OS X 10.8 Settings

Introduction

Here are some of my OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion settings and preferences. See also: Operating Systems, BIOS Settings, Device Settings, System Info, Installation Order.

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Settings

Activity Monitor

Window (menu)

CPU Usage (show all processor cores: now)

CPU History (show all processor cores: history)

Floating CPU Window

Vertical (matrix style: now)

CPU (tab)

% User: 0,50

% System: 0,47

% Idle: 98,87

Threads: 549

Processes: 93

System Memory

Mac Pro 8-Core (memory 6 GB)

VM Size: 223,01 GB ("VM size is the total amount of virtual memory space *reserved* by the Mac OS X and your applications." [apple.com])

Page ins: 306,8 MB

Page out: 0 bytes

Swap used: 0 bytes

MacBook Pro (memory 4 GB)

VM Size: 232,79 GB

Page ins: 193,3 MB

Page out: 0 bytes

Swap used: 0 bytes

Finder

Note: See also System Preferences, Spotlight.

View (menu)

[x] as List (show for example date and file type info)

[x] Show Path Bar (show directory structure)

[x] Show Status Bar (show number of files)

[x] Show Sidebar (move quickly to often used directories)

Preferences

General

[ ] Hard disks

[x] External disks

[x] CDs, DVDs, and iPods

[ ] Connected servers

[x] Always open folders in a new window

[x] Spring-loaded folders and windows

Sidebar

FAVORITES

[ ] All My Files

[x] Applications

[x] Desktop

[x] Documents

[x] Downloads (here you can see also files downloaded with Bluetooth)

[ ] Movies

[ ] Music

[ ] Pictures

[x] tomihasa

SHARED (I don't usually use sharing)

[ ] Back to My Mac

[ ] Connected servers

[ ] Bonjour computers

DEVICES

[ ] Tomi's Mac Pro (or MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, etc.)

[x] Hard disks

[x] External disks (show USB sticks when connected)

[x] CDs, DVDs, and iPods

Advanced

[x] Show all filename extensions

[x] Show warning before changing an extension

[x] Show warning before emptying the Trash

[ ] Empty Trash securely

Launchpad

See Launchpad Settings

Widgets

Calculator

Weather

World Clock

System Information

See System Info page (Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini)

System Preferences

General

Appearance: [Blue]

Highlight color: [Blue]

Sidebar icon size: [Medium]

Show scroll bars: (*) Automatically based on mouse or trackpad

Click in the scroll bar to: (*) Jump to the next page

[x] Ask to keep changes when closing documents

[x] Close windows when quitting an application

Recent items: [10] Documents, Apps, and Servers

[x] Use LCD font smoothing when available

Turn off text smoothing for font sizes [4] and smaller

Desktop & Screen Saver

Desktop

Apple: Nature: Aurora (default desktop background for Snow Leopard)

Screen Saver

Screen Savers: Computer Name ("Computer Name" is from Snow Leopard, I prefer using blank screen: Energy Saver: Display Sleep: 1 hour)

Start after: 1 Hour

[ ] Show with clock

Hot Corners...

Top Left Corner: [Start Screen Saver]

Dock

Size: 10/10

[ ] Magnification: approximately 8/10

Position on screen: (*) Left

Minimize windows using: [Scale effect]

[x] Animate opening applications

[x] Automatically hide and show the Dock

[x] Show indicator lights for open applications

Mission Control

[ ] Show Dashboard as a space

[x] Automatically rearrange spaces based on most recent use

[x] When switching to an application, switch to a space with open windows for the application

Language & Text

Language

Comments: to change the operating system interface language, drag preferred language to the top (for example English or Suomi).

English

Suomi

Svenska

Deutsch

Text

Comment: Symbol and Text Substitution: everything turned off.

[ ] Use symbol and text substitution

[ ] Correct spelling automatically

Spelling: [Suomi (Voikko)] (previously I used: Automatic by Language)

Word Break: [Standard]

Smart Quotes: ["abc"]

['abc']

Region

Comment: if using Finnish language, select "Suomi" and not "Suomi (englanti)".

Calendar: [Gregorian]

First day of week: [Monday]

Security & Privacy

General

[x] Require password [5 seconds] after sleep or screen saver begings

[x] Disable automatic login

Allow applications downloaded from:

(*) Anywhere

FileVault

Turned on

Firewall

Firewall: On

[Firewall Options...]

