The company has helped more than 300 products polish their offerings before their public launch as well as win awards. The Bug Crawl initiative has tested more than 440 apps and found nearly 2,000 bugs through their weekly tests.

Upon the beta release of Apple’s iOS 17, QAwerk immediately tested and analyzed the software. The comprehensive report is now available in its complete form on qawerk.com. The highlights are included below.

• Contact Poster Issues: iOS 17 will allow users to create custom Contact Posters, but they may not appear exactly how the preview shows them.
• Troubles with Stickers: iOS 17 will allow users to creat static and animated stickers using their own photos. Currently, the Messages app crashes when peeling and sticking a resized sticker to the message; the sticker drawer doesn’t open every time; and, the sticker that was not delivered disappears.
• Miscellaneous third-party app bugs
• Redundant gray bar displayed in Settings app
• Keyboard is not displayed in Messages (intermittent issue)

It’s important to remember that since iOS 17 is currently in its beta form, it is considered pre-release software and as such, there are bound to be some rough edges here and there. Apple uses their public beta program as a way to test the nearly finished software with a massive group of people before rolling out the gold master edition and finally the official release of the software.

For more information about QAwerk, visit their website, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

About QAwerk Bug Crawl

QAwerk has a mission to help businesses deliver better solutions through enhanced quality. That’s why they created Bug Crawl, a very special program that allows tech startups to have their products tested for free in exchange for publicizing the bug report.  

Bug Crawl is a no-commitment deal. You get your software thoroughly tested once, receive a professional bug report with a detailed breakdown of all the steps and visual proof, and a fresh perspective on where your product stands quality-wise. 

For many years, I have struggled with keeping track of my bills. I’ve used various methods including Quickbooks, Excel Spreadsheets, various apps, and even pen and paper. Some work better than others but in this day and age, I really want a cross-platform app system that will be available no matter what device I am on. That’s why I’m glad I started using Bills io.

Overview

Bills io is a finance planning app that is focused on organizing monthly bills while providing users with a safe, private option to do so. Bills io was originally launched for mobile devices in December 2020 with the native macOS app released in the Fall of 2021.

The app came from an idea that the developer, Nathan Gray, had in 2015. He graduated from college with a computer science and finance background and has always wanted to combine the two. He spent years trying different management techniques for personal finance and finally created his own system, which is now Bills io.

The entire app is written in Swift and SwiftUI for both iOS and macOS. The backend syncing is taken care of by iCloud. The developer opted for using iCloud for syncing so that he did not end up holding any user information. All the data within Bills io is stored within iCloud and not on an unknown server somewhere else.

About the Developer

Nathan Gray has been programming professionally since 2013. His first job was programming for iOS and Android. He’s worked with many different tech stacks but has always had an app available in the App Store. In addition to focusing on the continuing development of Bills io, Gray works in DevOps for Megaport ONE. He likes to have a personal app project in development in order to stay up-to-date with Apple technologies. Gray tracks updates and user requests on a publicly available Trello Board.

Main Features

• BILL TRACKING: Organize your bills with tags and track where each bill charges by account. For example, Bills io can tell you how much money your credit card gets charged per month for all of your subscriptions. You can then plan to budget that cost every month with your bank account.
• PAYMENT LOG: Track and record when you pay a Bill online. Bills io allows you to record any notes about a payment to recall later on. Notes support basic Markdown formatting to allow for links, formatting, and complex records. Export all of your payments to a CSV file for processing outside Bills io.
• OVERVIEW: See, track, and record payments for your upcoming Bills. Check out your recent payments and see how much money is due in the next week or month. Bills io tracks your average monthly cost for all bills.
• NOTIFICATIONS: Notifications are handled locally and never sent out from a server. Be notified for bills you pay manually or get notified before an auto withdrawal.
• SYNCING: Bills io uses CloudKit to sync your data privately inside your iCloud account. You do not need an account signup or to upload your sensitive financial data. Bills io cannot see any of your personal finances and there is no magic algorithm processing your payment history while selling your data.
• MULTIPLE DEVICES: Use everywhere in the Apple ecosystem. Available on iPhone, iPadOS, and macOS.

PREMIUM BENEFITS

• Export Payments and Bills to CSV Files
• Lock Bills io with Face ID or Touch ID
• Create and view notes for payments
• Add and manage multiple collections
• Organize bills based on payment accounts
• Tag and create your own custom organization structure
• Set custom notification reminder times
• Access to all upcoming premium features
• Support indie development

Privacy Policy

According to the App Store, there is no data collected from the app by the developer. Click here to see the full privacy policy. The developer stated that the data stays with the Apple account.

I do not host any servers, or take user sign ups. I also have not implemented any app analytics at all to ensure that all of the users bills stay completely private and under their control.

Pricing and Availability

Bills io is available on macOS (12.0 or later), iOS (15.0 or later), and iPadOS (15.0 or later). It is free to use with limited features. Users can purchase premium access for one month ($0.99), one year ($3.99), or for a lifetime ($19.99). Subscriptions are charged to the user’s iTunes account and are automatically renewed unless auto-renew is disabled at least 24 hours before the end of the subscription period.

Set-up

One of my favorite features of this app system is how painless it is to get started. In fact, because the app is so well designed with relationship linking, almost all of the setup can be done when a user creates their bills. The first step is to select Add Bill from the + menu in the dashboard.

Here the user will input the following information →

• Bill name
• Next Payment Amount
• Payment URL
• Payment Date and if it is recurring
• Select a Collection (the user can create one if it doesn’t exist yet)
• Select an Account (the user can create one if it doesn’t exist yet)
• Select a Tag (the user can create one if it doesn’t exist yet)

Once this information is entered, the bill will be added to the catalog and the user can start managing payments as they occur. One of the best parts of this entry process is that only the name, payment amount, and date are required fields. All the rest could be left as the default option and the bill can still be created. I don’t recommend doing this as part of the app’s job is to help you organize your bills but it is possible to keep the bill entry as simple as possible if you like.

User Experience

I’m a big fan of this app. For the longest time, I’ve kept track of my bills using paper or a spreadsheet. These methods are archaic and very problematic for keeping up with today’s modern bill-paying technologies. Until I started using Bills io I just couldn’t find an app system that was compatible with my way of organizing or thinking about my finances.

Bills io has a clean interface that is very easy to use and set up. I’ve been using it steadily for several months and never had any issues with how the apps sync or the calculations being incorrect. Here are some of my personal insights after using the app to track my bills.

• Organization → I really like how the app allows users to assign bills to collections. I have mine sorted into four different Collections – Car, Monthly House Bills, Other, and Subscriptions. This makes it easier to track where your money is going or looking it up at the end of the year.
• Accounts → I’ve used some bill-tracking apps that don’t give users flexibility when it comes to assigning payment accounts to bills. Bills io keeps it simple. When you create an account, you simply give it a name. Then you can add that account to your bill. I have a couple of options for payment accounts including my checking account and PayPal. Because Bills io is a simple tracking app, no actual account info is stored with the payment account. There is an option to connect to a bill’s website, but users aren’t given the option to pay directly from the app. I prefer this method because it keeps user privacy at the top of the app’s priorities.
• Payment Details → When it comes to recording a payment users are given a few options. First of all, the preferences for a bill are automatically populated. For example, with my car payment, I have my checking account set on the bill as its payment account. So, that account name automatically appears when I click on the ‘pay’ button on the bill. But, if a different account is used on a particular payment, it is easily changed from the Account drop-down. Users can even add an account directly from that menu. I also like that the app system is smart enough to reschedule payments. There is a skip payment option and if you skip a payment, the app doesn’t delete the recurring bill. It simply reschedules the payment. Another great option within Payment Details is the notes area. A simple text field allows users to notate any comments or transaction numbers within it. I love the flexibility of this massive text space.
• App Syncing → Even though it probably goes without saying, I love how well the apps sync together. I’ve not had any issues with them talking to each other or populating information between versions. I have the macOS, iOS, and iPadOS versions and they work together beautifully. Most of the time I will enter the payments in the macOS version and then use the iOS version for reference.
• Tagging → While this might seem like an odd feature to have, I really enjoy it. I use the tagging feature to call out similarities between bills that crossover into different Collections. For example, I have certain bills that are set up to be automatically paid. So, I have a tag called #AUTO. This tag can be applied to any bills regardless of the Collection they live in. It’s just another layer of organization that I really appreciate within Bills io.

What would I change or add?

This is a tricky question to answer because Bills io checks all the boxes for me as far as bill tracking goes. That said, I would offer users more options for customized UI. There is nothing wrong with the design of the app but being able to select your own color scheme or layout spacing would be a nice touch.

Functionally, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Conclusion

Bills io is an amazing bill-tracking app system that is designed to be efficient and reliable for its users. It provides a simple, straightforward way to organize and manage your bills and other financial information. With this app, you can easily keep track of due dates, payment amounts, and other important details.

Additionally, you can set up notifications to remind you of upcoming due dates, so you can make sure you’re always on top of your bills. With its intuitive and user-friendly interface, Bills io is a must-have for anyone looking to make their bill-tracking process easier and more organized.

For more information, visit studioember.com, Twitter, and Instagram.

If I were to ask you what application you use on a daily basis across all your devices, you would probably reply with, “my calendar.” We all lead such busy lives and digital calendars have made it possible to connect and sync up with our family’s schedules in a unique and interactive way. And, even though our devices (mobile phones in particular) have a native calendar app, I have found that I always want more than is provided by that particular productivity app. This inclination is what drove me to use Fantastical from Flexibits.

Fantastical was the first product release from Flexibits (May 2011). I ended up adopting it for my iPhone in 2014. This year, I added in Cardhop, a contact management app, also from Flexibits, into my productivity app menagerie. As you might guess, the premium versions of these apps can get quite costly. This is why Flexibits began offering Flexibits Premium (May 2021 release), which unlocks all the premium features for Fantastical and Cardhop across all your devices. As an added benefit, Fantastical Scheduling is also included in the bundle.

About Flexibits Premium → Fantastical & Cardhop

Flexibits Premiums allows a user to unlock all the premium features of Fantastical — including Scheduling — and Cardhop across all their devices. The apps are available for the following platforms → macOS, iPadOS, iOS, and watchOS (Fantastical Only).

TLDR: Fantastical

Fantastical started as a school project and was designed to leverage iCal, Entourage, and Outlook so that users could interact with their calendars in a brand new way. It has since evolved into a robust app system that allows users to add all their existing calendar accounts directly to Fantastical so that all their events and tasks stay in sync.

Features (free version)

• Beautiful, clean, and easy-to-use calendar app allowing you to manage basic events
• Use the mini window to quickly check your schedule with customizable keyboard shortcut
• Full-screen day, week, month, quarter, and year views
• Full task support including Todoist and Google Tasks
• 3-day weather forecast (powered by AccuWeather)
• 14-day free trial for Flexibits Premium

Features (premium version)

• Includes Fantastical on all platforms: Mac, iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad
• Openings: Schedule events based on your availability
• Proposals: Create meeting polls
• Add Zoom, Google Meet, Webex, and Microsoft Teams calls
• Extended 10-day weather forecast with RealFeel and MinuteCast up-to-the-minute weather data (powered by AccuWeather)
• Browse and instantly subscribe to interesting calendars, including sports, TV shows, holidays, and much more (powered by SchedJoules)
• Calendar sets – quickly toggle multiple calendars on or off with a simple click or automatically when you leave or arrive, based on location
• Event and task templates
• Sync calendar sets and templates across devices
• Apple Watch app with Up Next and Weather (and works over LTE)
• Parser autocomplete recommendations for invitees, locations, and calendars/task lists
• Propose multiple times to easily ask people when they can meet
• Combine duplicate events across multiple calendars
• Invitees and availability lookups
• Respond to event invitations
• Default alerts
• Time zone override
• Favorite time zones
• Push updates for Google and Exchange
• Set event travel time and receive time to leave notifications
• Custom event colors
• Hide events without deleting them
• Add attachments to events on iCloud, Google, and Exchange
• Priority email support

TLDR: Fantastical Scheduling

Scheduling in a major feature set included with Fantastical premium service. It’s designed to make organizing meetings an easy feat rather than an unsurmountable labor. This feature includes:

• Openings – Set up available times and share a link. Feature will automatically block out slots based on your existing calendar events.
• Openings Keyboard – Allows users to share openings and meeting links quickly while in a conversation.
• Proposals – Allows users to see invitees’ availability so that users can find the best meeting time option.
• Instantly Add Conference Calls (Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Webex)
• Add break times and date ranges

TLDR: Cardhop

Cardhop is Flexibits answer to the traditional CRM system. The system allows users to search, add, edit, and interact with contacts quickly and easily with keyboard shortcuts.

Features (free version)

• A beautiful and simple menu bar app, designed exclusively for macOS
• Instantly works with your existing macOS contacts, nothing to configure
• Groups: quickly toggle contact groups with a click
• Smart groups: Create dynamic smart groups that automatically update based on specific search criteria
• Notes: a convenient and powerful way to add notes to your contacts, helping you to strengthen your relationships
• Recents: quickly interact with your recent contacts
• Birthdays: instantly see upcoming birthdays and easily send a wish on their special day
• Printing: Print customized envelopes, labels, and lists of contacts
• iPhone and Bluetooth dialing
• macOS Action Extension
• Dark and light themes
• Beautiful widgets to let you instant use and interact with your contacts (some widget actions require a Flexibits Premium subscription)

Features (premium version)

• Includes Cardhop on all platforms: Mac, iPhone, and iPad
• Relationships: View relationships between people in your Office 365 organization or between personal contacts through the related name field
• Invite action: Quickly invite people to a new event with Fantastical
• If you’ve already subscribed to Flexibits Premium through Fantastical, all premium features are automatically included!

Privacy Policy

According to the Mac App Store, Fantastical may collect the following data that is linked to you – Contact Info, User Content, Identifiers, or Diagnostics. The app may also collect data linked to location, which is not connected to the user. Cardhop may only collect Contact Info, Identifiers, or Diagnostics. For the full Flexibits privacy policy click here.

Pricing and Availability

Fantastical and Cardhop have free versions available with limited features (as outlined above). If you choose to use the free options of either of these products, you can get them individually for separate devices. If you, however, decide to upgrade to the premium version of either of them, you are subscribing to Flexibits Premium which affords you both products in addition to Scheduling. In addition to having unlimited access, users also have access to each of these products for all platforms they are offered on.

Flexibits does offer a free trial (14 days) for its Premium package. Subscriptions do auto-renew unless the user cancels them and once a subscription charge occurs, it is non-refundable.

All products are available for Mac, iPad, iPhone, and any web browser. The Premium subscription is offered on a monthly or annual commitment for individuals or families (up to 5). Flexibits does offer educational or military discounts (20% off list prices for 24 months).

Flexibits Premium is also available for organizations by contacting Flexibits directly. If a user pays annually, they will save around 33% off the regular list price. Flexibits is offering the Premium package at a discount at the time of publishing (approximately 30%).

NOTE: Flexibits has announced that pricing adjustments will be coming on January 3, 2023.

User Experience

Because Fantastical is a complete calendar solution, there is a bit of set-up required by the user in order to ensure that the system works the way it is supposed to. First you have to sign up for a Flexibits account. This is used to manage your subscription, sync calendar sets, templates, notifications, weather, and any other unifying elements of the system. After your Flexibits account is created, you can start connecting individual calendar accounts (i.e. iCloud, Google, Exchange, etc.) to Fantastical.

Flexibits makes the process as easy as possible by including a Help Book on their websites, which included step by step instructions as well as video tutorials. Once you have everything set up, using Fantastical daily is super easy. The same is true of Cardhop. The set up is a little different because it involves the user adding contact accounts to macOS first and then granting Cardhop security access to Contacts. The app is basically reading information from your existing Contacts and adding to them.

I’ve been a big supporter of Fantastical for many, many years. I love the user experience and overall UI design of the system and honestly, I think it looks and feels better than Apple’s calendar app. I’ve always found Fantastical to function better, too.

I have used it daily and it has always been one of my must-have, first-install apps on any new Mac I get. I spoke highly of Fantastical so much that I had tried to convince all my personal Mac friends they should be using it. Back then, there was a one-time fee that Flexibits charged for the premium version. Users had to pay it again with major upgrades but I was willing to do that.

I’ve never been a fan of the subscription model method for app systems like this. Earlier this year, I changed my tune a little when I considered that certain app systems — like ones that deal with security updates frequently — are constantly receiving updates and that requires developers working on the backend constantly.

