Here’s an interesting fact: there’s no way to turn off a Mac startup chime. This means that you will likely be annoying anyone within ear shot every time you start up your Mac in public. For some, the sound of a Mac starting up is a bragging right. For others, this sound is plain embarrassing (after all, you don’t really want to be the one person in the coffee shop with the loud and obnoxious computer, do you?).

A new app called StartNinja aims to silence your Mac with chops and cuts – alright, no violence added, but StartNinja will get the job done. This simple startup desktop tool allows you the option to shut off your Mac’s startup chime right from, well, the start. Before that chime starts to sound, StartNinja will pop up and ask you if you wish to silence the sound coming from your Mac. If you respect those around you, you’ll select the “off” tab when StartNinja asks if you want to turn your startup chime off. If not, all you have to do is hit the “on” option (but, again, I ask: why would you?).

Why No Mute Button?

So, why don’t Macs have startup chime mute buttons? This is actually a very good question. On the Apple website (somewhere) it states that the startup chime can be muted by holding down the “Mute” button when starting up your Mac. While this does work, it’s not exactly the easiest way to make sure that your Mac isn’t annoying anyone around you. No, in fact, StartNinja seems to be a much easier way to avoid making too much noise. There’s just one problem with StartNinja: this desktop tool will only work through your Mac’s internal speakers.

If you happen to have additional speakers plugged in or have your headphones plugged into your Mac, StartNinja won’t be able to silence that sound. Then again, does it really matter if startup noise is flowing through your headphones? Also, you aren’t likely to bring portable speakers with you to a coffee shop or other public location (unless you’re “that” guy). If you just want to silence your Mac’s startup sound from home, you’ll need to make sure that your external speakers are disconnected or that you hold down that Mute button when starting your system.

Brilliant, Simple, and Can We Have More Please?

So, there’s nothing incredibly amazing about StartNinja, but it does serve a direct purpose. StartNinja is an example of a Mac tool that the general public would like to have more of. After downloading this tool, you can silence your Mac’s startup chime: a simple thought, but it’s also one that’s very much needed. Why Apple hasn’t made it possible to silence this chime is unknown, but it’s great to know that you can actually shut the startup chime off using StartNinja.

Alright, ready to make sure that your Mac can be silenced when you’re out and about? Head to the AllVu website (developer), from there, you’ll see the StartNinja option. After downloading this tool, you should be ready to roll the next time you start your Mac. Simple, brilliant, and more of what the Mac world needs, right?