Dynapaper changes that.

Dynapaper allows you to create dynamic wallpapers with a simple drag-and-drop interface and save them in the required HEIC format for use in the Mac’s Desktop & Screensaver Preference Panel.

Dynapaper is free to download and use, but does add a watermark to your image. A $12 in-app purchase will remove the watermark. To be honest, though, I couldn’t find a watermark in my first two dynamic wallpapers—maybe that’s part of a demo-period?

The only complaint I have about Dynapaper is that it doesn’t create a “preview image” for the Desktop & Screensaver Preference Panel. So all your dynamic wallpapers will show up just like Apple’s desert wallpaper in the list, making it difficult to choose the one you want. From what I’ve read, this is a limitation of the OS, not Dynapaper itself. I’m sure developers will eventually figure it out.

I’m not sure if it’s easier than using the Dock or not, but it’s worth trying for yourself.

TouchSwitcher is free, however tips are happily accepted.

Semulov (no, it’s not a Russian name, it’s Volumes spelled backward) gives you a bit more control over ejecting volumes from your Mac via an icon in the menubar. It’s free, and works perfectly on macOS 10.7 and up, including Mojave.

Enter Shifty, a free menubar utility that allows you to get control of all three of these excellent features of the macOS.

Shifty was made to expand the capabilities of the built in Night Shift feature in macOS. You can disable Night Shift for specific apps, websites, and custom time periods. It also provides easy access to a slider to fine-tune your color temperature.

Shifty also allows you to schedule Dark Mode based on the Night Shift schedule you have set up. The same goes for True Tone.

Shifty isn’t the perfect solution, that could only come from Apple (and I can assure you that it never will), but it comes pretty close. And with a price tag of free, it’s hard not to at least give it a try.

I don’t see the news

That’s not to say there’s a problem with photos, videos or even text displaying. No, the problem is that they’re so damn small on my MacBook Pro 15″ screen (as well as the 27″ LG Ultrafine it’s connected to) that I can’t read anything.

With the exception of “feature” articles which appear at the top of the main pages with larger headlines, virtually nothing in News is readable, especially on pages such as Top News Stories, etc. The publication titles are completely unreadable, headlines are a bold and condensed font, making them difficult at best, the article summaries are not only too small, but Apple chose to make them a light gray color. To rub salt in the open wound, the timestamp and share buttons look like a bug got smooshed on my screen.

Even the Discover Channels & Topics button in the lower left corner of the navigation column pops-up this tiny little modal box floating in the middle of the massive screen real estate I have available. Inside the static-sized box, Apple crams 12 previews and the name of the publication. At least, that’s what I assume it is, because I can’t read it.

Once you click on a headline and are taken to the actual article page, you are afforded some relief in that while the article text is tiny by default, you can hit the Command + keys several times to make the text legible.

Gee,  thanks Apple. Would it have killed you to allow me to set a text size default in the preferences, or at least remember my zoom setting across relaunch?

The second thing that really bugs me about Apple’s News app is that I can’t share articles.

Part of reading the news these days is sharing a great article with friends, family or social media followers.

There is a Share button for each article, but you’ll have to find it. Sometimes it’s at the bottom of the article, sometimes next to the headline, and sometimes in the menubar. It just depends on what type of page you’re on. No matter what, it’s tiny.

But the biggest problem is that Apple has decided that the Share button should only allow you to share with yourself.

Since Apple chose to remove system-level access to Facebook & Twitter (and every other social network), you can now only share with apps that Apple has chosen for you, or 3rd party apps that specifically build-in a Share Sheet extension. Those apps are few and far between.

Apple allows me to “share” an article to my own Notes, Reminders, or send as a text message. Who would use any of those options? Even email isn’t an option for many people, unless you have a 3rd party app like MailPlane that offers a Share Sheet extension.

At the very least, Apple should have built-in the ability to copy the link to the article on the publisher’s website.

Overall, Apple News is a decent app for a 1st version. But it has a long way to go, in my opinion. I look forward to any improvements they make.

Yoink v3.5 for Mac adds Handoff between Macs, iPhones and iPads, a clipboard history Today Widget that keeps track of your clipboard’s contents and full compatibility to macOS Mojave and its dark/light mode and Finder Quick Action. Yoink 3.5 for macOS can be purchased for the introductory price of $4.99  ($7.99 after the intro week) on the Mac App Store. If you’re an existing user of Yoink for Mac, the update to 3.5 is free.

