thriftmac

XnConvert has over a hundred ways to batch convert your images

2026-04-05T19:40:28Z

I recently made a rare update to Scrimpy’s Picks with an oldie-but-goodie called XnConvert.

It only took a few seconds for it to batch convert a folder of over 400 icons — trimming the transparent edges and resizing them to 200 by 200 pixels.

And those are just two of the many actions you can perform. In total there are over 100, many of which have settings of their own.

I appreciated that I could see a preview before clicking the Convert button. That saved me from one bit of ugliness that needed to be dealt with separately.

The app may be long in the tooth, but it did get an update in March 2025. And it’s not all that old — judging by the site’s copyright, it came out in 2013.

Also, if you’re a fan of the imaginative Mac icons that existed before Apple went full squircle, you’ll love the look of this one.

Kando

2026-04-05T19:14:10Z

Use a pie menu to launch apps, execute macros and open files. Create nested menus, assign icons and configure your workflow. Use with your choice of input device.

Bulk Cropper

2026-03-27T20:29:40Z

Distinguishes itself from similar apps with the ability to analyse each image to identify the most important element from one of four perspectives — balanced, face, text or object. Has batch processing and live preview.

Going beyond GIMP for a free Photoshop alternative

2026-03-25T17:55:15Z

Many people come to thriftmac looking for a free alternative to Photoshop. I fear many of them come away disappointed to discover what they likely already suspected — GIMP is the only 100 per cent free alternative.

But it’s not all bad. After seven years of development, GIMP is finally at version 3. The interface has improved, and the learning curve is not quite so steep. If you’re turned off by memories of the old GIMP, it might be worth giving this iteration a try.

Seashore — a sort-of light version of Photoshop — is also 100 per cent free, although you can make a donation to the developer. The catch is that it has been “deprioritized” in favour of a new project called Seahorse. It doesn’t cost much, but it isn’t free.

Affinity Studio comes close to being totally free, except that you have to pay for AI tools. I would pay not to have AI, so this a good thing from my point of view.

If you’re not fussy, you could try Photoscape X, which has a free version. According to its history page, though, it hasn’t had an update since January 2022. Plus, Firefox complains that the site is not secure.

And if you don’t need all of Photoshop’s functionality, there are two free apps that replace parts of it — Darktable for RAW editing and colour grading, and Krita for digital painting, brushes and layers.

We don’t deal with online apps at thriftmac, but here are few you could try: Photopea, Befunky and Pixlr. Mrs. thriftmac is a big fan of Befunky.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention Preview, which comes free with your Mac. It’s no Photoshop, but it does more than you might think.

I use Preview quite a bit. For those cases where it’s not good enough, I turn to Affinity Studio or GIMP.

Imago

2026-03-25T04:23:11Z

Describe the image you want and the app will create it for you. Runs locally using the FLUX.2 [klein] 4B text-to-image model. Demanding system requirements.