Manage Your Calendar From The Mac Menubar With Fantastical

Manage Your Calendar From The Mac Menubar With Fantastical

Manage your calendar, completely, from your Mac’s menu bar. Fantastical ($15, 15-day free trial) isn’t just a way to quickly see your upcoming events: it’s a way to never directly look at Apple’s default Calendar app again.

We’ve show you tiny and useful menubar apps for mac, but if there’s one piece of information it’s nice to access quickly, it’s your schedule. Let’s take a look.

See Your Appointments, Quickly

Click the Fantastical icon in the tray and you’ll see a one-month calendar:

The box at the top-left allows you to quickly add new items simply by typing a description of the event (like “meet with Tim at 7pm Tuesday”). It’s intuitive and fast, so give it a shot. There’s also a search box.

On to the calendar itself. The current day, as you can see, is circled, and days with appointments are indicated with dots (perhaps only useful if some of your days have no appointments). Immediately below calendar are your upcoming events, in a list. This is where the app really shines:

You’ll see an agenda-style list of all your upcoming appointments, as much as can fit on the screen. Click a day on the calendar, of course, and you’ll see appointments for that day. Information from Mac’s default Calendar app is supported, meaning you shouldn’t need to do much to get everything set up.

Things are even better if you use Mac’s Reminder app as your default to-do list.

It’s not clear why Apple de-bundled its to-do list from the calendar app – these are usually things you want to look at together. No matter: Fantastical recombines them. Even better, this app puts all that somewhere where it’s always in reach: your Mac’s menubar.

Configuring Is Easy

There’s not a lot in the way of settings here, but there doesn’t need to be. Still, it’s worth nothing that you can give your calendar a universal keyboard shortcut, and pick a default calendar for new events:

You can also pick which calendars do and do not show up in your agenda – useful if you have access to plenty of calendars you don’t consult with regularly.

You can also configure the way alarms work, if you want, though some users will no-doubt opt to keep using the alarms from the default Calendar app instead.

The Free Alternative: Itsycal

Not not sure Fantastical is right for you, or quite worth the $15 price tag? There is an alternative: Itsycal. This little app puts a tiny calendar in your Mac Menubar. Instead of an icon, this app shows the date and time – meaning you can potentially use it to replace your Mac’s default clock.

Your current Calendar events are visible below the calendar itself, but there’s no way to add new events to it. Think of this as a supplement for Mac’s calendar, and Fantastical as a potential replacement.

Of course, you also don’t necessarily need a dedicated app. If you know how to make great use of Mac OS X’s notification center you’ve probably noticed that upcoming dates are listed there, one swipe away. And Apple’s calendar app is pretty good, so there’s not necessarily a need for a dedicated tray app.

But I want to know what you think. Will you be using Fantastical to manage your time? Let’s talk about it and other apps like it in the comments below.

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4 Remote Desktop Apps To Fetch Files In Windows & Beyond

4 Remote Desktop Apps To Fetch Files In Windows & Beyond

Windows 8.1 brings with it one rather unsuspected change: the removal of SkyDrive’s “Fetch” feature, which had allowed users to remotely access all their files from another device. Fear not though, Windows 8.1 users, because there are still some options for you to get to those files you forgot to snag off your desktop.

SkyDrive for Windows 8.1 features system-wide integration and is a capable file-syncing tool for Windows users, but the removal of the desktop client and Fetch feature surprised many upgraders. The third-party options here (and even Microsoft’s own tool) for accessing files and apps on your desktop, while useful, aren’t nearly as seamless or simple as Fetch was, since they require additional installations and setup.

So if you want to enjoy the many advantages of Window 8.1, you will have to sacrifice SkyDrive’s Fetch. Let’s examine how you can get that functionality back.

Microsoft Remote Desktop

First up is Microsoft’s Remote Desktop app, which just received some handy mobile counterparts for iOS and Android. Using Remote Desktop on Windows, you can connect to your desktop from your laptop, or from your home computer to your work computer, as long as the computer you’re trying to reach is on, connected to the Internet, and has Remote Desktop installed. The iOS and Android apps take this one step further, allowing you to fully access your computer from your mobile device.

