This post is brought to you by VideoSolo.
Sometimes it seems like there are as many video formats as there are devices to play them on. Whether you’re creating or consuming video content, getting the right format and resolution for a particular device can make a big difference. It can also take some pricey software. Don’t want to spend a bundle? VideoSolo Free Video Converter is a quality converter for Mac and Windows that also happens to be free.
This post is brought to you by iMobie, maker of PhoneRescue.
Our iPhones carry all our important info, which makes them something of liability. Losing or breaking one is painful enough, but often the loss of personal data is even worse. Recovery services like Time Machine and iCloud make this less of a worry. But limits remain about what you can retrieve and how.
Where would we Mac users be without Search and Spotlight functions? Well sometimes the answer is: right where we started. Unfortunately, Search isn’t always the best way to get at the files and folders we’re really looking for.
Little Snitch, from the maker of the sublime LaunchBar, just got updated with a new Silent Mode that makes the app about a million times better to use, especially the first time you install it. Little Snitch is a network monitor that tattles on every other bit of software on your Mac, telling you when an app connects to outside servers.
That’s pretty much its only function, but Little Snitch Version 4 packs a ton of neat touches that tell you everything about how your Mac is connecting to the outside world. I’ve been using it for the past week or so, and it makes keeping your Mac safe far less annoying.
If you’re reading this, you likely know that Macs are among the most solid and high performing computers out there. However, as with any computer, it is the applications that decide whether it’s useful.
When you sit down at the computer, you’re just as likely to get down to work as to get distracted. Having notes and tasks presented the right way can make all the difference. That’s as true on digital desktops as it is on physical ones.
If you ever need to get a video off YouTube and onto your iPad or iPhone, then Softorino’s YouTube Converter 3 should be an insta-buy. It’s a $20 Mac app that grabs YouTube videos, converts them to a Mac- or iOS-friendly format, and then sends those videos wirelessly to your device. I’ve tried it out quickly and it’s actually even easier than it sounds.
When it comes to videos, the internet is like Scrooge McDuck’s vault: Full of endless riches to swim through. But with streaming video, no internet connection means being stuck with whatever’s on your hard drive.
Because we live and work on Wi-Fi, we notice right away when the signal goes weak. Even though wireless signals are invisible, it’s amazing how sensitive we can become to where the blind spots are.
It’s a common joke to say that our Mac’s built-in speakers sound better than you’d expect. They actually don’t, but we do consume a lot of music on our Macs, and especially with Macbooks. Listening through built-in speakers or earpods can feel limiting as far as audio quality.
I recently switched back to freelancing full-time, and whilst I am lucky enough to have clients who don’t ask for precise hourly breakdowns, I have always been intrigued to know how much time I was spending on work tasks, especially those tasks that I didn’t directly bill for.
Many time trackers rely on you explicitly setting the task you are tracking and remembering to switch to another task when it’s time to track that. This is easy to forget, and for someone like me who switches tasks frequently, it’s hard to always know when one task finishes and another begins.
Timing 2 takes a different perspective. Instead of tracking by task, it tracks by application usage and uses a set of rules to assign activities in those applications to certain projects and tasks. The premise is that after a learning process, you can leave the application running behind the scenes and it’ll track everything for you automatically. You only need audit the results.
You’ve got a Mac, which is one of the finest computing machines money can buy. But it’s really only as useful as the applications you put in it. When you’ve already dropped serious coin on a new computer, it can hurt to fork out even more for a bunch of apps.
PDFs are a great digital document format, one that crosses our desktops almost every day. But what’s the difference between a PDF and a piece of paper if all you can do is sign them? With the right tool, you can take the padlock off your PDFs.
For all the use we get out of our iDevices, iTunes doesn’t offer much choice in how we manage their data. Whether it’s hidden files eating up storage, or the complex dance required to move a single song from one place to another, it can be more hassle than convenience. There’s just has to be a better way. And of course, there is.
iMazing 2 is a popular app that offers a spread of tools for moving and managing every category of iOS data. No wonder this app calls itself the Swiss Army Knife of iPhone, iPad, and iPod management. Easily browse and manage backups, extract and print text messages, drag and drop songs from one device to another, all without jailbreaking or other trickery. And right now is your last chance to get iMazing 2 for just $24.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
We all know the parts of our home or office where the Wi-Fi works best (and worst). In this wireless age of ours, there’s no reason to take a step and suddenly be cut off from the internet. With NetSpot Home, you can scan, visualize, optimize, and troubleshoot your wireless networks with any Mac. It’s a super useful tool for anyone who relies on their wireless internet connection to do work or stay entertained. And right now, you can get a lifetime license to NetSpot Home for just $19 at Cult of Mac Deals.
