You are reading the article Best Notification Center Widgets For Mac In 2023 updated in December 2023 on the website Bellydancehcm.com. We hope that the information we have shared is helpful to you. If you find the content interesting and meaningful, please share it with your friends and continue to follow and support us for the latest updates. Suggested January 2024 Best Notification Center Widgets For Mac In 2023
Notification Center widgets are a must-have for the folks who like keeping an eye on everything that matters a lot to them. Diving deep into the specific apps just to get the latest info about a certain thing time and again can be hugely distractive as well as time-consuming. No longer hop from one app to the other! To ensure all the information you need is just a glance away, we have assembled the best Notification Center Widgets for Mac.
1. Battery Monitor
Trusted by millions of Mac users worldwide, Battery Monitor is a fantastic widget on your Mac. As the name suggests, this widget monitors the battery of your MacBook. Lauded by experts as “INVALUABLE UTILITY” and “NOTIFICATION CENTER WIDGETS”, Battery Monitor helps you access battery information from the menu bar.
Moreover, this widget also shows charge per cent and time in the menu bar. Get detailed battery information, low and full battery alerts, and enjoy nice-looking themes.
2. Things 3
When you think of managing your tasks with complete peace of mind, you shouldn’t look beyond Things 3. Having won the Apple design award 2023 and got four and a half stars out of 271 ratings, it has got the quality to live up to your high-demand.
Noting down thoughts is a breeze with this app! You can either take the help of keyboard shortcut to let you zoom through the task or trigger Siri to get your work done fast. Create a project for each of your target and also take down the steps to accomplish those coveted goals without costing an arm and a leg!
3. PCalc
PCalc doesn’t need any introduction, does it? It’s by far the most adorable calculator app not just for macOS but also iOS. I have used it for long and always found it a cut above the rest.
Features like RPN (Risk Priority Number) mode, multi-line display, intuitive button layouts make it firm favorites for scientists, engineers, and students. There is an extensive set of unit conversion and constants to let you go about the job with the needed flair. With multiple undo and redo on offer, you will never worry about making errors.
4. Chronicle Pro- Bills & Income
Has managing bill been a tedious task for you? Assign this responsibility to the Chronicle to take the stress away from you and also bring out unmatched efficiency into the play. I bet, you will never forget to pay your bill in time!
With custom notifications, the app keeps you alerted about the upcoming bills. Therefore, you never miss out the due dates. You can find out how much you need to save each month for certain bills like car insurance and car registration. Furthermore, you will be able to keep a close watch on the bills and also pay them with ease.
5. Countdown Widget
Are you looking for a timekeeper to keep an eye on your upcoming events so that you will be able to prepare yourself perfectly? You can’t get a more functional timekeeper app than Countdown widget.
It shows exactly how many days have passed or is remaining for all the events that are lined up for you. Thus, your preparation always remains in sync with the gala event!
6. Chronicle Pro – Bills & Income
Keep track of your bills and never miss a payment with this handy app and notification center widget. It offers a one-stop solution to take charge of your finances and keep on top of them. It will show you upcoming bills in your menu bar and notification center so that you’ve always got an eye on what’s due. Further, it’s packed full of features that make it easy to set goals and manage your money better.
That’s all, folks!
What’s your pick?
You might want to take a peek at these posts as well:
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Jignesh
Jignesh Padhiyar is the co-founder of chúng tôi who has a keen eye for news, rumors, and all the unusual stuff around Apple products. During his tight schedule, Jignesh finds some moments of respite to share side-splitting content on social media.
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Change The Notification Center Background Pattern In Mac Os X
Tired of seeing that linen wallpaper in the background of Notification Center of OS X? You can change that linen pattern to something else, giving a nice customized appearance to the Notifications panel when you’re checking alerts on the Mac. There are actually two ways to swap out the Notifications background, the harder manual way by way of the command line, and the easy way using a free third party tool called Mountain Tweaks. We’ll cover both, but we generally recommend the easy MountainTweaks method because it’s faster and remarkably simple. The end result of either method will be a customized Notifications background in OS X:
Let’s get started.
Change the Notification Center Background Wallpaper the Easy Way
Let’s get started.
Before beginning, you’ll need the following:
OS X 10.8 or newer
A dark repeating wallpaper pattern – SubtlePatterns is a good place to start
Technically, the replacement wallpaper image could be lighter, but you’ll find notifications are very hard to read. It also doesn’t need to be a repeating pattern, though it will look much better if a tiling image is used because it becomes repeated if the screen size is larger than the pattern.
Once you’ve downloaded MountainTweaks, unzip it and toss it into your /Applications/ folder, it’s a handy app to have and basically serves as a simple front-end to many defaults write commands that we’ve discussed before. When you have a nice replacement pattern ready, you’re ready to begin:
Open MountainTweaks and choose the “Mountain Lion” tab
Enter the admin password to confirm the changes
That’s about it, slide open Notification Center and check the new background image. In this example, we picked a rather obvious red tiling replacement:
Revert Back to the DefaultHate the new look? It’s very easy to undo:
Open MountainTweaks again and long press the “NO” button next to “Change the Notification Center background”
Enter the admin password again to confirm the changes
This returns the original linen image to the background of Notifications, slide it open to confirm everything is back to normal.
Changing the Notification Center Wallpaper ManuallyFind a suitable pattern replacement, open it in Preview app, and save it as a TIFF image named “linen.tiff” to the desktop – this is important because the replaced file must be converted to a tiff file with the same file name in order to work properly.
Launch Terminal and enter the following command string, this will copy the ‘linen.tiff’ file to your documents folder and serve as a backup. The command is intentionally overly verbose in order to prevent accidents:
sudo cp -R /System/Library/CoreServices/Notification chúng tôi ~/Documents/linen.tiff
Because this uses sudo you’ll likely need to enter the admin password.
Assuming your new ‘linen.tiff’ file is still on the Desktop, use the following command to copy it over the
sudo cp ~/linen.tiff /System/Library/CoreServices/Notification Center.app/Contents/Resources/linen.tiff
Now kill everything for changes to take effect:
killall NotificationCenter;killall SystemUIServer
Slide open the Notifications Center to see your new pattern.
If you want to revert the change manually, just swap out the replaced chúng tôi file with the backed up linen.tiff, then kill NotificationCenter again.
Want to customize the Notification Center a bit more? You can also change its alert sound to something else.
Related
10 Best Duplicate Photo Finder For Mac In 2023
10 Best Duplicate Photo Cleaner For Mac in 2023 Looking out for the best tool to remove photos from Mac? Get for yourself the best duplicate photo finder for Mac.
Why Is A Duplicate File Finder & Remover Important?
An ideal duplicate photo remover tool just takes a quick scan and helps you find and filter all your duplicates. The manual process of finding and removing duplicates takes up a lot of time and effort. Therefore, we have listed here some of the best deals of duplicates finder and remover to help you keep your Mac storage organized. It further helps in removing a considerable amount of disk space.
