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Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?

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Re: Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?

#181

Post by muzani »

ziml77 wrote: post #98
muzani wrote: post #63

Shottr - someone on HN recommended it, and I use it several times a day at work (FE here). It screenshots to clipboard quickly, and you can paste these right into Slack or Facebook or ChatGPT etc. It also does text & QR recognition, so you can copy text from images and such. BetterSnapTool - lets me move windows into other screens easily, the main feature that I miss from windows. BetterTouchTool - mostly just mappin…

BetterSnapTool isn't needed anymore since the functionality is built into BetterTouchTool. The dev of those programs recommends only using BTT to avoid conflicts between the two.

Thank you, didn't realize this!

Re: Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?

#182

Post by waffletower »

prometheon1 wrote: post #178
ZeroTalent wrote: post #173

- Arc Browser – a complete game changer in terms of productivity – this app alone is worth switching from Windows/Linux (They have a Windows version, but it's lagging behind, not to mention there's no Android version and sync) - AeroSpace Window Manager since i got to know it this week (replacing Wins, which replaced free Rectangle) - Sensei for hardware checks/cleanups - Yomu for ebooks - Xnapper for beautiful scree…

Could you explain what makes Arc Browser a game changer in terms of productivity? I use Firefox with a vertical tabs extension and based on the screenshots it looks very similar (also, using Firefox Containers solves the same problem as GoLogin afaict)

Arc also allows you to large-scale organization of tabs with 'spaces'. I have been using Arc (including now) for a few months and find it provides much more efficient organization than Chrome, Safari and Firefox -- however, I have not attempted to use extensions for navigation/organization improvements as you have.

Re: Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?

#184

Post by runjake »

- Raycast launcher + UI in it's own right. (https://www.raycast.com/)

- Obsidian notes (https://obsidian.md/)

- Tailscale VPN (https://tailscale.com/)

- iTerm terminal app (https://iterm2.com)

- Rectangle Pro window manager (https://rectangleapp.com/pro) there's also a free version, I just prefer to support the author with a Pro purchase.

- Homebrew packager manager (https://brew.sh/)

- SwiftBar for menu bar applets. (https://swiftbar.app/)

- Visual Studio Code (https://code.visualstudio.com/)

- SyncThing for file syncing across hosts (https://syncthing.net/)

- Acorn image editor (https://flyingmeat.com/acorn/)

- 1Password password manager (don't necessarily recommend it, there's probably better/cheaper options.)

- Fantastical calendar app (https://flexibits.com/fantastical)

- MonitorControl third-party monitor utility (https://github.com/MonitorControl/MonitorControl#readme)

- DB Browser for SQLite (https://sqlitebrowser.org/)

- Handbrake for video conversion. (https://handbrake.fr/)

- IINA for videos. Prefer it over VLC Player. (https://iina.io/)

- The Unarchiver for misc compressed files. (https://theunarchiver.com/)

- Wi-Fi Explorer Pro for wi-fi stuff. (https://www.intuitibits.com/products/wifiexplorer/)

- Maestral if you want to use Dropbox without the cruft. (https://maestral.app/)

Re: Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?

#185

Post by aosaigh »

afloatboat wrote: post #22

Raycast - Replaces Spotlight for opening applications - Replaces Magnet for window management, same features but don’t have to run a separate app now. - keeps a clipboard history - allows me to convert colours and units - integrates with my calendar to show me upcoming meetings, shows them in my menu bar and lets me join them with one click - allows me to prevent my Mac from sleeping (for certain durations) with caff…

Is Raycast better than Alfred? Or mostly the same?

Re: Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?

#186

Post by rewgs »

veidr wrote: post #159

iTerm2[2] and I'm astonished there's less mention of it on this thread (though there is some). That is mainly because I switched mostly to Linux a few years ago, and you'd think the lack of a good terminal app wouldn't be the biggest pain point of switching from Mac to Linux, but it absolutely is. There's no terminal app on Linux even close to as good as iTerm2. [2]: https://iterm2.com/ but it's v3 tho ¯\_(ಠ_ಠ)_/¯

I'm an iTerm user as well, but I hardly use any of its features -- I stick with it primarily because its font rendering is better than any other terminal I've tried on macOS. My needs are pretty minimal and aren't terminal-dependent, e.g. tmux, neovim...that's about it. I just need the terminal to display text, really.

What features from iTerm make you love it so much?

Re: Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?

#187

Post by rewgs »

runjake wrote: post #184

- Raycast launcher + UI in it's own right. ( https://www.raycast.com/ ) - Obsidian notes ( https://obsidian.md/ ) - Tailscale VPN ( https://tailscale.com/ ) - iTerm terminal app ( https://iterm2.com ) - Rectangle Pro window manager ( https://rectangleapp.com/pro ) there's also a free version, I just prefer to support the author with a Pro purchase. - Homebrew packager manager ( https://brew.sh/ ) - SwiftBar for menu…

Personally I've found BetterDisplay to be better than MonitorControl.

Re: Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?

#189

Post by master_crab »

andrei_says_ wrote: post #75
master_crab wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Authy is dying. I moved to strongbox 4 years ago and never looked back. It’s Mac and iOS integrations are great!

Strongbox seems similar to 1Password. I’m considering both. Could you share some of the reasons that had you choose the former?

Strongbox had a one and done purchase option at the time (14.99).

They came out with an option a year or two ago for an upgraded version that was $99 for its lifetime. But I was migrated to that new product without paying.

Loved it so much I paid $99 for a copy for my wife. And have also tipped them a few times over the past few years. Not sure if 1pass has something similar but I do remember a sub model which I didn’t like.

Re: Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?

#190

Post by foxandmouse »

Don’t discount the native apps, expeically if you have an iphone/ ipad. Here are some others that I haven’t seen listed:

Fork (Git Client), RapidAPI, Fantastical (great for showing reminders on a calendar), openEmu (vintage game emulator), lulu/ lilsnitch (network monitor), craft (an alternative to obsidian), soundSource (because along with windows management, OSX also dosen’t have basic sound management), postgress app, paper (markdown editor), Zed (text editor)

Finally, some very pricy but IMO, best of “Mac” software: iA Writer/ Presenter, Omnisuite, Nova (Editor), Things(GTD), Little Snitch.

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