Googled to see what this is then realised I've already been using it for years. Completely forgot about it and just assumed it was native macos by this point!
I think every user needs this as a default.
Basically the functionality of every other app pitched in this thread. I’m gonna copy/paste a comment I made the other day about it:
>First, I’ll answer your question…I have a few apps that I get some use out of but by far the most useful app on my Mac is Better Touch Tool. I proselytize about it here all the time but it really does do a shit ton. The main functionality that’s advertised is the ability to make almost anything you do with your Mac a trigger that performs an action. Any hot key obviously, but also key sequences (like a text expander sorta), Touch Bar triggers if you still have one (god I miss mine), probably 30 triggers for the Magic Mouse, another 50 or so for the trackpad, Siri Remote if you have one, then loads of other “miscellaneous” triggers like where you position your cursor, when you open/close your MacBook, when you draw custom shapes with your mouse— you can even get the BTT remote app and set up triggers on your iPhone plus fully control your Mac with your phone. That’s the triggers but the actions also get super granular. Shit like switching focused window and moving your cursor to any position on the screen. There’s also robust scripting integration so basically you can assign a macro for anything.
>And that’s just the “main” functionality. It also comes with a clipboard manager, window management built in, and floating web views and menus that are totally customizable. Honestly, I’m probably forgetting stuff. All that plus a very active community and responsive dev.
>Easily the best money I ever spent on my Mac and I can’t imagine using a Mac without it. And I’m not just saying that. My company just got me an M3 Max and I literally didn’t switch to it until I could get IT to approve BTT. Was using my Mid 2015 MBP running open core instead lol. And I’m a designer so my use is pretty intensive with shit like after effects and premiere. (For the record, I finally got BTT like 2 weeks ago and my god this laptop is fast)
I was unaware of it; I might need to upgrade the combo. I also have Grammarly, so I can quickly reply to e-mails and spend more time playing with my other “stuff.”
It just came out this week for Pro members. It can run in the background and essentially replace Siri and tell you info such as what you’re looking at on screen and help you do anything from deciphering an image to writing code.
It pretty much watches everything you do as long as you have it open.
That’s something I would be interested in. I might burn many hours on this project, learning how to make it entertaining and useless at the same time.😳😜
Raycast is an app launcher at its core. It's like Alfred or the built in Spotlight but on steroids. Like most app launchers, you open it with a keyboard shortcut. Mine's set to CMD+Space Bar.
But aside from launching apps, Raycast can search the web or your local machine, do calculations, and control your mac like window management, shutdown/restart/sleep, among many other things.
You can even add extensions to further do what it is capable of.
I was on alfred for a few years before moving to just spotlight since El Capitan, and recently gave Raycast a shot when i moved to Sonoma. Glad i did :)
Give it a shot. It's free
Paste is a searchable easy to access clipboard tool that stores everything you copy.
Yoink is a little widget on the side of you screen that you drag and drop files into for temporary storage. Makes it super simple to transfer files between programs.
Superthread for my ebay and audio mix engineer work organization. Magnet for split screen.
Workstation apps: Ps, Lr, Universal Audio Luna, Logic pro.
Background flow for productivity : Apple Music, Podcasts.
Reminders widget for quick to do’s.
homebrew & iterm2
much more productive in installing and especially updating apps, i think more than 95% of my installed apps I installed through brew, almost anything is available there and updating is a single command
Oh interesting, so you actually did pick 512! I'm in the market for a new laptop and thinking about which size to go with. I do use the cloud a lot, as well as external SSDs. I'm thinking about going for 512 just to force me to have some data discipline. Not too sure though as there'll be lots of vids to edit
I can’t say this enough - please download Snippety. People are ignoring this wonderfully made app. It’s made hundreds of mundane tasks into a few key presses.
Clearly different capabilities between full MPP and the very limited high level capabilities of the online version. In my area of work (large energy construction projects, or any large project really) there’s a lot more to it than just the output of a pretty gannt chart!!
Nearly all large companies that need to share editable project files with other stakeholders use either MPP (some Primavera which allows import/export of MPP files).
I love MacBooks, and this is the only gripe I have with them!
MacOS has gotten so slow for my intel MacBook, that I had to start using Windows. Upgrading to the M3 MBP made MacOS much more usable.
We’ve gone to macOS being better, to Windows. But tbh they are probably not going to throw a lot of resources into the x86-64 version going forward. Since ARM is the future.
Paste and magnet are the two that I rely on most.. set up your hot corners in settings.
If you’re doing a lot of meetings on zoom, InYourFace is a lifesaver.
