MacHack was a Macintosh software developers conference first held in 1986 in Ann Arbor, Michigan in partnership with the University of Michigan. The conference was organized and operated by Expotech, Inc. The final (18th) MacHack conference took place on June 19–21, 2003. In 2004 the conference was renamed ADHOC (The Advanced Developers Hands On Conference). 2005 was the last year of the ADHOC conference.

History[edit]

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The conference was atypical of computer conferences in many ways. Keynotes were generally delivered at midnight. The focus of the conference was less on attending sessions and more on developing 'hacks': displays of programming, scripting, configuration, or other techie prowess. Hacks were presented in a raucous Friday night show and recognized at a Saturday banquet. The best-received hacks were those developed on-site during the three-day conference, and those that embodied both remarkable technical skill and utter impracticality. Hacks that were perceived as having some utility value were penalized.^[1]

Rather than being held in a vibrant or popular location, the first MacHacks were held in the Holidome in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After a few years, the conference tried one year at what has become known as the MacHack from Hell. Subsequent MacHacks were held in an indistinct Holiday Inn along the Southfield Freeway in Dearborn, Michigan, adjacent to a CompUSA, a Wendy's, a Chili's, and not much else.

One of the key events each year was Bash Apple,^[2][3][4] typically involving one or more brave souls from Apple taking feedback from the angry mob, sometimes for hours on end. Jordan Mattson was one such Apple representative, engaging so regularly and earnestly that the phrase 'It's all Jordan's fault' became a mantra of MacHack.

The MacHax Group held the First Annual MacHax Group Best Hack Contest at the second MacHack in 1987.^[5] The Hack Show generally started at midnight, and ran as late as 5AM. Prizes were awarded to many of the contestants, generally inexpensive and tangentially related to the name or nature of the hack. Unbeknownst to most of the attendees, a key goal of prize selection was to see just how outrageous items could be and still have contestants being willing to take them home. During the Dearborn years, the official and beloved hardware store and key purveyor to the contest organizers was Duke's Hardware. Winners were selected by ballot at lunch later that same day, and awards awarded at dinner. The top prize was the coveted Victor-brand rat trap modified to say 'A-trap'. A-trap is a reference to the Motorola 68000 A-trap exception mechanism which Apple used to great effect in the creation of Macintosh^[6] and provided the foundation for much of the hacking enjoyed by attendees.

MacHack's small, informal ethic, and on-site coding challenges have been carried on by a number of conferences; for example, the C4 conference was explicitly created as an attempt to fill the void left by the end of MacHack.^[7]

Conference mantras[edit]

• Sleep is for the weak and sickly
• Kill Dean's INITs
• It's all Jordan's fault
• Who makes the rules?
• MARKETING!!!
• 72 Hours Caffeine and Code

Keynote notables[edit]

Best Mac And Cheese Hacks

• Original Macintosh development team reunion: Andy Hertzfeld, Randy Wiggington, Daniel Kottke, Caroline Rose, Jef Raskin and Bill Atkinson - 2001^[8][9] Scheduled to appear, but unable to attend: Guy 'Bud' Tribble, Bruce Horn^[10]
• Eric Raymond - 2000 'open source sermon'^[11]
• Steve Wozniak - 1997, 2001^[12][13]
• Ted Nelson (who may still be speaking in the Savoy Room)

Best Mac Hacks

Notable hacks[edit]

Incomplete list of 1987 hacks[edit]

• Animated Icon in Finder by Roy Leban
• HeapInit by Fritz Anderson
• SetPaths by Paul Snively
• The Best Hack Implemented in a Nonexistent Product by Darin Adler, Mitch Adler, Leonard Rosenthal, and Paul Snively. It was written using HyperCard, at the time an unreleased product codenamed WildCard.
• Best Power Hack by Mother Nature and NASA. A lightning strike unexpectedly launched three missiles.

1994 Best Hack[edit]

• 5th place: Metwowerks New & Improved, an addition to Metrtwerks Code Warrior development environment.
• 4th place: Stargate arcade game emulation.
• 3rd place: NewTablet, which turns a Newton into a mouse replacement for a Macintosh.
• 2nd place: POArk, Pong Open Architecture; supports any number of players on different operating systems.
• 1st place and winner of the coveted A-Trap award: FEZ by Doug McKenna, demonstrates an advanced set of ZoomRect techniques. [1]

1998 Best Hack[edit]

• 6th place: Switcher 98
• 5th place: Spotlight
• 4th place: Phaseshift
• 3rd place: 180 Years of Hack
• 2nd place: OFPong
• 1st place and winner of the coveted A-Trap award: asciiMac by Alexandra Ellwood and Miro Jurisic [2][3]

