Five Mac Apps Worth Checking Out - August 2020

[omenatarhuri]

The app store says 50% off until August - just wondering what the regular price is. (need to check I'm seeing the discounted price).

Hey man, the original/regular price is 17.99 USD (or equivalent for your country) for lifetime license (no subscription nonsense). Also, everyone gets 3 week free trial automatically upon install so it's easy to give it ago and make up your mind later - and for many people the "always free" features seem to be all they need.

I find this way to be fairer for the users when you can give it a go first to see if it works for your particular use case.

 

[towerone]

Cool article!

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Just got TextSniper for £3.90. Thanks for the recommendation! I actually purchased another license for a future Mac.

It may have been worth pointing out that some OCR alternatives tend to cost a lot of money - Prizmo being a prime example as that's now £49! Yet as usual, the iOS version costs a fraction of this...

A nice feature of TextSniper that I've noticed is that it copies not only the text, but the 'screenshot' created from your selection area. So if you have a clipboard manager (like Copied), you can retrieve both!

Edit: Just tried Poolside FM as well... Woah, what a great initiative! And the website is like a time machine! No wonder it's on Apple's recommended.

 

[Kharix]

Why would you pay $20 for MacDroid when Android File Share and AirDroid are free? As a person with Apple, Windows & Google products, it's really hard to justify paying for apps like Tuck, when those features are free on other platforms.

 

[tevion5]

The PoolsideFM app is pretty cool, saves me using an awkward YouTube playlist as Apple Music isn't great for this kind of genre. The Classic MacOS styling is lovely even in Catalina, big points for retro value.

 

[anthorumor]

MacDroid is the reason I'm upgrading to an iPhone.

 

[jlc1978]

Tuck is neat, but seems to get confused with dual monitors and doesn't tuck properly from an external monitor if you try to tuck it back to the side that is the transition from the side of the external monitor to the Mac screen. Sometimes it simply moves to the external display, other times it untucks a previously tucked window, otehr times the window just disappears and cannot be untucked via mouse or keyboard.

Anyone else see this behavior?

 

[Cyprusian]

Sadly TextSniper doesn't seem to be available in the AppStore in Germany.....

 

[pmhparis]

Twenty bucks every YEAR just to access android files on a Mac?!?

No freaking way!

W3.google.fr/amp/s/www.sync-mac.com/amp/best-android-file-transfer-software-for-mac.html

Pushing a costly app like that when better solutions exist just demeans macrumors.

 

[imnotthewalrus]

Thanks for introducing me to Tuck! I often have multiple Finder windows open, and I'm a Logic Pro X user, so this is going to be handy as I don't use (have) a second display.

Edit: Just bought TextSniper too. Thanks again, MR!

 

[tavsingh]

The amount of value I got from Tuck & TextSniper in 30 minutes after purchase has already surpassed their cost.
Thanks MacRumors.

 

[LizKat]

The amount of value I got from Tuck & TextSniper in 30 minutes after purchase has already surpassed their cost.
Thanks MacRumors.

Same sentiments here. I have felt some of my next grocery buy sliding to the deferred list while reading this piece and some of the comments about these two apps in particular. Gonna happen! Thanks MR.

 

[TrevorR90]

Wow Textsnipper is something that I would actually use. Just purchased!

 

[MacBH928]

A lot of these "apps" seems like they should be MacOS baked in features.

Some other apps that have more features like Alfred/Launchbar should be in Spotlight. TextExpander should be MacOS feature built in.

 

[MacBH928]

hey MacRumors, feature PathFinder...its MacOS Finder on Steroids. I feel like much of its features if not all should be standard in the MacOS Finder.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Ya know how operating systems provide new APIs with each release? This app uses some new APIs. New APIs can be easier to integrate, provide access to things previous APIs didn't allow, fix bugs in APIs, and provide security updates.

Catalina has these. The developer took advantage of them, and made an awesome app. I'm going to get both, because supporting indie developers (who use new and featureful APIs) so they can keep making awesome software for us fools who upgrade our OSs to get better apps.

