Poof Icon retrieval?

Yes, the next time you go to the dock to Launch the missing app and can't find it, go to your Applications folder and drag it back to the Dock. If you never find it by this method then you didn't need it on the Dock.



-mj
macjack@gmail.com

yes - Finder, Dashboard, Mail, Safari, iChat, Address Book, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, Garageband, iWeb, iCal, Quicktime, Photo Booth, System Preferences and anything else you want/need from the Applications folder, plus Trash.

Terrific idea, if you keep it that way.

Another solution to tearing icons off your Dock, if you use many apps is to drag your Applications folder to your Dock to the right side of the divider (same side as Trash).

You can then scroll through it and open apps. Many apps are not always on the top level and you need to go into folders. I make aliases of those apps so everything I may to launch is on the top level.

I would also suggest you take a look at Mac 101 and Switch 101. There's a wealth of info there.

Enjoy your Mac 🙂


-mj
macjack@gmail.com

It's also possible to use Workgroup Manager (part of the OS X Tiger Server Admin Tools) to lock items in the Dock so they can't inadvertently be dragged off. They can easily be unlocked by revisiting Workgroup Manager when needed.

Download the Server admin tools here:

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/serveradmintools104.html

After you get it installed, log out from your user account and into your admin account. Open Workgroup Manager. Under Address, enter localhost. In the other fields use your admin username/password. Select your user account. Click "preferences" at the top, and on the right side click "Dock". Click the "Manage Always" button near the top and your Dock icons will be locked.

Easier yet might just be to use the Parental Contols feature in System Preferences > Accounts. The Dock can be locked there.

Since I started using Workgroup Manager I tend to forget about the built-in Parental Controls. WM has so many more nifty account management options. For example with WM you can specify which Dock items you want locked. With Parental Controls it's all or nothing.

Well, I don't think WM will work on an admin account either. You need to create a new admin account and change your regular account from admin to standard.

Running all the time as admin is bad security practice. Apple recommends that admins always use a second non-admin account for everyday use, and only use the admin account for tasks that really need it (of which there are very few.) I almost never use my admin account.

If your computer's security becomes compromised (a hacker guesses your account password, or you download some malware, etc) you don't want to be running as admin. If you are, the malware can take over your entire computer, modify applications and the system, etc. By running as non-admin, only the contents of your home folder are vulnerable.

Running with higher privileges than necessary is never a good idea. This is why the root user account is disabled by default, and why Apple recommends administrators have a second non-admin account for their daily work, saving the admin account only for admin tasks.

Nearly all admin and even root tasks can be done from a non-admin account by authenticating when prompted. The task that requires an actual switch to the admin login account is pretty rare. Like I said before, I almost never use my admin account. I do admin and root tasks all the time from my non-admin account, by authenticating when prompted.

So there is no real reason to run all the time as admin. There is a big disadvantage from a security standpoint in doing so.

Hi Király, I understand that it is recommended not to run as admin and certainly not as root. But you know that your entire system can be compromised through a non-admin also?

Think of all the apps (just take a look on MacUpdate) that require no authentication to install.



-mj
macjack@gmail.com