
Show HN: TimeSnapper for Mac Beta - LeonB
TimeSnapper has been a windows-only product for a decade, we’re now at beta stage in our Mac version which you can use by joining here: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.secretgeek.net&#x2F;ts_mac_beta" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.secretgeek.net&#x2F;ts_mac_beta</a>
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wingerlang
How does it handle external screens?

I don't know the exact use case for this app, so take my feature request with
a grain of salt. I implemented something similar for myself which I used for
2-3 years. At first I took a screenshot plainly, but I found that the context
was really hard to figure out. I ended up adding a webcam picture to each
screenshot, this helped me place where/why I might have been on that specific
website. My use case was mostly novelty though. But I still like looking back
at the pictures every now and then. You can see my examples (+ script) here:
[http://www.jontelang.com/blog/2015/08/15/automating-
screensh...](http://www.jontelang.com/blog/2015/08/15/automating-
screenshots.html)

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LeonB
The beta period may reveal more challenges, but so far we’ve routinely used it
on 5 screen setups, with varying DPIs. Is that the sort of thing you’re asking
about?

I love your blogpost/screenshots.

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wingerlang
Actually I meant if you have 2 screens connected. Will it screenshot both of
them or just one.

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LeonB
Yes indeed. You can capture either: just the current application, just one
screen, or "all screens"

Some of the options can be seen in one of the screenshots:

[http://www.secretgeek.net/image/ts_mac_options_50.png](http://www.secretgeek.net/image/ts_mac_options_50.png)

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ungzd
The same can be achieved by just running screencapture(1) periodically,
although cron is broken in Mac OS and probably you can't access screen from
cron jobs. So, while loop in shell with sleep, for example, or StartInterval
in launchd job.

Avoiding screenshoting when screen is locked is more complicated, though. You
have to access Quartz.CGSessionCopyCurrentDictionary somehow, i.e. from
python.

P.S. does Automator or Applescript allows to achieve the same functionality?

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LeonB
It’s a nicer experience than using a hand rolled script, particularly playback
and handling of edge cases.

It’s a bit like saying “instead of buying food from a shop you could just grow
your own food.” It’s technically true, but then you’re responsible for all the
care and feeding of the tree instead of other activities that are higher
economic value to you.

When we first thought of the idea, over a decade ago, people immediately
raised that concern. But few of them wrote the script. Or if they did, they
abandoned it after a while and it languished because they didn’t invest the
time to do it nicely.

Playback of the images is the first big advantage to having someone else write
the code. But also it means that someone has put effort into dealing with
cases such as multiple monitors, and multiple monitors with varying DPI and so
on. Avoiding screenshots when idle, avoiding duplicates etc.

But I do love scripting up personal solutions to things, and spend far too
much time doing exactly that. So I like the attitude.

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rolleiflex
Yup, this is a very common effect that is used by almost every technology in
existence. Almost anything is replicable, and engineers love to point that
out, and how little time it would take them to replicate as a humblebrag
hidden as a comment on triviality of the product. In reality, though,
convenience and user experience is what makes the world work, not how easy
something is on paper, because that last 20% that makes anything valuable can
sure as hell be paid for only in the currency of blood, sweat and tears. (And
time.)

Industrial revolution was a thing because it made easier the manufacturing of
clothing. People could do it by hand before, the end product wasn’t something
a human hand couldn’t. It just made it slightly simpler, and here we are 200
years later, counting atoms on microprocessor semiconductor walls.

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skinnymuch
Sweet! Looking forward to this. I already do something with just some scripts.
Having a full fledged app would be nice.

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LeonB
I think playback is the thing that makes it nice. Glad to hear about you
scripting it... it’s really useful to have records, in a whole bunch of
situations.

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skinnymuch
Yeah the playback is what makes this cool. I started using TimeSnapper and am
really liking it. I do think it is lacking some depth and features. I was
going to email TimeSnapper back to give feedback this weekend.

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enobrev
I switched from Windows to Linux quite a few years ago, but when I was on
Windows, I was a paying customer and huge fan of TimeSnapper. It's one of the
few tools I truly missed after the move.

Well done, Leon. Glad to see TimeSnapper is still going!

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LeonB
Thanks so much enobrev, that’s really heart warming. ;) I use a bit of Linux
myself these days via WSL (and digital ocean droplets running .net core). I
feel strangely at home on Linux in a way I can’t really articulate. Perhaps in
a past life I was a file descriptor.

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scrumper
Hope our IT guys don't see this or it'll be a mandatory install via JAMF with
all pictures sent to a management shared folder.

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LeonB
We’ve been delivering TimeSnapper on windows for a decade and have never done
anything to encourage or support that kind of “customer”.

We’re popular with freelancers and accountants and developers and people
interested in personal productivity.

Every now and then there are people who ask for features that involve hiding
timesnapper or centralising its output... we direct them to read the EULA and
ask them to uninstall the product as they’re not someone we’re interested in
dealing with.

If I wouldn’t want it done to me I don’t help people do it to others: end of
story.

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ankushnarula
Have you considered any of the following to protect privacy & mitigate
eavesdropping:

\+ password or SSO protection for access to the app's data (use Kerberos/AD
SSO for credentials?)

\+ an end-user controlled encrypted store for the data & screenshots
(FUSE/WinFSP?)

\+ a daily local push/popup notification displayed to the logged-in user
with... a) app status b) data summary c) a quick action to toggle the
background recording service on/off

Just my $.02. Cheers!

~~~
LeonB
All good suggestions ankushnarula!

In the Windows version you can password protect the images. Because they're
stored locally there hasn't been a massive uptake in this feature, but some
people do use it.

The icon is not easily hidden from the task tray (and we don't provide any
option to encourage that). We found a daily notification too intrusive (as
users ourselves).

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LeonB
It’s not an electron app.