Yoink 2.0 for iOS brings, among many, many other improvements and fixes, iCloud sync across iOS devices, Handoff between iPhones, iPads, and Macs, as well as Siri Shortcuts. Yoink 2.0 for iOS can be purchased for the introductory price of $3.99 ($5.99 after the intro week) on the iOS App Store. If you’re an existing user of Yoink for iOS, the update to 2.0 is free.

Visit Eternal Storms’ website for more details.

My take on Yoink

I don’t have an iPad I use regularly, so I can’t comment on the iOS version of the app. But I’ve used the macOS version of Yoink for years on various Macs.

When I had an iMac 27″ as my main workhorse, I only occasionally used Yoink because I had the screen real estate that afforded me the ability to have multiple apps open and visible on the screen at any time. But it worked great and I did use it for specific tasks.

Now the I’ve upgraded to a 2018 MacBook Pro 15″ as my only Mac, combined with the fact that I tend to work in Full-Screen mode for any app that supports it, an app like Yoink is essential to maintaining productivity and sanity.

I use Yoink constantly for grabbing PDFs from multiple folders in the Finder and adding them to an email I’m composing for sending later. I also use it to collect a bunch of logos and images from various folders to place into an InDesign document.

Along with Default Folder, Yoink has become one of my “essential” apps that I install immediately on any new Mac I work on.

If you think you might want to take advantage of the “storage shelf” that Yoink for Mac provides, there is a demo version available.

Enter Turbo Boost Switcher, a nifty little menubar utility that allows you to turn off the processor’s Turbo Boost feature whenever you wish.

Along with turning on and off Turbo Boost, this handy little utility also shows you the CPU load, fan speed, and temperature. 

Reviews of the app claim up to a 25% increase in battery life. In my use, I’ve noticed an increase in battery life of around an hour or so, and the bottom of the laptop doesn’t get hot at all. Lowering the temperature of your processor helps preserve its overall life (heat kills), so even if battery life isn’t an issue for you, the app can still serve the purpose of protecting your investment! Since the app shows you the statistics, it’s easy to see what it will do for you.

I’ve been turning off Turbo Boost off for pretty much everything except when I’m working in Adobe apps and haven’t even noticed the difference in Safari, Mail, office apps, and other small apps and utilities I use regularly.

Turbo Boost Switcher is free for basic use, and the Pro version offers several nice features. For $9.95 (which includes free updates, forever!) you’ll be able to:

• Fully customize the status bar to show temp, fan speed, etc., have the Turbo Boost
• Automatically disable Turbo Boost when the charger is disconnected
• Automatically disable Turbo Boost when battery level goes below a configurable setting.
• Enable / Disable turbo boost when a specific app is running (customizable)
• Much more!

If you have a MacBook or MacBook Pro with Turbo Boost (pretty much all of them in the last few years), I highly recommend you give this app a try!

Today, RSS feeds have fallen out of grace with most consumers, most likely due to the popularity of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other sharing apps. But RSS readers are still popular among tech enthusiasts.

The developers of Reeder have graciously dropped the price of Reeder for Mac to zero, as in FREE — up until the release of version 4.0  at some point later this year.

ThoughtTrain is a solution to this problem. Sort of. ThoughtTrain only does one thing. It scrolls whatever you type in the menubar—much like the news ticker you see at the bottom of the screen on CNN or other news channels (see image above). The app has no preferences and no superfluous screens or settings. There is a text entry box hiding under the menubar icon. Whatever you type into that box gets shown in the menubar. You can also archive or delete notes. That’s it. The notes and reminders are displayed one after the other, scrolling right to left.

The only problem (if you actually consider it one) is that it only offers a limited amount of scrollable space in the menubar, so your notes and reminders must be kept short and sweet to be useful. But to me, that’s the best feature. I don’t see ThoughtTrain as a replacement for a full notes/reminders app… it’s more of a replacement for sticky notes (both real and digital versions) that cover your screen a little too much and require you to switch away from the app you’re currently working in.

ThoughtTrain is free, but donations are encouraged.

Fluor for macOS is a nifty little utility that allows you to automatically change the behavior of your Mac’s keyboard F-Keys based on what application you’re using. A menubar icon indicates which F-Key mode you’re currently in, and provides access to the prefs which allow you to set up Rules for individual apps.

Fluor is open source and completely free