App Addict
I'm an incurable software collector and enjoy few things more than downloading and exploring new apps. If you've got the same bug, check here for suggestions or read some of my app reviews.
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Blip - Free Cross Platform File Transfers

When you need to share a file with someone, or maybe get a file from you home computer to your work computer, you have a variety of options depending on your needs and security constraints. You can use Airdrop between Apple devices. You can upload to a cloud service. You can use email. There's another way, and it's cross platform (macOS, iOS, Windows, Android), encrypted, fast, free and direct. Using the Blip app, your files are sent directly to the target device without being uploaded to someone else's web server. You can use Blip to send files anywhere there is...

ProNotes Markdown Plugin for Apple Notes

If you have a lot of date saved in the default Apple Notes app and you aren't interested in migrating to Obsidian, Notion, Joplin or Evernote, you still don't have to settle for the limited formatting and back linking options you are provided. ProNotes, a free app, allows you to use standard Markdown syntax, if you choose to, in order to format your text. You can also choose to use a floating toolbar with formatting tools. You can even use slash commands for titles, headings, code blocks, checklists, numbered lists and even tables. Bi-directional links macOS Sonoma introduced the ability...

Battle of the Clipboard Managers

It's universally agreed upon, even by the most rabid of Mac Fanboys, that Apple has dropped the ball by never providing anything more than basic clipboard management. You get to have one thing on the clipboard and when you overwrite it, it's gone. Thankfully, there a plenty of alternatives to choose from. I've tried many of them and settled on the one that's included in the free application launcher, Raycast along with the CopyQ extension as my daily driver. The features I want are included: • Can pin frequently used snippets (like my OpenAI API key) • Searchable • Includes...

BBEdit - It Doesn't Suck

In the world of text editors for the Mac there are lot's of choices. I come to the decision making process as a non-programmer who occasionally does some basic scripting with the help of Ai.  Visual Studio Code is the most popular among programmers with an estimated 70% market share. Personally, I don't care for its non-standard interface and rarely use it. My go to for tasks of any complexity is the free version of the venerable BBEDit, a program whose marketing tagline is "It doesn't suck." My most used feature is the global search and replace across files. I...

AlDente Pro - Charge Limiter

The battery on my M2 MacBook pro routinely keeps me going more than 14 hours on a single charge. Because replacing batteries is environmentally disruptive and expensive ($200 or more), I want mine to last as long as possible. To help me achieve this, I use AlDente Pro, a multifeatured battery app that starts at login and keeps my battery from exceeding a 70% charge. Li-ion batteries work best and last longest when they are kept between 20% and 80%. To stay calibrated, they occasionally need to run a full cycle (once a month or so). AlDente can handle this...

My Favorite AI App is an Apple Shortcut

When I have a question I want to run by a LLM, my first stop isn't my paid Raycast subscription with AI. It isn't even the Google Gemini Pro that I pay for. It's not even any of the AI apps I get with my Setapp subscription. I use a free shortcut that anyone can get from Github. When I set it up, I plugged in my pay as you go API key from OpenAI and in six months of almost daily use, I've spent around $5. I have a hotkey assigned to launch the shortcut using Keyboard Maestro but...

Chrome Remote Desktop - Free Remote Control

I have a MacBook at home running macOS 14.4. It's on my home network with Verizon as my ISP. I run Nord VPN 24/7. At a side job, I use a variety of computers including a PC running Windows 10 22H2. They have a FortiGate corporate firewall. I have no problem connecting the two computers using a free utility from Google called Chrome Remote Desktop. With practically the same functionality as more expensive and harder to configure applications like Screens or Jump Desktop, I can establish a password protected connection and control the screen of the remote computer in either...

