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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Omnivore, a Free Open-Source Read It Later App

When you're reading on the web and you're short of time and want to save an article to read later or you want to save something you've read for reference material, you have a lot of choices, but if you want a full suite of features and you want to stay with an app that's open source and free, Omnivore should be your go to. Other choices like Pocket, Instapaper and Matter aren't crap, but they do cost, and you run the risk that your carefully cultivated collection could be locked into a closed system. I would only recommend Readwise...
May 21st, 2024 Universal Apps

Bebop Quick Notes

Bebop Quick Notes is a simple to use and configure app that allows you to quickly capture information via the keyboard or share sheet. You can set it up to save its notes to the location of your choice in the files app such as your Dropbox folder or an Obsidian vault. Using it in conjunction with Obsidian ideal. Obsidian is a great app, partially handicapped by its slow startup on mobile. Bebop starts quickly and is instantly able to capture text. You can choose to save the files using one of four file extensions: • .txt • .md •...
May 20th, 2024 iOS Apps

Two Recommendations for Syncing Utilities

When it comes to file syncing utilities, people have wildly varying needs. They may have a USB drive with a set of files they need for work but want to keep a canonical copy of the same files at home. Perhaps they like to have a full disk clone as a backup or, like me, a regular copy of an Obsidian vault copied to a cloud service. If you are a master at the terminal, you might be able to make rsync do everything you want, since most file syncing utilities are GUIs for rsync with a few bells and...
May 19th, 2024 Mac Apps

Velja Browser Picker by Sindre Sorhus

Back in the olden days, lazy vendors of things like security cameras used to have websites and software that only ran on Internet Explorer because of a proprietary protocol called Active X. Even today you will find certain websites developed for Chromium browsers like Chrome, Edge and Brave that don't work correctly on Firefox or Safari, which use other browsing engines. Then you have websites than can run in a browser, but work (arguably) better in an app: Zoom, Figma, Discord, Microsoft Teams etc. For web developers and bloggers, the three different browsing options present a challenge, as web pages...
May 18th, 2024 Mac Apps

Zavala - Free, Open-Source Outliner for Mac, iPhone, iPad

If you use an outliner to plan, sketch out ideas or help you write and you don't need the bells and whistles required for heavy academic work, check out Zavala by developer Maurice Parker. A universal app with offline capability and full iCloud syncing, Zavala has some features like custom fonts, not found in more expensive products like Omni Outliner, Cloud Outliner or Bike.Zavala Features: • Tagging • Quick open dialog box • Full text search • To do / item completion • Keyboard shortcuts • Backlinks • OPML sharing and export • Markdown sharing and export • Printing Zavala...
May 17th, 2024 Universal Apps

MarsEdit - Making Blogging Easier

As more and more people grow tired of corporate controlled social media they are turning back the clock to the early days of the web and taking up blogging. There is a growing IndieWeb culture worldwide. Most blogging platforms like Micro.blog, Bear Blog, Tumblr, Pika and various Word Press iterations have online editors for use within a web browser in which you can compose your posts. By and large they are all lacking. You're locked into using rich text when you'd rather use Markdown or vice-versa or maybe you're asked to code stuff and you're not a coder. MarsEdit, the...
May 16th, 2024 Mac Apps

CleanShot X

There are a lot of options for screenshot utilities on the Mac, from the built in ability to capture images that's built in to the OS, to the full featured freemium app Shottr by indie developer Electric Endeavors for still images to even more powerful still and video capture products like SnagIt by TechSmith. The product I personally use, CleanShot X hits the sweet spot in the middle. It may be over kill if you just need to screenshot memes for social media, but if you are a blogger, need screenshots for work documents or deal with tech support regularly,...
May 15th, 2024 Mac Apps

Maestral, an Open-Source Dropbox Client

If you have a Dropbox account, even a basic free one, you'd be well served to install Maestral, an open-source Dropbox client for macOS. It allows you to locate your Dropbox folder wherever you want, not just in your ~/Library/Cloud Storage folder where Apple wants to force you to keep your files. Since it's not an official Dropbox client, it doesn't even count against your three-device limit. Having even a basic Dropbox account can be useful if you use IFTTT, want to avoid iCloud for any reason or have legacy apps that require Dropbox. Maestral even allows you to have...
May 14th, 2024 Mac Apps

Dropzone 4 - A Little Pricey But Versatile

One of my favorite utilities, one I've used through several version is Dropzone 4 from Aptonic. It is a menubar app that performs a variety of functions. Similar to apps like Yoink, Unclutter and Dropover, it provides a space to park files you need to copy elsewhere later. You can also create a grid of folders where you frequently copy files to have them always available even if Finder isn't open. One of my favorite features is shortcut integration. I use a shortcut by Jarrod Blundy over at HeyDingus! to upload images to my blog host (Micro.blog). I get prompted...
May 13th, 2024 Mac Apps

Bean - A Free, Lightweight Word Processor

For years, Bean, a free word processor for macOS has been my go-to when I needed to create a document with rich text, tables and images. Weighing in at only 8MB, it starts instantly and places little demands on even my wife's 10-year-old machine. It reminds me of Microsoft's WordPad in a way, only better. The developer, James Hoover issues regular updates including one as recently as last month. Hoover has written, "About Bean, some have said, "Why switch from Word? It has everything that I need!" So, keep using Word; I used Word for years and was reasonably happy...
May 12th, 2024 Mac Apps

FreeTube - Maybe the Most Underrated App

YouTube in undeniably a force in the modern world. My 77-year-old father watches it daily as does my four-year old granddaughter. If you watch YouTube on a PC running macOS, Windows or Linux, I suggest you do it with FreeTube. FreeTube is a privacy lover's dream, using no trackers and allowing you to subscribe to your favorite channels without an account. All user data is stored on your machine and is never sent to or stored on the Internet. The data for videos is either scraped or obtained through the Invidious API. The interface is similar to YouTube and easy...
May 11th, 2024 Mac Apps

MusicHarbor - The New Release Finder

If you are an Apple Music subscriber, you know it's not the best at letting you know about upcoming new releases. If you are really into music, you may get your news from social media or the entertainment press but there is a better way, the MusicHarbor app. This app will scan your music library to find the artists you listen to and create a list of upcoming albums you may want to put on your calendar. In some cases, you may even find recently released albums you weren't aware of. It is a versatile app, allowing you to listen...
May 10th, 2024 Universal Apps

RapiDMG - Automating Downloads and Installs

On Macs, the default app for opening disk image files (DMG) is the native DiskImageMounter.app. You are not limited to using this app, however, you can use other tools like FastDMG or Keka to mount these disk images, one of the most common file types for downloaded apps from the Internet. The app that works best for me is RapiDMG. When you make RapiDMG your default app for opening disk images, double-clicking on the file mounts the disk image files, extracts the application contained in it to the Applications folder, deletes the DMG (if that is your preference) and then...
May 9th, 2024 Mac Apps

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...
May 8th, 2024 Universal Apps

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...
May 7th, 2024 Mac Apps
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