If you’re like me, you like having your computer boot-up as fast as possible. There’s not much worse than turning your computer on in the morning, going grabbing some coffee, and returning only to find your computer still chugging away, loading your desktop. This isn’t necessarily a problem for those lucky enough to have enormous amounts of RAM and excess processing power, however for most of us, loading numerous programs at start-up takes longer than desired.
This is a problem that users of all platforms share, however here I’ll be focusing on what I did for my MacBook Pro. On my Mac, there are a few programs I always have running besides Mail, my web browser and any documents I may be working on. These include Dropbox, Quicksilver, and Twitteriffic. One solution would be to disable all these programs from running at startup. Doing this would mean that every time I turn on my computer, I would have to open all those programs manually; something I’d rather not spend time doing.
I had seen Windows applications that allow you to specify a time-delay for startup programs so your system doesn’t get bogged down trying to launch everything at once. I didn’t find a program like this for Mac, however the Mac Tips and Tricks blog pointed out how you could write your own such program easily using tools already included with the OS.
Their solution was to use either Applescript or Automator to force applications to start after a pre-set delay. I won’t repeat the instructions as they are available here. Currently, I am using the Applescript solution as the Automator (while easier to do) resulted in my apps’ menubar icons being placed awkwardly in the middle of the menubar as opposed to their usual spot near the system clock.
All in all, I think this is a pretty cool trick and has prompted me to play around a lot more with Automator and Applescript. Any ideas or suggestions?
@USuMBS I figured out a great way to have your Google Calendar exist in both Gmail and Cmail. Just need a way to add MobileMe to the mix. in reply to USuMBS#
In todays rough economic times, it’s always good to play it on the safe side when it comes to your finances. A little while back, I wrote about Mint, a great way to manage and see you finances across all your accounts and assets. Another favorite of mine, is BillShrink. While it’s credit card recommendation tool is similar to Mint’s, they also have a great tool for figuring out the best cell phone plan based on your current usage.
While both those sites are a great way for you to get a sense of your money, it’s also important to know how companies view your financial situation. By law you are entitled to a free credit report every 12 months. You can get this report from each of the three credit reporting bureaus at sites like annualcreditreport.com. What is lacking from this report however, is what most people are really interested in; that is the actual credit score. A site i found (via the Mint blog), is CreditKarma. Upon (free) registration, you will have access to your actual credit score and see how it compares to other demographics. They also provide a bunch of tools to help you calculate how different factors (such as taking out a loan or applying for another credit card) would immediately impact your score.
Having good credit will only make things easier down the road so these sites are definitely worth a look. For more information on all the credit report and credit rating business along with tons of other useful personal finance information, be sure to check out the Mint blog!
“A study of cheating among graduate students, published in 2006 in the journal Academy of Management Learning & Education, found that 56 percent of all M.B.A. students cheated regularly – more than in any other discipline. The authors attributed that to “perceived peer behavior” – in other words, students believed everyone else was doing it.”
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