Mac apps - page 2

Collecting old video game consoles and vintage computers is a fun hobby, but keeping all that hardware working can quickly become an expensive, never-ending task — not to mention all the space you need just to store the gear. You might instead (wisely) opt to play your favorite games and software using emulators for your Mac.

In this guide to Mac emulation, I’ll walk you through the best apps you can use to accomplish the two most common scenarios: playing old video games, and taking Classic Mac OS for a test drive on a modern Mac. Plus, I’ll wrap up with the easiest way to virtualize modern operating systems like Windows and Linux on your Mac. (This handy virtualization software also works for old and obscure computer operating systems.)

Best of all, each of these Mac emulation methods is free and open source.

Anyone who’s used a Mac for years understands the value of Spotlight search, as it can quickly help you search through your Mac, email, apps, and system settings. But if you want to take things to the next level, check out Raycast — a powerful Spotlight alternative that goes beyond simple search.

From setting reminders and tracking flights to running Terminal commands and finding files, Raycast is built for speed and efficiency. It really is a Swiss Army knife for your Mac. Here’s how I use it to supercharge my productivity on the Mac.

Getting just the right shot is exciting, but any professional photographer will tell you that post-production work separates decent vacation snapshots from magazine-worthy images. That requires powerful photo editing software. And photo apps don’t come much more highly recommended than Luminar Neo, which lets you utilize AI to make your images look amazing.

Now there’s a great opportunity for new users to get this versatile software (for Mac or PC), along with hundreds of dollars worth of add-ons and training. You can get the Award-Winning Luminar Neo Lifetime Bundle for just $89.99. That’s a tremendous discount off the retail price of $682.)

Whether you use a Mac or any other operating system, there is a universal truth we all know: Editing PDFs can be one of the most frustrating tasks on earth. The top-rated UPDF Pro app can make working with the file format easier, and lifetime subscriptions are on sale for just $47.97 (regularly $149.99).

That’s the best price on the web — and more than two-thirds off the regular price of this excellent PDF editor.

February 19, 1990: Adobe ships the first commercial version of its soon-to-be-iconic Photoshop photo editing software. The Photoshop launch, exclusively on the Macintosh, gives users powerful new tools for tweaking digital images.

The groundbreaking software debuts for Mac System 6.0.3. Priced at $895, Photoshop will quickly become the standard editing tool for graphics professionals. Whether they work for advertising agencies, news organizations — or, frankly, anywhere else — Photoshop users take advantage of the program’s digital darkroom tools to seamlessly manipulate images.

Photography will never be the same.

As a longtime Mac power user, I’ve come to rely on a handful of essential apps that supercharge my workflow. These Mac productivity apps not only streamline my daily tasks but also simplify complex jobs, making my work faster and more efficient.

Check out my favorite Mac apps that I can’t recommend enough as a power user.

PDFs are supposed to make sharing documents easier, but they are often difficult to manage, edit or annotate. To streamline and improve your things, try PDF Reader Pro for Mac. The software tackles PDFs and empowers Mac users to do virtually whatever they’d like with them.

Plus, this great Mac app is on sale now at 50% off. You can grab a lifetime license for just $24.97 (regularly $59.99).

Getting a “Malware Blocked” warning on booting your Mac or when starting Docker? You are not alone. Hundreds of Mac users worldwide report seeing a similar message on their machine over the last few days.

The error is due to an issue with Docker, a popular platform designed to build and run apps using containers.

Love the way AirPods work with an iPhone but a little meh about how they work with a Mac? The AirBuddy Mac app will connect AirPods to Mac, with enhancements that provide the same advanced features you enjoy when using Apple’s earbuds with an iPhone.

You can grab AirBuddy for only $8.99. (And if you don’t already own AirPods, and you’re a Costco member, don’t miss this hot deal on AirPods Pro with USB-C case. It’s somehow still going strong!)

There comes a time in nearly every adult’s life when you must install Microsoft Office. Yes, you can technically get by without Word, Excel and the other essentials. But if you want to get certain tasks done on your killer Mac setup, you’ll need these tools. And this limited-time deal on Microsoft Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac might be the time to get them.

For a limited time, you can get yourself or a fellow Mac user lifetime access to Microsoft Office for Mac for only $24.97 (regularly $229).

For digital artists, illustrators and anyone with a passion for creating art, Paintstorm Studio is a versatile toolkit. With a lifetime license, you gain access to an intuitive, high-powered painting app for Mac and Windows, without the hassle of monthly subscriptions.

Designed for professional artists but priced for everyone, Paintstorm Studio is the only digital art software you’ll need. And right now, you can score a lifetime license for just $19.99 (down from $49) — no upgrades or pricey add-ons required.

When you need to convert a video to a different file format, what’s a quick, easy way to do it? Movavi’s free Online Video Converter. This incredibly intuitive tool makes the tedious task simple.

And if you need to convert really big video files, or edit them, Movavi’s desktop converter software can help. More than 70 million users in more than 190 countries enjoy software from Movavi, which turned 20 years old in 2024.

Find out how to use the free online video converter below.

