Archives

Autoshelf Has an MCP Server You Probably Don't Need and The Rule Engine Is Weak - A Review

TL;DR: AutoShelf ($19.99 one-time) ships an embedded MCP server that works, but do you actually need that? An AI model can write a launchd LaunchAgent...

The Apps I Use So Apple Can't Take Everything

TL;DR: Part two of the Apple Account series. Backup apps that pull your iCloud data down to storage you control, email providers that speak IMAP/CalDAV/CardDAV...

All Your Eggs in One Basket, The Apple Disaster Scenario

TL;DR: Mac power users vet apps carefully and then hand their entire digital life to Apple without a second thought. Apple can close your account...

When You Need a Mac, But All You Have is a Phone - The Verdict on Four Free Alternatives to Leaving Work Undone

TL;DR: Four free iPhone apps that handle jobs you would normally do on your Mac: API Bot for testing endpoints, View Source Vibe for inspecting...

TextSniper, MacPilot, Unite Pro, PDF Squeezer and Video Paw on Sale from Their Devs Until Friday for %75+ Off

You have a chance this week (ending August 7th) to pick up five apps at the lowest prices I've seen them listed for. Sale Details....

RAD Weather for macOS Shows You Where the Forecasts Disagree

TL;DR: RAD Weather pulls forecasts from four services and shows you where they disagree instead of averaging the disagreement away. Free, with RAD Ultra at...

Using Orbit to manage the Google accounts I didn't want

TL;DR: Orbit runs each of your Google accounts in its own isolated WebKit session inside one native Mac window, for $89 one time instead of...

Blankie, A Free and Open Source Ambient Sound Mixer is a Breath of Fresh Air, Right in Your Ear

TL;DR: Blankie is a free, open-source ambient sound mixer for Mac, iPhone, iPad and CarPlay; no ads, IAPs, or subscriptions. 24 mixable sounds, saved presets, custom...

RetroMac is a Free Time Machine for Your Computer

Mac users tend to be nostalgic about the hardware and software they used in their earliest exposure to tech. That doesn't mean anyone wants to...

Quick Look Showdown: Peek, Looq, and Unfold

Quick Look extensions have evolved over time. Once the category seemed to be made up of legacy junk: kernel-adjacent hacks that broke every time Apple...

Zipic Is Good. I'm Still Not Switching From Clop.

Is it possible to shrink image file sizes on a Mac using native tools? Yes, but with some big IFs thrown in. Preview can knock...

Daily Skips the Timer Problem Entirely — Now It Talks to Your Other Apps Too

If you bill clients by the hour, it might be time to reevaluate your workflow. Daily, a Mac time tracker from independent developer Niels Mouthaan,...

Imagin Raw: a 4.3MB, free, open-source Bridge alternative for culling RAW files

TL;DR Imagin Raw is a free, open-source Mac app (4.3 MB) for culling and rating RAW photos — no import, no library, folders stay where...

Iris, The Mac Photo App for People Who Don't Trust iCloud With 80,000 Photos

TL;DR: Iris is a Mac photo viewer that indexes photos where they already live (folder, external drive, or your existing Apple Photos library) instead of...

An Internet Love Letter

As a Reddit user for over 20 years, I feel qualified to do a deep dive on my favorite subreddit, r/MacApps. I recently analyzed the...

7 Mac utilities I'd fight to keep, and what I actually use them for (not another 'best apps' list)

TL;DR: PopClip, Raycast, BetterTouchTool, Keyboard Maestro, Apple Shortcuts, Supercharge, and ExtraBar; concrete daily uses for each, not feature dumps. For people already comfortable on macOS...

CurrentKey, Removing Mac Friction Points with Space Naming and ScreenTime Info You Can Actually Use

Here are two Mac friction points: • It's been 16 years since Mission Control was released, and "Desktop 3" is still "Desktop 3." Apple's API...

Apptorium, the developers best known for SideNotes, is running a sale from July 20–31 on some of the most recommended apps in their category. Get...

AudioBo: The Audiobook Builder That Doesn't Make You Choose Parts 1, 2, and 3

TL;DR - Turn just about any collection of audiobook files (FLAC,WAV,MP3) into a single iPhone compatible M4B complete with metadata and chapters. Mac, $9.99, Solo...

Finbar is an Indy Gem for Keyboard First Users

In past lives, my bosses pressed me into using a few complex and complicated apps - mostly Adobe and Microsoft stuff, some AutoCAD. One thing...

Mac Tools Consolidates Your Utility Bloat — With One Catch

Apple, in its infinite wisdom, buries a great many popular system controls three layers deep in Settings, or worse, leaves them accessible only via the...

Viraam Made Me Admit I Was Wrong About Break Reminders

I've resisted the whole category of apps that nag you about breaks, posture, hydration, and eyestrain. Being told what to do by my computer felt...

Free and Discounted Copies of Sxitch for Reader

Umang Syrana, the developer of Sxitch, a keyboard tree based app switcher gave me 10 free licenses and 10 licenses at a 50% discount to...

The World Needs More $5 Apps Like NanoClip

NanoClip is a menu-bar app combining clipboard history, text-expansion snippets, and clipboard automation "flows." Free/demo tier; Pro is $9.99 one-time ($5 with code EARLYBIRD through...

Allihat: Good App, Hard Sell

Reviewing software has become a minefield. Post something positive and somebody decides you must be the developer in disguise. Review a paid app and a...