Developers have to make a living off their work and only getting paid by some users who might upgrade to the latest and greatest version of the app won’t allow them to keep it going or at least keep it running smoothly. Flexibits is made of people making a product you use daily and they deserve compensation for it.

Flexibits does a good job of maintaining their app ecosystem and they continue to add unique features with new version releases. These are all good reasons not to let the subscription model of Flexibits Premium scare you away from the fantastic app system they have built.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a comprehensive CRM and Calendar system, Flexibits Premium is an ideal choice. It’s the perfect all-in-one solution for managing customer relationships and keeping track of your day-to-day activities. With its powerful features and intuitive interface, it allows you to easily keep track of contacts, schedule events, and follow up with customers quickly and efficiently. And with its cloud-based storage, you can make sure your data is backed up and safe, so you never have to worry about losing important information. All in all, Flexibits Premium is the ideal tool for businesses and individuals looking for a comprehensive CRM and Calendar system.

For more information, visit flexibits.com or Twitter.

Keeping track of battery levels on your primary devices can be difficult at times. I know that I have occasions where I’ll be working on my laptop and listening to music on my phone. During that time, I’m not thinking about the power left on my phone — just my laptop. So, it’s nice to have the ability to view my phone’s battery level using Battery Widget 2.0.

Overview

Battery Widget 2.0 was originally launched in 2021 as ‘Battery Widget’, by Pawan Dixit, an app developer who has been programming for around five years. With it, users can monitor the battery level of any device from any other device that has the app installed. As an example, you can track your Mac’s battery on your iPhone or vice-versa.

The description for the app from the developer’s website reads:

Batteries is designed to do just one thing. That is to track batteries of all your Apple devices from a single app. Once you install batteries app in your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac, all your devices battery level becomes available to every other device. So no matter what device you are on, you can check battery level of any of your devices.

Battery Widget 2.0 was released as an update in June 2022 as a complete redesign. The release notes in the Mac App Store read:

This is Batteries 2.0 release! Written completely from the ground up. With this release you now can share and track your friends and families’ battery levels as well! Batteries 2.0 has reliable syncing, new battery widget interface, low battery notifications, battery sharing from friends and families iCloud accounts, gorgeous and informative battery status icon on Mac. Enjoy!

According to the information provided in the App Store and on the developer’s website, Battery Widget 2.0 uses the tracking technologies built into the devices in order to report the information back to the users.

Privacy Policy

According to the App Store, the developer does not collect any data from Battery Widget 2.0. The full privacy policy can be read here.

Main Features

• Track battery levels of iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac (With the latest release you now can share and track your friends’ and families’ battery levels as well!)
• Shows the charging state of all your devices.
• Low battery notifications from all your devices.
• Supports the latest iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey. Also, fully supports the latest M1 Macs.
• Most up-to-date battery tracker with incredible support.

Pricing and Availability

The app can be purchased for a one-time fee of $4.99. It is a universal app which means that one purchase makes the app available for Mac, iOS, iPad, and Apple Watch.

User Experience

The app was easy to install. Since it’s distributed through the App Store, you simply download it and follow the on-screen prompts. The widget is universal and can be used with all your major Apple devices including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and MacBook computers. I personally have my iPhone, Apple Watch, and MacBook Air (2020, M1) connected through the widget. According to the version release notes in the App Store (version 1.5 was released 1 year ago), there was supposed to be added functionality for AirPods, but I’ve not seen any of my Apple AirPods (Pro Gen 1, Pro Gen 2, and Max) appear in the widget.

In order to have your battery level appear on your various devices you do have to have the app installed on each device individually. There is no login but users need to be logged into their iCloud account. My first thought about this app was, “What about the Apple native battery utility?” Apple’s native battery utility provides users with the ability to view the battery level for any device that is connected to it via Bluetooth. With the Battery Widget, users are getting the battery level other than the internet.

In one of my screenshots, you will see the difference between the two interfaces that are provided. Batteries Widget gives you two options – the simple interface or the graphical interface. The graphical interface provides the user with an image that represents the device.

As far as accuracy goes, I’ve noticed that the iPhone level and MacBook levels are always correct. There are some issues with the Apple Watch connection though. You will also see in my screenshots that the Apple Watch shows a level of 31% on the Battery Widget 2.0 and a level of 100% on the native Battery widget. The “100%” is the correct level. I had just removed my watch from its charger and I attempted to force the update for the Battery Widget 2.0 but it didn’t update until I opened the app directly on the watch itself. I also noticed that my iPhone’s battery was incorrect several times when I checked it.

Now, one important note here is that the app was last updated on July 12, 2022. That was prior to the last major OS releases for Apple. The release note for the last update reads: Battery Widget fully supports latest iOS 15, iPadOS 15, WatchOS 8, macOS 12 Monterey, and M1 macs. So, I’m unsure if maybe some of the bugs I’m noticing are because of the OS rollouts that occurred in the past month.

Overall, I like the idea of the app, but there are some bugs that need to be worked out — particularly at this point in time.

1. The battery tracking doesn’t seem to sync accurately.
2. The charging state of devices isn’t shown correctly.
3. I don’t see any option to share battery levels with friends and family.
4. I would also like to see some tie-ins to Bluetooth-connected devices. The information is connected to the device information so it seems that it could be pulled into the widget along with the battery state and level. For example, if the Apple Pencil is connected to the iPad, then on the widget, there could be a ‘connected device’ segment beneath the iPad to show that the Apple Pencil was connected to the iPad and what its battery levels are.
5. I’ve never gotten a low battery notification, which is supposed to according to the developer.

Currently, you will receive battery low notification on your Mac when your iPhone, iPad or Watch reaches below 20%, 15%, 10% or 5%.

Dixit, Pawan. “Introducing Battery Widget 2.0…” Reddit, 10 Jun. 2022, www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/w112o7/introducing_battery_widget_20_an_app_for_people/

Even though it doesn’t directly connect to the way the app works, I do feel the need to make a comment about the developer’s website. To me, this is part of the user experience. I always research products and apps before I use them and that means visiting their website. Dixit’s site – pawan.pro – is horribly laid out. It is responsive, but the information that is included is sparse and disorganized. I hope that maybe the developer will take a little time and apply some modern UI/UX design to his site.

Conclusion

Battery Widget 2.0 is a worthwhile app — once the bugs are worked out for the support of the current operating systems. Right now, I wouldn’t recommend paying for this app over the Apple native battery utilities that are provided on each of the flagship devices.

For more information, visit pawan.pro and Twitter.

For many years, I wrote my passwords down on a piece of paper. Then, I moved that list to a spreadsheet. After that, I started using the same password for every login I had. All of these methods of storing passwords are 100% insecure and exactly what you should not do. What you should do is use a password manager, which is an application designed to help users store all their vital information including user names, passwords, and other information they want to keep secure.

Password managers typically have a central repository, or “vault,” where data is stored securely. Many password managers also have the ability to generate strong, unique passwords for the user’s accounts and will even fill in the login information for the user on web pages and apps.

According to security.org, only 1 in 5 Americans currently uses a password manager. Even though one-third of all Americans had their identities or online credentials compromised in 2021, using a password manager is still not a widely adopted practice despite there being many different options to choose from. One such password manager is Secrets.

Overview

Secrets is a password manager that offers a simple, secure way for users to store passwords as well as protect digital wallet information. With it, you can safely store passwords, credit cards, bank details, and more. A user’s data is stored using modern cryptographic algorithms such as XSalsa20 and XChaCha20 using 256-bit keys. User data stays within the Secrets app where it is handled and decrypted.

Browser extensions and helper apps defer to Secrets to access your data. Secrets automatically locks when you navigate away from it to keep your information safe — even if your device is lost or stolen. The app can only be accessed with the master password which unlocks the vault.

The Secrets app has an integrated password generator that provides unique passwords that are unpredictable. The app will also perform a security check on your logins to find weak, old, or breached passwords.

Secrets was originally released for macOS and iOS in 2016. It was a featured app in the Mac App Store in February 2017 and was added to Setapp in January 2018. In September 2020, Secrets for Windows/Linux was released.

Secrets is developed by a small Lisbon-based software studio run by Paulo Andrade called Outer Corner. Andrade has been developing for iOS since the first introduction of the iPhone SDK in 2008. The app is built in AppKit and UIKit with Objective-C being the made coding language (the codebase predates Swift).

When the app launched in Product Hunt, Andrade had this to say about the password manager when asked about the appeal to someone who was already using an established product.

With Secrets we put security first. Secrets stores your data using the OpenPGP standard, a battle proven standard that has already seen a few revisions. This also allows users to easily self verify how their data is stored using third party tools.

We also strived to make it extremely simple to work with, not just from an UX perspective but also from a security perspective. By not having browser extensions and helper apps that ask you for your passphrase we’re reducing the attack vectors on your data. Note that we still have a browser auto fill feature, we just do it from outside the browser by using other OS features. Not having code running in your browser was a goal from the get go.

Privacy Policy

According to the App Store, Secrets collects data that is not linked to the user including usage data and diagnostics. Click here to read the full privacy policy.

Main Features

• iCloud Sync: Seamlessly sync Secrets with your iPhone, iPad, or Mac to access your information wherever you go.
• Password Generator: Free your mind from all those passwords. Create unique and secure passwords for all of your logins.
• Auto Fill: Better than copying & pasting. Use Secrets to automatically fill in login information in Safari and other browsers.
• Two-Factor Authentication: Generate one-time passwords for services that support two-factor authentication, including Google, Facebook, and Dropbox.
• Quick Unlock: Unlock Secrets without typing your passphrase using Touch ID or your Apple Watch.
• Import: Transfer passwords and other information from applications like 1Password and LastPass to Secrets.
• Simple Pricing: No subscriptions. Free for up to 10 items. Unlock unlimited items with a $19.99 in-app purchase.
• Browser Extensions: Support for Safari is built-in and extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Brave, and Vivaldi are also available.
• Attachments: Because your private data may not only be text… you can attach files to your items and also have them securely stored.
• Security First: Cryptography is hard, we know. That’s why we rely on the popular Sodium library and use modern crypto such as XSalsa20 and Poly1305. Learn more ›
• Beautifully Simple: Keeping your information secure online is easy with our simple and beautifully designed app.
• Not Just Passwords: Use Secrets to store notes, credit card numbers, banking details, and other confidential information.

Pricing and Availability

Secrets is free to use for up to 10 items. Unlimited items can be accessed by paying $19.99 for the Premium version. The password manager is available for macOS and iOS and separate premium licenses must be purchased for each version. Secrets is also available through Setapp.

User Experience

Secrets is a very impressive set of apps. The design of the user interface is stellar. It’s very clean and intuitive. One of the more impressive aspects to this app was how easy it was to import records. For the most part, my logins were being stored within my Apple Keychain. I was able to easily export all that information to a CSV file and then select it as the import data. I made sure that the data fields matched between the CSV and Secrets but other than that, Secrets did a great job of importing and evaluating the data.

I’ve been running Secrets on my Mac (through Setapp) and on my iPhone for a couple of months now and in general, it’s been an enjoyable experience. As far as security goes, I haven’t experienced any issues with how the app functions and haven’t noticed any potential security risks. That said, there are a couple of upgrades I’d love to see made.

Hidden Mac App

When you use Secrets on the macOS side of things the full app must be open in order for the extension in Safari or the menu utility to work. I would love to see the full app become a ‘hidden’ app. What I mean by that is that you don’t have the app open actively and the app’s icon isn’t open in the Finder dock unless you manually open it. I dislike having a full app open when it’s not necessary. There are other password managers that accomplish this functionality. So, I hope that in the future Secrets can, too.

Autofill on the Mac

The overall experience with the iOS version of Secrets is as smooth as butter. It just works. I found the macOS version to be a little bumpy in some places. The autofill function was one of those places. When you set Secrets to be your default password manager for autofill purposes in Safari, a separate app window will open to verify the login information. This is a bit different than what I have experienced with other password managers. Those apps usually live in the input fields as a widget rather than opening an entirely separate window.

More Frequent Updates

One other thing I would like to see happen with Secrets is more frequent updates. At the time of publishing this article, Secrets was last updated 3 months ago (on both Mac and iOS). Even if no major features are released, I would think that bugs or security updates would need to be more frequent.

Conclusion

A password manager is a great way to keep your passwords safe and secure and Secrets is a solid option for macOS and iOS users. It’s easy to use and has a variety of features that make it the best option for most people. Plus, it’s affordable and comes with a free trial so you can try it before you buy it.

For more information, visit outercorner.com or Twitter.

Themify is a great tool for iPhone screen customization.

Everyone loves to be unique and create their own sense of style. Growing up, I know that kids in school showed their individuality through their clothing styles and they all felt threatened when schools talked about moving to using uniforms. Today, we show our unique styles by how we organize our digital lives.

iOS users were granted the ability to customize how our desktops look through the use of widgets and customizable app icons through the use of Shortcuts. iOS 14 introduced widgets and with update 14.3, users were able to set custom app icons since Shortcuts were able to run directly from the home screen. It’s a multi-step process that can become very tedious but fortunately, iOS users have the option to use aesthetic apps that take the guesswork out of the process.

I’ve been playing around with the app layouts and desktop images on my phone lately so that it feels more organized. I decided to try out one of these creative apps and found Themify. It’s an easy-to-use app that provides a lot of design options to choose from. It’s a great self-contained tool and it’s available in the iOS App Store.

About Themify

Themify (Themify-Widget & Icon Themes) is an app that helps iPhone users customize their wallpapers, icons, and widgets. It is rated as the #1 app among iPhone Home Screen customizing apps in 27 different countries (as of July 29). It can be found in the Graphics & Design category of the iOS App Store.

Developer, AIBY, a Florida-based company, focuses on building mobile-first products. It was founded in 2019 and has several product offerings including NatureID, Fonts Art, HitMeal, InPulse, HitFit, and Futurio.

Themify was originally launched in October 2020, right on the heels of iOS 14’s release. It was built using the following technologies:

• Language: Swift
• Toolkit: xCode, iOS SDK
• Product analytics: Firebase, amplitude, FacebookCoreKit
• Dependency management: Cocoapods
• Frameworks: SwiftUI, WidgetKit, CoreGraphics, CoreLocation, AuthenticationServices
• Integration tools: Lottie, Alamofire

The app provides a vast collection of themes, widgets, and icons that will make users’ phones stand out. As of 2021, there have been more than 13 million downloads of Themify. It is available to users around the world with more than 37% of the users based in the U.S. (as of April 2022).

Themify is available in several languages including:

• English, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Vietnamese

NOTE: Themify-Widget & Icon Themes is a different product and not related to Themify: Premium WordPress Themes & Plugins.

Main Features

3-in-1 Themes

Want to marry convenience and aesthetics? Themify has your back. Perfectly matched iOS 14 app icons, widgets, and wallpapers will make your iPhone look neat and stylish. Explore an abundance of themes to choose the one you like most and set it up on your Home Screen with a few taps.

Theme Customizer

If you’d like to add a personal touch to your Home Screen theme, use our Theme Customizer. Change everything you want and create a truly one-of-a-kind design for your device.

Vast Widget Collection

Time, clock, calendar, quotes, weather, countdown, mixed—pick any widget and get the info you need right from your Home Screen. You can also create your own unique widget by adding photos and changing backgrounds, fonts, and colors.

10,000+ Icons

For those who are bored of bog-standard app icons, we have an array of custom icon packs. The best part is that you can install the whole pack at once! Just follow the simple and clear instructions.

Still And Live Wallpapers

Anime, Animals, Urban, Nature, and more—we have wallpapers for every taste. Liven up your screen with awesome live wallpapers. And if you love classics, try our still wallpapers and see for yourself how irresistible they are.

Pricing & Availability

Themify is available in the iOS App Store and is free to download with many features (including vast packs of themes, wallpapers, icons, and widgets; favorites; auto-install of up to 5 icons at a time) available at no charge. Users purchase subscriptions within the app to gain access to all the features within Themify.

According to the product description —

• You can subscribe for unlimited access to all features within Themify.
• Subscriptions are billed weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually at the rate selected depending on the subscription plan.

The subscription pricing is $19.99 for an annual subscription and $4.99 for a weekly subscription. A free trial is available.

