Clipr
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Clipr: a low-fuss OS X pasting utility
Clipr (free, US$0.99 cloud sync IAP) offers a tiny, low-fuss utility that targets anyone looking for a fast, low-footprint solution for OS X clipboard management. Developer Eric Mann tells TUAW that he wrote the app in response to other clipboard utilities on the market. "My computer needs to run as fast as possible," he explained. "It needs to have nothing else bogging it down. There's a bunch of clipboard managers out there, but they do too much in the sense that every time you copy an image or video, it copies all that into RAM. After an hour or two, OS X's Activity Manager shows the clipboard apps rising to the top of the list. It's frustrating, so I wanted to re-think the clipboard manager." Even at version 2.0, Clipr remains a bit of a work in progress. It consists of three components: an OS X menu bar app, which constantly monitors clipboard changes on your behalf; a web-based server that offers clipboard-history mirroring no matter where you are; and an upcoming iOS 7 app that will passively monitor and collect clipboard saves on your phone. A useful desktop feature lets you text out your clippings by SMS. I tested a custom-built version of the app that enabled me to test it with what's normally IAP-only cloud access. The Mac-to-cloud component offers passive, encrypted sync. As you copy items, they migrate to your web-based CliprApp website account. "From our end," Mann said, "we only see an encrypted database. We can see the number of things you store with us, but not their content. It's completely encrypted just like passwords. You might copy bank account info, credit card info, and we don't see it. We didn't want that to be a question. Your plain text will never show up in a Google search. The data's completely behind a user-authentication system." The CliprApp website allows you to review your clipboard history, no matter where you are. You set the synching email address in app preferences. At this time, you do not enter a password for that account, which I think is a bit of a security risk. Someone who guesses your email address can easily spam your account. It's a send-only hole, however. No one can read that data without your full credentials. In my tests, Clipr worked fast and reliably with very little system demands. I kept Activity Monitor open to keep an eye on system memory and CPU overhead. I appreciated settings that let me control how many items to keep in memory, and whether to launch the app automatically at login. Mann is working hard on improving the product and getting the iOS 7 app ready for market.
Clipr 2.0 adds web access to clipboard history with Pro upgrade
Clipboard manager apps are nothing new, but the feature that intrigued us most about Clipr for Mac back when it debuted in April was the ability to send copied notes directly to our phone via SMS. Now there's a 2.0 version, which lets you ship those notes to the newly launched CliprApp.com website as well. Just as you would with Evernote or other note-sharing apps, you'll need to register your credentials on the site and then login to start syncing. As for the aforementioned SMS capabilities, the messages generated are now cleaner and cruft-free, which developer Eric Mann says leads to a better appearance on smartwatches like the Pebble. Mann also tells us that once the SMS feature is set up, you can configure Pebble's app to pass all text messages directly to the watch. Do note that just like with the SMS feature, you'll need to cough up $0.99 extra for the Pro version before you can gain access to web clippings. Check after the break to see a video of how Clipr works, or you could just download it from the source below.
Clipr sends pasted text to your phone via SMS with a press of a button
If you've ever wanted to send some text from your computer to your phone, you usually have to go with a dedicated app like Evernote, with a mobile app required at the other end. With the new version of Clipr for Mac, however, all you need to do is enter your phone number in the settings and the info will magically appear on your mobile device via SMS -- just press the command key when selecting a clip and away it'll go. Right now all major US carriers are supported, with the promise of more to come. For the uninitiated, Clipr is a clipboard manager that works with your computer's existing copy and paste system without any special key combos. Bear in mind that while the app itself is free, the aforementioned SMS feature costs $0.99 extra. Still, at least this particular clip-inspired helper looks to be a lot better than, you know, that other one.
