things

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on things:

The best widgets apps for iPadOS 13’s new Home screen

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Dark Mode on iPadOS
The new Home screen widget panel on iPadOS 13.
Photo: Apple

In iPadOS, the old Today View has shuffled over a little, and now lives right on the Home screen. You can pin widgets there, and they will be permanently shown on the left edge of the Home screen (in landscape, at least — in portrait they will act more like a temporary Slide Over panel).

This changes how we use widgets. Instead of being temporary, quick-info panels, or shortcuts for app functions, widgets are now always visible, and always available to tap. A weather widget can be checked with a single glance, for instance. Ditto countdown timers. And — best of all — Shortcuts can be triggered with a single tap.

Let’s take a look at some great widgets for the iPadOS Home screen.

The best Mac apps of 2018 [Year in Review]

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Year in Review Best Mac Apps 2018: Make Mac great again with one (or all!) of these top apps.
Make Mac great again with one (or all!) of these top apps.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac Year in Review 2018 The Mac may be way older than the iPhone and iPad, but it still has some tricks. 2018 saw some fine updates to some of our favorite Mac apps, as well as some amazing new apps that migrated across from iOS.

Also, Apple injected so much new life into a tired old macOS staple in Mojave that it’s made our top 5 list this year. Can you guess which one it is?

5 essential apps that work beautifully with iOS 12

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Halide can now add custom background blurs in iOS 12.
Halide can now add custom background blurs in iOS 12.
Photo: Halide

iOS 12 gives your favorite apps access to some amazing new abilities. One is integration with the brand-new Siri Shortcuts, which lets you automate your apps, or to interact with them by talking to Siri. But that’s not all. Camera apps now have access to the the depth information from Portrait Mode, so they can do some pretty special effects.

Safari’s password autofill has also been opened up, so apps like Dashlane and 1Password are now available with a single tap. Let’s take a look at the best new iOS 12-ready apps already available.

Things for iPad adds insanely good keyboard shortcuts

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Things now has the best keyboard support of any iOS app
Things now has the best keyboard support of any iOS app
Photo: Cult of Mac

Cultured Code’s lovely to-do app Things just got a massive update on iOS, and set the standard for iPad keyboard support at the same time. Now you can control pretty much anything from the keyboard, in a way that’s intuitive and useful, and not just there for power-nerds.

Also — finally — this update lets you drag tasks onto the Things sidebar to add them to your lists.

Drafts 5, Vulse, Things, and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

This week has been big on big updates. Drafts, the best text-capture app for iOS, got a brand-new version. Cultured Code’s Things also received a big update (but still doesn’t allow drag-and-drop to task lists). And Dropbox finally did add drag-and-drop, just seven months after iOS 11 added the feature.

Well done!

How to create a ‘do it later’ to-do list

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to do list
A deferred do-it-later list can transform your to do list.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Todo lists are great for not forgetting to, you know, do stuff. But they can be tyrannical, stressing you out with an endless queue of tasks which need to be completed. Even if you are hyper-productive, and manage to get through most of your chores, your todo list can end up cluttered with lower-priority tasks that don’t need to be on it.

This, then, is where the do-it-later list comes in.

Best Mac apps of 2017

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Best macOS apps 2017
macOS developers delivered some stellar apps in 2017.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac's 2017 Year in Review As the year nears its end, it’s time to take a look back at everything that was awesome in 2017. As usual, Mac developers rolled out some stellar software, which means macOS remains the best platform for the greatest apps.

Here’s our roundup of the best macOS apps of 2017.

Spark email app ensures you’ll never forget an important task

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Spark productivity integrations
Spark now plays nicely with third-party productivity apps.
Photo: Readdle

Spark, one of the finest third-party email clients for Mac and iOS, just got a big update that will ensure you never forget another important task.

The app, developed by the terrific team at Readdle, now boasts seamless integrations for popular reminders apps like Todoist, Wunderlist, Things, and even Apple’s own Reminders app.

App widgets in OS X Yosemite will make Notification Center useful at last

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things2_5-yosemite
Screenshot: Cultured Code

iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite are designed to work closely together. Just like iOS 8, third-party developers are even encouraged to write extensions and widgets for their Mac apps. The result is a more seamless experience between an app’s iOS and OS X versions.

