Why breaking your Mac’s screen is a good idea

1. Life has changed for professionals

Macs can achieve more than ever. And with the rise of remote working, many of us now need to get both work and home tasks done from a single Mac.

Unlike the office machines of days past, which were generally state-of-the-art large-screen desktop Macs and may have even come with multiple monitors, most remote workers have to settle for a cheaper or older Mac they have supplied themselves, or a portable MacBook that can be ferried from home to office and back again as required. These machines rarely offer as much screen space, which makes juggling multiple applications a headache for the modern Mac worker.

• A single laptop struggles to support our many computing tasks

The MacBook used by the average professional – and particularly the remote worker – carries a heavy burden. It has to contend with word processing, spreadsheets and presentations for professional tasks, while also handling games, email and web browsing for our personal lives… not to mention multiple video calling apps to stay in touch with both relatives and far-flung colleagues. Dealing with the hardware burden shouldn’t be a problem for a moderate-spec Mac, but keeping track of the various applications is far more challenging for the user.

The problem is that a single relatively small screen with a conventional macOS interface is not helpful for displaying multiple apps simultaneously. The typical user expands the interface of their chosen software to make the most of the space available, but this means other apps are hidden.

Fortunately there is a solution to this problem: a way to easily view all current apps, and quickly and easily switch from one to the other.

• MakeItHome makes software juggling much easier

MakeItHome, an innovative piece of productivity software from Gecko’s Ink, is designed to expand your Mac’s interface, effectively opening up more space by allowing you to ‘break’ the edges of the screen. When the user simply moves their mouse cursor to the bottom of the screen, the macOS Dock lifts up and a new app-picker area appears beneath, giving instant and easy access to a range of recently and frequently applications. These are displayed as convenient labelled screenshots that are easy to distinguish; after viewing all the tasks you’ve currently got on the go, you can jump to a chosen app by clicking its image.

Productivity is improved by saving time switching between applications, laboriously trying to work out which window or tab is relevant to the work or other task we are trying to accomplish. But creativity benefits too, because the user can more easily see at a glance what is in progress, juggle ideas, and remember what still needs to be done. And this is merely what is made possible by the current version of the software. The ‘screen-breaking’ effect has far more potential, and proceeds from sales will be used to develop additional features: widgets, notes, clipboard management and much more.

A free trial version of the software is available from the Gecko’s Ink website. However, as a special offer for Macworld readers, Gecko’s Ink is giving the full version of the software away for free, for one week only.