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Simplicity is a rising movement.
People are trying to get rid of the superfluous clutter that we often dub an interface.
Features are no longer to be measured in the number of buttons on your screen.
Simplicity is also functionality.
Keeping a clean desk allows you to get things done.
Admit it, you don’t reallylikethat mess, you just don’t feel like cleaning it up.
Here are five simple steps towards a bare and ultimately functional Mac.
Not cleaning them up.Hidingthem.
I know how rash this may sound to some of you.
In the end, you’ll wonder why people bother with desktops anymore.
Mac OS X does not, by default, allow you to hide your dekstop icons.
Freeware applicationCamouflagewill take care of the job.
By double-clicking your (empty) wallpaper, your Desktop (folder) will pop up in Finder.
Jacksonpreviously mentionedCamouflage, along with other tools to help spice up your desktop.
Hide The Dock
Next, we’ll take care of the Dock.
Hiding it will declutter your desktop even further and, more importantly, free up space.
Unless you’ve got three monitors, the extra space won’t hurt.
Right click (or Control+click) on the dock’s separator.
A menu will pop up.
The menu bar perfectly integrates with each system’s interface.
Instead of hiding the Menu Bar, you’ve got the option to dim it.
This will keep it from stealing focus from other applications, and from being burned into your display permanently.
Although there are a number of freeware alternatives, I highly recommendMenu Eclipse.
This software allows you to configure the dim-rate of your menu bar (or black it out entirely).
By default, the menu bar jumps back into focus when hovering over it with your mouse.
If you’re willing to compromise visibility, this can be turned off as well.
Configure Apple’s Expose
Expose is the collective term for a number of window-accessibility tools.
With the flick of a mouse, they will create order out of the chaos.
Learn more about Expose in a previously published articleBecome A Multitasking Master With These 6 Expose Tips.
Automatically Hide Idle Applications with Spirited Away
This last system is a real novelty.
It will monitor all open applications, and hide them when they’ve been idle for too long.
It’s as if they were spirited away!
Jackson previously touched on it in his article6 Apps To Help You Focus & Be Productive.
By default, the utility is set to hide everything that hasn’t been touched for sixty seconds.
This ensures that only the active program is visible on your screen.
Tip: useCommand+Option+Hto toggle Spirited Away on or off.