Privacy Policy

According to the iOS App Store Themify handles data used to track you such as purchases, usage data, identifiers, and other data; and data linked to you or your identity such as Purchases, User Content, Identifiers, Usage Data, Diagnostics, and Other Data. The developer’s full privacy policy can be found here.

User Experience

Themify is an interesting app experience. The download and installation process is standard from the iOS App Store, but when it comes to activating any graphic elements, the user has to complete a bit of additional work. Even though Themify does quite a bit of the app customization process for the user, applying the theme designs still requires some work on the part of the user.

You have the option to choose from an entire theme or individual icons, wallpapers, and widgets. You also have the option to customize a preset theme or mix & match icons with different wallpapers. Themify has a very clean, intuitive layout and it’s very easy to navigate without any additional instruction. One of the things I really appreciate about the app is that it provides step-by-step instructions as you walk through the theme design/selection process.

The first thing I tried was installing an icon set. As you will see from the screenshots the app will direct the user on how to install the configuration profile in the Settings app of the iPhone. It’s not complicated, but it does take you outside the app to complete it.

Once I had the chosen icon profile installed, I did get a warning that the profile was unverified. Since I knew it was coming from this app, I continued with the installation, but you will want to be careful when you receive warnings like this as configuration profiles are one place that malware can creep into an iPhone.

Once the installation was complete, the icons for that particular theme appeared on my desktop. As you’ll see in the screenshots, the icons don’t replace the default icons. They are added to your home screen and fill in the empty spaces that are available. This was something that was a little bothersome to me because I’ve worked really hard to organize my icons into folders and by switching to the Themify icons, I will have to go through that process all over again.

This is not something I fault the app for since that’s how the Shortcut process works with the operating system. If you were to go through this process without the aid of an app like Themify, the Shortcut process would also create a secondary app icon that you would have to reorganize. I just wanted to mention it since it’s part of the process one has to go through in order to customize their icons.

In addition to reorganizing your desktops, it’s important to note what happens when you tap on the icons. Since they are shortcuts, you might see a couple of screens appear before the app you intended to open. For example, when I install a custom icon for the Calculator app and tap on it to open the Calculator, a white screen appears and then it slides over to the Shortcuts app for a brief second before the Calculator pops up. When I close the app, the app animation closes to the primary app rather than the custom icon.

Given the additional steps that needed to be taken with the icons, I decided to explore the other option that Themify had to offer. I ended up downloading and installing a clock widget and wallpapers for my home and lock screen, which was much less involved. I really like the variety that Themify has in its library and I think that if you are really into changing the look of your phone, it is a lot of fun to play with.

The only thing I wish that could be improved is the duplication of app icons during the shortcut creation process. I don’t know if that is something that Themify or any app can do without the operating system opening up certain development options.

Conclusion

If you are looking to do a complete makeover of your iPhone look and feel, then Themify might be a great option for you to try. The caveat is that you do have to do some of the legwork to make it all look right and you have to be prepared for the shortcut redirects. I believe this does affect the overall user experience of the iPhone, but it’s not the fault of the app. It has more to do with how iOS works with apps like this.

The designs that Themify offers are colorful, unique, and very easy to search for. I loved being able to browse through the different themes and designs that are available in the app. I would encourage anyone who is interested in creating a unique style for their iOS device to download it and give it a try with the free options that are available.

For more information, visit AIBY.com, Facebook, or Twitter.

iScanner turns your phone into a digital office

Are you looking for a way to be more productive and organized in your work and daily life? If so, then you may want to consider using an iScanner for iOS. This app will turn your device into a powerful digital office, allowing you to easily keep track of your work and personal affairs.

If you’re like most people, you have piles of paper strewn all over your office—from invoices to receipts to old work documents. It can be really tedious to go through all of that paperwork and organize it into files, and it’s even more time-consuming to scan it all and save it on a computer. Thankfully, there’s an app for that: iScanner.

About iScanner

iScanner is a fully functional scanning app that allows users to scan documents into high-quality PDFs. Users can edit PDFs, add signatures, send out via email, solve mathematical equations, and even measure the square footage in a room.

iScanner Is owned by a US-based company, BP Mobile, which is part of AIBY Group. BP Mobile was founded in 2010 and iScanner was first released in 2015. To date, iScanner has more than 80 million users from various backgrounds including knowledge workers, SMB & freelancers, students & educators,

The main goal behind iScanner’s development was to encourage people and companies to implement paperless processes, increase mobility, save time, and even eliminate the need to physically need to go to the office to sign and mail or fax a document.

iScanner was developed using various open-source technologies including PyTorch, CoreML, OpenCV, and others. BP Mobile developers also use shared algorithms and they train their own neural network.

Main Features

• Scanning documents, plastic cards, and passports with a camera or by uploading an image from the device. The app’s neural network automatically determines the exact borders of the document, corrects distortions caused by tilting, and processes the colors of the scan.
• Adding a signature to a document or transferring a stamp from any other image.
• Highlighting and adding text to a scan.
• Extract text from an image to copy or edit it.
• Counting identical objects in a photo.
• Solving mathematical equations.
• Measuring area and distance.

Pricing & Availability

iScanner is available for iOS and is compatible with iPhones (iOS 14.0 or later) and iPad (iPadOS 14.0 or later). Users can use the app for free, but with limited features. There are two subscription plans ($9.99/month and $19.99/month) that unlock batch scanning, OCR, Math mode, Count mode, and provides no export limitations. Free Features include unlimited scanning, full PDF editor and eSignature, no advertisements, and the ability to convert files.

Privacy Policy

According to the App Store, iScanner collects Purchase, Location, Identifiers, Usage Data, Diagnostics, and other data. All of these bits of data can be used to track users and could be used to identify users, too. For the full privacy policy from the developer, click here.

A representative from iScanner let us know the following:

We collect the minimum user data necessary for product performance analytics and marketing. The data is anonymized (e.g. User ID, Device ID, Crash Data).

User Experience

iScanner is indeed a powerful scanning tool. It has a very minimal setup and for simple scans, you simply hold your phone (or iPad) over the document and wait for the app to do the rest of the work. After a document has been captured, you can crop, straighten, adjust color settings, and rename the file. The file is saved in your document library where you have additional options for editing the PDF. You can share, sign, redact, markup, edit text, hide elements, and insert images if needed.

If you decide to share your document, you simply choose if you want to share the PDF, Image (JPG), or text file. Once you choose the file format, you a standard iPhone sharing menu pops up and you can choose what method to use for sharing. There is also an option for sharing the document via fax. This button takes you to “FAX from iPhone,” in the App Store. This is another app from BP Mobile that allows users to send faxes from their iPhones. That app also has a subscription payment method.

What really sets iScanner apart from other scanning apps is its special scanning modes. It appears that iScanner takes advantage of augmented reality technology in order to make some of its work, but I can’t say for sure. The features I was particularly taken with were the Math, Area, and Count modes.

Math Mode is designed to help solve math problems that are written on paper. It’s sort of a new age calculator. As someone who was helping a high school student with Algebra not too long ago, this feature really comes in handy. The only issue I can really see with it is that it doesn’t show the steps on how to complete the problem. For a student trying to learn how to do different types of arithmetic, it’s a bit of a crutch, but for people who don’t use more complicated forms of math on a regular basis, it’s a helpful tool.

To use Math Mode, you simply hold the phone over the paper where your math problem is written. Slide the mode option over to Math and then tap on the capture button. The app will then analyze the image captured and show you what it thinks the message said. If it’s correct, you can tap Next to have it solve the problem. If it’s incorrect, you can trash it and try again. I made up a couple of problems (the first was 2+2) and I was very impressed with the responses I got. The last one I did actually ended up being a slope equation and the app provided a graph as well as the numeric solution.

Area Mode gives users the option to measure the area of a space just by using the phone’s camera. To use this you put the app into Area mode the same way as the Math Mode above. Then you find a starting point and tap the capture button. This maps your starting point and you can move the phone to draw a line to the next spot. You do this until you have completed the area you want to outline.

Then you tap the next button. iScanner saves the drawing and provides the measurements. This is very useful if you need to measure a room in your house quickly. As I was completing the tests of the feature, it reminded me a lot of playing Pokemon Go because I was seeing an animated element in the real environment in my house. This is why I think augmented reality is being used for this feature.

Count Mode is designed to provide a way for users to quickly count items that are alike. For example, if you have paperclips laid out on your desk and you want a quick check of how many are there, you can tap on the capture button once you are in Count Mode and the app provides a box for you to define a single item in the group. Then the app will count the remaining objects in the frame. It’s a useful tool especially for keeping track of things like medication. The app was very accurate in its counting ability. This is another feature that seems to use augmented reality.

Conclusion

iScanner is a remarkable productivity tool that can help you get more done in less time. With its powerful features and easy-to-use interface, iScanner makes it easy to scan documents, photos, receipts, and more. It’s an essential app for business professionals, students, and anyone who wants to get more done. Download iScanner today and see for yourself how it can help you work smarter and faster.

For more information, visit iscanner.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Email Me provides a simple, one-step option for sending yourself notes.

Have you ever been engaged in a conversation with someone and they stop midway to pick up their phone and send an email to themselves? They tell you that they just need a second to send a reminder to themselves for later. Some people are just that busy and their lives are so hectic that they don’t take the time to enter a reminder or open their dedicated notes app to save a quick thought or resource they want to remember later. Instead, they open their email client and send an email to themself because it’s just easier.

It’s me. I’m one of those people.

Most days I run around like a chicken with its head cut off because there is just too much to do and not enough hours – minutes – seconds in the day to get it all done. With my brain moving so fast I constantly have side thoughts that I don’t want to forget. So, I either send myself an email or jot down a note in whatever app I happen to be using at that moment. Then I waste time later searching for that note I knew that I wrote down somewhere. Email Me provides a simple, no-nonsense way to get those notes out of your head and into your email so that they are all in one place.

About EmailMe & Its Developer

Email Me is designed to be the fastest way to record thoughts, to-dos, and other notes when you are on the go. It helps users to focus on a single task – sending a note to themself – using a clean, simple app. Email Me was developed using Swift and REST services and included a Share Extension, Today Widget, Siri & Shortcuts. With the app, you can collect your thoughts and other elements such as images on a clean, minimalist page. Once it’s organized the way you want, you click on ‘send’ and the message will be sent to your designated recipient email address that is set within your preferences.

According to App Store, the app only collects purchase and diagnostic data that is not linked to the users in any way. The developer provided this information on a Reddit thread about the security/privacy of the app.

I built the App with privacy in mind. The App doesn’t store anything, either locally or on the server. The way it works when sending a note is by doing an API request to the server and the server it just generates the email and sends the email to the user without archiving it or storing any data. I don’t even have analytics. The App is 100% GDPR compliant. The server runs on PHP and it uses PHPMailer open-source library for the task.

You can view the full privacy policy from the developer here.

Core Features and Benefits

• Send notes to your email in one tap
• Send images from the Camera Roll in one tap
• Send audio notes
• Send your clipboard content in one tap
• Supports multiple recipients with multiple email addresses
• Supports iOS Widgets
• Supports iOS App Extensions
• Universal App
• Multiple custom App icons and themes
• SiriKit custom shortcuts

Share Extension / Action Extension

• Share a link from Safari in one tap
• Share a text from a Website in one tap
• Share an image with one tap from the Action Extension
• Share extension supports main App Store apps

Apple Watch

• Standalone Watch App
• Watch App Complications for every Complication type
• Send text notes in one tap
• Send audio notes in one tap

Easy to configure

• Set predefined email addresses
• Set predefined subject prefix if desired
• Set predefined email signature if desired
• Set an email alias
• Set the reply-to email address

Accessibility

• Accessibility labels app-wide for VoiceOver
• Supports dynamic text sizing
• Supports sounds and vibration feedback
• Supports dark mode
• Custom CoreHaptics for precise haptics
• Reduce motion accessibility checks within the app, which automatically reduces motion

Important

• Send an unlimited number of emails
• Notes are delivered to your email inbox instantly
• No data is collected or shared with third parties, at all
• Email Me supports two URL schemes:
  • EmailMe://?message=Hello
  • emailme://hello

Pricing & Availability

Email Me is available for Mac computers, iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches. It is available to download from the respective App Stores. The app does have a couple of options for pricing. Users have the option to pay a one-time fee of $24.99, which provides them with lifetime access. Otherwise, the cost is $9.99 per year or $1.99 per month. It is a universal purchase so the premium features are available no matter which version of the app you use.

User Experience

Because the apps are available on through the App Store, the download and installation process was easy. I downloaded the macOS app first and then the iOS app. With that in mind, the iOS version had to have purchases restored, but other than that, I didn’t run into any issues with installation.

The setup of the app is as minimal as the user interface. The first thing you see when you open the app is a blank page. There is a preferences menu, but it isn’t the first thing you see. I would recommend that users take the time to walk through the settings before using the app. The major thing that needs to be set up is the recipient’s email address. This is actually the first option you see when you open the Settings menu. Once that is defined, you can start sending things to yourself.

Email Me is an incredibly simple app – but it does a lot. I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks now and as much as I love it, I have found some areas for improvement as well. I’ve outlined my thoughts below.

While Email Me does provide a server option for sending the email messages, users have the option to set up their own SMTP settings. Once you are on the Settings menu, select Advanced Configuration and then Send via. Here you can add a new SMTP option. This is great for privacy if you have your own, secured email server, you can always use that to send your notes.

I feel even though this app is very simple and easy to understand that users could benefit from some onboarding or how-to guide within the app. Can someone use it without this feature? Yes – but they could get more out of it if there were instructions that pointed out best practices.

I love that this app is available for iOS and macOS, but I have to admit that it seems to make a lot more sense for iOS and Apple Watch than it does for macOS. When you are on a Mac, you can simply open your email client and send an email. It’s the same process that you would go through while using Email Me. That said, I would love to see a Browser Extension built so that you have the same type of functionality on the Mac version as you do on the iOS version. At the very least, it would be great if the Share Extension was built into the Mac version. At this time it does not seem to be.

One of the features built into the app is the ability to add multiple recipients. This is great for me because sometimes I want to send an idea to my work email and sometimes I want to send it to my personal email. I have them both set up (you have to set them up separately on your devices), but on the Mac, the email does not give you the option to send to one or the other. It simply sends the message to the email address at the top of the list. There is a note in Settings that reads: When multiple recipients are added, hold down the send button to show the select recipient menu. I tried this, but nothing happened on the Mac. On the iPhone, however, this function is flawless.

I absolutely LOVE the Apple Watch functionality. I feel as though this is the type of app that shines on the Apple Watch. When you tap on the watch icon you are given two options – voice memo or scribble. Once you get your message completed, Email Me sends it off to its designated spot. I actually dedicated one of my watch face Complications to the Email Me app. It’s such a big help to me when I’m out and about.

Another feature that I use quite frequently is the Share Extension on iOS. This is a HUGE help to me. I can’t tell you how many times I am looking for resources online and then just send myself a bunch of links. For that, I have to bounce back and forth between Safari and my email client. The Email Me sharing options make it possible for me to send website links or other sharable items directly to my email address with one tap. This is a brilliant use of the share extension.

As much as I truly love this app, there are two big features I would love to see happen in future iterations. First, I think the Mac app has some bugs that need to be worked out. The functionality should better match the iOS version. It’s very close (like 90% of the way there), but not quite there. I also think the Mac version should be a menu bar utility and not an active app in the Dock. I would love the option to program a shortcut key to bring up the page rather than leaving the app open. Right now the only way I see to make a keyboard shortcut is by manually doing it through System Preferences.

I would also love to see Email Me connected to some other apps. For example, if you trying to send yourself a reminder, you could type out the reminder and a shortcode like “#reminder” and it would be sent to the Reminder app. Or, if you use Notion for your note-taking/saving app, you could enter #Notion and it would create a new page in Notion and add your note directly to that. I’m not a developer by any means. So I don’t even know if that’s a possibility, but it seems like a great opportunity if it is possible.

Final Thoughts

Email Me is a very clean app with a lot of potential. I hope that the Mac app gets some updates to become as functional as the iOS app. Even though the idea is to use the ‘on the go’ options – iPhone and Apple Watch – I would love it if the Mac app was more reliable. I do think this app is absolutely worth the investment.

For more information, visit emailmeapp.net, Facebook, and Twitter.

Jump Desktop is a reliable, secure option for remote connection between machines.

