Last week review 14-2025
Weekly Review 14-2025 and this week we almost reached the first day of summer, at least in terms of temperatures 😉 but there’s still not enough rain 🙁
This week, the first part was about the 10 most-used tools that I use almost daily, whether for my photos, YouTube, or this blog. Such tools are designed to make things easier, sometimes even easier to do at all, and where possible, they should somewhat smooth out the differences between the individual operating systems.
The first two are at home on the MacBook, either the MacBook Air previously or now the MacBook Pro. Of particular note here is Al Dente, an app that ensures the laptop’s battery doesn’t charge beyond a certain limit, even though it’s still connected to the mains. I’ve also used this app on the Air and have already set a charge limit of 80% there, a feature that has already found its way into the operating system on tablets from other manufacturers and even the newer iPhones. The second app is Hiddenbar and ensures a tidier status bar, especially when using a laptop (there’s more than enough space on the LG UN32).
And then there’s Localsend, which I’ve also already described in an article. It’s an alternative to Airdrop, but it works on all operating systems, whether Windows, Linux, or even Android and iOS. It lets you send files back and forth to any device within the same Wi-Fi network.
The second part will be available next week.
This week, Apple released iOS 18.4, among other things, which brings a host of new features, but above all, AI to Germany. I haven’t even gotten around to installing the update on my iPad or MacBook Pro yet, but the iPad also lacks Apple Intelligence. In daily use, a few improvements in iOS 18.4 are noticeable, for example, that you can now categorize incoming emails. In the Photos app, AI is supposed to help you find specific photos based on a verbal description. Would that be comparable to Excire Search? And of course, let’s not forget the voice recognition in Siri.
Sklyum is running another discount campaign, the spring sale from April 4th to 24th. It’s up to 75% off Luminar NEO if you order Luminar NEO via this link. There are also discounts for the Aperty app during the same promotional period. It’s definitely worth a look.
Nikon officially unveiled the Z5 II, a mid-range camera with a body price of around €1,700. It also features a 24 MPIx sensor, up to 14 frames per second with the mechanical shutter, and 4K/30 UHD video. It’s said to be the first camera capable of recording N-RAW format internally to one of its two SD cards. That would be quite remarkable.
And finally, Blackmagic has released version 20 of its Da Vinci Resolve video tool. The “What’s New” page lists over 100 improvements, including “Remove Silence” and, for example, an improved Magic Mask.
Also, there’s the expansion to 6 bands in Fairlight and, of course, some enhancements related to the Blackmagic Cloud. I’ll download the package and try it out on my next project. I’m especially excited about Remove Silence, because it’s been decent so far, but some of the cuts were too tight.
All in all, another very eventful week. I hope you enjoy the articles and look forward to your questions and comments.
ciao tuxoche
