marc istatmenus

iStat Menus, the beloved Mac menu bar system monitor from Bjango, has been a staple for many users since its debut in 2007. Recently we spoke with Marc Edwards, the founder and designer behind iStat Menus, to explore the journey of this essential tool and how it stays ahead in system monitoring.

TheSweetBits: What inspired the creation of iStat Menus, and how has its vision evolved since its initial release in 2007?

Marc Edwards: “In 2005, we released quite a few free Dashboard Widgets. Mac OS X Tiger had just been released and Dashboard Widgets were the hot new thing for the Mac. One of the widgets we released showed system stats, which also coincided with us learning more native app development — Dashboard Widgets used web tech, but to fetch the info, some native code was required.

The next logical progression after that was to turn the widget into a full Mac app, which is how iStat Menus was born. Even if a lot of the details have changed, I’m not sure the vision has evolved much. Our goal is still to show all the important stats in a well made app.”

What are the top 3 most valuable features of iStat Menus for users, in your opinion?

“That’s quite a tough question to answer. iStat Menus has nine separate menu items that can be enabled or disabled, and each item has tons of settings. This means it’s pretty rare for people to have identical setups. Different people seem to value different parts of iStat Menus. Broadly speaking though, the CPU core usage, network bandwidth, and world clocks in the time menu are popular.”

What was the thinking behind adding non-system monitoring features like weather and time modules to iStat Menus 7?

“We’d added almost every other conceivable system stat, and strangely, weather was the most requested feature for iStat Menus. We were also considering building an iOS weather app at the time, which became Snowflake.

Weather is quite a challenge. We work with lots of different weather data providers, and have servers located around the planet to ensure fetching is as quick as possible. It makes a lot of sense to share that infrastructure between a couple of apps, given the effort required.”

iStat Menus integrates deeply with macOS. How do you ensure that the app works seamlessly with macOS updates and new hardware like the Apple Silicon Macs?

“I wish I had a clever answer for this one, but the reality is that we buy a lot of Macs and do a lot of testing. Apple Silicon has unified some parts of that, which helps. Our customers certainly help as well, and we typically start getting logs and bug reports immediately after Apple releases new Macs and developer betas of macOS.”

What are some real-world examples of how iStat Menus has helped users identify issues with their Mac’s performance or troubleshoot hardware problems?

“It can be pretty normal for background processes to get stuck in an deadlock or infinite loop, which usually results in one CPU core being at 100%. This is easy to spot if you show the CPU core graph in your menu bar. We’ve also heard customers say they noticed suspiciously high fan speeds, which was an indication their Mac had too much dust inside and was overheating.”

What are some of the most creative or unexpected ways you’ve seen users utilize iStat Menus?

“Initially, we thought iStat Menus would be predominately used by developers and enthusiasts. We didn’t expect to see so many video editors, musicians, and other creative professionals using it. This has often meant we’re surprised by who uses iStat Menus, rather than what they’re using it for. Being in the menu bar also means it can be seen, even if other software is in the foreground. I was recently watching an interview with Luke Slater (a well known techno producer), and was incredibly happy to see he uses iStat Menus.”

Are there any upcoming features or enhancements that you can share with us? What is your vision for the future of iStat Menus?

“We’re putting the finishing touchest on iStat Menus 7.1 right now. We have a lot of other features we’d like to add, but we’re not quite ready to announce those just yet!

Our goal is to continue to make a system monitor that poeple love, for decades to come.”

Final words

With iStat Menus 7.1 on the horizon and a commitment to long-term development, it’s clear that Marc Edwards and the iStat Menus team have no intention of slowing down. As Mac technology continues to evolve, iStat Menus will undoubtedly remain a vital system monitor tool, providing valuable insights and enhancing the overall user experience.

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