A long time ago, I used to repair computers. I had an independent IT company that I started with a friend and we had a set of clients that were regular customers. Sometimes, when an issue seemed minor and didn’t require hands-on support, I would use an application to connect directly to their computer – remotely. At the time, the system was a little clunky but since remote work has become somewhat commonplace now, the applications that are available today are a lot more advanced.

I’ve had my eye on one called Jump Desktop for a while now because I love the idea of being able to connect to my personal computer when I am not right next to it – or even in a completely different physical location.

About Jump Desktop

In the simplest terms, Jump Desktop is an application that allows users to securely connect to any computer in the world (assuming they have the proper credentials). This ability gives users the freedom to work from anywhere. They can take their mobile devices to any remote location and still be able to connect to their stationary computer with a simple login/password option.

Jump Desktop is compatible with both Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Virtual Network Computing (VNC). RDP allows users to graphically control a remote computer while VNC lets remote users control a computer while the main user can interact and watch. RDP is a Microsoft proprietary protocol while VNC is platform-independent. In addition to supporting RDP and VNC, Jump Desktop also has its own high-performance protocol called Fluid Remote Desktop.

Fluid Remote Desktop has the power to share screens at 60fps while only using 1/10th of the bandwidth in comparison to RDP and VNC. Fluid allows users to manage servers, work on documents, watch videos, edit photos, and collaborate with multiple users through the remote connection.

Jump Desktop’s developers made it very easy to configure the system with an ‘Automatic Setup’ feature through their website. It provides step-by-step instructions for the user to follow to be up and running in five minutes or less. Once the system is set up, users can connect to computers using an IP address or hostname.

The developer is listed as Phase Five Systems in the App Store but there isn’t any information about the people behind Jump Desktop on their website. Also according to the App Store, Jump Desktop may collect data not linked to the user such as contact info or diagnostics. The developer’s privacy policy was last updated on February 9, 2021, and can be found here.

Main Features

• Multi-protocol: supports RDP, VNC, and Fluid Remote Desktop
• Collaborative screen sharing
• Remote support
• Full international keyboard support for RDP, VNC, and ARD
• Dictation support (Mountain Lion and later)
• Tabs (macOS Sierra and later)
• 3 different ways to zoom and pan the remote screen (really useful when controlling multi-monitor remote systems from laptops)
• Easy and secure setup: Automatically configure your PC or Mac for remote access without worrying about your router settings. Set up as many computers as you like and manage them all using all your Google account (optional)
• Built-in SSH tunneling for RDP and VNC connections

RDP features

• Tested on: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Server 2003, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012/R2/2016/2019, SBS Server, Windows 10
• RD Broker and Load balancer support
• RD Gateway support
• Dynamic resolution updates (Win 8.1/2012 R2+)
• Desktop Scaling (Win 8.1/2012 R2+)
• Multi-monitor support Secure: 128-bit RDP, TLS/SSL, FIPS, and LA authentication supported
• Printing redirection support (including an optional, super-fast server side-driver)
• Audio streaming
• Console sessions
• Folder sharing
• International keyboard layouts

VNC features

• Tested with macOS 10.5+, TightVNC, RealVNC, UltraVNC, Linux (Ubuntu Remote Desktop)
• Secure: Supports SSH tunneling as well as SSL encryption (SSL only available when using automatic setup)
• Black and white, Grayscale, 8-bit, and 16-bit color modes to help manage bandwidth
• Clipboard syncing
• Multiple monitor support

Pricing and Availability

Jump Desktop is available for macOS, iOS, and Windows devices. Individual users can download it from the respective app stores and universal purchases are not supported. This means that each version of the software has its own license fee.

• Mac App Store – $34.99 – available on the Mac App Store, Jump Web Store, and Setapp
• IOS App Store – $14.99
• Windows – Free for personal and business use

Jump Desktop also has support for Teams. This level of support is available for the Pro level ($9.99 per user/month) and Enterprise level users($19.99 per user/month). If purchased for a year at a time, there is a 20% discount.

User Experience

While the action of this app seems simple, it actually does require a bit of setup to get it functioning. Fortunately, Jump Desktop makes it really easy with their Automatic Setup option. This takes all the guesswork out of the installation process, which can get convoluted if you don’t have all the necessary information for the computer you are trying to connect to. So, letting the application do the work is really what’s best.

One thing I noticed right off the bat is that when you log in, the app takes you back to the browser rather than logging the user in from the app. In addition to that, most of the syncing/connecting to other computers happens from the web dashboard, as well. In order to add computers to your account, you have to install Jump Desktop Connect to the remote computer (the one you want to connect to).

I happen to have access to a separate laptop that is used for my fiancé’s day job. We used it as the remote computer for testing. It’s a MacBook Pro (2019 model). Users have the option of connecting to iOS, Android, Windows, or Mac devices. We tested an iPhone to Mac connection, too, but I will get to that shortly.

We installed the Jump Desktop Connect (a free download) onto the remote computer, which asked for several system permissions to be granted (accessibility and screen recording). If you want to use Jump Desktop as intended, you’ll need to allow these permissions. Jump Desktop Connect will also take the user to the browser to finish the account connection.

Once the browser connection is completed, users will see a dialogue window that reads “Access this Mac from Anywhere” or “Share your screen.” Both of these options will give the host control over the computer, but with the screen share option, the user on the remote computer will be able to see the way the operator is interacting with the computer.

It’s the same way that Google Chrome Remote Desktop operates. My fiancé used to work for an organization where she had to connect to remote computers frequently and Chrome Remote Desktop was the best option to do so at the time. She said that it worked, but it was clunky and jittery. The screen share feature of Jump Desktop works really well. The connection was quick and aside from the screen being a little pixelated, it worked.

That said, the actual tunnel connection between two computers using the Jump Desktop access was a much better option. It was sort of the difference between an HD video signal and a standard definition video. The Jump Desktop tunnel was a smooth connection. It was fluid and was almost as if my host computer was just a second screen for the remote computer whereas the screen-sharing connection felt as if the computer were miles away.

I did test both types of connections while both computers were connected to the same network and when the host was on a different network. I actually connected the host computer to a cellular hotspot and I had nearly the same type of experience as I did when both computers were on the same network.

One of the main reasons that I wanted to use Jump Desktop was so that I had the option to connect to my laptop when I wasn’t at my desk using my iPhone. This required that the iPhone be the ‘host’ machine, which meant that I needed the iPhone version of the Jump Desktop app. As I noted above, the iPhone app is a separate purchase from the Mac version.

The installation/setup process is similar to the macOS version. The user selects automatic or manual setup. The Automatic option takes the user to their browser to connect the app to their account. Once you finish the setup and select the computer you want to connect to, you open the connection and start using the remote computer as you wanted to.

Using Jump Desktop has been a big time-saver for me since I have the flexibility to jump between my iPhone and MacBook Pro using the app. I’m a big fan of the functionality. I do want to point out that an individual’s experience with Jump Desktop is completely dependent on the type of network connection they are using.

If it’s a stable, high-speed network then it should be a strong connection between the two systems. If the network is spotty and unreliable, the user could have a dreadful experience with the app and easily get frustrated. In that case, it’s not the app’s fault. In my time using Jump Desktop, it’s been a solid app and has worked the way it’s supposed to.

Final Thoughts

Jump Desktop is a handy utility for connecting between computers. It works and it works well. It’s important to remember that a strong network connection is essential for it to be a smooth operation. There were a few details I would have liked to discuss further with the developer, but unfortunately, they were unresponsive to emails after my first interaction with them. I would like to understand why the apps take the user back to a browser in order to connect to the Jump Desktop account. It’s a solid app and I’m very excited about continuing to use it.

For more information, visit jumpdesktop.com and Twitter.

When I was a teenager, my parents had a deal with my brother and me regarding our grades. We got paid for good grades on our report cards. A lot of kids have this kind of deal with their parents, but one of the cool things about this deal was that if we got straight A’s, we got a lump sum of $150. I don’t know if they didn’t expect one of us to do that, but I had my heart set on getting a Super Nintendo Entertainment System. So, I got straight A’s and they had to pay up.

Fast-forward several years and you would have found me playing Lego Star Wars in my apartment on my Xbox 360. I specifically bought that gaming system to play Lego Star Wars just like I wanted the SNES to play Super Mario World. I played it for hours on end. That Xbox 360 was my last gaming console for a while. I switched to playing mobile games like Angry Birds on my iPhone for many years.

Not too long ago, I stumbled across Lego Star Wars in the App Store. I remembered how much I loved playing it on the Xbox so I downloaded it and tried to lumber through a few levels. It was not the same gaming experience without a true controller. Fortunately for me, mobile gaming controllers, like the Backbone One for iPhone, are bridging the gap between console gaming and mobile gaming.

DETAILS

The Backbone One is a snap-on controller adapter for mobile phones (currently available for the iPhone; Android compatibility coming soon). The controller connects to the iPhone using a Lightning connector. This connection provides power to the controller (Backbone One does not have a battery) as well as gaming functionality. In addition to the Lightning connector, the Backbone One also features a passthrough Lighting port for charging the iPhone with a standard Lightning cable, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The design of the Backbone One mimics popular console controllers and the companion app connects users to services such as Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Apple Arcade and even gives users the ability to stream directly from their Xbox, Playstation, or PC.

Main Features

• Collapsible and compact design
• Low latency connection
• Play games that support controllers
• Capture game clips and screenshots
• 3.5mm headphone jack (for headsets with or without microphones)
• Pass-through charging and audio

Size & Weight

• Height: 3.70 inches (93.9 mm)
• Width (Contracted): 6.94 inches (176.2 mm)
• Width (Extended): 10.14 inches (257.6 mm)
• Depth: 1.28 inches (32.6 mm)
• Weight: 4.87 ounces (138.0 g)

What’s in the Box

• Backbone One controller
• Adapter for iPhone 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max
• Quick Start Guide
• Safety Sheet

BACKBONE APP

The companion app for the Backbone One is called Backbone — Next Level Play. It’s available from Backbone Labs, Inc. It is not required to use the Backbone One, but it does provide an added gaming experience for users. The app allows users to play any game or service that supports game controllers. This app also works with games like Call of Duty: Mobile, Minecraft, and Genshin Impact.

In addition to access to gaming services, the Backbone app gives users the ability to record, edit, and share gaming clips. The Backbone One has a built-in capture button that allows users to screen record or capture a screenshot during gameplay thanks to the app. The app also provides users the option to create party scenarios with friends because of its built-in push notifications when friends who are also using Backbone start playing.

According to the App Store, Backbone — Next Level Play may collect user data including Purchases, Contacts, Identifiers, Diagnostics, Contact Info, User Content, and Usage Data. The app takes 210.9 MB of space and requires iOS 13.0 or later.

USER EXPERIENCE

The Backbone One comes in a clearly marked and branded box. There is an image of the device on the front of the box along with the Made for iPhone icon. The back of the box outlines some of the features of the controller and a second image of the controller is included there, too. The box is wrapped with an outer sleeve. When you slide it off and open the inner box, you’ll find the controller and the Quick Start Guide.

The Quick Start Guide is a simple three-step process to follow. It instructs users to line up the phone with the Backbone’s Lightning connector and then grab the left handle to extend it. The third step is to ‘snap’ your phone into place and start playing.

While it’s not required, I did download the app and get it set up. When the Backbone One is not connected and you start up the app, you’ll see a screen that instructs you to connect it. The app is free, but there is a Backbone Plus service that is subscription-based (around $50/year). The controller comes with a one-year free subscription. If you choose to use it, you will have to connect to Backbone’s system using your Apple ID or a Google account. There is also a feature that allows users to play on any screen if they want to use the Backbone One with cloud gaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and Google Stadia. While I did not use Stadia my fiancé did use Xbox Cloud Gaming and he really enjoyed his time with it. He said it was like having my Xbox in my hands.

One of my favorite things about this controller is that is literally a plug-and-play option for mobile gaming. Most iOS games have the functionality built in to recognize connected controllers and since the Backbone One is basically a wired connection, there is no perceptible lag during gameplay.

I’ve used different types of mobile gaming controllers including the GameSir X2 Lightning Controller, the RiotPWR ESL Gaming Controller for iOS, and the Razer Kishi for iPhone. So far, the Backbone One is my favorite. The RiotPWR ESL controller – and ones that are designed like it – are not really my style because it mounts the phone above the controller and just doesn’t feel natural.

The ‘snap-in’ styles like the GameSir X2, Backbone One, and the Razer Kishi provide a much more comfortable grip. The GameSir X2 has a slightly different style than the Kishi and the Backbone. It has a flat back to it and makes the iPhone + controller feel a lot like a Nintendo Switch. That’s not a negative, but it’s still not my favorite way to play mobile games.

So, that brings us to the Kishi and the Backbone One. Both of these controller options are designed most like a console controller. The Kishi’s thumbsticks are a little larger and the action buttons are a little more rounded. This makes the Kishi’s grip feel a little more like an Xbox controller. My fiancé, who is an avid COD: Mobile player, prefers the Kishi over the Backbone One because of this.

Looking at the handles on the Kishi, they are a little more squared-off than the Backbone and the Backbone’s handles actually look and feel more like an Xbox or Playstation handle to me. The action buttons feel a bit like the Nintendo Switch on the Backbone. So, for me, the Backbone One is a clear winner when it comes to how it feels when you use it. It really comes down to personal preference on what feels right to a particular person.

As I mentioned above, my mobile game of choice is Lego Star Wars. When it came time to test how the Backbone One actually reacted during gameplay, I started it up and lost track of time really quickly. What I thought was only about 10 minutes was actually an hour. Playing mobile games with the Backbone One was effortless and just felt – natural. I was able to adapt quite easily to the controls and the only thing that felt a little out of place was the placement of the menu buttons.

The controller reacts in real-time and there is absolutely no lag whatsoever. I never had any issues with commands registering and I also had no problems with the iPhone recognizing that the controller was connected. The only thing that would make this controller better is if a travel case was included with the package. That said, there is a really nice case I recently found on Amazon that works great with the Backbone One.

CONCLUSION

If you enjoy mobile gaming, then you need a mobile gaming controller. There are several options/styles to choose from but I think the Backbone One is the best option available at this time. It’s comfortable to use – even for long gaming sessions – and it connects to the iPhone seamlessly.

The optional app and gaming system from Backbone is a great perk and I truly appreciate that it isn’t a required service to use the controller. The controller retails for around $100 (at the time of publishing) and that seems like a fair market value (the Kishi is the same price; GameSir X2 Lighting is around $70).

Given the features and easy use of this device, I think any gamer would enjoy using the Backbone One.

For more information, visit playbackbone.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Things is an outstanding, clean, and robust task management system for Mac and iOS that keeps you on track

While in the process of migrating our site to a new hosting provider, making design changes to macsources.com, and still managing the content creation side of things, I decided it was time to implement a task-tracking system.

I’ve been using Reminders from Apple as my to-do list for a long time, but I feel as though it didn’t offer all the functionality I wanted from that type of productivity app. I wanted a dedicated app system that would allow me to keep track of tasks and keep me accountable for what I want to see get done in my daily life.

Would a pen and paperwork for this? Yes, it would, but I have never been a paper-type person. I would rather have a well-built app that I can keep on my home screen and see the dreaded RED icon with the number of tasks to complete. This type of visual keeps me motivated. This is what moved me towards Things.

About Things

Things is the product of the development company, Cultured Code, which is based in Stuttgart, Germany. The company was founded in 2004 with the intention of creating software solutions for developers. Three years later, Cultured Code decided to focus on Things, which was officially launched in 2008.

In 2012, Things 2.0 was launched with cloud sync as one of its main features and five years later in 2017, Things 3.0 was released with a brand-new design and powerful new features. The app has won multiple awards since its launch and is currently featured as one of the App Store’s Editor Choice apps.

All the apps for Things were written using Obj-C, but the codebase is gradually being written in Swift over time. Things Cloud is a mixture of technologies that sit on Google App Engine and Amazon Web Services.

According to the App Store, Things may collect some user content data that is linked to the user as well as diagnostics that are not linked directly to the user. Click here to read the privacy policy from Cultured Code. In addition to the privacy policy, Things also has a privacy and data encryption statement on its website.