List of Best Duplicate Photo Finders & Removers for Mac in 2023 1. Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro- The Best Duplicate Photo CleanerDownload Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro
Read Full Review of Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro
Finding and removing duplicate pictures on Mac has been made easy with Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro software for Mac. This is a product by Systweak that is reliable, fast and easy to use. Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro is also available for Windows and Android platforms. With this tool, you can add individual photos, folders, or entire photo libraries to scan for any available duplicates. Not only this, you can also identify similar looking photos i.e. a picture in burst mode, or photo shopped etc. It detects all the picture duplicates whether identical or clearly a duplicate with its features as per your requirements. You can slide the bar of Matching Level, Bitmap Size, Time Interval and GPS to change the geolocation.
Pros
Finds duplicates and identical photos to save Mac’s space.
Easy-to-navigate interface.
Results displayed in groups.
Cons
You can use this amazing tool for $1.99
2. Gemini 2: Clean All Kinds Of Duplicates Including PhotosGemini 2 is a smart tool to find and remove duplicates on your Mac, recovering a lot of storage space in the system. When you add a folder for scabbing, it helps you get a list of all duplicates or similar photos on the screen in a while. As per Gemini 2, ‘Your photos matter, their copies don’t’. This is a simple yet user-friendly tool that gives accurate results at a lighting speed and is counted amongst the best duplicate finders for Mac. It’s smart and robust algorithm makes it a must-have choice for the Mac users.
Pros
Easy to navigate interface for both beginners and experienced users.
A high-end image detection technique to get a list of identical images.
Also allows you to clean identical images from an external drive.
Cons
Consumes more system resources.
3. Duplicate File Finder Remover: Tool That Merge DuplicatesPros
Several customization options available.
Preview files before deleting them.
User-friendly interface.
Cons
Download Now
4. PhotoSweeper X: Clean Duplicate in A GoLet us introduce you with the duplicate picture cleaner that can help you filter the gallery and auto-locks the pictures that has been filtered so that you do not get confused with the sorted and not sorted pictures. PhotoSweeper X is an amazing duplicate photo cleaner software that auto detects and deletes duplicates and identical pictures grouped together at a place on your Mac. Additionally, this amazing tool analyzes iPhoto as well. The tool lets you rename the files in bulk and move them to another folder. You can also make some personal customizations like, you can view photos ‘one by one’, ‘face to face’, and ‘All in one’. You can also recover the deleted photos from trash as well if you haven’t manually deleted everything from the Trash.
Pros
Supports a wide array of file formats
Tweak its settings frequently.
Clean duplicates from both internal and external drives.
Cons
Constant crashes reported.
Download Now
5. Cisdem Duplicate Finder +: Get Graphical Representation of DuplicatesCisdem Duplicate Finder + lets you look for real search results that not only compares the file names but also compares the content within. It ensures that the accuracy is maintained. It scans your Mac inside out for any duplicate photos and files including both inside and external hard drives. The scan speed of this awesome tool is really commendable and the USP of this tool is that it delivers scan results in real-time. Lastly, it makes you understand which photos are taking too much space on your Mac. Get rid of all duplicates in a go with Cisdem Duplicate Finder +.
Pros
Enticing and easy-to-use interface.
Detects similar images and files despite different file names.
Saves time with its faster scanning feature.
Cons
No option to exclude folders while scanning.
[/Cons]
Download Now
6. Duplicate Photo Cleaner: A Simple Tool For BeginnersDuplicate Photo Cleaner is a multiplatform tool that is also available for Windows. It supports image similarity finding function that helps you accurately find duplicates and remove them in a go. It has a distinct image comparison algorithm that it follows to determine duplicate images stored on your Mac. Duplicate Photo Cleaner is a host to special scan mode, flexible settings, and more options. The tool is even used by professional photographers who keeps trying to get free space taken over by multiple duplicates of an image. Organize your photo album with this super easy duplicate finder and remover for Mac.
Pros
Multi-platform utility tool. Also compatible with Windows.
Organize photos in different albums.
Simple interface.
Cons
Download Now
7. Easy Duplicate Finder: Remove Duplicates From CloudPros
Can clean duplicate photos, videos and music.
10+ scan modes for file management.
Find duplicates from both iPhotos and Photos.
Cons
A bit slow and expensive duplicate finder and remover.
Download Now
8. Disk Drill: Scan multiple locations and foldersDisk Drill is yet another amazing duplicate photo cleaner and remover for Mac. It is easy to install and understand for both beginners and pro users. You can scan for any duplicates with the filters that say Auto, Old or Newest files first accordingly. When you select a particular filter, the duplicates will be found and removed as per your choice and the other ones will be kept intact. It is called one of the best free duplicate photo cleaner due to its offerings in the free trial version. You need not have to invest at and you can save a significant amount of space on your Mac quickly.
Pros
User-friendly interface that is quite easy to navigate.
Scans for all kinds of duplicates.
Choose from manual and auto-cleaning functionality.
Cons
A bit complicated tool.
Download Now
9. DupeGuru: Customizable Photo Cleaner ToolPros
Free and easy-to-use duplicate photo cleaner.
Supports several file formats.
Multi-lingual tool.
Cons
No option to preview files.
Download Now
Wrapping UpThat’s all folks! This is how you can easily find and remove duplicate photos from your Mac with no hassle to manually find and remove duplicates. Check these awesome tools and do let us know if you find them useful or not. Also, let us know what has made you choose the particular product. Do tell us if we have missed on any of the best duplicate file finders and removers for Mac.
Keep reading Tweak Library for more top 10 articles.
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Akshita Gupta
9 Best Photo Editing Apps For Mac In 2023 (Free + Paid)
Since its earliest days in the mid-1980s, the creative community has been in love with the Mac. While PCs took over the business world, Mac has always been popular for digital artists thanks to its incredible product design, attention to detail, and ease of use.
Four decades later, that connection still holds true. As a result, there are a massive number of photo editors for Mac available to choose from. If you’re new to photo editing, it can be overwhelming to choose the right one, so this review should help guide you to the best editor for your specific needs.
In case you haven’t already heard of it, Adobe Photoshop is the most capable piece of photo editing software available, and has been for decades. Photoshop has a massive and unrivaled feature set, incredible learning materials and support, and a completely customizable interface. Many users have taken issue with Adobe’s enforced subscription model. If you want to use the best photo editor available, though, Photoshop is the industry standard.
For those looking for a high-quality editor without Photoshop’s baggage, Serif Affinity Photo is a rising star in the editing world and is currently the next-best choice. It’s less intimidating to learn than Photoshop, though it’s much newer and doesn’t have a wealth of support materials available. Serif is hungry to steal market share from Adobe; they’ve been implementing appealing tools and interface changes that often leave Adobe playing catch-up.
For more casual home editing, like holiday snapshots and family pictures, Pixelmator Pro offers easy-to-use filters and editing tools. You won’t get the same range of capabilities as Photoshop or Affinity Photo, but you can learn Pixelmator with almost no training. It plays well with all your other Apple devices and services and is our most affordable option.
