2026-01-21 11:40:16
I spent most of my computer using life on a Macbook and only recently started using a dual display setup. I didn’t start this process until after the release of macOS 26, Tahoe. Quite possibly, that may be the absolute worst time to be experimenting with this in the history of the Mac. This is not my favorite version of the operating system. I’ve found that some relatively common applications are resistant to window management across Spaces: Calibre, Obsidian, Better Touch Tool, System Configuration, and Elgato Stream Deck Configuration are all consistently problematic. In addition, having windows from the same application open on more than one desktop creates issues for most window-management applications. Instead of using multiple windows from one browser, I’ve found it easier to just run two different browsers.
I am 100% open to suggestions from anyone who’s been down this road before me. Tell me what apps you use and why. If you have suggestions for best practices, please pass them along. Here’s a list of the tools and applications I’m currently trying to adapt to the way I use my Mac.
Bunch manages windows and Spaces indirectly through easy-to-use scripts. The developer, Brett Terpstra, is a Mac legend, and he very kindly helped me troubleshoot some weird problems I ran into—specifically losing the required file association to run the scripts. Imagine Word telling you it can’t open .docx files. That’s what Bunch kept doing to me.
The folks at Many Tricks are also legendary and genuinely nice. Moom is an award-winning app that lets you move and resize windows using hotkeys or menus. Theoretically, a setup like mine—two displays, twelve apps, eight Desktops—can be triggered with a single shortcut that launches everything and puts the windows exactly where I want them. I say theoretically because, with the apps I use, the results aren’t consistent, and it never gets everything right.
Spencer doesn’t have Moom’s window-management depth. It’s designed for saving layouts for groups of Spaces/Desktops or for whatever is currently on screen across multiple displays. The developer is extremely responsive and even sent me a custom DMG that could control Calibre after learning I was having trouble with it. Unfortunately, like Moom, it doesn’t consistently place my apps and windows where I want them, so I end up making manual adjustments every time.
The developer of Snaps of Apps is actively working on adding better Spaces support and improving responsiveness on laptops running in clamshell mode. I’ll continue testing every version he sends me.
This workhorse can actually do what I want, but it turns what other apps promise to do with a single click into a 50-step macro I have to build manually. That may simply be the price I have to pay to get things set up exactly the way I like them.
For anyone fluent in Better Touch Tool’s action set, building the same kind of workflow as Keyboard Maestro is absolutely possible. It looks something like this:
I’m new to this gadget. It provides a physical interface that ties together Shortcuts, Keyboard Maestro macros, Moom hotkeys, and scripts of all types. There’s simply no way I can cram many more hotkeys and trackpad gestures into my brain. I’m full.
Raycast is another daily driver with window-management capabilities. I love the “almost maximize” command and invoke it instantly whenever an app tries to force full screen on me.
Stay remembers where your app windows live and puts them back there when displays change, apps relaunch, or the system restarts. It’s a persistence tool, not a controller—you arrange things once, and Stay enforces that memory. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work consistently. It’s effectively abandonware and seems better suited for people who constantly connect and disconnect external monitors.
The mysterious and obscure stack I’m using that’s causing me all these issues (/s) is listed below, If you are interested in why I use these apps, click the links.
My career was in educational technology, and I moved from school to school with a MacBook to put out fires and manage networks. I had one 15- or 16-inch display, and that was it. Now that I’m retired and have a desk of my own—complete with two 27-inch displays—I’m trying to create some new habits. As part of that, I’m attempting to use Spaces and Desktops in my workflow for the first time.
On a laptop with a single display, I was in the habit of running every app in full-screen mode and switching back and forth as needed. Now, with all the screen real estate I have, duplicating that workflow feels absolutely wasteful.
I settled on using four desktops per display, for a total of eight. I typically run around a dozen non–menu bar applications at a time, and I change them up depending on what I’m doing. I have one set of apps I use when I’m writing, another set for media management, and a third set for experimenting with automation tools and my self-hosted server.
2026-01-18 12:04:16
When it comes to sharing data from a Mac, there are plenty of scenarios and plenty of methods. Identifying the right tool for the job comes with experience. Whatever method you land on today might not be the best method in a year--and that's OK. Sometimes a system you already know how to use and troubleshoot is better than something new and unproven, no matter how many bells and whistles it has. And then there's the gradual enshittification of tech, where the useful and free tool you once loved slowly becomes expensive and exploitative.
Regardless of circumstances, the criteria most people use to judge these tools in today's tech world are security, speed, and reliability.
There isn't a one-size-fits-all solution for sharing files.
If you're going from one Apple device to another, built-in tools like AirDrop, Messages, or email are all viable options, with AirDrop being the flakiest. That's usually because both sender and recipient need the correct settings, and the recipient has to be savvy enough to know where the received file ended up on their device.
If you're sharing with a Windows or Android user, a cross-platform messaging service like Signal or Telegram can work. For the tech-savvy, LocalSend is a useful app that's cross-platform, free, and powerful, with a few gotchas. It has to be running on both devices, and anyone with a complicated firewall setup may be in for a headache.
When you're at home, there's no need to send the information through the internet. LocalSend is a good option. You can transfer files even if your internet connection is down.
While it's relatively easy to turn on local file sharing for Macs on the same network, it's a best practice to leave that turned off, as it opens up another attack vector for bad actors. If you resort to email, get in the habit of sending files in password-protected ZIP archives. Free tools like Keka can handle that easily. Another easy-to-use and powerful encryption tool is Encrypto.
If it better suits your purpose, most cloud services (iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive) have Finder integration that lets you share links to files. Just make sure you know whether you're sharing a copy of a file or sharing access to the file--there is a difference.
I don't use US-based cloud storage for most of my files. The two services I do use, Koofr and kDrive, both offer sharing through links. Koofr offers lifetime access to 1 TB of storage for $139. kDrive has a 3 TB subscription plan for just €4.99 a month.
This is where you need a reliable cloud service. iCloud is built in, but results can vary wildly for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes I have folders on two Macs that live about three feet apart, and they'll go days without syncing Desktop and Documents.
If you're tech-savvy, there are self-hosted options like Immich for photos and Nextcloud, a roll-your-own cloud service with many compatible apps and plugins--but did I mention that it's slow?
For giant jobs like this, the champ is Syncthing. The situation I describe above is my real-world use case. I like to manage my images on my relatively fast MacBook, but I sync copies to two ancient iMacs (running Linux) that I use as giant digital photo frames, while also maintaining multiple backups of my photos.
I also manage my ebook collection on my Mac, while syncing it to my self-hosted server so I can use Calibre Weband Audiobookshelf for remote access.
If your cloud service of choice isn't an option--because it's acting flaky, you have space limitations, or for other reasons--using Blip is worth considering. Blip is a free service that can handle large, multi-GB files and resume transfers if they're interrupted. It uses TLS 1.3 for in-transit security.
It's not pure peer-to-peer; your data uses Blip's infrastructure for signaling. I sometimes have problems getting my devices, all signed into the same account, to see each other. Unlike LocalSend, Blip works across the internet, and plenty of people use it without issues.
My other suggestion in this category is Taildrop, the file-sharing protocol between your personal computers on the same Tailscale network. It's as easy as using the share menu on your Mac or mobile device. It's relatively new and still in alpha, but it's free, and I've never had an issue with it.
This is a case where using a shared link from a cloud service or Nextcloud is your best bet. There are also browser-based sharing services that might work. PairDrop works well as a PWA in Safari.
There's no need to buy a domain name or open an account with a hosting service and CDN. Just use GitHub.
I'm no coder, but I've had a GitHub account for ages for several different reasons. It's what I use to share my automation settings for Keyboard Maestro, Hazel, and Better Touch Tool. Using GitHub Desktop, I can move files into a folder on my Mac and sync them to GitHub in just a couple of minutes.
You don't have to understand pull, push, or git to make use of GitHub. Once you have an account, you can also use it as a free backup service for Obsidian or even blogging platforms like Micro.blog.
If you're interested in these kinds of apps, there are a couple of new ones worth keeping an eye on.
Zynk -- a new freemium service worth testing.
Droplet -- still in TestFlight. I'll be writing more about this when it's released. Droplet is an app for almost instantly moving files between Macs and iOS devices. It offers a simple drag-and-drop interface that literally takes about 15 seconds to learn.
2026-01-16 05:22:11
Someone asked me to name the best free app available to Mac users in 2026. I didn’t hesitate before choosing Tailscale.
Tailscale is a VPN, but not in the usual sense. It’s a private, encrypted, identity-based network where your devices recognize each other no matter where they are. It uses WireGuard technology and is often described as a mesh network. The terminology isn’t important. This isn’t the kind of VPN that simply masks your home IP address or anonymizes web traffic.
