AppAddict

Keysmith - Record Automation Macros With Ease

Keysmith is an automation app that works in any other app on your Mac to record actions you can later trigger from a menu or with a keyboard shortcut. I've been a Keyboard Maestro user for many years. I have over 800 macros within that application and a lot of experience using it, but after working with Keysmith for just a short while, I have to admit it makes some actions easier to record and activate. It's not a replacement for Keyboard Maestro, but it will certainly supplement it. Keysmith detects buttons, lists, and page loads automatically. The first macro...

October 11th, 2024 Mac Apps

Licensed - A Nice Single Purpose App for Keeping Track of Your Software

One of the reasons that I go to r/MacApps every single day is the prospect of discovering news apps and developers. This week I found out that an ancient app (well, 17 years), Licensed, has been updated and is compatible with macOS 15. Licensed is a simple database to keep track of your software purchases. It has fields for: • Maker • Product • Version • Owner • Email • Code • Date • Notes The database is searchable. From the app's file menu, you can identify the data file for easy backups, and you can export your data as...

October 10th, 2024 Mac Apps

The Zen Browser

I've found myself in a small and unpopular minority over the past couple of years as user and sometimes advocate for Microsoft Edge, mostly because I use it for work where I'm required to use Microsoft Admin Center and the suite of Microsoft 365 apps. I still stand by my opinion that it doesn't suck, but I've been looking for a more privacy focused alternative to use outside of work, so I decided to take the Zen browser for a spin. Zen's promise on its website is “"Beautifully designed, privacy-focused, and packed with features. We care about your experience, not...

October 9th, 2024 Mac Apps

CurrentKey Stats - A Triple Threat App

CurrentKey Stats has several target audiences. • Time tracking your app usage and time spent working. Unlike Apple's Screentime, CurrentKey Stats only tracks an app when it is in the foreground, not the whole time it is open to give you a more accurate view of your time. • Controlling movement between spaces. CurrentKey Stats lets you name each space with a descriptive name and lets you move between them with a menu bar icon or a hot key combo. • Automators who want to trigger certain actions tied to individual workspaces. For time trackers, you can dedicate a task...

October 8th, 2024 Mac Apps

Apple Password App Is OK I Guess

I have been using the Apple Passwords App instead of a third-party alternative for a few weeks. I've managed to get my work done and not get locked out of any apps, so it's OK, I guess, but it does not have all the features I'm used to and it has presented some frustrations. To set up the app, you need to use a Mac and not an iPhone. You will probably already have some passwords in the app but you can download and import from your current password manager or browser and it will do a pretty good job...

October 7th, 2024 Universal Apps

Daily - A Dead Simple Free Task Manager

The Mac ecosystem is not at a loss for task managers. Apple's own Reminders app has steadily added features over the years, incorporating things like grocery shopping and adding items via Siri. There are full blown GTD systems for executives and others with super complicated lives like Omnifocus. Then there are wonderfully designed apps like Things 3 that you can make complicated if you want to. But what if you don't have complex needs and don't need areas and projects and subtasks and repeating tasks and all the other bells and whistles that come with those systems? What if you...

October 6th, 2024 Mac Apps

Surfed - Fell Off, Drowned

I recently saw an announcement for the release of version 3.0 of the Internet history and bookmarking tool Surfed. Previous app store reviews of the app stated that it had a lot of potential but that it wasn't a mature product. I had hopes that a new version would correct that. I downloaded the app and purchased the pro version. I was disappointed to find out that the iOS version only works with Safari as I am an Edge user. After downloading the browser extensions needed for the app to work I opened a new tab in my browser to...

October 5th, 2024 Universal Apps

Find Usernames from 400 Different Social Networks

The username I employ here on Reddit is one that I first used on my AOL account back in the 90s before you could even get a real Internet account in my area. Until recently, I had no idea how many times I'd employed it over the years, at least on services that are still in business. Well, thanks to a simple Homebrew app called Sherlock, I can search for my own or a friend's username across 400+ social media networks. I tried it with a couple. To install Sherlock, use the following Homebrew command from the command line in...