The desktop version and Android app are both very simple. On the desktop, you’re presented with a bar to enter the name of the PC you’re trying to reach. The Android app allows you to set up multiple connections using the computer’s PC name or IP address, and allows you to store the login credentials for quick remote access.

The biggest downside here is that you can only access computers running Windows 8.1 Pro, not regular Windows 8.1. That is a huge problem, I think, since SkyDrive’s Fetch feature had worked on any Windows 8 device and the rest of these third party apps work regardless of what version of Windows 8 you run.

TeamViewer

A simple solution if Microsoft’s Remote Desktop doesn’t work for you is TeamViewer. Unlike Microsoft’s tool, TeamViewer is available for a wide range of devices, including  a desktop version for Windows 7 and 8, a Modern version for Windows 8 and RT, Windows Phone, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS.

The desktop apps for Windows, Mac, and Linux allow you to control those devices using the apps from any of the other platforms. For instance, you can control your Mac from your Android device, but you can’t control your Android device from your Mac. Only the desktop platforms allow the device to be controlled.

The apps are a breeze to set up and use. The desktop app gives you an ID and a 4-digit password, which you can change if you want, and then you simply type that information into the remote control app that you’re using, and voila, you are controlling your computer. It was easier than I thought it would be, and the controls were actually pretty easy to master on Android.

A bar lines the bottom with options like settings as well as Windows 8 options like opening the Charms menu. Your finger swipes control the mouse rather than scrolling around like you’re using a touchscreen, which was confusing at first, but was easy enough to get used to.

What surprised me, though, was that the Windows 8/RT app doesn’t allow for remote apps to connect to it. So if you’re running full Windows 8 (not RT), you have to download the desktop app to allow for remote connections.

TeamViewer is free for personal, non-commercial use, but it does charge if you want to use it for your business. You also have to create a free account for it to work.

Splashtop

Splashtop works in an almost identical way to TeamViewer, but the experience is significantly better. It supports the same wide range of devices and allows for essentially the same functionality, but there are no ID numbers to type in and the mobile apps support Windows 8 gestures when connecting to a Windows 8 device. These small differences are enough to make Splashtop a more attractive option in terms of ease-of-use and mobile interface.

Like with TeamViewer, Splashtop has a Windows 8/RT app, but you have to download the desktop app to allow for the device to be controlled. You also have to create a login, but once you’re logged in on one of your devices, you can automatically see your other devices without typing in any ID numbers. If you see this as a security issue, you can relax; Splashtop offers a few options for security. You can either require your Windows logon password to be entered before connecting, or you can create a separate “security code” that must be entered before connecting remotely.

The biggest disadvantage to Splashtop is that the free version only works if you’re on the same WiFi network as the computer you’re trying to connect to. Useful for controlling your computer from another room, but not useful at all once you leave your house.

The paid version is $1.99 a month or $16.99 for one year and allows you to connect to your devices from anywhere.

PocketCloud

While not offered on as many platforms, PocketCloud is a formidable option. It has desktop apps for Windows and Mac, as well as mobile apps for iOS and Android devices.

The connection process is simple since it uses your Google account to sign in to both the desktop and mobile counterparts, which can then auto-detect each other. Accessing your desktop from your mobile device is simple, and navigation is done through a small circle that you can drag around with your finger that acts as the mouse.

You also get 2GB of cloud storage with PocketCloud Web. The free version for personal use will only work on one computer, but for larger scale operations you can upgrade to Premium for $7.99 for 3 months or $23.99 for 16 months, making it a bit more expensive than Splashtop. And with its clunkier user interface, I really don’t think it’s worth it. The free version is still worth a shot, though, since it can connect from anywhere for free like TeamViewer.

