What's on Your Black Friday Wish List?

Black Friday

Even before I started writing app reviews, my Applications folder was always bulging because I have a hard time resisting any software that looks interesting or useful. We actually have a Software category in our family's monthly budget. While there is a lot of Mac software, there isn't an infinite supply, and making a wish list for Black Friday sales means there are a lot of apps being discounted that I won't buy because I already own them! So just keep in mind that this list is the most interesting selection from what I don't already have.

[CSV Table](https://csvtable.com/) \- I have large collections of digital media (books, music, movies), and I really enjoy looking over the data associated with them. CSV Table has advanced tables and sorting, powerful and flexible searching, import and export, and inline editing. With the Black Friday discount, I can pick up two copies for $19.
Digital Photo Frame \- Featured in "Apps We Love" on the Mac App Store, Digital Photo Frame can access personal photos from online and local sources (not just Apple Photos), or you can connect it to large photo databases like Unsplash. It supports live photos and videos, and you can select audio files to play along with your slide show. You can integrate other data into your display (calendar, weather, photo metadata) and have granular control of transitions, timing, and other aspects of your slideshow. On Black Friday, the lifetime license of $69.99).
[Anybox](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anybox-bookmark-read-later/id1593408455) \- One of the big three bookmark managers for Mac (along with Goodlinks and Raindrop.io), Anybox is a universal app for iPhone, iPad, and macOS. You can search your bookmarks with Spotlight. It has great organizational modalities (nested tags and folders) and robust import capabilities. I have over 2K bookmarks, and I am assured that Anybox can handle that. The Black Friday discount is 30% off.
FileMinutes \- The file search utility has what looks like an easy-to-learn syntax to make finding a specific file or groups of files easy right from the keyboard. It offers easy filtering, path navigation, favorites for folders you repeatedly search, file actions, Finder integration, and the ability to save searches, which is incredibly useful for complex search jobs you don't want to rebuild each time you need them. It's a whopping 50% off right now. I'm picking up a three-machine license for $10.50.

https://redd.it/1p4muc1
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Proxly v1.5.1 - Safari profile support, custom URL transformations, native app support, oh my! - 25% OFF this week
https://redd.it/1p4oi8o
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Following up on the Screen Studio alternative - Black Friday lifetime deal

Hey everyone,

A couple months ago I shared Motionik here. Got tons of feedback and have been shipping updates. If you’re looking for something as polished as Screen Studio, you can try Motionik, it’s free to test including exports.

Running a Black Friday deal on lifetime access. Would love any feedback!

More details at https://motionik.com

https://redd.it/1p4iqxd
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Wipr 2 Blocklist 4 is greyed out in MacOS

My Wipr 2 Extra was previously greyed out. I deleted the app, restarted my Mac, now I can check it, but now Blocklist 4 is greyed out.

https://redd.it/1p4sbl2
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TextGlance – Screen OCR / text capture for Mac (holiday deal $2.99, giveaway codes)

app store link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/textglance/id6755345671

https://reddit.com/link/1p4umyk/video/5y2rwgpbz13g1/player

Hello everyone, I’m the dev of TextGlance, a small menu bar app that does one thing: lasso any area of your screen → get clean text in your clipboard.

A few details :

\- Global shortcut → overlay lasso → OCR via Apple’s Vision framework

\- On‑device only: no servers, no accounts, no analytics

\- History of past grabs with thumbnails so you don’t have to re‑capture

\- Code mode to keep indentation/quotes when stealing code from videos/terminals

\- Supports 20+ languages (depends on your macOS language packs)

For the holidays sale it’s only $2.99  life time (no subs):

app store link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/textglance/id6755345671

I’ve also got a batch of free promo codes for early users who are willing to give honest feedback or a review.

If you want one, upvote + comment, especially how you will use it with (subnoscripts, picture, logs, remote desktops, etc.) and I’ll DM some folks codes.

Really appreciate any reviews and feedback & feature suggestion!


https://redd.it/1p4umyk
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Sparkle vs Hazel AI Organizer?