Just as your house accumulates dust and trash, your computer gets cluttered with unnecessary, often automatically generated, files known as “system junk.” The files pile up gradually and then start affecting your Mac’s performance. Fortunately, simple tools like JWizard Cleaner quickly and easily clean up your Mac so you don’t need to do it manually.

Whether you’re a professional graphic designer, an aspiring photographer or a hobbyist exploring your creative side, it’s worth it to invest in software that really lets your creativity run wild. This Adobe Creative Cloud discount gains you access to more than 20 Adobe apps that professionals love, including Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere Pro.

Normally, this three-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud would cost $179. But the price dropped recently to $75 — although that’s not going to last much longer.

If you find yourself working with PDFs day in and day out, a PDF Reader Pro Permanent License could become your new best friend. This lifetime subscription to the excellent PDF editor for Mac costs just $60 (regularly $79) and lets you convert PDFs to Microsoft Office file formats.

This powerful tool is the solution you need to streamline your workflow and make working with PDFs much less of a hassle.

Want Photoshop’s photo editing capabilities without Adobe’s monthly subscription fees? This Mac software bundle combines Photoshop Elements and Adobe Premiere Elements to give you plenty of creative firepower for life — all for one low price. It’s the Photoshop Elements sale the subscription-averse have been waiting for!

Jump on this deal to make your photos and videos look better than ever.

If you work on a Mac, these six useful apps can help you get that work done faster. And you don’t need to take time to download them or figure out if they’re worth the price — you already have these apps on your computer.

These come with every Mac, and you can locate them in the Applications and Utilities folders. If you’re in the Finder, just hit Shift-Command-A (⇧⌘A) or Shift-Command-U (⇧⌘U) to find them.

I’ll walk you through a few of the more useful Mac apps hiding there that you probably haven’t heard of.

Apple fans are just like everybody else. In a world filled with digital documents, job applications and more, we often need to deal with PDF files. But instead of spending a ton of money on big-name software, or hunting around for severely limited free apps, wouldn’t you rather try the efficient and effective Afirstsoft PDF app for Apple users?

At a quarter the annual cost of Adobe Acrobat, Afirstsoft PDF helps you view, annotate, edit, convert, scan and organize PDF files. And its artificial intelligence feature analyzes and summarizes PDF files for you in seconds. Even better, you can use it across Mac, iPhone and iPad with ease (Windows and Android, too). And you can save even more money with special discounts for new users (see below).

Whether you want to get more from your travels or boost your career opportunities, speaking an additional language is one of the most rewarding ways to do it. And the most convenient way to learn? With an award-winning language-learning app like Babbel.

The Babbel app teaches you a new language with short daily lessons that take only 10 or 15 minutes that you can take on your iPhone or Mac. Right now, you can grab a lifetime subscription to every single language on the app for only $139.97 (regularly $599). That’s a 76% discount on this incredible software, but this price drop only lasts until July 17.

DVDs may seem like a thing of the past as streaming options like Netflix and Apple TV+ continue to gain popularity, but there’s no reason those shiny discs need to sit around collecting dust. Discover new ways to enjoy old favorites by taking advantage of a discount on a highly rated and speedy Mac DVD ripper.

For a limited time, you can grab a lifetime license to MacX DVD Ripper Pro for just $24.97 (regularly $67.95). That’s a 63% discount on a product that supplies endless options for adding content to Apple or Android devices.

PDFs have become the standard for document sharing and archiving, but the file format is notoriously difficult to work with and manipulate. However, there is a way around that problem, thanks to purpose-built PDF editors like PDF Reader Pro for Mac.

For a limited time, this highly rated PDF editor for Mac is on sale for just $29.97 (regularly $59).

Before you start right-clicking up a storm to save multiple images from a website, try Imaget. This bulk image downloader works on Mac and Windows, and you can use it to grab multiple pix from Instagram, Pinterest and more.

The first step is to get a lifetime subscription to Imaget for just $29.95 (regularly $99). It’s good for up to five devices.

OpenAI made the native ChatGPT Mac app available for all users Wednesday. It gives Mac users easy access to the artificial intelligence capabilities of the cutting-edge chatbot, as well as features not available with the web interface.

The free macOS app is “designed to integrate seamlessly into anything you’re doing on your computer,” according to OpenAI.

Sure, Apple’s Podcasts app is free. But it’s also kind of basic. If you’re a total podcast freak, you’ll surely enjoy an alternative podcast app like Player FM. It offers advanced features like customization, organization and personalized search. It can even automatically compress downloaded episodes to save space on your devices, without compromising audio quality.

The app works on iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch and CarPlay, with easy syncing across all Apple’s platforms. And for a limited time, you can get a lifetime subscription to Player FM’s premium plan for just $39.99 (regularly $120).

When Ubisoft launches Assassin’s Creed Shadows this November, Mac will be on the list of platforms supported by the action-packed role-playing game.

The adventure is set in medieval Japan, and players can choose either a samurai or a shinobi for very different gaming experiences. For more details on the game’s setting and storyline, check out the latest updates on Assassin’s Creed Japan.