OS Virtual machines that live in your menu bar

SwiftVM

I'm the developer. SwiftVM is a native Mac app, written in Swift on Apple's Virtualization framework, that runs macOS and Linux virtual machines from the menu bar. Version 1.0 just came out.



Problem:

Getting a new VM to the point where you can actually use it takes too many steps. You find an ISO, click through an installer, create a user, look up the IP address and copy your SSH key over. SwiftVM does that part itself. A Linux machine starts from an Ubuntu or Debian cloud image and is ready in seconds once the image is downloaded, with your account and SSH key already in it. A macOS machine installs from Apple and creates the account on its own, so there is no setup assistant to click through. After that, `ssh web-server` works from your Mac using the machine's name.



The rest is what you would expect:

snapshots (also of a running machine, memory included), instant duplicates, suspend and resume, shared folders and clipboard, port forwarding, USB devices, Rosetta for x86-64 Linux programs, and a `swiftvm` command that does from a terminal what the app does from the menu bar.



Comparison:

UTM is the one most people know, and it covers more ground. It runs Windows, it can emulate other CPU architectures through QEMU, and it works on older versions of macOS. SwiftVM does none of that today. Where I think SwiftVM is better is setup and daily use: machines that configure themselves, SSH by name, and a command line that drives the same app you see in the menu bar. VirtualBuddy is the closest in spirit, also native and also built on the Virtualization framework, and it is very good for testing macOS betas. SwiftVM leans more toward VMs as development machines, with ready-made Linux images, port forwarding and scripting.



Limits you should know about:

It needs macOS 27 on Apple silicon, the automatic macOS setup needs macOS 27 in the guest too, and there are no Windows guests yet.



Pricing:

Free and open source under Apache-2.0. There is no paid tier. Releases are signed and notarized.



Website: https://swiftvm.app

Source: https://github.com/swiftvm-app/swiftvm



About me:

I'm Saeed Vaziry. I also make VitoDeploy, Muxy and TweakPHP, all open source.

GitHub: https://github.com/saeedvaziry

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saeedvaziry/



Feedback and bug reports are very welcome.

https://redd.it/1x3k6ic
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[OS] 3,000 of you tried Sentient OS in July. 2.0 is here! An on-device LLM understands your life overnight, so Sentient can take over tasks with its own mouse cursor and write replies in 2 taps. Open source + 1,000 free lifetime codes :D

https://redd.it/1x3sg0a
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PaneDrop: capture a screenshot and drop it straight into the right Claude Code or Codex session (free public beta)

https://redd.it/1x3o1ou
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Ploca: offline dictation for Mac that keeps up when you switch between English and Hindi or Tamil

Hi, I am Aasif, the developer of Ploca

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/aasifiqbalj
Contact: hey[at\] ploca[dot\]app

Problem

1. Most dictation apps don't handle the way many Indians actually talk, switching languages mid-sentence: "Kal ki meeting shift kar do, I'll send the deck tonight."
2. In cloud dictation tools, privacy is a setting, not the default. Your voice goes to a server, and you may have to opt out of it being used for training.

Ploca solves both. It transcribes on your Mac and writes clean text at your cursor in any app. Your audio is never stored, not even on your Mac. Hold a key, speak, let go.

Comparison

\- Wispr Flow: polished, but cloud-based. Your voice is sent to their servers, and on individual plans model training is a setting you turn off. Ploca has no cloud path at all, works offline, and doesn't ask for Screen Recording or Input Monitoring (Microphone and Accessibility only). It's tuned for Hinglish and Tanglish, and it leaves your words as you said them instead of rewriting them.

\- Superwhisper: a great app with local and cloud models, $8.50/mo or $250 lifetime. Ploca is local only, with no cloud option at all, and costs $15 once, or $30 lifetime at launch. There's no AI rewriting step either: what you say is what appears. And it's tuned for English mixed with Hindi or Tamil in the same sentence. Privacy: audio is held in memory and never written to disk. No analytics, no crash reporter. The only network calls are a launch check, a daily update check, licence validation if you buy, and the one-time model download.

