Cocktail, Worth Buying?

[Damien]

Hello, What are the differences between the demo/trial version of cocktail and the licenced version? Expect for the 10 uses cut of.

What features are in the paid for version that are not in the pay for version?


Thanks in advance

 

[MisterMe]

Hello, What are the differences between the demo/trial version of cocktail and the licenced version? Expect for the 10 uses cut of.

What features are in the paid for version that are not in the pay for version?


Thanks in advance

To each his own. However, it makes no sense to me to pay for a utility like Cocktail when Terminal commandline instructions, OnyX, Yasu, and MacJanitor are all free.

 

[ddrueckhammer]

I think Cocktail is a great App. That being said Onyx is free and does almost all the same things. If you want to schedule your maintenence then get cocktail though. For what it does $15 is really a bargain for cocktail. That and DiskWarrior (overpriced in my opinion) should keep your Mac running great for years.

 

[iHateWindows]

Here's another vote for OnyX.

 

[ddrueckhammer]

Sorry I re-read your orginal question and realized that I hadn't really answered it....

From reading the site http://www.maintain.se/cocktail/download.html

I'm pretty sure that Cocktail won't do any scheduling in demo mode and the demo mode will expire after 10 uses.

Below is a link to MacWorld's article on Mac maintenance: its really informative and has a chart at the bottom of page 1 that does a pretty good job comparing the different apps available for this purpose. I use Cocktail and Disk Utility and DiskWarrior but there are definately alternatives. Like I said earlier, I don't think Cocktail is overpriced but there are free alternatives that do almost as much...
http://www.macworld.com/2005/01/features/preventmacdisasters/index.php

 

[russed]

here is another vote for using onyx instead!

 

[Bern]

My vote goes to Terminal.

 

[russed]

My vote goes to Terminal.

one problem with saying that though, is that the majority of people dont have a clue how to use the terminal and so need a nice simple application to do something, so it may well be nice showing that you know how to use commands etc but it really isnt very useful in this context, that is unless you fancy backing up your claim with evidence on how to use it?

 

[fayans]

one problem with saying that though, is that the majority of people dont have a clue how to use the terminal and so need a nice simple application to do something, so it may well be nice showing that you know how to use commands etc but it really isnt very useful in this context, that is unless you fancy backing up your claim with evidence on how to use it?

I agree with russed as I am one of those without a clue on how to schedule periodic maintenance using terminal. And Bern would you care to show us how?

BTW, I'm using MacJanitor. But I wish I could automate the process.

 

[russed]

I agree with russed as I am one of those without a clue on how to schedule periodic maintenance using terminal. And Bern would you care to show us how?

BTW, I'm using MacJanitor. But I wish I could automate the process.

thanks for that, i dont have a clue where to start with terminal and dont have the time to learn.

if you want to automate the process (so tell it to happen at 10 every tues night) i do beleive you can do this with a programme called system optimizer x http://www.mkd.cc/sox/, it is free to use if you dont want to pay for it and it does most of the things that onyx does (well maintainance wise).

 

[fayans]

Thanks for the link, russed. Will surely give it a go.

I think with the free version you can't schedule the process without going through the registration request box, can you?

 

[Bern]

one problem with saying that though, is that the majority of people dont have a clue how to use the terminal and so need a nice simple application to do something, so it may well be nice showing that you know how to use commands etc but it really isnt very useful in this context, that is unless you fancy backing up your claim with evidence on how to use it?

The Terminal Way

Using your Admin account, you can execute all three maintenance scripts at once, as follows:

Launch Terminal, in the Computer > Mac OS X > Applications > Utilities folder.

1. At the prompt, type the following, exactly as written:
sudo periodic daily weekly monthly

2. Press Return.

3. Type your Admin password when prompted, then press Return.

All three scripts will run in sequence. There is no visual feedback while the scripts execute. You will know they are completed when the Terminal prompt returns.

You can also run the scripts individually. For example, to run just the daily script, you would type the command

sudo periodic daily
in step 3 above.

Easy!

 

[russed]

i do understand that using the terminal can be far more powerful etc for some uses, however, in the time that you have typed all that i can have opened my application, pressed run scripts and have gone and made a cup of tea!

 

[fayans]

Can you auto-run it at specific day/time from the terminal?

 

[Bern]

Can you auto-run it at specific day/time from the terminal?

You can write an Applescript that you can then put into Automator to run for you.

The script would be like this:- anyone correct me if you think it not right

tell application "Terminal"
do script "sudo periodic daily weekly monthly;echo Done"
end tell

 

[Bern]

i do understand that using the terminal can be far more powerful etc for some uses, however, in the time that you have typed all that i can have opened my application, pressed run scripts and have gone and made a cup of tea!

Hey I'm just giving the Terminal command as you requested in your previous post.

 

[mad jew]

Doesn't Tiger run the scripts automatically now though? So, if your computer's off at 3:00AM (or is it 2:00AM?) then they'll run next time you start up.

Although apps like Onyx and Cocktail have huge potential and many great features, I don't think they're necessary for the average user and they almost give that average user too much power. I tend to recommend people steer clear of these apps personally, just let OSX do it's own thing and maybe repair permissions every now and then.

 

[Bern]

I think that only applies if your Mac is asleep. When it wakes up it will automatically run those tasks, but if you shut it down the tasks won't be run at all until the next time around (as long as it is awake or asleep).

 

[Bern]

Oh and here's a script to clear the system cache if you wanted to put that into Automator as well.

tell application "Terminal"
do script "sudo rm -r ~/Library/Caches/*;sudo rm -r /Library/Caches/*;sudo rm -r /System/Library/Caches/"
end tell

 

[mad jew]

I think that only applies if your Mac is asleep. When it wakes up it will automatically run those tasks, but if you shut it down the tasks won't be run at all until the next time around (as long as it is awake or asleep).

Good point. I forgot that some people still shut down their machines. n00bs!

 

[fayans]

You can write an Applescript that you can then put into Automator to run for you.

The script would be like this:- anyone correct me if you think it not right

tell application "Terminal"
do script "sudo periodic daily weekly monthly;echo Done"
end tell

I'm on Panther that sleeps when it is supposed to run the script automatically.

And with Panther, there is no Automator.

 

[russed]

Hey I'm just giving the Terminal command as you requested in your previous post.

i know! im prob just bitter that i dont know how to use the terminal!

 

[Bern]

I'm on Panther that sleeps when it is supposed to run the script automatically.

And with Panther, there is no Automator.

Hhhhmmm, I may be wrong here, but I think you can drop the script into your System Preferences > Account > Login Items so it will run at startup. But I'm not sure as I haven't tried this. Maybe someone could advise on this??

 

[fayans]

Yeah maybe it is a possible option but then again when it prompts for admin password, it defeats the whole purpose of automation, doesn't it?

 

[Bern]

Yeah maybe it is a possible option but then again when it prompts for admin password, it defeats the whole purpose of automation, doesn't it?

You shouldn't be asked for a password if yours is the only account you are logging into?