Cullen Gallagher

For quite a while, I've wondered whether BestSpeech/Keynote Gold could be made to work on the Mac. I finally decided to satisfy that curiosity. I'm happy to say... it actually works! Using Unicorn emulation to access the Windows DLL, I was able to get BestSpeech running natively on macOS. Even more surprising, it's incredibly responsive with VoiceOver, I honestly haven't noticed any performance issues. Now that I've proven the concept, I figured others might enjoy trying it out or building on it themselves. I've signed the application, so it should run without any issues. It lets you type text and have BestSpeech speak it, and it also installs the voices for use throughout macOS. I used Claude to help with the development, and I'm still amazed that it worked! If you'd like to give it a try, here's the Dropbox download. I've also uploaded everything to GitHub and will share that link shortly. Dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/v3y66s0pbwu9eqnl1k9cq/BestSpeech-for-Mac.zip?rlkey=31axpenjxpea9zy5poutflwfy&dl=1

I am very excited to announce that last week, version 1.1 of my Mac app, ChimeKeeper, was released!
This update adds a number of quality-of-life improvements and enhancements, including the ability to temporarily pause chimes, expanded audio format support, automatic hiding of options that do not apply to a selected sound pack, and more.
If you do not have ChimeKeeper yet, you can download it on the Mac App Store for $4.99.
Enjoy 1.1! https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chimekeeper/id6759711377?mt=12%0AChimeKeeper

Hi everyone,
Today I’m excited to share something that’s been bringing me a lot of joy over the past few months, my new Mac app, ChimeKeeper!
I’ve always loved chiming clocks. They’re a gentle, calming way to stay aware of the time, especially while working. And I’ve long felt that your computer, the place where so much of your day happens, is the perfect home for that experience.
There have been other Mac apps that try to do this, but I was never satisfied with the audio quality, so I decided to build my own.
ChimeKeeper brings the sound of a traditional chiming clock to your Mac, right from your menu bar. It quietly marks the hours and quarter hours, then fades into the background, just like a real clock.
Some of my favorite features:
Built-in Westminster chime: rich, high-quality recordings (not computer-generated or MIDI)
Custom sound packs: use your own WAV files to recreate your favorite clock
Quiet hours, set times when chimes won’t play
Flexible controls, toggle hourly and quarter-hour chimes independently
And of course, the app is fully accessible with VoiceOver.
ChimeKeeper is available now on the Mac App Store for $4.99, and I’d love for you to check it out.
I’ve been using this every day over the past few months and absolutely love it, and honestly, I can’t remember the last time I ran one of my physical clocks. I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
Mac App Store link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chimekeeper/id6759711377

@ChanceyFleet Yeah, this is getting ridiculous. And the back button is still broken.