Update: The usage of third party tools for NTFS support is no longer necessary, as Mac OS X includes NTFS read & write support natively, here’s how to enable it. While newer versions of the Mac operating system support NTFS without any third party add-ons, older versions of OS X may still find value in MacFUSE. Keep in mind that if you’re in OS X 10.7, 10.8, 10.9 or newer – this is not necessary, and thus this article is really only relevant for much older versions of Mac OS X before 10.5.

I recently came across a great utility called MacFUSE which allows Mac OS X users to read and write to NTFS partitions, amongst other things. This is extremely useful if you have an external storage device you use on both a Mac and PC, and you want to avoid the limitations of FAT32.

Getting MacFUSE to work in OS X 10.4, 10.5, and 10.6 is not the easiest process in the world, and it takes some knowledge and patience to get functioning properly. Thankfully, LifeHack.org has a pretty decent walkthrough on setting up MacFUSE, so check that out if you’d like some guidance.

• Get MacFUSE from the dev source
• Read the Lifehack guide on getting it to work

Again, this is for older versions of OS X like 10.4 Tiger, 10.5 Leopard, and 10.6 Snow Leopard. remember that new versions of OS X do not need to use MacFUSE to read and write to NTFS! You can follow this simple guide to enable NTFS in OS X Mavericks, Lion, Mountain Lion, and newer.

People seem to either love or hate the dock in Mac OS X Leopard. Maybe it’s the appearance, the reflection, or something else.

If you’re not a fan of the default ‘swoosh’ reflective Dock, there are many options available, and a site has popped up catering to nothing but Leopard Docks.

Yes indeed, customized Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard docks, so you can change the appearance to suit your preferences a bit.

Aptly named LeopardDocks.com is dedicated to nothing but customizing your Leopard dock, with everything from shiny wood surfaces to grass.

Check out LeopardDocks.com for more

You’ll need to make a few modifications to install the custom Docks, but it shouldn’t be a huge hurdle to anyone who has an urge to tinker with their Mac system.

If you’re a Mac user and you installed the Adobe CS suite for graphic work or web development, you probably aren’t too interested in Adobe SoundBooth, which is fine because you don’t have to install it. Well, I didn’t install Adobe SoundBooth and I discovered that Adobe still decided to install 5GB of SoundBooth bloated files into my home directories Library folder. I have no idea what the purpose of this stuff is, but if you don’t use SoundBooth (I don’t even know what SoundBooth is) you don’t need it, and 5GB is a lot of disk space for something I don’t use. So here’s how to get rid of it:

Free up 5GB of disk space by deleting Adobe CS bloat

Step 1) Navigate to /home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/SoundBooth/

Step 2) Delete anything inside the SoundBooth folder (only do this if you don’t use or need SoundBooth, obviously)

Step 3) Enjoy 5GB of extra disk space!

Earlier today Microsoft released the second beta of their Remote Desktop Connection application. This new version introduces an updated user interface (not sure if its worse or better), Universal binary support, Vista support, dynamic window resizing and quite a bit more. It is good to see Microsoft update this utility as it is a crucial part of my workflow. The previous version of the Remote Desktop Connection was a PowerPC only application that was quickly becoming dated. I was able to verify that this new version works flawlessly in OS X Leopard. Read on for a complete list of new features and a screenshot.
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If you’re a Mac OS X Leopard user, you might have noticed that the Dock no longer uses little triangles to emphasize what applications are open.

Instead, little subtle lights glow underneath open applications, which look nice but aren’t the most obvious.

Apparently I’m not the only one that was annoyed with the little glowing light app indicators of the Leopard dock, but SilverMac has a solution for us on how to restore the old triangle dock indicators.

If you feel so inclined, head on over to SilverMac to learn how to muck around with the Dock and get a Leopard dock with black triangles.

Customizing a Mac can be fun like this, but it does involve modifying system level stuff, so be sure you back up and know what you’re doing.

Matt Gemmell provides a great list of API’s that have been changed in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. This should be of interest to all Cocoa developers out there, or anyone who’s curious about some of the underpinnings of OS X application development. Take a look:

Get rid of your code with Leopard

Adding a user is something easily accomplished using the built in GUI tools that ship with OS X, however any power user can appreciate the possible efficiency gained from using the command line. So in the spirit of efficiency here are the steps necessary to add a user to your Mac OS X system all with our good friend, Terminal.app.
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Recently while using the OS X Terminal I noticed that the “Page Up” and “Page Down” keys do not send an actual page up sequence to an active Terminal session. This was discovered with the irssi app, but it actually pertains to the Terminal in general.

