One of the first complaints many voiced when Leopard was released was the transparent menu bar. I am well aware that there are a couple of applications out there that will fix this, but there’s also a rather simple way if you have access to an image editor.

Here’s what my menu bar looked like with the transparency:

Now all you have to do is take your desktop picture and edit it in any graphics program you choose. At the very top, select 21 pixels and fill it with white.

Here’s the result:

You could also add a gradient:

Granted, that last one is a bit subtle, but you could experiment and come up with something much nicer than I did. So there you have it. The transparent menu bar in Leopard doesn’t have to be so bad. Try your own and have fun with it. For those who are curious, here’s a full shot of my desktop.

When Apple first released the iPod in 2001 I thought, “wow, those are pretty cool; I’d like to get one of those someday”. But as the years went on, and the models changed, I never did. For one, I’m cheap. Second, I’m picky. I never needed the vast storage of the nice models, and frankly didn’t want to pay the hefty price tag (see? cheap.). Well what about the shuffle you may ask… and I would refer you back to the picky. If I was going to get an iPod, I wanted to get one that I would enjoy. And that required an actual interface. When the first generation Nano’s arrived, I thought ‘aha, here we go’. But alas, it never happened (back to the cheap). Fast forward to 2007. I knew Apple was about to announce new iPod’s in the fall, so I figured now was my chance. I could get the gen 2 Nano for cheap after they announce the Gen 3. Perfect. I’ll finally take the plunge.

When the first spy photos of the gen 3 Nano first hit the net, there were a lot of folks bashing it. Design, small screen, whatever. It was nothing new. The same thing happens every time an Apple product gets leaked. But after it was announced, I knew I had finally found “the one”. Music, video, photos, calendar, games, etc. Perfect.

After a bit of discussion with the CFO (aka, wife o’ mine) I had my order in at Amazon. After several weeks of use, I must say, I love it. My drive to and from work is about 35 minutes. Previously I would spend the time flipping between stations, but now, I’m in podcast heaven. The screen is great, and the size is perfect. So now from the driveway to my desk and back again, I get uninterrupted entertainment and education.

So good job Apple from a long-time Mac user, first-time iPod owner.