So you have your new Mac but you want it to stand out, give it a different look and make it your own, well here I have put together a small list of Free apps and a few shareware for apps that will get the job done to you customize your Mac.

 

System Theme
When it comes to changing your system theme and getting the different look you desire there a few apps out there for OS X Tiger 10.4 but for the majority using OS X Leopard 10.5 our options are rather slim, but Magnifique to the rescue with a simple yet powerful OS X  Leopard 10.5 compatible application. With Magnifique you can take control and give your Finder, Applications and Dock a makeover with the themes that you can download from the Magnifique website. Currently version 2.1 is out with version 3 already in the works.

 

Dock
Tired of the 3D Dock or want to give it some color and design? Well, give SuperDocker a try. With SuperDocker you can get rid of the Leopard 3D dock and revert back to the 2D dock or you can download & install a large number of dock themes found on the SuperDocker website to get the look you want in your dock.

 

LeopardDocks.com is where you can download, submit and share great docks for Leopard. Here you will find fair number of docks with easy to follow instruction to change your dock  as well as other help tips.

 

 

Login / Welcome Screen Background
First we have Loginox. This is a Freeware application that allows you to change your login background with ease. Once you have the application open, drag-and-drop your desired image, select the “Set new Login image” button and you’re done.

 

Customize the appearance of your Mac OS X Login screen. Ravissant will replace the OS X logo, OS Text, Welcome Text, Host Info and Background of your login screen.

 

 

 

Visage is a Shareware application with a cost of only $4.95 which will give you a bit more control of your login screen as well as a few other options. Visage gives you the ability to change your login background as well as customize the login panel itself.

 

Icon Collections
Want to bring life to your dock icons and give them a new look, well there are number of sites out there that are free as well as cost some money but here I have two great sites that have a large library of great icons that you will find for free.

              

 

Icon Management
To take care of your new library of icons you can throw them all into one folder to sift through or you can look into CandyBar with a cost of $29 which doesn’t just organize your icons, but does all the hard work when it comes to changing your system icons with ease.

 

Utility Tweaks
A couple applications that can change a few options in your dock to help give it the effect you want, which are both freeware are TinkerTool & Deeper. They both offer a number of hidden system features that Apple has built into Mac OS X.

 

I hope this helps you get the desired look you want with your Mac and if you have any suggestions please feel free to post or email and I will have it added.

Tks,
CRTER