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Running OS X without the Dock
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NobleMatt
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Jan 8, 2011, 08:09 PM
 
Im contemplating running OS X with out the Dock being visible and just using apps like Alfred to launch apps... and i guess alt + tab to see running apps and close them.

I've read a few ways or effectively turning off the dock (but none so far that just turn the dock off) and before i gave it a go thought i would ask to see if anyone has attempted or even does run OS X like this and their opinions.

Matt
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Jan 8, 2011, 09:04 PM
 
I use LaunchBar to start apps and wouldn't miss the Dock...curious how this thread goes as I may follow your lead...
     
fisherKing
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Jan 8, 2011, 09:40 PM
 
i hate the dock, and haven't used it in several years; i use dockgone to keep it tucked away. i work on a 13" macbook, and i've always wanted to work fullscreen; this app lets me do that.

i use another custom launcher (the excellent "folderglance") to access my most-used apps and folders, and love it.

i use a key-command to bring the dock up if i ever need it (like to access the trash), but that's it.

i love working this way...
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
NobleMatt  (op)
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Jan 9, 2011, 06:58 AM
 
ok gonna give it a go today, but got a feeling its gonna be harder than i thought to run OS X like this
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fisherKing
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Jan 9, 2011, 10:15 AM
 
Originally Posted by NobleMatt View Post
ok gonna give it a go today, but got a feeling its gonna be harder than i thought to run OS X like this

why? use your launcher to open programs/folders. in the window menu (on the menubar) you'll see any windows you minimized with this *

(i never minimize, i use command-H to hide windows).

try it; full screen on any mac ROCKS.
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
NobleMatt  (op)
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Jan 9, 2011, 12:40 PM
 
its was just a few apps like Tweetdeck (now switching to Twitter app to solve this) and itunes that when the windows is closed and you make that app active (using cmd tab) it doesn't open a window
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fisherKing
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Jan 9, 2011, 08:20 PM
 
in itunes (for example), just click on the window menu and click on itunes in the dropdown and the window re-appears.

or, command-H is great because it hides an app, and bringing it up with cmd-tab brings it back with it's open window(s)....
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
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Jan 10, 2011, 02:12 PM
 
I gave up on the Apple Dock years ago; I keep it safely tucked away on the right side of my Desktop so I can easily access the Trash.

I highly recommend DragThing About DragThing. The name does not do this app justice: it is the Apple Dock on steroids and So Much More.

The primary feature that I use is the ability to create multiple docks that can be customized in myriad ways, placed anywhere on the Desktop either hidden or visible.

Next to 1Password DragThing is my most used app on a daily basis.
     
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Jan 11, 2011, 05:15 AM
 
Hey, 2001 called - they want their thread back.

All of you who gave up on the Dock years ago - it's a much better tool now than it used to be. I used to use Drop Drawers (a lot like DragThing - when the developer stopped developing it, he organized a sidegrade with DragThing and DragThing gained a few features from Drop Drawers) but the Dock is fine these days. I keep it on the right (although pinned to the bottom, the only hack I use), leave commonly used apps directly in it and keep a few folders with the shortcuts I used to have in drawers. For anything else, there's Spotlight.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
NobleMatt  (op)
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Jan 11, 2011, 07:30 AM
 
I just came across an issue but managed to find a surprising solution, i wanted to drag an image out of Safari and in Photoshop, i would normally just drag it over the icon and it would load in.

I found out that if you use cmd + tab and click and drag it over an already open PS it actually loaded into the program from that menu.

Im still enjoying dockless running, having everything full screen is sexy... how do i get rid of the task bar? lol
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Jan 11, 2011, 08:20 AM
 
The Mac has no task bar.

Windows' task bar is the quasi-Dock at the bottom of the screen.

Drag and drop works across Exposé and Spaces, as well, btw.
     
philm
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Jan 11, 2011, 11:39 AM
 
Originally Posted by NobleMatt View Post
Im contemplating running OS X with out the Dock being visible and just using apps like Alfred to launch apps... and i guess alt + tab to see running apps and close them.

