The Menu Bar can be a powerful tool and resource for every Mac. Here are 10 of what we think to be the best free Menu Bar applications out there. We would also like to hear which menu bar apps do you use/love?

WeatherBug Alert | Download

WeatherBug Alert for Mac helps you plan your day with confidence by putting severe weather alerts and your live temperature on your desktop in the menu bar.

Alarm Clock | Download

Alarm Clock is a lightweight application for setting iTunes alarms, timers, stopwatches and much more. Automatically wakes up your Mac and offers a slow-wake mode. This one is a must have.

Ejector | Download

Ejector adds an Eject icon to the Mac OS X menu bar. Great for people dealing with multiple disks, such as iPods, CDs, DVDs, USB drives, .dmg’s or hard disks. You can then safely disconnect them from your Mac.

SoundSource | Download

SoundSource is a tiny tool for OS X enabling you to switch your audio input and output sources with a single click, and even adjust their volume settings.

SpiritedAway | Download

Spirited Away checks each running application’s activity, and if an application isn’t active for a certain fixed time, Spirited Away hides the application automatically. It is, in effect, Spirited Away.

ByteController | Download

ByteController is a small user interface utility for controlling iTunes. ByteController gives you three buttons in your menu bar: Previous Song, Next Song and Play/Pause. Holding the Previous Song and Next Song buttons plays fast forward or rewinds.

ByteController supports hot keys and Growl.

iStat | Download

With 8 separate and highly configurable menu extras, iStat menus will let you know exactly what’s going on inside your Mac.

Deviant | Download

Deviant is a menu extra that allows you to link the current desktop to any folder, effectively swapping the items on your desktop.

Nocture | Download

Nocturne is a simple app for switching a computer to night vision mode, and much more.

MenuPrefs | Download

Hate having to go through two to three steps to change your Mac’s Energy Saver preferences? You can rest easy now, thanks to MenuPrefs. MenuPrefs provides a fast access to Mac OS X’s individual System Preference Panes.

Remember to let us know what application you think should be on this list.

The 10 Best Free Menu Bar Applications for the Mac is a post from: The Custom Mac

I am starting a new segment of posts title “Creative Macs”. These will be posts on all pertaining to people doing creative things with their Macs. I would love for this to become a community post project so if you find, read or know of a such related topic or story let me know.

This edition is MacBook maestro Ge Wang beds the boundaries of computer a musical instrument.

Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk), an ensemble of student computer scientists and musicians that uses 20 MacBooks to compose and perform new music. It’s an experimental fusion of portable computing and live performance that harnesses the notebook’s plug-and-play compatibility, state-of-the-art sensors, and raw processing power.

With SLOrk, we’re pushing the boundaries of how people make electronic music. For us, the MacBook is at the center of that goal. It enables everything we do. – Ge Wang composer/researcher/programmer

You can read the more about this group and what they do on Apple’s Creative Pro section of their website. You should also check out the SLOrk site and the video below of the Stanford Laptop Orchestra featured on evening news after the concert in the sculpture garden.

Stanford Laptop Orchestra: SLOrk on ABC 7 News

Mac Creativity: Stanford Laptop Orchestra is a post from: The Custom Mac

Yesterday Apple updated iTunes to 8.1 with a couple new features. The first being the renaming of the Party Shuffle to iTunes DJ. But more interesting than the name change is some new settings that come along with it. After you update iTunes and click on the iTunes DJ you will get the following screen letting you know of these 2 main options:

Once you click Continue and then open up the settings on the lower right of the window, you are given the following options DJ options:

Allow guests to request songs with Remote for iPhone or iPod touch
Add a welcome message
Enable Voting – Guests can vote to control when songs play
Require password

So now when you host a posh gathering your poshy friends with their posh Apple devices can interact with each other and your music.

Here are some other new features you will find in the 8.1 version:

• Supports syncing with iPod shuffle (3rd generation).

• Adds Genius sidebar for your Movies and TV Shows.

• Improves performance when downloading iTunes Plus songs.

• Provides AutoFill for manually managed iPods (anther way cool feature).
• Allows CDs to be imported at the same sound quality as iTunes Plus.
• Includes many accessibility improvements.

• Allows iTunes U and the iTunes Store to be disabled separately using Parental Controls.

iTunes Updated to 8.1 is a post from: The Custom Mac

Apple announced a new iPod Shuffle today with some interesting feature, a major one being the thing now talks to you. Other features include playlists, a new control interface via the ear phones and of course its crazy small. If you thought the shuffle was small you will be amazed at the size of the new one.

Be sure to check out the video at Apple site.

I will be interesting to see how well this new iPod does, and if the voice over and controls work well for people. Can you go to small and simple? We’ll find out.

New iPod Shuffle: Small Talk is a post from: The Custom Mac