TidBITS coverage of 1998 MacHack: https://tidbits.com/article/4972

1999 Best Hack[edit]

• 5th place: PatchMaker by Paul Baxter.
• 4th place: MacJive by Ned Holbrook and Jorg Brown.
• 3rd place: Desktop Doubler by Ed Wynne.
• 2nd place: Out of Context Menus by Eric Traut
• 1st place and winner of the coveted A-Trap award: Unfinder by Lisa Lippincott

Complete list of 1999's hacks and a conference report.^[14]

Incomplete list of 2000 hacks[edit]

• Doggie-Style Windows (best yoot hack)
• L33t like Jeff K (best OS X hack)
• EtherPEG
• Los Alamos Security
• Monitor Doubler
• Vertigo
• Dock Strip

Complete list of 2001 hacks[edit]

• 99 Bottles Hack
• Airport Radar(tm)
• AntiLib
• APLocation
• Apple Turnover
• AquaShade
• AquaWriter
• asciishopsource
• Beeper
• BOFH
• Buzzy
• Carol Goodell's Hack 2001
• Cat Juggler
• CDaemon
• Chia Windows X
• Chris Page's Hacks
• Crrrhaack
• Crypt-Oh
• CSFinalHack Module
• D-Trash
• DarkWaver ƒ
• DFA Doubler
• Dr. Cheshire's PPPoE Server
• DSPanic
• Eudora Stat Server
• F1Hack
• FWMacsBug
• GeniusBar ƒ
• GhostFinder
• GrowBoxDock
• Hackable AirPort Network Seeker
• Heep Peeker ƒ
• HelloTree
• HFS-
• Hunter's Hacks
• iBook turbo switch
• ImageToHtml (transformed an image into an HTML table composed of 1x1 pixel cells)
• iTunes (HACKED)
• iTunes Dock Dance Plugin
• iTunes Remote
• iWake
• Juggler
• Kilroy
• King of Swing
• Light Sleeper
• Mac OS X Patching Docs
• MacCleo
• Max's MADLIB from Hell
• Mentat
• More Prefs 1.0 ƒ
• MrMacintosh
• musicPrompter
• Network Alias
• NotEnoughSecrets
• NQCYA
• OurHack
• PageFido
• Palm Finder 2
• PalmDock
• PaperMaker
• PhaseShiftX
• Pied Piper ƒ
• PigLatin Folder
• pixelZone
• Polyhedra
• Pro Mousing
• pseudoDoc
• Saton Vs. Little Red RidingHood
• Silly String
• Spear Britney
• SpellCompositor
• Talking Steve
• TECalc ƒ
• TEPeste ƒ
• TheWeakestLink
• Throbber
• TiVo(tm) for QuickTime TV(tm)
• Tricycle (Lego Mindstorm(tm))
• Unprotected Memory
• Useful Hack
• X-Menu 2.0

Complete list of 2002 hacks[edit]

• HaikuReporter
• DockDockGoose
• newstracker
• LCD Degauss
• ClassicEdge
• ACursor
• Carol Goodell Hack 2002
• Xydra 0.1
• TuXin
• Starbanger
• BreakoutLevelEditor
• SlowDown
• Clarus all over
• WatchCow
• Lightnin'
• Dude,You're Getting a DogCow
• VIMim
• iBacklight
• Mr Lo
• Dock&Roll
• Load Minimizer
• Billy Carnage 1.0
• OpenGirL
• Project Mayhem
• Alarm Clock
• The Cat's Meow
• somersault
• Oh What A Hack
• The Iron Hack
• penguin gear (pres)
• Dock Invaders
• AniMac
• MOOF through the ROOF
• Airport Security 2002
• Shard
• aurport extender blender
• lcdSTAT!
• Ye Olde Movie
• Metadata
• airmoof
• Utility Scoring Stye (pres)
• Little Brother
• Mike's Moof
• 3DogCow
• VideoFinder (not on CD)
• Jini Network Technology
• iMovie Hack
• Mac Enforcer
• JITObjectiveC
• InformedChoiceChooserFacelft
• nocat
• mosaiHack
• JNib
• iMenu
• APPLE VIDEO SAVER
• SleepItemsX
• DogcowMenu
• IconHunter IV ƒ
• Depth Perception
• Claris Coaster
• RCX Remote Control
• FireStarter
• dukeshardware.com
• HandMatrix
• OldSchoolEdit

Complete list of 2003 hacks[edit]