Tailscale lets you treat a collection of devices in different geographic locations as if they were all in the same building, plugged into the same network and connected to the same switch. In practice, you can link computers in your home, at your office, while staying in a hotel, and even machines belonging to family members. It works across platforms, and all traffic is end-to-end encrypted. You don’t mess with opening ports or exposing your home network to the internet. You don’t have to learn AWS, firewalls, or how to configure TLS certificates. The computers associated with your free Tailscale account are referred to as your Tailnet.
You don’t have to feel like you’re studying for your CCNA whenever you use software that relies on networking. If some of the details sound confusing, that’s fine. Tailscale doesn’t require you to understand subnets, routing, or DNS to be useful. You install it, sign in, and your devices can see each other.
If that sounds confusing, don’t worry. You don’t need to fully understand it to take advantage of the power of this free tool. You just need to learn how to use the Tailscale app, which isn’t overwhelming at all. You don’t have to understand subnets or routing.
One of the most useful features of Tailscale is the concept of an exit node. An exit node is a computer you control that has internet access. When you need to access the internet in a private and protected way from another computer, you can toggle a single switch in Tailscale to route your network traffic through that remote machine, no matter where you are.
I recently vacationed in Central America and relied on hotel Wi-Fi. I didn’t need to enable—or even install—a conventional VPN on my laptop. I simply chose a computer in my home, 2,000 miles away, as my exit node and used it as my gateway to the internet.
If you have a VPN subscription to a service like Nord or Mullvad that’s limited to a small number of devices, you can sometimes work around that limitation by using one of your machines as an exit node. You can even access that exit node from your phone, whether you’re on a cellular network or Wi-Fi. Once connected, all of your traffic appears to the receiving services as if it’s coming from your home computer.
I use a private tracker to download what are commonly referred to as Linux ISOs. That tracker only works when it sees my computer as being connected from the IP address assigned to my home router. If I’m traveling and need access, I just connect through the Tailscale exit node on my self-hosted server and everything works as expected.
There’s also an Apple TV app for Tailscale. I gave my brother, who lives on the opposite side of the country, access to my Tailnet so he can watch regional sports like NCAA basketball that are only broadcast locally.
Tailscale isn’t a replacement for every kind of VPN. It won’t automatically anonymize all your traffic the way a commercial VPN service does, and it doesn’t make unsafe devices magically secure. You still need good passwords, disk encryption, and basic common sense.
What it does exceptionally well is remove friction. It gives your devices a private, encrypted way to find each other without turning you into an amateur network engineer.
Using an iPhone or iPad with an SSH client, I can connect to my home-based Macs and Linux boxes to run scripts, reboot machines, restart services, and transfer files.
Because I can use macOS Screen Sharing, I can also easily access Macs belonging to family members for whom I provide technical support. When I need to remote into their machines, there’s nothing to set up. They don’t have to find or report their IP address to me. I can see everything I need in the Tailscale app.
Another use case for power users is remote backups using rsync. This is especially useful if you follow the 3-2-1 backup model: three copies of your data, on at least two different types of media, in at least two different geographic locations. You can set up a headless Mac or Linux box at a friend’s or relative’s house and sync your important documents and media with a simple script. As far as your computer is concerned, that remote system might as well be sitting right beside it.
A free Tailscale account allows you to add up to 100 devices and assign management access to three users. If you’re setting up computers for family members or friends who aren’t technically proficient, you don’t have to give up one of those seats. You install Tailscale using your account, and they rarely—if ever—have to do anything other than turn their computer on. From there, you can use tools like Keyboard Maestro, Hazel, and other automation utilities to get real work done.
Tailscale is good, solid technology packaged in easy-to-use apps. It still requires sensible password management, like any other tool. You’ll still want a conventional VPN if you need to anonymize traffic from at least one device. But Tailscale removes barriers that once made these kinds of setups the exclusive domain of network engineers—and it does so quietly, reliably, and for free.
2026-01-15 00:15:20
I've tried a variety of notch apps, and I haven't been truly happy with any of them. I'm not sure whether the novelty of the interface is the problem, or if it's the design of the apps I've used that bothers me. I recently installed Droppy, a free and open-source app built entirely with Swift for speed and stability, and I like it more than the other notch apps I've used.