Main Features

• To-Dos: the building blocks for the Things system. Each to-do is a small step to a larger goal. Users can add notes, tags, schedules, and even sub-tasks to to-dos.
• Projects: a way to categorize to-dos into groups. A project is set up as a large goal to meet. Then, to-dos are nested inside the project to create an outline for the project. There is a place to jot down notes and deadlines to keep the project on schedule.
• Areas: these are for different parts of your life. Users can create areas for work, family, finance, etc. This feature helps to keep projects and individual to-dos organized.
• Plan: all items on your schedule will appear within the Today and Upcoming list views. Each day, users can plan their day according to where the different tasks fall.
• Reminders: allows users to set a time for Things to remind you about a task
• Repeaters: a feature that allows users to repeat to-dos on a set schedule
• This Evening: a view that provides a look at your plans for the evening
• Calendar: allows users to see their events and to-dos together
• Tags: help to quickly filter to-dos
• Quick Entry: users can create to-dos as soon as the thought hits them
• Quick Find: allows users to locate to-dos, headings, or tags
• Type Travel: users can jump from list to list by just typing
• Widgets: allows users to see their lists in Notification Center
• Mail to Things: send an email to Things to create a to-do
• Headings: break up larger projects into sections
• Checklists: can be added to to-dos that take several steps but don’t require a project
• Magic Plus: creates a to-do that can be dragged to where it should go
• Jump Start: provides an option for users to make quick scheduling decisions
• Slim Mode: collapses the sidebar with a two-finger swipe
• Multiple Windows: on the Mac version, users can open multiple projects in their own window panes

Pricing & Availability

Things is available on Mac, iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad. The macOS version offers a 15-day free trial if you download it from the website rather than the App Store. Each version of the app requires a separate purchase and is available through the respective App Stores. There is no ongoing subscription and is only a one-time purchase.

Even though each device version is a separate purchase you can install the app without additional cost on as many devices (of the same kind) as you want and Things is available via Apple’s Family Sharing. As of publishing this article, Things does not offer any discounts or bundle offers for the purchase of their app licenses due to the way the App Store functions.

In their help section, Things suggests that users who are students or teachers refer to Apple’s Education Program and if businesses are using it, they should check out Apple’s Volume Purchase Program. Things uses its own cloud service (Things Cloud) and it is offered as a free service. For additional information about availability, review this article from Things.

User Experience

I used Things years ago and remember how much I loved it and how upset I was when I had to stop using it. It’s been one of my favorite apps for years. So, getting the opportunity to take a new look at a past love of mine was something I was ready to jump on.

One of the first things I want to comment on is the pricing structure. Some users may scoff at the $50, $20, and $10 (a total of $80) price tags attached to each one of the device versions, but I would prefer to pay a one-time charge than incur an ongoing fee from a subscription.

I do appreciate that Things provides users with the option to use the Mac app for two weeks at no charge AND that they provided Things 2 users the option to upgrade to Things 3 at no additional charge. Some developers will choose to require users to pay for upgrades if they pay a one-time fee rather than a subscription, but Things went to great lengths to make contact with their users and offer them options for upgrading.

After you make your app purchases, it’s time to download and install. Because these apps are designed to work specifically with Apple devices (and no other platforms) and because they are offered in the App Stores, this process is quick and painless. When you open Things for the first time there is a basic and easy-to-follow setup that explains how to use the app. This was incredibly helpful – even for a former user.

Things is “Apple Centric” and because of this, it integrates well with other Apple and iOS features such as Shortcuts, Reminders, and Apple Calendar. This is a feature that I greatly appreciate given my dedication to Apple products. It’s also quite obvious that Cultured Code has paid a lot of attention to the way its apps look and feel. They are very user-friendly and intuitive.

Along these same lines, I’ve been very impressed with how quickly and easily all my devices sync together. Each one runs its own instance of Things and each one fills in new data within a few seconds of my entry on a different device. It hasn’t mattered which device ends up being the primary entry point. I’ve entered tasks on my Mac and it syncs to my iPhone and iPad within a few seconds and the same can be said if I have entered a to-do using my iPad. Things has built a fabulous system that just works really well.

One of the features that Things does not have with its current version is some sort of collaboration tool. This actually suits me just fine since I’m using it for individual projects and nothing that affects anyone else. Another productivity to-do list app we’ve reviewed – Todoist – has a feature that allows users to pass tasks off to others but Things does not. For me, that’s not a deal-breaker but it could be for someone else.

The feature I use the most is definitely the Quick Entry option. With this feature, users can set a keyboard shortcut to open a to-do entry window. This saves an ENORMOUS amount of time for me because I don’t have to stop what I’m doing when a thought enters my mind. I can simply enter my shortcut, type out the to-do I don’t want to forget, and then go back to the task I was working on. It’s a beautiful feature and one that I think a lot of people would get use out of.

Another one of my favorite features is the When option. This is the scheduling aspect of Things. When a schedule is set for a to-do, Things recognizes that timing and filters items into different views. I love being able to look at “Today” and know those are items I pre-selected to be completed that day. I also really like being able to just set a schedule for ‘Someday’ and leave it on my extended to-do list.

The checklist feature comes in very handy as well. While I was testing out the features of Things 3, I ended up needing to use this feature. I set a to-do item for setting up a NAS device. Along with that, I needed to move stored data to a different hard drive, install new drives, and reformat the HDDs. It was great to be able to put those individual steps beneath a to-do rather than create an entire Project for that one set of tasks.

Because I am a visual person, I also really like the Progress Pie Chart. This gives me an idea of where I am on any given Project. I like feeling as though tasks are being completed – even if they are smaller tasks. The pie chart gives me a quick look at how far a certain project has gotten.

While Things doesn’t necessarily give users the opportunity to set up larger goals, it does help them to manage day-to-day tasks, which is exactly what I need. Things is a very comprehensive productivity tool and as long as you can become accustomed to adding deadlines to tasks, then it could really help keep you on top of that ‘almighty to-do list.’

Conclusion

In my opinion, Things is a must-have app. It’s something I use daily and I forgot how much I needed this in my life until I had it once again. I feel more productive than I have ever and this makes me feel good.

For more details, visit Things, Facebook, and Twitter.

CheckYourList takes a load off your mind so you can focus on what’s important.

I am a list maker. I usually have no more than 3 lists going at one time – and that’s usually just the ones I have on paper. This can get confusing (even to me) and ultimately, it’s not very productive. I’ve been trying for a very long time to switch over to a digital list option, but none of them have really satisfied my needs. I have started using Todoist for my daily task-tracking, but when it comes to recurring lists, I’ve started using a really nice mobile app called Daily Checklist: CheckYourList.

About CheckYourList

CheckYourList was designed to help users feel less overwhelmed with daily, repeatable tasks. It has a simple user interface that is easy to understand and intuitive. The app lets you create lists that can be used spontaneously. Items can be checked off, cleared, and reused again. CheckYourList is ideal for lists such as packing lists, daily routines, cleaning lists, and other tasks you do on a regular basis.

The app was designed for individuals with ADHD by someone with ADHD. The developer, Spencer Walden, revealed that after the birth of his son, his ADHD caused him to feel overwhelmed by ordinary tasks.

I built this app to help with my ADHD. I found myself forgetting things more and more after the birth of my son. Dropping him at daycare and then going to the gym, required so many things. I felt overwhelmed and would take ages to leave the house. I wanted a solution, so I built this app. Now I run through CheckYourList and am confident I have everything I need.

Walden let us know that the app is built using only Apple technologies with the UI and logic being built with Swift/SwiftUI. The app’s data is stored locally on the device with Core Data and Apple’s CloudKit is used to sync and backup data.

The app was first launched on June 30, 2021, and is currently on version 1.2.2 with the last update happening two weeks ago. Walden actively works on improvements to the app and keeps an open page that contains all of his downloads, revenue, traffic, and other tasks he is working on. He shares it all on his website.The app is built using only Apple technologies the UI and logic is built with Swift/SwiftUI, it stores data locally on the device with Core Data and uses Apple’s CloudKit to sync and backup data.

Main Features

• Create repeatable checklists
• Group checklists together
• No login required everything works via your Apple ID account
• Privacy-focused. No data is collected by the developer.
• Built for ADHD by a developer who has ADHD to help others
• Shortcut Automations Automatically open a checklist or group
• iCloud Syncing Share your lists between multiple Apple devices
• WatchOS Access all your checklists from your wrist
• Dark Mode Full dark mode including high contrast support
• Spotlight Search All checklists, groups, and items are fully searchable

Pricing and Availability

CheckYourList is built for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. It requires version 15.0 or later for iOS/iPadOS or 8.0 or later for watchOS. The app only requires 2.6MB of space on the iPhone and it is available in English and French. The app can be downloaded directly from the App Store.

CheckYourList can be used for free, but it is limited to two checklists. To unlock the full version with unlimited checklists, a user may choose to pay a monthly ($4.99) or yearly ($29.99) subscription fee or purchase the lifetime license ($49.99). (All prices current at the time of publishing.)

The app just recently moved to a subscription model for the Pro version. Walden documented his reasoning for the change via his Twitter account.

My goal is to develop CheckYourList.app to help people live their best, most organized lives. To this end I’ve moved from an in-app purchase to subscriptions. It’s a lot of work building and maintaining an app like this, especially keeping it relevant and working with new iOS releases.

I used to be very against app subscriptions until I realized it was the only way for my app to exist longer than a few months. Larger apps, with large teams behind them, actually set the expectation of fairly low prices for apps, because they have the user base to do so. For indie devs to survive, we rely on fewer customers, and if an app can’t financially support itself, it won’t exist anymore.

Some of the backlash I’ve gotten is the high price of the lifetime unlock. The reason the lifetime unlock seems high, is because it has to cover years of use and upgrades. Three years from now, the app will still need to sync, function and keep up to date with iOS. With me providing support, fixing bugs and helping users all that time. We need more innovative apps, supporting indie developers is one way to do so.

User Experience

When you start using the app, it’s completely blank. It’s just a black screen with the word “Checklists” at the top in white. There is also an Edit option, Add Checklist, and a hamburger menu. This is the main screen of the app. As you add lists, they will appear here. The hamburger menu opens up the help screen, which features options for support, legal links, an option to copy a support ID, and a button at the very top that shows what version you are using.

When you add a checklist, you have the option to name it, add it to a group, select whether or not you want the completed items moved to the bottom of the list, and a color for the list bubble on the main screen. That bubble will change to an icon for a group.

As you mark items off your list, they will be crossed off and the bubble for the list will fill in to show the progress you have made on that list. When every item is checked off, the app will give you a prompt that reads, “Checklist Complete! Would you like to uncheck the checklist?” This is a great touch because it unchecks all the items in bulk rather than you having to do it one by one.

I will admit that I was skeptical at first. When I originally saw the description of CheckYourList, I thought, “That’s all I need. Another ‘to-do’ list app.” To be honest, I was starting to accumulate reminder apps like I gathered sticky notes on my desktop. It was getting overwhelming. Then I caught the keyword – recurring checklists. That made me take a second look.

CheckYourList is an extremely clean app. It works very smoothly and the iCloud sync between the devices is quick – nearly instantaneous. I have been very impressed with how well the app works and all the little details that are worked in. On the surface, it looks like such a simple app, but there is really a lot built into it. For example, the progress indicator for the list filling in as you check off items is outstanding. I wasn’t expecting that, but I LOVE that it is included.

The entire purpose of this remarkable app is to provide an option for users to create checklists that can be reused. How many times have you gone to the grocery store for the exact same items? How many times have you started your weekend knowing you had a certain number of repetitive tasks that needed to get done before Monday? I go through patterns every single day and even though I’ve never been diagnosed with ADHD, I do get scatterbrained. I do get ‘busy’ and forget the smallest things. CheckYourList is a really big help during those times.

There are some tasks I can do on autopilot, but things do fall through the cracks – often. Being able to check items off a list and then have that list again the next time that repeating event comes up is priceless. I set up a few lists just to get started (Saturday, Work Startup, Evening tasks, Morning tasks, Groceries).

I have created one group for daily tasks and my fiancé Nick, who is a photographer, has created an entire set of lists that features different types of load-out lists. These lists feature the different pieces of equipment that he takes with him on different types of jobs. He also created a list for traveling since there are a lot of the same items that he packs for every trip (i.e. toothbrush, body wash, medicine, etc.).

As far as use goes, all the apps have been very responsive. I think I’ve been the most impressed with how well the Apple Watch app works. It’s quick and I can easily mark items off my list without the need for my phone or iPad nearby. This comes in especially handy when I am doing things like packing for a trip. I can move around freely and be able to tap the items off my list on my watch. It really adds to the user experience of the entire app system.

At this point, I think the only criticism I have is based on the pricing of the app. I have been a naysayer of apps that have subscription models ever since Adobe moved Creative Cloud to one, but I’ve slowly been coming around to the need for ongoing fees for apps like this that are being continuously refined and updated. That said, I do not disagree with using a subscription model, however, I think the pricing might be a little higher than other apps in the same category.

I did a quick check on this by spot-checking five apps in the App Store that were either found by using the keyword ‘checklist,’ ‘repeatable checklist,’ or ‘checklist reuse.’ I found the average price was around $3 as a one-time fee. Of those five apps, three of them were from what seemed to be independent developers and two were larger companies. I also noticed that none of these five apps had a subscription model applied to their pricing structure.

As I said, I don’t disagree with using a subscription since there is active development and upkeep of an app like this, but I think that maybe the price level should be evaluated.

Conclusion

CheckYourList is an amazing app that can really help people make the most of their days. It helps take the stress off a scattered mind (like me) that constantly has new pieces of information thrown at it. With this app, I am able to keep those recurring lists separate from my individual daily tasks and I don’t have to worry about them anymore. It takes a load off my mind.

I can wholeheartedly recommend CheckYourList as a great way to keep your tasks organized and be able to repeat them as needed. It’s a beautifully designed app and it has a lot of potential for future growth.

For more information, visit checkyourlist.app or Twitter.

Vid Diva user experience falls flat and fails expectations.

Have you ever had those times when you try an app or a product and really want to like it, but it has too many flaws to enjoy? Well, that is where I am with Vid Diva. On the surface, this app should be perfect for someone like me. I’m always finding TV shows and movies that I want to watch, but never have time to. So, this cataloging app with built-in database access should be ideal for me. The problem is that I couldn’t get past the poor user experience.

Background on the App

Vid Diva is an app developed for iOS, iPad, and macOS that helps users keep track of movies and TV shows. It was first launched in July of 2021. The app can help users plan what they want to watch, find when new episodes will be on, and more. The app is even designed to alert users when a new episode is ready to be watched. Vid Diva is connected to a couple of different services (IMDB, TVMaze, TMDB) to ensure that the most up-to-date information is being provided on shows and movies.

Features

• An in-app to-do list of TV shows and movies that you plan to watch in the future.
• TV show progress tracking that shows you how far through the current season you are
• Advanced search capabilities that will find the TV show you’re looking for no matter the TV channel or streaming service it’s on.
• A show calendar that gives you an easy-to-use view of what’s coming up. New episodes of the shows you follow will automatically be added to your watch list.
• All the information about TV shows and movies that you could ever need thanks to IMDB integration.
• Notifications that will ensure you know when: a new movie is in cinemas or a new episode of your favorite show is out.
• A Home screen widget to highlight all of the new TV shows and movies coming out this week.

Vid Diva is not a media player, but it does provide links to ways to watch videos online. The data syncs between devices using iCloud. The app does not require an account for use and does not collect any data. The developer’s privacy policy can be found here.

Pricing and Availability

Vid Diva is free to use with no restrictions for up to five total TV shows and movies. The premium version is $4.99 as a one-time universal purchase and allows for an unlimited number of shows and movies. The app is available for macOS 11.0 and later (requires a Mac with M1 chip), iPhone with iOS 14 or later, iPad with iPadOS 14 or later, and iPod Touch with iOS 14 or later.

USER EXPERIENCE

When I first heard about Vid Diva, I was really excited. I thought, “Finally, I can keep track of things I want to watch just like Todoist keeps track of my daily tasks.” There have been so many times that I’ve been with friends and they’ve suggested a show or a movie and then I can’t remember it later. The way this app was described and honestly, the way it was designed should have functions exactly like that. Unfortunately, I did not have that kind of experience.

I started working with Vid Diva on my iPhone 12 Pro, but the functionality and user experience are very similar on macOS. Because the app was in the App Store, the download and installation process was pretty easy. I clicked on the “Get” button and the free version of the app, which is not limited except for the number of shows/movies you can save – installed with no problems.

