Panic’s terrific CandyBar tool has just been updated to support OS X Mountain Lion, and if you don’t already own it, you can now pick it up for free. Panic will no longer be charging for the app because of the new restrictions Apple has introduced to Mac OS X, which means CandyBar’s future is now unclear.
CandyBar allows you to collect, organize, and customize Mac OS X icons, and it’s great for those who like to play around with their apps by applying different icons. The problem is, Apple’s restrictions in Mountain Lion mean CandyBar is no longer as useful as it used to be.
Panic explains on its blog:
Apple changed how the Dock is rendered, so it’s no longer possible to customize the Dock’s look. (You can still customize the indicator lights!) Also, CandyBar still can’t change the internal icons of Mac App Store apps, due to code signing.
CandyBar, although simply changing files on disk, has always fallen into a slightly-uncomfortable-for-us grey area of existence. It seems clear to us that there will undoubtedly come a time (soon?) when CandyBar can no longer customize system icons at all.
With that being the case, Panic says it no longer feels comfortable charging for CandyBar, but it doesn’t want to just kill it, either. So instead, it’s making CandyBar free and handing it over to IconFactory, the developers behind Twitterrific. Although the app is now unsupported, Panic says that we can expect some minor Mountain Lion updates in the future.
Those who purchased the software in July can write to Panic for a full refund.
CandyBar may not be quite as powerful as it once was under Mountain Lion, then, but it’s still worth a download if you like tinkering with your icons. It won’t work on Mac App Store apps, of course, but it will work with those you downloaded and installed from other sources.
Source: Panic
Via: TUAW
