This week BusyCal 3 for Mac is available and this release marks a first for BusyMac, an iOS companion app. I’ve used BusyCal for Mac since the first version was released six years ago. It’s not the best looking calendar app but it’s by far the most functional. Smart searches, banners, sticky notes, icons and built-in weather forecasts make it something rather special.
Version 3 of BusyCal for the Mac brings a number of aesthetic improvements and some performance boosts.
In case you haven’t followed the Scrivener blog, they’ve been hard at work on an iOS version. I’m not on the beta but I think their Mac app is one of the best all around writing tools on the market. Now I see word on Twitter that the release is likely coming in July.
Pythonista 3 for iOS is now available on the App Store.
It’s on sale for $5 as a new purchase. If you love Python or just want to take automation to the next level on iOS, there’s no better app than Pythonista. Version 3 brings Python 3 as well as a huge number of new modules and major reworking of existing features. There are specialized modules for interacting with iOS data sources like Reminders, Calendar and even the motion sensors.
There’s a new update out for Interact for iOS. It’s a strangely useful little app for working with contacts. Interact is one of those apps that I didn’t know I needed but when I use it I feel like a wizard. The developer blog post is a great intro and includes demo videos. Check out the linked video below to see why it’s like magic for entering contacts.
Frame.io is an incredible looking iOS app that I now want to use just for sharing videos. The iPhone app looks powerful and gorgeous.
The developers of Day One are making a bold move. A recent blog post outlines their current plans for end to end encryption but also puts outs a plea to critique the designs. I used Day One for all of my text journaling. It was one of my favorite apps for a very long time. But I don’t want them holding my information. I’m happy to see them developing in the open.
Computers will serve us, they said.
Our every whim will be provided for. We only need to ask.
Earl Grey, hot.
And now it’s all this.
These days feel new. Every six months my access to and control of knowledge is noticeably faster and easier. The spread of computational power into even the most mundane device is mesmerizing and sometimes bewildering. Some days I feel like I’m in a movie.
I’m sure you’ve heard that Associate for iOS is out this week. I’m a big fan of Blink for iOS, which is a great tool for generating Apple affiliate links. I like Blink because of all of the little pleasantries for searching the app store. It’s not just for affiliate links.
Associate is a new app for generating Amazon affiliate links. It’s a much nicer alternative to the half dozen scripts I’ve made over the years to convert an Amazon link to an Amazon affiliate link.
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of DEVONthink on the Mac but the iOS app wasn’t very useful to me. I’ve been helping to test the betas of the all new V2 of DEVONthink 2 Go and I’m confident this is going to be huge for a lot of people.
If things keep up this way, it will be the first all-in-one capture system I feel fits my needs.
I previously linked to ProtonMail back in March. I’ve been using it sparingly for the past couple of months and the service is proving to be a dependable and convenient tool for secure email.
ProtonMail requires two layers of login to access the mailbox. First the account login and then the mailbox decryption. This is true of the iOS app and the web application. Without the mailbox encryption key there’s no way to get access to existing messages.