On a PC? Also Read: Best Photo Editor for Windows
My Background with Photo Editing on Mac
Hello! As you probably saw in the byline, my name is Thomas Boldt. I’ve worked with digital photographs for over 15 years. Through my writing for SoftwareHow and my own experimentation, I’ve tested nearly every photo editing app on Mac. Or maybe it just feels that way. 😉
My reviews are guided by my experience using photo editors in a professional capacity and my own personal photography. Naturally, I want to use the best possible apps when working on photos, and I’m sure you’d like to do the same.
Selecting The Right Mac Photo Editing Software
Digital photographs are everywhere. People have a near-infinite number of reasons for editing them. The problem is, there’s a near-infinite number of photo editors available. That can be a blessing and a curse when you’re trying to figure out which editor is the best for your situation.
Let’s say you’re a photo expert, and you’re trying to apply Ansel Adams’ famous Zone System in the digital era. You’ll probably want a professional editor that gives you the finest degree of control possible.
If you just need to remove red-eye from your favorite pet snapshot, you might not need pro editing software. Sure, you could buy Photoshop just to do red-eye removal, but that doesn’t mean it’s your best choice.
I’m guessing that most of you probably land somewhere in the middle. However, I explore a wide range of options in this review. Even after we have narrowed the field down to the three best photo editors for Mac, you’ll still need to choose which one best fits your needs.
Before we can get down to the details, some background will help us sort through the huge range of photo editors available for macOS.
At the most basic level, there are two primary approaches to image editing: non-destructive editing, which applies dynamic adjustments to your images that can be modified later, and pixel-based editing, which changes the pixel information in your photo permanently.
Non-destructive editing tools are a great first step. With most of your photos, you won’t need anything more complicated. For the highest degree of control, though, you’ll need to work at the pixel level.
Even in pixel editing, you can (and should!) be using non-destructive techniques such as layering and masking to preserve your source image data. When you’re working on a complex edit or composite, you might not get it right the first time. Even if you have 200 undo steps to work with, that isn’t always enough. Working effectively with layers is essential for a photo editor—and it’ll save you some massive headaches!
In case you’re not familiar with the idea, layers allow you to separate individual elements of your image and control the order in which they are combined. Think of a stack of glass panes, each displaying a different part of your picture. When you view them from the top, you see the entire photo all at once. They’re perfect for fine-tuning more complicated edits, and an absolute must for creating photorealistic composites.
Best Photo Editing Apps for Mac: Our Top Picks
Since there are so many editors out there, and there are so many different reasons for editing photos, I’ve selected winners in three different categories to clarify things. Professionals need the best in every area, while casual photographers probably won’t need a digital Swiss Army knife complete with kitchen sink attachment.
Best Editor for Pros: Adobe Photoshop
Photoshop’s user interface set the tone for most other photo editors: tools on the left, with info panels at the top and right sides
First released in 1990, Photoshop is one of the oldest photo editors still in development. I believe it’s also the only photo editor in history to become a verb. ‘Photoshop’ is often used interchangeably with ‘edit’ the same way people often say ‘Google it’ when they mean ‘search for it online.’
After writing tons of reviews of photo editors, it feels unfair to choose Photoshop as the winner in almost every article. But the impressive range of capabilities it offers just can’t be denied. There are many reasons that it has been the industry standard for decades.
Photoshop contains so many features that most of us will never use them all. Still, its core editing functionality is very impressive. Its layer-based editing tools are powerful, flexible, and perfectly responsive, even when working with large high-resolution images.
If you work with RAW images, you’re covered. Adobe’s built-in Camera RAW program allows you to apply all the standard non-destructive edits to exposure, highlights/shadows, lens correction, and more before opening the RAW image for pixel editing. That being said, Photoshop is best when used for complex edits to specific images, rather than managing a whole RAW photo collection.
While Photoshop is technically a pixel-based editor, adjustment layers also allow you to use masks to apply edits in a non-destructive workflow outside of Camera RAW, which gives you the best of both worlds.
Beyond the realm of basic editing, Photoshop has tools that can be mind-boggling the first time you see them in action. ‘Content-aware fill’ is their newest poster child. It allows you to fill in areas of your photo automatically with image data that matches your existing content.
Essentially, this means the computer makes an educated guess about what should fill in a selected area, even if it involves complicated textures and shapes. It’s not always perfect, but it’s certainly cool. Even if it doesn’t always do a perfect job, content-aware fill can provide a head start when filling in large sections of a missing background.
The only area where Photoshop comes up short is ease of use. This isn’t really Adobe’s fault; it’s simply due to the massive number of tools and features they’ve crammed into the editor. There isn’t really a good way to give you both powerful tools and an uncluttered user interface.
Photoshop now includes a ‘Learn’ section with some appealing tutorials
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by Photoshop the first (or even the hundredth) time you run it, there are millions of guides, tutorials, and other learning materials to help you get up to speed. Adobe has also begun including “official” tutorial links right inside the latest versions of Photoshop to help give new users a leg up. Read my full Photoshop review here.
Best Single-Purchase Editor: Serif Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo’s introductory window
Many programs are competing to unseat Photoshop as the best photo editor. I think the closest contender is the excellent Affinity Photo from Serif. Adobe angered many users with the enforced subscription model it adopted for Photoshop several years ago. This left Serif perfectly positioned. They had a top-notch alternative for photographers, fully functional, that was available as a one-time purchase.
Like many newer editors, Affinity Photo takes much of its interface style from Photoshop. This makes it feel immediately familiar to anyone making the switch. However, there are still a few differences to learn about. New users will appreciate the on-screen introductory tutorial complete with helpful links to additional material.
The Affinity Photo default user interface showcasing my Cephalotus Follicularis
Affinity Photo (or AP for short) separates its features into sections, known as ‘Personas,’ which can be accessed in the top left of the UI: Photo, Liquify, Develop, Tone Mapping, and Export. Photo is where you’ll be doing all your layer-based editing. If you’re working from a RAW photo source, though, the Develop persona will be helpful as a starting point. Tone Mapping is for working with HDR images. For some reason, the Liquify tool gets its own persona.
The Photo persona is where you’ll do most of your complex editing. It’s where you’ll find layer-based edits and other adjustments. Adjustments in the Photo persona are automatically created as non-destructive adjustment layers, allowing you to mask the effect as needed or tweak settings later.
By default, the ‘Layers’ view might be difficult to find nestled under the histogram in small type. But like almost all of the interface, it can be customized. It’s not yet possible to create workspace presets, but I’m hoping AP will stay focused enough on photo editing that it won’t need them.
Affinity Photo’s Assistant settings
One of my favorite new ideas in AP is the Assistant, which automatically handles some basic situations based on a set of customized responses. For example, if you start drawing pixels without selecting a layer first, you can set the Assistant to automatically create a new layer. The options available are limited at the moment. Still, it’s a unique way of handling workflow customization and should only get better as the program matures.