I've read a few ways or effectively turning off the dock (but none so far that just turn the dock off) and before i gave it a go thought i would ask to see if anyone has attempted or even does run OS X like this and their opinions.

Matt
Am I missing something here? Why not just hide the dock to achieve what you want to do?
     
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Jan 11, 2011, 11:46 AM
 
Cant you open terminal, type "top" then kill the dock process there by its number?
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Jan 11, 2011, 02:11 PM
 
Originally Posted by philm View Post
Am I missing something here? Why not just hide the dock to achieve what you want to do?
for me (for example), the dock just gets in the way; am on a 13" mbp, i WANT the whole screen (for apps like logic, photoshop, safari).

it's GREAT to not have the dock constantly popping up when i hover near any part of the screen
(and i REALLY like folderglance which lets me access any apps or folders i want, anywhere on the screen (ie as contextual menus).

"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
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Jan 11, 2011, 04:06 PM
 
Originally Posted by Moderator View Post
Cant you open terminal, type "top" then kill the dock process there by its number?
Yes, but it will restart, same as if you killed Finder.

Originally Posted by fisherKing
or me (for example), the dock just gets in the way; am on a 13" mbp, i WANT the whole screen (for apps like logic, photoshop, safari).
If it's hidden, it takes no space from windows, and you can make what shows up REALLY tiny. 8 pixel icons are possible in the GUI, but it goes all the way down to 1 pixel if you use the Terminal.

(For fun, try setting the size to 1 and enabling magnification)

Originally Posted by fisherKing
it's GREAT to not have the dock constantly popping up when i hover near any part of the screen
(and i REALLY like folderglance which lets me access any apps or folders i want, anywhere on the screen (ie as contextual menus).
To each his own, but that last sounds like a perfect example of the type of shortcut that is so complicated to actually perform that it feels fast to use but really isn't.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
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Jan 11, 2011, 04:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
If it's hidden, it takes no space from windows, and you can make what shows up REALLY tiny. 8 pixel icons are possible in the GUI, but it goes all the way down to 1 pixel if you use the Terminal.

(For fun, try setting the size to 1 and enabling magnification)

To each his own, but that last sounds like a perfect example of the type of shortcut that is so complicated to actually perform that it feels fast to use but really isn't.
i don't see the point of this; am happy not to see ANY dock; why do i want a 'cartoon' 1pxl dock popping up every time i mouse over an area of the screen?

it's a contextual menu i set up in advance; pops up like any contextual menu, and voila! i open a program, or a folder. simple as could be...

you're right about this: 'to each his own'...
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
King Bob On The Cob
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Jan 11, 2011, 05:14 PM
 
Originally Posted by Moderator View Post
Cant you open terminal, type "top" then kill the dock process there by its number?
The Dock is responsible for drawing the desktop, so you can't kill it in the UNIX way or else you end up with some real problems. Not as bad as SystemUIServer and how it used to be responsible for mounted media, but nearly as silly. If you forced it to stay dead (I think a kill -9 will do), some Applications will act up and crash because they want to draw to their dock icon. The best bet is to use a runtime hack that tells the dock that it cannot respond to unhide events, and turn off dock bouncing.
     
fisherKing
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Jan 11, 2011, 05:36 PM
 
dockgone really does work well for me; have been using it for years...
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
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Jan 11, 2011, 06:31 PM
 
Originally Posted by fisherKing View Post
i don't see the point of this; am happy not to see ANY dock; why do i want a 'cartoon' 1pxl dock popping up every time i mouse over an area of the screen?
Because it's good to avoid hacking if you can?

Originally Posted by fisherKing View Post
it's a contextual menu i set up in advance; pops up like any contextual menu, and voila! i open a program, or a folder. simple as could be...
Yes, I understand - that's not my point. Doing complicated things - like navigating one tiny menu through several submenus to find the right thing to click - feels faster than it really is, while doing many simple things - like doubleclicking several large icons to navigate the file system down to the position of the actual file you want - fells slower than it is. This phenomenon is well documented, not least by Apple's Human Interface Group back in the eighties. Your option opens a big contextual menu (that isn't contextual any more) for you to find a fairly small target. Selecting one of the apps is probably easy enough, but still way slower than clicking it in the Dock. Selecting something in one of the submenus is going to be way slower - so slow in fact that you'd be much better off going to the Finder and locating the file.

