Clean Text does what it say on the... name. Photo: Apimac
Don’t you just hate messy text? Text with extra spaces between words. Text with carriage returns inserted in the middles of lines. Text with lots of %-encodes and %nbsp mixed in. Text with > symbols at the beginning of every line. Filthy, dirty, unclean text? What you need is Clean Text, the smiter of hinky formatting, and quasher of non-smart punctuation.
Keyboard snippets make your life way easier. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Text snippets are one of the most useful “unknown” features on Mac and iOS. They let you type a few letters, and have them expand into a whole word, sentence or paragraph. You can use them to type, say, aadd and have it turn into your office address, for example. Or you might set up a shortcut to generate a symbol usually hidden on the iOS keyboard: xx to type a #, for example.
Until now, though, Apple’s Text Replacement function proved a royal pain to use. It never synced properly between devices, and it didn’t support multiple-line snippets. But in an update last week, Apple fixed both those problems.
A macOS update adds support for Messages in iCloud. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple has rolled out a fix for a massive security flaw in macOS High Sierra.
The issue, disclosed on Tuesday, allows anyone to gain administrator access to your Mac without your login password. Apple asks users to install its latest update “as soon as possible.”
Apple let a major security flaw slip through the cracks. Photo: Apple
A serious security flaw in macOS High Sierra has been exposed that allows anyone to gain full access to affected Macs without knowing the computer’s administrative password.
The bug appears to let someone log into the admin account on a Mac by simply typing “root” as the username while leaving the password field blank. Attackers could potentially exploit the bug to access locked Macs and gain access to personal information.
'Appy weekend everyone! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
The long-awaited arrival of beloved Nintendo franchise Animal Crossing on iOS is just of one of the picks for this week’s “Awesome Apps of the Week.”
In addition, we’ve got a great writing app for Mac (perfect if you’re writing a book!), a popular ARPG, and a brilliant point-and-click adventure game. Check out our picks below.
iMac Pro packs an A10 Fusion processor with 512MB of RAM, according to Apple software. The chip will likely be dedicated to handling things like macOS boot, as well as always-on “Hey Siri.”
This Mac Mini concept is pretty crazy. Photo: Louis Berger
It’s time for Apple to think different when it comes to the Mac mini.
Even though it’s been over 1,000 days since Apple last updated its smallest Mac machine, Tim Cook insists it’s still an important part of Apple’s product line. Apple fans are desperate for an update, but if it looks anything like this concept it’ll have been well worth the wait.
iOS 11.2 brings Apple TV support to Control Center. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Developers received a bunch of new beta software updates from Apple today that included the third beta of iOS 11.2 and macOS 10.13.3 beta 3 as well.
The new betas contain a number of bug fixes and performance improvements as Apple prepares to launch Apple Pay cash and other new additions to the public later this year.
A new iOS beta has arrived. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Developers received a fresh of beta updates from Apple today, including the second build of iOS 11.2.
The new beta build comes just one week after Apple dropped the last version of iOS 11.2. Apple also just released the second beta builds for tvOS 11.2, watchOS 4.2 and macOS 10.13.2.
AAPL shares are on the rise. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple surprised investors with its best Q4 earnings report ever today. The outrageous numbers dispelled doubts about the iPhone-maker’s strategy — and pushed Apple closer to becoming the world’s first trillion-dollar company.
With the launch of the iPhone X just hours away, Apple CEO Tim Cook had a lot to be happy about during the earnings call with investors. Analysts quizzed Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri on everything from iPhone 8 sales to how Apple plans to monetize its augmented reality efforts.
Apple is worth more than the entire US energy sector combined Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple will give investors their first insight into iPhone 8 sales, right on the eve of the iPhone X launch.
The final Apple earnings call of 2017 takes place Thursday, November 2, at 2 p.m. Pacific. Apple’s fourth fiscal quarter ended right after the iPhone 8 started shipping. The results aren’t expected to be record-breaking, but this first glimpse should give us a better idea of how monstrous Apple’s holiday season will be.
