Weekly Utilities Update: OnyX, Display Maestro, MacCleanse, more...

Our Weekly Utilities Update report is a list of all the updates for many Mac utilities that have been released in the past week. While utilities can be any tool that helps you perform a routine task (including image manipulation and synchronization), our main focus in this column is to bring you those that help in troubleshooting Mac hardware and software problems.

I usually include a small review with the utilities update, but this week I took a look at iDefrag in a separate review that you can find here: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10422120-263.html

The majority of the utilities this week are cleaning and maintenance applications which are exceptionally useful to have, though offer redundant features so usually only one is needed. I've enjoyed OnyX because it is free; however, the others may be more robust and include options like antivirus scanning.

Beyond cleaning applications, Display Maestro is great for people needing custom color and resolution output either for older and unique displays, or for enabling hidden screen resolutions that your current monitor supports. I recommend it, but caution against casual use since you may run into problems with unsupported resolutions and color depths on various monitors.

Recently Updated Utilities:

1. MiniUsage 1.0.0 - Display various information in the menubar.
2. iDefrag 2.0.0b2 - Defragmentation & disk optimization.
3. OnyX 2.1.2 - Maintenance, optimization and system personalization tool.
4. Snow Leopard Cache Cleaner 5.0.4 - System maintenance, optimization, antivirus.
5. Socks 1.3.4 - Optimization, maintenance and customization app.
6. CleanMyMac 1.7.3 - Clean up your Mac & free up hard drive space with a few clicks.
7. MacCleanse 1.5.3 - Scan and delete unnecessary files on your Mac.
8. Display Maestro 1.1.1 - Access all display resolutions and bit depths.

Questions? Comments? Post them below or email us!
Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums.