
If you are short on RAM, the data inactive apps use is copied off to your HD. They aren't assigned a chunk of your RAM chips. But under OS X, applications that are not actively running not only take no processing power, but the RAM they "consume" is only a virtual allocation. Konfabulator not only takes up FAR MORE RAM, but RUNS ALL THE TIME.ĭashboard goes to sleep between F12 pokes, and the system isn't slowed in the slightest by the Dashboard icon having a triangle under it.Ĭlassic Mac OS users are often horrified to find apps open in the background and worry they are taking up processor and RAM. Apple's Dashboard only runs when you have it open that's why it's designed as it is, and why you can't run widgets outside of the dashboard layer without changing how Dashboard works. Konfabulator is an interesting thing to bring up in the thread of turning off Dashboard. To turn Dashboard off: defaults write mcx-disabled -boolean YES To turn Dashboard on: defaults write mcx-disabled -boolean NO You have to restart the Dock after making either change for it to take effect: killall Dock Launch Terminal and then enter the following commands. So here it is, with thanks to the original poster who found it.

In my case, I just don't use it, and dislike having applications running that I don't use or need.Īfter some searching, I found this hint, but didn't find anything similar on MacOSXHints.

Depress your " F12" key or click on the desktop to close the Dashboard.Some people have claimed memory or performance problems with Dashboard. Click closed as many widgets as you wish to unload from the Dashboard. To disable the widget, simply click on the icon, and the widget will unload from the Dashboard.

In this lesson, we will learn how to remove under- and unused Dashboard widgets in Mac OS X 10.4/10.5/10.6 ! Still, the convenience of using Dashboard widgets has its price: Dashboard widgets are RAM and power hungry, and the more widgets you have loaded, the more RAM and power the Dashboard consumes. Mac OS X Dashboard widgets are a great way to perform quick tasks that pertain to everything from calculators to calendars to finding new movies.
