Some Cool Things You Can Do If You have The Right App

Automatically Open Archive Today When you Click on Any Link to a Paywalled Article.

Most experienced users know that you can copy the URL from a paywalled story from The New York Times, Washington Post, or other paywalled sites and paste it into Archive.today to read the article. There are browser extensions that will automate that in various browsers if you click on them in the toolbar. But you can remove even that bit of friction if you are a Safari user by installing Redirect Web. Take some time to set that up, and anytime you click on a paywalled article from a frequently visited site, it will open, ready to read at the Internet Archive. If you are not a Safari user, look in the browser extensions available for whatever you use for something similar.

Control The Order In Which Your Login Items Launch and Create Pauses, If Needed

Apple decided that your login items should launch in alphabetical order, and it doesn't let you change that. It also doesn't let you introduce pauses between apps launching. There is not a native way to do that. The only thing you can do is hold down the shift key when logging in to cancel all your login items, launch agents tied to login, and any apps set to resume at login. With the free app, Startup Manager Pro, you get all the control back. You choose the order in which your apps start. You can introduce pauses if you want to. You can even cancel your login items without holding down the shift key. Finally, you can have different sets of login items for different workflows if you so desire.

Subscribe to YouTube Channels and Make Playlists Without Using a Google Account

I am almost totally de-Googled these days. I don't use it for search, email, cloud storage, or to create documents. But I have to confess, I still get some value out of YouTube. I can do it without sacrificing my privacy, though. I use FreeTube, which scrapes YouTube content through a variety of methods. It can be a fluid landscape because Google really wants info on you, and they want you to watch ads unless you pay for YouTube Premium. In short, FreeTube isn't always going to work flawlessly, but for the most part, you'll be OK.

Never Accidentally Quit an App Again

It never ceases to aggravate me that the Q and the W are right beside each other on the keyboard. I used to quit my browser all the time when I was just trying to close a tab. Then I discovered a sweet little AppleScript that I can tie to ⌘+Q with BetterTouchTool ($14), which gives me a confirmation popup, "Do you really want to quit this app?" Then, super-dev, Sindre Sorhus, introduced the same feature in Supercharge, his $18 multi-function must-have menu bar utility.

Share a Scratchpad and Clipboard Between your Mac and Your iPhone

There are multiple ways to do this. I currently use another Sindre Sorhus app, Scratchpad, ($8) because it has a bunch of other useful features. I can also vouch for Scrap Paper ($4.99), which I used for a long time, and there's also the free version of Drafts that offers this functionality. While you're at it, you should also get a syncing clipboard app. I can recommend PastePal, a $14.99 one-time purchase. If you also have a PC in the mix and you want to sync your PC clipboard with your phone clipboard, check out Clipboard Fusion. If you have a SetApp subscription, there is also Paste, but at $29.99 a year in the App Store, I just can't justify it.