The first few screens that a user is shown describe some of the functionality of the app. A lot of people flip through these quickly – myself included – and while there is nothing wrong with that, there is a lot of valuable information about how the app works that you don’t get later if you skip over these screens. For example, one of the intro screens for the Watch List has the following info on it:

• Tap the blue circle to mark an episode or movie as watched.
• Long press (hold for a second) to also mark all previous episodes as watched.

This is something I missed and when I was attempting to manage my playlist later, I thought it was just a function that was missing.

There are four tabs in the app – Search, Watch List, Calendar, and Settings. The first thing I noticed about this app is that the first three tabs are essentially the same tabs just with slightly different features included.

Search

The Search tab in Vid Diva provides your selected list of shows and movies with a search field at the top of the screen. When you start typing in that field, shows, and movies that match your search term appear in a list. Each item has an “add” button with it. You have the option to tap on the title of the search result items to look at the item’s description or you can add them to your Watch List.

I noticed the search results weren’t always 100% accurate. For example, I typed in “yellow” because I wanted to add the show Yellowstone to my Watch List. The items that appeared in the search results did not include Yellowstone and while it did include titles with the word “yellow” in them, the last four items in the list were Willow, Fellow Travelers, NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, and Sleepy Hollow.

Now, I am not a software developer so I don’t know exactly how this search would have been programmed, but I thought it was strange that one of the most popular shows available didn’t appear by typing part of its title and that titles that only sounded like the search term did appear.

I also experienced a strange error while attempting to add shows to my Watch List. At one point, I tried to add Rachel Ray by tapping on the Rachel Ray title and Entertainment Tonight was actually what was added to my list. I mentioned this to the developer and he said he had never experienced it before. It may just be an intermittent bug, but definitely, something that affected my user experience.

Another oddity I encountered was that in order to remove items from your Watch List, it must be done on the Search tab. While in your saved list, you can swipe to the left and reveal a ‘delete’ option. This will remove the item from your saved list. This function is not available in the Watch List tab.

Watch List

When you save items to your Vid Diva Watch List, all the episodes to that show (if it’s a show) are populated into that list. So, if you have been a loyal watcher of a show like NCIS, which has been on the air for 19 seasons, there will be hundreds of episodes on your list. I would love to see an option for a user to add individual episodes, too. As I mentioned above, at first, I could not figure out a way to mark multiple episodes as watched. This meant that I was going to have to mark each episode as watched one by one.

Fortunately, the developer did point out that multiple episodes can be marked by executing a long press on the checkmark spot. This ends up hiding all the episodes that are marked. There is a toggle menu on each title that has the following options – hide, see next episode and all episodes. The hide feature hides all episodes that are not watched yet; the see next episode option opens the next episode in the watch list in your browser; and the all episodes feature reveals all the episodes of that show – watched or not.

Again, while the functions I want are available, they aren’t as user-friendly as they could be. For example, I think it would be great if the default state of the Watch List was simply a list of your saved shows/movies. Then if you want to see the episodes, you can tap on the title of the show to open the episode list. I feel like the way it is now there is an extra step that has to be taken in order to get to a simple list of the shows in your list.

Calendar

The first time I tapped on the Calendar tab in Vid Diva, I was expecting to see an actual calendar (grid view) and not another list. The function of this tab is designed to provide the user with an alternate view of the watch list to show the episodes in order of air date and it auto-scrolls to ‘today’ or the nearest day in the week that has a show on your list.

While this function is useful, it wasn’t what I was expecting. I would have much rather seen an actual grid view with maybe dots on the days that had your shows airing. Then when you tap on that date, a list of the shows on that day show in a list. Rather than it being another long list that you have to scroll through.

I also found that when you have your shows hidden in the Watch List tab, they don’t appear in the Calendar tab. In fact, when you have all your shows hidden, which is something I do so that it is a nice clean list instead of a long list of episodes, and then you select the Calendar tab, the app quits.

This didn’t happen once or twice randomly. It happen every single time all the shows were hidden and I tried to select the Calendar tab. There was one time that the Calendar showed a black screen with the word “Calendar” at the top and when I tried to switch back to the Watch List, the app quit.

This also happened when I was on the Settings tab and tried to select the Calendar. I would say this is a definite bug in the programming of Vid Diva. As long as there is at least one show that is not hidden, the app will not experience this error.

Settings

The Settings tab within Vid Diva included the following options for users:

• Notifications: Daily new releases
• Compact View: Shorter watch list, tap to show more
• Accessibility: Vibrate on watched or show added, Reduce animations

Each one of those options has a toggle next to each feature so that the user can turn them on and off. Below this list, there is a box that shows information about the shows/movies that you have saved (episodes watched, movies watched, shows followed, and movies followed). This is also where the app calls out that data is provided by TVMaze and TMDB.

When you open the information on an individual item, the option to open the episode in IMDB is also provided. I found that this function only opens the show’s page on IMDB and not the specific episode you have selected in the app. Now, while this isn’t really a dealbreaker for me, I feel as though IMDB should also be credited on the Settings tab as a resource. I also feel as though an FAQ or guide for using the app should be included in the Settings tab.

Other Observations

Another programming flaw I experienced in Vid Diva involved the paid vs. free versions of the app. When I originally downloaded and installed the app, I purchased the premium version. At one point, I removed the app so that I could grab screenshots of the app’s intro screens. I re-downloaded and installed the app and when I was trying to set it back up with TV shows, I found that I was limited by the number of shows as if the app were the free version.

A dialogue box appeared with a warning telling me to Go Premium to get unlimited tracking. I tried to use the Restore Purchases option, but nothing happened. There was no restoration of premium features and no error stating that there were no previous purchases. It’s as if the button weren’t actually programmed.

Vid Diva also provides a widget option, but it is very basic. It only shows TV shows that have new episodes during that week. If you tap on it, the app will open to the Watch List. In addition to that, the widget will not display anything if you keep your shows hidden in the Watch List and if an episode has already aired, it will not be in this widget list. This is just one more way that the ‘hidden’ feature impedes other features of the app.

I also noticed that even though the tabs and basic functions are the same between the iOS and macOS versions, some of the changes made in one version don’t sync to the other. For example, if you hide items on the phone, they aren’t hidden on the Mac version.

Final Thoughts

I do love the concept of Vid Diva. I would love the opportunity to be able to keep track of the tv shows and movies that I want to watch in a single app. I just don’t feel that the user experience exists in Vid Diva. The functions I want – with a couple of exceptions – are there in Vid Diva but the user has to find where they live instead of it being intuitive. In addition to that, there is no user guide to provide direction for how a user can best utilize the app.

I also feel that this app has some programming issues. As I previously stated, I’m not a developer, but just based on the errors I experienced and the fact that certain problems occur directly around certain features leads me to believe that there are programming errors. I do hope that updates are made and that the flaws are connected because this app has a lot of potential.

For more information, visit emulovevolume.com or Twitter.

PasteNow makes clipboard management easy.

Many years ago, I was introduced to the concept of a clipboard manager. It was a utility that I didn’t think was all the important, but once I got used to using one, I never want to live without it again. Honestly, a clipboard manager is an add-on to your daily productivity that you don’t think about needing until you don’t have it anymore. It really does make that much of a difference in the way you work once you become accustomed to using it.

In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that up until about 2 years ago, I was using Paste as my clipboard manager. Paste is a solid app and it really set the bar for this class of utilities. Unfortunately, I was an early adopter and when the app moved to a subscription method of premium access, my license was no longer valid. Since then, I didn’t renew my premium access with Paste since it was a subscription and not a one-time payment. (I have opinions on payment methods for premium access to apps, but I won’t dive into that here.)

So, ever since then, I have felt the void where the clipboard manager once was. A couple of weeks ago, I fell into a new clipboard manager – PasteNow – and I’m thrilled about having that level of added functionality back in my daily life again.

Overview – PasteNow

PasteNow is from developer, Ding Zhou (nickname, Tualatrix Chou), who is located in China. He is an independent developer who started creating apps in 2012. His first app Mac app is called Manico. It was released in 2013. Zhou has also collaborated with friends to create two apps under Fireball Studio – One Switch and Moment.

PasteNow is an independent project for Zhou and it was first released in April 2021. Zhou releases regular updates to the app with the last update being a major release two weeks ago. PasteNow 2.0 included the release of PasteNow for iOS. There is a free trial available with the Pro version available with a one-time fee of $7.99 (at the time of publishing). The pro version is a universal purchase so it unlocks the pro features for iPhone and iPad as well.

The app is very lightweight and is only 4.8MB as a download on macOS. According to information found on Reddit, Zhou used SwiftUI to develop some components (Welcome and Purchase screens) with the majority of the app being developers with AppKit (Swift).

According to the privacy information in the Mac App Store, PasteNow may collect data related to usage or diagnostics, but it does not collect any information connected to user identity. The developer’s privacy policy can be found here. In addition to the published privacy policy, Zhou provided this info.

Like any other clipboard apps, it uses the iCloud service, this means it does not use self-host service to store the user data, it saves data on user’s iCloud account. In the developer’s perspective, it called “Private Database”. As long as iCloud is online and secure, the user data will be secure.

iCloud is a global service, so a user’s data is processed only according to the country and region in which it is located.

Besides iCloud, PasteNow uses Microsoft AppCenter to collect the crash log, these log data will be used to improve the stability, and user data will not be included in the crash log.

Zhou plans to relaunch the app’s website so that it includes a detailed description of the app, FAQs, and the ability to contact the developer.

Main Features

• a cross-platform clipboard management tool
• iCloud syncs clipboard records across iOS and macOS devices
• create small lists to filter and displays data more easily
• three different list styles to display different types of content
• iOS keyboard extensions included for quicker text input when using iPhone or iPad
• programmable shortcut keys available on macOS version to find, select, and paste content to the text cursor more quickly
• stand alone window mode; can be pinned to top
• unique UI

User Experience

Getting started with PasteNow is very easy. You download it from the Mac App Store or iOS App Store and once it installs, users can customize different aspects of the app according to their individual preferences. One of the features I really like about PasteNow is the exclusion rules. As a safety option, the app preferences allow users to exclude entire apps simply by including them in the exclusion list. I also really like the feature that allows users to customize the shortcuts for any of the main operations for PasteNow.

PasteNow does have a very soft sound effect that happens and indicates when an item is successfully copied to the pasteboard. I like the sound effect, but it is hard to hear. I keep my computer at a moderate volume and would prefer to keep it at a lower volume rather than crank it up just to hear the sound effect for PasteNow. I hope that additional sound options may be available for the app.

The syncing feature is beautiful. I’ve used many apps that sync through iCloud before, but PasteNow takes it to a new level. It’s quick and virtually instantaneous. There is a small dialogue box that pops up on the Mac when you copy something on your iPhone after your iPhone has been woken up from a sleep state. After that initial connection is made between the iPhone and Mac, the syncing is seamless and it happens just as if you were copying something natively on the Mac.

The UI is very clean and users have options for different views, too (plain list, rich list, and grid view). Both the macOS and iOS versions have these view options. On the Mac, I prefer the rich list view and on the iPhone, I prefer the grid view. Another great feature that PasteNow offers is the ability to paste directly into an active application. This can be turned on or off within preferences. I like it because it saves me a step. It may not be much of a step, but it’s nice to double-click a copied item from the pasteboard and have it pasted directly into the app you are working in without having to type another keystroke.

Conclusion

PasteNow is a very easy-to-use, feature-rich clipboard manager. It’s moderately priced (a one-time fee of $7.99 to unlock the pro version) and the developer is still actively working on features for it. Adding a clipboard manager to your daily life can make a big difference in your productivity. PasteNow syncs quickly between macOS and iOS devices and the differences in the functionality between the different device versions are minimal. I’m excited to see what comes next for PasteNow.

For more information, visit pastenow.app or Twitter.

Collections is a powerful database manager that can be customized to an individual user’s needs.

Back in the late 90s, my brother and I coined the phrase, “Build a database. Solve a problem.” It was a little joke between the two of us because we were developing software solutions for our parents’ company using FileMaker Pro. We enjoyed working with the software, but over the years, the business’s needs changed and so did their need for that platform.

Since then, I have had many problems come up that I could have solved with a database, but there just wasn’t a cost-effective, user-friendly, consumer-grade software solution that was helpful for me. Just a few weeks ago, however, I was turned on to Collections Database and was blown away but what it can do for users.

DETAILS

Collections is a personal database manager that helps users to organize virtually anything. It’s compatible with macOS (11.2 or later), iOS (14.4 or later), iPadOS (14.4 or later), and iPod Touch(14.4 or later). The app is free to download with a pro version available as an in-app purchase ($4.99; universal purchase). The app currently does not have a dedicated website or support page. When you click on “App Support” in the App Store, the link takes you to the app’s Twitter page.

The app is currently on version 3.6 on macOS and iOS. It was last updated two weeks ago (as of publishing this article). According to the Mac App Store, the app does not collect any data from the app. The developer’s privacy practices can be found here.

Collections gives users more than 20 fields to work with as they build their database including:

• Text, Number
• Boolean
• Picture
• Select
• Email, URL, Phone
• Password
• Date, Time
• Color
• Barcode

There are templates included to get a user started (books, contacts, expenses, subscriptions, credentials, inventory, and school). If you have used database creators before, you can get started with a custom layout or if you have data in a CSV file, you can import it and let the app build the database from that document.

In addition to that the different ways a person can build their database, the app also uses iCloud to sync between Apple devices. This makes it easy to update the database wherever you are. Users have the option of protecting a collection using a password or Face ID. And, with the free version, users can enter up to 100 documents.

Users can divide items into sub-collections, which are like folders within a collection, or use the Lists feature, which contains items used in documents (i.e. a genre for a book or a status like ‘Available’ or ‘Out of stock’ for an object in the inventory.

When you pay for the upgraded pro version you also receive these features:

• Advanced fields
  • formulas editor (create a formula for calculated values – full support to math functions like SUM, AVG)
  • document reference (link documents together)
  • groups (add multiple values for a field)
• Add unlimited documents free version is limited to 100 documents)
• Add files to documents
• Spreadsheet
• Views
• Use Summary to perform calculations across documents

USER EXPERIENCE

Since these apps were provided through their respective App Stores, they were a breeze to install. I started working with the macOS version first because even though you have full functionality on the iPad and iPhone, I prefer to think of them as ‘on demand’ companion apps that you can add to on the go. When you start up the app, there is nothing in the database. You have the option to start from a template or create a customized collection. I chose to start with a template because I knew I wanted to start an equipment inventory. So, I pulled up the Inventory template.

I do recommend beginners start with a template and then work up to creating their own database. That way you get a sense of how the app functions before you start a database from scratch. When you select a template, the app asks if you want to add sample data. This will provide one sample record for you to review the database with.

I found it quite helpful because the first thing I did was try out the Inventory template. Since my first task was to create an equipment inventory, I thought it might be a good option. Unfortunately, the premade inventory is really meant more for a retail inventory. There are fields included like Availability, Barcode, and Optimal Stock that are obviously intended for retail purposes.

Once I determined that it was not the right option for me, I set to work creating a new inventory collection. I decided to start simply with my personal Apple devices. This ended up being the perfect option for testing the app out because I had several fields of data to enter. The first thing I did was make a list of the information I wanted to include. I chose the following fields:

• Device Name (the device’s name when it shows up for sharing)
• Device Description (what the device is)
• Device Model (official model number)
• Serial Number
• Model Year (the year the device was released)
• Purchase Price (the original retail value)
• Apple Care (expiration status/date)
• Notes (any other details)

This is another little tip I have for anyone setting up a database (or anything really). Begin with the end in mind. This little bit of advice can make a difference. If you plan out what you want the database to accomplish, then you will be able to sort out what fields you need to include. This makes the entire process go much smoother when you are selecting the fields, naming them, and then collecting the data for the records.

In the case of my Apple devices, I was thinking about the essential information I needed for identifying the device as well as its monetary value for insurance and tax purposes. I think a notes field is always important to add in because you could suddenly need to add a piece of information to the record and not have a good place to store it. For example, say I had a battery replaced on my laptop and I wanted to make sure that was noted in the record. The Notes field is a good place to store that random, but important piece of information.

Once I had my fields mapped out, I clicked on the plus sign under the Collections list. This pulled up the Template selections, which have ‘Custom’ as one of the options. The next screen allows you to enter the name you want to use for that collection and change the settings. The other options for the Collection are Location (it should be Root unless the Collection is intended to be a Sub-Collection), Keep last view (retains the last view of your collection for the next time you open it), and Protect with Password (you set a master password for the Collections and then apply it as needed).

