iStat Pro is possibly the only reason I continue to use the Dashboard. Right from its first iteration, iSlayer (now Bjango) created one of the most delicious widgets for the Mac. It’s also the most functional of the lot.
So what is it?
iStat pro is a highly configurable widget that lets you monitor every aspect of your Mac, including CPU, memory, disks, network, battery, temperatures, fans, load & uptime and processes. iStat pro can do it all.
What’s crazier is that the widget is completely free! If the Dashboard isn’t your cup of tea, you can go ahead and check out iStat Menus, which adds little counters to your OS X menubar.
Bjango also makes iStat Pro for the iPhone, which uses a server applet to send similar data that can be viewed on the iPhone from a remote location. The iPhone app however isn’t free, but at just a dollar or two for the download, it’s just as gorgeous and in many cases even more functional.
So whichever way you look, iStat has got you covered. Personally I use the dashboard widget the most, seconded by the iPhone app.