Blog - Smin Rana

Finding the Right Task Management System: A Deep Dive into Todoist vs Amazing Marvin
My Journey Through Task Management Hell I’ve been here before. Too many times, actually. The cycle is always the same: discover a new task management tool, feel that initial rush of excitement, meticulously set everything up, use it religiously for a few weeks, and then…… Read more: Finding the Right Task Management System: A Deep Dive into Todoist vs Amazing Marvin
Taskwarrior: The Power and Pain of Terminal-Based Task Management
Why I Fell in Love with Taskwarrior There’s something deeply satisfying about managing your entire life from the terminal. No mouse clicks, no pretty animations, no distractions. Just you, your keyboard, and a command-line interface that responds instantly to your every command. When I discovered… Read more: Taskwarrior: The Power and Pain of Terminal-Based Task Management
10 Newly Launched Mac Apps to Pitch This Week: The Complete Sponsor Outreach Guide (January 2026)
Real apps, real contact strategies, real results — from someone who’s actually doing this By Smin Rana • January 21, 2026 • 18 min read • Last updated: January 21, 2026 The Problem: You’re building an app review site but have zero sponsors. Everyone tells… Read more: 10 Newly Launched Mac Apps to Pitch This Week: The Complete Sponsor Outreach Guide (January 2026)
Best Mac Apps for College Students in the USA: Your Ultimate Study Toolkit
College life is a whirlwind of lectures, assignments, exams, and trying to remember if you actually ate lunch today. If you’re a college student with a Mac, you’re already ahead of the game with a powerful machine in your hands. But here’s the thing: your… Read more: Best Mac Apps for College Students in the USA: Your Ultimate Study Toolkit
Best Calendar App in 2026: Apple Calendar vs Morgen vs Vimcal
I’ve spent the last 90 days testing 3 leading calendar apps: Apple Calendar, Morgen, and Vimcal. This isn’t another feature list comparison—it’s a founder-focused analysis of what actually works in real workflows. Bottom line first: Each tool serves different needs. Here’s my recommendation based on… Read more: Best Calendar App in 2026: Apple Calendar vs Morgen vs Vimcal
Best screenshot tools mac in 2026
I tested 8 apps for 3 months. I take 40-50 screenshots every week. Bug reports for developers, feedback loops with designers, support tickets with customers. After bouncing between Mac’s built-in tool and half a dozen third-party apps, I finally settled on a setup that doesn’t… Read more: Best screenshot tools mac in 2026
Replit’s New iOS Feature Shows How Far Vibe Coding Has Come — and Where It Breaks
Building a mobile app used to mean one of three things: learning to code, hiring developers, or settling for limited no-code tools. This week, Replit pushed that boundary further. The AI coding startup has launched a feature that allows users to create and publish iOS… Read more: Replit’s New iOS Feature Shows How Far Vibe Coding Has Come — and Where It Breaks
Stop Over-Engineering: A Minimal Architecture Pattern for Solo Devs
If you’re building apps alone, architecture can feel like a trap. On one side: the wild west. Everything talks to everything, your UI calls the API directly, business rules end up copy/pasted, and a “quick fix” turns into a permanent mess. On the other side:… Read more: Stop Over-Engineering: A Minimal Architecture Pattern for Solo Devs
Crash‑Free at Scale: Symbolication, DWARF, and Real‑Time Triage with Metrics
Delivering a crash‑free experience across thousands or millions of devices requires more than plugging in a crash SDK. You need accurate symbolication, stable build artifacts, and real‑time metrics that highlight regressions before reviews or social media do. This guide walks through a practical, founder‑grade setup:… Read more: Crash‑Free at Scale: Symbolication, DWARF, and Real‑Time Triage with Metrics
Swift 6 Deep Dive: Concurrency, Ownership, and Performance in Real Apps
Table of Contents Objective and Success Metrics Build faster, safer, more reliable iOS/macOS apps using Swift 6’s concurrency and ownership model. The Swift 6 Landscape Swift 6 strengthens structured concurrency and compiler diagnostics: Structured Concurrency: async/await, Task, TaskGroup Use async/await for straightforward flows; TaskGroup for… Read more: Swift 6 Deep Dive: Concurrency, Ownership, and Performance in Real Apps
Building AI‑Native iOS Features: On‑device LLMs with Core ML and MLX
Ship a semantic search feature that feels instant, works offline, preserves privacy, and raises engagement — built natively on iOS with Core ML and MLX. Success looks like faster findability, longer sessions, and users trusting the app with their notes, docs, or content. What Success… Read more: Building AI‑Native iOS Features: On‑device LLMs with Core ML and MLX
Case Study 5: Dev Tool MVP
I built a CLI tool intended to standardize local development setup across microservices. The promise: one command—dev bootstrap—that discovers services, generates .env files, and starts containers via Docker Compose. In demos, it was magical. In real teams, it broke in 40% of setups due to… Read more: Case Study 5: Dev Tool MVP
Case Study 4: Consumer Health MVP
The product was a habit-building app focused on sleep: wind-down routines, gentle alarms, and a simple educational library. The launch was exciting—we onboarded ~500 users via two TikTok creators. Engagement was strong in the first week thanks to streaks and badges. But adherence to core… Read more: Case Study 4: Consumer Health MVP
Case Study 3: B2B Analytics MVP
The goal was clear: build a dashboard that helps mid-size e-commerce operations teams make better decisions. I connected to Shopify and GA4, assembled cohort retention charts, SKU performance views, and canned insights like “top movers” and “at-risk SKUs”. Pilots at three brands praised the look… Read more: Case Study 3: B2B Analytics MVP
Case Study 2: Marketplace MVP
I built an MVP for a niche two-sided marketplace: connecting technical blog owners with specialist copy editors who understand developer audiences. The concept felt obvious—blogs need consistent, high-quality editing; editors want steady work. I avoided heavy search and built a curated matching process using a… Read more: Case Study 2: Marketplace MVP