This Week's Sponsor:

PowerPhotos

The Ultimate Toolbox for Photos on the Mac


Posts in Sponsored Posts

Honeybadger: Your Secret Weapon for Exception, Uptime, and Cron Monitoring [Sponsor]

Honeybadger is your one-stop solution for error tracking that combines error monitoring, uptime monitoring, and cron monitoring into a single, simple-to-use platform. It’s the only service that combines all those elements into one elegant solution that has your back when you need it most.

If your production site goes down, the last thing you want is to hear about it first on Twitter or by email from unhappy customers. With Honeybadger, you know the instant a problem arises. The included uptime and cron monitoring also let you know when your external services are having issues or your background jobs go missing or silently fail.

What’s more, Honeybadger is easy to set up, taking just minutes, not hours. The service hooks into popular web frameworks, job systems, authentication libraries, and front-end JavaScript. Most installations are just a few lines of code. Honeybadger also includes a comprehensive online dashboard and context-rich reporting system that helps you diagnose and resolve issues quickly.

Honeybadger is a bootstrapped company built from the ground up to serve developers. They answer to you, not VCs, and their mission is straightforward: tame production and make you a better, more productive developer.

Honeybadger is used by tens of thousands of customers of all sizes, including eBay, DigitalOcean, heroku, thoughtbot, and even MacStories. Sign up for Honeybadger’s 15-day free trial today and join the growing list of companies whose developers swear by Honeybadger. There’s no credit card required to sign up, so you’ve got nothing to lose. Give Honeybadger a try and see how it feels to stop wasting time tailing logs and spend more time doing the development work you love.

Our thanks to Honeybadger for sponsoring MacStories this week.


Tempo - The Minimalist Email Client for Mac [Sponsor]

Tempo takes the stress out of email by putting you in control of the process in a beautifully designed, minimalist app for the Mac and iOS. The secret to Tempo is right in its name: it puts you in charge of when you get messages. By scheduling messages to arrive in batches, you can work more efficiently and on a schedule that works for you.

Tempo’s customizable scheduling reduced the number of notifications you receive, which means fewer distractions. Paired with a handsome, sophisticated UI that dispenses with clutter to provide you with a focused writing environment, Tempo delivers with a simple UI backed by a rich feature set and Markdown compatibility.

The app allows you to connect up to five Gmail accounts and can be set up in just minutes. Decide when you want messages to arrive and then process messages in Batches.

Tempo also features Quick Replies, one-click unsubscribe from newsletters, a dedicated ‘To Do’ tab for following up later, separate sections for reminders, drafts, and newsletters, and a focus mode for concentrating on one message at a time. When you need to receive a response immediately outside your normal schedule, you can mark a thread as VIP to get notified as soon as a reply comes in.

Privacy is important to Tempo. Your data isn’t sold to anyone, and the app only tracks what’s necessary to deliver your messages, which it does anonymously. Tempo also removes pixel trackers from the messages it delivers.

Your time is better spent outside your email client. Try Tempo today by downloading the Mac app and iOS beta now.

Our thanks to Tempo for sponsoring MacStories this week.


MacUpdater: Keep All Your Software Effortlessly Up-to-Date [Sponsor]

MacUpdater is an effortless way to ensure that all the software on your Mac is always up-to-date with the latest version. With a single click, the app scans your system for installed software and provides you with a comprehensive list of everything that is outdated in one simple, clear interface. It’s the perfect tool to keep your Mac’s software running smoothly and securely.

MacUpdater has an enormous built-in database of version information for over 60,000 apps and can update 6,000 of the most popular of those with a single click. What's more, MacUpdater is actively maintained all the way back to version 1, so no matter which version you're using, you know you can rely on MacUpdater to get the job done.

With version 2, MacUpdater added the ability to update multiple apps simultaneously, the ability to update non-app software you've installed, password-free updates for non-admin accounts, support for Big Sur and Apple silicon Macs, faster system scans, and much more. The app supports the latest technologies like the Touch Bar too.

MacUpdater is available as a one-time purchase. There's no subscription, other recurring fees, or hidden costs, and for a limited time, readers of MacStories can get a 10% discount when they use the coupon code MACSTORIESQ3 at checkout. So visit MacUpdater's website today to learn more about this terrific utility and to take control of updates on your Mac.

Our thanks to MacUpdater for sponsoring MacStories this week.


Hook: Find Without Searching [Sponsor]

Hook is a revolutionary CogSci Apps® invention that links your digital work. Its contextual window enables you to link items between your favorite Mac apps and to instantly open linked items — without searching.

