TextExpander just released a new version. In doing so they went from a System Preference (Preference Pane) application to a standard Mac application.
What’s the difference?
Can you make a standard application act as a System Preference application?
— Paulie [eatl/ga]
A standard application runs in its own space, has document and tool windows, and is independent of other applications. A preference pane would usually alter something about Mac OS X.
But I wouldn't say the new TextExpander is a standard application -- it does alter Mac OS X and work with other applications. I would refer to it as a OS X extension.
But it is hard to define the difference between these anyway. It is like comparing motorcycles and cars. They are different, but do some of the same things too.
I have a similar question, I am new to programming and Objective-C/Cocoa is what I'm learning on. My first project is to convert an Application that was written as a preference pane, into a stand alone application. Is this an easy thing to do? Or is it more complicated then I'm hoping?
I don't know honestly, as I have limited experience with ObjC/Cocoa. Better to ask on a forum that deals exclusively with that -- there must be many.
Do we need the preference panes? I noticed they are taking up a lot of space on my mac.
They shouldn't be taking up much space at all. If an app has installed a preference pane, then you should keep it or otherwise the app may not work correctly. What makes you think that they are taking up a lot of space?