![]() Sidekick, a new app by Oomph, aims at automating the tedious process of changing your Mac’s settings basing on the location of your computer.įormerly known as Network Location, Sidekick is a new creation from the Oomph developers, also formerly known as Centrix. My laptop may be changing location travelling from my office to my house and everything in between (usually a coffee shop downtown), but the workflow is the same. I fire up some music, talk to my co-workers overseas, and browse iTunes. Sure, the computer was new, but the pattern of actions that followed the opening of the lid wasn’t uncommon: this is what I do every day after dinner. Thirty minutes later, I opened the MacBook’s lid again, fired up Spotify and Google Chrome, launched MacStories’ internal chat URL, and opened iTunes to check for app updates. A few hours later, when it was time to go home for dinner, I took my MacBook Air, got home, and placed it on the desk in my room. I was at my office, and in less than two hours I had my new MacBook Air up and running with my favorite applications, Dropbox, work documents, and so forth. ![]() As soon as I got it, I opened it up, set up my personal information, and connected it to the Internet to start downloading my first apps. As with the Apple online store’s tradition, the computer showed up at my doorstep in roughly three days. My MacBook Pro was getting old, so I decided it was time for an upgrade – and the new MacBook Airs looked like a worthy upgrade. It also disconnects the VPN (an action that requires editing an AppleScript for initial setup) since you’re on a trusted network, and hooks you into your office email system.Last week, I ordered a new MacBook Air from Apple’s website. It increases screen brightness, fires up Bluetooth for your wireless headphones, bumps the volume back up, and launches (and begins playing) iTunes. ![]() When you get to the office and plug your MacBook into AC power, Sidekick recognizes the location and possibly the network. You can also define a location by providing any combination of specific address, a set of networks, or devices present. It might also set your email server to a secure connection to Gmail. The train has Wi-Fi, and when you lift open the laptop’s screen, Sidekick identifies the train’s network-rather than your geographic location-and turns on your VPN connection, dims screen brightness and disables Bluetooth to save battery life, mutes sound to avoid bothering your fellow passengers, and switches your desktop background to all black. A reasonable example of Sidekick usage might be that you wake up in the morning and peck away at email at home before grabbing your MacBook and heading for a train. Manual switches can be useful when you have a configuration that isn’t location specific-for example, a “minimize battery usage” grouping that dims the screen, disables Wi-Fi, and disables network and Internet access by programs you routinely use.īut Sidekick’s marquee feature is automatic location switching based on where you are. You can manually switch locations at any time by choosing the desired location from Sidekick’s menu. (A number of third-party Sidekick extensions are available for integrating programs such as 1Password or Adium.) Alternatively, the Capture My Settings option automatically populates the list with various current settings. Available actions include application-specific options, such as opening a URL in a browser, changing your iChat status, or changing iTunes’s equalizer settings and system options, such as connecting to a server, setting the timezone, starting a Time Machine backup, or locking the Keychain. Triggers activate one or more actions, which you define by clicking the Add Action button. Actions associated with triggers are kicked off when you get in range of the location. ![]() Sidekick lets you define a location by dropping a pin on a map or having the utility drop one for you.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |