[cmeisenzahl]

Nothing ground-breaking here, but I'll pass it along just in case.

"There are certain things that would help Mac OS X perform well and be more responsive (you could say 'snappy'). Here are some ways to eliminate the typical bottlenecks."

http://guides.macrumors.com/Enhancin...ce_Of_Mac_OS_X

[CharlesS]

The site contains more of the usual piffle about OS X requiring "routine maintenance." Because God knows that if /Library/Application Support/Macromedia/Shockwave 10/Xtras has a permissions mode of drwxr-xr-x instead of drwxrwxr-x, that will have such a drastic effect on performance.

This site actually recommends wasting even more time by recommending that users click Verify Permissions first to see if there are any "problems" before clicking Repair Permissions, so they have to wait for the scan twice. I've got news for you, buddy - there are always going to be files with permissions differing from what the packages in /Library/Receipts say.

Also, the header that says "Don't install too many applications" shortly before admitting that it doesn't matter one bit how many apps you have, as long as they're not login items or haxies.

And in order to fix this, I'd have to get an account at the MacRumors forums. Could someone sane who has an account please edit that?

[RadarBob2]

The only thing Mac help says for improving performance is to "fix permissions."

Faster hardware makes the OS run faster? Doh! I shoulda bought a dual dual PowerMac. Damn, what was i thinking?

More memory? Yeah. Always. But theoretically at some point more memory makes no difference. I wonder where the point of diminishing returns is. All I know is given my 640MB I open 1 app, I open 10, it's hard to tell the difference.

What's a "haxie"?

Not having lots of startup items to enhance performance is BS. yes, boot up takes longer because you're launching programs. But it's still *performing*. More memory helps with lots of programs open simultaneously. The fact that they are launched on startup is irrelevant.

Oh, and if you're on a laptop, running with an AC adapter *definitely* ehnances performance. On my 900Mhz iBook, the difference between on AC and on battery is dramatic. Unlike OS 9, in OS X you have no control of the CPU when on battery vs. AC.

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by RadarBob2

The only thing Mac help says for improving performance is to "fix permissions."

Not on mine. On my Tiger installation, Mac Help recommends to get more RAM, check Activity Monitor to see if some app is hogging the processor, and make sure the processor's performance isn't ramped down in Energy Saver. All of which make a lot more sense than repairing permissions to solve a performance-related issue.

file:///Library/Documentation/Help/MacHelp.help/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/pgs/mh350.html

(Sorry I had to use the CGI redirect to make this link work. For some reason, clicking a file: URL from a MacNN post doesn't seem to work right in Safari, Shiira, Camino, or Firefox. I have no idea why.)

What's a "haxie"?

A program that patches some other program, injecting code into the app to modify its behavior in some way that the programmer didn't intend. As a result, it can lead to unexpected behavior. It's sort of like OS 9 extensions, except that they're not officially sanctioned anymore, so haxie writers have resorted to abusing systems that were intended for completely different purposes, such as the debugger, the Input Manager plug-in mechanism, etc. in order to get inside the other app and inject the code.

This site is the main source of haxies:

http://www.unsanity.com/

Not having lots of startup items to enhance performance is BS. yes, boot up takes longer because you're launching programs. But it's still *performing*. More memory helps with lots of programs open simultaneously. The fact that they are launched on startup is irrelevant.

Well, you end up with more apps open, which could use more RAM. And it does take longer to start up, which could be annoying, I guess.

[alphasubzero949]

Fixing permissions does NOT improve performance. Repairing permissions simply looks to /Library/Receipts for the default permissions to be set for the installed software.

In reality, all you're really doing is setting /Applications to have the permissions of root:admin 0755. That alone does not do anything for OS X except for making sure that you have "permission" to correctly open and run things.