iBook 500 Jaguar and Calculator

[Charles Martin]

> From: Tom288 at aol.com
> I use an icebook 500 with 640MB of RAM.  I have all my software fully
> updated.... I'm running OS X 10.2.6 and every update found by the
> Software Update app has been installed.
>
> I am looking for tips to make OS X *seem* faster.  I am particularly
> annoyed by the split second it takes to open up new windows or pull
> down menus. OS 9 certainly seemed snappier.  I have already turned down
> the font smoothing as much as the controls allow.
>
I'm assuming you must have one of the iBooks that can't take advantage 
of Quartz Extreme, because that seems to solve these sorts of 
complaints.

But if you don't or can't use QE, here are three little "hacks" that 
should help a lot.

The first is to use either a theme editor or something like that to 
eliminate the semi-transparent menus. I use a System Pref called 
"Desktop Scheme" and a theme called "SmoothStripe" to do this, and it 
really makes the menus a lot snappier. I personally find the removal of 
the stripes to be easier on the eye as well -- Panther's 
much-more-subtle striping seems fine, but Jag's is just too much.

Next, new windows. I believe the TinkerTool System Pref will allow you 
turn off the "rectangle effect" when windows open, which should speed 
them up.

Finally, if both of the above fail to meet your needs, you can try a 
last resort -- unsanity.com's haxie "Shadowkiller." I don't use it 
because I *love* the shadows, but people report dramatic speedups in 
window/menu drawing when the CPU doesn't have to do the work of drawing 
shadows.

_Chas_

Microsoft CEO Bill Gates recently admitted that approximately 27 
million Windows customers experience crashes more than three times a 
day.