• Editable SPOD
• Jet Lag
• Haunter
• Sparkie
• Unstoppable Progress: Causes a progress bar to be filled with water.
• Desktop Control Panel Extension
• Secret Life of Apple Logo
• Stinkin Badges
• SPOD was here
• EdgeWarp
• DADEL
• GUI Kablooie
• AirPong
• ClickAndAHalf
• warphack
• underthedesktop
• DecryptErrorMessage
• FishEyeMenus
• Antiqualc
• SetiMonitor
• X-MENu 2 Unexpected End of File
• WTA Death Watch
• wait
• CyberCat
• Interface UnBuilder
• QTJGrab
• Script Adventure
• MagicLocalizer
• GLCheat
• iPod Adventure
• Spinning Clock of Death
• Cocoa DocTour
• Desktop Control Panel Extension
• Size Doesn't Matter
• The Boot
• mountxml
• iTunes Control
• iTunes Location Launcher
• Gnomes
• SEV
• iAnalyseThis
• MoodRing
• Packetplay
• Packet the Magic Dragon
• spuds
• alCrashda
• iPodRip was built at MacHack but not demonstrated as a hack

Mostly Complete list of 2004 hacks[edit]

• BadBadThing
• EtherPEGCocoa - A program that showed any JPEG images coming across the network (even by other users) in a window. A screensaver version was also produced.
• EULB Extension Program - A program that simulates a 2004-era iBook logic board error that results in screen flashing on Macs that don't have that issue.
• ExposéHopper - Turn on Expose and jump from window to window with a little figure.
• FrodoFinder
• Magic 8 Ball
• MailToOnCrash
• MegaManEffect - Shows the mega man intro whenever you start an application
• Neko Returns
• NotTheSameOldTrash
• Rumor Mill
• Scroll Plate - Hold a paper plate with an up-pointing red or down-pointing green arrow on it in front of the webcam and your Mac will scroll in that direction.
• SmartMouth
• SpellingB
• Stupid Shell Tricks 2004 - A bunch of shell scripts that do fun things, like one that would open/close the CD tray on Macs in the next room in a choreography.
• Talkicity - An app that used various Talking Moose animations and ran a conversation between them in a window.
• Temporary Items
• Unsummarize - A service plugin that takes a piece of text and makes it longer, seemingly doing the reverse of the system's 'summarize' service.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'MacHack FAQ'. Hacks that don't demo well seldom win, even if they're incredibly cool. Hacks that actually have some value usually lose votes for being 'useful'.
2. ^Dave Winer MacHack conference report
3. ^TidBITS Talking Back to Apple at MacHack, 13 Sep 1999
4. ^Dave Feldt MacHack conference report, 1987
5. ^1987 MacHack conference report
6. ^Hertzfeld, Andy. 'Cut, Paste and Crash'. folklore.org. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
7. ^Jonathan Rentzsch, C4: Chicago Mac Developer ConferenceArchived 2010-01-06 at the Wayback Machine, September 08, 2006
8. ^http://www.macworld.com/article/1018082/machack.amp.html
9. ^https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/49408-machack-meeting-to-reunite-first-mac-team
10. ^https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/49474-mac-creators-debate-os-x
11. ^http://www.linuxtoday.com/developer/2000062300620OSCL
12. ^http://www.macworld.com/article/1018082/machack.amp.html
13. ^https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/49408-machack-meeting-to-reunite-first-mac-team
14. ^1999 hacks and conference report

• MacAddict magazines
• The Institute (IEEE, Piscataway, New Jersey); Volume 18 number 6, September 1994; page 16, 'After 5' column

External links[edit]

• Official Site note the ironic catchphrase
• Official FAQ last updated April 7, 2003
• 180 Years of Hack PD Magnus' brilliant historical examination, circa 1998.
• Will Hack for Food! Coverage of MacHack from 1998 through 2005 from TidBITS

Boost your daily work flow and tick off all your tasks on your to-do list with these awesome Mac productivity apps and hacks. Learn more in this blog.

Do you find it difficult to concentrate or optimize your productivity at work?

The coronavirus pandemic has 58% of American knowledge workers working in remote offices. In most cases, those remote offices happen to be their homes as well.

Our homes are places where we are most relaxed and secure, yet it doesn’t encourage much productivity. After all, it’s our safe place, and it’s one that’s far from anything work-related. Yet, in situations like now where people need to work from home, people have no choice but to grin and bear it.

In this guide, we’ll give you 10 Mac productivity apps you can use wherever you are for whatever you need to finish.

1. Customize Your Keyboard Shortcuts

Nothing feels as great as having a code that’s only yours. The thing about Macs is they give users the chance to tailor personal keyboard shortcuts. Customize your keyboard shortcuts and save time on doing tasks the long way.

