| Cult of Mac

Popular VLC video player is getting AirPlay support

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VLC AirPlay
VLC will make it easy to stream to Apple TV from anywhere.
Photo: VideoLAN

CES 2019 bugPopular open-source video player VLC is getting AirPlay support “in about a month.” VideoLan, the team behind it, also plans to make it easier for users to switch to VLC from iTunes.

The confirmation comes just as VLC celebrated a staggering 3 billion downloads — around a quarter of which came from mobile devices.

How to control any app or website with your Mac’s media keys

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BeardedSpice
Take back control of your Mac's media keys with BeardedSpice.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Did you ever hit your macBook’s play/pause key to pause that YouTube video, only to have iTunes launch instead, and start playing that embarrassing tune from your last home workout session? Then you may be interested in a way to have your media keys control the site or app you want to control, instead of the app that Apple decides it will control. Luckily, there’s an app for that, called BeardedSpice.

These apps will give your Mac a productivity boost [Deals]

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This bundle of Mac apps adds new ways to work with video, WiFi, PDFs, and more.
This bundle of Mac apps adds new ways to work with video, WiFi, PDFs, and more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Feel like giving your Mac a new dose of productivity potential? This roundup of apps should do the trick. Included are apps for downloading HD video from the web, and a powerful pair of video conversion apps. Plus, there’s a tool for mapping and optimizing Wi-Fi coverage, and a tool for making any boring PDF into delightful digital magazines. Even better, you’ll get 20 percent off any of these deals when you use the coupon code ‘SOFTWARE20’ at checkout. Read on for more details:

Awesome Mac apps for photo editors, coders and more [Deals]

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This Mac App roundup covers photo masking, web design, and lots more.
This Mac App roundup covers photo masking, web design, and lots more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Your Mac is a powerful machine, but it’s only as useful as the apps you put on it. This roundup of apps is a mixed bag of top shelf goodies for photo editors and web designers. There are also useful tools for just people who work with Wi-Fi and different a variety of media files. Additionally, everything is discounted by half or more. Read on for more details:

Top-shelf writing apps, iPhone mounts and more [Week’s Best Deals]

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collage-2017-08-21
This week's best deals include a streamlined writing platform, a double sided iPhone mount, and more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

With every new week come great new deals at the Cult of Mac Store. This go-round, we’ve got a simple but powerful writing platform for Mac, and a super versatile, double-sided phone mount. Also in are comprehensive lessons in social media marketing, and a powerful VPN for enhanced online privacy and security. Plus everything is discounted by at least 25 percent, and as much as 97 percent. Read on for more details.

Netflix gives thumbs up to skipping opening credits

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Netflix on a MacBook
You can now skip opening credits.
Photo: Netflix is killing star-ratings and title scenes

Binging your favorite TV shows on Netflix is about to get a lot better and a lot worse at the same time.

Netflix revealed that it plans to roll out two new features that will change the way you watch and review shows. Get ready to say goodbye to opening credits and five star reviews.

What Apple News gets wrong that Twitter Moments gets so right

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moments_2
Twitter Moments is the news of the future and Apple News will get left behind.
Photo: Twitter

The way we consume news is changing at a rapid pace, and both Apple and Twitter are trying to cater to readers’ need for speed and convenience.

iOS 9’s new Apple News app and the recently launched Twitter Moments both exist because millennials aren’t reading the newspaper every morning or watching news broadcasts in the evening. We get our news primarily from the Internet, often without having to click on articles or read hundreds of words for context.

Online media’s big push toward keeping news relevant and immediate caters to our ever-shrinking attention spans. For better or worse, we’ve gravitated toward bite-size information and entertaining listicles.

Twitter figured that out long ago. Apple still hasn’t.

How To Get Media Into iTunes Faster [OS X Tips]

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iTunes Easy Add

I’m all for getting my stuff into iTunes more efficiently, aren’t you? Jordan Merrick is, too, and he’s come up with a brilliant way to do just that. He’s also got a great site full of clever tips there as well. Really, go check it out.

The default way, says Merrick, for media to get to iTunes is like this: drag and drop a folder full of music or a video you’ve converted from DVD to iTunes. iTunes takes said media, copies it, and places it into its own special folder structure.

What happens in this case is that you’re left holding two copies of that album or video — one in your iTunes folder and one wherever you pulled it from. That’s kind of silly, if you ask me, especially if you back up regularly. No one needs two copies of anything on their hard drive.

Luckily, there’s a cool folder in your iTunes folder that lets you add stuff directly to iTunes. Sadly, it’s pretty buried, but Merrick will show you a better way.

How To Add Images And Video To Keychain Secure Notes

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Secure Notes with Keychain

One of the lesser known functions of the Keychain on OS X is its ability to add Secure Notes, notes that require you to enter your Keychain login password to view them.

There are a ton of third-party apps out there that allow you to password protect your notes, but Keychain is built right in to Mac OS X, and has been for a while; it’s a pretty nifty thing to have when you need it.

Better yet? The current version of Keychain will let you put images and video into your notes, making it a snap to secure your media files to your password.