Everyone needs to sign a document now and then. For some legal documents, that can mean a service like DocuSign or SignEasy, but more often, a simple signature on a PDF will suffice. Digitally signing documents was once a feature that was only found in a few PDF reader apps, but now it’s built right...
Q&A
Question: Do any of you use DEVONthink 3 for Mac for researching a subject or storing serious work, articles, copies of invoices, or financial paperwork that you need to keep a copy of for whatever reason? If not, where do you store such items and how do you find your data quickly? (Stuart)
I’ve...
App Debuts
NapBot NapBot has been updated to make its Watch app more independent from its iOS app than ever before. Now, the Watch app includes a settings screen to turn notifications on and off as well as set your sleep goal. There’s also a new calendar screen that provides users with sleep data for multiple...
Pastebot
Next week on AppStories, Federico and I talk about clipboard managers and shelf apps on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. As part of the preparation for that episode, I revisited Pastebot by Tapbots. The app used to be available on iOS, but now it’s solely a Mac app, which is a platform where the...
Catalina Developer Beta Changes How Mac Laptops Charge to Extend Their Batteries’ Lifespans→
The developer beta release of macOS 10.15.5 has a new feature in the Energy Saver section of System Preferences called Battery Health Management that changes the battery charging behavior of Mac laptops with Thunderbolt 3 ports. According to a story by Jason Snell at Six Colors, Apple says:
…the feature is meant to reduce the rate of chemical aging of the MacBook’s battery, thereby extending its long-term lifespan—but without compromising on day-to-day battery life.
The feature works by analyzing the temperature of the battery over time, as well as the charging pattern the laptop has experienced—in other words, does the laptop frequently get drained most of the way and then recharged fully, or is it mostly kept full and plugged in?
Battery Health Management can be turned off by unchecking a box in System Preferences.
As Snell points out, Apple’s approach here is in contrast to what it did with the iPhone’s battery in 2017, which embroiled the company in controversy and ultimately, led it to issue a public apology. It’s good to see Apple take the initiative to explain how the new power management feature works and give users a way to turn it off when it makes sense, though I expect to leave it turned on most of the time myself.
TV Forecast Review: An Elegant Way to Track Your Favorite Shows
I’ve tried a lot of TV tracking apps and none ever stuck for long, until I tried TV Forecast. Some of the apps I’ve used had busy UIs, were hard to navigate, or just weren’t organized in a way that fits with how I watch TV. In contrast, I’ve been using TV Forecast for the last 11 months and absolutely love it. TV Forecast elegantly combines a simple, modern design aesthetic with smooth, fluid UI that carefully balances the shows you already watch with effortless browsing of new shows.
Service Station Review: A Handy Utility to Customize Your Finder’s Contextual Menu
I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of Finder Sync Extensions. I haven’t run across many apps other than Dropbox and HoudahSpot that support the feature. Finder extensions allow third-party developers to customize the Finder on the Mac with buttons in the Finder’s toolbar or changes to the contextual menu that’s displayed when you right-click on a file.
Service Station adds apps and scripts to the top level of your Mac’s contextual menu based on rules you define.
Service Station is a new Mac utility that takes advantage of Finder extensions by letting users create rules to control when and which apps are displayed in the right-click contextual menu. The app can also be used to kick off AppleScript and shell scripts and Automator workflows. These are all tasks that macOS already supports in one way or another, but Service Station surfaces them as top-level contextual menu options and can be customized to suit your individual needs, which makes this a very handy tool.
AppStories, Episode 158 – Digital Spring Cleaning→
Apple Creates Tool for Spotting Trends in Mobility Data for Feedback on COVID-19 Policies
Apple has shared a new web-based tool that provides insights from Apple Maps on mobility trends. According to Apple’s press release:
This mobility data may provide helpful insights to local governments and health authorities and may also be used as a foundation for new public policies by showing the change in volume of people driving, walking or taking public transit in their communities.
The tool can be found at apple.com/covid19/mobility, where you can view driving, walking, and transit trends for 63 countries as well as major cities around the world. Apple’s press release also explains how the data is collected and addresses privacy:
Maps does not associate mobility data with a user’s Apple ID, and Apple does not keep a history of where a user has been. Using aggregated data collected from Apple Maps, the new website indicates mobility trends for major cities and 63 countries or regions. The information is generated by counting the number of requests made to Apple Maps for directions. The data sets are then compared to reflect a change in volume of people driving, walking or taking public transit around the world. Data availability in a particular city, country, or region is subject to a number of factors, including minimum thresholds for direction requests made per day.
Having tried the tool, it’s fascinating to see the differences between the effect of mobility restrictions around the world. I’m glad to see Apple sharing this information on an aggregate, privacy-conscious way that hopefully can help governments and health organizations around the world assess the effectiveness of measures put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.