Xslimmer

Articleissues
article = y
OR = August 2008
refimprove = August 2008
advert = August 2008

Infobox Software
name = Xslimmer



caption = Xslimmer running on Mac OS X v10.5.
developer = LateNiteSoft
latest_release_version = 1.5.3
latest_release_date = May 31, 2008
operating_system = Mac OS X
genre = Utility software
license = Shareware
website = [http://www.xslimmer.com/ http://www.xslimmer.com/ ]

Xslimmer is an application for Apple's Mac OS X developed by LateNiteSoft.

The software is a utility to tweak universal binaries by stripping the binary from either its PowerPC or Intel code (depending on the system architecture used). In this way, savings of up to 47% could be reached (according to users). Google Earth 4, for example, reportedly shrinks in size from 101 MB to 52.8 MB (which is a 47% reduction).

As the developer states, the driving goal of Xslimmer is to achieve size reduction without compromising functionality. As of version 1.2, the option to strip applications from unwanted language files and localizations is added.

Additional features for safe use include a "blacklist" and a custom folder list (which is by default populated with key system locations). This prevents problems with applications (or the system itself) that will no longer work after size reduction.

With the "App Finder Genie", a user can list all size reducible applications on the hard disk and choose to slim them and save a considerable amount of hard disk space.

Notable observations

The mini-review of The Apple Blog even states that Photoshop CS 3 (Beta) now has "a solid 5 second launch time vs. the previous 6-8 seconds" on a 2 GHz MacBook with 2 GB RAM. This is with a slimmed binary and after restarting the computer and re-opening the application. This shows that some speed improvements could be made, possibly with other applications as well. However, most of the Adobe Suite CS3 applications are now on the black list.

Future development

The developer has hinted that the program will support additional languages. At the moment, Spanish, French, and Italian has been added.

References

* [http://theappleblog.com/2006/12/26/xslimmer-revisited/ Xslimmer Revisited] The Apple Blog, December 26, 2006
* [http://myapplestuff.com/xslimmer-review/ Xslimmer Review] MyAppleStuff, December 7, 2006
* [http://www.glennwolsey.com/2006/11/01/xslimmer-your-mac-on-a-diet/ Xslimmer Review] Glenn Wolsey, November 1, 2006
* [http://www.xslimmer.com/FAQ.html#FAQ_07 Future developments hints] Xslimmer's official site