Hi Guys!

Have any of you tried both ? Which one is better ?

https://redd.it/1p4u4wv
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Photos Backup Anywhere Shout Out (No Affiliation)

Long-time reader, first-time poster (so apologies if I overlook something or transgress conventional posting etiquette). I am in no way affiliated with this app, but I simply wanted to give it a shout-out and spread the word.

# Photos Backup Anywhere

I have run into an issue where I need to free up storage space on my machine, but have been avoiding optimizing my Photos storage on account of running into issues with Time Machine not backing up optimized photos that are not local.

PBA has solved this issue for me. From the linked site: "During the backup process, it will automatically download any photos missing from the local photo library by fetching them from iCloud to ensure a complete backup." It supports shared libraries. Photos are backed up in a convenient Year>month>day file structure. Last and prominently, it collects no data, and registration is not required to use the app (see privacy and security policies here).


https://redd.it/1p4y0pm
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Fn toggle app?

When I am using my app as a browsing device, I want the function keys to be the symbolic functions for brightness control etc, however when I am using it for development I typically want them to act as F keys.

I haven't yet found an app capable of hotswapping between these functions (like Fn + Esc) acting as a Fn Lock. Is there any existing app for this function.

https://redd.it/1p4zl4z
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Ice app

Is the Ice app being updated? It looks like it was last updated months ago, and I'm using the beta with Tahoe

https://redd.it/1p50a0r
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I built a macOS app to batch-compress video folders (free & open source)

Hey,

I wrote a small macOS utility to make batch video compression a bit easier when you have messy folders full of files.

It’s called HandBrake Batch Compressor (HBC) and it’s free & open source:

GitHub: https://github.com/kemalsanli/HBC

What it does, in short:



You pick a source folder, and it recursively finds video files in that folder and all subfolders
It runs them through a CLI encoder in batch
By default it works in a safe mode:
All compressed files go into a separate compressed folder that mirrors the original structure
Your original files are left untouched
There is also an optional mode for people who want more automation:
For each file, if the new one is smaller, it replaces the original
If it’s not smaller or encoding fails, the original is kept
So it only replaces files when there is an actual size win and a successful encode
It can keep a simple log in the source folder so you can see what it did (sizes, replacements, errors, etc.)





Overall it’s a pretty conservative tool: the default workflow keeps everything separate, and even the replacement mode has built-in checks to avoid unnecessary data loss. No account, no sync, no cloud — just a small macOS app that tries to be a “one-click, shrink this folder” button.



If anyone here tries it and has thoughts on UX, defaults or rough edges, I’d appreciate the feedback.

HBC on action

https://redd.it/1p505bl
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Searching for productivity and essential mac apps recommendation

I just got a new mac studio for the first time since the intel era macbooks and very happy with it. Looking how I can improve my usage and take it into the next level, so far here is my list of essential software:

1. Zen Browser
2. Zed code editor
3. Obsidian for my notes, journal and canvas
4. Things3 for todo list
5. Claude Desktop + Claude code as AI essentials
6. Slack for work
7. Parallels + UTM as essential VM tools for running Windows apps
8. AmneziaVPN as self hosted VPN + Tailscale for connecting to my old machine or stream my mac to old laptop via Moonshot + Sunshine
9. OrbStack for better Docker
10. Meetily for local trannoscript and summary for my notes via local LLMs
11. Crossover for playing windows games
12. Stats to see my CPU/RAM usage

Is there any awesome software you guys can recommend that I can use to improve my every day work? Thanks a lot

https://redd.it/1p52ti0
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[Launch] Milee Grida – A new way to organize your macOS desktop + built-in Launcher

https://redd.it/1p5aas8
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Shottr v1.9 is here

Shottr v1.9 is out. It focuses on aesthetics and adds S3 upload capability, among other additions and improvements.

https://shottr.cc/newversion.html

https://redd.it/1p5ayxb
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icon champ

i'm trying to change my system apps on my MacBook with icon champ but it's taking a long time, is that normal?
i'm on macOS tahoe btw

https://redd.it/1p5brrc
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Why are live wallpaper apps so limited?

