Third party apps maybe nice but can come at a price

04/05/08 07:23
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Like all Mac users I have a number of feeds that alert me to new applications and utilities for OSX. Some are very nice to have but with the evolution of OSX you need to be careful about what you download and use as some bad code can really screw up your system and drive you crazy with diagnostics and a reinstall of OSX.




After working in Internet marketing for over 10 years I know that before and changes to a Website can go live there is something that IT needs to do called testing and validation. This tests the new content or application to ensure that it is working well in a variety of platforms and environments. A good testing and validation program can save users a lot of grief later on when they download programs or go to your website.


After downloading some applications I have noticed that my iMac has been acting funny and a little over a month ago I had to do an erase and install of OSX which caused me to lose a weekend as I had to download, again, all the Apple updates, my files and programs.


It's pretty easy to write applications for OSX thanks to Apple's developer resources but some applications may not be updated as Apple updates OSX or as you add new applications which can cause a conflict within OSX. When I run into a problem like this I remove the third party apps until the problem is resolved and now I only load the apps or utilities that I really need. For me, for example. the utility One Password has created havoc. Every time I install it I seem to have boot issues with OSX and recently had to do another install and archive of OSX because my machine would not boot.


It's always wise to keep a record of the programs you install and when you installed them. When a problem occurs part of the diagnostic criteria is to go back remove the last program you installed as it maybe responsible for issues with OSX. Finally when you install programs and then want to delete them make sure you use a program like App Zapper to delete all the hidden files associated with that program. Dragging contents to the trash may not always do the trick.
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