(Applications)

x means "Allow incoming connections", otherwise it's "Block incoming connections".

[x] Adium.app

[ ] Compressor.app

[x] Dropbox.app

[x] FaceTime.app

[ ] Final Cut Pro.app

[ ] Finder.app

[x] GoogleTalkPlugin.app

[x] GrowlHelperApp.app

[ ] iTunes (I don't share my music or videos on LAN)

[ ] Pinball HD.app (strange)

[ ] Safari (I shouldn't need to enable Safari, because other browsers are not listed here either)

[x] Spotify.app

[x] TI-Nspire CAS Student Software.app

[ ] VLC.app

[x] Automatically allow signed software to receive incoming connections

[x] Enable stealth mode ("Don't respond to or acknowledge attempts to access this computer from the network by test applications using ICMP, such as Ping.")

Privacy

Location Services

[x] Enable Location Services

[x] Safari.app

Contacts

[ ] Adium.app

[ ] Windows Phone 7 Connector.app

[ ] Thunderbird.app

Twitter

(empty) ("Apps that have requested access to Twitter will appear here.")

Facebook

(empty)

Diagnostics & Usage

[x] Send diagnostic & usage data to Apple

Spotlight

Search Results

[x] Applications

[x] Documents

[x] Folders

[x] PDF Documents

[x] Spreadsheets

[x] Presentations

[x] Music

[ ] Movies

[ ] Images

[ ] Webpages

[ ] Messages & Chats

[ ] Contacts

[ ] Events & Reminders

[ ] System Preferences (unnecessary)

[ ] Fonts

[x] Developer

Privacy

Prevent Spotlight from searching these locations

(Comment: this will speed up computer, when it doesn't need load to temporary file info to memory at startup and update index all the time.)

Macintosh HD/Library/Caches

Macintosh HD/System/Library/Frameworks

Macintosh HD/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks

Users/tomihasa/Pictures/iPod Photo Cache

Users/tomihasa/Library/Caches

Comment: make Library directory visible, so you can select it: chflags nohidden ~/Library/

Disc 2/Torrent Complete

Disc 2/Torrent Incomplete

Disc 2/Torrent Index

Notifications

[x] Calendar

Alert style: Alerts (Alerts won't disappear, Banners will)

[x] Show in Notification Center: [5 Recent Items]

[x] Badge app icon

[x] Play sound when receiving notifications

[x] Messages

[x] Reminders

[x] Adium (in case I get contacted with this app)

[x] FaceTime (in case I get contacted with this app)

[x] Google Chrome (a website may try to send a notification, but the browser has the final say)

[x] Safari

[x] Opera

[ ] Share Buttons

[ ] Facebook (too many notifications, I can always visit Facebook)

[ ] Game Center

Alert style: Alerts (Alerts won't disappear, Banners will)

[ ] Show in Notification Center

[x] Badge app icon

[x] Play sound when receiving notifications

[ ] Mail (I prefer Gmail's web interface)

[ ] Twitter

CDs & DVDs

When you insert a blank CD: [Ask what to do]

When you insert a blank DVD: [Ask what to do]

When you insert a music CD: [Ignore]

When you insert a picture CD: [Ignore]

When you insert a video DVD: [Open DVD Player]

Displays

HP ZR24w

Resolutions: 1920 x 1200

MacBook Pro 15.4" Antiglare

Resolutions: 1680 x 1050

Brightness: approx. 4/10

[ ] Automatically adjust brightness

Energy Saver

Battery (MacBook Pro)

Computer sleep: 1 h 30 minutes

Display sleep: 1 hour

[x] Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible

[ ] Slightly dim the display when using this power source

[x] Automatically reduce brightness before display goes to sleep

[ ] Restart automatically if the computer freezes

[x] Show battery status in the menu bar

Power Adapter

Computer sleep: Never

Display sleep: 1 hour

[ ] Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible (disable for Mac Pro, Enable for MacBook Pro)

[ ] Wake for Ethernet access (Mac Pro once turned on when waking was on)

[x] Allow power button to put the computer to sleep (Mac Pro)

[ ] Start up automatically after a power failure (Mac Pro)