The next screen provides you with the option to add fields to your Collection. This is where you actually build your database from the list you created during your planning phase. You have many different options for types of fields. For my Collection, I used Text and Integer Number fields only, but I think I could also see using the File field for storing important documents such as a user manual and the Picture field so that you can store an image of a receipt with a purchased product.

I’m going to back up a second to note that when I first looked at the Settings of Collections, I noticed there was an import option. So, I built a CSV file containing the information I wanted included in the Collection (partly because it was easier to enter bulk information into a spreadsheet than record by record and partly because I wanted to see what the process was like) and then went to import it. I noticed then that the import function actually creates a Collection from the CSV file. It does not import it into an existing one. This is good for historical data because you can import your list and then build on it from that point forward.

After I imported the file, which, by the way, went very smoothly, I started modifying the Collection. I decided to add the Picture field and I also added a Password option to my Collection. The Picture field is actually quite cool. It allows you to add one image to your record. This is perfect for my intended use (the proof of purchase/receipt for the product). Once I added that field, I picked up my iPhone and selected edit, and tapped on the Image field. It gave me the option of selecting library, file, or camera for the image. I chose the camera and snapped a quick picture. It was stored in the field and within about 30 seconds, it appeared on my Mac as well.

I do have to point out that at one point the app locked up when I was trying to select an option for the image. It was a momentary issue and after I force quit the app, everything was fine. As far as the password lock goes, I set the master password, which I had to use to unlock the Collection when I opened the app. If the app was already open and the Collection had been unlocked, it stayed unlocked. This is something that would be nice to change. I would love to see an option to manually lock the Collection once you’ve viewed it.

There are a lot of little touches in the UI that are remarkable to me. One of those touches was on the iOS app. At one point, I was going to quit the app. So, I swiped up on the screen and I noticed that the screen and all the data was blurred out. The same thing happened when the app locked up with the image testing. I thought this was a great security feature for the data in the app.

Another great feature is the sharing connectivity. Users have the ability to share records with others. The great thing about this is that you can pick and choose what parts of the record you share. You don’t have to share the entire record if you don’t want to.

CONCLUSIONS

Collections is a fairly new app (it looks like it was first released between 9-12 months ago) and I think it’s got a lot of room for growth. Don’t get me wrong – I love what this app can do already and I think it can only get better. There were a few things I saw that I hope can be improved.

Improvement Opportunities:

• It would be great to see a dedicated website for the app.
• Some tutorials on the best way to use the app would really enhance the user experience – even just a walkthrough when a user first installs the app would be great. There is no help in the app itself. You can submit a support request from the app, but when you go to the Help menu, a pop-up states that no help is available.
• I noticed that there were some odd UI glitches that occured when I was entering information. One of them was a strange block that appeared directly beneath a field area while I was typing. I’m not sure why that was there and it would disappear when I was done with entering in that particular field.

All-in-all, Collections provides a very easy way to build a custom database for a very minimal fee. I’m excited to see what improvements are made on upcoming releases.

For more information, visit Twitter.

Todoist helps users free up their mental space to focus on the most important tasks.

I don’t know about you, but I lose focus a lot during the day. Countless distractions take me away from my desk – both physically and mentally – and it can be hard to remember exactly what I planned on doing next. I’ve tried a lot of different ‘to do’ systems over the years and none of them seem to stick with me.

I always end up spreading my notes out everywhere – on paper, in Reminders, in OneNote, in Notion…they are literally everywhere. In the interest of full transparency, I didn’t think Todoist would stick either. I thought, “I’ll do the review of it and then never use it again.” Well, I was most definitely wrong on that. Once I integrated it into my life, it has become a necessity and I don’t see myself going without it now.

Details of Todoist

Todoist is a productivity app system that gives users the confidence to stay organized and make progress on things that are important.

Use Todoist to:

• Capture and organize tasks the moment they pop into your head.
• Remember deadlines with reminders and due dates.
• Build lasting habits with recurring due dates like “every Monday”.
• Collaborate on projects by assigning tasks to others.
• Prioritize your tasks with priority levels.
• Track your progress with personalized productivity trends.
• Integrate your tools like Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, Amazon Alexa and more.

Available on any device, Todoist will quickly become your hub for getting work and life organized.

Why you’ll love it on macOS:

• Quickly add tasks from anywhere with cmd+shift+A.
• Simply type details like “tomorrow at 4pm” and Todoist will recognize it all for you.
• A Safari extension comes built-in to quickly plan your day and add websites as tasks.
• All the power from macOS: Siri, Today widget, Share extension, and more.

Todoist also provides some additional valuable resources through their website.

Productivity Methods | Integrations | Templates

A bit of history

Todoist has been around since 2007. When I started reviewing apps in 2012, I looked for a good to-do list manager because I really wanted to move my lists off of paper and into the digital realm. I remember perusing the app options at the time and Todoist was one of them. At the time, it just seemed like too much and I passed it over. Now, I appreciate all it has to offer.

Like a lot of apps, it was built by one developer, but it has expanded in the past 15 years to build a company of more than 70 people. Amir Salihefendić, the founder and CEO of Doist, the company behind Todoist, developed the app system around a productivity method called Systemist.

This method involves the following process.

1. Take it everywhere
2. Capture everything
3. Break it into small, actionable tasks
4. Prioritize
5. Get to to-do list zero daily
6. Get consistent feedback

Salihefendić describes this process at length on their company blog so I won’t write it all out here, but one thing that caught my eye when doing research on the app was this.

I first came up with Systemist and started building Todoist in 2007 while at university. I was living in a dorm room in Aarhus, Denmark, studying computer science. On top of a full class load, I also had a lot of personal projects and two part-time jobs. As a result, I was unorganized, stressed out, and barely able to keep up. I knew I needed a system to manage my life.

Even though I’m no longer a full-time student, I definitely understand this acrobatic lifestyle and how hard it is to juggle it all. Things inevitably fall through the cracks. But, when I first read about this process, I felt overwhelmed – until I realized I was already doing it.

My Todoist Experience

The first two steps of the Systemist process – Take it everywhere and Capture everything – helps to prevent the loss of important tasks in your life. I noticed right away when I started using the Todoist app system that I was able to capture every single action item from meetings, emails, and messages and place them in a to-do list.

I remember exactly when it all clicked for me. One night, I was having trouble sleeping. My dog had woken me up and before trying to go back to sleep, I rolled over and grabbed my phone, which has both my personal and work email accounts on it. As I browsed through them, dozens of thoughts swirled around in my head.

I just wanted to get those ideas and tasks out of my head because I realized the thing that was keeping me awake was the stress over not remembering those items. So, I opened Todoist and started very simply. I just dumped all the thoughts and action items from my mind and emails into the inbox. At that point, I thought, “Ok. Now I can go back to sleep and I can organize that in the morning.”

The next day, I started my day by looking at the Inbox. At first, I was a little mad at myself because I don’t like mixing up my personal and professional reminders together. But I realized that unless I had all of those action items in one place, something would be missed. I thought for a moment that I would only be able to access my Todoist lists on my personal MacBook Air, iPhone, and iPad and not my work computer (a 2019 MacBook Pro).

Then, I realized that a person’s Todoist account is tied to an email address – and not a specific machine. It was a HUGE “Ah-Ha!” moment for me. I set to work organizing my Inbox into two projects to start – work and personal. At first, that was perfect. For the next day or so, I continued just working in that manner – adding items to the Inbox and sorting it out later.

Towards the end of the first day, I discovered that I could choose the project when I created the to-do item. That saved me even more time because items I knew were for work, I created as a part of that project and didn’t have to worry about them being in my Inbox at all.

Every day that I’ve had Todoist (it’s only been 8 days) I have found something new about the system that I like. Just yesterday I started using sections within my projects to divide up the larger lists. My work list had nearly 30 items on it. Some of them are longer-term tasks and can’t be marked off right away. So, I created a few sections and then nested tasks under the section that made the most sense. This goes back to step #3 above – Break it into small, actionable tasks.

I can’t tell you how freeing it is to know that I don’t have to worry about to-do items slipping away anymore. When someone asks me to do something and it’s not something I can do right that second, I just pull out my phone and add it to one of my projects. I start my day by looking through my list and prioritizing the items that have to get done that day.

At the end of every day, I look back through the lists again to see if anything urgent was brushed over and to see what needs to be done for the next day. I’m constantly checking in with my Todoist apps to make sure that items are getting crossed off. This is the prioritizing step of the Systemist process at work.

When it comes to the to-do list zero step of the process, I think everyone gets overwhelmed. You look at what seems to be your never-ending task list and know you can’t possibly get through all of it in one day. That’s true. You can’t. That’s why your focus should be on getting the prioritized tasks completed.

So, if those are marked for ‘today’ they will show up in your Today list and that can be your focus. That should be what you are concerned with getting to zero for the day. And, if you don’t get all of your tasks done during that day, don’t sweat it. Just reevaluate at the end of your day. That is what I have been doing and it helps SO much.

It helps to not put that added stress on yourself. Todoist as a system isn’t trying to add ‘one more thing for you to manage.’ It’s trying to take that ‘one more thing’ mentality off your shoulders by giving you a place to store all those thoughts, tasks, and to-do items.

Pricing & Availability

Todoist is available to use for free but has enhanced features for Pro and Business users. The main features that are included for each pricing tier are included below with a full comparison available on Todoist’s website. Todoist also provides 50% discount on the Todoist Business Tier to nonprofit organizations.

Todoist is available on every major platform and the macOS, iOS, and iPadOS apps are available from their respective App Stores. The account can be set up on todoist.com and then used to log in to the app after it is downloaded. If a Pro or Business license is purchased, full functionality is unlocked across all devices.

Final Thoughts

Todoist is a fantastic app system that gives users a way to alleviate the stress of the never-ending to-do list. The system takes the concept of breaking down, organizing, and prioritizing tasks into a manageable effort instead of making it an insurmountable thing to do.

Based on the fact that Todoist has a workforce of more than 70 people and that it is continually being updated and maintained (the macOS version was updated 2 months ago and the iOS version just received an update this week), the subscription model makes sense. Also, Todoist does have a free version available for moderate users. Additionally, looking at other to-do app systems, Todoist actually has the most budget-friendly option.

If you are looking for a to-do list manager, Todoist should be at the top of your list. It’s got a great interface and it’s very easy to learn and use on a daily basis. It works with you instead of giving you another to-do.

For more information, visit todoist.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Activity monitors help users keep an eye on their devices’ health.

Activity Monitors are powerful tools that can be used on any system we work on throughout the day. They have the power to show us the battery life left on our device, the temperature that our computer is running, the memory being used up by various tasks and applications on our systems, and much, much more. All of this data is stored within our devices, but accessing it can be a pain – especially on mobile devices. That’s why utility applications like Usage are developed.

DETAILS

Developed by Oleh Stasula, Usage is a powerful set of utility applications for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS that provide detailed system use information to users. Both sets of apps are designed to be lightweight, customizable, and intuitive for users. The app is designed as an activity monitor that helps to track a system’s performance, processor, disk usage, network activity, and memory pressure as well as additional system reports. It is free to download and use without ad support, but additional features can be unlocked using the Pro version (prices listed below).

Stasula has been a developer for 9 years (since he was 11!) and currently has a full-time job on top of his independent app development projects – like Usage. Both the macOS and iOS versions of the app were developed using SwiftUI. The iOS version was originally launched about 7 years ago but was relaunched after a redesign 2 years ago. The macOS version is only about 9 months old. Stasula is very passionate about developing apps and tries to make high-quality, beautiful software.

The macOS version features a handy menu bar utility with an eye-catching popover widget that provides an in-depth look at user-selected system information. The iOS and iPad version of Usage takes the form of a centralized app that allows users to customize system widgets that highlight specified system info.

Usage Widgets (iOS) is currently on version 4.15.10 and requires iOS or iPadOS 14.1 or later. It was built with SwiftUI The app needs 40MB (36.9 MB on iPad) of disk space for installation and is available in multiple languages. This app does support Family Sharing. This app was actually developed prior to the release of Usage: System Activity Monitor (macOS), which was launched in 2021. Users of Usage Widget started asking for a macOS version and so the developer created it.

Main Features (iOS)

• Monthly and daily Data usage tracking
• Real-time Network Connection monitoring, with Receiving and Sending speed
• Precise Memory allocation by four categories
• Storage usage
• Battery Graph
• Detailed specification about the device’s hardware
• The widgets! Beautiful and fully customizable.
• List of current network interfaces with details and IP addresses
• Different appearance colors and app icons
• Custom ordering
• Compare your device’s specification with any other iPhone or iPad model ever made
• Old style iOS 13 widgets.

Usage: System Activity Monitor is currently on version 1.7.0 and needs approximately 10.1MB of disk space for installation. The app requires macOS 11.0 or later for proper functionality. It’s also available in multiple languages and is listed as a utility in the App Store.

Main Features (macOS)

• Processor – Keep track of how CPU is utilized. View the insightful results on a simple and easy-to-understand historical graph.
• Memory & Swap – Keep up with your RAM’s status through active, inactive, wired, compressed, and free memory tabs. You can also monitor your Swap memory allocation.
• Network – Monitor the network activity of your Mac right from your menu bar.
• Disk – Track your disk usage closely with Usage’s comprehensive and clearly illustrated analysis of your system’s daily usage on a history graph.
• Battery – Get real-time insights on your battery’s charge level and health status.

The developer seems to be very attentive and makes frequent updates to both versions of the app. According to the App Store (Mac and iOS), this app only tracks data that does not link back to its users.

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity: Purchases, Identifiers, Usage Data, Diagnostics

The developer’s privacy policy (for both versions) can be found here.

Pro Version Pricing

macOS

• Intro Offer: $8.99/year or $12.99/lifetime
• Regular Price (after intro expires): $11.99/year or $19.99/lifetime

iOS

• One-time Fee $4.99

*All prices are based on information available at the time of publishing.

Installation & Operation

Installation of Usage – on macOS, iPhone, or iPad – is very simple. Because it’s a free download, you simply click the “Get” button in the respective App Store and then tap or click on the app’s icon after it has been downloaded. Once the app is installed, the operation of the utility is based on how the user decides to customize the widgets and menu bar options.

iOS Experience

The iOS app has five main screens that you cycle through. The first is what I refer to as the ‘Usage’ screen. It shows the different types of information you can get reports on. This includes Memory, Storage, Data, Connection, Battery, and Device. Each of these information types has a drill-down included with more precise details. For example, the Device information tells you the name you have specified for your phone, the system version, the uptime, and its last reboot.

Users have the option to change when the app reads the system information and each option is shown based on the impact on the battery. For example, you could have the app read the Memory every 2, 5, or 10 seconds, but the 2-second option has a high impact on the battery. There is also information on how Usage tracks the battery life over time as well as network interfaces.

From the Usage screen, you move over to the Spec screen. This screen provides information about your device in comparison to a second device. I have mine set for the original iPhone and my current model. It’s also fun to use this to compare the specs between your current model and a future model (if specs are available). You can also compare your iPhone to an iPad (or any other device included in the list).

The third screen is all about Widgets. Here you have the option to build your own widgets, customize the pre-designed ones (21 options for iOS 15!), or use a legacy widget. There is also information on the limits of widgets. This helpful guide lets you know that widgets aren’t refreshed in real-time and why that is the case.

The Configs screen is next. This is where users can change the tint color, app icon, and order of the views. To use it, you simply tap on the options you want. The last screen is the About screen. This information tells you about the app and gives you options to download the macOS version leave a review, share a link, send feedback to the developer, change language settings, and more.

Outside the app, users have access to the widget(s) so that system information is available at a glance. To insert a widget, you just tap/hold on one of your iPhone screens until the apps start bouncing. Then you tap on the + symbol. Select Usage and then choose one of the widgets.

macOS Experience

When you install the macOS app for Usage, you start with the main application window. If you haven’t purchased the pro version yet, there will be a ‘Become Pro’ tag in the upper right corner. You will also see the ‘Install Helper’ option in the bottom left corner.

Usage has a helper app on the Mac that provides additional features to users that are 100% optional. The app will function fine without the Helper app, but you do get added functionality such as the Processor temperature, Bluetooth Batteries, and Fans. It’s free to use and it’s necessary because apps on the Mac App Store are sandboxed, which prevents them from reading certain sensors.

