App Addict

MenuWhere, Simple, Cheap and Useful

MenuWhere, a utility from versatile indy developers, Many Tricks. Menuwhere's single purpose is to pop up the frontmost app's menus at the current mouse location. By default, it is activated by ⌘ + Right Click, but you can use the built in preferences to activate it totally with the keyboard if you want to. If you are technically proficient and also have apps like Keyboard Maestro, Better Touch Tool or Karabiner Elements, you can use them to assign a mouse button or gesture to activate the menus. MenuWhere lets you customize the menus you see. You can opt to include...

July 26th, 2024 Mac Apps

focusedOS - Distraction Free Workspace

Indy developer Michael Tigas has a productivity boosting app, focusedOS that combines elements of other productivity enhancers into one app. The app is focusedOS and it has five distinct enhancements to boost productivity: Behavior This feature is similar to the HazeOver app in that it allows you to dim all apps but the current one. If you need more than one app at the time you can specify which ones to show. You can add text to the menu bar to remind you of your focus and you can remove menu bat icons. You can even hide the wallpaper and...

July 25th, 2024

Things 3, Maybe the Pinnacle in App Design

I've tried a variety of task manager apps over the years: Omnifocus, 2Do, Evernote, Apple Reminders, Remember the Milk, ToodleDo, Wunderlist/Microsoft To Do, Google Tasks. I've also tried managing things personally and professionally without a task manager and just trying really hard to remember everything, LOL. Sob. I spent the most time and money on Omnifocus. Not only did I purchase the Mac, iPad and iOS versions, I also bought books, online courses and training videos. I was managing the computer networks and workstation inventory of five large high schools with multiple work orders per site along with outsourced repairs,...

July 24th, 2024 Universal Apps

Qspace

The macOS finder is a decent enough file manager, but there is a considerable market for file managers with extra features. I've been a dedicated Path Finder user for a couple of decades, but every once in awhile a like to try out what else is available from other apps like ForkLift, Commander One and most recently Qspace, a controversial favorite of many Redditors. Qspace is controversial because it is by a Chinese developer, Tian Wenda and because it phones home on occasion, ostensibly to ensure licensing requirements. You can make your determination on your comfort level with either of...

July 23rd, 2024 Mac Apps

TRANSNOMINO - Free File Renaming Utility with Pro Capabilities

For years I used A Better Finder Rename from Public Space for renaming jobs of huge amounts of photos and other industrial sized tasks. It's a capable app and does the job. It's also $29.99. Recently I discovered TRANSNOMINO by indy developer Bastiaan Verreijt, a renaming utility that does the job every bit as good for me and its free. It offers renaming based on factors as simple as text replacement to complex replacements based on regular expressions and text-based file attributes. Currently TRANSNOMINO supports: • Find and Replace text with wildcard support • Find and Replace using Regular Expressions....

July 22nd, 2024 Mac Apps

DockDoor Adds Functionality to macOS

In Windows, when you hover over an app on the taskbar, the operating system shows you the open windows for that app, a useful feature missing in macOS until now with the introduction of the free menu bar app DockDoor. Installing DockDoor requires granting access to Accessibility and Screen Recording settings. You can install if by downloading it from GitHub or through Homebrew. Once you have it installed and running with the proper permissions, you will see a pop-up preview of the apps window (or windows) when you hover over the app in the dock, regardless of where you place...

July 21st, 2024 Mac Apps

Later - Free and Open-Source and a Security Risk

Later is a Mac menu bar app that saves and restores any workspace easily. You may want to save a workspace for several reasons: • To save battery life by closing your open apps while transporting your laptop • To take a break • To work on a different project with different apps • To take screenshots for a document • To share your screen in a meeting With Later you can choose to hide or close your open apps. You can exclude system apps (Finder, System Settings, App Store, Activity Monitor) from being affected. There are four presets for...

July 20th, 2024 Mac Apps

Updater Apps

I run several updaters regularly as part of my maintenance routine. It may seem redundant, but even my favorite updater doesn't pick up 100% of what is available at any given time. The two I use most frequently are • Mac Updater from Core Code - a buy once (no subscription) app with lots of features including release notes, links to the title's home page, automatic updates for most programs, app store links and more. • Latest from Max Codes - a free app that catches app updates that Mac Updater sometimes misses. I occasionally run the app updater in...