  • Immediacy. Hook’s Copy Link (⌘C) instantly copies a properly labeled hotlink to the foreground app’s selected/open item. No more manually editing links with ⌘K!
  • Universal Copy Link Most apps don’t have a command for copying links️. Hook solves that: its ‘Copy Link’ works not only with entire webpages but with almost any item in any app: files, objects, tasks, calendar entries, emails, etc.
  • Consistency. Unfortunately, different apps use different names, locations, and shortcuts for their Copy Link command (that’s if they support copying links)️. Hook’s ‘Copy Link’ uniformly solves that. Use the same simple habit everywhere.
  • Ubiquity. Paste links to any linkable object into any app, anywhere.
  • Two-way links (“hooks”). Hook can bi-directionally link information from any linkable app, so you can remain in context.
  • Context sensitivity. Our “hooks” are context-sensitive; no need to search.
  • Robust file links. macOS file:// links are brittle️. Contrast: Hook’s file links work even after you move or rename the files they reference.
  • Deep PDF links. Hook can even copy links to specific locations in a PDF.
  • Shareable links. Send links to shared files or links to mutual emails to your recipients. When your recipients click on the link, Hook will reveal the file (even to the specific location in a PDF!) or open the email on their Mac! Hook Lite activates links and is free. Your recipients will save time and love you for it.
  • Copy Markdown Link. Instantly create a Markdown-formatted link to the foreground app’s current item (webpage, file, etc.)
  • Reveal it. Hook’s Reveal File in Finder command works across all compatible apps.
  • Automatic bookmarking. Copying links is the best signal of future relevance! So Hook bookmarks automatically what you link (files, emails, etc.) It can also sync to services like Pinboard.
  • And much more!.

Hook is an extensible native macOS app that augments you and your favorite apps! Your data stays on your devices and can be synced.

Visit https://hookproductivity.com/ to better understand why Mac users get hooked on Hook. Take advantage of a special 30% reader discount for Hook productivity.

Our thanks to Hook for sponsoring MacStories this week.


Concepts: Sketch, Note, Draw [Sponsor]

Sketch, note, and explore endless ideas with Concepts’ infinite canvas for iPad. Draw in designer COPIC colors with liquid pens and brushes, and organize images, text and sketches into visual mood boards. Used by creative professionals for visual thinking, note taking, team communication, storyboarding, product design and architectural planning, Concepts lets you sketch and share your ideas in the moment.

Everything you draw in Concepts is a flexible, editable vector. Nudge, edit and reorganize your ideas with natural finger gestures. Drag+drop images and objects onto the canvas for fast ideation and reference, use layers and grid layouts to organize your work, mark up PDF documents, and apply real-world scale for professional design projects. Export and share standard, high-res and vector file types for flexible work between teams and apps.

Concepts’ built-in Presentation Mode lets you connect with others for live sharing and graphic discussion. Whiteboard virtually with teams and clients using apps like Zoom, then instantly share your discussion.

The app comes free as a basic sketching tool, with the ability to unlock 200+ libraries of brushes, objects and services via subscription or one-time purchase. To learn more about Concepts visit their website today.

MacStories readers – Enjoy a special 1 month extended free trial when you sign up for an annual subscription. Get a month of infinite creativity before you are billed.

Our thanks to Concepts for sponsoring MacStories this week.


GoodTask: Get It Done With the Task Manager Based on Apple’s Reminders and Calendars [Sponsor]

GoodTask is the powerful, customizable task manager for getting things done on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. That’s because it’s built on top of Apple’s Reminders app and integrates with Calendars too. It’s a solid foundation that GoodTask extends with fast, reliable syncing, Siri and Shortcuts support, widgets, and much more.

GoodTask is highly customizable too. You can view tasks as lists or in Kanban-style boards, and filters allow you to create Smart Lists based on the criteria that are most important to you.

The app also offers Quick Actions for integrating multiple task options into a single tap or click and eliminating the need to repeatedly type common information. It’s a terrific way to streamline your workflow, so you can spend your time getting things done instead of creating new tasks.

The app also offers fully customizable widgets on the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac too, making it easy to see the tasks that are most important to you and your calendar at a glance. GoodTask has a theme system, too, offering built-in options as well as the ability to create and import themes to suit your personal tastes.

GoodTask extends beyond lists allowing you to set goals and review reports. The Today and Next Pages are designed to cut through the noise of your list and focus on what can be done now. It’s a fantastic way to avoid becoming overwhelmed by a long task list.

Start getting things done today by visiting GoodTask’s website to learn more about its Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and Watch apps and discover the power of the premier task manager based on Apple’s Reminders and Calendar apps.

Our thanks to GoodTask for sponsoring MacStories this week.