So, from this main window, users have the option to select the reports/stats they want to appear in the menu bar and the popover. Once you have selected the reports you want, you click ‘save’ and then close the main window. Now the app is operating exclusively from your menu bar. When you click on any part of the menu bar utility, the popover will appear. In the popover, you will see the gear and the Usage brand mark in the bottom corners. The gear gives you the option to Quit Usage and the Usage brand mark opens the main window again.

Thoughts on the Apps

Usage has a lot of really great features to it. One of the best features is the fact that it’s free. I am one of those people that has multiple machines to differentiate between my personal activities and work. My personal MacBook Air (2020, M1) has the Pro version of Usage while the work computer (2019 MacBook Pro, Intel Core i7) has the free version. To be honest, I loved Usage so much on my personal computer that I downloaded it onto my work computer, too.

It’s really nice to see a fully functional, ad-free app that provides valuable system information like this. The free version is fully functional. You get more options with the Pro version and I do prefer the Pro version, but the monitoring functions are still completely available in the free option.

The only criticism I have of Usage on Mac is the Bluetooth battery monitor for the popover. I love that it shows you a connected device’s battery level, but if the device is asleep or in low-power mode, nothing shows up in the popover. I currently have the AirPods Max and AirPods Pro connected to my computer, but both of their cases are closed. Therefore, they aren’t actively connected to the computer. So, the monitor menu is blank.

This menu also does not show my Bluetooth keyboard. The system information window shows the keyboard connected as does the Bluetooth menu bar, but it does not show up in the Usage popover. Other than the Bluetooth monitor not showing all the connected devices, I’ve not noticed any other anomalies with the app. It has a very clean interface and it’s very easy to use.

As far as the iOS version goes, I’m completely enamored with the UI. I’m a nerd when it comes to stats and I love being able to monitor this type of information – even on my phone. I also like being able to monitor disk usage as that is always a problem for me. It’s so easy to customize and it provides me with invaluable information so I can keep my phone in tip-top shape.

Conclusion

Usage is a great activity monitor and if you are looking for something that gets the job done, this is the app system for you. The macOS and iOS pro versions are sold separately, but they are reasonably priced and as I mentioned, you can use the free versions with minimal limitations. I can recommend Usage for all of its platforms and can’t wait to see new functions as they get released.

For more information, visit usage.pro or Twitter.

Authenticator App puts your information’s security into your hands.

One of the issues that is always top of mind for people using the internet is, “Will my information be safe?” We’ve all seen the news reports about passwords being compromised and some of us have even been on the receiving end of a hack. So, the question is, how can we stay safe online? One way to secure your information is to incorporate two-factor authentication.

Two-factor authentication, or 2FA, is the process of employing a second method of authenticating your identity to unlock an online account. This method of securing your online accounts is stronger because it requires the user attempting to use a password and log in to provide a secondary code that can only be provided with an authentication tool – like Authenticator App.

About the App & the Developer

Authenticator App is a set of apps for macOS, iOS, iPad OS, and watchOS that provides 2FA tokens for all your online accounts. It’s available for download in the App Stores for the given platforms. According to information from Authenticator App’s website, there have been more than 2 million users of the application.

The developer, 2stable, is a company of four people that was founded in 2021. All four developers have more than 10 years of experience with development. They see to provide creative solutions for day-to-day problems with their software releases. 2stable wants to create easy, gorgeous, secure products for its users. The development company is based in Andorra, which is nestled between France and Spain in Europe.

According to the App Store, Authenticator App only collects data that is not linked to the user. Such data can include purchases, user content, usage data, and diagnostics. The developer’s privacy policy can be found here. The privacy policy has an effective date of December 19, 2020. 2stable states in the policy that no personal data is kept by the developer.

We don’t collect and don’t have access to your personal data that you save in Authenticator. Everything you do is saved into your iCloud account in encrypted form and is synced across your devices using the same iCloud account. When you use our software we may record some usage analytics, subscription validation and crash logs. The sole purpose of this data is to help us make better decisions on where to focus our efforts and improve our software. You provide some data directly, such as when you contact us for support. Such data is limited to your email address only.

Authenticator App is free to download but has some limitations on features until the user purchases the premium version of the app, which is $9.99 per year. The developers chose to go with a subscription-based model of payment because it helps to support the ongoing development of the project. Here is a quote pulled from their blog where they describe the pricing model decision.

Charging a subscription is the only way we make money, and it helps us continue working and improving the project. We come to a conclusion based on our personal experience in mobile development, that the main problem of one-time payment products is that, early or late they are facing a lack of support and maintenance. This occurs in most cases because the developers lose the motivation to continue work on the project and just leave it there in App Store, and our intentions from the start were to revolutionize the two-factor authentication market.

Main Features

• No account set up is required to use the app. Users only have to remember one password.
• Biometric Authentication is utilized so that you don’t have to type in your password. The app is compatible with Touch ID and Face ID.
• Data is encrypted even if it is stored in iCloud.
• Synchronization is available across all devices. All data is automatically backed up and synced to devices via iCloud.
• Authenticator can be unlocked with Apple Watch or Touch ID.
• Menu Bar Access is available for Authenticator App.
• Offline use is also available and Authenticator can generate secure tokens even in Airplane mode.
• Import from other authentication sources such as Google Authenticator, Password Managers, and Files.
• Native Experience is available for all platforms.
• Popular services are supported including Facebook, Coinbase, Amazon, Gmail, Instagram, Roblox, and more.
• 8-digit tokens are also supported. ****

Authenticator App is fairly small in size as it only requires 30.8MB for installation. At this time, Authenticator App is only available for Apple device platforms. It appears that 2Stable is working on an Android version, but when you click on the download option for it on their website, it provides a place for people to add their email to a waiting list.

Installation & Use of the App

All the Apple device versions are available through their various App Stores. It does not appear that any alternative versions of the Authenticator App are being offered elsewhere. Therefore, installation is as easy as clicking ‘download’ for the device you want the app for. The first device I downloaded Authenticator for was my MacBook Pro.

I was provided a promo code for the premium version of the app. So, I entered that into the Redeem area of the App Store and then downloaded the app. I was surprised a few seconds later by an email from Apple that stated I was enrolled in the yearly subscription for the app that would automatically renew.

This caught me off guard because even though I had reviewed some of the app information for Authenticator App before selecting to download it, there was nothing next to the price (under In-App Purchases) that indicated there was a subscription. After I received the email about the subscription, I looked more closely at the terms in the App Store and on the developer’s website. Both places do state information about the subscription – it just isn’t included with the pricing in the Mac App Store.

I did bring this to the attention of the developer as I feel that it is something they should be aware of and they said that they would look into it because they strive to stay transparent with their users about all their policies. They pointed out that the iOS App Store includes the correct information with the plan tier so they hope to be able to work with Apple to get that cleared up.

The next thing I noticed about the app was that I was unable to take screenshots. When I review apps, capturing screenshots is part of the process so that we can show examples of the user interface and features of the app. When I took a screenshot, the image was blank and it only showed the desktop. I also reported this to the developer and he said that he thought it might be “…impossible to make screenshots of sensitive related apps.” It was possible to take screenshots in iOS, but not macOS. As a result, all the screenshots have been provided by the developer.

During the setup process, the app did request permission to record my screen, which is becoming more frequent with app installations. As a user, you always have the ability to restrict what apps/utilities have access to screen-recording as a function. Some apps will tell you exactly why it needs to record your screen, while others don’t.

In this case, the app on the Mac needs to be able to record part of the screen in order to read QR Codes without the use of a phone’s camera. It’s a cool feature, but not 100% necessary for use of Authenticator. If you don’t choose to record the screen, you will need to use the camera on your phone to create an access code.

I do want to say that the app works smoothly across all devices and I’ve been especially impressed with the Apple Watch app. There are a lot of watch apps that don’t work right but Authenticator is a major exception to that. It’s responsive and is very convenient. I have Authenticator set as one of my complications on my watch face and when I need a code, I just tap it. It is actually more responsive than my phone sometimes.

Authenticator works with nearly every service that offers 2FA as a security option. Their list of compatible 2FA services can be found here. In order to test out their service, I set up a free account with BuiltWith.com and enabled two-factor authentication. Built With provided an on-screen QR Code to scan. I opened Authenticator and clicked the + sign to add a new account. A window appeared that I dragged on top of the QR Code and it was immediately read into the Authenticator app. This was the same with other apps as well.

The information that I saved in the Mac app synced seamlessly to the iOS and iPad apps. I didn’t have any issue accessing shared information on any of the devices. In addition to the same basic functions that the macOS version provides, the iPhone and iPad versions have widgets available and you can utilize biometric security options to unlock the app.

Conclusion

There are a lot of features that Authenticator provides that other 2FA apps do not. The encrypted backup feature, multi-device support, and native app development are all options that not all 2FA apps offer. While I completely support the decision to request subscriptions from premium users, I question the cost of the apps based on competitors offering 2FA options for multiple accounts (Authenticator is limited to 2 accounts for the free version) with a substantially lower cost (sometimes free).

The system of apps for Authenticator is really nicely designed and is very easy to use. I love that the macOS version doesn’t require an external camera to work. It’s a good option for 2FA authentication – as long as the premium subscription isn’t a dealbreaker for you.

For more information, visit authenticator.2stable.com and Twitter.

A functional, clipboard utility app that is available for iPad, iPhone, and Mac. 

As a content creator, I am on a constant search for resources. I will grab information from lots of different sources and I end up using a text document to save items I clip from websites until I need to use it for an article. There is a better way to collect resources though and it’s called Yoink. Yoink allows users to quickly store items through drag/drop, copying, sharing, or downloading for later use. The purpose of this app is to provide users with a central location to store collected items without having to move between several applications. Yoink has been available on macOS for quite some time, but it was just recently released on iOS and iPadOS. The iPad offers Slide-Over or Side-by-Side functionality for the app while the iPhone version utilizes the Share extension. 

Key Features

• iCloud Sync: Synchronize Yoink’s items across your devices using iCloud
• Handoff: Transfer files between iPhones, iPads and Macs (separate Mac Yoink app required) using Handoff
• Action/Share Extension: Almost any item you can share via the system-wide Share sheet, you can send directly to Yoink from there
• Keyboard: Yoink has its own keyboard so that inserting items you’ve stored in Yoink is easy and quick, without having to launch Yoink.
• Spotlight Integration: Any item in Yoink can be found via Spotlight – and the search-results are draggable.
• Today Widget: Access Yoink’s items and save the contents from your clipboard in Yoink from Notification Center
• Shortcuts/Siri Suggestions: Yoink offers you Siri Shortcuts and Suggestions so you can automate processes, like adding items from the clipboard to Yoink, or copying items from Yoink, as well as starting downloads in Yoink.
• Files Integration: Access Yoink’s files from any app that supports iOS 11’s document browser

Yoink is a fairly ‘lightweight’ utility app. It only takes up 11.7MB of space on your phone. It is listed under the productivity category in the App Store and it is considered a premium app. In order to use the app, you have to buy it. The app costs $5.99 and it’s a one-time fee instead of subscription-based. This is the app purchase model I prefer. I detest subscription models. Using Yoink on the iPhone is super simple. If you are browsing the web using Safari, you just select the ‘share’ icon and then choose the Yoink logo. The item you had selected copies into the Yoink dashboard for access later on. On the iPad, Yoink utilizes Split View and Slide Over so it’s even more functional. 

The app syncs over iCloud so if you have copied/pasted an item on your iPhone, that item will become available on all connected devices with Yoink. This makes it easier to share documents and planning elements with yourself. Until I got Yoink installed, I was passing documents and reminders to myself through Slack. Yoink also supports Siri Shortcuts, which makes it possible to use Yoink without having to switch to the app itself. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Yoink for iPad and iPhone is available through the App Store for a one-time payment of $5.99. Yoink is also available for Mac on the Mac App Store for $7.99. It’s a very functional, cross-platform application that makes true multitasking possible. 

For more information, visit eternalstorms.net, Facebook, and Twitter.

My smart home journey began around 10 years ago when I started adding Philips Hue lights to my home. At that time, I had to control it all through the Hue app because HomeKit wasn’t available yet. In 2014, when HomeKit was first launched, I had already amassed many smart devices including the aforementioned Philips Hue lights. I had to spend time inputting all the data from the individual HomeKit codes into the Home app.

Today, I have more than 45 HomeKit devices. On more than one occasion, I’ve had to reset my Home app to its default settings, and therefore, I’ve had to add each smart device back into the app. This means I had to seek out their individual codes, which is a painstakingly long process. Fortunately, I recently started working with HomePass for HomeKit, a code storage and backup app that helps you to keep your HomeKit codes in one place. This app has taken a lot of the frustration out of the HomeKit set-up and reset process. 

DETAILS 

HomePass makes it possible for you to get rid of notes, boxes, and random stickers that indicate what your HomeKit codes for various devices are. The app allows you to store all of your HomeKit device codes on your iPhone or iPad. Users have the option to backup the HomeKit codes in iCloud. Once the data is saved in the app, users can search, filter, and collapse device codes so that they can find the one they want. Users have the option of inputting the codes manually or by scanning them via NFC, QR, or 8-digit code. The app also has the ability to use custom fields so that you can fill out as much information as possible on the device. Codes can be exported to PDF for printing, sharing, or storage. In addition to working with iPhone, HomePass also supports all iPads. Users can also view and scan HomeKit codes using their Apple Watch. 

MAIN FEATURES

• iCloud Sync – With HomePass, you can keep your device codes off paper and backed up in your iCloud account.
• Import Existing Accessories – HomePass offers the ability to easily import your existing accessories, just input the device’s code yourself or scan it with either the camera or NFC!
• Face ID/Touch ID/Passcode Authentication – Secure your HomeKit codes with your face, fingerprint or a passcode.
• Custom Fields – Save any information you wish per accessory. For example, you could store MAC addresses of devices for easy reference, or specific manufacturer information if you desire.
• x-callback-url Support – Allows any developer or user to programmatically add accessories into HomePass.
• Siri Shortcuts – HomePass supports a multitude of shortcuts for getting codes, accessories and information out of HomePass into Shortcuts.app.
• Custom Accessories – Add any accessories you have that aren’t in HomeKit now, simply fill in the details as needed.
• Apple Watch – View and re-add your accessories to HomeKit easily with the companion Apple Watch app.
• Dark Mode – HomePass comes with a dark mode that is perfect for the iPhone X, with automatic switching based on screen brightness.

USER EXPERIENCE

The app has a really slick design to it. It’s very functional and very easy to get started. The important thing to remember is that it’s designed to be a cataloging tool. That means there is some data entry involved. One of the things that are really nice about the system is that you can choose to import HomeKit items that are already tied to the Home app. So, when you get started there are two options to add codes to the database – from an existing device or as a new device. 

Either option gets you to the same input screen. The advantage to using the ‘existing device’ option is that most of the information is filled in for you – except the HomeKit code. HomePass stores the custom name, device name, home/room, HomeKit code, manufacturer, serial number, model, and category of the device. You can even add notes for the device. For example, if you have two of the same smart device – say an outlet – you can add notes that designate what each outlet is specifically for. 

The app has some basic settings that help users customize their experience. Users have the choice of a light or dark mode and the option to protect codes through Face ID or Passcode. In addition to those settings, users can also sync their data across all their iCloud-connected devices. There are apps available for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Users can also download the database as a CSV file. 

The entry of data isn’t particularly difficult, but it can be time-consuming. If you are just starting out with your HomeKit devices, it’s much easier to work with than when you have dozens of HomeKit devices already incorporated into your home. I sort of wish that when you entered the data into this app that it carried over to the Home app because otherwise, you have to enter data twice.

I also wish you could enter data without the HomeKit code. Even though this app is designed specifically for HomeKit codes, it would be nice if you could pre-populate the app with your existing HomeKit devices and then go back in to add the codes. Because I already had so many devices stored in my Home app, I was hoping that I could add those devices and then sort of use that lists as a way to keep track of which devices I needed to look for. As it turned out, I had to shift back and forth between the Home app and the HomePass app as I added codes.

CONCLUSION

Even though there are other ways to store data, HomePass for HomeKit gives users a unique, secure way to store their HomeKit codes. Trust me, this is much better than the alternative of keeping tiny slips of paper in a bunch of file folders or photos of codes that are only available on the device itself. Even though I think the app system could be a little more user-friendly, I still really like what it accomplishes.

For more information, visit homepass.app and Twitter.