MacStadium is the premier Mac hosting company that provides dedicated Mac hardware and private cloud services. They have multiple data centers where your hardware is secure, always available, and supported by a team of Mac experts.

The ways you can use a Mac mini server are only limited by your imagination. For example, developers from small indie shops to some of the biggest companies in the world use MacStadium minis as build servers. With Xcode 9, it’s easy to set up an Xcode Server bot to handle your builds.

A Mac mini server is also a fantastic option for hosting a website. MacStories has run on a Mac mini at MacStadium for years, and it’s always been fast and reliable.

MacStadium’s servers work great with tools like Transmit, Sendy, Yourls, for storing files, sending email newsletters, and shortening URLs. You can even create a private Dropbox-like service with ownCloud and bill clients with tools like Pancake. Those are just a few of the possibilities available when you use a Mac mini server.

The folks at MacStadium are running a special promotion for MacStories readers who want to try a Mac mini server for themselves. You can trial a Mac mini server in their data center for a full month at no cost. Sign up to rent a Mac mini using coupon code “MACSTORIES,” and you’ll be all set.

You can check out the details here.

Our thanks to MacStadium for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Inko is a collaborative whiteboard that lets several people draw together using multiple iPads or iPhones, and even interact on Apple TV. Ideal for teams of coworkers in a brainstorming session, for a creative classroom project, or for an interactive meeting between a graphic designer and their client.

Creating a group and starting to drawing together is easy. There’s no complex network setup, or even any network at all, thanks to nearby connectivity. With peer-to-peer connections, you can work wherever you are, be it in a bar or on the beach. Your drawings can also be displayed on the big screen, thanks to the free companion app for Apple TV. The app instantly connects and interacts with all devices in the room, making it a great alternative to those bulky and expensive interactive boards.

Even though Inko is both simple and intuitive, it’s also backed with sophisticated, advanced features like vibrant colors and beautiful pixel-free drawing display that stays sharp when zooming in. Inko also offers precise Apple Pencil support for an amazing lag-free, undo-capable, real-time drawing experience, as well as hi-res PDF exports to share with your group when you’re finished.

Inko’s Collaboration Pack is 20% OFF ($15.99 instead of $19.99) this week only. Hint: the discounted Collaboration Pack also entitles you to the introductory subscription price.

Our thanks to Inko for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Downie for Mac makes downloading video from the web as simple as dragging and dropping a URL. From your browser, drag a URL to Downie’s menu bar icon or onto its Dock icon from sites like YouTube, Youku, Bilibili, Vimeo, and many more to immediately download a video. The app supports video downloads for over 1,000 different sites, and the list keeps growing.

Downie is efficient and organized. Instead of downloading now, queue up downloads for later. It’s a great way to process dozens of videos while you sleep and aren’t using your Internet connection for something else. Downloads can be organized autmatically into folders too based on source and playlist, saving you the hassle of organizing them yourself.

When you use Downie, you also know you’re getting the best version of a video that’s available. For example, unlike many other download apps, Downie can grab the 4K version from YouTube if one is available. It’s that sort of attention to detail, combined with attentive support, frequent updates, and localization that makes Downie a great choice for video downloads.

Downie has a special 25% discount just for MacStories readers. All you need to do is use this link to purchase the app. The same great deal applies to the Downie and Permute bundle if you use this link. Permute is a great companion to Downie that lets you convert video between a wide variety of formats. You can use the coupon code 905E0C5D at checkout to get either discount too.

Expand your video collection the easy way, with Downie.

Our thanks to Downie for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Aim at text. Shoot. It’s yours! Prizmo Go lets you quickly grab text with an iPhone or iPad’s camera. Text is recognized in a blink of an eye, after which you can interact with it in many useful ways in Prizmo Go or send it to another app. If you’ve got a Mac, you can copy/paste it there too. No more retyping. It feels like magic at your fingertips.

Prizmo Go provides rich interactions with captured text. After shooting, text from the original picture is revealed, and swiping through it allows fast and accurate text selection directly from the image. Selected text can be read aloud, or you can tap to go straight to any web URL, call phone numbers, trigger the Mail app from an email address, or reveal physical addresses in Apple Maps and initiate navigation.

Prizmo Go comes with enhancements specifically built for VoiceOver, in addition to spoken guidance prior to capturing text. That, combined with its text-to-speech capabilities, make the app a great companion if you need help reading printed documents.

Prizmo Go has just been updated to version 2.0, which brings handwriting recognition (English only), translation to/from 59 languages, and new, more powerful, built-in neural network-based OCR in more languages.

Prizmo Go 2.0 Export Pack is 20% off ($3.99 instead of $4.99) this week only, so download it on the App Store today. Hint: the discounted Export Pack also entitles you to an introductory subscription price.

Our thanks to Prizmo Go for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Setapp is a Mac app subscription service created by MacPaw, the maker of CleanMyMac. For one low monthly fee, Setapp offers more than 110 of the very best Mac apps from big names like Ulysses, Bartender, and iMazing. It’s a collection that grows every month becoming more and more valuable to subscribers.

Setapp includes a vast array of apps. There are productivity apps like task managers, time trackers, and text editors, as well as photo editors, developer tools, and much more. When you sign up, Setapp installs a handy catalog on your Mac that lets you easily browse its offerings. Nothing is downloaded until you decide to install it.

The app is designed to make finding just the right app easy too. The included apps are carefully vetted and curated, so you know that only the highest quality apps from the best developers are included. The business model couldn’t be more clear either. There are no hidden costs or gimmicks. You pay just $9.99 per month for access to the entire catalog of apps including any updates. There are no fees for upgrades, no In-App Purchases, or other hidden costs. Every app is a fully functional version that updates automatically.

