Every so often I'll go through my Mac's hard drive and delete stuff that's just sitting around. The downloads folder fills with junk especially fast. I also download lots of software out of curiosity, and after a few months my applications folder is bulging.

While installing Mac software is often as easy as a click, uninstalling takes a bit more work. Rather than hunt around for preference files, etc. I use AppZapper. By simply dropping an app onto the cute raygun icon, AppZapper finds all of that application's related files -- preferences, caches, etc. -- and lists them in a window. With a click, it "zaps" them (you can disable that sound effect) to the trash.

Fortunately, they aren't deleted for good, so you can recover something zapped by mistake. Once you're ready, simply empty the trash to reclaim all of that precious hard drive space. Pro tip: Move it to your Finder Window's sidebar for easy drag-and-drop access.

AppZapper requies Tiger or Leopard and the $12.95US pricetag includes free upgrades for life. There are other apps that do this, yes, but AppZapper works perfectly for me.

Update: Some readers are reporting that AppZapper doesn't work properly under Leopard. It's never given me any trouble, but if you want an alternative, Hazel is a good one.

This time around in Mac 101 I thought it would be good to talk about uninstalling applications on the Mac, especially for the recent switchers out there. Unlike Windows, Mac OS X does not have a native utility for uninstalling applications. Most (though not all) applications are installed just by dragging and dropping them into the Applications folder, and most are similarly got rid of by dragging them to the trash. However, when you do that you often leave behind preference and support files, especially in your user Library folder hierarchy (/Users/yourname/Library, as distinct from /Library which is "owned" by Mac OS X).

While you can root these files out yourself, it's sometimes far from obvious where they are. To resolve this, a new class of uninstallers have appeared on the scene to address the problem. One of the first was AppZapper ($12.95), but many more have arisen like AppDelete (donations requested), SuperPop ($15), and CleanApp ($10). With most of these you choose the application you want deleted by dropping it on the uninstaller (or choosing it from a list); hit a button and the application plus its support files are sent to the trash. Taking a slightly different approach, Yank ($19.95) actually monitors your system while you are installing applications and creates a "Yank File" that records the location of everything created by the application. You then uninstall by running the Yank File.

Finally, there are uninstallers that integrate with the Trash itself, requiring no separate interface. Into this class fall Hazel ($21.95), which also does other automatic file management tasks, and AppTrap (donations requested). What's great about these last two is that you can just drag an application to the trash and they will automatically look for and offer to delete the support files. Indeed, this seems to me to be the most Mac-like and elegant approach. For my own part I mostly just use Hazel, though I still throw things at AppZapper now and again.

Jason Swadley of InsanelyMac.com let us know about his posting of the Ten Commandments of Mac Optimization (I especially enjoyed the HotWp1 joke). The list is an interesting one, because it's a good mix of actual software tips, and what you might call mindset suggestions. On the practical tips side, Swadley recommends apps like Onyx and AppFresh, to keep your Mac running so fresh and so clean clean. I agree, too, with his tip about periodically taking stock of installed apps, and pruning the tree, so to speak. Like him, I tend to download and try out lots of stuff, and so it's worth it, maybe once every two weeks, to run back through the Applications folder and clear out (with AppZapper, of course) what I'm not using anymore.

But Swadley's other tips are for a much more holistic form of Mac optimization. He talks about removing peripherals that aren't used, buying every piece of software you find useful, and even not coveting your neighbor's Mac (because upgrading your own older machine might be more optimal than carting around a brand new release that you won't use half of).

I like it-- it's definitely a more widespread version of these kinds of lists than I'm normally used to, and all the tips are certainly good ones, even if you've heard them all before.

Everyone loves AppZapper for removing unwanted applications, and while many have called for something like it to be included in future versions of OS X, AppTrap comes closer to replicating the Mac simplicity we all enjoy so much. Expanding on the drag-and-drop workflow used to install programs, simply drag the unused application to the trash, and AppTrap pops up asking if you'd also like to delete any associated files.

AppTrap is free, open source, and installed as a system preference pane.

Strange things have been afoot in the Mac shareware community over the past few days; manifested by the cute-as-a-button icon you see to the right popping up on multiple different sites. All we know about this cute lil' guy so far is that his name is Hubert.

Oh, and he doesn't want us to talk about him.

It's probably safe to say that Hubert is the brainchild of Mac Marketing guru Phill Ryu, and developer Austin Sarner of Disco and AppZapper fame is probably involved as well. If I had to hazard a based on what information we have, I'd say Austin is working on a new application, and a fun one at that. Maybe the OS X equivalent of BonziBUDDY? At this point, we can't do much more than speculate, but perhaps you readers will do some digging and find some info that I might have missed. Good luck!

UPDATE: Changed the link in the middle of the post because apparently it now links to a porn site. Gotta love the internet. Link now goes to something a little more apropos.

A few days ago I sat down (virtually) with the 3 developers who will be coding the winning ideas from My Dream App (they are also judges). Austin Sarner (AppZapper), Jason Harris (Shapeshifter, ThemePark, and Chicken of the VNC to name a few), and Martin Ott (SubEthaEdit) have a big task ahead of them. At the moment over 1700 ideas have been submitted to My Dream App and not only will these guys be programming the final 3, they also help choose them.

After the jump is a longish chat that I had with Austin, Jason, and Martin. We go over their programming chops, why they decided to join up with MDA, and why they are so excited about the concept.

MacZot and the guys behind AppZapper are asking all you hard working readers to fork over your cash for a yet-to-be-announced application by the name of Disco. The idea is you get in early at a price way below what the app will eventually cost; and you get access to the private beta.

Not much is known about Disco other than a few small screenshots, some hints given on the MacZot page, and some super-seekrit classified info (italicized for your reading pleasure) that I've been able to acquire from an anonymous source. What we know it does:

- 3D particle effects
- Motion sensing
- Sound sensing
- At times, the app icon will begin smoking as an indication of certain application activity

According to my source, a lot of effort has been put into making Disco look really, really good. Although it might sound that Disco is just a lot of fluff, I can assure you that it does serve a real purpose, and does do something useful. I just cant tell you what that something is.

When it comes to uninstalling crap from OS X there is only one program that you should turn to (other than the Trash can) and that's AppZapper. Everyone's favorite application deletion software was just been updated to version 1.6.

New in version 1.6 are:

• Sparkle, for auto updating
• multi QuickZap™ which allows you to delete multiple things at once
• Better at deleting all files associated with an app

AppZapper costs $12.95, with a family license for $18.

AppZapper is one of my favorite utilities. As you can see from the screenshot at right, it's one of only two applications to earn the honor of a spot in my Finder windows' toolbar (ImageWell is the other). For the uninitiated, AppZapper lets you easily uninstall software. Just drop your target app's icon onto AppZapper and it searches your Mac for all related files. One click and they're all sent to the trash. Nice and easy.

Today, version 1.5 has been made available. Changes include:

• Several bug fixes
• Resized QuickZap icons
• Reworked window resizing

There's more, of course, including the coolest new feature, ZapGenie. This lets you sort your applications by the last time they were used. Quickly find and eliminate those apps you downloaded, tried once and then abandoned months ago! AppZapper requires Tiger and a one-time fee of $12.95US includes free upgrades for life.

What will those kooky kids at macZOT! do next? Well, at the moment they seem determined to give away 2000 copies of AppZapper, kind of. As they say, there is no such thing as a free lunch in this life.

macZOT! will lower the price of AppZapper by 5 cents for every blog that links to them, until the application is free.

This is a clever way to get some free marketing, and give away some great software. Everyone wins!

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.