Mac notch glossary.
What the words mean: notch, shelf, notarization, live activity and more.
Buying and licenses
- What is a license key?
- A license key is a code that proves you bought an app. Learn how NotchStar's key works, how many Macs it covers and what happens offline.
- What is a free trial?
- A free trial lets you use an app in full for a set time before you pay. Learn how NotchStar's 7 day trial starts, what ends it and what happens to your data.
- What is a one time purchase?
- A one time purchase means you pay once and keep the app, with no monthly fee. Learn how it differs from a subscription and what NotchStar's $4 covers.
- What is a software subscription?
- A subscription charges you on a repeating schedule, usually monthly or yearly, to keep using an app. Learn how it differs from paying once.
- What is a refund window?
- A refund window is the number of days after buying when you can ask for your money back. Learn how NotchStar's 7 day window works and how to ask.
- What is a merchant of record?
- A merchant of record is the company that legally sells to you and takes responsibility for the sale, including tax. See why NotchStar uses Dodo Payments.
Notch and apps
- What is a notch app?
- A notch app is a Mac utility that puts a small panel of tools around the MacBook notch. Learn what it does and what it cannot do.
- What is the Dynamic Island?
- The Dynamic Island is Apple's name for an interactive area at the top of the iPhone screen. Macs have a notch instead. Some notch apps imitate the effect.
- What is a live activity?
- A live activity is a small readout of something happening right now, such as a timer or a song. Learn the iPhone meaning and how notch apps use the term.
- What is a file shelf?
- A file shelf is a temporary place to park files while you work, then drag them out or send them. Learn how it differs from a folder and from AirDrop.
- What is clipboard history?
- Clipboard history is a list of the things you recently copied, so you can paste an older item again. Learn how it works on a Mac and what to watch for.
- What is the Pomodoro technique?
- The Pomodoro technique splits work into timed focus blocks with short breaks. Learn the basic pattern and how a Mac timer in the notch tracks it.
- What is a teleprompter?
- A teleprompter shows a scrolling script near the camera so you can read while looking at the lens. Learn how a notch teleprompter works on a Mac.
- What is a camera mirror on a Mac?
- A camera mirror shows a live, flipped preview of your webcam so you can check how you look before a call. Learn what it does and what it does not record.
- What is a screenshot tray?
- A screenshot tray is a short strip that holds your recent screenshots so you can drag them out. Learn how NotchStar's tray under the notch works and its limits.
Security and signing
- What is Gatekeeper on a Mac?
- Gatekeeper is the macOS check that decides whether downloaded software may run. Learn what it checks, why it shows warnings and how it relates to notarization.
- What is notarization on Mac?
- Notarization is Apple's automated check of Mac software before you download it. Learn what Apple says it covers and what it does not.
- What is an Apple Developer ID?
- A Developer ID is the certificate Apple gives developers to sign Mac apps shared outside the App Store. Learn what it proves and what it does not.
- What is a DMG file?
- A DMG is a disk image, a single file that opens like a drive. Learn how apps ship in one, how to install from it and how to verify the download.
- What is the hardened runtime?
- The hardened runtime is a code signing setting that limits what a Mac app can do. Learn what it blocks and how entitlements relax it.
- What are entitlements in macOS?
- Entitlements are key value pairs signed into a Mac app that grant it permission to use a service or technology. Learn what NotchStar asks for and why.
- What is the App Sandbox on Mac?
- The App Sandbox is a macOS feature that limits an app's access to system resources and user data. Learn how it differs from the hardened runtime.
- What is the concealed pasteboard type?
- The concealed pasteboard type is a marker password managers put on copied secrets so clipboard tools can skip them. Learn how it works and where it falls short.
Developer terms
- What is NSPanel?
- NSPanel is the AppKit window class for auxiliary windows such as palettes and utility panels. Learn why a notch app uses a non activating one.
- What is SwiftUI?
- SwiftUI is Apple's framework for declaring an app's user interface in Swift code. Learn what it does, how it meets AppKit and how NotchStar uses both.
- What is AppKit?
- AppKit is Apple's older framework for building Mac apps with windows, menus and events. Learn what it covers and why SwiftUI apps still use it.
- What is NSPasteboard?
- NSPasteboard is the AppKit object that moves data to and from the Mac clipboard. Learn how apps read it and why clipboard managers poll change count.
- What is MediaRemote on macOS?
- MediaRemote is a private Apple framework that reports what is playing on a Mac. Learn why it is restricted since macOS 15.4 and how notch apps work around it.
- What is hover intent?
- Hover intent is a short delay before a hover opens something, so passing the pointer by does not trigger it. Learn how NotchStar tunes it at the notch.
- What does open source mean?
- Open source software publishes its source code under a license that lets others read and change it. Learn the definition and how it differs from closed source.
- What does closed source mean?
- Closed source software keeps its source code private and ships only the built app. Learn what that means for trust and what you can check instead.
- What is llms.txt?
- llms.txt is a proposed Markdown file at a website's root that gives AI assistants a short, curated guide to the site. Learn the format and its limits.
Mac basics
- What is the MacBook notch?
- The notch is the cutout at the top of some MacBook screens that holds the camera. Here is what it is, which Macs have it and what it does to the menu bar.
- What is the Mac menu bar?
- The menu bar is the strip along the top of a Mac screen with the Apple menu, app menus and status icons. Learn how it works and how the notch changes it.
- What is the safe area on a Mac screen?
- The safe area is the part of a screen where content is not covered by hardware such as the notch. Developers read it from NSScreen safeAreaInsets in AppKit.
- What is AirDrop?
- AirDrop sends files wirelessly between nearby Apple devices. Learn what it needs, how to use it on a Mac and how a notch file shelf can start a send.
- What is Universal Clipboard?
- Universal Clipboard lets you copy on one Apple device and paste on another nearby one. Learn what it needs and how it differs from clipboard history.
- What is Apple silicon?
- Apple silicon is the family of Apple designed chips that replaced Intel processors in Macs. Learn how to tell which chip your Mac has and why apps care.
- What is a universal binary on Mac?
- A universal binary is one Mac app file that contains code for both Apple silicon and Intel chips, so it runs natively on either. Learn how to check one.
- What is Rosetta on a Mac?
- Rosetta is Apple's translation layer that lets Intel apps run on Apple silicon Macs. Learn when macOS asks to install it and why a universal app avoids it.
Put your notch to work.
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