Psst….Silence Your Mac’s Start-up Chime

Sep. 28th, 2008 | by Jackson Chung

Have you ever been embarrassed by your Mac’s chime after switching it on, especially if you’re in a quiet environment like your school or university library? Most elements on Macs are pretty poised and sophisticated. The chime is an exception. It isn’t exactly irritating but it isn’t elegant, either.

To avoid these embarrassing moments, I would normally have to predict where I will be the next time I boot up my Mac. If I’m heading to the library then I’d mute my Mac before shutting it down so that when I switch it on again, it wouldn’t chime. Unfortunately, I don’t always remember to do this and I still get “chimed” when I least expect it… and stared at.

Psst is a very simple application which allows you to adjust the system volume every time it starts up so that you won’t have to endure the wrath of the chime. In all seriousness, Psst will save you from countless moments of embarrassment.

After launching Psst for the first time, it will prompt you to adjust the system volume you want your Mac to be set at during every start-up. Slide the indicator all the way to the left to completely mute the system volume and click “Start Psst”. After that, you may quit the application. Psst runs a daemon in the background with close to no CPU usage.

Then you’ll just forget about it, like how I did. Psst runs smoothly on my Mac, changing the system volume right before it shuts down. I hardly remember that it’s running but it is something that I couldn’t do without.

However, do take note that Psst does not run on every model. The developer is currently compiling a compatibility database of which models work with Psst. So if you’re up for a little contribution, give Psst a try. If it runs on your system and eliminates the chime, then let the developer know about it.

Psst is available for free from Satsumac.com

Psst works on my setup, which is a MacBook 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo running OS X 10.5.5.

Lastly, here’s a little fun example of the Mac chime. Enjoy!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBmM4VM8Bv8

(By) Jackson Chung is a full-time medical student attempting to perform a juggling act with relationship, studies and his future