Conclusion

My favorite of these apps was easily Splashtop; unfortunately, being unable to connect to your computer if you’re not on the same WiFi network is a dealbreaker. That makes it a split between TeamViewer and PocketCloud, both of which are very similar. Personally, I preferred TeamViewer for its better mobile interface and quicker and easier desktop installation.

If you have Windows 8 Pro, definitely go for Microsoft’s Remote Desktop client. It’s free, simple, and has everything you need. Unfortunately, not everyone with a Windows 8 device is running Pro, so I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it.

For those times when you’re just relaxing at home, though, there is another easy way to control your Windows 8 device from a mobile device.

Still considering upgrading to Windows 8.1? Then don’t forget to prep your PC. Despite losing Fetch, it is still a worthwhile upgrade, and hopefully one of these programs can make that transition a bit easier for you.

Which of these is your favorite? Do you have another amazing Remote Desktop app that you love? Let us know in the comments.

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5 OS X Mavericks Quirks, And How To Deal With Them

5 OS X Mavericks Quirks, And How To Deal With Them

It’s hard you get things right the first time around. The same is true for Mavericks, the latest iteration of Mac OS X. The new OS adds a host of new features, all for the very economical price of zilch. Alas, like a lot of new software, it has it’s quirks as well. If the operating system does a commendable job for most people, it acts haggardly for others, with some applications working differently than expected or not at all.

At that point you can cross your fingers and wait for an update, or you can take matters into your own hands. Not every issue can be resolved on your own, but a lot of them do have very simple solutions.

1. Mavericks Download Getting Stuck

In the spirit of pessimism, ‘before you even start’ is a great time for things to go wrong. For some people, trouble starts before they’re even able to install the Mac OS X update. The Mavericks download will simply jam. It may take a few minutes (or hours, depending on your watchfulness) to diagnose this non-downloading state, but luckily it’s rather easy to resolve.

As with other App Store installs, Mac OS X shows the (non-)progressing download inLaunchpad, the iPhone-esque app launcher. If you haven’t kept Launchpad in your Dock, you’ll also find it in the Applications folder.

If your Mavericks download is paused, click the icon to get the juices flowing again. If that doesn’t solve the problem, click and hold the icon with your mouse. After a few seconds, the icons start vibrating and the Mavericks download shows a little (X) above it. Click this to close the download and start the updating process anew from the App Store.

2. Problems With The New Mail App

If you favour Mail as your desktop email client, you might have noticed some discrepancies. Sadly, the issues with the Mail app in Mac OS X are numerous. There are two issues that are simple enough to solve, so that’s where we’ll lay our focus.

2.1 Gmail Archiving Issues

All Mail is the label in Gmail that’s reserved for, well, all of your emails. It’s different from your inbox in that archived messages are moved from your inbox, but remain visible under the All Mail label. If you move messages out of your inbox in Mail, but they keep popping back up, you’ll need to enable the All Mail label in Gmail.

Open your browser and sign in to your Gmail account. Click on the cog at the top right of the page and select Settings. In the Labels tab, under System labels, find All Mail and press show.

2.2 Slippery iCouds Passwords

If you use your iCloud email account, it’s possible Mail has a hard time remembering the password after upgrading to Mavericks. No matter how many times you enter it, Mail seems incapable of holding on to your slippery iClouds passwords. Such a frustrating problem, it’s a good thing that the solution is very straightforward.

Go to Mail > Preferences > Accounts > Advanced and select Apple Token from the authentication drop-down menu. Close the settings window and your iCloud password troubles should be a thing of the past.

2.3 Other Issues With Mail

As stated above, this isn’t the only issue with Mail. In fact, it’s riddled with strange quirks and consistencies. Phantom unread messages, problems with incoming and outgoing messages, deleting messages, and so on. There is no easy fix for most of these issues. However, Apple is working on an update to address the various problems of Mail. Right now, the update (Mail 7.0 build 1822) is available to Apple testers and employees.

