System Tools – Macinations

September 14, 2020

A deeper look at PathFinder

While it's still on sale, and now that I've done some heavy lifting with it, I wanted to have a deeper look at PathFinder. The TL;DR version is, it's absolutely worth going to Bundlehunt and picking it up for $8. To make things even more powerful, add Default Folder X. For more explanation, PathFinder is a great file manager with a host of features and customizations. For starters there are dual panes if you want them. And multiple tabs within each pane. On top of that there is a customizable context menu for working with each file, within each tab, within each pane. Those panes can then display different kinds of information in a different order. One can be an Image view, while the other is a List view. One can be sorted by name, the other by size. There is also the ability to add multiple buttons to the menu bar. I've added New Folder, New File, Rename, Copy, […]

September 7, 2020

Massive System Cleanup with Path Finder and Some Help From Default Folder X

Path Finder is a tool I just got from BundleHunt and put to the test yesterday. Normally Spring Cleaning happens earlier in the year, but Labor Day Weekend is just as acceptable. I dug in and gave my hard drive a serious deep cleaning. Since the start of quarantine I’ve been collecting training videos, downloading documents, trying out software, grabbing YouTube videos, and it’s all started to add up. My system drive, which is 3TB, was starting to get full. It was time to organize and delete. I saw Path Finder on BundleHunt and was immediately taken with it’s features. The dual pane viewer is a huge help. But, then you can add tabs within each pane. I was easily able to connect my external drives, then have them arranged within tabs within the different panes. Copying files was an absolute breeze. Path Finder also has tons of customization. For starters I added the Copy and Move buttons to the […]

December 27, 2019

Keyboard Maestro makes a last minute appearance on the Party Barge

While researching Alfred, CopyLess and PopClip, I saw many references to Keyboard Maestro, but never quite understood what the app was for. It came across as a text expander, or a clipboard editor, or a keyboard mapper. So, taking a moment out to pause and reflect, it finally became clear to me. All those functions are a part of Keyboard Maestro. How is that possible? It makes a little more sense when Keyboard Maestro is presented as an extension or the next version of Automator. It uses a similar style of building blocks to chain actions together to accomplish tasks. At one end you can tie an action to a hotkey, and at the other, actions can be triggered by system events such as switching networks, or a USB drive being inserted. After downloading a copy, trying it out, watching some videos and assembling some blocks of my own, Keyboard Maestro jumps aboard the Party Barge just as we cast […]

November 17, 2017

Disk Drill 3.x Lifetime License

As part of my switchover to macOS, I’ve been looking for a disk recovery tool. For Windows, I’ve got EaseUS Disk Recovery and Recover My Files. These have served me well and Recover My Files recovered tens of gigs worth of data from an external drive fiasco. Now that I’m using macOS, I’ve got TimeMachine as a backup tool and have been looking for full file recovery. Disk Drill comes up time and time again as a tool of choice and it’s now on sale for 70% off, including Lifetime License. I haven’t had need of Disk Drill’s services yet, so this is a preventative purchase. But this is a solid deal and it’s worth the small investment now, rather than full price later should things go awry. I will say, I have Disk Drill running to take advantage of the SMART monitoring. I have a couple of drives in this Mac, and want to make sure nothing happens to […]

April 3, 2017

Ashampoo Backup Pro 11 for $9.99 with Coupon Code

In keeping with the Spring Cleanup theme and making sure your system is in good repair, here is Ashampoo Backup Pro 11 for $9.99. If you didn’t take advantage of the O&O DiskImage sale, then I don’t think you can argue with a complete backup solution for $10. Now, I’m not that familiar with their backup tool, but after checking out the demo, it seems like a solid choice. You have the standard tools like file backup, and options to backup the entire system drive. Additionally there are connectors for storing your backup in the cloud such as Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and others. Additionally, the option to make a rescue disc (CD/DVD) is built right in or you can use a USB stick. Overall it looks like a pretty solid choice and you get 30 full days for evaluation so you have plenty of time to experiment. If you decide to buy the full version, you should receive an […]

A deeper look at PathFinder

Massive System Cleanup with Path Finder and Some Help From Default Folder X

Keyboard Maestro makes a last minute appearance on the Party Barge

Disk Drill 3.x Lifetime License

Ashampoo Backup Pro 11 for $9.99 with Coupon Code

AdGuard Stats

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Favorite Games