July 19th, 2024 Mac Apps

Unite 5 and Coherence X 4 - Site Specific Browsers

I make use of SSB (site specific browsers) for several websites: Gmail, YouTube and most frequently, Inoreader, the great RSS provider whose web site is better than any RSS app I have ever used. These days, mainstream browsers like Safari and Edge have native SSB functionality, but it is rudimentary and lacking in bells and whistles. The benefits of using an SSB are many: Simplified user experience “Focused interface Streamlined navigation” Improved performance “Reduced resource consumption Dedicated processing” Security and privacy “Reduced surface attack Isolated browser experience Controlled access” I have experimented with two titles from BZG apps, Unite 5...

July 18th, 2024 Mac Apps

Little Tagger - Wait for An Update

I have long relied on the Mac power user's file management automation app Hazel by Noodlesoft to handle tag related tasks for me, but at $42 for a single user license, it might be a little rich for some who don't need all of its functionality. For those who simply want to automate some of their basic tagging chores, Little Tagger by indy developer Dennis Schäfer, which I just learned about, might just do the trick but read carefully. Little Tagger works from saved profiles you create based on a menu-based interface. The profiles are saved presets that are reusable....

July 17th, 2024 Mac Apps

Cryptomator Free and Open Source Cloud Encryption

Each of us gets to decide how to protect our privacy on the Internet, and no one's opinion matters but our own. If you are looking for tools to enhance your security and use mainstream cloud storage, you should download and install Cryptomator. This tool provides end-to-end file encryption for files in any cloud service, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, etc. Without encryption, the cloud provider can potentially access and share your files with third parties by simply changing their privacy policy. In the event of a security breach, all bets are off. Cryptomator is a free and...

July 16th, 2024 Universal Apps

Lots of Choices for Text Expansion

When it comes to text expansion, the apps I use regularly provide me with a lot of choices. Native ExpansionThis isn't an option for me because it doesn't have variable support for things like time and date. Mac text replacement is also not available in all apps. For example, it is not supported in Microsoft Word, Outlook, or Firefox. There is also no formatting provided. More info RaycastI'm a heavy Raycast user, and it is always running on my Mac. The thing that keeps me from using its highly rated snippets feature is the friction involved in importing my current...

July 15th, 2024 Universal Apps

Step 2 Offers Desktop Based 2FA

Since Authy deprecated its desktop app and has also been recently hit by security breaches, you may be looking for a replacement two-factor authentication solution. Step 2 from indy developer Neil Sardesai provides you a way to scan QR codes from websites offering two-factor authentication via time based one-time passwords (TOTP) to log in, sites like Facebooks, Evernote, Twitter, Reddit, Notion and others. Using this method allows you remain safe even if your password gets compromised since it's based on factor one, something you know - your password, and factor two, something you have, your computer with an authenticator app....

July 14th, 2024 Universal Apps

Network Utility is Back!

From the very first edition of Mac OS X until Big Sur, Apple provided a tool called Network Utility, a GUI for common CLI tasks as well as an info screen: • Ping • Lookup • Traceroute • Whois • Finger • Port scan You could use these tools to get an overview of your network connection or to test the availability of remote servers or web sites. You could see if your connection in a hotel or coffee shop was usable or not. You could do the same thing through Terminal, but Network Utility provided a nice clean interface...

July 13th, 2024 Mac Apps

Disk Drill Has Six Free Tools

Disk Drill 5 by Cleverfiles is marketed as data recovery software to retrieve lost files from internal and external drive media as well as iPhone, iPad and Android storage. Its website goes into considerable detail on its ease of use, its power and its ability to recover files. The free product allows you to preview what data is recoverable, but it takes the $89 paid product to actually recover your data using its full suite of tools. There are some free recovery options too, but they require you to implement some (included) tools prior to use. Even if you...

July 12th, 2024 Mac Apps