I am trying out a new one today called Total Finder. From the developer-

Implemented features:

• TABS like in Google Chrome! (read more)
• Add a dual-panel mode (like in good old Norton Commander)
• Make Finder available system-wide on a hot-key (like Visor)
• Stop creating .DS_Store litter (read more)
• Show the folders always on top (read more)

Future goals:

• Add a better keyboard shortcuts (for keyboard-oriented freaks like me)
• Enable a cooperation mode with Terminal.app (for command-line lovers)
• Add user friendly MacFUSE support
• And what about better git/svn/hg integration?
• And more satisfaction!

Can’t say if I will ever get back to that daily grind, but here is a picture of my friend that ‘angs out on my desk.

Number One on the must have list is called Quicksilver. The website says this about it;

“A unified, extensible interface for working with applications, contacts, music, and other data.”

So what does that mean to the average user? Well, I never have to open the finder window to find a file, application, web address that I have visited. I just hit my key command (I use Option + z) and up pops the window and start typing. Open Mail? Option + z and type M, Quicksilver remembers how you work and will start to default to the most used application/folder/file that starts with M! Wow, I cant live without Quicksilver! Download it here.

In his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers such as Edgard Varèse and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands—he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which—often humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech and the abolition of censorship.

Zappa was a highly productive and prolific artist and he gained widespread critical acclaim. Many of his albums are considered essential in rock and jazz history, and he is regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time; he remains a major influence on musicians and composers. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as an independent artist. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.

Zappa was married to Kathryn J. “Kay” Sherman from 1960 to 1964. In 1967 he married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1993. They had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Gail Zappa manages the businesses of her late husband under the name the Zappa Family Trust.

The bulk of the band’s most successful self-written songs came from bassist/producer Paul Samwell-Smith who, with singer/harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty and rhythm guitarist/bassist Chris Dreja, constituted the core of the group. The band reformed in the 1990s, featuring McCarty, Dreja and new members.

X achieved limited mainstream success, but are considered one of the most revered punk rock bands and, by some critics, one of the best rock bands. One critic also suggests that X are one of the all-time greatest live rock performers. The band received an Official Certificate of Recognition from the City of Los Angeles in acknowledgment of their contributions to Los Angeles music and culture. They were also influential on various genres of music, including punk and folk rock.

In 2003, X’s first two studio albums, Los Angeles and Wild Gift, were ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as being among the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Like the Beatles, Utopia rotated lead vocals and shared writing credits, although Rundgren was a predominant influence. One distinctive feature of Utopia was its stylistic breadth, which ranged across psychedelic/progressive 1970s rock, soul-pop, blues, ‘stadium rock’ and heavy metal. Another was the band’s unabashed optimism, as evidenced by its name.

During that era, one knew a Utopia show wasn’t actually over until the band played Just One Victory (which Rundgren himself referred to as “the national anthem of Utopia”) from Rundgren’s seminal 1973 release A Wizard, A True Star.