Such will be the case with Things by Cultured Code, an Apple Design Award winning task manager that was recently updated for iOS 8. Cultured Code has shared with Cult of Mac its plans for the Mac app when Yosemite drops, including a first look at how third-party apps will utilize Notification Center on Yosemite.

Cultured Code’s iOS 8 extension proves Things isn’t dead

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Screen Shot 2014-09-02 at 9.23.59 PM

Like a favorite ’90s song, Cultured Code’s Things is a to-do app that many remember fondly, even though they can’t deny its outdatedness.

Once an app worthy of an Apple Design Award, Things has languished in its pre-iOS 7 state for far too long. The good news is that development of Things isn’t dead, as Cultured Code has shown with a preview of its awesome iOS 8 extension.

How to use your email as a powerful to-do manager

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Here's how to turn your inbox into a problem solver. Photo: Charlie Sorrell/Cult of Mac
Here's how to turn your inbox into a problem solver. Photo: Charlie Sorrell/Cult of Mac

They say your email inbox is a terrible place to manage tasks. I’d disagree. I think it’s the perfect place. After all, most of my tasks come in via email, and any app that can share information can share it via email. Why bother dickering with an extra app, keeping all that important stuff in two places, when it can all be easily managed in one spot?

I’ve been doing exactly this ever since I ditched OmniFocus, which is so long ago I can’t remember how long ago it was. With a little bit of setup in your everyday news and browsing apps, you can turn your inbox into a proper universal task list. Here’s how.

Things 3 Coming In 2014 As Sales Of Popular To-Do App Reach 1 Million

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things-3.2x

Things has been a staple to-do app on iOS and OS X since the iPhone app was first released back in 2008. And despite its infamously slow update cycle, it remains popular.

The Apple Design Award-winning app has not yet received its major iOS 7 redesign, but today Cultured Code has announced that Things 3 will be coming “as early as possible in 2014.”

On top of that, Cultured Code is also announcing that Things has sold one million copies to date.

Things Gets 2.2 Update With Time Zone Support, Faster Cloud Sync, Tons Of Bug Fixes

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Screen Shot 2013-04-17 at 5.13.21 PM

Cultured Code has updated its popular to-do app, Things, with several nice improvements and a lot of bug fixes. Moving in and out of different time zones no longer causes a task to show up on the incorrect day. General performance should be much faster for the Mac app in just about every way. Things Cloud Sync, a feature that was introduced last year, has also been made snappier.

Over 50 additional bug fixes have been included in Things 2.2, so you should no longer be seeing random crashes or weird glitches. Things 2.2 is available now on iOS and OS X. The app costs $50 on the Mac, $20 on the iPad, and $10 on the iPhone.

Source: Things Blog

Get 50% Off Things For Mac Until January 31 [Deals]

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Things-Mac

Things, one of the most popular task management applications for Mac, has had its price tag slashed in half until the end of January. It’s the first time Things has been reduced since it hit the Mac App Store in July 2011, but you can now pick it up for just $24.99. If you already use Things on iOS, it’s a must-have.

Things Gets Massive Update On Mac & iOS With Cloud Syncing, Retina Graphics, New Features [Update]

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But is it major enough?
But is it major enough?

I’ve always had a lot of love for Things for iOS, ever since I began using it on my iPhone 3G. But lately I’ve felt the iOS version has been lacking a few key features, and struggling to compete with rival solutions. Today, however, Things has received a massive update packed full of new features, including a fresh new look, and Things Cloud syncing. But does it do enough?

Popular ‘Things’ To-Do App Finally Gets Cloud Sync With Public Beta

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Screen Shot 2012-02-21 at 11.55.24 PM

After nearly a year of private beta testing, Cultured Code has finally implemented cloud sync in its popular to-do app Things. Now available as a public beta for the Mac, iPhone and iPad, Things Cloud can be enabled and tested for free by any customer.

When task management apps started adding cloud sync over a year ago, Things users were left behind while the developers at Cultured Code took a laboriously long time to get their sync solution off the ground. Now that iCloud is out and cloud sync is a staple feature of nearly every productivity app, has Things missed the bandwagon?