Dude, I'm a software developer. And no way would I write my code using a "latest API" that only works on 55% of my user-base's setups, unless I absolutely have to.

Desktop macOS Version Market Share Worldwide | Statcounter Global Stats

This graph shows the market share of desktop macos versions worldwide based on over 5 billion monthly page views.

gs.statcounter.com

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Damn, sorry about that. The app utilises some of the latest APIs released by Apple and unfortunately those don't support older operating systems.

Ok, thanks for replying, and good luck with your ventures. You might try thinking about using older APIs until the user base catches up with the OS version the API is exclusive to! Only 55% of Macs have Catalina currently installed! Another 30% are still using High Sierra or Mojave, which is reasonable, since both are stable and modern. I'm currently on High Sierra, but am about to upgrade to Mojave since the latest version of MySQL needs Mojave. Will probably skip Catalina entirely, and move onto Big Sur if it doesn't get too many complaints about bugs from the MacRumors user base.

Desktop macOS Version Market Share Worldwide | Statcounter Global Stats

This graph shows the market share of desktop macos versions worldwide based on over 5 billion monthly page views.

gs.statcounter.com

 

[cmaier]

How do you actually download text sniper? I paid for it, got the confirmation email, but haven't found a download link?

 

[cmaier]

Ah. Finally figured out how to download textsniper.

No matter what I try it on, it says "no text detected" and copies the screen background, from behind whatever window I'm using it on, onto the clipboard.

In other words, doesn't work at all.

Update: the issue was that the OS had popped up a confirmation window asking me to grant it privileges in the settings app, but the alert box was hidden behind other windows.

 

[omenatarhuri]

Ok, thanks for replying, and good luck with your ventures. You might try thinking about using older APIs until the user base catches up with the OS version the API is exclusive to! Only 55% of Macs have Catalina currently installed! Another 30% are still using High Sierra or Mojave, which is reasonable, since both are stable and modern. I'm currently on High Sierra, but am about to upgrade to Mojave since the latest version of MySQL needs Mojave. Will probably skip Catalina entirely, and move onto Big Sur if it doesn't get too many complaints about bugs from the MacRumors user base.

Desktop macOS Version Market Share Worldwide | Statcounter Global Stats

This graph shows the market share of desktop macos versions worldwide based on over 5 billion monthly page views.

gs.statcounter.com

Yeah, everything you say makes sense. However I get to use enough legacy stuff in my day job, and using the latest “cool stuff” helps keep motivated for side ventures. If you’re really looking, I think there’s a couple TextSniper/OwlOCR like apps for older OS as well. They often work with internet APIs though so they’ll be less private and slower.

 

[Macbookprodude]

And will these apps run on a MacBook Pro 2015 ? No.

 

[tavsingh]

Ah. Finally figured out how to download textsniper.

No matter what I try it on, it says "no text detected" and copies the screen background, from behind whatever window I'm using it on, onto the clipboard.

In other words, doesn't work at all.

Update: the issue was that the OS had popped up a confirmation window asking me to grant it privileges in the settings app, but the alert box was hidden behind other windows.

I had the exact same experience and sent their support a mail, then within 30 secs I sent them another mail to ignore the previous one...Haha

 

[mj_]

Tuck is one of those incredibly useful applications that you never realized you needed until you started using it. Like Magnet. Or Hazel.

And Poolside FM? Where were you my whole life? Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!

Thanks for that write-up. Very useful this month, great job!

 

[chris_st]

Tuck is just fantastic... got it a few months ago, and YEAH, it is useful! Try it, you'll like it.

 

[thefourthpope]

Panelicious sounds like what I’ve been trying to do with Flotato and Magnet, and to a lesser extent dedicated desktops.

Nevermind. I thought this app would launch associated apps in a pre-ordered panel, effectively mirroring and making more adjustable a dedicated desktop.