Overall, I find the interface a little confusing, but that’s partly due to all the years of Photoshop habits I have ingrained in me. I don’t understand the point of separating AP’s functions into different modules. That’s a very minor issue, so don’t let it discourage you from giving Affinity Photo a try on your Mac! Read my full Affinity Photo review for more.
Best for Home Users: Pixelmator Pro
By default when you open the program, the Pixelmator Pro interface is super minimalist
Even if you’re not looking for an industry-level photo editor, you probably still want one that’s capable, easy to use, and runs smoothly on your Mac. Pixelmator has been making a name for itself over the last few years with the original version. The latest ‘Pro’ release builds on those successes.
Pixelmator Pro has been built from the ground up as a Mac app. It uses the Mac-only Metal 2 and Core Image graphics libraries to produce terrific results that are perfectly responsive, even when working with large images. Supposedly, this provides an improvement over the previous ‘non-Pro’ version, which I don’t have much experience with.
The essential editing tools in Pixelmator Pro are great. I’m a big fan of the way they handle automatic selection tools. When using the ‘Quick Selection’ tool, a colored overlay sits just below the cursor when moving it across the image, showing you easily and clearly which sections of the image would be selected based on your current settings.
When it comes to extras, Pixelmator Pro has been leaning heavily on ‘machine learning.’ All the tools that benefit from machine learning techniques are labeled ‘ML,’ such as ‘ML Super Resolution,’ in the case of their resolution upscaling tool. It’s not entirely clear how machine learning was used to create the tools found in the program, but that’s probably just me being nit-picky.
Opening up the Layers palette on the left and selecting a tool shows a more typical UI. I particularly like the design of their color picker tools, shown bottom right
The only hesitation I have about recommending Pixelmator comes, oddly enough, from looking at the list of newly-added features to the program. Most of them are things that I would expect to be included in version 1.0 of the program rather than in new updates. The other way to look at that is that it speaks to how intensely the program is being developed.
One of the newly-added items is the Welcome screen, which helps orient new users. Unfortunately, because Pixelmator Pro is relatively new on the scene, there aren’t many more tutorials available than what you can find on their website. The list is growing every day, though. It’s also pretty easy to use without much help once you’ve got your bearings, as long as you’re familiar with other photo editors.
Pixelmator is a solid program with incredible potential guided by a dedicated development team. We may soon see it edging out more traditional professional editors. It’s not quite mature enough to provide the degree of reliability required by the pros, but it’s definitely on its way. Be sure to try it out if you’re looking for the best photo editing software for your Mac!
Read on for a number of other great photo editors.
Other Good Paid Photo Editing Software for Mac
As mentioned in the introduction, there are a vast number of photo editors out there. Every photographer has their own personal preference when it comes to editing styles. If none of the winners suit your taste, then one of these other Mac photo editors may do the trick.
1. Adobe Photoshop Elements
Photoshop Elements in ‘Guided’ mode, showing off some of the special edits that can be done almost automatically
Photoshop Elements hasn’t been around nearly as long as its older cousin. It shares a lot of what earned Photoshop the top recommendation. As you probably guessed from the name, it takes the primary elements of Photoshop’s feature set and simplifies them for the casual user.
It offers an easy-to-use ‘Quick’ editing mode for beginners with a minimal toolset for performing basic edits like cropping and red-eye removal. If you’re completely new to photo editing, ‘Guided’ mode walks you through common editing processes like contrast adjustments, color changes, and more fun options.
Overall, Photoshop Elements is a wonderful introductory photo editor that can act as a stepping stone to more powerful programs. It’s also a solid choice for the casual photographer who doesn’t need a high-powered solution. Unfortunately, at $100 US, it’s priced too high compared to other options, which is one of the few reasons that kept it from winning. Read our detailed review for more.
2. Acorn
Acorn’s default UI style, which feels a bit out of date thanks to its individual panel windows
Acorn is one of the more mature photo editors available for Mac, with the first version released towards the end of 2007. Despite that maturity, it’s underwhelming in terms of the bells and whistles most programs have nowadays. It’s a terrific no-frills photo editor, so you won’t be disappointed as long as you know what you’re getting from the start.
It’s got a great set of tools that can handle the majority of photo editing tasks; you just have to do everything manually. That means there aren’t any automatic selection tools, automatic exposure adjustments, anything like that. I noticed occasional lag when using clone stamping on larger images, such as in the panorama above. However, it wasn’t serious enough to make the tool unusable.
Personally, I find the multi-window UI style quite distracting, especially in a modern world where literally every digital thing is constantly clamoring for attention. A single-window interface minimizes distractions and lets you focus; modern development techniques certainly allow for UI customization within a single window. Acorn does offer a ‘full screen’ mode, but for some reason, it doesn’t feel quite the same to me. Maybe it won’t bother you.
3. Skylum Luminar
The Luminar interface can be customized to show or hide certain aspects, such as the ‘Looks’ preset panel along the bottom and the filmstrip on the right to gain more editing space
Luminar is largely directed at the non-destructive RAW editing market, so it almost didn’t make it into this review. It does offer the ability to use layers for image data and adjustments to give you more control, but this isn’t really its strong suit. Layer-based editing is fairly slow. There was a nearly 10-second delay just to create a new clone stamping layer on my iMac (even after upgrading it to a fast SSD).
It does quite an excellent job of handling non-destructive adjustments across the board and has some interesting tools you won’t find in other programs. I suspect it would be possible to recreate their effects using different tools. Still, some of the sky and landscape enhancement options are quite handy if you shoot a lot of nature scenes.
Luminar is a promising program with powerful adjustments that are easy to use. It’s under active development; Skylum is dedicated to constantly improving it, with several updates being released during the writing of this review. I think it needs to develop a bit more before it’s ready for the winner’s circle. However, it’s still worth a look if the other editors we selected don’t appeal to you. Read our detailed Luminar review for more.
Some Free Mac Photo Editing Apps
While most of the best photo editing software for Mac requires a purchase of some description, there are a few free editors that are worth a look.
GIMP
The GIMP default workspace, featuring ‘Cephalotus follicularis’, a type of carnivorous plant
macOS gets a boost in capability thanks to its Unix background, so it’s only right that we mention one of the most popular Unix-compatible open source photo editors. The Gnu Image Manipulation Program has been around seemingly forever. Despite being free, though, it never really gained much popularity outside of Linux users. Of course, they had almost no choice but to use it, so I’m not sure if that really counts.
GIMP was always held back by an extremely confusing default interface, a huge barrier for new users. Even as an experienced editor, I found it quite frustrating to use. I knew the tools I needed were in there somewhere; it just wasn’t worth it to go digging for them. Fortunately, the UI problem has been solved at last, and GIMP is now worth another look.
Editing tools are responsive and effective, although the new UI still doesn’t extend too deeply into the program, which can make tweaking some settings more frustrating than I’d like. That said, you can’t argue with the price, and GIMP is still under active development. Hopefully, the new focus on improving the UI will continue as new versions are released.
