Weekly Utilities Update: MenuMeters, SwitchResX, Carbon Copy Cloner, more...

Our Weekly Utilities Update report is a list of all the updates for many Mac utilities that have been released in the past week. While utilities can be any tool that helps you perform a routine task (including image manipulation and synchronization), our main focus in this column is to bring you those that help in troubleshooting Mac hardware and software problems.

Staff pick: Clone X

We have covered a number of cloning options for OS X, including Carbon Copy Cloner (updated this week) and SuperDuper, which are a couple of the more widely used cloning programs. These utilities allow for a full clone of the drive structure along with options to just clone the contents of the drive. These options allow for people to fix problems with their drive structure by cloning, formatting, and restoring, as well as use cloning as a crude form of drive optimization and defragmentation.

Another of these utilities is Clone X, which is built to solely clone and restore any drive attached to your Mac. The utility features the ability to create bootable DVDs and also create minimal system disks so you can create small utility disks for diagnostic purposes. The uses for cloning make it quite useful, and we recommend using it regularly as a secondary form of backup in addition to traditional methods and Time Machine.

The Clone X Interface

(Credit: Clone X)

Clone X is available as a trial, but do keep in mind it is $50 for the full version. You can download it from the Clone X website: http://www.tri-edre.com/english/clonex.html

Other Recent Utility Updates:

• Tidy Up! 2.1.0 - Locate duplicate files and tidy up your hard drive.
• FileUtilsCM 1.8 - Contextual menu sets different file or folder attributes.
• SMARTReporter 2.4 - Warns of ATA drive failure before it happens.
• Webmin 1.490 - Web-based interface for Unix system administration.
• MacCleanse 1.4.8 - Scan and delete unnecessary files on your Mac.
• iPartition 3.1.4 - Disk partitioning without initializing or reformatting.
• Clone X 3.3 - Creates/restores bootable copy of disks.
• Temperature Monitor Widget 2.8 - Shows accessible temperature sensors.
• Temperature Monitor 4.8 - Displays all accessible temperature sensors.
• SwitchResX 4.0.0 - Custom resolutions, desktop icon position saving, and more.
• CheckUp 2.5.2 - Check your memory and disks; monitor the health of your Mac.
• MenuMeters 1.4b2 - Menu extras: CPU, disk, memory, and network monitoring.
• A Better Finder Attributes 4.39 - Change EXIF time stamp, file dates, and other attributes.
• A Better Finder Rename 8.30 - Powerful file, photo, and MP3 batch renamer with advanced features.
• Carbon Copy Cloner 3.3 - Comprehensive bootable backup solution.
• CNET TechTracker app 1.0 beta 2 - Detect and download updates for all of your installed software.

Keep in mind that while utilities can help in a vast majority of cases, as with any software, they can be buggy. Since these utilities were recently updated, these are actively being developed and are currently assumed to work. However, developers cannot take into account all system configurations, so be sure to back up your system before running any utilities for the first time. Additionally, double-check with the developer's Web site to be sure they are compatible with your system version. Incompatibilities with system software are the main reason why utilities and programs function improperly.

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