Mac Os Power User Apps

With just a click or a tap, you can extend your Mac desktop using your iPad, effortlessly share files with friends, and more. Learn how to use your Mac and devices together To browse the macOS User Guide, click Table of Contents at the top of the page. Oct 19, 2015 Well, they're right about 'switchers' of Excel to Mac from Windows, which is most users these days, so I can live with this. There's also an ability in Mac OS X to customize keyboard shortcuts. It's not as robust as Excel 2011 and earlier on the Mac. Macros and VBA are the most important feature of Microsoft Office.

Energy Efficiency and the User Experience

All apps consume energy—whenever they update the user interface, perform networking operations, write to disk, or run code on the CPU. As users rely increasingly on battery power—and as apps proliferate—energy efficiency becomes integral to the user experience.

A great user experience requires:

Great battery life. As energy efficiency goes down, so does battery life. Users want all-day battery life on their portable devices.

Awesome speed. OS X is designed to provide great performance during complex operations—and to make your app fly.

Responsiveness. Too many resources being consumed at once can result in a laggy interface that’s slow to respond to user input.

Cool, quiet system. As more apps use more resources, the system works harder and faster, and the physical temperature of a device gradually rises. When this occurs, the system takes steps to cool down to a more acceptable level. On devices with fans, those fans may become active and audible to the user.

OS X Energy-Saving Technologies

OS X employs advanced energy-saving technologies that help users get the most out of their Macs. These features help the system make smart decisions about how to utilize resources and run code as efficiently as possible.

Centralized Task Scheduling and Grand Central Dispatch

Intensive background operations, such as software updates or file backups, may be unavoidable. Centralized Task Scheduling (CTS) and Grand Central Dispatch (GCD) APIs let you designate criteria that indicate when and how often a task should be deferred, how long it can be deferred, and under what circumstances. The system then makes an intelligent decision about when to perform the task based on the specified criteria.

Quality of Service Levels

Tasks that affect the user, such as downloading and playing music, take priority over background and discretionary work. Quality of service class APIs allow you to assign distinct priority levels to the work your app performs, giving you fine grained control over task prioritization.

Event-Based APIs and Services

Timers deliver events, or fire, at prescribed time intervals. If a timer fires when the system is idle, the CPU and numerous other systems are awakened from their low-power states. Yet many of these systems aren’t always needed to perform the work invoked by the timer. If the work can be performed when the system hardware is already running, the additional cost is not incurred and the CPU can remain idle longer. OS X provides services and APIs that efficiently deliver events without unnecessarily waking the CPU.

App Nap

When your app isn’t busy performing user-initiated work, the system may put your app in App Nap. App Nap conserves energy by regulating your app’s CPU usage, I/O, and timers. As soon as the user resumes interacting with your app, OS X switches it back to full speed. Transitions are so seamless that the user thinks your app has been running at full speed all along. You can enhance App Nap by implementing notifications that tell your app when it becomes inactive, so it can immediately start reducing activity.

Battery Menu, Activity Monitor, and Developer Tools

The Battery Status menu and Activity Monitor let you quickly identify apps that are using significant amounts of energy in OS X. Xcode, Instruments, and numerous command-line tools help you identify and address energy problems as you develop your app, rather than after those problems are encountered by users.

Your Obligation as a Developer

Even small inefficiencies in apps add up across the system, significantly affecting battery life, performance, responsiveness, and temperature. As an app developer, you have an obligation to make sure your app runs as efficiently as possible. Use recommended APIs so the system can make smart decisions about how best to manage your app and the resources it uses. Whenever possible, avoid unnecessary updates to the user interface and I/O. Power-intensive operations should be under the user’s control. If a user initiates a large iMovie render, Automator batch job, Compressor conversion, or Xcode compile, for example, the user should not be surprised if the activity consumes power. Strive to make your app absolutely idle when it is not responding to user input.

By adhering to recommended guidelines, you can make big contributions to the overall energy efficiency of the platform and the satisfaction of your users.

task managers to get things done. Calendar apps are another tool to plan your day and week. When selecting an app over the other, one must need to consider the devices they are using. It's important to invest in an app that provides the identical experience between the mobile and desktop OS. That got me looking for the best Calendar apps for iOS and macOS since I too use devices from both the OS family.The Apple ecosystem is full of such productivity apps. In this post, we are going to list out the top five calendar apps for iOS and macOS. The list will focus on the apps that are available on both Apple platforms. It will include both free and paid apps. We will also mention features, themes, third-party calendar support, price, and more. Let’s get started.

1. Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft purchased the Sunrise calendar app in 2015 and shut down the further development of the app. Over the years, the company has integrated its features in the Outlook Email app, making it one of the best Calendar apps out there.The UI is quite nice. Swipe left to reveal the hamburger menu and select the calendar options to display in the app. You can also add calendar entries from popular platforms like Facebook, Evernote, Meetup, and Wunderlist.While adding an event, Outlook lets you add details like location, Skype Call, description, and more. My favorite function is Interesting calendars. It lets you import schedules from well-known TV series and popular sports like Cricket, Basketball, Tennis, Football, etc.Speaking of its Mac app, users do require Office 365 subscription to use the Outlook app. It provides a monthly view and lets you add events on the go. I like how it integrates Sticky Notes as well as Tasks from the Microsoft To-Do app.Download Microsoft Outlook for iOSDownload Microsoft Outlook for Mac

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Apple Calendar vs Fantastical: Which Calendar App Is Better for You

2. Fantastical

Fantastical has the best user interface among all the calendar apps out there. It’s quick, fluid, and responsive. Fantastical has paid special attention to the ‘add event’ screen. By using the numbers raw above, one can quickly write like ’20:00 Client Call,’ and the app will set an event for 8.00 PM.Users can long-tap on any event and create a template out of it. I use it all the time to add my most-used events with a single click. Similar to Outlook, Fantastical supports third-party calendars. It lets you add events from Sports, TV, Finance, and more.Other functions include theme support, the ability to change app icons, AccuWeather integration (this should be present in every calendar app), 3D touch support, iOS widgets, and more.The Mac app is equally powerful too. Everything, including templates, gets synced over the desktop app. The quick add function remains the same on the big screen. Fantastical used to be a one-time purchase, but the developers recently switched to a subscription model, which now costs $5 per month.Download Fantastical for iOSDownload Fantastical for macOS

3. Apple Calendar

Apple Calendar is a solid option for the majority out there. It’s free and works well with the Apple ecosystem. The app offers a familiar UI with all the major options within reach.While adding an event, you can integrate details such as travel time, attachments, URL, notes, and location. I would like to see FaceTime voice/video reminders in add event function.Apart from iCloud, it supports the major third-party calendars like Gmail and Outlook. The list of functionalities includes Siri Shortcuts, iOS 13 dark theme, the ability to share calendars, and more.Their Mac app is quite basic. Apart from adding a quick event, Apple Calendar doesn’t offer much for the big screen.

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Apple Calendar vs Google Calendar: Which Calendar App Should You Use

4. Woven Calendar

Woven Calendar brings a breath of fresh air among the traditional calendars. The default home page is a mixture of recent updates, stats of overall weekly meeting time, travel hours, and tags.These two functions stood out for me. While adding an event, you can create a group poll and ask your members to vote for an appropriate time for the meeting. You can share the poll link using the Woven iMessage app, Email, or SMS.The planning section is a nice place to dump all the tasks, polls, and events to schedule them later. Woven has an integrated map view that shows where your upcoming event is and how much traveling you will need in a day. Power users will appreciate template function, which lets you create templates for most used events.

Woven’s Mac app is one of the best out there. All the major functions are nicely tied up in the hamburger menu. The templates, planning, and home have been carried over to the Mac app. It supports keyboard shortcuts too.Woven is completely free to use, which is surprising given the kind of functions it provides on both iOS and macOSDownload Woven for iOSDownload Woven for macOS

5. Any.do

Any.do is the ultimate Calendar and Task management app out there. By default, it imports tasks from the Apple Reminders app.While adding an event, you can add the basic details like Notes, URL, location, and more. Any.do holds an upper hand with third-party apps integration. It supports over 1500+ services, including some big names like Evernote, Trello, Slack, OneNote, and more.The company has added a neat WhatsApp integration, which reminds you of a task while using the chatting app.The Mac app mimics the functions of the mobile version and supports customizable wallpapers too. However, there are no keyboard shortcuts. Any.do is free for basic tasks, but the third-party apps integration and advanced theming engine costs $7 per month.Download Any.do for iOSDownload Any.do for macOS