5 app recommendations in May 2023

It's time again for the presentation of five helpful macOS programs that make it easier for you to use the Apple Mac and the content that can be accessed with it. This month there are apps from a wide variety of areas - a comprehensive tool for using TimeMachine backups, an interactive anatomy teaching program, a tool for quickly and easily recording individual program windows or displays, a kind of "curtain" to pretend a tidy or clean room .empty macOS desktop, and a tool for dropping widgets on the same. Enjoy trying out BackupLoupe, Complete Anatomy 23, Focus Window Recorder, Backdrop X and WidgetWall.

1. BackupLoupe

The BackupLoupe app is a useful alternative to Apple's native viewing of TimeMachine backups, reviewing the biggest space wasters within those backups, and restoring backed-up content. The zoma-zone developers even promise that BackupLoupe can help even when the TimeMachine reaches its limits. If it no longer recognizes old backups or fails to restore individual files from them, the BackupLoupe app should be able to do just that. I have this App Haven't tried it myself, but read a lot of praise for it in several places. It is off on a 64-bit Mac (Intel or Apple Silicon). macOS 10.13 High Sierra available.

  • Name: BackupLoupe
  • Category: Utilities
  • Price: Free trial version (limited functions) and €19,75 for the full version
  • Info and download: Website

2. Complete Anatomy 2023

With Complete Anatomy 2023 you get a comprehensive anatomy tutorial on the Apple Mac. The app stops working macOS 10.15 Catalina and can be used completely free of charge for the first three days (an account is still required). Various licenses are available for further use (Student License €39,99 to €49,99, Professional License €102,99 to €119,99 and Institutional License on request). In addition to studying medicine and refreshing anatomical knowledge, Complete Anatomy could also be of interest to anyone else who deals with the human body - for health and fitness reasons, for example. Tip: To purchase the full version license, look not only in the Mac App Store, but also on the website. It could be cheaper then.

  • Title: Complete Anatomy 2023
  • Category: Tutorials
  • Price: Free 3-day trial and full licenses at various prices
  • Info: Website
  • Download: Mac App Store

3. Focus Window Recorder

Called “Focus Window Recorder” in the App Store but simply installed on the Mac as “Focus Recorder”, the app helps you to record individual displays or program windows. So, if you need a video to show activity on a specific screen or from a single app, you might find it worth the free download. After installing, sharing screen access and choosing where to save screen videos, you will find Focus Recorder as a circle icon in the menu bar. From there you can select individual displays and programs to record. Various options can be set for this, e.g. B. whether the mouse pointer should be visible in the video.

  • Name: Focus Window Recorder
  • Category: Utilities / Developer Tools
  • Price: Free
  • Info and download: Mac App Store

4. Backdrop X

Hiding desktop icons on Mac goes hand in hand with screen recording or broadcasting. If you don't want to see which drives, files and folders you have stored on the macOS desktop, the Backdrop X app can help you. It places your current background image or other graphic as a full-screen window over the desktop. If you are familiar with the name and concept of Backdrop, yes, this is the official successor to the shareware app that Jonathan Gary brought to the Mac back in the 1990s. Like him revealed in April he found an article about his old app in a Japanese software guide from back then and created a modern update out of nostalgia.

  • Name: Backdrop X
  • Category: Utilities
  • Price: Free
  • Info and download: Mac App Store

5. Widget Wall

Finally, let's stay with the Mac desktop. If you click on the clock at the top right or drag several fingers from the right edge to the left on the trackpad, you can display widgets. However, these are not permanent. If you want certain folders, calendar overviews, system data, ChatGPT quick access, music playback, a larger selection of apps than in the dock, the calculator, the weather, a larger time display and / or the like permanently on your desk , should check out WidgetWall. You can find the WidgetWall app in the app package from Setapp. You can now get over 240+ full versions for just €9,99 a month. 

  • Name: WidgetWall
  • Category: Productivity / Utilities
  • Price: Setapp subscription for only 9,99 euros per month (incl. 240+ additional apps)
  • Info and download: Setapp

Setapp offers over 240 full versions of the app at a low subscription price

MacPaw's Setapp offers more than our previous app recommendations combined. Because the software subscription brings you more than 9,99 apps as a full version with all updates and without advertising on the Mac from $240 per month. You only install Setapp for the time being and then look for exactly the apps from the overview that appeal to you. On the Website of the offer you will already find all titles from the categories Maintenance, Lifestyle, Productivity, Mac Hacks, Developer Tools, Task Management, Writing & Blogging, Education, Creativity and Personal Finance listed. CleanMyMac X is there as well as VPN, news, graphics, video, text, multimedia and other solutions. Check it out ;)

All previous app recommendations for 2023

All "App Recommendations" posts that I published between June 2021 and December 2022 can be found here: The best Mac apps for 2023 - app recommendations for all areas of application. But even in the year 2023 itself, I will again create an overview each month with five practical Mac apps. And that's why there are already listings of Mac app recommendations from January, February, March and April of this year: 

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