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Virtual private networks (VPN), while they've been around for a while can still be hard to understand. Even if you know about them, once turned on it can be unclear if you're receiving the benefits. Using ClearVPN, in this show Darcy outlines exactly how a VPN works to protect your devices while browsing on insecure networks (such as your favorite coffee shop's public wifi) with real demonstrations of ad blocking.

With a beautiful user interface, ClearVPN also gives you the ability to access streaming services around the globe. Throw in quick access through Shortcuts and widgets on your home screen, and you've got a very flexible way to manage your VPN connections.

ClearVPN from MacPaw runs on macOS 13 or newer, and iOS or iPadOS 16 or later.

You get access to ClearVPN through a Setapp subscription, or you can subscribe to the app on a monthly ($9.99 USD) or annual ($44.99 USD) plan, after a 3-day trial, perfect to follow along with Darcy!

The social media landscape has become severely fragmented over the last couple of years. For nerds like us, there are a few platforms where people tend to hang out: Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads.  Maintaining a social media presence on multiple platforms, however, can be time-consuming.That's where Aaron Vegh and Ben McCarthy's Croissant comes in, a simple app for iOS and macOS that lets you crosspost to all three services at the same time. In this episode, Mike shows you how to write once and publish everywhere, including how to mention people on multiple platforms, create threads, and more. Croissant runs on iOS 18 or newer, and macOS 15 or later. Subscriptions are $2.99 per month, $19.99 annually, or you can purchase a lifetime license for $59.99.

Many of us struggle with overusing our devices. Too much content streaming, social media, you name it. Today's app, "one sec" works with Siri Shortcuts to create space between when you open an app and actually being able to access it.  Covered in full detail in April of last year, "one sec" has since been updated with several new features, including allowing users to learn a language as a healthy alternative to overusing the aforementioned apps.  Join Darcy as he goes over these new features, which are sure to make your "one sec" experience even better, with additional and useful customising."one sec" requires iOS 15 or newer, macOS 12 or newer, and visionOS 1.0 or newer.

Muse is an easy-to-use project planning and creative app which brings together several types of assets into a flexible canvas-style workspace. You can combine photos, PDFs, and links to resources, along with notes and text blocks, all within Muse. Join Darcy as he delves into what Muse has to offer on the Mac by showing you its numerous features. It includes various templates you can use as a starting point, and it supports collaboration and sharing so you can work alongside friends and colleagues easily.

Muse will run on macOS 12 or newer; iPadOS 15 or newer. All pricing information is in the Resources section below.

As part of his quest to get better with the Shortcuts application, as well as collect his thoughts more efficiently while on the move, Lee has implemented a workflow that uses Drafts, his text entry application of choice, to add information to a selection of lists in Apple Notes. This is made possible by the Shortcuts application which connects these two apps.

In this video, you learn how Lee created the shortcut, with Drafts playing a key role. He also shares a second shortcut that allows you to view any list in Apple Notes. That can be quite useful when you are on mobile and wish to quickly get to your information without searching through your notes.

The latest version of Drafts requires:

• iOS or iPadOS 15.6 or newer

• watchOS 8.5 or newer

• macOS 11.5 or newer

With iOS 18 comes an update to Apple's healthiest app for your mind, Journal. Unlike other similar apps, Journal is preinstalled and updated alongside the OS, so it's easy to miss new features as they're added. This year, searching old entries is even easier with Calendar, giving you a top-down view of your streaks (which can also be tracked). Along with text formatting and Quick Actions, Journal now supports both Widgets and Shortcuts.

With these convenient new options, users can easily make written or voice entries right from their Home Screen. Join Darcy as your guide through these mindful changes to Journal.

Journal is part of iOS 18 and newer.

If you're frustrated with your current podcast player, Overcast may delight you with how it lets you tailor your podcasting experience. Maybe you've tried Overcast before but found the interface confusing. The app has gone through a major redesign, and in this tutorial Allison guides you on how to use the power of this flexible application with lots of examples.

Overcast will run on iOS and iPadOS 17 or newer, watchOS 10 or newer, and you can use it on a Mac with Apple silicon running macOS 14 or later.

• The free version contains small banner ads at the bottom of the player

• Overcast Premium is $10 per year

I've been looking for a Read-It-Later service that works on all of my devices, and has excellent support for Shortcuts and automation and I've finally found it in GoodLinks. It's been growing steadily over the last couple of years and now has features that rival it's competitors. Easy to use, great to look at, it offers one of the best reading experiences I've seen and in this video, I'll show you how to set it up, add links to it from both Safari and Reeder, as well as organise your links.

For the adventurous amongst you, the end of the video covers Custom Actions, where you can send the links and associated metadata to other locations with the click of a button, as well as building Shortcuts to send your links to other key elements of your workflow.

GoodLinks requires iOS or iPadOS 15 or newer; macOS 12 or newer

The initial purchase costs $9.99 USD with optional feature upgrades for $4.99 per year after the first year.

Ever wish you could watch YouTube without the algorithm recommending the next video? Unwatched lets you add channels and individual videos to an inbox that you can organize quickly to create your own queue of videos, without any recommendations or ads.

Unwatched is currently available for free on iOS and iPadOS, and Mike walks you through its features in this short video shot on iPhone.

Unwatched requires iOS or iPadOS 17 or later, macOS 14.0 or newer, with M1 or newer chip.

(As of this video, it has not been officially tested on macOS.)

