macOS - page 24

Apple’s new MacBook Pro ad celebrates invention of the Touch Bar

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The Touch Bar is Apple's newest brilliant idea.
The Touch Bar is Apple's newest brilliant idea.
Photo: Apple

The new MacBook Pro finally lands in stores this week, and an awesome new Apple ad celebrates the arrival.

In the new spot, called “Bulbs,” Apple links the invention of fire, the wheel, plow and more to the creation of the Touch Bar, the thin OLED strip that completely changes how you interact with your Mac.

Hackers can use this tiny $5 device to attack your locked Mac

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PoisonTap is tiny but deadly.
PoisonTap is tiny but deadly.
Photo: Samy Kamkar

The next time you leave your Mac unattended, make sure to turn it off.

A well-known hacker has created a cheap tool that can steal data off of locked computers in minutes. The clever new device called PoisonTap is created using a $5 Raspberry Pi Zero and some open source code. Attackers can plug PoisonTap into a machine and as long as the victim has a web browser open, it can steal data and leave remote backdoors.

Apple seeds new betas for iOS, macOS Sierra and tvOS

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iPhone 7
iOS 10.2 brings new wallpapers to iPhone 7.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The third beta build of iOS 10.2 is now available to developers, just a week after Apple released the last update.

iOS 10.2 beta 3 is accompanied by the third betas for macOS Sierra 10.12.2 and tvOS 10.1. The previous versions of the beta updates added support for dozens of new emoji, an SOS feature and much more.

Apple Pay can now score you big holiday discounts

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Lululemon and other retailers are offering Apple Pay deals.
Lululemon and other retailers are offering Apple Pay deals.
Photo: Apple

Looking to get the best deals on gifts this holiday season? Apple Pay may be the answer.

Apple has created a new promotion for Apple Pay on the Mac that gives shoppers tons of discounts at top retailers when you use Apple Pay. Shops like Adidas, Lululemon, Casper and Vacatia have teamed up with Apple on the promotion. And there’s more to come.

Here’s are the deals you can get:

2016 MacBook Pro loses the iconic startup chime

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maxresdefault
The "chime" sound effect has long been part of macOS.
Photo: Apple

Physical function keys on the Mac and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone aren’t the only casualties of 2016. According to eagle-eyed (eagle-eared?) reporters, the new MacBook Pro jettisons the iconic F-sharp sound Apple uses to show a Mac is booting up.

The reason does, we admit, make sense — but it’s still sad to see a piece of Apple history join that great Mac museum in the sky.

Is the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar a touchscreen replacement? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Would you prefer a touchscreen?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s new MacBook Pro has arrived with its exciting OLED Touch Bar, giving users a brand new way to interact with macOS. It’s the closest we’ll get to a touchscreen on a Mac — at least for the foreseeable future — but is it a suitable replacement?

Friday Night Fights bugThe Touch Bar is already supported by all of Apple’s own apps, and the company says developers are quickly adapting their own software for it. It’s only going to get more useful over time, but would a Mac touchscreen be even better?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over the Touch Bar and whether it can help macOS users forget all about touchscreen computers.

Here’s why Apple will never give MacBook a touchscreen

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macbook pro
The new MacBook Pro is stunner.
Photo: Apple

Desktop computers aren’t going away any decade soon. Not if Jony Ive and Phil Schiller have to say anything about it.

In an interview with Ive, Schiller and Magic Man Craig Federighi, Apple’s team of vets explain that they don’t plan to ever morph the iPad and Mac together to make a Frankenstein desktop tablet like the Surface Studio.

New MacBook Pro is thinner, faster and more magical

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macbook pro
Meet the new MacBook Pro.
Photo: Apple

The MacBook Pro refresh we’ve been eagerly anticipating for months is finally here, and it’s everything we dreamt it would be.

Apple’s new high-end notebooks deliver a sleeker design, Intel’s latest Skylake processors, and that magic Touch Bar with Touch ID that we’ve been hearing so much about. The only real problem is the price.

Does the new MacBook Pro need an OLED touchbar? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf1b
Useful upgrade or unnecessary gimmick?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s new MacBook Pro is right around the corner, if recent rumors are to be believed, and it’s shaping up to be one of the most significant refreshes we’ve seen in years. Spy photos all but confirm a new OLED touchbar is coming, but is this advanced hardware really necessary?

Friday Night Fights bug Those who are excited about it can see the how customizable function keys might improve their experience in macOS, while others believe it will be little more than a gimmick.

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we discuss whether the MacBook Pro really needs an OLED touchbar.

5 hidden macOS Sierra features you may not know exist

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macOS Sierra
There's plenty of hidden macOS Sierra features, here's our top 5.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s latest Mac operating system has a host of big new features including Siri, Apple Pay on the web and Universal Clipboard.

