ZDNET’s key takeaways
- If you’re looking for “go-to” MacOS apps, try these.
- You’ll find a great app for nearly any purpose here.
- Some of these apps might surprise you.
1. Firefox Nightly
Firefox Nightly has become my go-to browser on both Linux and MacOS. There are many reasons for this, but it boils down to privacy, speed, lack of bloat, vertical tabs, tab groups, and themability. That is Firefox Nightly in a nutshell. However, it goes further than that. I adopted Nightly some time ago because I appreciated getting access to new features before they hit the general release. Not only does it give me the opportunity to report on those features, but also to give feedback on them. On top of that, Firefox Nightly is just an outstanding browser.
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I know it seems risky to place my trust in a nightly release, but I’ve found Firefox Nightly to be just as stable as any browser on the market. And although Firefox Nightly still doesn’t have a workspaces feature, it does offer tab groups that are superior to Chrome’s.
2. Arc Studio
If you’re looking for a rock-solid scriptwriting tool that is as easy to use as it is powerful, Arc Studio is the way to go. I write scripts mostly for the stage, and need an app that automatically formats the page for me. When I started using Arc Studio, I was up to speed in minutes. It’s every bit as good as the de facto standard, Final Draft, but I find it to be <a href="https://myappsplus.com/samsung-is-making-its-phone-and-contacts-apps-easier-to-use-in-one-ui-9-5/” title=”Samsung is Making Its Phone and Contacts Apps Easier to Use in One UI 9.5″>easier to use. In fact, when I attempted to switch to Final Draft, I found it far more cumbersome and complex. The only caveat is that Arc Studio doesn’t have a one-time price. Instead, you can purchase Essentials for $69/year or Pro for $99/year. The Pro option adds collaboration tools, custom formatting, and other features I find necessary.
3. GIMP
I deal with graphics and images every day, and no matter the OS I’m working on, I use GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program). GIMP is free, open-des on images for publications, book covers, and so much more. Yes, GIMP does have a UI that takes some getting used to, but once you get it, you get it
GIMP features layers and layer masks, retouching and restoration, several selection tools, transformation and alignment, painting and brushes, color management, typography, non-destructive editing, plugins and scripting, file format support for most types, and so much more. You can further extend the feature set by installing G’MIC-Qt. Given how long I’ve been using GIMP, it never ceases to amaze me when I find yet another feature that I didn’t know about. It’s free to use.
4. KeePassXC
Recently, I switched password managers from Bitwarden to KeePassXC,the community-developedopen-reasons, such as KeePassXC being openk. On top of that, I find the KeePassXC UI superior, and I like that it doesn’t focus on business and enterprise use
KeePassXC supports all of the features you’re used to, such as strong encryption, cross-platform usage (Linux, MacOS, Windows), built-in password/passphrase generator, auto-type and browser integration, passkey support, hardware token authentication, Timed One-Time Passwords, SSH-Agent integration, secure attachments, and more. And thanks to a simple vault import/export, you can import vaults from other password apps and export your KeePassXC vaults as backups. It’s also completely free to use.
5. Askimo
When I want to use AI, I always keep it local, and for that, I’ve found Askimo, an AI desktop app, is one of the easiest options available. Askimo doesn’t just work with local AI; if you prefer cloud-based options, you can configure your favorite service. Askimo also features projects that let you create knowledge-aware workspaces, but they can be a bit of a hassle to set up. Plans are a great feature that let you create AI-powered, multi-step workflows you can use whenever you need them.
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There are pre-built plans you can use and base custom plans on (to more easily get up to speed on the feature). Of course, Askimo can also serve as a standard AI chatbot. Even better, Askimo is free and open-source.
6. Trillium Notes
I changed my default notes app to Trilium Notes around three months ago. Once I did that, I found I was actually keeping notes regularly and for different purposes. For example, I have my daily journal entries, recipes, book ideas, and app ideas, each in its own category. Thanks to the ability to easily categorize things, I actually enjoy keeping notes now.
For me, a necessary feature for note-taking apps is the ability to host a server on my local network, which Trilium Notes does quite well. I deployed the Trilium server as a Docker container and then connected the app from all of my desktops and notebooks, so I always have access to my notes, regardless of what machine I’m using.
Bonus: Trilium Notes is free and open-source.
7. Terminal app
I can’t not use the terminal app. Sometimes I use it to SSH into one of my other machines, sometimes I run commands (yes, even on MacOS), and sometimes I’ll take quick notes . The thing I love about the terminal app is that it’s so handy and quick. You won’t find a GUI app that can work as quickly as a terminal
Although there are plenty of third-party terminal apps available (some with far more features), I generally use the built-in app, which has everything I need (and nothing more). I use the terminal app every day and would struggle to work as effortlessly as I do without it.
Honorable mention: Quillmark
Over the past few months, I’ve been developing a writing app called Quillmark that will soon be available for MacOS (via the App Store). I started using Quillmark to write my latest book and have found it to be much better than using a standard word processor. Quillmark breaks everything down into chapters, has all the formatting you need, includes import/export tools, and even has a backup feature so you can set a backup folder and then click File > Backup to automatically back up your current manuscript (so you don’t have to always remember to back the file up in a different location).
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Hopefully, I’ll have Quillmark available on the Apple App Store by the end of the year.
