GoMac 2.0 represents the first major update to the popular utility since ACTION Utilities aquired it close to three months ago. GoMac adds the functionality of the well-known Start Menu and task bar from Windows to the Mac OS while improving on many aspects of it.
Where do you want to go today?
The Start Menu represents the heart of GoMac, providing a place from where you can access vritually any file on your hard drive in a far more elegant way than the Apple Menu. By default, the Start Menu contains a variety of folders modeled after the Windows format. Your Applications folder in the root level of your hard drive will be listed as Programs while your Documents folders also becomes readily accessible. However, if you have either of those folders named differently GoMac will be unable to recognize them accordingly.
The Internet folder provides access to your more frequently used internet applications as defined by the Internet Config application while the Settings Menu gives you quick access to the Extensions Manager (or Conflict Catcher), your Control Panels folder, and a couple other utiltiarian aspects of the Mac OS. The Drives menu allows you to navigate hiearchicaly through any mounted volume but unfortunately the navigation is limited to a maximum of five levels deep, just like the Apple Menu (and selecting the Drives menu and the appropriate drive already counts as two). If you use the Apple Menu Options control panel then GoMac will also add the Recent Applications/Documents/Servers folders to the Start Menu.
You can also add items directly to the start menu, including applications and folders just by dragging them onto its icon. One interesting quirk is if you add Mac OS 8.5's Favorites folder to your Start Menu items then all folders with generic folder icons assume the Favorites folder icon.
All the rest
Beyond the Start Menu, the task bar represents the rest of GoMac. From the task bar you can see a list of currently open applications and you can switch to any one of them by clicking on its approriate button. Unlike Windows, though, the task bar won't list open folders. Also, the task bar cannot be resized vertically (although an Auto Hide option allows it to shrink down to just a couple pixels when the cursor isn't over it), which means if you have a dozen applications open they'll all be cramped into the limited task bar space, severly cutting off parts of the names.
GoMac 2.0 adds the ability to build up a mini-launcher in the task bar between the Start Menu and the list of open applications (similar to Windows 98). This QuickLaunch feature adds small icons your selected programs to the task bar that can be launched by single clicking the icon. The list of icons is grouped alphabetically so you won't be able to group types of applications without adding spaces in front of the names of the aliases.
Finally, the right hand part of the task bar houses a clock that presents a pop-up calender when clicked on. You can also coveniently add control strip modules to the right side of the task bar.
GoMac does have a handful of small annoyances. For one thing, not all applications will appreciate having less space to work with and as such some windows may appear off the screen or out of proportion. Likewise, the first time you intsall GoMac all of your pop-up windows will turn back to regular windows as well as every now and then after starting up after a crash.
The Drag and Drop portion of GoMac is also a little flawed. Adding an item to the Start Menu is as easy as dragging it on top of it, but you can also navigated through the nested folders while dragging a folder on top of the Start Menu. You can drag a SimpleText document through some folders and onto the AppleWorks application, but while AppleWorks will load up the SimpeText document won't. You also cannot move a file from one location to another by dragging and dropping it on the Start Menu and into a folder.
In the end...
ACTION GoMac 2.0 offers plenty of convenience, but at a price. Thanks to Mac OS 8.5's Application Switcher all it takes is a well organized Apple Menu and Control Strip to gain many of the features found in GoMac free of charge. However, if you take pride in your user interface GoMac makes a fine and elegant addition.
