The AppZapper had zapped itself.The software is an uninstall utility which simplifies the method of removing software in macOS, which is typically dragging the application one wants to uninstall to the trash. But a quick look at my Applications folder showed that it had not, until I closed the AppZapper. If I turned that Preference off and tried to zap AppZapper, it appeared (and sounded zap) like it had been zapped. Thankfully, it told me that this application was kept safe in my Preferences. The question then is that is there a meta-AppZapper? Or, to put it another way, who will zap the Zapper? As an experiment, I actually dragged AppZapper to the AppZapper window. Of course, there is this philosophical issue of uninstalling the AppZapper (not that I would ever want to). It may be useful to have those preferences around, just in case. Don’t think Apple wouldn’t do it- they’ve taken ideas from great freeware and incorporated them in the OS (Konfabutor, anyone?)Īlso, there are some apps you may not want to zap with the AppZapper, such as applications that you may re-install in the future. The big fear is that the next version of OX X could actually include functionality of this kind and make software like this unnecessary. There are very few obvious weaknesses of the Mac OS X, but the clean uninstall has been one of them and the AppZapper has taken care of that. It was huge (190 MB scattered all over my computer) and had a proper package installation instead of the usual drag-and-drop.ĪppZapper handled it perfectly, discovering 6 files in as many locations.ĪppZapper is a great piece of software that is easier to use than I had expected. Only wait, this would be a perfect application to test on the AppZapper. I downloaded it, fiddled with it and realized I had no use for it (and the full version costs $495) and so off to the Trash can. Google bought SketchUp (a 3d drawing tool) this week and I thought I would give it a try. So finally, I tried the big boy- SketchUp. In the case of Butler, however, AppZapper found 4 different files in 4 different locations. It usually only found two files to remove- the. I tried it on four more applications and it worked perfectly each time. Great- click ‘Zap’ and the only indication that it worked was a tremendous, sci-fi zap sound (easily disabled from the Preferences) that made it clear that Hymn had indeed been zapped. The first application I tried it on, the now-obsolete Hymn, immediately brought up a window describing every file it found related to the application- in this case 2 files worth 179 KB- displaying the path to the file, its icon, size and a Spotlight button that would show you the file in Finder. It also allows you to set those apps you would like to be protected at all times, to prevent accidental ‘zaps’. The Preferences allow you to keep default apps (like iTunes, iPhoto) safe. In the AppZapper world, you drag it into the AppZapper. The end result is that the AppZapper draws on our natural Mac instincts of dragging an application into the Trash. The people behind AppZapper have really concentrated on making the ‘zapping’ of applications simple. Once mounted, copy AppZapper.app to Applications folder and then run. The installation is as simple as most OS X apps. I especially wanted to make sure I tried it on a large application that would have its tentacles all over my hard drive. I tried AppZapper on six applications and made sure they were of some variety. None of this is harmful, for the most part, but it does create bloat and may create conflicts in the future.ĪppZapper is for the serial shareware/freeware experimenter who wants the peace of mind of a clean uninstall.ĪppZapper is shareware that is free for the first 5 zaps or uninstalls and $12.95 after that. Preferences, caches and all kinds of other files may have been left behind. app into the Trash does not remove everything. If you have been using your Macintosh for long enough, you know that dragging the. The quality of freeware and shareware on the Mac is so great that the average user cannot be blamed for wanting to try everything. The uninstall process, on the other hand, is deceptively simple. Usually, it is a simple mount-drag-drop and you are ready to go. Macintosh has one of the easiest application installs in the industry.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |