Monday's Mac Gadget by John F. Braun What's Really Going On at System Startup? Symbionts Will Tell You June 26th, 2000 Symbionts 2.8.5 ($20 Shareware) Nivek Research During startup, the Mac OS does show some of the icons for the files it is loading. This is better than some other systems, where all you may see is an animated activity bar (hint hint). But there is much that Mac OS is not telling you. For one, it isn't showing icons for all startup items, just a few. You may also want to know the name of what is loading. Finally, it would be nice to see how much memory each items uses. Symbionts to the rescue. Symbionts consists of a control panel and extension. Drag them to your System Folder and restart. You should already notice a big difference. Each items which loads will have the name and memory used below it. You can also see the full name of what is loading on the top of the screen. If you keep the Caps Lock key down, Symbionts will show the total amount of memory used after everything has loaded. See What Files are Loading and How Much Memory They Use Symbionts can also enhance the default Extension Manager. In addition to enabling or disabling the same items as Extension Manager, Symbionts can also select which Apple Menu Items, Fonts and Control Strip Modules you would like to load. You can also define sets for special purposes, such as game playing or saving memory. The package is available in English, German and Dutch. Discover and control what's happening when your system starts up, and give Symbionts a try. Have any other Mac OS Gadgets you'd like us to look at? Let John know via e-mail, or share it with the rest of us in the Mac Gadget Forum. Monday's Mac Gadget is here to help you with those cool things that we all just have to have on our Macs. Shareware, Freeware, Postcardware, Emailware, and even commercial apps, Monday's Mac Gadget is here to help you find and use the best of these programs. John is a software engineer who works in the corporate R&D group of a Fortune 500 company, focusing on all aspects of communications technology. He has several degrees that claim he knows what he's doing when it comes to computers. After watching co-workers reinstall Windows, search for device drivers, and experience other horrors during the day, he's glad that he comes home to a Mac (compatible) computer. Have any comments, suggestions, or favorite Gadgets? Drop John a line at You can also Post Your Comments below. Current Monday's Mac Gadget Want to Supercharge Your Dock? Check Out Todos! - August 21st Worried About Your Mac Getting Jacked? Get JackSMS - June 12th Want iChat with Tabs? Try Chax! - April 3rd Visit Monday's Mac Gadget Archives for more great Mac Gadgets!