About the catalog

When you first arrive, the site works like a straightforward reference. You can browse any section, open any program page and read the notes without signing up for anything. The twelve sections — PDF, VST Plugins, CAD & 3D, macOS, Design, Screen Recorders, Mac Apps, Mac Cleaners, Audio, Games, Photoshop Plugins — are listed on the homepage, and a simple search field sits at the top of every page. There are no ads, no pop‑ups asking you to subscribe, and no tracking scripts watching where you click.

What can I do with a free account?

An account lets you save programs to a personal favourites list. On any program page you tick a star icon, and that program appears in your list, which you can reach from your account menu. The list is private; nobody else can see which programs you have marked.

The second thing a free account gives you is update notifications. When the catalog entry for a program in your favourites list is revised — for example, a new version is recorded, compatibility notes change, or the install instructions are rewritten — you see a small badge on your account icon the next time you visit. Clicking through shows you which of your saved entries were changed and on what date. There is no email notification; the alert is only visible when you are logged into the site.

The third thing is commenting. At the bottom of every program page, logged‑in readers can leave a comment. Every comment is moderated before it appears publicly. After you submit one, you will see it in place straight away, but it will show the label awaiting moderation. Other visitors cannot see it until it has been approved. The moderation is done by me, and I aim to read submissions regularly, though I do not work to a fixed turnaround window. I do not edit comments, but I will decline ones that are off‑topic, impolite, or clearly promotional.

Who writes and runs the site?

My name is Pieter de Wit. I am a user‑experience researcher based in Utrecht, and I run Aspecten on my own. The site exists because I wanted a place where Mac software is described in a calm, methodical way — program by program, aspect by aspect — rather than in the breathless style that dominates app review sites. I look at interface decisions, workflow friction, how well something fits into macOS, and whether it does what its developer says it does. I write in careful, matter‑of‑fact English. The tagline is “Mac software, aspect by aspect”, and I mean that literally: I try to notice the small things that shape a piece of software before I form a larger judgement.

You can reach me at [email protected]. I welcome corrections, suggestions for programs to consider, and notes about updates I may have missed. I read every message, though I cannot reply to all of them.

What does the catalog cover?

The catalog holds 636 entries across twelve sections. The sections are deliberately broad, because a lot of useful software does not fit neatly into a single category. Here is a short orientation:

• PDF — readers, editors, OCR tools, and utilities for compressing or rearranging pages.
• VST Plugins — audio unit and VST effects and instruments that run on macOS, with notes on host compatibility.
• CAD & 3D — modelling, rendering, and drafting software, from lightweight viewers to full parametric modellers.
• macOS — system utilities, launchers, clipboard managers, and small tools that change how you use the Finder or the menu bar.
• Design — vector and raster graphics editors, colour tools, and font managers.
• Screen Recorders — apps for capturing video, GIFs, or stills from the screen, with notes on frame‑rate options and audio routing.
• Mac Apps — a mixed section for standalone productivity tools that do not sit comfortably in the other groups.
• Mac Cleaners — utilities for finding large files, removing leftover preferences, and uninstalling software thoroughly.
• Audio — recording, editing, and conversion tools, plus a few specialised analysis programs.
• Games — native Mac games, noted with the OS version and hardware they were tested on.
• Photoshop Plugins — filters, automation panels, and export helpers that extend Photoshop.

How does a program get onto the list?

I add programs one at a time, after I have installed and used them on a real Mac. I do not list software I have not run myself. My test machine stays on a recent version of macOS, but I also keep an older machine available for checking backwards compatibility.

I look for software that does something clearly and works in a way that feels native to the Mac. If a program is riddled with dark‑pattern upsells, phones home unnecessarily, or has an installer that behaves poorly, I leave it out. I do not accept payment for listings. There are no sponsored placements and no affiliate links. The list is shaped by what I find interesting and worthwhile, not by commercial arrangements.

How do you keep program pages current?

I monitor update feeds and developer release notes for the programs in the catalog, and I re‑test entries when a major version appears or when the system version underneath them changes in a significant way. When something shifts — a new version number, a different file size, altered compatibility — I update the page and note the date of the change.

I do not remove old information when a program is updated. Earlier builds stay listed at the bottom of the entry, with their version numbers, file sizes, and any compatibility constraints that applied at the time. This is deliberate: if you keep an older Mac running an older operating system, you can still find the build that worked on it. The site treats software history as a useful record, not clutter to be swept away.

If a program is discontinued, the page stays up with a note at the top explaining that development has stopped. The older builds remain listed so that people who already own the software can still reference the details they need.