3. ‘Assistive Devices’ Apps Stop Working

Some applications on Mac OS X, especially those that directly influence your computer, rely on the Assistive Devices framework to control your computer. In previous versions of Mac OS X, it was sufficient to enable assistive devices as a whole, once. With Mavericks, individual applications need to be cleared. As a result, some applications might have stopped functioning correctly after the transition to Mavericks.

Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility. You will find a list of applications that can be granted permission to control your computer. Check off applications like Moom (allowing it to automatically resize windows) or Text Expander (allowing it to automatically insert snippets of text) to get these working again in Mavericks.

4. Movie Files Don’t Preview

Some movie files that promptly showed previews in quick look in previous Mac OS X versions, stopped doing so in Mavericks. This is because Mavericks is very specific about what codecs it does or does not like. In general, previews work fine for h.264 and MPEG-4 videos but not so well for other types of video.

For now, if you heavily rely on previews and quick look, your best option is to convert the video to a compatible format.

5. Scrolling Breaks

For some people, scrolling simply stopped working in some applications. Google Chrome seems to be particularly afflicted. Unless you’re satisfied with reading ten percent of each story, browsing without scrolling is a big no-go.

In newer versions of Mac OS X, the scroll bars fade away when you’re not actively scrolling. Ironically, the issue disappears when you force these fickle scrollbars to reappear. Go to System Preferences > General and select “Show scroll bars:” Always.

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11 Mac Dashboard Widgets You’ll Actually Use

11 Mac Dashboard Widgets You’ll Actually Use

How long has it been since you used your Mac’s Dashboard?

If you’re like most users, it’s been a long time – and that’s too bad. While many users have forgotten it’s there, the Dashboard can be a quick way to check a wide variety of information, from tracking packages to sending texts to finding special characters.

It doesn’t help that Apple seldom issues updates for this widget screen, though Mavericks did bring the ability to move the Dashboard in Mission Control. The main problem, in 2013, is that decent widgets can be hard to find. With that in mind, here are 11 actually useful widgets worth installing even if you’ve forgotten the Dashboard still exists.

Know When To Expect A Package

A package is coming. You want to know when. Delivery Status is the widget you’re looking for.

This handy tool lets you know when to expect almost any package, and seemingly supports every delivery service on earth. It even notifies you as your package moves around the planet, making it useful even if you rarely check the Dashboard itself.

If you get packages regularly, and own a Mac, there’s no excuse: you should be using this widget.

Keep Up With The Weather

Weather happens pretty much everywhere, I’ve noticed. Keeping track of it is also probably the single best argument for something like the Dashboard: it’s information you only need occasionally, but want quickly when you do.

I showed you Mac apps for keeping up with the weather, but my personal favorite tools is the Official Wunderground widget for OS X

Seeing radar, forecasts and a text description all at a glance is hard to beat – even if this particular widget is ugly. If you don’t need all that information, and want something beautiful, I’d recommend the default widget that comes with your Mac.

Demystify Timezones

Scheduling meetings across time zones can be a pain. Ask anyone who works for our staff is scattered from Australia to the Middle East and Europe to North America. Planning meetings can be confusing, but happily Timescroller can help.

Add as many cities as you like. You’ll see the current time, and can move the slider to see others. It’s and simple way to calculate time zones, and essential for anyone who coordinates with people overseas.

Always Know The Score

Believe it or not, many Mac geeks are also sports fans. If you count yourself among them, you owe it to yourself to check out the Sports Fan Widget. With support for the “big four” sports in North America – baseball, basketball, football and hockey – this app lets you oversee realtime scores across your preferred league:

Follow more than one sport? Add the widget multiple times, then change the sports in the settings.

Control Your Media Center

Do you have XBMC on your TV? Then you need the XBMC remote widget for OS X on your Mac. The buttons work as you’d expect, but the real treat is using your keyboard when the widget is selected: you can control XBMC as though your Mac’s keyboard was plugged into your XBMC device.

It’s only useful, obviously, if XBMC is installed on one machine and the widget is on another. And the inability to browse the media library is disappointing. Still, this deserves a spot on your dashboard.