Sign up today to unlock this amazing collection of Mac apps. Setapp is free to try, and you can extend the trial period up to six months by referring friends.

Our thanks to Setapp for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Air travel can be stressful. FlightLogger, which is available on iOS and Android, reduces the stress of travel by making it simple to search and save your flights, get up-to-date notifications on any changes to gates and terminals, share your travel plans with friends and family, and much more.

Too many flight tracking apps are a cluttered mess. FlightLogger’s design reduces the number of taps and information you have to input. Combined with a clear, glanceable timeline of your itinerary, FlightLogger is the perfect companion for the modern traveler.

FlightLogger is packed with innovative features:

• Track the flights of over 1500 airlines and 30,000 airports worldwide for worry-free travel.
• Add flights in-app or by forwarding flight confirmation emails to FlightLogger.
• Track departure and arrival times, delays, cancellations, and gate and baggage claim information.
• Receive flight status notifications on your iOS devices and Apple Watch.
• Track flights on your Apple Watch and other iOS devices with iCloud sync.
• View the approximate location of aircraft during flights.
• Keep family and friends up-to-date by sharing your travel details.
• Organize flights by trips, so you only see the information you need, when you need it.

The spring and summer travel seasons are just around the corner. Make your life easier by heading over to FlightLogger’s website to learn more and download the app today.

Our thanks to FlightLogger for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Tinderbox is a powerful Mac app that stores and organizes your notes, plans, and ideas, bringing order and understanding to the vast amounts of information collected when you’re working on a big project. Whether that’s writing a book, creating course materials, planning a wedding, or just managing your day-to-day life, Tinderbox helps impose structure on your data.

The app acts as a personal content assistant giving you the tools you need to discover connections and relationships between your notes that you might otherwise miss. Best of all, Tinderbox adapts to the way you work. You can use mind maps with shapes, colors, and links to surface connections between ideas, or one of many other tools like outlines, word clouds, timelines, and dashboards. Each is a powerful way to gain new insights and perspectives on your ideas.

Tinderbox also has agents and rules, which are fantastic automation tools that can do things like surface a series of tasks coming due soon or a particular topic you’re tracking. The options are only limited by your imagination.

Tinderbox works beautifully with other apps and platforms too. Connect the app to Apple’s Notes app, and notes you enter on your iOS devices or Mac can be automatically categorized in Tinderbox. The app also works with other apps like Evernote, DEVONthink Pro, and Dropbox.

Eastgate, the maker of Tinderbox, has a very special deal just for MacStories readers. Use this link to save $53 on Tinderbox – that’s over 20% off the usual price.

Our thanks to Tinderbox for supporting MacStories this week.

Optimizing your WiFi network doesn’t have to be difficult. With WiFi Explorer, you can scan the networks around you, troubleshoot issues that slow yours down, and keep things humming along as conditions change.

The trouble with setting up a WiFi network is that it can be hard to understand how other networks affect yours. WiFi Explorer eliminates the guesswork by providing a rich, graphical visualization of all the networks within range. You can see exactly where you’ve got channel conflicts with overlapping networks and make changes accordingly. It’s invaluable information for fine-tuning your network.

Whether you’re setting up or optimizing your home network or troubleshooting an enterprise network, WiFi Explorer is a fantastic solution. The app reports signal quality based on the signal-to-noise ratio and signal strength, scanning and collecting data continuously so you can analyze it in real-time or save it to study later. There’s also a handy advanced tab with all sorts of network configuration data that’s a lifesaver when you’re troubleshooting a network issue.

WiFi Explorer is incredibly advanced, but if you’re an IT or WLAN professional who needs even more, there’s a Pro version of the app just for you. WiFi Explorer Pro adds active and passive scan modes, integrated spectrum analysis, enhanced filtering, support for networks with hidden SSIDs and remote sensors, dark and light themes, and more.

WiFi Explorer has a special limited-time offer just for MacStories readers. Use the coupon code MACSTORIES30 at checkout to get 30% off on WiFi Explorer or WiFi Explorer Pro.

Thanks to WiFi Explorer for supporting MacStories this week.

Remote for Mac is an iOS app that lets you use your Mac from anywhere on your home network. Using just your iPhone or iPad as a trackpad and keyboard, you can launch apps or control system settings on your Mac.

Remote for Mac is perfect for controlling a Mac that serves as a media center. Instead of trying to balance a keyboard and trackpad in your lap while you sit on the couch or lie in bed, use Remote for Mac to navigate your Mac from your iPhone comfortably. You can also use Remote for Mac with AirPlay Mirroring on an Apple TV to browse your Mac on a big screen TV.

All you need to do is install a helper app on your Mac and use Remote for Mac on the same WiFi network to control system settings and apps and services like iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube, Plex, Kodi, SoundCloud, Spotify, and VLC.

Remote for Mac isn’t just for Mac media servers though. The uses are only limited by your imagination. You can just as easily use the app to browse the web or read email on a Mac connected to your TV. Using the app’s keyboard and virtual trackpad makes navigation a breeze. When you’re finished, Remote for Mac can put your Mac to sleep, turn off your display, or even shut down your Mac.

Remote for Mac has a special giveaway for MacStories readers. The first 30 readers who visit this link will get a free copy of the app.

Take control. Download Remote for Mac from the App Store today.

Our thanks to Remote for Mac for supporting MacStories this week.