out what new/interesting things there are out there and from sources as safe as the Apple App Store and as unsafe as a partially coded app from Github.
Source: 2nd Avenue Yoga
Yet it’s served me incredibly well and faithfully for nearly 5 years. I’ve only had two major problems with it, both failures of off-the-shelf hard drives that failed; nothing that has been really been caused the original machine hardware or OS software from Leopard through Lion. I think the fact that Mountain Lion does not support my Mac Pro’s hardware was the first point where I have realized that it’s time may have to come to an end. (I do like the always run the newest OS versions, including of Windows in Parallels; partially out of geek-fueled curiousity and partially for proferssional development .)
However over the past couple months, it’s started “acting funny” and “not working right”. I thought I’d found and fixed the culprit a few weeks back when I replaced the hard drive that was failing; that definitely solved a big set of the issues. But it didn’t get all of them.
But before I give into my impulse desires and buy that new, shiny, but way-way-overpriced Mac I really really want, I thought I should give some of the system performance tools out there a chance to swoop in and save my the day for my trusty and stable 2008 Mac Pro.
Here are my basic requirements:
- I want one app that will both run as a monitor that alerts me to problems and errors and runs as an app to repair issues. It can be two separate app binaries (aka a monitor process and the tune-up app), but they should be from the same package/family.
- It doesn’t need to be free, but it should be under $100 total cost. If it’s more than $30, I’d need a trial version to see if it even remotely meets its promises before I drop a Benjamin. But I happily will if it’s going to work; the new Mac is a lot, lot more that!
- I don’t really need something that tells me memory usage, network activity, etc all the time; I mostly just want problem alerts.
- It cannot use a Dashboard widget as a key part of it’s experience.
That’s pretty much all I’m looking for.
Here’s the apps I’m planning to give a shot:
- iBoostUp: Fail. Tried this one tonight; it didn’t even startup the app successfully. Left navigation pane didn’t draw upon initial app load. Finally got it to draw by clicking around and then the app completely froze. Not going to trust an app that doesn’t work itself to keep my Mac working…
- CCleaner: My #1 app for resolving “strange” or “it’s just not working right” problems on Windows PCs. It’s always one of the first things I run when starting to debug a PC and often ends up solving the issue for me. Haven’t used it much on the Mac yet and will likely try it out later, but is missing a feature I want in this test: ongoing monitoring and alerts. So doesn’t make the cut here.
- Magician: Fail.
- There is no option to uninstall! They’re website says to use the Uninstall option in the menu, but that option does not actually exist in the current version (1.4.3)
- I couldn’t find any support for the system error monitoring feature I am actually looking for.
- Simon: Looks interesting, but not really made for the single-user case I need.
What else should I try?
Update (5/6/2013): Magician = Fail. Updated details above.
As every year before it has been, 2012 was also a wide ride here at Redfin. It was a year of growth across the company across the board (which is awesome that we are lucky to have the success to do.) I personally feel blessed by the new chances I’ve been given to try many new things and still get better at some old skills too.