[ ] Restart automatically if the computer freezes

Keyboard

Key Repeat Rate: 5/7

Delay Until Repeat: 4/6

[ ] Use all F1, F2, etc. key as standard function keys

[ ] Automatically illuminate keyboard in low light (MacBook Pro)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Screen Shots

[x] Save picture of screen as a file

[x] Copy picture of screen to the clipboard

[x] Save picture of selected area as a file

[x] Copy picture of selected area to the clipboard

Mouse (Logitech Notebook Optical Mouse Plus+)

[ ] Move content in the direction of finger movement when scrolling or navigating

Tracking Speed: approx. 8/10

Scrolling Speed: 8/8 (Mac Pro: 8/8, MacBook Pro: 6/8)

Double-Click Speed: 9/11

Primary mouse button: (*) Left

Trackpad

Point & Click

[x] Tap to click (doesn't work very well with MacBook Pro)

[x] Secondary click

[ ] Look up (look up a dictionary word)

[ ] Three finger drag

Tracking speed: 4/10

Scroll & Zoom

[ ] Scroll direction: natural

[x] Zoom in or out

[x] Smart zoom

[ ] Rotate

More Gestures

[ ] Swipe between pages (annoying when editing on Google Sites or TextWrangler)

[x] Swipe between full-screen apps (maybe I will use this some day)

[ ] Mission Control

[ ] App Exposé

[ ] Launchpad

[ ] Show Desktop

Print & Scan

[ ] Share this printer on the network

Default printer: [EPSON AL-CX11] (situation in September 2011)

Default paper size: [A4]

Sound

Sound Effects

Play sound effects through: [Digital Out] (MacBook Pro: Internal Speakers)

Alert volume: 0/4

[ ] Play user interface sound effects

[ ] Play feedback when volume is changed

[x] Show volume in menu bar

Output

Digital Out (Mac Pro)

Internal Speakers (MacBook Pro)

Input

Line In (Mac Pro)

Internal microphone (MacBook Pro)

[x] Use ambient noise reduction (MacBook Pro)

iCloud

[ ] Mail

[ ] Contacts

[ ] Calendars & Reminders (in theory using calendar with iCloud sounds good, but doesn't work)

[ ] Notes

[ ] Safari

[ ] Photo Stream

[ ] Documents & Data

[ ] Back to My Mac

[x] Find My Mac (MacBook Pro, WiFi required)

Mail, Contacts & Calendars

Comment: I had Facebook, Twitter and Google Talk here, but I removed them after testing them with the Notification Center feature introduced in Mountain Lion.

Using Gmail account.

[ ] Mail & Notes

[ ] Calendars (using multiple calendars with a Mac complicates everything)

[x] Chat (getting notifications for Google Talk is fine)

Network

Mac Pro: Static IP Address (with ZyXEL, 5/2013)

Comment: you need to change the ZyXEL settings accordingly.

Configure IPv4: [Using DHCP with manual address]

IP Address: [192.168.1.55]

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Router: 192.168.1.1

DNS Server: 109.204.194.2, 109.204.194.3

Mac Pro: Connection List

Location: Automatic

Nokia Datacard

Nokia Datacard 2

Ethernet 1

Ethernet 2

FireWire

Location: Local Area Network

Ethernet 1

Ethernet 2

FireWire

Bluetooth PAN

Location: Mobile Broadband

HUAWEIMobile-Modem

HUAWEIMobile-Diag

HUAWEIMobile-Pcui

Bult-in Ethernet

MacBook Pro: Connection List

(I need different DNS settings on different locations. Mobile ISP also needs its own "location".)

Location: Automatic

Wi-Fi

Ethernet

FireWire

Bluetooth PAN

Location: Mobile - Saunalahti or DNA

HUAWEIMobile-Modem

Ethernet

Location: UTA

Advanced

DNS

DNS Servers: 153.1.2.12, 153.1.0.18, 10.10.0.1

Ethernet

Wi-Fi

Huawei Settings 1: OK (see also: cogwheel icon: Set Service Order)

HUAWEI Mobile-Modem (seems to be working without "Mobiililaajakaista ohjelmisto")

Configuration: [Default]

Telephone Number: [*99#] (connection: Saunalahti Nopsa)

[x] Show modem status in menu bar (from menu bar I may need to select "Connect HUAWEIMobile-Modem")

Advanced

Modem

Vendor: [Other] (MacBook Pro: Generic)

