If an app saves me money or 20 clicks a day, I’m all for it! It’s also just fun trying new software to see how the developer approaches a problem.It's available, that is, to music software companies who have written their wares to capitalize on these tools. □ I’ve spent hundreds of hours diving into betas, trials, etc. View DWG files or convert them to work with older versions of AutoCAD software.I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t usually like “list posts.” However, when it comes to different apps to streamline my productivity, I definitely nerd out a little bit. Get the feedback you need with Autodesk Viewer’s annotation and drawing tools for easy online collaboration. Autodesk Viewer supports most 2D and 3D files, including DWG, STEP, DWF, RVT, and Solidworks, and works with over 80 file types on any device.
![]() Programs Install Apps LaterThis makes it super convenient to reinstall apps later down the road and saves a lot of time. But Mac finally won me over.The Mac apps below (listed in alphabetical order) consists of free and premium apps straight from the developer’s website and apps from the Mac App Store.While I always try to support developers where I can, I do prefer purchasing from the Mac App Store. So for most of my life, I’ve been knee-deep (more than most) in the Microsoft world of Active Directory, SharePoint, Exchange, etc. In 2013 I received the Microsoft MVP Award in the Windows Expert-IT Pro category. I’ve also included some of the tweaks and settings I change whenever I get a new Mac or reinstall macOS.Hopefully, you’ll find an awesome new Mac app or setting in this list that will help make your life easier!I switched to Macs back in 2018 after using PCs exclusively for over 20 years.This is important to me as it means I spend less time grabbing my phone.Tip: One-time passwords, along with an authenticator app, are always safer than SMS.1Password’s personal plan costs $2.99 a month (billed annually). It also supports one-time passwords, which means you can use it as a Google Authenticator alternative. The Mac App is beautiful, along with dark mode. And second, you should never use the same password twice, ever.I have used 1Password for years now and love it. Why is this important? First off, it helps to prevent from having to write them down anywhere. 1Password (premium)Most people these days are using some type of password manager.But running a small business and having to pay for everything myself, it was just too expensive. I have used Affinity Designer for 4+ years to create all of the images you see on this blog, as well as my other sites.I previously used Adobe Creative Cloud. They also have a Windows version. Affinity Designer (premium)Affinity Designer is a vector graphics program developed by Serif for macOS. □ 1Password 7 dark mode on Mac (Image source: 1Password)If you prefer something local that’s not on the cloud I also recommend the free MacPass app. Many of us know how hard it is to get our parents to use best practices when it comes to online security.It’s available from the developer’s website and the Mac App Store.Tip: For saving images for the web, the best color profile for Mac is sRGB IEC61966-2.1. And it’s not a subscription, this is simply a one-time purchase, and you get all the updates forever. Affinity DesignerThe best part about Affinity Designer is that it only costs $49.99. Affinity Designer is by far the best Adobe Illustrator alternative I’ve ever found. For example, I can type :smile: and it will automatically convert into □. I have hotkeys (or snippets as Alfred calls them) so that I can easily insert emojis as I write. You can use it to speed up all sorts of tasks that you do regularly on the Mac.One example, I use a lot of emojis when I’m writing and sharing on social media. Alfred (free and premium)The Alfred Mac app is all about productivity! If you’ve ever heard of a tool called TextExpander, this is that on steroids. I recently published one on how to easily cut a shape out of another shape. Instead of looking that up each time, I simply use a snippet :htmlrightarrow.There is both a free and premium version. For example, when I’m writing a tutorial and instructing someone how to navigate down a menu, I always use the → HTML symbol. Alfred Mac AppYou can use Snippets for all sorts of things, such as frequently used sayings in an email or even to insert symbols. ![]() ![]() Maybe you are taking a break to work out or grab a bite to eat, but you don’t want Slack to go inactive. It even works with Macbooks and keeping them awake when the lid is closed.Why would you want to do this? Here are a couple of ways I’ve used the app: Quick and easy!Calculations with Alfred Mac app Amphetamine (free)Amphetamine is an awesome little app that can keep your Mac awake. Best dropbox apps for macIt works great to stream currently cached content once my Mac goes asleep. I use Plex as a media server. This lets your coworkers know you are still available, you just might not be at your desk. After all, that’s the beauty of remote work. But if you have your phone with you, it’s OK to move around a bit. Backblaze is an automatic solution to backup your Mac or PC. ICloud is excellent, and I’ve only ever had one issue with it ( iCloud syncing while traveling).Being that I work on so many content-related projects, I’m always a little paranoid about what would happen if I lost everything.That’s where Backblaze comes into play. However, syncing and backups are two very different things. Backblaze (premium)Since I live in the Apple ecosystem and love it, I use iCloud syncing across all of my devices. □️The developer of this app is probably one of the most active I’ve seen in the App store! He’s constantly pushing out new features and fixing bugs. Keeping your Mac on during your binge sessions ensures you don’t have to leave your couch. My MacBook Pro already syncs changes with iCloud (which get copied to my Mac mini), so there is no need to backup both. If you are worried about 30 days being too short, you can also extend the history to unlimited versions for an additional $2/month.What I do is I just run Backblaze on my Mac mini. With a two year plan, you’ll save $34.00. The cost of Backblaze is $6/month, but you can save money by purchasing a yearly or two-year plan. BackblazeNote: Depending on how much data you have, the first backup might take a while.Backblaze keeps old file versions and deleted files for 30-days. The great thing is that there is no mess copy pasting directly from Bear into the WordPress editor. And yes, I’ve tried other alternatives, such as Ulysses and AI Writer.Don’t get me wrong, I like the new WordPress block editor, but I move my content in there when I’m all done. I find myself easily writing more when using the Bear app. Daniel, the CTO at Kinsta, shared Bear with me a couple of years ago, and once I tried it, I was immediately hooked.Bear makes writing fun again! Pair that with their Ayu Mirage theme, and it looks and feels amazing. In fact, this entire blog post was written in Bear. Bear (premium)Bear is one of my favorite and most used Mac apps when it comes to writing content. They don’t have a Mac app yet, but there is an issue opened to gather interest: CONFCLOUD-68826 . $14.99 annually, which has a one-month free trialI’ve used Bear for hundreds if not thousands of hours of writing, so $15.00 a year for me is a steal.For documentation in regards to my business, I also heavily use Confluence. $1.49 monthly, which offers a one-week free trial The app is also really well supported and updated.The Bear Pro subscription has two options: The pro subscription gives you automatic syncing across all devices, extra themes, etc. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t change the default clock to show the day, month, and time. This was a big pet peeve of mine when I first started using my Mac. □ Dato (premium)Dato is an awesome little Mac App that enables a better menu bar clock than the one that comes with macOS. Dato Mac appThe app is just a one-time cost of $2.99.
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