Cult of Mac

A stealth announcement at WWDC23 is that Apple has significantly lowered the barrier of entry to port PC games to the Mac. A new Game Porting Toolkit “provides an emulation environment to run your existing, unmodified Windows game,” says Aiswariya Sreenivassan — a GPU, graphics and displays software engineer at Apple.

It’s a big gap to clear, which is why the Mac has been left behind in recent years. PC games are compiled for the Intel x86 architecture that the Mac just finished moving away from. The unified Apple silicon architecture bears little resemblance to the standard gaming PC with discrete graphics cards and memory. Apple’s Metal 3 library is very different from DirectX, Unity, Unreal and Vulkan — the usual suspects across the computing pond.

Apple’s new tools could open the floodgates for Mac ports of popular PC games. According to a game engine programmer I spoke with, the Game Porting Toolkit demo is “really impressive.” If the tools work as well in practice as in Apple’s demo, they “would be incredibly useful,” said the developer, who works for a major game developer and asked to remain anonymous.

Making regular, reoccurring payments will soon be a feature of Apple Cash. This will make the payment system useful for rent or allowances or other financial transactions that happen each week or month.

Plus, the system will be able to automatically bring in more money when needed.

If some random person decides you need to see a picture of his anatomy, iOS 17 will save you. The new Sensitive Content Warning scans texted images and automatically blurs any that contain nudity.

It’s a feature already in iPhone to protect children, and it’s now being extended to adults.

Apple TV+ comedy Platonic finds Will and Charlie stepping outside of their comfort zones this week, at a greater cost than either imagined.

The show, about two adult friends who try to reclaim their nonsexual friendship at the start of their middle age, finds them Charlie’s wife Sylvia all keeping secrets from each other — a sure sign that everything’s going according to plan, right?

Entitled “My Wife’s Boyfriend,” it’s a surprisingly effective episode, despite all the comic games that come out of left field.

A dozen “best-in-class” apps and games took honors in the Apple Design Awards Monday at WWDC23. Winning development teams hailed from around the world, delivering innovative apps with great design, Apple said.

“Apps and games are integral to how we live, work, and play. At Apple, we love to recognize outstanding developers whose apps reflect incredible creativity and design excellence,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations.

Apple is souping up the systems for entering text into iPhone with iOS 17. Autocorrect is getting enhanced with AI for fewer typos, as part of multiple improvements to what Apple calls “intelligent input.” And Dictation is getting a boost that promises more-accurate voice recognition, too.

I tested the changes in the first iOS 17 beta. Here’s how well they work … so far.

Just a day after Apple unveiled its Vision Pro AR/VR headset at WWDC23, news came along Tuesday that the company acquired Los Angeles-based AR headset startup Mira.

Mira makes headsets for other companies — notably Super Nintendo World theme parks — and holds contracts with the U.S. military.

Father’s Day is fast approaching, and if you’re still searching for a way to treat your dad, dining out is always an appreciated gesture. Fortunately, even if you can’t be there to join him in person, there’s an easy way to pick up the check for his meal this holiday and beyond.

For a limited time, you can take advantage of a digital deal that drops the cost of a $100 Restaurant.com gift card to only $14, with no coupon required. Depending on where he dines, that means Dad can enjoy up to four or five meals — with no expense to him, and essentially the cost of a sandwich to you.

However, this special Father’s Day Sale only runs through June 11. So act fast!

How does Apple’s new “spatial computing” platform visionOS work exactly?

At WWDC23 this week, Apple detailed a bunch of interesting tidbits about how the new Vision Pro headset works. Apple detailed how buttons look and behave in the spatial computer, how they are pressed without any physical controls, and how apps work in 3D.

Here’s how Apple’s spatial interface works.

Apple has made its OS developer beta builds free to download. You can now enroll in the Apple Developer Program for free.

This will allow you to download the latest iOS, iPadOS, or macOS beta for free. Previously, Apple made the download available for developers who paid the yearly $99 subscription fees.

watchOS 10 will bring Optimized Charge Limit, as seen on the Apple Watch Ultra, to older Apple smartwatches. The feature debuted with watchOS 9 but was only available for the Ultra wearable.

Optimized Charge Limit is different from Optimized Battery Charging. However, both features aim to extend the lifespan of your Apple Watch’s battery.