The OS is full of launcher options that are going to be faster (on a stopwatch - not necessarily in your head) than what you have set up. The Dock would be way faster. You can put icons on the desktop - which you have to reach anyway for your current scheme to work - and get there with Expose. Typing into Spotlight would be faster.

Dragthing is a fine app if you want a more "professional" (ie, powerful but potentially overwhelming) UI, but your setup makes no sense to me. The foldermenu thing was a worthwhile addition on OS 9 where there was no browser mode and you might have lots of files hidden 10 levels down for whatever reason, but there are better ways to do it now.

Originally Posted by fisherKing View Post
you're right about this: 'to each his own'...
Force of habit is a very powerful thing, and changing to a new interface is hard if you're used to the old one, but that logic also leads you down blind alleys as you patch a system that didn't work very well to begin with. The Dock got lots of heat when it was new, and much of it justified, but the current Dock has very little in common with that one, and there are many other user interface functions that have been added over the years. Give them a try some time.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
fisherKing
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Jan 11, 2011, 08:36 PM
 
ah, well...have 'hacked' a lot of my mac; deleted front row (and it's associated files; hated it popping up accidently sometimes); custom menubar, windows, safari, itunes...scrollbars, etc. so for me this is a simple thing.

i love the mac (and have since 9.1), but i love finding my own way as well. besides, have been a mac support peep for a decade.

whatever works; having options is a great thing...
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
NobleMatt  (op)
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Jan 12, 2011, 10:25 AM
 
The Mac has no task bar.

Windows' task bar is the quasi-Dock at the bottom of the screen.

Drag and drop works across Exposé and Spaces, as well, btw.
what ever u call the bit at the top then (and i was joking) but actually with something like keycue installed u could run it with out that.

it's GREAT to not have the dock constantly popping up when i hover near any part of the screen
seconded

the only thing i get with DockGone is this with expose

im enjoying it so far, no real issues, wondering if i should have gone with launch bar and not Alfred
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Jan 12, 2011, 03:05 PM
 
I'm not sure why or how you'd want to run an application without its menu bar.

Um.
     
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Jan 12, 2011, 03:38 PM
 
Originally Posted by fisherKing View Post
ah, well...have 'hacked' a lot of my mac; deleted front row (and it's associated files; hated it popping up accidently sometimes);
You realize that all you really needed to do was to remap the key shortcut in System Preferences, right?

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fisherKing
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Jan 12, 2011, 03:45 PM
 
Originally Posted by CharlesS View Post
You realize that all you really needed to do was to remap the key shortcut in System Preferences, right?
of course, but that's not the point: i deleted spaces, and time machine (and some other stuff as well).
i don't use them, so am happy to remove them.

that's just me, of course... (am a minimalist at heart).
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
CharlesS
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Jan 12, 2011, 03:53 PM
 
That's fine, people like you drive demand for my app.

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Spheric Harlot
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Jan 12, 2011, 04:18 PM
 
Originally Posted by fisherKing View Post
of course, but that's not the point: i deleted spaces, and time machine (and some other stuff as well).
i don't use them, so am happy to remove them.

that's just me, of course... (am a minimalist at heart).
4.5 Megabytes of saved space by removing Time Machine, Front Row, and Spaces.

You hacker, you. I envy your system's lack of bloat.
     
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Jan 12, 2011, 04:20 PM
 
Originally Posted by CharlesS View Post
That's fine, people like you drive demand for my app.
I think it's reprehensible you're profiting off of crazy people.
yes that's a joke
     
fisherKing
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Jan 12, 2011, 05:40 PM
 
yikes. just having fun... i like deleting files, apps i don't use (am sure this goes back to my early mac days, when HD space was more critical.

i know what i'm doing (i AM a mac tech by day), and enjoy keeping a 'clean, tight' ship (so to speak).
pacifist is a great app, btw...
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
NobleMatt  (op)
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Jan 12, 2011, 08:10 PM
 
I'm not sure why or how you'd want to run an application without its menu bar.
i was joking....
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