Model: [EasyConnect Modem Script] (MacBook Pro: Dialup Device)

[x] Enable error correction and compression in modem

Dial Mode: [Wait for dial tone before dialing]

Dialing: (*) Tone

Sound: (*) On

PPP

[x] Connect automatically when needed (connection sometimes stops)

[ ] Prompt every [30] minutes to maintain connection

[ ] Disconnect if idle for [10] minutes

[x] Disconnect when user logs out

[ ] Disconnect when switching user accounts

[ ] Prompt for password after dialing

[x] Redial [1] times if busy, waiting [5] seconds before redialing

[x] Send PPP echo packets

[x] Use verbose logging

Terminal Script: [None]

[x] Use TCP header compression

[ ] Connect using a terminal window (command line)

Huawei Settings 2: Disconnects A Lot Or Doesn't Connect At All (For some reason I used these settings with my MacBook Pro.)

HUAWEI Mobile-Modem

Configuration: [Default]

Telephone Number: [*99#] (connection: Saunalahti Nopsa)

Advanced

Modem

Vendor: [Generic] (I can't find "Other" as with Mac Pro)

Model: [Dialup Device] (try GPRS (GSM/3G))

APN: internet.saunalahti (with setting GPRS (GSM/3G))

CID: 1 (with setting GPRS (GSM/3G))

[x] Enable error correction and compression in modem

Dial Mode: [Wait for dial tone before dialing]

Dialing: (*) Tone

Sound: (*) On

PPP

[ ] Connect automatically when needed

[ ] Prompt every [30] minutes to maintain connection

[x] Disconnect if idle for [10] minutes

[x] Disconnect when user logs out

[x] Disconnect when switching user accounts

[ ] Prompt for password after dialing

[x] Redial [1] times if busy, waiting [5] seconds before redialing

[x] Send PPP echo packets

[ ] Use verbose logging

Terminal Script: [None]

[x] Use TCP header compression

[ ] Connect using a terminal window (command line)

Bluetooth

Comment: you need to enable "Bluetooth Sharing" also for download/upload between devices. You do not need to enable "File Sharing".

Does not work with: iPod Touch 3rd gen. with iOS 5 (additional app needed: try Intuitive Commander using WiFi) (11/2012), HTC HD7 with Windows Phone 7.5 (11/2012).

Works with: Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini, both ways, from Xperia's Album app to Mac Pro: about 100 - 200 KB/s (12/2012), Nokia Asha 300 (11/2012).

Tip: See also Sharing settings: Bluetooth Sharing.

Tip: Use "+" only on one Mac computer to start discovering a Bluetooth device.

Tip: Use cogwheel icon: "Show More Info".

[x] On

[x] Discoverable (disabled after I have setup my Bluetooth devices)

[x] Show Bluetooth status in the menu bar (there you can see "Send File" and "Browse Device")

Advanced...

[ ] Open Bluetooth Setup Assistant at startup when no input device is present (enabled for Mac Mini)

[ ] Open Bluetooth Setup Assistant at startup if no mouse or trackpad is detected (enabled for Mac Mini)

[ ] Allow Bluetooth devices to wake this computer (enabled for Mac Mini)

[ ] Reject incoming audio requests

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini (older)

Type: Smartphone

Services

AVRCP TG

Audio Source

OBEX Object Push

OBEX Phonebook Access Server

PnP Information

Voice Gateway

Paired: Yes

Configured: Yes

Connected: Yes

Major Device Class: Phone (0x2)

Minor Device Class: Smartphone (0x3)

Device Service Class: 0x2c0

Last Name Update: 11/30/12

Last Inquiry Update: 5/29/13

Last Services Update: 11/26/13

Sony Xperia Tipo (newer)

Type: Smartphone

Services

AAS

AIS

AVRCP TG

Audio Source

Generic Access Profile

Generic Attribute Profile

OBEX Object Push

OBEX Phonebook Access Server

PnP Information

Voice Gateway

Paired: Yes

Configured: Yes

Connected: Yes

Major Device Class: Phone (0x2)

Minor Device Class: Smartphone (0x3)

Device Service Class: 0x2c0

Last Name Update: 4/12/13

Last Inquiry Update: 6/2/13

Last Services Update: 4/12/13

Sharing

[ ] DVD or CD Sharing