Mac Gems

Justnotes is an elegant notes app that syncs across devices

Dan Frakes — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:30:00 -0700

Justnotes is an elegant plain-text-notes app that syncs across devices using Simplenote and Dropbox.

Mac Gems for even less cash

Dan Frakes — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:30:00 -0700

The Mac Gems blog focuses on reviews of great, inexpensive software, but every once in a while we call your attention to past Gems that are currently even less expensive. Here are 13 Gems you can get for a steal.

Promising Prospect: EdgeCase enhances multiple-display setups

Dan Frakes — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:45:00 -0700

EdgeCase is a unique utility that gives you the user-interface benefits of a single display when using multiple displays.

To-do app Due delights on the Mac

Serenity Caldwell — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:00:00 -0700

To-do and timer app Due has arrived on OS X, offering the same reminder, timer, and log support as its iOS version in a Mac-optimized interface. The program retains the simplicity of the touchscreen original while effectively transitioning to OS X's point-and-click environment.

DragonDrop makes moving things more convenient

Dan Frakes — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:50:00 -0700

DragonDrop is a simple utility that gives you a temporary place to store files, folders, and other content, making it easier to move those items between windows, applications, and workspaces.

Lion DiskMaker makes it easier to create a bootable Lion installer

Dan Frakes — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:00:00 -0700

We've written at length about how to create a bootable installer for Lion (OS X 10.7). Lion DiskMaker simplifies the process.

Mashduo quickly compares iTunes libraries

Lex Friedman — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:00:00 -0700

Mashduo makes quick work of the otherwise-tedious process of comparing two iTunes libraries. If you ever need to figure out which songs didn't make the journey when transferring libraries, this free app is for you.

Seamless transitions your music from Mac to iOS effortlessly

Serenity Caldwell — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:45:00 -0700

Wish you could keep playing the Imperial March on your iPhone as you leave your desk for the day? Seamless is a nifty pair of apps for doing just that.

Gem Update: FreeSpace 1.1 improves drive monitoring and management

Dan Frakes — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:05:00 -0700

FreeSpace is a handy menu-bar utility for keeping an eye on your free drive space, as well as for quickly accessing and unmounting volumes. Version 1.1 provides a number of improvements that make it even more useful.

Clean Text helps you clean up messy text

Dan Frakes — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:30:00 -0700

Clean Text is a useful tool for cleaning up messy text. It doesn't have as many features as the best text-cleaning offerings, but it provides many of the most-common options for a reasonable price.

Lion Designer lets you tweak the look of Lion

Dan Frakes — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 09:00:00 -0700

If you've ever wanted to tweak OS X's backgrounds and appearance, Lion Designer makes it relatively easy.

Airtoggle saves menu-bar space, toggles Wi-Fi from the keyboard

Dan Frakes — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:00:00 -0700

Airtoggle is a nifty utility that lets you toggle Wi-Fi from the keyboard and frees up some menu-bar space.

Promising Prospect: ReSpaceApp brings Spaces to Lion

Dan Frakes — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:00:00 -0700

ReSpaceApp is a new utility, currently in beta, that brings Spaces (Snow Leopard's implementation of virtual workspaces) to Lion's Mission Control.

Read Later brings offline Instapaper and ReadItLater reading to the Mac

Dan Frakes — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:30:00 -0700

If you use Instapaper or ReadItLater to save articles for later reading, Read Later betters your Web browser for reading on your Mac. And it lets you read saved articles when offline.

OmmWriter Dana helps you focus when writing

Kirk McElhearn — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 08:00:00 -0700

It's difficult for the developer of a minimalist writing app to peg exactly what a particular user will like and which features can be removed. But if OmmWriter's interface decisions work for you, it's a solid writing tool with a couple unique features for helping you concentrate.

AccessMenuBarApps lets you see hidden menu-bar icons

Dan Frakes — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:15:00 -0700

If you've got too many menu-bar apps and menu extras, they can get crowded out by application menus. AccessMenuBarApps gives you a number of options for quickly revealing those icons.

Cloak secures your Internet traffic without the hassle

David Chartier — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:00:00 -0700

Connecting to public Wi-Fi networks can be risky. Cloak gives you the benefits of a virtual private network (VPN) without the usual setup, configuration, and activation hassles.

Hazel, the standout file organizer, gets even smarter

Dan Miller — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 10:00:00 -0700

Hazel was already a Mac Gem, but the new version's nested conditionals, new actions, and interface tweaks have made a great utility even better.

Smultron is a capable and inexpensive text editor

Kirk McElhearn — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:30:00 -0800

Smultron is a capable, inexpensive, and easy-to-use text editor with iCloud support built in, although it could use some improvements when working with multiple files.

Bookle makes your Mac an e-reader

Serenity Caldwell — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:30:00 -0800

Bookle is a simple and easy way to read ePubs on your Mac, though it currently lacks more-advanced features such as search and annotations.

Byword is a solid text editor for Markdown-focused writing

Kirk McElhearn — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:30:00 -0800

Though not ideal for non-Markdown writing, if you use Markdown and want a minimal tool to write with, Byword is a good choice.