October 4th, 2024 Mac Apps

Notenik - A Well Designed Plain Text Notes Plus App

Anyone looking for a well-designed notes app that's free and open source, native to the Mac platform and based on plain text files would be well served by checking out Notenik by independent developer Herb Bowie.. Within Notenik you can create numerous types of collections of notes including but not limited to: • Basic Notes • Links • To-dos • Sequenced list • Zettlekasten • Blog • Commonplace Book (with or w/out lookups) • Outline • Web Book • Website • Contacts • Travel Planner • Code snippets Each collection of notes lives in a separate folder. The default location...

October 3rd, 2024 Mac Apps

A Folder Plugin for Quicklook

I've previously covered Quicklook plugins that let you use your spacebar in Finder to view things like package contents, videos, source code, compressed files and more. Recently the developer of the popular bookmarking app, Anybox, released a free Quicklook plugin for folders, which seems like a feature Apple should have included from the very beginning. When you have a folder highlighted in the Finder, pressing the spacebar opens a window showing the folders contents. Pressing the spacebar a second time closes the window. When the window is open, you don't have full Finder access to the contents, but you...

October 2nd, 2024 Mac Apps

MacUpdater is Multifeatured

One thing I know about apps designed to identify and download updates for the applications on your Mac, none of them are 100% effective. I use a combination of MacUpdater, Latest, CleanMyMac and Topgrade to come as close as possible to updating my Macs. Of those four, MacUpdate has the most features. MacUpdater maintains a database of over 100,000 Mac apps. The information you can get from within the app includes: • File size • Version number • Release notes • Developer website • Price • User rating • OS requirements - and much more. MacUpdater does not require an...

October 1st, 2024 Mac Apps

EagleFiler

I wanted to create a central repository for all the personal data I've generated over the years in one location, searchable within a single program. I have a Gmail account that's 19 years old with 144K messages. My Evernote account goes back to 2008 and has over 7K notes. In addition I have an Obsidian vault with another 7K notes plus an archive from Facebook beginning in 2008 and one from Twitter beginning in 2009. I have over 1K bookmarks in Raindrop.io and hundreds of personal documents primarily in Microsoft Office and PDF formats dating back to the mid-90s. The...

September 30th, 2024 Mac Apps

Opening Batches of Apps, Documents, Folders and Web Pages

There are several ways to batch open workspaces for various projects. The built in Apple tools, Shortcuts and Automator can do it for you if you know how to use them and don't mind doing a bit of fiddling. Commercial apps like Workspaces ($19.99) have lots of features and a price tag. There are a couple of free options that are pretty easy to set up that support batch opening a variety of elements all at once. Bunch Bunch by Indy Developer Brett Terpstra uses plain text files to create collections of elements you want to open. On individual lines...

September 29th, 2024 Mac Apps

Permute - Powerful, Easy to Use Media Converter for Images, Video and Audio

Permute by Charlie Monroe (developer of Downie) makes media conversion simple regardless of whether you need to manipulate images, video or audio. Its simple drag and drop interface instantly identifies the media you are working with and uses presets to convert the file to the format you want. Permute does not require you to download any plugins for video conversion. It can convert FLV or MP4 files natively into dozens of other formats and vice versa. The current version of Permute is 3x faster than previous versions. If you have multiple videos to convert, the app has a scheduler so...

September 28th, 2024 Mac Apps

Mac Firewall Apps

The built in firewall in macOS only controls incoming traffic. If you want to stop apps from calling home or contacting unknown servers, you'll need a third-party firewall. You have choices based on the degree of control and the features you need or want. The following area all marketed as consumer firewalls and are designed to provide services on a single Mac. Little Snitch Little Snitch from Objective Development offers the most comprehensive set of features. You can set it up so that it notifies you of every new or changed connection forcing you to make a choice to allow...

September 27th, 2024 Mac Apps