Like any new Apple software release, OS X Yosemite has great third-party apps that are worth checking out.
Developers can take advantage of iOS 8-like extensions, Handoff, iCloud Drive, Notification Center widgets, and more to create a better experience. Many apps also need to be updated aesthetically to look at home in Yosemite’s cleaner, flatter design. The ones that aren’t updated stick out like sore thumbs.
We’ve collected a running list of the best third-party apps that are already optimized for Yosemite:
First launched in January 2011, the Mac App Store promised to give developers the same sort of centralized marketplace to sell their apps that had made the iOS App Store such a success. Instead of making developers rich or giving them a better place to market their apps, though, an increasing number of developers are actually leaving the Mac App Store in what Milen Dzhumerov, one of the devopers behind Monodraw, has called a “subtle exodus.”
Why? It all has to do with Apple’s Mac App Store policies.
The messy way to make fruit salad. Photo: Columbia Pictures
It’s not just the Macintosh which turned 30 this year. Another beloved franchise many of us were introduced to as kids, Ghostbusters, also ushers in its fourth decade with… an update to Halfbrick’s fructose-slicing iOS game Fruit Ninja?
That’s right, the game which we first reviewed all the way back in 2010 has received a ghostly update which enhances the already fun title with some neat new visual effects and a great haunted soundtrack.
Instead of a ninja blade, the update means your fruit chopping is now carried out using the Ghostbusters’ proton packs, while true to the movies there’s even the possibility of “crossing the beams” to create an explosion that will turn every melon, pineapple and orange into instant fruit salad.
GTAT's sapphire glass didn't land in the iPhone, but its execs still made a fortune.
There’s no better time to drop some bad news than during an Apple keynote. So while the rest of the world was distracted with new iPads and a Retina iMac, Apple’s sapphire glass supplier informed workers at its Mesa, Arizona plant that most of them are getting laid off.
The sapphire plant was expected to bring over 2,000 new jobs to the area in its effort to supply iPhones and Apple Watches with unbreakable displays, but after 12 months of disaster, GT Advanced Technologies informed Mesa City Council today of its plan to eliminate 727 jobs from the plant.
Tim Cook bores the world with even more amazing Apple products. Yawn. Photo: Apple
Was Apple’s livestreamed iPad event really such a big yawn? Search Twitter for “#AppleEvent yawn” or “Apple boring” and you’ll see tweet after tweet bemoaning the boring nature of Thursday’s press conference. It got so tedious for some, there were dozens of photos of napping dogs.
“Most boring Apple event ever,” tweeted one. “Bring back the Chinese translation.”
Maybe some of those folks are being facetious, but there’s a grain of truth in the tweets: Nothing about Thursday’s event, except for maybe Stephen Colbert’s crackup comedy bit with Craig Federighi, was super-compelling on the surface. Many of the specs had been leaked (some even by Apple itself), and the rumor mill proved pretty accurate in the run-up to the presentation.
Still, this was no Phantom Menace. I mean really, what were people expecting? Jetpacks, aliens and electric cars?
This is Apple’s big dilemma right now: How do you top yourself when you make the best products in the world?
Apple product launches generally run like clockwork and, true to form, the moment today’s keynote came to a close, Cupertino’s digital media team sprung into action by uploading three new videos to its YouTube channel showcasing the company’s brand new iPad Air 2 and 27-inch Retina iMac.
After announcing new iPads and Macs today, Apple has unleashed OS X Yosemite on the world as a free download in the Mac App Store. Yosemite is a major upgrade to OS X that’s been in developer and public beta for the past several months.
“OS X Yosemite is the most advanced version of OS X we’ve ever built, with a brand new design, amazing Continuity features and powerful versions of the apps you use every day,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, in a statement. “OS X Yosemite ushers in the future of computing, where your Apple devices all work together seamlessly and magically. It’s something only Apple can do, and it’s available today.”
Before you install Yosemite, make sure your Mac is supported.
The iPad Air 2 is the best tablet Apple’s ever made. The iPad mini 3 is good, but it’s also a gigantic ripoff.
