OS X: Getting rid of Dashboard
Brad Chin
How to permanently* remove Dashboard in OS X Mavericks.
Now more than ever, Apple’s Dashboard feels redundant.
When Apple first announced Dashboard Widgets, it was sort of revolutionary to me; all of these mini-apps, adding functionality and usability to my computer with a tap. However, with the numerous innovations that have come about since multi-touch and iOS, Dashboard seems like a slow, unnecessary relic of OSX’s past.
Dashboard was designed before multi-touch mice and trackpad gestures, and was an innovation prior to the iPhone. But it’s still built into the latest Mac OS X release, Mavericks.
Don’t want it anymore? I didn’t. Why have something around that I’m not going to use that just slows down my computer and eats up bandwidth? Here’s how to kill it. Note: you need admin privileges.
Step one: Open Terminal.
Add the following line of code:
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean true
Two: Relaunch.
Add the next line:
killall Dock
Three DONE!
Now, Dashboard is finally a thing of the past.
Widgets are mini-apps. iPhone is a mini-computer.
I understand that some people will still benefit from Dashboard, I don’t need a list of reasons why it’s still valid. There are a number of really cool widgets available. Just nothing that I can’t do faster with Safari or more conveniently on my iPad or iPhone, devices that are always right next to me and can function as a second screen, mini-computer. Siri can do just about everything that standard widgets do (I can’t at the moment think of something I’d do with a widget that I can’t just tell my phone to do for me), without changing to a separate space or obscuring my main screen.
Not really permanent.
* However, sometimes we change our minds about things. If you need to bring Dashboard back, simply change true to false —
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean false
Don’t forget!
killall Dock
Dashboard should now be back.
If you like this sort of post or it helps you out, please let me know!
I feel like I shouldn’t have to write this (but lest it become a problem somehow)…
You modify settings on your system at your own risk. Please don’t blame me if something goes wrong or doesn’t work on your system — I’m not there, I don’t know what happened. I’m basically just passing along information that helped me.