avatara place of mind

Summary

The article provides a curated list of 10 small but impactful macOS applications in 2022, along with an honorable mention, that enhance productivity and user experience.

Abstract

The web content titled "🔥 10 Little macOS Apps that Make a Big Difference in 2022 [Part 2]" encourages users to elevate their productivity by integrating lesser-known macOS applications into their workflow. These applications range from TopNotch, which hides the notch on newer MacBook models, to Paletro, which extends the command palette functionality across all macOS apps. The list also includes Karabiner for keyboard customization, Caffeine for preventing Mac sleep, and Font Smoothing Adjuster for better font clarity. MouseCape offers cursor customization, while Coin Tick provides real-time cryptocurrency prices. App Cleaner aids in the complete removal of applications, Kitty introduces a powerful terminal emulator, and TinkerTool unlocks hidden macOS preferences. The honorable mention, Monitor Control, is noted for its functionality in controlling external display settings, though it's overshadowed by the updated BetterDisplay app.

Opinions

  • The author suggests that TopNotch is a top-notch solution for users bothered by the MacBook notch.
  • Paletro is highly recommended for its ability to bring command palette functionality to all macOS applications, enhancing efficiency.
  • Karabiner is praised as a powerful and stable tool for keyboard customization, offering extensive modifications.
  • Caffeine is presented as a minimalist alternative to Amphetamine for preventing Mac sleep, with a preference for its user interface.
  • Font Smoothing Adjuster is seen as a solution to macOS's default font smoothing, which can distort font design and clarity.
  • MouseCape is noted as a valuable open-source tool for those who wish to customize their mouse cursors.
  • Coin Tick is deemed "super useful" for cryptocurrency enthusiasts, especially during market volatility.
  • App Cleaner is recognized for its effectiveness in thoroughly uninstalling applications, leaving no residual files.
  • Kitty is highlighted for its speed, features, and ability to display images in the terminal, suggesting future exploration of its capabilities.
  • TinkerTool is acknowledged for providing access to macOS's hidden preference settings, allowing users to tailor their system to their liking.
  • Monitor Control is mentioned as a capable tool for adjusting external display settings, but its necessity is

🔥 10 Little macOS Apps that Make a Big Difference in 2022 [Part 2]

Boost your productivity with apps you didn’t know about!

🚀 See also:

— 🔗 Part 1 — 🔗 Part 3 —🔗 Part 4

1. TopNotch

TopNotch is a top notch app (!) that hides the top notch on the latest MacBook models.

Link

2. Paletro

Do you know how some apps (Sublime Text, Visual Studio Code, Nova) have a shortcut you can type to bring up a command palette to do more quickly get to menu items? Paletro is an app that adds that functionality to every app on macOS.

Link

3. Karabiner (open-source)

Karabiner is a powerful and stable keyboard customizer for macOS. Using this app, you can define custom keyboard shortcuts, modify your keyboard(s), and do a lot more.

Link 1 and Link 2.

4. Caffeine

Don’t let your Mac fall asleep. It’s similar to Amphetamine, but has a more minimalist UI. Link

5. Font Smoothing Adjuster (open-source)

Font smoothing is something that macOS does to make your fonts look slightly bolder. This has the side-effect of messing with carefully designed character shapes produced by font creators, and makes text more blurry.

Link 1 and Link 2

6. MouseCape (open-source)

A free cursor manager for Mac OS 10.8+ built using private, nonintrusive CoreGraphics APIs.

Link

7. Coin Tick

Coin Tick is a crypto-currency ticker. It allows you to view prices of your selected crypto-coins directly from your Mac’s menu bar. Super useful during this crypto-crash!

Link

8. App Cleaner

AppCleaner is a small application which allows you to thoroughly uninstall unwanted apps.

Link

9. Kitty (open-source)

Kitty is a cross-platform, fast, feature-rich, GPU based terminal. In the future I will write about some interesting features of Kitty, but for now you should know that Kitty has a rich config file which helps build a quake-mode terminal for Mac. Kitty also displays images in the terminal!

Link 1 and Link 2

10. TinkerTool

TinkerTool is an application that gives you access to additional preference settings Apple has built into macOS. This allows to activate hidden features in the operating system and in some of the applications delivered with the system.

Link

Honorable Mention

Monitor Control (open-source)

Controls your external display brightness and volume and shows native OSD. Use menulet sliders or the keyboard, including native Apple keys!

Why is it not on the list? Because after the latest update of BetterDisplay (formerly known as BetterDummy), BetterDisplay can do Monitor Control’s job as well, so you’ll need one fewer app to install.

Link

Productivity
Apple
Mac
Apps
Open Source
Recommended from ReadMedium