Alarm Clock Pro

There are several companies that offer periodic deals on Mac software at huge discounts. I put up with emails from these companies just so that I get notifications when these sales happen. Probably my favorite of these companies is Bundle Hunt. I've been buying from them for over a decade. In their last sale, I got a great app, Alarm Clock Pro, the most full featured clock app I have ever used. It's a vital part of my workflow at my day job. Not only does Alarm Clock Pro alert me at specified times, it also automatically opens a web...

ToyViewer - A Preview Replacment

Sometimes you don't need or want the latest and greatest app. You'd rather have something tried and tested, something venerable or even iconic. ToyViewer, a free graphics viewer and editor, has been part of the Mac ecosystem since 1995. It's fast, dependable and flexible. On my Macs, I use it as the default app for opening graphics instead of Preview. (I use something else for PDFs) It can open TIFF, GIF, BMP, PNG, JPG, BIE (JBIG), PCX, PCD, PICT, PNM (PPM, PBM, or PGM), XBM, MAG, SUN Rasterfile, JPEG2000 (JP2, JPC, J2K), WEBP and other formats supported by macOS. It...

BetterMouse is Better

Since Logitech decided to add their unremovable AI junk to Logi Options+ you may be looking for a new driver. Turns out BetterMouse can turn your Logitech MX Master into a Magic Mouse. You get two direction scrolling, proper gestures and smooth scrolling. It uses less than 1% CPU and 100MB memory. The Logi AI driver was already sitting at 250MB without it being used once. BetterMouse is under active development and was just updated last week. For people in the US, its $7.99 for a five-device license, with a full-featured seven-day trial. Configurable elements of the user interface include:...

Backup Status - Check Up On Your Time Machine

If you don't understand the need for computer backups, then you probably haven't been using a computer very long. If you are using a Mac, there really isn't an excuse for not buying a cheap drive like this one (2TB for $69) and configuring Time Machine. It's dead simple following these instructions. Once configured, all you have to do is plug in your drive and let it run - most of the time. Every so often there is a system glitch that requires a little troubleshooting. Unless you make it a habit to go in and check your settings though,...

MyApplications - An App for App Lovers

For the avid app collector there are a few tools available to help catalog and curate the assortment of programs that accumulate over time. You can use Apple's built in system report to get comprehensive information but it's rather dense and not illustrated. You can use an app like Apparency, but then you are limited to a single app at the time. MyApplications, available in the app store for 99 cents, serves as both a database and a launcher for your computer. The MyApplications general interface includes a count of the number of apps you have installed, 414 in my...

Pathfinder by Cocoatech

Path Finder, an alternative file browser by Cocoatech, has been around as long as Mac OS X. It introduced features later adopted by the Mac Finder such as a tabbed interface and smart sorting (showing folders before files). It offers dual file panes reminiscent of other power browsers, like Norton Commander. Features include: • Breadcrumb navigation • Drop shelf file copying • Root access • Terminal Emulation • Bookmarks • Folder comparison and synchronization • Active process viewer • Graphical ACL • Built in text and hex editors • File compression tools Path Finder is available through Setapp, subscription or...

KeyClu a Free App for Aspiring Power Users

Most people realize that one of the secrets to becoming more productive on a Mac is the ability to control the computer and its applications from the keyboard using the shortcuts native to most programs. Most people also realize there is no way in hell they can remember more than a handful of their most used shortcuts without help. That's where KeyClu steps in. Once installed and running, all a user has to do is press the command key twice to bring up a cheat sheet with all the keyboard shortcuts for the app listed on the display. KeyClu is...

Custom Shortcuts by Houdah Software

Custom Shortcuts by Houdah Software is a free application that allows you to assign your own keyboard shortcuts to any menu item in any application. In these days of do-it-yourself progressive web apps, you may have many applications without any native keyboard shortcuts and this small utility is the solution to that problem. Its features include: • Auto-completion to help you navigate menu hierarchies • Making sure you get menu titles exactly right • Checking for ambiguous menu items • Copy & pasting shortcuts between applications If you are a KeyClu user, you'll find that Custom Shortcuts is 100% compatible...