The Vision Pro represents Apple's first foray into the world of Spatial Computing. Released in the US on February 2 2024, it wasn't until July 12 that Lee was able to get his hands on one, thanks to Apple releasing it in the UK. With an entry-level price of $3,500 USD, this is definitely not for the mass market. This new Apple device is sure to see revisions over the coming years as more developers have access, and create products for it so that we can determine the most popular use cases for Vision Pro. Even in its current state, Lee thought it would be nice to show what Vision Pro can do.

In this video, you see how to use the different menus, configure some of the Vision Pro-only settings, set up your Persona (and get on a FaceTime call), work with different environments, and more. You also get a quick peek into Lee's house as he walks around, showing off some examples of how the Vision Pro can be used day to day.

Shown in this video: Spigen's Klasden Pouch for Vision Pro

As a subscriber to Raycast Pro, you can also choose the AI Add-on option for accessing larger models directly in Raycast. While this increases the cost of Raycast Pro by a few dollars a month, it also gives you access to AI language models like GPT-4o & Llama 3 Sonar Large for less than the price of a subscription to even a single AI service.

In this short video, Mike gives you a demo of Raycast's AI Add-on including some examples so you can see it in action.

Raycast requires macOS 12 (Monterey) or newer

Raycast Pricing

Learn more about Raycast Pro

Lee used to only fire up Apple Maps for the basics: finding a location and getting there fast. But after some of you suggested a deep dive, he was blown away by what this app can actually do! In this video, Lee goes beyond turn-by-turn directions, and dives into cool stuff like scheduling stops, getting automatic reminders, exploring different map types, checking out public transport info, taking aerial tours of cities, and a lot more. This screencast is a map app adventure!

It seems like a long time ago that streaming subscriptions were easy to manage. There was Netflix, a few other new kids on the block and the cost wasn't much. Now, it's like a runaway train and without careful management, the costs can rise. Seasons is a wonderful little app that helps you address this. By adding movies and TV shows to your wishlist, alongside the current subscriptions that you have, Seasons can advise you of the optimum times to start and stop your various streaming subscriptions.

Ever wondered what it takes to get started with 3D Printing?

In this episode, Don walks you through the basics: what a 3D printer is, how to access 3D print files, how to process print files on your Mac, and how to actually create 3D-printed objects. Warning: 3D printing is a fascinating subject and you may well fall down an unending rabbit hole! The good news is that it's more affordable than you may think!

It's been a while since we kicked the tyres on Pages for Mac, so Lee thought it was time to take a look at some of the more advanced features the app has to offer. It's far more than just a word processing application. In fact, we create the ScreenCastsONLINE Monthly Magazine using Pages! So in this video, Lee goes over the difference between a word processing document and page layout document, and looks at advanced settings for creating margins, tab stops, laying out your page and formatting your text. He also shows you charts, how to review documents with Track Changes, as well as reverting to previous versions of your files, and much more.

• Pages for Mac requires macOS 13.0 or later.

• Latest Pages videos on ScreenCastsONLINE

In the project management world, Microsoft Project has long been the standard for project managers using Windows. When Lee started freelancing as a Project Manager and a Mac user, options were limited. OmniPlan was the best option available and finally, he gets to cover it on ScreenCastsONLINE. Lee walks through the fundamentals of the application and shows how it can be applied to home as well as work projects. You learn how to automatically schedule tasks, create dependencies, resolve violations and create baselines to ensure you are keeping to task.

Please note: This video covers the Standard version of OmniPlan, and not the Pro version.

Minimum system requirements for OmniPlan: macOS 12.0, iOS or iPadOS 16.0, visionOS 1.0 or newer.

Transloader is a well made and simple app allowing you to initiate downloads on your Mac from your iPhone or iPad. We spend a lot of time on mobile devices, including researching apps or investigating other downloads that are Mac-specific. Instead of using your carrier data, transferring from your device to Mac or using iCloud to sync, Transloader allows you to share the download link with your Mac and have it download at home, ready for your return. Join Darcy as he shows you around the app with some real world examples.

• Transloader requires macOS 10.4 or later; iOS 14 or later.
• The Mac version costs $9.99 USD.
• It is available as part of your Setapp subscription at no additional cost.

Following on from the recent UniFi Express screencast, Don takes a look at the iOS companion app, WiFiman. This iOS app allows you to monitor your UniFi network and optimise the placement of access points. It also has a built-in zero configuration VPN service called Teleport, which allows you to access your network easily and securely from anywhere.

Join Don as he takes you through all of the features of WiFiman using his own home network, complete with a walk-through showing you where all his access points are located.

In the Notability Foundations installment, Allison taught you how to use many of the tools in the toolbox, how to convert or search handwritten text, how to draw geometric shapes, how to use Templates for your virtual "paper" and more.

In this tutorial she’ll walk you through some more advanced features covering many ways Notability can be a great companion whether recording lectures (or even Apple keynotes!), more handwriting using Apple Pencil and Zoom View, using the versatile ruler for more precise drawing of lines and shapes, and a lot more. Get ready to take your Notability skills up a few notches.

Notability for iPad requires iPadOS 16.0 or newer.

Notability is a long-standing note-taking app for iPad, iPhone, and Mac, that seems to have no boundaries. In this new foundational tutorial Allison teaches you the nuances of the first half of the tools for creating notes from free-form drawing to vector shapes. You learn about basic templates, and how to share notes.

Allison then continues by showcasing Notability's ability to read and search your handwritten notes or convert them to typed text. Finally, you get to see a few examples of how she uses Notability to capture her ideas and help with a favorite hobby of hers.