Instead, it seems that the default behavior is to manipulate the Terminal.app’s built in buffer. This works well for every day use in the Terminal, but if you are using a program like irssi, which has its own buffer, this can be an annoyance.

The solution is simple and can be solved with a simple key combination modifiers to page up and page down within Terminal applications, and not their app buffers.

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Welcome to Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard! This was my first experience since installing the 10.5 upgrade, let’s hope that was a fluke. I’m super excited for Leopard! – Paul H.

Mac rumor site ThinkSecret has some screenshots of the latest Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard build.

The interface is becoming increasingly polished, with a mirrored reflective Dock, a transparent menu bar, and rounded corners on many pop-up menu items.

Many Mac users expect a major GUI revision in 10.5, but thus far there have only been slight changes and refinements, keeping a very familiar (although updated) look.

ThinkSecret: Mac OS X 10.5 9A499 Leopard Screenshots

Gmail Notifier is a great little utility that lets you know when you have mail in your Gmail inbox. What I have always disliked about it though is the apparent lack of the ability to use the secure https protocol.

If you’re on public networks, this can be a particularly valid concern for privacy and security.

Well, thanks to a great tip at MacOSXHints.com, that is no longer an issue!

Here are five easy steps to setup Gmail Notifier to use the much more secure https protocol:

1. Pull down the Gmail Notifier menu
2. Hold down Command+Option keys, and click Preferences
3. Now you will see a hidden settings editor
4. In the key field, enter SecureAlways – exactly as shown, and a 1 in the Value field
5. Click “Set”, now quit Gmail Notifier and start it again, now all your connections will be through https!

Check out Gmail Notifier here

Source: MacOSXHints.com

The iPhone may be taking up the latest Apple related buzz, but Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is still hotly anticipated. APC has a nice list to remind all of us of what is to come in Leopard, and although the list suggests things you didn’t know, I’m guessing if you’re an avid Apple fan you already do know most of these. So what’s new then? Well, for one, I didn’t know that you could bind applications to Spaces, allowing you to have a unique desktop space for particular apps. Cool huh?

APC: Ten things you didn’t know about Leopard

If you’re anything like me, you’ve accidentally hit command-Q while in Safari on the Mac and lost tons of important tabs. Unfortunately there’s no warning so if you make such a mistake, that’s that.

Well, not quite anymore, thanks to TabStop.

TabStop is a handy utility that causes Safari to warn you before closing a browser window if it includes multiple tabs, so you’ll no longer lose those tabbed sites by mistake.

It’s worth noting that TabStop does not work with Safari 3 beta, nor does it need to since Safari 3 includes a built-in warning.

• Check out Tabstop at the developer home

Perhaps this feature will be included in Safari one day? But for now, it’s available as a browser add-on.

MacScoop has apparently gotten their hands on Apple’s developer roadmap for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, which covers the intended release cycle of development versions from the current version until the final release in October. Nothing new or groundbreaking is included, but it’s still an interesting read and something worth viewing if you’re half as excited about Leopard as we are. Let’s hope Apple keeps on schedule with this one!

MacScoop: Mac OS X Leopard internal roadmap revealed

Mac OS X 10.4.10 update has been released today, covering a series of security and bug fixes, adding a few additional features, and including some other improvements.

Nothing too amazing is in the update in terms of features (especially when compared to what we’ll see in Leopard), but it is still worth downloading, so be sure to get it.

Apple: About the Mac OS X 10.4.10 Update

We apologize for the recent delay here at OS X Daily, updates will continue as normal soon! Thanks readers!

Expose is an awesome feature of Mac OS X that functions as sort of like a window manager and app switcher all in one. I use the feature so often it is almost impossible to live without.

If you don’t use Expose, you should start, and this simple little list of keyboard shortcuts with each accompanying action is a good place to learn how to get started. These are set in a “Function Key – Function” list, so it’s pretty easy to follow and understand.

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Lots of Mac OS X news lately, and this blows in the face of last weeks news. Apparently, Apple will NOT use ZFS as the file system in Leopard. Information Week provides us with the latest news, which could come as a letdown for some, citing an Apple marketing official “ZFS is not happening,”. So who do you believe? Is Apple trying to keep ZFS under wraps or are they really not using the ZFS file system? Apple is notorious for leaking fake rumors and being sneaky with product features and releases. We’ll know for sure in October…