When my friend Shawn told me about the project he was working on a few months ago, I was immediately excited by its potential and premise. The Sweet Setup, launched today, wants to recommend the best apps for iOS and OS X. Not the newest ones – the best ones.

Here’s how Shawn describes The Sweet Setup:

The Sweet Setup exists because I wanted a site that highlights the software that has proven to be the best, not necessarily the newest.

Here we will be recommending only the apps which are proven to be the best rather than new (I already write plenty about what’s new and cool over at shawnblanc.net and Tools & Toys). Additionally, by focusing on only the best, it means all the content on our site is relevant all the time. I didn’t want to post our articles in a reverse-chronological order that, by nature, would cause still-helpful reviews to be pushed out of view once new reviews get published.

I think that Shawn had the perfect idea at the right time. With over a million apps now available on the App Store, people need a “Wirecutter for apps” with recommendations thoroughly researched and written by people who test and use apps every day.

The Sweet Setup looks great, the initial line-up of recommendations is solid, and more will come in the next few weeks.

I’m honored to be part of Shawn’s new project from the start, too: what’s the best Markdown writing app for the iPhone? Here’s my answer.