MacStadium: The Developer Cloud for Mac [Sponsor]

For nearly a decade, MacStadium has been solely focused on providing developers and Mac enthusiasts with customized Apple-centric solutions. MacStadium provides Mac infrastructure for everyone from solo developers to growing startups to Fortune 100 companies. Its solutions are trusted by iOS developers, mobile testing teams, and DevOps engineers around the world. In fact, MacStories has been running smoothly on MacStadium for years.

MacStadium provides solutions to fit every need. The company offers Intel-based Macs and the latest M1 Mac minis. The company has hundreds of those M1 minis in three different configurations in its data centers, ready for instant activation for your next project.

MacStadium is the only cloud provider to support and scale virtualization on Mac hardware. They can create private cloud environments with VMware, Veertu’s Anka, and their own Kubernetes-based Orka solution. With more teams working from home than ever, having a Mac build infrastructure in the cloud is the perfect way to ensure your app developers can work as efficiently as possible.

Recently, MacStadium announced a partnership with Teradici, the creator of PCoIP technology, to create high-performance remote access for the Mac. Working with Apple, the collaboration leverages MacStadium’s infrastructure to streamline and accelerate the delivery of Teradici CAS with PCoIP support for Mac customers around the world. Stay tuned because a product will be publicly available later this summer.

Whatever your Mac infrastructure needs, you owe it to yourself to give MacStadium a look today.

Our thanks to MacStadium for sponsoring MacStories this week.


Goodbye Spotlight. Hello Raycast. [WWDC Sponsor]

Raycast is a native Mac super tool that eclipses and extends Spotlight’s functionality. With a quick keyboard shortcut, Raycast launches apps and so much more:

  • Search for and access your files
  • Use third-party apps and services like Google Workspace, GitHub, Jira, Asana, Linear, and more
  • Check your schedule and join Zoom meetings with a single keystroke
  • Start, schedule, and join Zoom meetings
  • Access the clipboard
  • Set a reminder
  • Take a quick note 
  • Control system functions on your Mac
  • And a whole lot more

Raycast also supports Quicklinks that let you open files, folders, and URLs. Quicklinks even accept input, allowing you to use them to execute search queries right from Raycast.

The app has a snippets system now, too, eliminating repetitive typing. With just a few keystrokes in Raycast, you can send a canned email response, drop frequently-used code into your IDE, or grab your company’s brand colors.

Raycast is also extensible with scripts, with over 400 created by its active community of users, allowing you to control your favorite apps like Bear, CleanShot, Craft, and Things, use Apple Music and Spotify, set your Slack status, pick a color, and more.

See for yourself what you can do:

Because Raycast is native, it behaves exactly how you’d expect and is fast and responsive. The app is actively developed with new features shipping every couple of weeks, and it respects your privacy. There’s no login to use Raycast, so your data doesn’t leave your Mac, and your credentials for other services are safely stored in your Mac in Keychain.

Together, Raycast’s powerful features keep you focused on what’s most important to you. You avoid inefficient context switching and eliminate clutter, summoning what you need when you need it, so you can work smarter and more efficiently every day.

Download Raycast for free right now to give it a try and level up your productivity.

Our thanks to Raycast for sponsoring MacStories’ WWDC 2021 coverage.


Meet Daylite: The CRM with Apple Fans in Mind [Sponsor]

For small businesses trying to stay on top of clients, leads, and projects that are evolving every day, it can be tough, if not impossible, to manage everything with just the existing Apple apps in your repertoire. That’s where Daylite comes in clutch. Daylite is a native Mac CRM and business productivity app designed to help you and your team manage more clients, close more deals, and finish more projects.

Daylite is fully compatible with Big Sur and M1-powered Macs and works seamlessly with the Apple features you already use and love:

  • Integrate with Apple Mail on Mac
  • Share your Apple Contacts and iCal
  • Leverage Siri and Caller ID on your iPhone
  • FaceID and TouchID support
  • Create contracts and other documents by pulling Daylite data into Pages, Numbers, and Keynote

Unlike most Web-based CRMs that just focus on customer relationships and sales, Daylite’s productivity-focused design helps you and your team get more done throughout the full customer lifecycle. From meeting prospects and winning business, to managing the moving pieces on projects, all the way through to following up for referrals and repeat business, it’s all done in Daylite.

Whether you’re in a legal, design, consulting, or other professional services firm, Daylite can help you build stronger client relationships and scale your business. Daylite also offers complimentary onboarding support to help new customers get started.

Ready to do big things with your small business? Start your free 30-day Daylite trial today!

Our thanks to Daylite for sponsoring MacStories this week.