8 Comments

How-to: Make your own “SmackBook”

May 25, 2006 by in Apple,Cool,Howto,Tech with 8 Comments

If you happened to catch yesterdays video post regarding “SmackBook”, rest assured that you yourself can achieve the same results using a virtual desktop manager as well as a series of patches.

1. Install and run the patched DesktopManager
2. Download and unzip the zip file above (I just updated it with a binary version of notify, so you’ll have to re-download it)
3. Download amstracker from osxbook.com (I’m not allowed to redistribute it)
4. Place the amstracker binary in the directory where you unzipped smackbook.zip.
5. You should have a directory with the files amstracker, notify and smack.pl. From the terminal, in that directory, run the command perl smack.pl

You can grab the required files here. Honorable mention to xSmurf to pointing out the link to the tutorial.

Based on the comments, a few indivduals are expressing difficulties compiling the required files on Intel machines. If you’re interested in the SmackBook experience, but lack the motivation hack files, it’s probably best to sit back and wait for a standalone installer.


  • http://www.uneasysilence.com Dan

    Now major props to anyone who can get this working with Expose!

  • Noraa Haras

    Parallels works just fine with Expose, but you have to have it in window mode.

    I question the security of this method. It has you add yourself to a group that has access to root functionality. Until I see this answered I’m not going to install it. I think it is great and I have downloaded it, but my Mac has been secure as far as I know and I want to leave it that way.

    How’s it going Dan?

  • http://www.uneasysilence.com Dan

    I agree – I’m waiting until somebody puts this inder the looking glass.

    Bu tthe function I am looking for is that you tap the computer and expose shows/hides your windows.

  • http://5thirtyone.com Derek

    Tapping anywhere on your machine would be ideal rather than having to lift your arm to tap the edge of the screen.

    Makes me wonder what happens when you’re using your MacBook / Pro in a car, train, or bus with the bumps that come from the road.

  • tom

    I wonder if all the smacking might cause damage to either the hard drive itself, or, if whenever there is a change in motion, and the machine stops writting to the hard drive as intended if it could cause damage to either the files being written, or the file structutre being updated?

  • chad

    I would want a key combo to disable it….. because as mentioned above using the laptop on the move would suck…. you thinking typing and acidently hitting the track pad blows.. .just imagine moving your leg and changing OS’s in the middle of a 30,000 line piece of code…. no thanks :D

  • http://smurfturf.net/ xSmurf

    Man I just can’t wait to get my MacBook Pro to try it out and impress the PC dudes at school :D (The MB Pro’s coming in about a week or two :D )
    I’ll have to see if I can make this work with VirtueDesktop is it has much more of a WOW effect than DesktopManager, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible considering Virtue is based on DM. We’ll see :) Now all I’ll need is a free virtualization app… Q is currently porting the virtualization extension of Qemu, so yeah it’s coming!

  • http://www.thehumanaught.com/blog Ryan

    Any chance this will be coming to a PC near me? Or is this strictly a Mac thing?

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