One of the great things about Mac OS X compared to, say, Windows XP is that it requires very minimal maintenance. As a Windows user, you may have to continually defragment your hard disk as well as monitor the size of your registry until it all becomes so slow, the only thing you can do is reformat the damn thing and start from scratch.
OS X is a different beast altogether. Applications reside in their own folder and do not have any entries stored in a central database like the Windows registry, therefore getting rid of them is pretty easy.
Also, defragmenting the machine is not something that you need to do as it is done automatically for you in the background when OS X thinks you are not using the machine that much.
However - not all software is perfect, even OS X.
The more you use a computer and the more files and applications you load onto it, the slower it becomes. This is the same for Mac computers too.
To keep my Macbook speedy, I use a tool called the "CheckIT system performance suite". This swiss army tool contains 5 separate pieces of software and lets you do many things to keep your Mac operating at tip-top speed:
TechTool Platinum runs in the background and will warn you if any of the hardware in your Mac starts to fail. This will be a godsend if the hard disk decides to develop a bad sector and you lose half your data overnight. TechTool Platinum will warn you of any dodgy happenings well before things become critical.
Spring Cleaning 10 is an amazing file manager that allows you to perform batch changes on files such as photos as well as perform data clean up processes like deleting cookies or duplicate files. The best part about Spring Cleaning 10 is that is will securely delete your files, so you don't have to worry about them falling into the wrong hands.
EMC Retrospect Express is a part of the CheckIT system performance suite that is a "set and forget" backup manager. This software will allow you to set a backup regime and it will then back all your data up for you, when ever you want it to. It can also do it automatically! Say goodbye to trying to track down that document you just deleted - just get it from Retrospect.
ExecutiveSync lets you keep critical files and folders sync'ed across multiple computers. I use this to create a working backup of my development documents and PHP projects. It means I can work from any computer and have access to them all straight away.
To finish off, Stuffit Standard 2009 is part of the suite. All Mac users must have come across this amazing tool before. It will allow you to handle over 30 different file compression formats as well as compact files with super-strong encryption and efficiency.
You can't really go wrong with having this piece of software. It keeps my Macbook really speedy and acting as quick as it did out of the box. I would recommend it to any Mac owner.
Buy the CheckIT System Performance Suite by SmithMicro at Amazon for a really low price. Save your sanity and your Mac at the same time!
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