Convert Everything

Sure, this is one of the widgets that comes by default, but it still warrants a mention. The Unit Converter does everything from distance measurements to currency, and proves its usefulness usually about once a day for me.

Countdown To Anything

Looking forward to an upcoming holiday? Remind yourself how long you have to wait with the Countdown Widget, which lets you count down until anything in the Dashboard

It’s amazing how a simple countdown can remind you of all the good things you have to look forward to.

Check Your Texts

Are you a Google Voice user? You should be using GV Connect, which lets you send Google Voice SMS message front the Dashboard.

The app lets you send text messages, but only lets you read them in a Growl notifications. Still, it’s a quick way to send a text.

Monitor RSS Feeds

Want to keep up with some feeds? The RSS Reader Widget lets you add as many feeds as you want.

Scroll through headlines, or use the arrow to switch feeds. Simple.

Find Special Characters

You need to add a price to an email – in Euros. How do you do that again? You could memorize the keyboard shortcuts for every obscure symbol on earth, or you could just download Symbol Caddy. This widget lets you quickly find and copy special characters

What’s cool is that when you click a symbol, it’s instantly added to your clipboard and ready to be pasted wherever necessary.

Play Games

Not sure you’ll ever use any of these widgets? You could give up and just grab some games for your Mac’s Dashboard. This is particularly recommended if you’re a Sudoku fan:

Want even more widgets to explore? You could check Jackson’s 2008 list of Dashboard widgets you can’t live without, though note that many of these may not exist any more.

It’s also worth noting that you can run widgets on your desktop as well, if you want.

And, of course, it’s always worth checking out the comments below. We can share even more ideas down there.

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Go Beyond Keyboard Shortcuts by Using Contextual Menus On Your Mac

Go Beyond Keyboard Shortcuts by Using Contextual Menus On Your Mac

Most beginner Mac users launch applications, open files, documents and windows, and other tasks by either going to the menu bar of an application or using assigned keyboard shortcuts. But advanced Mac users know about the power of contextual menus when getting things done in OS X.

Contextual menus include a custom set of assigned shortcuts and actions that pop up when you right-click or control-click an application, file, or selected text. These menus are useful for when you don’t want to drag your mouse to the menu bar or toolbar to perform an action, or when you can’t remember the keyboard shortcut for a particular item.

Today I will show you the common places to find contextual menus on any Mac, and how to use BetterTouchTool to create contextual menus and how to access them using your Mac’s Trackpad or MagicMouse.

How Contextual Menus Work

If you right-click (or control-click) directly on your desktop, a contextual menu will pop up with the options for creating a new folder, or sorting files on your desktop.

If you right-click on a file on your desktop or in a Finder window, you will get options duplicating the file, sharing it to email or Twitter, moving it to the trash, adding a tag (a new Mavericks feature), and much more.

Notice also if enabled, there’s a Services list of shortcuts (see above screenshot). If Services doesn’t appear, open System Preferences on your Dock and visit Keyboard > Shortcuts > Services. Also enable All controls under where it says “Full Keyboard Access.”

You can go through the list and enable the shortcuts that you want to appear in Services. The items that appear in the Services will depend on the application and/or file you’re right-clicking on. For example, if you select and right-click on some selected text in a webpage, you will get by default the option to copy the text, search that text on Google, or have the text spoken to you.

If you have Evernote installed on your Mac, the Services menu might also include an action for copying that text to Evernote. Likewise, if you have TextExpander installed, you can right-click on a word or phrase and select to create a New Snippet With Selection. Again, what appears in Services depends on what you have enabled in System Preferences and the Service menu items that application developers have created for their application.

You can also create custom Services options using Automator, a topic I’ve tackled before.

Contextual Menus Using BetterTouchTool

One of my most-used Mac applications is BetterTouchTool, which allows users to perform all kinds of actions using finger gestures on their Mac Trackpad or MagicMouse. I’ve created hundreds of shortcuts in BTT for all of my most used applications.

