AppAddict

A Different App for Managing Background Items

I posted yesterday about an app I'd tested called StartupManager that helps control the login items on your Mac by reordering them, starting them hidden and introducing delays. One thing it doesn't do is control items that launch in the background. Today I found an app that does a good job with that aspect of app management. Coincidentally, it's also called Startup Manager, but it's a totally different app by a different developer, Systweak Software (Shrishail Rana). Where it shines is in telling you all the apps that you have installed that have background processes, even if they are disabled....

October 29th, 2024 Mac Apps

Free Startup Manager with Many Options

macOS doesn't make it easy to manage your startup options anymore. The app, Startup Manager, by developer Arie van Boxel brings back some of the options that have been removed and adds quite a few more. If you use Startup Manager, you can once again choose the order in which apps launch, and you can have them hidden on launch as well. Other features include:• Temporarily disable a startup item without removing it from the list • Use different sets of startup apps which you can choose at login • Backup/restore login sets • Stop/Start all or a single Login Item with...

October 28th, 2024 Mac Apps

Obsdian’s Many Uses

In all my time using a Mac, I’ve never found more uses for a single app as I have for the note taking app, Obsidian. With a robust selection of over 1900 plugins, Obsidian can be configured to import and manipulate data from a great many sources. It can even be used for publishing. Using the Dataview plugin makes it function like a database. It stays open at all times on both my Macs. There are a great many resources to help you master it, including on Reddit, Discord, the developer’s website, YouTube and numerous blogs. Here are 77 use...

October 27th, 2024 Universal Apps

Virtual Buddy - Run Mac and Linux VMs with Ease on Apple Silicon for Free

If you want to test out betas without endangering your primary machine or if or if your a developer looking to test backwards compatibility with previous versions of macOS with your app or even if you just want a safe way to test software you want to try before adding it to your daily driver, take a look at Virtual Buddy, by developer Guilherme Rambo, a GitHub release with 5.1K stars. It also runs several Linux distros if you have a need for that. You can choose a Mac release (including betas) from a long list ranging from macOS 13.3...

October 26th, 2024 Mac Apps

Mouse Boost - Right-Click Powerhouse

One of the most useful features of Finder replacements like PathFinder or Qspace Pro is the enhanced right-click menus they offer with features like cut, copy and paste for files and the ability to create different types of new files among others. Not everyone wants to replace Finder though for various reasons like security and system overhead. Luckily, there is a handy utility, MouseBoost, from developer gmshrek that adds numerous features to the right-click menu in Finder itself. Features• Create new file - add any file type you want • Commonly used directories - I added Downloads and Screenshots •...

October 25th, 2024 Mac Apps

SoundSource from Rogue Amoeba

The default Mac controls for audio aren't that great if you have multiple sound outputs, laptop speakers, Bluetooth earbuds or external speakers in a docking setup. Rogue Amoeba's SoundSource is an example of what granular control should look like. A menu bar app that can be summoned with a hotkey or turned into a floating window, SoundSource offers machine wide controls for Output, Input, and Sound Effects settings for all system devices with a slider for each one's volume control. There is also a button for a feature called Magic Boost which does a great job of enhancing sound quality,...

October 24th, 2024 Mac Apps

Good Old Time Machine Editor - A Useful Free Utility

By default, the built-in macOS backup utility, Time Machine, makes a new snapshot on your designated backup disk once an hour. This can be problematic during your work day if you need the full system resources of your computer, but it has decided to start copying a bunch of files to your backup. The venerable utility, Time Machine Editor, a free app by developer Thomas Clement is the solution to this problem. To use TME, you first need to go into Time Machine options in System Settings and set your backups to "Manually." Download and install TME from the developers's...

October 23rd, 2024 Mac Apps

Encrypto - Free File Encryption App

Sharing sensitive data via email or cloud services is risky without using encryption. Advanced users can use Disk Utility or a compression app like Keka to make a disk image or ZIP file with a password but an easier solution and one with a few more features is Encrypto from MacPaw. Encrypto takes any file or folder and secures it with 256-bit AES encryption. Instead of relaying the password in a separate email or phone call, you can create a password hint with the app that only the recipient would know. You can send the encrypted file via email, Messages,...

