We just noted how some of the folks associated with unsanity were branching out onto the iPhone, and now unsanity itself is showing signs of life. In a couple of blog posts they've announced the return of their somewhat controversial Application Enhancer "haxie" technology with a Leopard compatible beta, APE 2.5b1. The APE plugins allow for unsupported functionality to be added to various parts of OS X, but have been blamed for causing problems. In any case, Leopard broke APE and along with it various popular utilities like WindowShade, FruitMenu and others.

So if you're the type to throw caution to the wind and have been waiting to get your APE haxies back, the betas of APE, Smart Crash Reports, FontCard, Menu Master, Silk, FruitMenu, and WindowShade are available for download (scroll down) from unsanity.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

This week's Desktop of the Week may include a little Windows paraphernalia action, but don't let that distract you from some of the mod action that Flickr user dannyuncensored has going for his brand new black MacBook. First up is the wallpaper he's using - it appeared in a February rumor we ran of a possible Black iMac. The actual image was linked by TUAW reader Smitty, and is part of a wallpaper pack at - where else - deviantART. Here are the rest of the resources dannyuncensored is using in a handy list format:

• ShapeShifter theme: TenFive from InterfaceLIFT
• Byte Controller (free) for iTunes in the menubar
• MacBook icon from InterfaceLIFT
• Windows Vista icon for the Boot Camp partition created by dannyuncensored's friend (perhaps they would be willing to share it?)
• Statistics in the middle of desktop are, again, provided by Panic's popular Stattoo
• The clear Dock is provided by Unsanity's free ClearDock

Dannyuncensored also included a nice touch with changing Photoshop's icon, though I have to admit that since installing the CS3 Web Premium suite (as well as After Effects CS3 which runs like butta'), the default 'periodic table of Adobe applications' branding philosophy has grown on me.

If you'd like to see your unique, functional or otherwise interesting desktop featured in our TUAW Desktops of the Week series, check out past featured desktops as well as the original post for the rules and to get an idea of what we're looking for. Then, upload your desktop screenshot to our TUAW Desktops Flickr group. We'll feature one or more desktops each weekend, giving credit to the desktop owner, wallpaper creator and any apps featured in the screenshot (if available). Keep those desktops rolling in!

I know there are some serious haxie haters out there, but for those who heart haxies, you'll be happy to know that Unsanity recently updated 2 of their most popular apps, ShapeShifter and Mighty Mouse. Both are now Universal Binary and sport a few bug fixes and new features.

ShapeShifter is a very cool "GUI tweaker" that enables you to change virtually everything about the appearance of OS X with various themes (of which there are a great many to choose from). Version 2.4 adds support for windows with a "Unified" toolbar, and includes several bug fixes and speed improvements. ShapeShifter now requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later.

Mighty Mouse is for customizing your cursor - all your cursors - on the fly and with ease. The interface is drag & drop and copy & paste. Doesn't get much easier than that. You can add animations, change cursor sizes and even create your own custom cursors. Version 1.3 requires Mac OS X 10.3 or later and includes a more streamlined interface and a handful of bug fixes.

More detailed info about each can be found on Unsanity's blog.

In a post aptly titled 'At Long Last!', Unsanity announced a beta of a Universal version of ShapeShifter, their UI haxie for skinning Mac OS X. As the post states, your Intel Mac can finally "get its spank on" (what on Earth are those guys at Unsanity selling??). Obviously, as their post states, this is a beta so things could very well go wrong with it. On the upside this Universal version should work just fine with any guiKit (skin) that you throw at it.

This ShapeShifter 2.4 beta version is a free upgrade for registered 2.x owners and is available from this Unsanity blog post.

Hot on the heels of brining Universal status to their Application Enhancer, Unsanity has released UB versions of ClearDock (free) and Menu Master ($10). ClearDock, as you might glean from the name, is a one-trick pony that can strip the dock of its transparent background or allow you to adjust the background and the application triangle color to your liking. Menu Master is a slick utility for assigning, removing and rearranging shortcuts for menu items in any Mac OS X application. It also has a Menu Accelerator feature which allows you to "access menu items by name without using the mouse". Both applications have received feature additions and improvements, as well as bug fixes along with their UB updates.

ClearDock again is free, while Menu Master has a demo available, and a license will run you $10. Both require the previously mentioned Application Enhancer in order to work their magic on your Mac.