Get more out of your device
Are you looking for the best 360º editing software to use on your, mobile, PC or Mac? These are the best that are available for editing your 360° photos and videos while at home or on the fly. Remember because you’re using a specific make of camera, that doesn’t mean that you’re stuck using their software. All are FREE unless stated. Best Panoramic Photo Apps. This is not strictly a panorama app, though you can use it that way. This one is intended more to take 360 degree views of some object, for example, an item you want. This week Apple revealed their picks for best apps of the year 2020. This is what Apple calls their “App Store Best of 2020” and, unlike Google’s very similar list, they’ve siphoned down. 'A web-based app that lets you plan and visualize your ideal home, using just your Web browser.' Best for Mobile: Homestyler at Homestyler 'Homestyler is a free app, and available on both iOS and Android mobile platforms.' Best Splurge: Chief Architect Premier at Chief Architect 'If budget isn't a concern, it's the best that there is, period.'
It’s no secret that Macs offer excellent speed, flexibility, and a streamlined user experience. One of the world’s favorite computer operating systems, macOS may lag behind Windows in terms of market share, but it certainly has a loyal following.
Whether you’re new to Mac computers and macOS or you’ve been a devotee for years, you might be missing out on some of the things your device can do. To help you supercharge your Mac experience, we’ve compiled 10 top tips and apps.
Let’s get started with keeping your computer safe so you can enjoy it for years to come…
1. ExpressVPN
One of the world’s leading Virtual Private Network (VPN) providers, ExpressVPN has a dedicated VPN for Mac users. Using a VPN ensures that your activity is hidden from any would-be attackers and encrypts your data transmissions, meaning that no one else can access your device through a backdoor.
As an added bonus, your VPN app allows you to spoof your IP address’s location, so you can use it to stream content from all over the globe, no matter where you’re located. Once thought of as primarily privacy tools, VPNs have risen to the fore in recent years and are now recognized as powerful security tools in their own right.
2. App Cleaner
Is your Mac device getting slower? It could be time to ditch any unnecessary apps that run in the background. App Cleaner is a nifty little tool that makes it simple to uninstall and remove unwanted software and any deeply hidden program files. Drag and drop the apps you want to remove into the App Cleaner window, click remove, and the task is done. Simple.
Plus, unlike many others of its kind, it’s completely free of charge unless you choose to make a donation.
3. LastPass
There’s a reason that the LastPass password manager appears on so many lists of the best apps, and that’s because it simply works, and works well.
These days, it’s not smart to use simple passwords or repeat passwords across accounts or websites. So having a tool that helps you generate and store long, complex passwords is invaluable.
You sign in to LastPass with a single master password and then your login details for any number of sites will automatically fill. Choose between the browser extension and the app, but the latter may be a better choice for Mac users.
4. VLC
Since its inception in 2001, VLC, a multiformat video player app has remained incredibly popular. While Mac’s dedicated video player isn’t bad, it won’t play all file types and codecs, and that’s where VLC comes in.
Whether it’s .avi, .mkv, or .mp4, VLC has you sorted. You can also use the player to convert video files from one format to another. Even the most obscure file types seem to be compatible with this player, no wonder then it’s standard on computers across the globe.
5. Alfred 4
Alfred isn’t new, and many Mac users have praised it over the years, but if you’re new to macOC, you might not know about this eminently handy app launcher.
Use Alfred to boost your productivity with its one-off system of shortcuts and keystrokes. Launch apps, hunt down semi-lost files, and control your Mac with optimal precision. Version 4 is loaded with upgrades and is a serious contender for our favorite Mac app.
Alfred is free unless you choose the premium version, which most people don’t need.
6. Pocket
Saving links to web pages, articles you want to read later, and important PDFs is old-school. With the Pocket app, you can keep all your to-read and to-views in one user-friendly place. The app’s home screen is clear, uncluttered, and lets you shift through your saves with ease.
And as an added bonus, the app strips adverts away from the text, so you’re left with all the writing and none of the ads. Pocket is completely free of charge, too.
7. Bartender 3
While this app won’t mix you a perfectly stirred martini, it will help you keep your Mac’s bar tended. A Mac’s menu bar is an incredibly powerful tool, but can be hard to manage well and learn all the ins and outs.