PhotoScape X
The Photoscape X welcome screen, complete with a strange (but helpful) layout of tutorials
I’m not sure if PhotoScape should really be in the ‘Free Alternatives’ category. It’s available as a free program with an unlockable paid ‘Pro’ version, but the free version still has some decent editing capabilities.
Unfortunately, most of the powerful tools require the purchase to unlock. Old standards like Curves adjustments, hue/saturation, and other important tools are unavailable, though you can still get similar effects with less precise free tools.
It almost feels like the entirety of the free version is designed to act as a storefront for the paid offerings, which might make sense from a business perspective but disappoints me as a user. It also makes me less inclined to purchase the full program, but you may find that the free version does the trick for your more basic editing needs.
Special Mention: Apple Photos
This might seem like a strange option to include, but Apple’s official Photos app does have some basic editing options. You won’t be creating digital masterpieces with it, but sometimes the best tool is the one you’ve got at hand. If you only want to crop and resize (or maybe just make a dank meme), this might be what you need. I’ve often chafed at the idea of loading Photoshop to do a simple crop and resize.
Probably the best part about it is the excellent integration with your iCloud photo library. If you’re already fully embracing the Apple ecosystem, it might be a good choice for really basic editing—though perhaps it’s really best for demonstrating the importance of choosing one of our winning selections instead! 😉
How We Tested and Picked These Mac Photo Editors
Layer-based Pixel Editing
Obviously, editing features are the most critical part of a photo editor! As I mentioned earlier, having the ability to dive down to the pixel level is essential for complex editing and compositing. All the pixel editors we selected as winners do non-destructive edits. Without the ability to drill down to the pixel level, they wouldn’t make the cut. As a result, I’ve left exclusively non-destructive editors like Adobe Lightroom out of this review.
In addition to managing adjustments to exposure, color balance, and sharpness, the ideal editor should make it easy to work with specific sections of your photo through masking tools, brushes, and layer management.
Effective selection tools are a must for working with pixel-based layers. Ideally, the best editor includes a wide range of selection options to isolate specific areas you want to work with. Automatic selection tools can be helpful when working with delicate image areas like hair, fur, or other complex shapes.
If automatic selection tools can’t do the job, the ability to completely customize your brush tools makes manual selection easier. Brush adjustments are also helpful for the clone stamping and texture healing processes used in more complex photo reconstructions.
Going Above and Beyond
To really shine, a good editor should go above and beyond a reliable set of basic editing tools. These aren’t exactly essential features for a photo editor, but they are definitely perks.
This is just one example of emerging photo editing techniques. While they’re cool, though, it’s important to remember they’re still ‘extras.’ Blade Runner-level photo editing features can’t save a program that has problems with basic functionality.
Ease of Use
The best tools in the world are worthless if they are impossible to use. Some developers go out of their way to create a great experience for new users (and for more experienced ones as well).
Little bonuses like welcome screens, introductory tutorials, and comprehensive tooltips can make a big difference in how easy a program is to use. Distinct icons, legible typography, and sensible design are also essential (but sometimes tragically overlooked).
Customization is a nice perk for ease of use. Setting up the interface just the way you want allows for more streamlined workflows. If you’re trying to focus on a specific task, you don’t need to have the UI cluttered with a bunch of tools and panels you’re not using.
Tutorials & Support
In addition to tutorials, you’ll need help if something goes wrong. Most programs offer some kind of online tech support forum to help both new and experienced users. However, for a forum to be useful, it needs to be filled with active users and provide an official path back to the developers for more detailed customer support.
10 Best Email Client For Mac (2023 Update)
Email client is a software application that enables configuring one or more email addresses to receive, read, compose, and send emails from that email address(s). It also provides a central interface for receiving, composing, and sending emails of a configured email address(s).
Following is a handpicked list of Top Email Client for mac, with their popular features and website links. The list contains both open source (free) and commercial (paid) software.
Best Email Client & App for Mac: (Free & Paid)
SaneBox is the leading email organization tool for 12+ years called a “lifesaver” by PCMagazine, saving you at least 3 hours of time per week. SaneBox uses powerful AI to keep your inbox organized for you.
#1 Top Pick
SaneBox
5.0
Email Tracking: Yes
Send Email Later: Yes
Encryption: AES 256-bit
Free Trial: 14 Days Free Trial (No credit card required)
Visit SaneBox
Features:
Analyzes your email habits to mimic your behavior.
High-priority emails get pushed to the top of your inbox
Less important emails get filed away for later.
Turn off email notifications when you need a break.
Collects all newsletters so you can read through them later.
SaneBox Snooze banishes less-urgent email until a better time.
Works with all email clients, including Gmail, Yahoo!, Apple Mail and Outlook
14 Days Free Trial (No credit card required)
#2
Clean Email
4.9
Email Tracking: Yes
Send Email Later: Yes
Encryption: 256-bit AES-CBC
Free Trial: 14 Days Free Trial
Visit Clean Email
Features:
Instead of focusing on individual emails, it segments your mailbox using rules and filters.
Allows you to move your Email to Trash, Remove, Archive, Apply Labels, Move between Folder
You can also unsubscribe from unwanted emails and block unwanted recipients.
Able to remove thousands of emails by directly communicating with your mailbox.
Seamlessly integrates with OneDrive
Offers Quick Clean, Smart Views, Email Groups, Filters and Sorting, Automate tasks with Auto Clean, and Regular Summaries
Supports Protocol like POP3, IMAP, and SMTP
Provides Labels, filters, and folders for inbox management
CleanMail protects your data using 256-bit AES-CBC encryption
Offers 20 GB storage space
Works with all major email services like Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, iCloud, Hotmail, and Outlook
Provides Instant messaging, Undo send, Snooze, Chat Option, Email tracking, and Send Email Later
Offers Tasks and To-Do Lists, Customizable Layout, Dark Theme, Notifications, Calendar, and Reminders
It provides customer support via Contact Form
Supported Platforms: Web, Mac, Android, and iOS
Price: Plans start at $9 a month. 4% Discount on Yearly Payment.
Free Trial: 14 Days Free Trial
14 Days Free Trial
Shift is the desktop app, email that streamlines your accounts, apps, and workflows. It enables you to access multiple Google & Microsoft accounts. It allows you to create custom workspaces inside Shift and invite people to collaborate.
#3
Shift
4.8
Email Tracking: Yes
Send Email Later: Yes
Encryption: 256-bit AES-CBC
Free Trial: 7 Days Free Trial
Visit Shift
Features:
It helps you to find anything across your accounts.
You can connect all your email accounts and your favorite web apps.
It allows you to create and share focused Workspaces with mission-critical tabs.
It integrates with G Suite apps, Facebook, and Slack
It also allows you to toggle between multiple Gmail, Outlook & Office 365 accounts.
It helps you to browse by account.
You can add extensions to shift. These extensions include things like Grammarly, HubSpot, and Zoom.