Phil Schiller gushed over all the new iPad Air 2 upgrades during today’s keynote, reveling in its improved camera, powerful A8X chip, anti-reflective coating and Touch ID. But when it came to the iPad mini 3, Apple tried to slide quickly past it, and for good reason – there weren’t any upgrades to brag about.
Tim Cook gets ready to show off some new Apple products at the iPad Air 2 event. Photo: Apple
It’s been way too long, joked Apple, since any groundbreaking announcements like the Apple Watch and iPhone 6 Plus. While the product refreshes announced at today’s iPad-centric event aren’t as high on “wow” as the revelations during last month’s big show, these are solid updates to product lines that continue to make Apple great.
Here are the top 12 things you need to know from today’s Apple event.
After two long years sitting on the bench, Apple finally updated the humble Mac mini with faster processors, faster Wi-Fi and much better graphics. It also gets a modest price drop, now starting at a reasonable $499 — although you could probably buy two low-end Windows PCs for the same price.
However, the mini is a Macintosh, running OS X Yosemite, and not stinky Windows. It makes for a great media center PC or a starter machine. In fact, everyone here at the Cult of Mac offices is talking about buying one to put under their TV.
“People love Mac mini,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s head of marketing said in a statement. “It’s a great first Mac or addition to your home network, and the new Mac mini is a nice upgrade packed into an incredibly compact design.”
There’s a really cool feature in today’s new iPads that got zero stage time during the keynote. Apple has built its own SIM card that allows the user to switch between different carriers and plans right from iOS.
Tim Cook unveiled the rest of Apple's 2014 lineup today. Photo: Apple
Apple’s iPad Air 2 and Retina iMac keynote this morning was short on surprises, but if you weren’t able to watch the live stream as Tim Cook and Phil Schiller revealed the deets on Apple’s newest products, you can relive it on Apple.com.
The full video of today’s keynote has been posted on Apple’s website, and is also available on the dedicated Apple TV channel that showed up on devices today. The first half was mostly just a recap of Apple’s news from WWDC and last month’s keynote, but now you can just skip straight to Chief Secrecy Officer Stephen Colbert’s hilarious skit with Hair Force One at the 30 minute mark.
Apple finally unveiled its iMac with Retina 5K display this morning, and while the screen is bigger, brighter and more hi-deffer than ever, Apple still managed to make an incredible machine that’s gorgeous and affordable.
It’s the most incredible iMac Apple’s ever built, thanks to a Retina 5K display that puts high-end 4K displays to shame and upgraded processors and graphics in a package that’s just 5mm thin.
Think your desktop is ready for a Retina upgrade? Here’s what you need to know about Apple’s new desktop beast:
Today Apple announced two new iPads: the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3. Some pricing adjustments were also made across the entire iPad lineup, with the first-gen iPad mini now costing only $249.
Apple news overload? Fear not. Here’s everything you need to know about today’s new iPads:
The online Apple Store is ready to take your Retina iMac order. Photo: Apple
Tim Cook and Phil Schiller just got done revealing the new iPad Air 2 and iMac with Retina 5k display, and while you can’t pre-order the new iPads until tomorrow, the new iMac and Mac mini are available now.
The online Apple Store is back up and running with new sections for the iMac with Retina 5k display, and the updated Mac mini that got a price drop. Both items can be ordered right now, with the Retina iMac starting at $2,499, and the Mac mini coming in at $499.
That blur there is a quad-copter, racing through a sweet forest obstacle course. Screengrab: New Scientist
It may be hard to tell from the image above, but that’s a hot-rodding quadcopter speeding through the forest at about 100 miles an hour. The drone is taking part in the first large-scale first-person video drone race ever in the United States, held last week in Los Angeles.
For the operators, staring at video screens or wearing virtual reality goggles while their drones record the high-speed chase via tiny mounted cameras, the experience is not unlike the best part of the prequel Star Wars movies — the podracing scene.
Check out the video below for a better sense of what these guys are doing.
Back when I was in college, I didn’t have a computer and I didn’t have a typewriter. I did, however, need a way to write papers for my classes. While this may date me, my solution was to purchase an electric typewriter that had word-processing capabilities (I think it was a Brother). I could see one line at a time on it, and the only way to see a whole page was to print it out using the typewriter itself.
