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istat menus posts

Filed under: Software, Freeware

iStat menus 1.1 released



We last discussed iStat menus back in June and now the Australian company iSlayer has pushed out version 1.1, adding a variety of new features. Most important perhaps is the re-designed preference pane interface and calendar. There are also a variety of new graphs and breakdowns, as well as some a new sources and some Leopard-only features and improvements. While I've always been a fan of MenuMeters and MenuCalendarClock for similar functionality, iStat menus looks very intriguing, especially given the large number of possible data sources it can monitor.

iStat menus remains a free download from iSlayer.

[via Macworld UK]

Filed under: Hardware, Software

iStat menus v1.1 preview screenshot and details



The iSlayer crew has released a preview screenshot on the company's blog that highlights a few key features coming in v1.1 of iStat menus, their utility for keeping an eye on your Mac's various statistics from the menubar. Specifically new in this upcoming version will be network graphing, monitoring of S.M.A.R.T. hard drive temperatures, a breakdown of every temp sensor on a CPU and what looks like a significantly redesigned calendar. Stat junkies will likely appreciate these new and finely tuned features, though there's no word on when this new version will become available.

iStat menus, like every one of iSlayer's mostly statistic-obsessed products, is still provided as freeware.

Filed under: Hardware, Software, Productivity

iStat menus 1.0 released



Last month, the iSlayer crew allowed us to review a beta copy and post a screenshot gallery of iStat menus, their new full-blown app that brings system statistic and resource tracking to the menubar. Known widely for their iStat line of high-quality Dashboard widgets, iStat menus ushers in a new era of customizability and - as I discovered in my review of the beta - noticeably better performance and less resource requirements (hey, it's only fair to test how many resources are used by tools designed to track resources and system statistics). Unfortunately at the time, iStat menus was in a private beta, which meant our dear readers weren't able to get their hands on their own copy.

Until now - iSlayer today has announced the availability of iStat menus 1.0. As far as I can tell, not much has changed from the beta I saw in May, but that simply means that an awesome, streamlined app for monitoring your system stats in the menubar has only gotten better since then. Amazingly, iStat menus is still provided as freeware (no, seriously: I would try to get the iSlayer crew committed if I knew where they lived) with the rest of their vast collection of widgets and apps, so grab a copy and start keeping an eye on your system from the comforts of Mac OS X's menubar.

Filed under: Hardware, Software, Features, Cool tools, Productivity

First Look: iStat menus beta and screenshot gallery


For what seems like forever (or at least since April 29th, 2005), the crew at iSlayer have leveraged their obsession with system performance and statistics and provided us with arguably the best darn donationware iStat widgets on the block. For a little while now, they've been teasing their fellow stat enthusiasts with screenshots on the iSlayer blog of their latest creation, iStat menus, which is currently in a private beta. As you might guess, iStat menus is an app (installed and managed as a System Preferences pane) that will display your vital system stats in the menubar, complete with a thoroughly customizable set of options for displaying just the information you want to know.

Thankfully, the iSlayer folks were kind enough to give me a copy of the beta, along with permission to post thoughts and a screenshot gallery for your perusal. While I've been trying iStat menus out, I've also been asking the crew a few questions surrounding how it stacks up against iStat pro and nano, especially in terms of performance. One catch with the way iStat menus runs is that it doesn't create its own separate process that can be monitored in Activity Monitor (or, I assume by relation, the Terminal). Instead, each menu item monitor you activate runs as a Menu Extra which lumps itself into the SystemUIServer thread, so the only way Marc Edwards at iSlayer recommended I could compare iStat menu's performance against my long-time favorite iStat pro is simply to watch that thread before and after enabling iStat menu's items.

Continue readingFirst Look: iStat menus beta and screenshot gallery

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