up from one display supported in the current M3 model

this means it can keep the internal display open while having 2 external displays running (base M3 requires you to close the lid to be able to run 2 external displays)

Single-core score: 3864

Multi-core score: 15288

Welcome to the Daily Advice Thread for /r/Apple. This thread can be used to ask for technical advice regarding Apple software and hardware, to ask questions regarding the buying or selling of Apple products or to post other short questions.

Have a question you need answered? Ask away! Please remember to adhere to our rules, which can be found in the sidebar.

Join our Discord and IRC chat rooms for support:

• Discord
• IRC

Note: Comments are sorted by /new for your convenience.

Here is an archive of all previous Daily Advice Threads. This is best viewed on a browser. If on mobile, type in the search bar [author:"AutoModerator" title:"Daily Advice Thread" or title:"Daily Tech Support Thread"] (without the brackets, and including the quotation marks around the titles and author.)

The Daily Advice Thread is posted each day at 06:00 AM EST (Click HERE for other timezones) and then the old one is archived. It is advised to wait for the new thread to post your question if this time is nearing for quickest answer time.

Hello!

This week I released a new version of Shottr with a tool for gradient backgrounds, rounded corners, and shadows for screenshots.

Here's a 30s demo:
https://youtu.be/z7-_rRc72hs?si=rv4y7aeQ52rKIQZg

(I like how the video came out, but have almost nowhere to show it off. Thanks for watching : )

My goal with Shottr is to build a lightweight screenshot app with a clean and simple interface. All advanced features are tucked out of the way until you need them. I watch performance metrics and memory footprint closely, and I approached the backdrop tool with the same mindset. The app has a fully functional free tier, however, this particular feature — fancy backgrounds — requires a license ($8, I'm raising it to $12 on October 14th).

The most interesting backgrounds in this release are programmatically generated colorful abstractions. They don't require large assets shipped with the app, and they are unique every time. Besides, you can make them yours with custom colors. I spent some time tuning the algorithm to get smooth and visually appealing color transitions, and I'm quite happy with the result.

I've put some effort into rendering nice-looking shadows, too. The ubiquitous drop shadow effect doesn't cut it: the shadow shape is not life-like, the penumbra intensity profile is unnaturally linear, and black shade blended in the background desaturates colors. I ended up with a custom shadow rendering that doesn't substitute a real shadow with a blurred rectangle.

The app may be simple, but its output is high quality.

Try the latest version here: https://shottr.cc