This is perfect for those who often find it bothersome to have to switch between mouse and keyboard. It’s perfect for users with hand or finger conditions, too. Plus, you don’t need to download any fancy or new app for this neat Mac hack.

2. Turn off Unnecessary Startup Programs

It can be frustrating to start your day with a Mac that takes too long to boot up. You know you have better uses for the few precious minutes you used to sit and wait for the bootup process to finish. One of the likeliest reasons for this is that you have too many programs that run upon startup.

Thus, it’s in your best interest to turn off these automatic apps. Go to System Preferences, click on Users & Groups > Login items tab, and uncheck unneeded apps. We’re even betting most of them are apps you don’t often need.

3. Talk to Your Team

Best Mac Book Pro Hacks

The COVID-19 situation highlighted the benefits of remote offices and work-at-home approaches. However, for many who’s used to working in an office environment, their workflow at home is slower and less productive. If you work in a remote office, it can be difficult to communicate with team members too.

Download and install apps like Zoom for Mac. Today, Zoom is one of the best Mac apps for holding online meetings and virtual gatherings. It’s a great tool to stay connected with your team and feel like you’re working alongside officemates again.

4. Sign PDFs and Documents on Your Mac

Signing PDFs can take a lot of effort and some key equipment. The typical way to do it is to sign on paper, scan, and then attach the signature to a digital file. However, Mac has a built-in tool that offers a great shortcut.

This hack is to use the Create Signature tool in Preview. First, open the PDF in Preview. Then, either you use your Mac’s trackpad, or you take a photo with your Mac’s webcam.

The thing about this nifty hack is that you can save your signature and use it for future signings.

5. Jot Notes on the Go

If note-taking is a common activity for you, you’ll appreciate Bear. Bear is a free app created for Mac users for on-the-go note-taking. With it, you can even make to-do lists, create reminders, and highlight concepts in your notes.

Another great productivity app for Mac is MindNode. It’s perfect for those who prefer to organize visual ideas and mind maps. You can get MindNode’s core app for free and buy features with in-app purchases.

6. Automate File Organization With Mac Productivity Apps

Is it difficult for you to find time to organize the files in your Mac? You don’t need to adjust your schedule to do that anymore. All you need is to get organization tools to do it for you.

Try apps like Hazel, which is an automated organization tool created for Mac. With it, you customize parameters which the app will follow when organizing files. Buying the program costs $32 only, which is enough for one of the best productivity apps for Mac.

7. Use Shortcuts to Type Longer Texts

TextExpander is an app that can write down an entire paragraph when you type a shortcut. It’s great for those who often find that they have to repeat typing bits of text. Instead of typing the entire thing, all you need to do is set a shortcut for the bit of text that you need on your screen.

It’s great for moments when you’re in a rush to finish certain documents. It’s also perfect for those who aren’t so fast when working with a keyboard. Getting a TextExpander account costs only $3.33 per month.

8. Use a Voice-to-Text App

If you want to avoid the keyboard at all costs, get apps like Otter. It’s one of the most useful Mac productivity apps if you’re not feeling productive. Instead of typing, all you need to do is talk.

It uses an AI and voice-recognition system to take notes. You can even use it to take notes during meetings and transcribe conversations. Since it has voice recognition, it can separate different lines from various speakers.

It’s great for

Get Otter for free at the Mac App Store now.

9. Use Task Management Apps.

Do you have too much to do that you feel like collapsing only from seeing your long list of tasks? Since the coronavirus pandemic, businesses are migrating to online and digital means. This means there’s more work for people who specialize in the digital and online industries.

Even if you don’t specialize there, having too many things to do in a short time can feel impossible. To make your life and workload easier, start looking into task management apps like OmniFocus. These apps do the small and simple things for you, so you can focus on big and complex problems.

10. Send and Receive SMS on Your Mac

The mobile phone is one of the most useful yet distracting pieces of technology we have. You can most likely relate to this sentiment, and you’re wondering how to prevent that. One way to do it is to access SMS through your Mac.

You’ll need to have an iPhone that’s running iOS 8.1 at least. Turn on ‘Text message Forwarding’ in your iPhone’s messaging settings. Now, you can focus on your work better and get less distracted with your phone.

Start Doing More Work

As Jim Rohn once said, either you run the day or the day runs you. Being the most productive you can be is all about self-discipline. We hope these tips and apps help you develop a sense of control over your work discipline and productivity.

That’s our list of 10 top Mac productivity apps and tips to follow. We hope this guide helps you find the apps you never thought you needed. If you want to learn more useful tips and tricks, check out our other guides.