Bartender helps you organize your menu bar and configure useful keyboard shortcuts, and it’s latest update includes macOS Catalina support.
Best Panorama App For Mac
While Bartender isn’t free, a one-off payment of $15 means you own it forever. It’s a small cost for an app that offers a surprisingly powerful amount of customization. If your menu bar looks like it needs help from a dab hand, you can’t go wrong here. Try it for free for 30 days before committing.
8. HTTPS Everywhere
While the vast majority of popular websites have already made the switch to the HTTPS security certificate, many are still running the now outdated and unencrypted HTTP protocol. Interacting with these sites is less safe than sites with HTTPS.
HTTPS Everywhere is a nifty browser extension for Safari that ensures each site you visit has the updated security certificate, meaning you can enter your credit card details without undue concern.
9. nCage
Granted, this browser extension will not boost your productivity. Nor will it help you stay focused. What it will do though, is replace every image on every web page with a picture of nCage.
Novel, unnecessary, and nCage. What’s not to love? Use for two to ten days, use App Cleaner to remove it, then get on with your life feeling somehow enriched.
10. Amphetamine
A simple yet incredibly useful app, Amphetamine stops your Mac from going into sleep mode, opening the screensaver, or auto-dimming the screen. Keep your Mac up all night if you so desire, or just use Amphetamine when you’re watching a show or performing any other task that sees you not touching the keypad for an extended period of time.
Conclusion
That concludes our list of some top 10 apps for Mac users in 2021. It’s not conclusive, of course, and with so many great third-party apps out there you have a world of Mac-based apps to discover. And if you struggle to find an app you really enjoy, just remember, there’s always nCage.
The recent two years should be an era of VR (Virtual Reality) which has triggered an incredible storm around the world. Virtual reality has the power to let you interact with some devices for an immersive and sensory experience. With its breakthrough in core technology, worldwide manufacturers are rushing to compete against each other for this newly emerging field.
Due to the rising craze of VR, various VR devices like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR, Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard, VR Box, etc are springing up to meet different levels of requirements for customers. However, the popular formats used for watching VR videos, SBS (Side By Side 3D) and 360-Degrees, are not supported by some popular media player like VLC and MX player currently. To fix the issue of how to watch VR videos on PC and mobile devices, you need a virtual reality player. So here are the best free VR video players for multi-platform and a simple guide for VR and 360 degree video download.
List of the Best VR Players
1. VR Player FREE
http://www.vrplayer.com/
Platform: iOS/Android/Windows
Pros: VR Player is a powerful free VR player designed specifically for watching immersive content on head mounted displays (HMD). It can not only play VR video, but also play 2D, 3D SBS, 3D Top/Bottom, 360 degree videos.
Cons: Sometimes you may come across some performance issues with Oculus Rift DK2, but it's still a good VR player.
2. Homido 360 VR Player
Platform: iOS/Android
For iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/homido-360-vr-player/id909196467?mt=8
For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.homido.homidoplayer&hl=en
Pros: It is used for the Homido HMD headset. You can watch 360° spherical videos as if you were seated in an IMAX theater. The first ever HMD internet browser allows you to watch any VR content directly from YouTube or other VR video sites in the headset. Also, you can record SBS videos from your headset.
Cons: Again, to fully enjoy this app, you will need a Homido virtual reality headset.
3. AAA VR Cinema Cardboard 3D SBS
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.candlify.vrplayer
Platform: Android
Pros: AAA VR Cinema Cardboard 3D SBS is a free and great VR video player Android app. Except for the wide ranges of options to play 360 as well as normal 3D VR videos, rotation killer mode and pure gyro mode is added to head tracking option in the newest version 1.6.1. This player only supports MOV, MP4 and M4V format. You may need some VR video converter app if your video format is excluded.
Cons: Pay attention, this app will crash when you open a file that contains '%' in the file name. Please rename before open the file. And Bluetooth mouse is disabled temporary in the current version 1.6.1.
4. Mobile VR Station
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/apple-store/id959820493?mt=8
Platform: iOS
Pros: Mobile VR Station is free VR player which is designed for iOS users and it works with every headset. It's an alternative to Homido 360 Player or even better, you can view your Photos, Panoramas, Videos & Files projected onto a virtual screen floating in space for a unique heater experience. You can watch HTML5 videos from mobile safari with Micro VR Station extension and get better viewing experience on 3D content, 360/ Spherical movies.