October 22nd, 2024 Mac Apps

Duplicati - Free Encrypted Offsite Backup for Your Mac

I am a firm believer in establishing a backup routine with multiple failsafes. I've managed to hold on to some of my data for over 25 years as a result. Yep, I still have the MP3 files I downloaded from Napster in the 90s. I run a Time Machine backup and I make regular SuperDuper full disk clones. For offsite data storage, I recently discovered Duplicati, a free, open-source backup program that uses encryption to securely store your data on various cloud services, local drives, or remote servers. It offers flexible scheduling, versioning, and incremental backups for reliable data protection....

October 21st, 2024 Mac Apps

ClicKnow - A Different Kind of AI Tool

Most AI tools on the market these days fall into one of two categories: • Writing assistants that correct spelling and grammar or do other text manipulation • Basic question answering or search engine type functions ClicKnow by independent developer aike9m studio doesn't do either of those things. It also doesn't require a monthly fee or the use of your own API key. What ClicKnow does is act on text you select to perform a variety of functions. It is compatible with PopClip in that you can have apps running at the same time and get full functionality from both...

October 20th, 2024 Mac Apps

Kiano - A Unique Image Sorter and Viewer for Apple Photos

Kiano, a free app from the Visual Computing Group, provides a unique way to view and search your photo library. On my M3 iMac, it analyzed 22K images in about two and half minutes. It then displayed a grid of all the photos grouped together by similarity to one another. For example, all the landscape images I had showing broad expanses of sky were together, as were the man, many dual selfies of my wife and i. You can choose to have the sorting weighted towards color or towards content. Clicking on an image opens it within the program, where...

October 19th, 2024 Universal Apps

Deskpad - A Virtual Monitor for Screen Sharing

If you have a large monitor and have the need to share your screen with others, you can experience issues when they can't match your resolution. The free app, Deskpad, creates a virtual display within an application window that you can easily share with others. Launching Deskpad is equivalent to plugging in an additional monitor. You can use the display settings in System Settings to change the resolution and wallpaper, as well as any other monitor specific setting you have access to. Whenever you move your cursor to the virtual display, the color of the window title changes to blue,...

October 18th, 2024 Mac Apps

Five Free Single Purpose Apps

I've been making my way through some of the recent additions at thriftmac and testing some of the most useful looking apps. Here are five that address some real world issues in a simple and understandable way. You won't have to spend a lot of time reading documentation or setting up intricate preferences. You can start using these quickly. • TrashSweep - For anyone who churns through a bunch of files, whether you are a chronic downloader. doing video editing or just overworked, automating the size of your Trash can be accomplished with this app that lets you set a...

October 17th, 2024 Mac Apps

Gladys - Free Shelf Utility that Syncs With iOS

I recently discovered Gladys, a free app that allows you to stash a variety of data types an a shelf on your computer display to retrieve later or to access from another computer or iOS device. I quickly tested: • A dragged image from a web page • Pasted text copied from the web • A URL dragged from my browser • An image file from Finder • A text document from Finder All of these quickly synced via iCloud and were available immediately on my iPhone. Some of the functionality is similar to Yoink, a paid app that also...

October 16th, 2024 Mac Apps

Mac Pilot for Customization and Utilities

Mac Pilot, a customization and utility app from Koingo Software is currently $3.00 on BundleHunt. There are similar apps like Onyx and Tinker Tool out there that are free, but for the price I thought I'd take a look. Applications Mac Pilot contains settings for several system apps. Here are just of the few things it can control. • Calendar - change event duration • Dock - single app mode, enable window previews • Finder - enable "Quit Finder" • Help Viewer - user normal instead of floating windows • Launch Pad - Reset contents, control # of rows and...

October 15th, 2024 Mac Apps