Offers Work faster with Chrome Extensions, Zero in with Focused Web Tabs, Google Services, and Microsoft Apps
Supports Protocol like POP3, and IMAP
Provides Labels, and filters for inbox management
Shift protects your data using 256-bit AES-CBC encryption
Offers 30 GB storage space
Works with all major email services like Gmail, Outlook, and Office 365
Provides Instant messaging, Undo send, Snooze, Chat Option, Email tracking, and Send Email Later
Offers Tasks and To-Do Lists, Customizable Layout, Dark Theme, Notifications, Calendar, and Reminders
It provides customer support via Chat, Ticket, and Email
Supported Platforms: Windows, and Mac
Price: Plans start at $129 a month.
Free Trial: 7 Days Free Trial
7 Days Free Trial
EM Client is a strong competitor of Outlook that has an easy-to-use interface. This application helps you to manage email, calendar, contacts, and tasks. It can be used for Windows and Mac.
#4
eM Client
4.8
Email Tracking: Yes
Send Email Later: Yes
Encryption: AES 256-bit, AES 128-bit, AES 192-bit, and PGP
Free Trial: 30 Days Free Trial
Visit eM Client
Features:
It supports PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption.
You can take a backup of your email.
This product supports the autoreply email.
You can add tables and resize any cell effortlessly.
Em client allows you to change images size, rotate, and flip.
Seamlessly integrates with Nextcloud, Zoom, Google Drive, IceWarp, Kerio, and MDaemon
Offers Superfast Search, Touch support, Localization, Automatic back-up tool, Instant translation for all messages, Watch for replies and Snooze function, Search within attached documents and Templates, Signatures, Conversations, Secure Communication, Spell Check, Phishing Protection, and Automatic Archiving
Supports Protocol like IMAP, POP3, Exchange (EWS), and AirSync
Provides Labels, and filters for inbox management
EM Client protects your data using AES 256-bit, AES 128-bit, AES 192-bit, and PGP encryption
Offers 4 GB storage space
Provides Instant messaging, Undo send, Snooze, Chat Option, Email tracking, and Send Email Later
Works with all major email services like Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Yahoo, and Microsoft Exchange
Offers Tasks and To-Do Lists, Customizable Layout, Dark Theme, Notifications, Calendar, and Reminders
It provides customer support via Email
Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS
Price: Plans start at $27 a month.
Free Trial: 30 Days Free Trial
30 Days Free Trial
Microsoft Outlook 365 is an email client software application for mac devices. It offers email, calendar, and contact all in one place. Outlook provides easy collaboration with other office apps like Ms- Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
#5
Microsoft Outlook
4.7
Email Tracking: No
Send Email Later: Yes
Encryption: AES 256-bit, AES 128-bit, and AES 192-bit
Free Trial: 30 Days Free Trial
Visit Outlook
Features:
Helps you to say organized and plan ahead
It also helps you to protect your confidential information
Automatic deactivation of unsafe links that contains phishing scams, viruses, or malware.
Data encryption in your mailbox and after email is sent.
Allows you to manage multiple calendars in one view
Seamlessly integrates with OneDrive, Outlook, Skype, OneNote, and Microsoft Teams
Offers Free access to Office apps, Data encryption, Automatic deactivation, and Ransomware detection
Supports Protocol like POP, POP3, IMAP, and SMTP
Provides Labels, and filters for inbox management
Outlook protects your data using AES 256-bit, AES 128-bit, and AES 192-bit encryption
Offers 250 GB storage space
Works with all major email services like Hotmail, Gmail, iCloud, and Yahoo
Provides Instant messaging, Undo send, Snooze, Chat Option, and Send Email Later
Offers Tasks and To-Do Lists, Customizable Layout, Dark Theme, Notifications, Calendar, and Reminders
It provides customer support via Email, and Community
Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS
Price: Plans start at $129.99 a month.
Free Trial: 30 Days Free Trial
30 Days Free Trial
6) SuperhumanSuperhuman is a highly exclusive email client which is only available for Gmail users on macOS and iOS devices. It has a simple user interface that helps users to navigate seamlessly. It offers extensive built-in keyboard shortcuts, which reduce the time you need to spend writing and managing emails.
#6
Superhuman
4.5
Email Tracking: Yes
Send Email Later: Yes
Encryption: PGP
Free Trial: 7 Days Free Trial
Visit Superhuman
Features:
Provides AI-based important emails filter
Important messages will be automatically flagged, enabling you to deal with them promptly.
You can undo an email that you didn’t mean to send
Seamlessly integrates with Zapier
Offers great UI, 100MS RULE, UNDO Send, and Triage
Supports Protocol like POP3, IMAP, and SMTP
Provides Labels, and filters for inbox management
SuperHuman protects your data using PGP encryption
Offers 65 GB storage space
Works with all major email services like Gmail, Outlook, Zoho
It provides customer support via Email
Offers Tasks and To-Do Lists, Customizable Layout, Dark Theme, Notifications, Calendar, and Reminders
Provides Instant messaging, Undo send, Snooze, Chat Option, Email tracking, and Send Email Later
Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux
Price: Plans start at $30 a month. 8% Discount on Yearly Payment.
Free Trial: 7 Days Free Trial
7) Mozilla ThunderbirdMozilla Thunderbird is an open-source, cross-platform email suite. It is one of the best Mac mail applications that provides easy to use wizard for setting account. This software helps you to personalize the email the way you like.
Features:
You can quickly add people to your address book.
This best email client for Mac provides a reminder for attachment before sending an email.
You can filter mails by new messages, people, and tags.
Thunderbird automatically checks for updates.
You can share a link of large files in your mail instead of the attachment itself.
It provides protection from phishing, a method to obtain sensitive information like credit card details, passwords, etc.
You can manage multiple email accounts by combining archive, inbox, or sent folder.
Seamlessly integrates with GNOME 3
Supports Protocol like POP, POP3, IMAP, SMTP, and SSL/TLS
Provides Labels, and filters for inbox management
Mozilla Thunderbird protects your data using AES 256-bit, and PGP encryption
Offers 4 GB storage space
Works with all major email services like Gmail, Outlook, GMX Mail, and Yahoo
Offers Tasks and To-Do Lists, Customizable Layout, Dark Theme, Notifications, Calendar, and Reminders
Provides Instant messaging, Undo send, Snooze, Email tracking, and Send Email Later
It provides customer support via Email
Supported Platforms: Windows, Android, Mac, and Linux
Price: Request a Quote from Sales
Free Trial: 14 Days Free Trial
8) Apple MailApple Mail is a strong Outlook competitor designed for iPad, iPhone, and more. You can easily manage your email accounts from this app.
Features:
You can share files with others.
It is one of the best Gmail client for Mac which allows you to send unlimited messages to anyone.
