Mac OS X only: Sick of not being able to exit Finder? A quick terminal command will add a "quit" option to the menu in Finder. This means you can run Finder like any other Mac application. If you're running some heavy applications, simply close Finder and enjoy the extra, albeit small, processing power. Open a terminal and enter the following command:

defaults write com.apple.Finder QuitMenuItem 1

You will need to restart for the changes to take effect. Here's the caveat: Finder also manages the icons on your desktop. If you exit Finder, you won't be able to see any of the icons on your desktop. Just click the icon in the dock to bring Finder back.

Mac OS X only: Turn your desktop into a photo slideshow using freeware app Wallsaver. Wallsaver is a very simple application written in AppleScript that replaces your wallpaper with the current screensaver. Setting the wallpaper as Flurry (shown above) is pretty annoying, however, using your pictures folder is an excellent way to use your desktop as a digital picture frame. A few months ago we showed Linux users how to get the same effect using a nautilus hack. Thanks, NineTailedFox!

Mac OS X only: Manage your FTP connections for free with Cyberduck. If you hate the idea of paying $30 for Transmit, give Cyberduck a whirl. Although not quite as advanced as Transmit, Cyberduck is nothing to scoff at. In addition to having an easy to use interface, Cyberduck also integrates with Growl and has a dashboard widget for easy drag-and-drop uploading. I've been using Cyberduck to manage my websites for about six months without any trouble. Cyberduck is a free download for Mac OS X only. Thanks, sgodun!