Anyone else notice that most of the heavy hitters like Backdrop, Wallper, etc are limited in functionality when it comes to live wallpapers?

For me, it seems like the selection of live wallpapers is lacking. Sometimes the ones you want aren't in the resolution you want.

And a feature none of them seem to possess is shuffling your wallpapers on rotation.

https://redd.it/1p5cziy
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Notch app that works on external monitors?

Hi,

I’m looking for notch apps that display notifications on external monitors without a notch. I have an external monitor connected so a notch app might not be necessary for me most of the time. But I really like how notch apps show notifications and it looks better than system notifications.

My monitor is quite large so it would be more convenient to see notifications in the middle of the screen instead of the top right corner.

Does any of the notch apps support this?

https://redd.it/1p5eqlr
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Downie & Permute are More Than Half Off For the Next Seven Days

# Get Them Here

# Downie

If you want to download video from YouTube, there are a variety of ways. There is a Raycast Extension. There is the great free YouTube muti-action app, Freetube. Finally there is Downie from Charlie Monroe. Downie not only downloads from YouTube, Youku, Bilibili and Vimeo it can download from more than 1,000 sites with more being added bi-weekly. You can even write to the developer and request that a site be added and chances are he will act on it. He even offers to help if you run into a problematic video on a site already in the supported list.

Downie can download 4K video, which not all downloaders can do. It can also convert to MP-4 (for iPad and iPhone use) or do only audio extraction on the fly. It supports iCloud synchronization to maintain your download history over different devices. The app has muli-language support and the developer offers free licenses to anyone who adds a new language to the support library. If you have a legacy operating system, past versions of Downie can be downloaded.

Downie is normally a one-time purchase of $19.99 but it is now on sale for $8 and a single license is good for all the computers you personally own, although if that is greater than three you need to contact the dev for an accommodation. Downie is also available on Setapp.

There was a minor controversy some time back when the developer left empty threats in his code to delete files from the computers of those running pirated versions of the software. He has since apologized for doing that and no files were actually deleted from anyone's machine.

# Permute

Permute by Charlie Monroe (developer of Downie) makes media conversion simple regardless of whether you need to manipulate images, video or audio. Its simple drag and drop interface instantly identifies the media you are working with and uses presets to convert the file to the format you want.

Permute does not require you to download any plugins for video conversion. It can convert FLV or MP4 files natively into dozens of other formats and vice versa. The current version of Permute is 3x faster than previous versions. If you have multiple videos to convert, the app has a scheduler so that you can do the conversions during off hours instead of pegging out your CPU while you are trying to do other work. Another valuable feature is Permute's ability to merge videos so that if you have a part one and a part two, a simple right-click > Merge is all you need to make a single file.

Audio files can be turned into Apple Lossless or FLAC using the same simple drag and drop interface. If you have a video that you want to save just the audio portion of, Permute can easily do that as well.

Permute can turn PDFs into multiple image files, one per page if you need that functionality. It can also do the opposite, turning a folder full of image files into a single PDF.

There are so many other great features in Permute - adjust volume of an audio file or an audio track in a video. Batch-resize, rotate and flip images and videos, convert images to text. And more. When used in conjunction with Downie, you can auto format the downloaded videos for the device where you intend to watch them.

Permute is on sale for $5. There is no current difference in the two versions. It is also available from Setapp.

https://redd.it/1p5gh7e
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What are your "Open at Login" apps?

Here is my list. My setup: M3 Max 16 inch MacBook Pro with macOS 26.1, 48GB RAM, 1 TB SSD

https://preview.redd.it/rfi3dhkhh73g1.png?width=440&format=png&auto=webp&s=bfa59b7ca9aa64f437e7075d989ba22a99f0e062



https://redd.it/1p5gwz9
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