Seamlessly integrates with Salesforce, SAP, IBM, and GE
Offers Portrait mode, Grid view, Voice Isolation mode, Wide Spectrum mode, translation support, Focus customization, Allowed interruptions, Auto-reply, Custom Smart Folders, Drag and drop content between devices, Cross-device management, Automator compatibility, and Advanced scripting
Supports Protocol like POP3, and IMAP
Provides Labels, filters, and folders for inbox management
Apple Mail protects your data using AES 256-bit, and PGP encryption
Offers 50 GB storage space
Works with all major email services like Gmail, Hotmail, Live, Outlook, Yahoo, MSN, iCloud, and AOL
It provides customer support via Phone
Offers Tasks and To-Do Lists, Customizable Layout, Dark Theme, Notifications, Calendar, and Reminders
Provides Instant messaging, Undo send, Snooze, Chat Option, Email tracking, and Send Email Later
Supported Platforms: Mac, and iOS
Price: Plans start at $8 a month.
Free Trial: 7 Days Free Trial
9) BluemailBluemail is an email client that is capable of managing an unlimited number of mail accounts. It is one of the best free email client for Mac that allows for smart push notifications and group emailing. This tool enables you to personalize multiple email accounts.
Features:
You can mark messages to handle later and set reminders for them.
It is one of the best mail client for Mac that allows you to access calendars and plan events.
You can seamlessly switch from one theme to another.
Bluemail helps you to count unread emails.
You can filter out starred emails.
This best mac email app provides security through encryption.
Seamlessly integrates with Gmail
Offers Unified Messaging, BlueMail, iMail, Later Board, and Share Email
Supports Protocol like POP, POP3, IMAP, and SMTP
Provides Labels, and filters for inbox management
Bluemail protects your data using PGP, TLS, and AES encryption
Offers 25 GB storage space
Works with all major email services like Office365, Exchange, and Google
Provides Undo send, Snooze, Chat Option, Email tracking, and Send Email Later
Offers Tasks and To-Do Lists, Dark Theme, Notifications, and Calendar
It provides customer support via Email
Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS
Price: Plans start at $5 a month.
Free Trial: 7 Days Free Trial
10) Mailspring
Mailspring is a simple open-source email app for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It supports IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) and Office 365. It is one of the best Mac mail client app that allows you to undo send items.
Features:
You can get email read receipts.
It is localized into nine languages.
This app provides support for touch and gesture.
You can quickly add a signature to the email.
It can translate the English message in numerous available options of language.
Mailspring detects the language you are using and automatically spellchecks in that language.
Seamlessly integrates with Microsoft 365, Gmail, iCloud, Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo! Mail, and Fastmail
Offers Read receipts, Link tracking, Company overviews, Actionable mailbox insights, Touch and gesture support, Advanced shortcuts, Lightning-fast search, Unified Inbox, Advanced Search, Signatures, Translation, Spell Check, and Extensive Localization
Supports Protocol like IMAP, and SMTP
Provides Labels, and filters for inbox management
Mailspring protects your data using PGP encryption
Works with all major email services like Gmail, iCloud, Office 365, Outlook, and Yahoo
Provides Instant messaging, Undo send, Snooze, Chat Option, and Send Email Later
Offers Tasks and To-Do Lists, Customizable Layout, Dark Theme, Notifications, Calendar, and Reminders
It provides customer support via Email
Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux
Price: Plans start at $8 a month.
Free Trial: 14 Days Free Trial
11) SparkSpark is a software package that automatically categorizes emails for secure processing. It is one of the best email client for Mac which allows you to pin or snooze emails. You can invite your teammates to create mail together.
Features:
You can find your email quickly by using a natural language search.
This program has pre-written emails for replying to emails fast.
You can set reminders to follow up important emails.
It enables you to add a signature in your email.
Spark helps you to personalize sidebar, swipes, and widget.
You can receive a notification only when an important message comes into your inbox.
Seamlessly integrates with Dropbox, Box, iCloud Drive, OneDrive, Evernote, and Google Drive
Offers Smart Inbox, Smart Search, Email Signatures, Email delegation, Attachments, and Personalization
Supports Protocol like POP, POP3, IMAP, and SMTP
Provides Labels, and filters for inbox management
Spark protects your data using PGP encryption
Offers 5 GB storage space
Works with all major email services like Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, Hotmail, Aol, GMX, and Microsoft Exchange
Provides Instant messaging, Undo send, Snooze, Chat Option, and Email tracking
Offers Tasks and To-Do Lists, Dark Theme, Notifications, Calendar, and Reminders
It provides customer support via Contact Form
Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS
Price: Plans start at $6.39 a month. 9% Discount on Yearly Payment.
Free Trial: 14 Days Free Trial
FAQs ❓ What is Email Client?An Email client is a software application that enables users to configure one or more email addresses to read, receive, compose, and send emails from that email address(s). It also provides a central interface for receiving, composing, and sending emails of a configured email address(s). It allows users to easily access and manage their emails.
💻 What are the Best Email Clients for Mac? ❗ Does Apple have an Email Client?Yes, Apple does have an Email client called iCloud Mail. It allows users to access photos, videos, documents, contacts and emails. Users can use this service by creating their Apple ID.
8 Best Media Center Software For Windows Pc
8 Best Media Center Software for Windows PC [2023 List]
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The Windows Media Center (WMC) was a part of Windows platforms up to Win 8.1 but it went under with the newer versions of Windows.
However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t still turn your PC into a multimedia center with the right tools and resources.
Dedicated third-party software solutions can help you replace WMC’s capabilities with minimum effort, and enjoy multimedia content on your PC once again.
Plus, you can stream thousands of great shows using very intuitive platforms that offer media support.
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To fix Windows PC system issues, you will need a dedicated tool
Fortect is a tool that does not simply cleans up your PC, but has a repository with several millions of Windows System files stored in their initial version. When your PC encounters a problem, Fortect will fix it for you, by replacing bad files with fresh versions. To fix your current PC issue, here are the steps you need to take:
Download Fortect and install it on your PC.
Start the tool’s scanning process to look for corrupt files that are the source of your problem
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The Windows Media Center (WMC) was a part of Windows platforms up to Win 8.1. However, Microsoft has now discontinued the WMC, which effectively removed many of its multimedia options from Windows 10.
The Media Center gave you a central place to organize video, images, and music and establish a home theater setup. If you need a replacement for the WMC in Windows 10, there are a number of third-party media centers that can fill the void.
First, note that media center software is not the same as media players. Media players are primarily designed for music and video playback and lack some of the options you would expect to find in standard media centers.
All-in-one media centers enable users to organize their videos, games, music, and images and play multimedia content on both PC and connected TV within a home theater setup.
The software also includes options that enable users to stream TV programs and films, watch and record live TV, and play photo slideshows.
What is the best Media Center software for Windows 10?PlayOn is a beneficial platform for any user who needs a solid media streaming service. As a media center, it offers one of the most qualitative media content online.
The most important concept of this program is that you can watch shows from streaming resources, using directly your PC to record them. At the same time, it is possible to enjoy your favorite movies offline.
Hence this software is everything you need for media consumption due to its rich library of content. You can practically record any movie you desire from streaming apps like Netflix, HBO, Disney+, Hulu, or Amazon and watch them later.
