Since its release, I’ve been a fan of Jan Van Boghout’s VLC Icon Overhaul, preferring the dark video icons to QuickTime’s slightly modified generic document set. Part of the challenge of publishing a Mac application is coming up with icons that stand out against the rest of the system while still retaining the standardization that users expect, and Jan’s add-on makes VLC-playable files easily identifiable without introducing any confusion about their type. I’ve taken the liberty of creating 512×512 Leopard size icons for each format VLC can play, ready to drop into the application’s contents and use. Download the set here (full size preview), and follow the same instructions to install them. (Note that I haven’t built a large VLC application icon — something I may do soon.)

Mac OS X Internals author Amit Singh has put together a unique plugin for MacFUSE called GrabFS, which is a virtual file system of running applications, in which you can navigate through windows and view current screenshots. That’s a lot going on in one sentence, so lets take it bit-by-bit:

MacFUSE is a Google project headed by Amit to port the FUSE (”Filesystem in USErspace”) tool from Linux to Mac. Effectively, it mounts what appears to be a disk image, but the contents of the image can be from any source. The key to FUSE is that the apparent files and folders can be conjured up based on information obtained elsewhere, be it from other files and folders, a remote server, Flickr image streams, or process lists. Plugins allow authors to devise new ways of presenting a hierarchy to the end user, regardless of the original data format.

In the case of GrabFS, it lists each running application on your Mac as a folder inside the virtual FUSE disk. Inside every folder is a screenshot TIFF file for each window of that application, which you can view in place or copy out for later use.

MacFUSE isn’t a new project, but talented developers are continually thinking up new sources of information to plug right into your desktop.

I’m a huge fan of VMware Fusion for Mac OS X, but I thought the icon that it ships with it application could use a little work. Above all else, I wanted it to be Leopard ready, as the maximum icon size increased to 512×512, and the one that ships with VMware is only 128×128. So, I put together what I hope is a suitable replacement for it. You can download the icon by clicking on the thumbnail at right, or check out the full size preview before grabbing it.

To install the new icon, browse to your Applications folder, find VMware Fusion, and View Package Contents on it. Open the Contents and Resources folders, and replace “fusion.icns” with the icon from the linked download. You may have to authenticate and delete the icon first, and then drop in the new one. After the Finder and Dock processes restart, you’ll see the Leopard-ready VMware Fusion icon in place.

As much as I enjoy my Mac and its sleek design, sometimes things break unexpectedly, and that’s why I usually pay for the additional years of AppleCare on my Apple hardware. I realize I’m already paying a premium for the design of the computer, but I can justify the additional few hundred bucks when it gets me fast, quality support.

Just a few days ago, I popped open my MacBook Pro to check a few emails, and when I closed the lid to head off to work, I found that it wouldn’t shut properly. The lid would close, and after I let go, pop back up. Somehow, the display latch button had gotten stuck “in”, and no amount of fiddling would coax it back out. What to do…

The next day, I called AppleCare support to see what could be done. If you’ve been reading Command-Tab for any amount of time, you know I’m ready to dive into computer innards at a moment’s notice, but when I have free support, I’ll sure take it. After a note about any possible abuse, the AppleCare rep had a box at my door the next morning (if the computer is externally damaged, they may charge to repair abuse — that’s reasonable). Overall, the free repair took only 3 days to complete, including transit times. That’s downright impressive. Thanks Apple!