Make your Mac work better for you.
Practical articles on Mac workflows, audio and creator gear by software engineer Jakub Jirák.
Start with these guides
Three useful starting points for a more reliable Mac and a clearer creative workflow.
How to Back Up a Mac the Right Way: Time Machine, Clones, and the 3-2-1 Rule
Separate sync from backup, plan an off-site copy and understand what a restore should prove.
Read the guide →Audio Hijack on Apple Silicon: the Mac audio tool I would trust with the awkward jobs
Follow a Mac audio session from its source through processing to the final recording.
Read the guide →CleanShot X: the screenshot tool I would choose for work, not decoration
Make screenshots easier to capture, explain and share without exposing private information.
Read the guide →Latest articles
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Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 review: open-ear listening with a clearer charging plan
My buying view of the black Shokz S820, with its bone-and-air-conduction design, USB-C charging, sizing and open-ear trade-offs kept clear.
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IntelliJ IDEA review: the value is in changing code
IntelliJ IDEA earns its place through Java and Kotlin navigation, careful refactoring, and a short path from a failing test to the code behind it.
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Bear Pro: a Markdown notes app for snippets, outlines and daily notes on Mac, iPad and iPhone
A first-look review of Bear with Bear Pro by Shiny Frog covering the Markdown editor, code blocks and syntax highlighting, outlines with folding, nested tags, wiki links and backlinks, iCloud sync, export formats, note encryption, the SQLite database, Bear Web, price and who should use it.
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Sennheiser HD 280 Pro review: a wired workhorse needs the right working place
My buying view of the HD 280 Pro 506845, with closed-back monitoring, fit, coiled-cable reach and replaceable wear parts considered before the purchase.
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Scrivener 3: can a novelist's favourite tool write a programming book?
A research-based first look at Scrivener 3 for macOS for writing technical and programming books, covering the binder, research folder, corkboard and outliner, split editor and snapshots, code samples and images, compiling to ePub, PDF and DOCX, Markdown, MultiMarkdown and Pandoc workflows, price and who should buy it.
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ForkLift 4: can a dual-pane file manager replace Finder on a MacBook Pro?
A first-look review of ForkLift 4 for macOS covering the dual-pane layout, SFTP, SMB, WebDAV, S3 and cloud connections, Git status badges in repositories, folder synchronisation, archives browsed as folders, where it beats Finder and where it does not, plus single, family and business licence prices.
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AKG K240 Studio review: semi-open headphones for a deliberate listening space
My buying view of the wired AKG K240 Studio, with semi-open construction, suspension fit, cable routing and the right monitoring environment kept central.
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BetterDisplay Pro: the display settings macOS should have shipped with
A first-look review of BetterDisplay Pro for macOS covering flexible HiDPI scaling on non-Retina monitors, DDC brightness and input switching including built-in HDMI on Apple Silicon, XDR and HDR brightness upscaling, virtual screens and Picture in Picture, free versus Pro features, the $21.99 perpetual licence and who should buy it.
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Shure SM58 review: a vocal microphone needs a complete desk route
My assessment of the SM58-LC for close speech at home, with a clear XLR input plan, practical microphone placement and the difference between rugged hardware and a finished recording setup.
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Lexar Professional 633x 64GB review: the exact label matters
My buying view of the older 95MB/s Lexar Professional 633x 64GB SDXC offer, with capacity, label variation and recording requirements checked before buying.
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VIISAN VS13AM: one folding camera for calls, desk work and close-ups on a Mac
A first-look review of the VIISAN VS13AM visualizer and webcam covering macOS support and the VisualCam app, switching between document camera and webcam mode with auto-rotation, the AI noise reduction microphone, the 20x macro lens for electronics close-ups, price and who it suits.
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