Notable apps and updates: August 11

On a regular basis, Apple World Today posts a list of notable new apps or app updates that have been released. They may not necessarily be new, but they’re popular and deserve mention. Here are today’s picks.

macOS

Parallels Desktop 17is now available, allowing users to run Windows on a Mac without rebooting. Here are its features:

• Access Microsoft Office for Windows and Internet Explorer
• Run more than 200,000 Windows apps on your Mac without performance issues
• Develop & test across multiple OSs in a virtual machine for Mac
• Seamlessly move and share content between Mac and Windows
• Coherence mode: Hide Windows desktop and use Windows apps just like Mac apps

A demo is available for download. Pricing starts at US$79.99 for a Standard Edition for home and student use. Parallels Desktop is compatible with Macs running macOS 10.3 or higher and using either Apple M1 or Intel processors.

Consumer privacy and security company ExpressVPN today fully launches Lightway, its in-house modern VPN protocol. The company also announces two new trust and transparency initiatives for Lightway: an independent security audit by Cure53 and the open-sourcing of Lightway’s code. 

Lightway is a new VPN protocol built for an always-on world. According to the folks at VPN, it’s designed for a speedier, more secure, and more reliable VPN experience that runs on less battery. Lightway also supports both Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

Lightway is available for macOS, iOS, Windows, Android, and Linux.

Zevrix Solutions has released BatchOutput PDF 2.3.9, a maintenance update to their PDF printing automation solution for macOS. 

The app processes PDF from watched hot folders saving users the time and hassle of manual printing. Users only need to drop PDFs into hot folders for automatic printing. Version 2.3.9 adds support for Apple’s M1 processor, which enables users to run BatchOutput PDF on Silicon Macs without hardware emulation.

BatchOutput PDF can be purchased from the Zevrix website for $24.95. There’s a Server version for $99.95. The update is free for licensed users of version 2. A demo is available for download. BatchOutput PDF supports macOS 10.9-11.x.

iOS 

FileShadow users can now manage their files from anywhere with FileShadow’s app for Apple mobile devices. 

Through the FileShadow app, users can collect, organize, and share files on Apple iPhones and iPads. In addition to the desktop applications for Mac and Windows, FileShadow provides an app for complete file management on iOS devices for photos, documents, videos, etc., and it is available on the Apple App Store.