Now if you find that you like the power of Contextual menus, there’s a way to create a similar function using BTT. For example, when I’m writing articles in MarsEdit, I can do a Four Finger Tap in the application and bring up a list of BTT actions I created, that are based on MarsEdit menu bar items and macros I’ve created in Keyboard Maestro.

These actions enable me to create a new post, open a post in Preview, add a link to selected text, and export the blog post to WordPress. Granted, MarsEdit also includes default contextual menu items (see below) that appear when you select and right-click on text, but using the BTT method instead I can create shortcuts that I use most often.

How To Create BTT Menus

To get two or more items to pop up using BTT is pretty simple. All you have to do is assign the same finger gesture to each action that you want to show up as a sort of contextual menu. This works best when you have assigned gestures to selected applications instead of the global menu.

The name you give for each action under Notes will appear in your pop-up menu. You can also, of course, assign whatever finger gesture you like. I use the Four Finger Tap for all my contextual menu actions so that I don’t have to remember a different finger gesture for different applications. Also note that BTT actions can consist of several sub-actions.

Your BTT menu items can be based on almost any keyboard shortcut or series of shortcuts that you perform in an application. You don’t have to remember assigned keyboard shortcuts to execute those actions. You can simply tap and execute actions whenever you need them.

No Coding Required

The power of using applications like BetterTouchTool and contextual menus is that you don’t have to create special AppleScript scripts or monkey around with command line hacks. You simply need to take a little time to learn how to set up actions that you normally perform on your Mac.

I hope you find this tutorial helpful. If you have any questions about the Contextual menus feature or how to use BetterTouchTool, just ask in the comments section below.

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Simple RSS App Sputnik Stays Out Of Your Way So You Can Read

Simple RSS App Sputnik Stays Out Of Your Way So You Can Read

Still looking for an RSS reader? Try something simple. Sputnik (free, donationware) is a Windows and Mac RSS reader that focuses on your feeds and little else. Set it up and start reading.

Kannon put together a complete manual for Feedly, because we feel it’s the best Google Reader alternative out there right now – it’s feature filled, fast and syncs to all major platforms.

But after Google Reader’s shutdown some RSS users are (understandably) afraid to ever trust a web-based service again. It’s why we’ve been pointing out desktop alternatives, and even self-hosted, web-based RSS readers like TinyTinyRSS. This lets you set up your own Google Reader alternative in the cloud

Sputnik is a desktop app, and a lot easier to use than all that. It doesn’t currently sync with anything, but it’s still worth checking out if all you want is a quick way to go through your feeds.

Reading Your Feeds

Start up Sputnik and you’ll immediately see something to read. Feeds are found on the left, article at the right, and everything looks great:

The program is built on node.js and webkit, meaning it is on some level a website running on your computer. It’s kind of weird, sure, but the result is fast and beautiful so it’s hard to complain.

Adding a feed is simple:

Note that you can create categories, something every decent RSS reader includes. This means you can read all of (for example) your Technology blogs at once. You can also import your existing list of feeds, if you have an OPML file:

There’s no built-in support for pulling in full-text version of articles, and clicking a headline just opens the link in your default browser. Those looking for a more integrated rendering experience should use a service like FiveFilter’s Content Only RSS service, which provides a full-text version of any RSS feed.

Getting To Know The App

Using the app isn’t complex, but if you’re not sure which keys to use don’t panic: just click the keyboard icon at bottom-left to review the controls:

Support for the traditional jk controls is lacking, but the shortcuts used here aren’t hard to learn. You’ll get used to it.

Settings aren’t complex:

You can pick how many articles to show and how long archived articles should hang around on your computer.

Like I keep saying: this app is simple. I think that’s why I like it, though.

Alternatives

If you’d prefer something more complex, however, you do have options. I outlined the best RSS readers for Mac, and my favorite choice for power users is stillReadKit ($6.99).

For Windows users, I recommend NextGen Reader ($2.99), which I think is the best Windows 8 RSS reader. Sure, it’s a Metro app, but it’s so useful you’ll forgive it.

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