CrystalClear Interface
December 2007
Last Update: v.1.9.1, 03.24.08

CrystalClear Interface is an experimental system add-on to Mac OS X that introduces transparency into Aqua and lets users customize the color and transparency of window and text backgrounds. It is a Cocoa InputManager, so it functions only on applications built with the Cocoa frameworks. (Most Apple software is written using Cocoa nowadays, but prominent holdovers are iTunes and the Finder.)

The latest version of CrystalClear Interface (v. 1.9.x) will only run on Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard"), but the 1.8.x release is still available for Tiger users. (Version 1.8 can be used in conjunction with the Crystal Clear appearance theme for ShapeShifter, or on its own without ShapeShifter running.) Version 1.9 introduces numerous enhancements and bug fixes, as described in detail in the full Mars article that introduced it. For more information, click here to download a PDF of the Help file included with the software.

CrystalClear Interface is freeware in an early stage of development. If you try it out, don't be surprised to encounter some bugs. If you do, I'd very much like to hear the specifics... at this point, most of the bugs involve specific applications and require specific fixes. Send your feedback to llscotts at fastmail.fm.

Update 4/18/06: Prepared a small utility that restarts the Finder with the proper Leopard graphics, so that the buttons look right when using CCI 1.9. You should run this whenever you relaunch the Finder. I keep it in my Login items list, so it sets Finder up right whenever I log in. To download, click on the little Crystal Finder icon to the left.

VacuumMail
March 2007
Last Update: v. 0.9.6, 04.18.07

VacuumMail is an AppleScript application that performs an SQLite "vacuum" job on Apple Mail's database, thereby optimizing it and boosting the performance of Mail as it fetches and stores your email. VacuumMail is designed to be incorporated into an automated maintenance routine and run at regular intervals, although you can also launch the software interactively if you need to do a manual run.

To enable automated operation, the VacuumMail installer includes a LaunchAgent that utilizes Mac OS X Tiger’s new launchd service. By default, the agent will run VacuumMail once a week, and the package includes the terrific open-source Launchd editor Lingon in case you’d like to customize that behavior.

For more information about VacuumMail, refer to the ReadMe in the download, or the March 2007 Mars article, " Apple Mail Slowing Down? VacuumMail Can Probably Help."