Cons: But remember, the app won’t display any content that are DRM-protected, for example the content you bought from iTunes.
5. LiveViewRift
http://soft.viarum.com/liveviewrift/
Platform: Windows/Mac
Pros: LiveViewRift is one of the most popular virtual reality players which allows you to watch different sorts of media files with the Oculus Rift. With its powerful distortion and field-of-view-correction functions, LiveViewRift lets you enjoy media as your eyes would be where the camera is.
Cons: You can only download it free for Mac OS X 10.9 and Windows 7/8 so far. There’s no version for windows 10 currently.
Best Panorama Images
6. SKYBOX VR PLAYER
https://skybox.xyz/
Platform: Windows 64bit
Pros: Like Kolor Eyes, Skybox VR Player is a great and free VR video player on Windows 64bit computers. You are able to stream local videos from PC to mobile devices with zero quality loss when connecting Wi-Fi network. It also supports watching one video with multiple devices and can play nearly all video formats. You can experience HD, full HD, and 4K playback on this one.
Cons: It does not have Mac version right now but it will come soon.
So, these are the best free VR players for multi-platform to watch VR videos with ease. And there are more VR players like FreeVRPlayer, Delight VR Player that can also do a great job when playing VR videos. They may have their own pros and cons, but all of them aim to provide the best experience to users. Depending on your platform and preference, just choose the best VR player as you wish.
Free VR Video Downloading and Converting Software
Download VR videos from YouTube and other 300+ sites at fast speed. Convert VR videos to MP4, AVI, MKV, iPhone, Android, Samsung TV, LG TV and more other formats and hot devices.
A Simple Guide to Download VR Videos and Convert
After you've prepared VR devices and find out the best VR video player to meet different demands, can't wait to experience VR videos? I hope you have saved sufficient VR video resources to watch.
But if not, or if you just want to collect more at one time. As the dominant video-sharing website worldwide, you can download free VR videos from YouTube or any other online video sites. Before that, Free download and install Free HD Video Converter Factory on your PC (Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista). Then follow the simple guide below to download your best-loved VR movies. Here I just set VR video download from YouTube as an example.
Step 1: Run the freeware and open Downloader. Click 'New Download' button on menu bar;
Step 2: Paste the YouTube VR video’s link to “Add URL” box, then press the analyze button;
Step 3: Choose one preferred resolution and format and click OK to add the download task. Then press the “Download All” icon.
Download VR Video
Note: You can also download 4K video or download hot videos from YouTube here. Try to analyze it again if you don't get the wanted resolution that the orginal video resource should have.
Optional – To fix some compatibility issue, you can convert the VR videos to your devices supported formats via this freeware. And the format conversion steps are as follow:
Open Converter > Load the VR videos you download > Select your device supported format on the Output Format section > Press “Run” button to start the conversion
Additionally, Free HD Video Converter Factory can do more things for you, such as change video resolution, reduce video size, add subtitle, or compress 4K video and more.
Why not have a try and keep this freeware for further use? Just download VR videos with this program and put on VR headset and start your immersive experience in VR world.
Wait! You are supported to download video resources from 300+ online video sites including YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Facebook and any more.
So from this moment on, get your VR video player ready, save some awesome VR movies with this wonderful VR movie downloader freeware and watch your favorite VR video. Have fun!
Hope this article has helped you figure out what's the best choice for you. And if it works, feel free to share it to help more people.
In Case Someday You Want to Upload Video to YouTube/Facebook/Vimeo...
Aside from downloading VR resources, you can use the freeware to upload your recorded videos in right formats to online site including YouTube, Myspace, Facebook, and your blog. The software has provided ideal format profile beforehand, so that you don't have to be clear of what are the best video audio specs for uploading to a video-sharing site.
More Special Features on Free HD Video Converter Factory
- Download any video from online sites such as YouTube, Facebook ,Vimeo, etc.
- Support Various media formats, optimized profiles for 300+ hot devices.
- Extract soundtracks from film/video with orginal quality perserved.
- Provided with an built-in video editor for cutting/cropping/merging, etc.
- Can compress video with no quality loss.
- Fastest conversion speed, 50X speed up supported.