Did you know that your Mac keeps older versions of the documents you work on, auto-saving them in the background so you can go back to a previous revision, any time you like? It’s just like Time Machine, Apple’s Mac backup feature, only it’s for individual files. It even lets you compare old and current versions of your file, side-by-side. It’s called file versioning, and it’s pretty rad.
Don't expect anymore Apple keynotes this year. Photo: Apple
Hoping for that long-overdue Mac mini refresh to arrive this year? Don’t count on it. Don’t count on any further product unveilings. Apple executive Craig Federighi has indicated that there will be no more special events this year.
Bag a Mac mini now for half the usual price. Photo: Apple
The Mac mini is still an “important part” of Apple’s lineup, according to CEO Tim Cook. The most affordable macOS machine has gone without an update for three years, but fans should not be worried about it getting the chop.
Undisturbed turns off those annoying red badges. Photo: Cult of Mac
Do you know how to turn on your Mac’s Do Not Disturb mode? That’s right, you open up the Notification sidebar, pull down, and toggle the switch. It works great. Right up until you look at the Dock, or the app switcher, and see a bunch of big red badges hassling you to read your email or check your boss’ Slack messages.
That’s where Undisturbed comes in. It’s an app that improves Do Not Disturb, so you really don’t get disturbed.
Cardhop was created by the stellar team behind Fantastical. Photo: Flexibits
Remember how Flexibits made managing your calendar incredibly easy with Fantastical? Now it is doing the same for your contacts with a brand new app called Cardhop.
Cardhop makes keeping your address book up to date and staying in touch with friends and colleagues quick and easy. It uses the same great natural language recognition found in Fantastical, and it’s available today on macOS.
The macOS High Sierra upgrade is causing iMessage issues. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
A frustrating bug in macOS High Sierra is causing significant iMessage delivery delays for some users. It is also causing notification issues on iPhone and Apple Watch, and as things stand, there is no real fix.
Editing your video clips will make them way less boring. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
The secret of a good movie is in the editing. Well, the script, the lightning, the directing, the photography and the acting are all important, but for home movies, you have little control over those.
So it’s down to the edit. And the most basic of edits is to lop the ends off a clip, to trim video and make it shorter. Watching excessively long clips is the equivalent of a conversation with someone who can’t ever get to the point. “Let me tell you about that time I fell out of the plane. It was a Tuesday. No, I think it was Wednesday. Wait, it must have been a Tuesday because …”
It’s painful. So, do yourself a favor and trim your video clips. Even if you’re not planning on combining your edits into a short movie, you should at least remove the cruft from anything you’re going to show. The good news is that it’s dead easy to trim video on Mac and iOS.
TwelveSouth's new Inspire Candle. Photo: TwelveSouth
Mac and iPhone accessory maker Twelve South is bringing back its Mac-scented candle that flew off store shelves last year. The all-new Inspire candle still smells like a new Mac but comes with some big updates to its design that are sure to delight Apple fans.
The MacBook Pro is about to face some tough competition from Microsoft’s newest laptop/tablet hybrid that was just revealed today.
Microsoft’s new Surface Book 2 computers are being billed as the most powerful laptops to come from Microsoft. The company even says they’re twice as powerful as the latest MacBook Pro.
A major security flaw has been discovered in Wi-Fi and we’re all at risk.
Researchers discovered the weakness in WPA2, the protocol that secures all modern Wi-Fi networks. Any modern device with a wireless connection could be open to a KRACK attack that would expose information like credit card numbers, passwords, messages and more.
Microsoft is overhauling its Outlook app for macOS. It will borrow from its mobile user interface to simplify the user experience and reduce complexity. The redesign is already being tested internally by Microsoft employees ahead of its public debut.
This week's best deals include a 21st century key keeper, top shelf apps, and more. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Another week, another round of great deals on top shelf gear, apps, and learning resources. This time, we’ve got a bundle of 5 premium Mac apps, and a keyring designed to never be lost. Additionally, we’ve got a powerful password manager and comprehensive course in iOS 11 development. Read on for more details:
Apple's extended wireless keyboard is only four months old. Photo: Apple
Apple’s Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad could be about to get a refresh.
Shipping estimates for the existing model, which launched just four months ago, have slipped to a surprising six to seven weeks. A new model could arrive alongside the exciting iMac Pro this December.