

A pro tip for reducing visual noise in OS X - okor
http://jasonormand.com/2014/08/26/a-pro-tip-for-reducing-visual-noise-in-osx/

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jongold
I use Bartender[1] for ~the same purpose. I love the idea of a minimal menu
bar there's just too much _stuff_ I might want to check occasionally.

So Bartender just shows me my time tracker (important for client work),
Fantastical (I could probably ditch this) and battery status; everything else
is in the hidden Bartender draw until I need it. Just one hotkey away - I bind
it to Hyper-B[2]

[1] [http://www.macbartender.com/](http://www.macbartender.com/)

[2] [http://brettterpstra.com/2012/12/08/a-useful-caps-lock-
key/](http://brettterpstra.com/2012/12/08/a-useful-caps-lock-key/)

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mitchty
I love bartender, also love the ability for it to show stuff if the icon
changes for a certain time. Say weather app stuff, it can stay hidden, but if
the weather changes might as well stay up there a minute or two then go away
again.

Another app I love is Spirited Away, which will auto command-h an app after a
certain period of inactivity. Can disable it as well but its an interesting
way of keeping windows hidden.

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jonifico
I recently bought an iMac with Mavericks and the fullscreen applications work
like wonders. They hide the menu bars and deck, letting you see them when
hovering over the edges. It's my first Apple PC, so I don't know how it is
with previous versions, but definitely worth a look if you're a bit of a
productivity freak like me.

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jayrhynas
A different approach to this is Bartender [1]. It hides the menubar apps on
the right but keeps the menus on the left.

[1] [http://www.macbartender.com/](http://www.macbartender.com/)

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okor
+1 for the solid alternative. I hadn't see this before. Thanks!

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danso
Not a bad idea, though I don't know if the need outweighs the work of
installing yet another background app...for starters, the menu bar really
isn't that much "noise" (at least on the left side, I do agree that the
background-app icons seem to proliferate on the right)...secondly, on an iMac
screen, or even a 15-inch Retina, my eyes have more than enough real-estate to
dwell on without even noticing the menu bar.

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okor
I feel you. I wish there was a better way. However, the application is
currently using only 7MB or RAM and 0% CPU, according to the activity monitor
(MBA ~ 2012). A small price to pay if reducing distractions is important to
you.

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Kona_Company
Doesn't full screen mode solve the problem of menus?

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fuzzywalrus
Full screen has a set of limitations for multiple monitors, either you're
locked into one full screen app or the somewhat confusing world of separate
workspaces for each display.