These days, of course, we all use full-on super computers to write our blog posts, school papers, and reports for work. You can’t get away from them. If you just want to write, you have to discipline yourself to turn off the Wi-Fi and ignore the constant stream of beeps and notifications that make up a typical work or school day.
The Hemingwrite wants to be the answer to the always-on computer writing conundrum. Instead of eschewing all network connectivity, however, the Hemingwrite tries something different.
“It combines the simplicity of a ’90s era word processor with the modern tech we all require,” writes the team on their web page, “like cloud backups and integration into our favorite document editors like Google docs and Evernote.”
Designed to help friends and family check on their nearest and dearest during natural disasters, Facebook is introducing a new Safety Check feature for its mobile app.
The tool works by sending a push notification to devices that are near to an affected area. Locations are determined by looking at the places listed in profiles, previous locations from the Nearby Friends feature, and the city from which you’re connecting to the Internet.
All a Facebook user needs to do in the event of an emergency is hit an “I’m safe” button and a news notification will be generated automatically on the Timeline.
Fantastic sounding drums at your feet. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
There’s always that moment when your drummer can’t show up for rehearsal. She’s got some other commitment. He’s got another gig. Her boyfriend needs her to take him to the hospital.
It happens. When it does, you can do what I’ve always done – pound your foot against the floor and try to muddle on through – or you can use a drum machine. The problem with standard drum machines is that they’re made to be used by hands or, in some cases, drum sticks. I’m not a drummer (no sticks) and I need my hands to play my guitar. What I really need is a drum machine I can play from the floor, guitar-pedal style.
That’s what caught my eye about the BeatBuddy – this is a guitar-pedal-style device that lets you use your foot to play back drum beats in a variety of styles, fills and different parts included. This is my new best friend when the drummer can’t make it to practice, and it may become my new stage pal if I take my act solo.
Apple will livestream today's keynote. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
After the disaster that was Apple’s last keynote live stream, it seemed possible that Apple wouldn’t attempt another one for its October 16, where the company is expected to unveil new versions of the iPad, its long-awaited Retina Display iMac, and more.
Fortunately those fears were for nothing, and with just hours to go before the event kicks off, Apple has added its usual “Apple Events” channel to Apple TV.
The channel is represented by an icon, matching the image on the invites sent out for the event, reading “It’s been way too long.”
For years in the pages of DC, the status quo for Lois Lane and Clark Kent were the two coworkers who, even before their comic book wedding, essentially behaved like an old married couple: bickering with one another, finishing each other’s sentences, and generally acting like characters who had been stuck treading water for the past 50 years. Which is exactly what they were.
Lois and Clark shook up the dynamic by taking both characters back to basics and developing their relationship from the first meeting. Sure, not every aspect of the show has held up (the special effects look a bit ropey) but as a character study showing how both became the people we know them as today, it was perfect.
From beloved material to pariah, no-one wants to touch sapphire now Apple's ditched its plans.
The start of any innovative business should be identifying a service that the current market leader in the sector is not supplying.
With Apple’s failure to provide sapphire displays for its latest iPhones — thanks to the spectacular collapse of now-bankrupt supplier GT Advanced Technologies — you’d think that other smartphone makers would be climbing over one another to bring sapphire-enhanced smartphones to market; demonstrating that they can do what Tim Cook and his billions of dollars weren’t able to.
Which is why it’s something of a surprise (or perhaps not!) to hear that Apple’s troubles with sapphire displays has pretty much discouraged other companies from trying the same thing.
Right on cue, the Apple Online Store has gone down hours ahead of today’s special event. When it returns later today, we expect to see new iPads, new Macs, and maybe even a new Apple TV.
Tim Cook shows off the growing family of Apple products. Photo: Apple
It’s been way too long since Apple showered us with new products like the iPhone 6, 6 Plus and Apple Watch, but Tim Cook and his crew are ready to go in for round two at a town hall keynote today at Apple HQ. New iPads, a Retina iMac and OS X Yosemite are rumored to be on the menu, but will Apple have one more surprise waiting for us?
Apple’s holiday lineup will be revealed in just a few short hours, and we’ll be here liveblogging all the details as the event unfolds. So bookmark this page, and come back at 10 a.m. Pacific for what will most likely be Apple’s last major announcements of 2014.
