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mugget · May 10, 2004, 07:33 AM

hello everyone,

i've been wondering how to do this for a while now, and i thought i'd ask here, as it seems to be the most active OS X modding forum on the net (at least that i know of

).

well you know when you change a theme, or an app crashes, then the top Finder menu disappears for a bit... well i'm wondering if there's any way to recreate that? or you know when sometimes you've changed a theme with apps open, then open another app that uses the new theme, and the top menu bar seems to 'slide' out from the top? that would be a cool thing to do as well. anyone know any tricks to get the OS to behave like this?

or is there an app perhaps that will make the top menu bar act like the Dock, only come down when you mouse-over, then pop away?

i did try searching the forums here for answers to this, but i couldnt' find anything, so sorry if this has already been discussed.

well, any help would be much appreciated!

idle · May 10, 2004, 07:53 AM

we had a thread about this a while ago. its an application enhancer called barmaid. there are some wonky memory leakage problems tho aswell as some others...

go here: http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hlight=Barmaid

there should be a DL link aswell.

cheerz.

codywalton · May 10, 2004, 07:54 AM

actually there is.

http://homepage.mac.com/codywalton/fark/Barmaid.ape.zip

It requires APE, and it does work, but I found it to too buggy to use all the time. The way it makes the menubar disappear is that it emulates the DVD player app, so if you try to play a DVD while using this, it will crash. Also there are some issues with windows getting "trapped" behind the menubar. But go ahead and try it out. See if you like it.

mugget · May 10, 2004, 08:04 AM

excellent. thanks for the linkage.

i'll try that out, but i'm also wondering if there's any way to mod the finder.app perhaps to get the actual 'bakcground' coloured part to always stay off? i'm guessing that'd be a bit more risky...

anyone know a manual way to do this? or is Barmaid the only way?

it's not that i think that Barmaid will be unsuitable, but i just want to know all possible ways to do it.

fisherKing · May 10, 2004, 09:35 PM

uh...
how do i get barmaid to hide the menubar in the finder?
(it only seems to work with sys prefs open...)

Fonzie · May 11, 2004, 12:34 AM

Originally posted by fisherKing:
uh...
how do i get barmaid to hide the menubar in the finder?
(it only seems to work with sys prefs open...)

I have found that one must log out and log in again or restart.

it is nice this Barmaid, too bad Konfabulator is not working with it

not here anyways.

mugget · May 11, 2004, 04:25 AM

sweet!

i've just been using Barmaid today, it's awesome! now i can reclaim those extra 22 pixels from the top of the screen.

i did have some problems when i first enabled it, iTunes wouldn't quit properly, and other apps messed up. but after a log-in it all worked fine.

i just wish there was a way to get the menu items to stay up the top, and just remove the colored background from the menu bar...

Frisbee · May 11, 2004, 05:25 AM

I just downloaded it, and I have to say, it's pretty nifty. I just wish it wouldn't hide my dock as well... Although if it's emulating the DVD player, then I guess it makes sense.

Ozzpot · May 11, 2004, 05:47 AM

I really like the idea of it, but it stops Backlight from running. I'd rather keep my marine aquarium in the background, so I had to trash Barmaid. I realised that I actually quite like the look of my menubar anyway.

mugget · May 11, 2004, 06:19 AM

well it was good to play with Barmaid, but my whole system just locked up. no kernel panic, or crashes or anything, just locked up with the 'disk space full message' that gets you to force quit apps. i'm guessing this is because of Barmaid... memory leak or something?

well i also just tried to play a DVD, for got about Barmaid, & locked up DVD player.

also, it makes the MenuMeters almost useless, you've got to mouse over the Finder menu bar to see them. now i realise that i like my menu bar as well.

but it would be really cool to get rid of the background color for the menu, and still have the MenuMeters and everything just sitting there...

oh well, i might return to Barmaid in the future...

Fonzie · May 12, 2004, 09:14 AM

Originally posted by Ozzpot:
I really like the idea of it, but it stops Backlight from running. I'd rather keep my marine aquarium in the background, so I had to trash Barmaid. I realised that I actually quite like the look of my menubar anyway.

How does your Mac cope with that screensaver running in the bg ? What type of Mac do you have ? curious

Ozzpot · 12:05 PM

Originally posted by Fonzie:
How does your Mac cope with that screensaver running in the bg ? What type of Mac do you have ? curious

I have a G4 iBook 933mhz, 640mb RAM, 60gb HD and 10.3.3.

With my current settings, Backlight uses 10-20% CPU, 20mb RAM and 650mb Virtual Memory. I don't know why CPU load fluctuates so much. It can go as low as 7%. Sometimes as high as 25%. I'd say it averages 17%. I usually have 5 fish swimming around. I just can't go without it now. I've tried having regular desktop pics, even changing every 5 seconds, but it just isn't the same! Some people think that $25 is too much for a screensaver, but I don't think so. You need to use it like I do to appreciate how great it is. It's a good thing Backlight is freeware, though!

Here is a snap of it:

http://www.spymac.com/gallery/show_p...7&size=big

details beneath picture. Please direct comments to the Official screenshot thread thing. You know what I mean. That 3000+ reply thing. It is posted over there anyway.

Fonzie · May 12, 2004, 01:24 PM

Originally posted by Ozzpot:
I have a G4 iBook 933mhz, 640mb RAM, 60gb HD and 10.3.3.

With my current settings, Backlight uses 10-20% CPU, 20mb RAM and 650mb Virtual Memory. I don't know why CPU load fluctuates so much. It can go as low as 7%. Sometimes as high as 25%. I'd say it averages 17%. I usually have 5 fish swimming around. I just can't go without it now. I've tried having regular desktop pics, even changing every 5 seconds, but it just isn't the same! Some people think that $25 is too much for a screensaver, but I don't think so. You need to use it like I do to appreciate how great it is. It's a good thing Backlight is freeware, though!

Here is a snap of it:

http://www.spymac.com/gallery/show_p...7&size=big

details beneath picture. Please direct comments to the Official screenshot thread thing. You know what I mean. That 3000+ reply thing. It is posted over there anyway.

Cool

I have an 800Mhz G4. I registered that Marine Aquarium a while ago.
I will give it a spin. How about when you open your Finder-windows ? Don't they give in for a while?

What about that 3000+ post thing ?

Ozzpot · May 12, 2004, 01:32 PM

Thanks for the compliment.

1). No, there are no noticable adverse effects to the finder. Windows appear as fast as they always do, scrolling is as quick as ever, etc. Backlight doesn't pause, flinch or anything. It is all smooth as silk and as you would expect from a Mac.

The only flaw is when you drag an object with transparency or animation (such as a Widget or window that has been "tranparencified(!)" with Windowshade X accross the screen. Backlight does this very minor sort of flashing effect under the drag region. That's all!

2). I was referring to the "Official OS X customization snapshot thread" here: http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...79#post1982179

I just took a flamethrower to Spymac over there!

miloszwl · May 12, 2004, 02:38 PM

i like my menu bar i will never hide it

. It is so useful and so classic. And 22px? God. If you use 1280x960 it isn't so much