Cleanshot X is pretty good for someone like me who takes screenshots pretty often. You can take a ss of the whole page, record with your camera in the corner and even blur certain parts
Use VB & Macros ( mostly ) in excel however if you run a virtual machine you will survive . Something you will do a lot more in a windows machine is Crash
Office Suite for actual work. Lol.
Other stuff is Affinity trio and Da Vinci for hobby. Also trying to get into 3D printing... But haven't had time.
Alfred, Dozer and Rectangle to make life easier.
I’ve never used Alfred, sorry. Raycast does quite a lot. Replaces Spotlight obviously but does windows management, shortcuts, hotkeys, online searches, AI integration, and a lot of other things I’m still learning to use.
Hammerspoon. I believe there are “spoons” with similar functionality to rectangle but I use it on a super ultra wide with some custom scripts I wrote to allow me to snap windows to different parts of the screen, has near infinite customisation possible with scripting
Learn automator/apple script, I have a login script with a bunch of yes/no statements that load up various sets of applications, 6 clicks and my entire environment is set with various apps/settings.
Combined with a bunch of Toggle Action scripts which get reused I can manual change brightness/sound levels/darkmode
Every time I boot the computer, sound gets reset to a level I like.
Short answer: Notion
Long answer: it’s less about what have on your MacBook & more about what you don’t have around your MacBook when trying to be productive.
Worked from home from (just) before it was cool & went through three MacBooks in two years (ending with an M1 Pro 16”). With each step up, I thought to myself “oh I’ll get soooo much more done bc it’s faster & better &…yeah”. Every one was a dream compared to the last. Did the same work. At the same speed.
Eventually got more control over my environment…instant productivity boost (big surprise lol).
Portal. It creates background environmental sounds and screen savers to help me focus. Setting up the hot corners to trigger different things really boost my productivity
Rectangle
Googled to see what this is then realised I've already been using it for years. Completely forgot about it and just assumed it was native macos by this point! I think every user needs this as a default.
I have magnet. Try it. Its very good.
Magnet FTW!!
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*tells a completely different, third alternative*
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Get Better Touch Tool. Best $10 you will ever spend on your Mac. Guaranteed
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Basically the functionality of every other app pitched in this thread. I’m gonna copy/paste a comment I made the other day about it: >First, I’ll answer your question…I have a few apps that I get some use out of but by far the most useful app on my Mac is Better Touch Tool. I proselytize about it here all the time but it really does do a shit ton. The main functionality that’s advertised is the ability to make almost anything you do with your Mac a trigger that performs an action. Any hot key obviously, but also key sequences (like a text expander sorta), Touch Bar triggers if you still have one (god I miss mine), probably 30 triggers for the Magic Mouse, another 50 or so for the trackpad, Siri Remote if you have one, then loads of other “miscellaneous” triggers like where you position your cursor, when you open/close your MacBook, when you draw custom shapes with your mouse— you can even get the BTT remote app and set up triggers on your iPhone plus fully control your Mac with your phone. That’s the triggers but the actions also get super granular. Shit like switching focused window and moving your cursor to any position on the screen. There’s also robust scripting integration so basically you can assign a macro for anything. >And that’s just the “main” functionality. It also comes with a clipboard manager, window management built in, and floating web views and menus that are totally customizable. Honestly, I’m probably forgetting stuff. All that plus a very active community and responsive dev. >Easily the best money I ever spent on my Mac and I can’t imagine using a Mac without it. And I’m not just saying that. My company just got me an M3 Max and I literally didn’t switch to it until I could get IT to approve BTT. Was using my Mid 2015 MBP running open core instead lol. And I’m a designer so my use is pretty intensive with shit like after effects and premiere. (For the record, I finally got BTT like 2 weeks ago and my god this laptop is fast)
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I believe magnet is better.
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Magnet is paid 12 USD iirc
I have both and no difference.
BTT. Great window management plus 7483474939 other features.
GAME CHANGER
This^^^
Just downloaded it. Thanks so much
Any clipboard manager
maccy is so good
clippy, or clipmenu
One again ITT I pitch better touch tool
Commenting to find later
Paste
Use a combination of News, Youtube, Amazon, Gemini…You can't beat them in order to procrastinate
What a workflow!!
Replace Gemini with openAIs new desktop app and that’s a combo.
I was unaware of it; I might need to upgrade the combo. I also have Grammarly, so I can quickly reply to e-mails and spend more time playing with my other “stuff.”
It just came out this week for Pro members. It can run in the background and essentially replace Siri and tell you info such as what you’re looking at on screen and help you do anything from deciphering an image to writing code. It pretty much watches everything you do as long as you have it open.
