I frequently monitor processes on my Mac, just to check if one is not using up too much RAM or to ensure that my Mac is performing correctly. The default application that most users work with, Activity Monitor, is found under Utilities in the Applications folder.
Cadent monitorLite offers a different view on processes, displaying them in a hierarchical graph. The idea is promising and gives you an immediate overview of all processes and their structure, particularly in full screen.
We were however disappointed by the display tools, zoom and stretch, which do not really seem to actually improve your view of monitors. Clicking on one process brings up an information window, but it is generally lacking in data. We were also disappointed by the refresh function, which gives you intervals only seconds and over 10 minutes.
Cadent monitorLite certainly is a different take on process monitoring. However it feels a little too awkward to successfully replace the Activity Monitor.
Pros
Shows hierarchies
Cons
Zoom and stretch not very intuitive
Limited refresh
Cadent monitorLite is a process/application monitoring utility which currently runs as a universal application (Intel and PPC) under MacOS 10.4 and 10.5 (other support coming soon). monitorLite offers these features:
Represents the process/application information as a hierarchical graph rather than a flat list.
Uses a small amount of CPU.
Provides a powerful “snapshot” feature allowing you see what is, and is not, running on your system now relative to a previous point in time.
Has a search box to quickly find processes you are looking for.
Provides a slimmed down view of what files/internet connections an application has open.
Can export these graphical views to the graphviz DOT file format. This makes it available to other applications which support the DOT format such as graphviz (http://www.graphviz.org) and the Omni Group’s OmniGraffe version 5 (http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/ ).
Has two security modes: privileged mode, and user mode to accommodate different security concerns.
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