PDF Expert for Mac: $24.99

We have a deal on PDF Expert for Mac from Readdle.  This PDF editor has a nice list of distinctions, including being The 2015 App of the Year in the Mac App Store, Top Paid App in the Mac App Store, Editors’ Choice by Apple, and 4.6 out of 5 stars from 1,1000 ratings on the Mac App Store. The deal is for PDF Expert 2.4.2, the version on Readdle’s website. It’s $24.99 through our deal, 58% off retail.

Want an Apple Music Web Player? Try This

Ever since Apple Music first came out, people have been clamoring for an Apple Music web player. Recently, Apple has opened an Apple Music API for developers. Although Apple hasn’t created an official Apple Music web player, Redditor u/zseguin has come to the rescue. It’s still in early development, but the code is available on GitHub. All you have to do to get started is sign in with your Apple ID, and allow the app to connect to your account. Everything is available. Not only can you find your own music, but even Apple Music recommendations in the For You section. However, note that the player is built on an API that is currently in beta. The application may stop working at any time.

A Designer Shares Thoughts on How Apple Can Fix 3D Touch

An article making the rounds over the weekend is from designer , who wrote about how Apple can fix 3D Touch. She proposes that a UI indicator should be added to each 3D Touch-able element so people know exactly which elements can be 3D Touched.

I should start with the obvious. 3D Touch is broken! The user experience is far from great. Apple introduced 3D Touch and its new related interactions Peek and Pop in 2014. It’s been almost 4 years since its first introduction, yet people don’t know/use 3D Touch. Why would they? Even tech-savvy users don’t know which buttons offer 3D touch. Let alone regular users.

My solution is adding a line on bottom-right of things that can be 3D Touched. Let’s call them Force Decorators (with reference to Force Touch).

The Apple blogosphere seems to be in love with this. However, my non-designer, hyperbolic opinion is that this looks like crap. I agree that there’s a problem here, but I don’t want every single UI element to be scarred by these Force Decorators. It makes the UI look cluttered and just plain ugly. Maybe there can be another, subtle visual distinction, such as the use of shadows.

Create a Universal Music Playlist With Soundsgood

Soundsgood is a platform that lets you create a universal music playlist. You can sync your playlists across Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, Deezer, and more. You can also create an online music player and share it with people. You’ll get a Stats Dashboard so you can see how many people play songs and follow your playlists. I haven’t tried it out yet but I plan to try the service soon. The company markets it as a social player to “get more followers” but I think the cross-platform universality is far more interesting. There also appears to be an iOS app as well.