It isn't overloaded with superfluous features, and the features it does have can be toggled on and off easily. It also seems very stable--I haven't encountered any bugs so far.
Depending on which features you enable, Droppy can replace several categories of single-purpose apps:
Droppy's architecture allows you to add or remove features through extensions. This keeps the bloat down. You won't be faced with menu options for Spotify or Alfred if, like me, you don't use either of those products. The currently available extensions include:
I tried Notchnook shortly after it came out, and it felt more like a minimally viable product than a finished app--despite its $25 price tag. It left a bad taste in my mouth.
My second choice in this category is Dynamic Lake Pro, which sells for $15.90 on Gumroad. It has a couple of features Droppy doesn't, such as a weather and calendar HUD and notification support. It's updated frequently, and the developer is very responsive to bug reports and user questions.
2026-01-11 22:19:34
Apps gain new capabilities through updates. Our preferences change, task requirements shift, and workflows evolve right along with them. It pays to periodically reevaluate the tools and methods we rely on. As a writer and blogger, I go through a surprising number of images every day. My goal is simple: images should be optimized for file size, renamed intelligently, and land exactly where I need them for current projects. After 24 hours, they should be archived--still accessible, but no longer cluttering my active workspace.
Clotski is a menu bar utility for browsing, tagging, renaming, and editing metadata for images in user-specified folders--most often Downloads, Screenshots, and project folders. Its superpower is the ability to automatically save images from your clipboard to a location you define in the app's settings. In my setup, copied images are saved as JPGs directly into the Downloads folder.
NameQuick is a powerful automation tool that has improved significantly since I first started using it. Beyond AI-assisted renaming, it can move, tag, add comments to, archive, or trash images based on rules you define.
In my setup, NameQuick evaluates images in Downloads. Screenshots are renamed based on their content and the app that created them, with "Screenshot" appended to the filename. Once renamed, the files are moved into the folder where my current project files live. I use CleanShot X for screenshots for many reasons, but especially for how well it integrates with Raycast, ExtraBar, and CirMenu.
Other images follow a similar path: they're given short, descriptive filenames and moved into the same project folder.
There's no reason to work with image files that take up more disk space than necessary. For that reason, I use Clop to automatically optimize every image I work with, unless there's a rare and specific reason not to. Clop watches the project folder and, when a new image appears, runs a process to reduce its file size. Its interface also makes it easy to upload files to cloud services, send images to an editor, compare diffs against existing images, and handle a handful of other related tasks.
Most images in this setup exist for an immediate purpose: a blog post or a document I'm actively working on. By the next day, I usually don't need them anymore. To handle that, I use a Hazel rule that moves any file older than 24 hours into an archive folder. From there, another Hazel rule permanently deletes those files after 90 days.
2026-01-07 03:11:50
You don't need wads of disposable income to enjoy new software on a regular basis, and you don't have to rely exclusively on freeware to get useful work done on your Mac. You're the only one who knows what your budget can support. I've been buying independently developed software since before people called them apps--back when you dialed into a local BBS to download shareware from the computer eccentric you met at the last user group meeting. My hometown even had a store in the '90s where you could rent commercial software. This was before Little Snitch mattered, because most home users didn't even have Internet access.
Here’s an example using Hazel as the starting point–I got 19 alternative suggestions in seconds.
If you do subscribe, yearly plans are almost always cheaper than monthly ones. Be especially wary of weekly pricing. I recently tried a translation app that cost 49 cents for seven days–after that, it jumped to $10.99 per week.
Don't download cracked or pirated software. It's easy to find sites with massive catalogs of apps, usually delivered at glacial speeds unless you pay for "premium" access (Bitcoin preferred). Even when the apps are recognizable titles, they're often modified in ways that break Gatekeeper, Apple's built-in malware protection.
To compensate, these sites usually provide a mysterious Terminal script you're told to run. None of this is smart. Even if nothing immediately bad happens, you're often left with an app you can't update without breaking it.I don't lose sleep over Adobe's or Microsoft's profits, but stealing a $4.99 app from an independent developer who built something genuinely useful is just low-class.
I also have mixed feelings about asking developers for freebies or discounts. Some--like Sindre Sorhus--openly encourage students and users in low-income countries to reach out, which makes sense. I'm privileged enough not to need that. On the flip side, I regularly get emails from people who assume I'm the developer of an app I reviewed. Most are polite; some are pushy. Decide where you land, and act accordingly.