Pricing

7-day free trial, no email or card. Launch prices for the first licences of each plan:

\- Monthly $3 (then $6)

\- Standard $15 once, a year of updates, two Macs (then $30)

\- Lifetime $30 once, two Macs (then $60)

Website: https://ploca.app

Privacy: https://ploca.app/privacy.html

Terms: https://ploca.app/terms.html

Requirements: Apple Silicon, macOS 26 or later.

https://redd.it/1x3v7ae
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[OS] SpeakoFlow: dictation, a voice assistant and meeting notes in one free Mac app

https://redd.it/1x3qsev
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[OS] Neon Vision Editor: improvements since 1.5.6, shaped by your feedback — Free

https://redd.it/1x3xol3
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[Update] Chronoid: automatic time tracking for Mac, now with daily recaps and a manual timer + giveaway

https://redd.it/1x41mn2
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[FREEMIUM] BetterMacWidgets: Live/Animated Widgets on your Lockscreen too with complete Custom Widgets. I'd say it's a slap in the face to other Overpriced Widgets apps :D

https://redd.it/1x42neh
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I got tired of Markdown preview panes, so I built a native Mac editor that formats as you type (and runs Obsidian themes)

https://redd.it/1x4cqcz
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[Update] BattOpt v1.2.8 - Now supports macOS 27 battery charge limit. Prevent occasional charging to 100%.

https://redd.it/1x49zae
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Here Wallpaper: design minimalist map wallpapers for Mac, iPhone & iPad + 1 month of Pro free

https://redd.it/1x4387j
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Appendage: Rename files instantly using keyboard shortcuts. No clicking around, no app switching, no drag and drop.

https://redd.it/1x3yz0q
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I built Snapset to stop rearranging my Mac windows every time I switch displays

https://redd.it/1x3uh31
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App's I am not uninstalling number 12

As happens every month, my Mac became a hive of activity while I installed, tested and removed countless apps. These are the ones that replaced old favourites or earned a permanent spot on my already overloaded Mac.

# Rectangle Pro

Rectangle Pro isn’t new, and I’ve tried the free version a few times. I just hadn’t realised that the feature I needed was in the Pro edition.

For years, I used Stay to make sure my windows opened at the same size each time. Constantly resizing them is a small but persistent annoyance, especially when I’m working across multiple displays. I just wanted my apps to remember the window sizes I prefer.

Rectangle was first developed when macOS’s window management was still playing catch-up. Window snapping is useful, but it has limited appeal on a 13-inch MacBook screen. Rectangle Pro lets me resize any window instantly with a keyboard shortcut.

Even Canary Mail is no longer a problem. When replying to emails, a frustratingly small window is now resized once and never touched again. There’s also a shortcut to restore the whole layout if anything gets out of sync.

# DiskPress

DiskPress is the first of two impressive apps released in quick succession by developer Ighor July.

It frees up disk space without deleting the files you want to keep. You might wonder how that differs from making a compressed archive, but this is where DiskPress gets clever.

With traditional compression, you often delete the original files and replace them with an obscurely named archive, then have to remember what’s inside. DiskPress compresses files and reduces duplicated storage while leaving everything where it is. Your files still open normally, but take up less space. As far as I can tell, nothing changes except the amount of free storage on your drive.

# App Archiver

Ighor’s second app is for people who enjoy trying new software.

App Archiver stores apps you aren’t using right now but might want to reinstall later. It makes it easy to try replacements without keeping a spreadsheet or taking screenshots in case you decide to go back to an older app.

I’m particularly fond of Dock apps, and my next review may still be a month away, so App Archiver makes it much easier to experiment in the meantime.

# Polar Browser

When reviewing apps, I think it’s useful to know which categories to leave alone. Some markets are already crowded with similar products, and some reviewers know them far better than I do.

I usually steer clear of browsers, voice-to-text tools (I use Soniox), and Launchpad replacements (I use LaunchOS). But Polar Browser impressed me enough to reconsider. I even switched to a cheaper ChatGPT plan so I could put the savings towards Polar Browser credits.

Polar looks and feels like Chrome, and supports the Chrome extensions I use regularly. Behind that familiar interface is an agentic browser that can handle a surprisingly wide range of tasks.

If Claude is going through credits too quickly, or you find ChatGPT limited in what it can do, Polar Browser might be worth a try. The developers suggested setting the effort slider to Low and letting it work. That made tasks that would normally use a lot of tokens much more affordable.

I know AI isn’t everyone’s favourite development. Still, tasks that used to take me hours can now be done with a few instructions. After I give the initial approval, Polar gets to work and only occasionally asks me to confirm something.

If you’re looking for an agentic browser, or just want an alternative to Chrome, Polar Browser may be worth checking out.

https://redd.it/1x4niyt
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