Apr 27 2009
Skin the Cat
Themes have been part of the Mac OS since system 8. Most of that time, theming your OS has been somewhat of a hack. This week we’ll look at themes in OS X.
DISCLAIMER: Theme apps alter resources deep in the OS. Be warned that these applications can severely damage your OS and it’s not my fault. That said, let’s have some fun…
This open-source effort shares a common theme format. There are a plethora of theme sites with which it is compatible. ThemeChanger is also Panther-ready and automatically backs-up your Aqua resources. With a preview feature, this app won’t leave you wanting.
There are a bunch of theme sites from which you can download themes for ThemeChanger and they are listed on the ThemeChanger home page.
Another, older theme changer is Themer. This utility’s compatibility is limited to those hosted at AquaWorld. Also, there is nothing in the documentation about Panther support, though this app does support pre-Jaguar OS X versions that Theme Changer does not work with.
AquaWorld themes are available here .
For more GUI-ripping fun, youÃll want to try Skin A Dock. Chose from a dozens of creative new dock schemes that will back your icons with steel panels or have them frolicking among leaves of grass. Heaps of fun.
Dock themes for Skin A Dock are available here.
That wraps up our look at theme swappers. Have fun!
It’s easy to forget about OS X’s Unix core, but did you realize there is a slew of useful utilities buried behind the command line?