Four Ways to Speed Up Your Mac

Macs are known for their blazing speeds and quickness. However, sometimes things just don’t seem to be going as smoothly as they should. There are many apps such as Onyx and MainMenu that can help speed it up, but I tend to use those as a last resort. When my Mac slows down, I go through this little checklist:

The Obvious: Check your Dock!
I’m sure all of you know this, but it’s a really common mistake made by new Mac users. Unlike Windows, closing an app does not equal quitting an app. Some apps, like Preview, are particularly stubborn in this respect. So, step one is to check for little black arrows. The best way to avoid this problem in the first place is to use ⌘+Q to quit apps, instead of clicking the red bubble. Not only does this avoid leaving apps open, it also saves time. Not all running apps are shown in the Dock; some apps may leave some processes, or “helper apps” running after they quit. Open Activity Monitor (Applications/Utilities) and sort the processing by “Real Memory” and “% CPU” to see what might be taking up resources. One common problem process is “truebluenvironment”, which is related to Classic on PPC machines. Also make sure to check your Menu Bar, some apps also hide here instead of the Dock.

Clean Up! Desktop Messiness
Every folder you keep on your desktop is treated like an open Finder window. Not only that, but that kind of disorganization slows you down anyway. On my desktop, I have a folder called “Box” where I put things I’m working on. That way, instead of dozens of files clogging my desktop, I have one folder with dozens of files clogging it up.

Photo Slideshows: Just Another Slowdown
The photo slideshow desktop feature is one that many people use. I know some people that even have it changing every 5 seconds. However, look at it this way; you wouldn’t do work with iPhoto running a slideshow all the time, would you? It’s the same principle. A constant movie in the background slows things down. Change it to a less frequent time period, like 15 minutes or a half hour. You still get a new picture almost every time you look at your desktop, but your machine will run more smoothly as well.

Your Choice Holy Man: Choose Wisely
Are you one of those people that pop open MS Word for everything? Do you open an audio file in iTunes for one use, then delete it from the library? Do you do the same with images in iPhoto? TextEdit, QuickTime, and Preview are all better options for… well, previewing files. When a smaller, faster app will do the job, choose it instead of a more full-featured bloated one.

I hope these tips, although they may be somewhat obvious, help you out. What do you do to keep your Mac running at its fastest?