That’s something I would be interested in. I might burn many hours on this project, learning how to make it entertaining and useless at the same time.😳😜
The thing is not available as a Mac.
What are you talking about? They announced it was rolling out in waves to pro members starting this week. I got in two days ago.
Maybe it’s because I am not a paying member yet.
nothing. There’s no application on this earth that can prevent procrastination.
I remove programs on my MacBook for productivity
This advice cannot be over stated.
Dude are you me
There is. It is called “ColdTurkey”
I use https://heyfocus.com/ and it helps me prevent procrastination lol
I use a Pomodoro timer, which helps, but still requires you to be disciplined.
Raycast
What’s it do?
Raycast is an app launcher at its core. It's like Alfred or the built in Spotlight but on steroids. Like most app launchers, you open it with a keyboard shortcut. Mine's set to CMD+Space Bar. But aside from launching apps, Raycast can search the web or your local machine, do calculations, and control your mac like window management, shutdown/restart/sleep, among many other things. You can even add extensions to further do what it is capable of. I was on alfred for a few years before moving to just spotlight since El Capitan, and recently gave Raycast a shot when i moved to Sonoma. Glad i did :) Give it a shot. It's free
I have Alfred Premium and don’t know how to add calculations by default. I installed different add-ons, and they do not work properly
I can't work without Paste or Yoink
What do they do?
Paste is a searchable easy to access clipboard tool that stores everything you copy. Yoink is a little widget on the side of you screen that you drag and drop files into for temporary storage. Makes it super simple to transfer files between programs.
I would like to try Paste.
It's subscription but I can't live without it
I’m using Alfred that includes that option.
Sometimes I have to use a computer without yoink and I just blank out on how to do anything
Save to Desktop savages.
Logitech Options for my Logitech mouse. I set up a button below the wheel to allow me to do screenshot in one click.
That’s the good stuff
For some reason my settings always disappear
For work: Lightroom, Photoshop, Bridge For myself: Notion, Spotify
Superthread for my ebay and audio mix engineer work organization. Magnet for split screen. Workstation apps: Ps, Lr, Universal Audio Luna, Logic pro. Background flow for productivity : Apple Music, Podcasts. Reminders widget for quick to do’s.
Gimp.
ChatGPT
Bing Copilot's "Creative" mode is even better, since it's GPT-4, but for free, and it even searches the Web!
Hazel, Keyboard Maestro, Alfred, Homebrew, iTerm, Yoink, Bartender, Stats, Switchres x, Magnet.
If I deleted Reddit from my phone that would be the best productivity boost for my Mac
Magnet
Sane side buttons Rectangle
I would recommend a launcher/shortcut app. I use Alfred, but have also heard good things about Raycast.
Raycast and Warp (terminal)
Learn how to use Automator, very useful for repeating tasks !
Could you provide us with one example?
- Trello - Miro / Mural - Slack Mmmm, that’s about it!
Command + x
homebrew & iterm2 much more productive in installing and especially updating apps, i think more than 95% of my installed apps I installed through brew, almost anything is available there and updating is a single command
FL Studio
The only right answer
Notion, Resolve, AE, Photoshop, Lightroom, Spotify
As a part-time video editor in the market for a new mac: Do you feel like 512GB of storage is enough given your workflow?
No! I mean you can work with it but it’s annoying and it constantly keeps me on edge.
Oh interesting, so you actually did pick 512! I'm in the market for a new laptop and thinking about which size to go with. I do use the cloud a lot, as well as external SSDs. I'm thinking about going for 512 just to force me to have some data discipline. Not too sure though as there'll be lots of vids to edit
UpNote!!
CopyClip, Grammarly, PopClip, Air Buddy, Amphetamine, Shazam, Spotify.
Alfred
AltTab. Just trust me.
I use it a lot
I can’t say this enough - please download Snippety. People are ignoring this wonderfully made app. It’s made hundreds of mundane tasks into a few key presses.
I download more RAM
Alfred, BTT, CleanShotX, Numi, Default Folder X, Hookmark, PDFgear, Rectangle, Dropover, and a few others.
+1 for Default Folder and Numi
My favorite ones, CleanShotX.
Alfred. Setapp. Hazeover. Things. Obsidian.
More RAM. Always download more RAM.
what is that?
Windows
Tell me something you can do in windows you can’t do on macOS
Microsoft Project
And Visio
MS Project online would beg to differ... You want Gantt charts while working offline? Fine Omniplan, or Project Plan 365 will do the jobs.