Does your dad enjoy spending time outdoors and sipping his favorite beverage while socializing with friends? Then your search for the perfect Father’s Day gift has led you to right place, as a simple yet innovative yard game is currently available at a big discount.

Pick up the PutterBall backyard golf game, complete with a travel bag, turf board, balls and mini putters, for only $159.97 (regularly $229), with no coupon necessary. This Father’s Day deal results in the best pricing you’ll find online. But to guarantee delivery by the holiday, you must place your order by June 5.

Sharing your contact information and more with people will get easier with new AirDrop functionality in iOS 17. A new feature called NameDrop makes it about as simple as knocking iPhones together.

“Today, you either hand your phone to them, or one of you dictates your information while the other types it. Now there’s a better way,” said Apple SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi during Monday’s WWDC23 keynote. “Now you can just bring your phones close together.”

How can you install the watchOS 10 Developer Beta? While the release is months away, you might want to take it for a test drive or see how your apps work in the new release. Right now, you need to make sure you’re signed into your developer Apple ID and that you have developer betas turned on in the Settings app.

These days, the process is far easier. You no longer need to install a beta profile and reboot your watch a bunch of times to get it working.

WWDC23’s keynote wasn’t just about big OS and hardware releases. It also brought some fun stuff — like new sticker functionality coming to the Messages app and beyond.

Using Messages on your iPhone (and perhaps elsewhere), you should be able to liven up your texting by turning any emoji, photo subject or even Live Photo (short video) into a sticker you can drag into any text bubble — or anywhere you use emoji.

How can you install the macOS 14 Sonoma Developer Beta? While the release is months away, you might want to take it for a test drive or see how your apps work in the new release. Right now, you need to make sure you’re signed into your developer Apple ID and that you have developer betas turned on in the Settings app.

These days, the process is far easier. You no longer need to install a beta profile and reboot your Mac a bunch of times to get it working.

How can you install the iPadOS 17 Developer Beta? While the release is months away, you might want to take it for a test drive or see how your apps work in the new release. Right now, you need to make sure you’re signed into your developer Apple ID and that you have developer betas turned on in the Settings app.

These days, the process is far easier. You no longer need to install a beta profile and reboot your tablet a bunch of times to get it working.

Three years after it came out, Bluetti’s stalwart AC200P power station remains a high-value tool for all your power needs — whether you’re camping in a remote spot or living through a power outage at home. Right from the start, Bluetti’s all-in-one generator stood out because of its outstanding features and competitive price.

It’s barely summer and Apple is already thinking about heading back to school in the fall. But at least it’s offering students a $150 gift card with a qualifying Mac purchase, and a $100 gift card with a qualifying iPad purchase.

That’s on top of educational pricing for these computers. And a deal on AppleCare+.

How can you install the iOS 17 Developer Beta? While the release is months away, you might want to take it for a test drive or see how your apps work in the new release. Right now, you need to make sure you’re signed into your developer Apple ID and that you have developer betas turned on in the Settings app.

These days, the process is far easier. You no longer need to install a beta profile and reboot your phone a bunch of times to get it working.

Along with macOS Sonoma and its new features will come Safari 17, the new iteration of Apple’s web browser. It brings an enhanced browsing experience with an even greater emphasis than before on privacy, and most changes will probably apply to iOS and iPadOS, as well.

The changes aren’t terribly glamorous, but beefed-up Private Browsing protects against prying eyes online and off, in addition to some other security enhancements.

And in terms of organization, the new Profiles feature helps you keep separate parts of your life separate and website apps keep your favorite sites at your fingertips.

During their WWDC23 keynote, along side the introduction of iOS 17, Apple also previewed their new Journaling app. In line with previous rumors and expectations, the app is designed to make it simple to quickly capture a wide range of aspects about your day.

If your dad doesn’t have a favorite kitchen knife — he soon will. This fantastic Kitchen Master 8-inch chef knife from Kiru could definitely take the title — just in time for Father’s Day.

Plugable just launched a hub for MacBook or iPad users who need to connect to multiple USB-A accessories. It includes four ports for legacy accessories, and connects to the computer via USB-C.

The inexpensive hub is designed for use in an office or on the go.

iOS 17 will make entering one-time codes received by mail a lot easier. Safari in iOS 17 will autofill verification codes that land in your mailbox.

The Messages app in iOS 16 can already autofill OTP codes in Safari and other apps. Apple is extending the same functionality to the Mail app.