But with so many marquee features, you may be missing some of the more hidden capabilities and tips. Check out our video below of the top five hidden macOS Sierra features you may not know exist.

Apple drops new betas for iOS, tvOS, watchOS and macOS

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Hold off on iOS 10 for now.
The first iOS 10.1 beta is already here.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple just released macOS Sierra to the public yesterday, but work on a fresh new update is already underway after Apple seeded macOS Sierra 10.12.1 to developers this morning.

Along with the new macOS Sierra beta, Apple has also released the first beta builds of iOS 10.1, tvOS 10.1 and watchOS 3.1, bringing a slew of bug fixes to every single platform as well as Portrait Mode for the iPhone 7 Plus dual-lens camera.

How to use Siri to multitask more efficiently in macOS Sierra

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macOS Siri Multitasking
Siri on macOS takes multitasking to the next level.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Through innovations like “Hey Siri” on iOS, and the ability to pin Siri search results to your Mac’s Notification Center, Apple has been working to make its virtual assistant more useful than ever. One more such application is the ability to use Siri to multitask on macOS Sierra.

Here’s how to take advantage of this feature when running the latest Mac operating system, which is currently in public beta and will be released this fall.

macOS Sierra and tvOS 10 get sixth beta builds

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Picture in Picture macOS Sierra
macOS Sierra brings Picture-in-Picture to the Mac.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple continues to polish macOS Sierra and tvOS 10, seeding the sixth beta builds of the new software updates to developers today.

The new betas come a week after Apple dropped the last batch of betas, which brought a number of new bug fixes and performance improvements to the gigantic releases that are set for public launch this fall.

macOS Sierra beta 4 is now available to developers

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macOS Sierra is here!
macOS Sierra is here!
Photo: Apple

Along with dropping three new beta builds for iOS 10, tvOS and watchOS this morning, Apple has seeded a fourth beta of macOS Sierra for developers to test.

The new beta is available for download directly from the Mac App Store if you have the previous build installed and comes just two weeks after Apple dropped macOS Sierra beta 3. The upcoming update for Macs brings a ton of new features, including Siri for Mac, auto-unlock with Apple Watch, Apple Pay, better iCloud integration and more.

Apple seeds macOS Sierra public beta 2 to testers

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You'll need to be a registered developer to get them today.
You'll need to be a registered developer to get them today.
Photo: Apple

Along with dropping the second public beta of iOS 10 this morning, Apple has seeded a new beta of macOS Sierra for members of its Apple Beta Software Program.

The new build comes two weeks after the first macOS Sierra was made available to testers, and is available for download immediately through the Mac App Store’s software update section.

When will Apple take gaming seriously? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Gaming isn't great on most Apple devices.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Less than two weeks after making its debut, Pokémon Go is already the most popular mobile game in U.S. history, earning developer Niantic millions of dollars every day. Apple takes a 30 percent cut of that, but is it doing enough to make gaming great on its own platforms?

Friday Night Fights bug It’s hard to argue gaming could be better on iPhone and iPad — though we could use better gaming accessories — but platforms like tvOS and macOS seem somewhat neglected. With Mac sales finally falling, should Apple do more to appeal to gamers?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we throw virtual hands over gaming on Apple devices.

How to install iOS 10 public beta the right way

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PublicBeta
Try out Apple's latest OS before anyone else.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The iOS 10 public beta is finally here! It’s never a great idea to install beta releases on a primary device, but many of us just can’t wait to get our hands on the latest features. Fortunately, if you update properly, there’s an easy route back if you decide it’s just not stable enough for you.

Our helpful step-by-step tutorial video that will walk you through the whole process!

How to install the macOS Sierra public beta the right way

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macOS Sierra
Install macOS safely with this handy how-to video.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you’ve been thinking about downloading and installing the latest macOS Sierra public beta, but you’re worried it might be too difficult, Cult of Mac is here to help.

Although using beta releases on your primary computer isn’t recommended, a lot of people (including myself) just can’t wait until the public release later this fall to try out the latest features Apple has to offer.

We’ve gone ahead and installed the public beta to bring you this handy step-by-step tutorial video. Check it out below.

Dark mode might get even darker in macOS Sierra

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You'll need to be a registered developer to get them today.
Apple is working on a better dark mode for macOS Sierra.
Photo: Apple

iOS 10 might not be not be the only Apple operating system set to get a darker coat of paint later this year.

After scouring through Apple’s first two betas of macOS Sierra, an OS X developer has discovered that Apple has hidden the ability to activate Dark Mode in a broader way on the Mac — and it’s making it easier for third-party developers to take advantage of the new feature.