As much as our computers help us get work done, they’re just as good for keeping us distracted. For every minute of work, there’s a minute of cat GIFs to binge on, games to be played, feeds to be perused. Pagico keeps your eye on your work by making it a lot more engaging and intuitive. Their app offers a one-stop for turning your tasks, notes, and projects into beautiful interactive flowcharts that defy distraction. The latest version will keep you on task when diversions arise, and will help to make work minutes even more productive. And right now, you can get Pagico 8.7 for just $19.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
This post is brought to you by Readdle, maker of PDF Expert.
We’re giving away five licenses for the awesome Mac app PDF Expert — which was named “App of the Year 2015” by Apple — and we’re excited.
PDFs are part of daily life for pretty much anyone who works at a computer. But besides printing, sending or signing, there’s not a whole lot you can do with them if you don’t have special software. Get the right tool, though, and suddenly PDFs are loaded with possibilities.
Your Mac is meant to work like magic. But we all know that beneath the sleek silver there’s a complicated machine, one that needs to be taken care of if it’s going to last. Drive Genius is a popular app designed to keep hard drives hygienic, and recover ones that have already gone kaput. Used by no less than the Apple Genius Bar itself, they offer a suite of tools that can help to speed up, clean up, protect, and even revive your Mac. It’s well worth looking into for any Mac owner, but right now you can get a standard license for Drive Genius 5 for just $39 at Cult of Mac Deals.
If you work at a computer, PDFs probably cross your desktop on the regular. It’s a content-rich format that can make digital documents a pleasure to read. But when the time comes to make changes to a PDF, you’ve got to have the right tools. PDFConverterOCR is a great example, with the ability to convert native or scanned PDFs into a wide range of fully editable document formats. It’s a must have for anyone who regularly deals in digital documents, and right now you can get a lifetime license for just $19.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Tis the season for a spring clean, which can mean anything from simple tidying up to a major upgrade. Considering all the money and time you’re likely to spend on any significant improvements, it’d be a big help to get a look at what the final result will be ahead of time. Thankfully, technology offers a ready solution that’s also affordable. Live Home 3D Pro is a powerful Mac app that makes it easy to build fully realized buildings in 3D, from basic structures to complex buildings of any size. And right now you can get Live Home 3D Pro for just $24.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
This post is brought to you by Digiarty Software, maker of MacX DVD Ripper Pro.
If you’ve got stacks of movies and other discs that you want to watch on your iPhone, you need DVD rip software that makes the conversion process easy and fast. No matter what kind of DVDs you’ve got stashed in your closet, the latest version of MacX DVD Ripper Pro will get the job done — and you can try it for free.
All our favorite videos are available to us online. Unless, of course, there’s no internet connection. When you’re on a flight or just away from WiFi and looking to pass the time, or if you’ve got uses for video that YouTube just won’t allow, you can use Movie Sherlock Pro to easily stockpile movies, shows, and all your other favorite streaming videos straight to your Mac. You’ll be able to access and work with all your videos in full HD, any time, anywhere. And right now you can get Movie Sherlock Pro for just $15 at Cult of Mac Deals.
iPhones and iPads are totally convenient, until you need to move data on or off of them. As soon as you start struggling with the sync settings in iTunes, the “magic” drains from these devices fast.
With iMazing, an all-purpose iOS management app, you can wrangle your mobile data easily and intuitively. Browse and manage your backups, extract and print your text messages, drag and drop songs to your device and more — all without jailbreaking. Right now, you can get a lifetime license to iMazing 2 for just $24.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Another week, another round of great new deals at the Cult of Mac Store. This go-round, we’ve got a voltage converter that’ll keep you charged all over the world, a powerful mind-mapping tool for more productive studying and reading, a bundle of a dozen top-shelf Mac apps, and an extra-long, extra-tough Lightning cable that’ll outlive us all.
And everything’s going for a fraction of the usual price!
Some photographers spend hours tweaking an image, using powerful editing software to pull details out of shadows and wring out every ounce of color.
A new program called Photolemur for Mac and Windows understands you don’t have that kind of patience or expertise. If you can drag and drop, you’ve pretty much mastered the program.