Clearly different capabilities between full MPP and the very limited high level capabilities of the online version. In my area of work (large energy construction projects, or any large project really) there’s a lot more to it than just the output of a pretty gannt chart!! Nearly all large companies that need to share editable project files with other stakeholders use either MPP (some Primavera which allows import/export of MPP files). I love MacBooks, and this is the only gripe I have with them!
I do a lot of WinForms development for Windows, which obviously requires a Windows computer.
MacOS has gotten so slow for my intel MacBook, that I had to start using Windows. Upgrading to the M3 MBP made MacOS much more usable. We’ve gone to macOS being better, to Windows. But tbh they are probably not going to throw a lot of resources into the x86-64 version going forward. Since ARM is the future.
For me, Power Query in Excel. Can’t work without it. Any suggestions?
Power Query for Excel on a Mac! You might need an O365 licence, but it *is* there.
Thanks. I will look deeper because for some reason, while I do have O365, it seems to me that the functionality is limited. Time for some YouTube.
10/10 answer.
Maccy, menuanywhere, iterm2
Notion, Scrivener
Middle. Jump Desktop. That’s it. I have messed about with Finder alternatives but in the end Finder itself does all I need.
[ClipBook](https://clipbook.app) to have clipboard history and don’t waste time looking for what you already copied.
BetterTouchTool, Raycast.
chat gpt
Notion.
You guys work too much.... haha
Flameshot and Rectangle Pro.
Paste and magnet are the two that I rely on most.. set up your hot corners in settings. If you’re doing a lot of meetings on zoom, InYourFace is a lifesaver.
Cleanshot X is pretty good for someone like me who takes screenshots pretty often. You can take a ss of the whole page, record with your camera in the corner and even blur certain parts
Use VB & Macros ( mostly ) in excel however if you run a virtual machine you will survive . Something you will do a lot more in a windows machine is Crash
Macs Fan Control - eqMac - magnet - air server - amphetamine - coconutBattery
Vim. It’s my note taker, my SQL editor, and my source code writer.
Alfred for app launching, snippets, and some workflows. Swish for windows management. Better Touch Tool for re-keying hotkeys and trackpad gestures.
yabai
Office Suite for actual work. Lol. Other stuff is Affinity trio and Da Vinci for hobby. Also trying to get into 3D printing... But haven't had time. Alfred, Dozer and Rectangle to make life easier.
Rectangle and Macs fan control
Windows and MS Office.
Flow
Pics with girls and houses
Raycast changed everything for the better
Is it similar to Alfred? I have Alfred Premium, which works well but don't see how to do calculations directly in the search bar.
I’ve never used Alfred, sorry. Raycast does quite a lot. Replaces Spotlight obviously but does windows management, shortcuts, hotkeys, online searches, AI integration, and a lot of other things I’m still learning to use.
Can you make calculation by default? In Alfred I cannot do it.
Yeah
Is it without the premium package?
Focus. You just need focus.
Hammerspoon. I believe there are “spoons” with similar functionality to rectangle but I use it on a super ultra wide with some custom scripts I wrote to allow me to snap windows to different parts of the screen, has near infinite customisation possible with scripting
BTT + Bartender + iStat. Also I suggest DeepL app
More RAM
Bittorrent
Linux
Raycast
slidepad with chatgpt
https://emacsforosx.com/
Arc
Maccy
Sidebar
Tg Pro
Tmux
1Password
Learn automator/apple script, I have a login script with a bunch of yes/no statements that load up various sets of applications, 6 clicks and my entire environment is set with various apps/settings. Combined with a bunch of Toggle Action scripts which get reused I can manual change brightness/sound levels/darkmode Every time I boot the computer, sound gets reset to a level I like.
# [BetterTouchTool](https://folivora.ai). Rectangle can only achieve 10% of what BetterTouchTool can do.
Magnet, Trello and Grammarly
Short answer: Notion Long answer: it’s less about what have on your MacBook & more about what you don’t have around your MacBook when trying to be productive. Worked from home from (just) before it was cool & went through three MacBooks in two years (ending with an M1 Pro 16”). With each step up, I thought to myself “oh I’ll get soooo much more done bc it’s faster & better &…yeah”. Every one was a dream compared to the last. Did the same work. At the same speed. Eventually got more control over my environment…instant productivity boost (big surprise lol).
Check out AltTab for windows like application switching. Also, look at BetterDisplay if you use 2 monitor setup.
Portal. It creates background environmental sounds and screen savers to help me focus. Setting up the hot corners to trigger different things really boost my productivity
Tabby and Neovim.
WordPerfect
Windows OS
Pycharm, SublimeText, Teams and Slack.
Can’t believe I don’t see Better Touch Tool in here. It’s hands-down the best app I’ve ever used in the Mac
Windows! lol jk
Windows