Either you prefer the desktop version or the cloud one, both are effective and provide satisfying media services. There are some differences between those two, which you can check on their official website.
Thus on the cloud version, you benefit from better video quality and closed captioning for your movies, assuring relaxing experiences when watching your favorite shows.
PlayOn
Enjoy awesome shows online with this media center that presents high-quality recording services.
Check priceVisit website
Plex is a more unique media center software with a client-server model. In other words, the software enables you to stream, or share, your media with multiple devices.
As such, Plex Media Server software is required along with a Plex front-end app, which you can add to Windows 10 from this web page.
The Windows app might be freely available, but it limits media playback to one minute unless you unlock it with in-app purchase or a monthly Plex Pass subscription.
Plex is a great software to organize music, videos, and image collections with. The software supports almost all music and video formats, and its library UI presents your media with artwork, bios, plot summaries, and more besides.
Users can obtain online content from many sources, such as NPR, Comedy Central, and Spike. The music player can also show you timed lyrics of songs, which is a novelty.
Unlike other media centers, Plex enables you to set up multiple user accounts and place restrictions on unsuitable content. Recent updates have also added DVR recording to Plex with access to 86 of Nielsen’s most-watched shows.
What really sets Plex apart from some of the other media centers is content streaming.
With a Plex Pass subscription, users can sync media between a wide range of devices, such as phones, tablets, digital media players, and game consoles.
You can also sync media to Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box cloud storage. So if you have photos, music, or videos on both a laptop and tablet, you can quickly open all the media on both devices with Plex apps.
⇒ Get Plex
This software was originally XBMC (Xbox Media Center) but is now more widely known as Kodi. Kodi is one of the foremost third-party media centers that’s compatible with various platforms.
Kodi media center supports all the main video and audio file formats for playback, and it enables you to stream content from various online media streaming services.
With a little configuration, users can access expansive TV show and movie libraries that include poster, disc, and banner art. You can watch and record live TV within the Kodi GUI.
The software has extensive GUI customization options with which you can configure Kodi’s skins (or theme), screensaver, background wallpaper, GUI audio effects, home page buttons, font, add-on shortcuts, and more besides.
Kodi also has some amazing music visualization effects.
For instance, with the ROM Collection Browser users can browse and launch retro games within the media center.
Exodus is one of the more notable third-party add-ons for Kodi with which you can stream and watch a plethora of blockbuster movies and TV shows.
⇒ Get Kodi
MediaMonkey is a great choice for all of you which does not organize its video and music collection. If your ‘Music’ and ‘Movies’ folders are a mess – this is the right software. You can tag, categorize and make selections of your files.
If you have to switch from iTunes or Windows Media Player, you will be able to import your playlists and selections in Media Monkey and use it without any problems. You can customize the way it looks so you can personalize the lists with genres, albums, musicians, tracks.
You can install it on your Windows 7, 8, 10 devices without any problems – it is fully optimized for these versions. It can be used in more than 15 languages and it does not slow down your computer.
Thereby using this software you can better organize your media files and find every movie or song in one place, and just press a button when you’re in the mood for enjoyment.
⇒ Get Media Monkey
Expert tip:
Shortly, this app is completely free and offers valuable services like media distribution of movies, music, or TV shows. It is possible to collect any media content you want and access it right away.
Thus the given support is unlimited and satisfies all preferences in terms of entertainment. The server provided by this platform allows free downloading and media streaming in the blink of an eye.
Plus, you can set up your live TV and record any program you prefer to add to your library. And regarding support, you can watch your media on the fly.
Even if you prefer to watch away from the PC, on your Android or iOS device you can. So you can stream content on a Fire TV device or via Kodi installation in order to transport your media anywhere.
⇒ Get Jellyfin
MediaPortal is a Kodi descendent as its original source code was forked from that media center. However, MediaPortal bears relatively little resemblance to Kodi. This is open-source media center software exclusively for Windows.
You can add either MediaPortal 1 or 2 to Windows from this page; although MP2 is the latest version it has fewer skins and plug-ins.
MediaPortal provides a visual extravaganza with some stunning skins to choose from.
The software has a more extensive selection of skins than Kodi that come in a variety of styles and have full-screen fan art, alternative themes, add-ons, and many customization options.
MediaPortal also has skins configured for more specific screen sizes, high-definition resolution, and touch screen devices.
Users can watch live TV from thousands of channels and record programs to their hard disks, and MediaPortal comes with its own TV Guide.
You can listen to and record radio, play image slideshows with transition effects, check the weather, and play Tetris and Sudoku games that come bundled with the software.
There are also 246 official plug-ins for MediaPortal, which include WiFiRemote that enables users to navigate the software with a variety of remote control devices.
⇒ Get Media Portal
Emby is another media center with a centralized database for multiple clients. Thus, Emby has its own server much the same as Plex.
It has apps for lots of operating systems and devices, and you can add Emby Theater to the more recent Windows platforms by pressing the Download button on this page.
Alternatively, you can add the software’s app to Windows 10 mobiles from its Store page. You’ll need an annual Emby Premiere subscription to play media in the apps.
The Live TV Guide is a handy addition to the theater app, and with the Emby DVR, you can schedule TV recordings. Emby also has some handy plug-ins such as Cover Art, which you can enhance media images with, and GameBrowser that enables game support.
Media streaming is Emby’s greatest asset, and for that, it includes centralized database management that users can use with straightforward web tools.
Emby has 20 apps for Android and iOS mobiles and tablets, game consoles and digital media players, which include Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Android TV and Apple TV.
As such, you can bring your media together across a range of hardware. The media streaming also enables you to sync and back up music, video, and photos to cloud storage.
⇒ Get Emby
JRiver MC was originally Media Jukebox, but the publisher has expanded the software so that it’s now a full-blown media center.
This is comprehensive media center software with extensive options and tools and support for audio, images, music, TV, and even DLNA network devices. JRiver MC is proprietary software for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
JRiver MC is especially good for video and TV playback. The software boasts an innovative Red October system that automatically configures DirectShow filters to ensure quality video playback.
The media center supports TV tuners from most manufacturers for live TV playback and even enables users to record high-definition TV.
Users can play online videos with JRiver MC’s integrated YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix services. The software also has five alternative view modes, and its Theater View is ideally suited for TVs and touch screen devices.
JRiver MC isn’t quite in the same league as Plex or Emby when it comes to media streaming, but with its DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) support you can still share your media across desktops, laptops, and other devices that support the DLNA protocol.
The software has a Media Network that you can share media on. The Media Network also supports external interfaces so you can configure Android and iOS devices as remote controllers or servers.
JRiver MC even has its own Id network hardware available in various configurations.
Those are five of the best alternatives to the Windows Media Center. With JRiver MC, Kodi, MediaPortal, Plex, and Emby you can transform your desktop or laptop into a home theater PC connected with TV.
Even if you don’t need a full HTPC, the software still provides a great platform to browse through and organize your music, video, and photo libraries and play media content with.
⇒ Get JRiver Media Center
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