Articles

Menu Bar Managers on macOS 27: What Still Works

Golden Gate rebuilt the menu bar and broke most of these apps. Bartender shipped a rewrite, Ice did not. What each one costs now, and what is actually working.

What Is System Data on a Mac, and How to Actually See It

Apple will not break down the System Data band, and its own advice is to buy iCloud storage. DaisyDisk, GrandPerspective, OmniDiskSweeper and Diskscape compared — including where mine is the wrong buy.

Clipboard Manager for Mac Without a Subscription

Paste is $29.99 a year. Maccy is free. Alfred caps history at three months. What each one costs, what happens to your clips if you stop paying, and where a $2.99 local-only option fits.

Magnet Alternative for Mac: Same $4.99, Saved Layouts

Magnet is $4.99 and has not shipped an update since April 2025. Rectangle is free and very good. Here is where Paneway fits, and where it does not.

How to See Recent Screenshots on a Mac

macOS keeps no screenshot history — the thumbnail lasts a few seconds and a clipboard capture is never saved at all. What the capture tools cost, and the $2.99 way to just get your recents back.

How to Set a Different Volume for Each App on a Mac

macOS has one volume for everything, and no built-in way to turn down a single app. Here is why, what your options actually are, and what each one costs.

SoundSource Alternative: When All You Need Is Per-App Volume

SoundSource is $49 and does a great deal. If the only thing you actually want is a volume slider for each app, SoundTune does that one job for $19. An honest comparison, including when to buy the other one.

Inside MenuFold: A Tidy Menu Bar in One Click

A walk through MenuFold, the 1dot1 Mac app that folds rarely used menu bar icons out of sight with one click, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside Paneway: Every Window in Its Place

A walk through Paneway, the 1dot1 menu bar app that snaps Mac windows to halves, quarters and thirds by key, drag or click, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside Spotcursor: A Pointer Everyone Can Follow

A walk through Spotcursor, the 1dot1 menu bar app that adds a halo, click ripples, a spotlight and on-screen shortcuts to the Mac pointer, and the reasoning behind each part.

Inside Lumendial: Brightness for Every Screen on the Desk

A walk through Lumendial, the 1dot1 menu bar app with a brightness slider for every display, and the reasoning behind DDC, software dimming, presets and the evening schedule.

Inside ZoneDay: The Month, the Meetings and Every Time Zone

A walk through ZoneDay, the 1dot1 menu bar app that combines a month calendar, one-click meeting links and world clocks with a time slider, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside Glyphgrab: Copy the Text That Will Not Select

A walk through Glyphgrab, the 1dot1 menu bar app that copies text and codes from any part of the Mac screen or an image file, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside Diskscape: A Map of What Fills the Disk

A walk through Diskscape, the 1dot1 menu bar app that scans a Mac folder or drive and draws it as rings you can click into, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside Tintpick: Any Pixel, Already on the Clipboard

A walk through Tintpick, the 1dot1 menu bar colour picker that copies any pixel in the format the code needs, with history, palettes and a contrast checker, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside Gaugebar: The Whole Mac in One Glance

A walk through Gaugebar, the 1dot1 menu bar system monitor for CPU, memory, network, disk, battery and busy processes, and the reasoning behind each card.

Inside ChargeLens: Every Battery on the Desk, One Click Away

A walk through ChargeLens, the 1dot1 menu bar app that shows Mac battery health alongside AirPods, keyboard and mouse levels, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside DropNote: One Note That Is Always Open

A walk through DropNote, the 1dot1 menu bar app that keeps a single note ready to type or dictate into, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside Switcheroo: Convert a File by Dropping It on a Wheel

A walk through Switcheroo, the 1dot1 Mac app that converts files with a drag onto a glass wheel of formats, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside SoundTune: A Volume Slider for Every App

A walk through SoundTune, the 1dot1 menu bar mixer that gives every Mac app its own volume, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside EjectBox: Eject Any Drive from the Mac Menu Bar

A walk through EjectBox, the 1dot1 menu bar app that lists every mounted volume and ejects it in a click, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside QuickShot: Recent Screenshots in the Mac Menu Bar

A walk through QuickShot, the 1dot1 menu bar app that keeps recent screenshots ready to drag or copy, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside SuperClip: Clipboard History in the Mac Menu Bar

A walk through SuperClip, the 1dot1 menu bar app that keeps everything copied on a Mac one click away, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside MindNotes: A Private Voice Journal in the Mac Menu Bar

A walk through MindNotes, the 1dot1 menu bar app that turns spoken thoughts into private journal entries, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside PopMirror: A Camera Mirror in the Mac Menu Bar

A walk through PopMirror, the 1dot1 menu bar app that shows the front camera as a mirror in one click, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside USB Buddy: Every USB Device in One Menu Bar Panel

A walk through USB Buddy, the 1dot1 menu bar app that lists every connected USB device with its speed, power and drives, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Inside Kaizen: A Focus Timer for the Menu Bar

A walk through Kaizen, the 1dot1 menu bar timer: how a session is set, named, paused and finished, and why each part is built the way it is.

Inside Awake: Three Tools Behind One Menu Bar Cup

A walk through Awake, the 1dot1 menu bar utility that keeps a Mac awake, hides the desktop and dims distractions, and the reasoning behind each screen.

Designing 85 screens for a business ERP

What an ERP demands from a design system that a consumer app never does — status colour discipline, one list surface, and the screens nobody draws.

Designing 25 screens for a money app

What a finance tracker needs that most of them skip — card dues, household members, a receipt that does not add up, and the number nobody shows.

The loop that makes Claude Code worth using

Explore, plan, implement, verify. Four beats that separate a session that lands from one that wanders — and the one of them almost nobody does.

How to use Claude for Word on real documents

Tracked changes, comment threads and counterparty redlines — the parts of the Word add-in that do real work, and what to check first.

How to use Claude for PowerPoint properly

Open your template first — everything else follows. The order of operations, the two-step that beats one long prompt, and what to check.

How to use Claude for Excel on a real model

Cell-level citations, changing assumptions without breaking formulas, and the two things it will not touch. What the Excel add-in is actually for.

Five habits that fix most bad Claude answers

The most common reason an answer disappoints is not difficulty — it is a request that left decisions unmade. Five habits remove almost all of the guessing.

The six screens an online store actually needs

A walk through twelve screens for a digital-goods store — six flows drawn at 1440 and 390 — and what each one has to do to earn its place.

The design system that built the storefront

A section-by-section walk through the design system 1dot1 wrote before a line of the storefront existed, and what each decision was for.