June 2, 2014: Apple shows off OS X 10.10 Yosemite for the first time at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Following the Jony Ive-redesigned iOS 7, Yosemite boasts an aesthetic change that brings Apple’s desktop computers closer than ever to the look of the company’s mobile software.
Named after Yosemite National Park, the update follows the previous year’s Mavericks as the second Mac operating system named after a famous California landmark.
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.
An intrepid Apple Watch developer has managed to make a simulation of OS X Yosemite that runs on his wearable device.
15-year-old developer Billy Ellis revealed a quick preview of his latest project on his YouTube page. The program launches from his Apple Watch’s home screen and includes icons for the Finder, Launchpad, Settings, the App Store and Trash. You can see the demo in its entirety below.
Anyone who writes on a computer knows the mental juggling routine involved in keeping track of research, notes, drafts and edits. Scrivener 2 offers a way to consolidate the whole process in one place, making for a much more efficient and less time consuming writing process. The award-winning app has also been a hit with Cult of Mac readers, who now have an extra few hours to get a copy of Scrivener 2 for $19.50.
Apple plans to issue an update fixing two severe OS X Yosemite security flaws “as soon as possible,” according to a new report.
One bug is the recently discovered Thunderstrike 2, which allows attackers to overwrite a computer’s firmware in a way that is impossible to reverse unless users have the wherewithal to open up their Mac and manually reflash the chip.
The other is a “privilege escalation” bug known as DYLD that allows a program to run as though it has administrator access without prompting users to enter their passwords.
This post is brought to you by Paragon Software Group, maker of NTFS for Mac.
It’s an unfortunate truth that Macs and PCs generally don’t get along. Snickering ads aside, the discord between the platforms is a real inconvenience for anyone trying to make the jump from one to the other, or for people who work with both at the same time.
Luckily, software can help — and you can enter to win a three-in-one bundle that helps bridge the Mac-PC divide.
There are plenty of reasons why you might need to make an OS X bootable drive. Maybe you’re updating numerous Macs in your house and don’t want to download the installer every time. Perhaps you’ve replaced the hard drive in your iMac and need to install a fresh copy of OS X.
In the video below, I’ll show you how easy it is to create a bootable OS X Yosemite drive using software you can download for free.
When Apple killed development of iPhoto and Aperture last summer, it promised a replacement that would blend the best of the two apps into one solution: Photos for Mac.
Originally promised to arrive in “early 2015,” Photos for Mac is available for the first time in a new developer-only beta of OS X Yosemite. Unfortunately, everyone else will have to wait a little longer to get their hands on it.
We’ve known that a big redesign of Tweetbot for Mac has been in the works for awhile, and now Tapbots designer Mark Jardine has shared a little tease with the world.
Along with this morning’s iOS 8.1.3 update, Apple also has some new goodies for Mac users with the release of OS X Yosemite 10.10.2.
The update fixes a problem that caused Wi-Fi to disconnect. The latest version also includes a number of bug fixes for Spotlight, Bluetooth headphones, iCloud Drive and VoiceOver, while also improving stability and security in Safari.
The update is available now in the Mac App Store. Here’s a full list of the changes:
Well, there goes Alfred.
That’s the first thought I had when I saw the new Spotlight in OS X Yosemite. I feared Apple had basically made my favorite little app launcher obsolete (we nerds call it “sherlocked”).
I was wrong.
It’s six months later, and Alfred is doing just fine, thanks largely to a vibrant community built around its power features, or workflows. Spotlight may be able to quickly launch an app from anywhere, but Alfred can tell the weather, eject attached hard drives, and control your Nest thermostat.
And now, after five years on the Mac, Alfred is making the leap to iOS with a new companion app called Alfred Remote. Released today, it’s not going to be useful for most people, but serious Alfred users will love it. If anything, it’s evidence that you can still build a great app and community around core features offered by Apple.
2014 was an absolutely monumental year for Apple. Haters will hate, but one thing can’t be denied: This is a company that refuses to rest on its laurels.
Under Tim Cook’s leadership, Apple debuted a new product category with the Apple Watch, sold a record number of new iPhones, made the biggest acquisition in its history, and successfully sent its suffering stock price back into the stratosphere.
The company wasn’t without its missteps, but all in all, it’s hard to call 2014 anything short of a blow-away year for Apple.
There are tons of reasons why you might need to reformat your Mac: It’s slowing down, filling up with too many unneeded files to delete manually or suffering from major technical issues that can’t be fixed otherwise.
Or maybe you’re just selling it as you move on to a better, faster Mac and need to remove everything.
Have you been plagued with intermittent Wi-Fi dropping issues ever since you upgraded to OS X Yosemite? Have no fear, Apple’s fix is finally here to get your Mac back on track, with the official OS X 10.10.1 update.
Apple released OS X 10.10.1 to the public today with a couple of bug fixes, one of which will hopefully cure the Wi-Fi connectivity woes many users have reported on Apple’s support forums.
The Yosemite update comes after Apple also released iOS 8.1.1 today, to fix bugs on the iPhone 4s and iPad 2. Apple’s OS X 10.10.1 release also improves Microsoft Exchange server reliability, as well as Back to My Mac connections between two remove computers. The free update is available now in the Mac App Store.
One thing that makes iPhones so great is how each one can be so different, thanks to all the applications available, the many different ways to organize your home screen and all the other customization options that help you make Apple’s smartphone your own.
In today’s Cult of Mac video, I’ll show you what’s on my iPhone 6. You’ll find out how I keeps my iPhone organized, which apps I use most and more.
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OS X Yosemite is packed with new features. Unfortunately, not everybody knows every single trick to squeeze the latest, greatest functionality out of Apple’s new system software.
In today’s instructional Cult of Mac video, we share five basic OS X Yosemite tricks that everyone needs to know. We’ll show you how to make phone calls from your Mac, switch to Yosemite’s “dark mode,” use Spotlight like a pro, easily record video from your iOS device screen, and let other people control your Mac (and vice versa).
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The public release of OS X Yosemite rolled out three weeks ago, and since then Apple has been gradually bringing all of its own services in line with the look and feel of its new operating system.
Having previously tweaked the iTunes Store and its iWork suite, Apple is now updating the Mac App Store, adding the thinner fonts, simple white backdrop and gray separators synonymous with Yosemite.
As of now, only some tabs feature the newer design, while not everyone is seeing the redesign. Some users have reported not seeing it at all, others are seeing it intermittently, and yet others permanently. You can launch the Mac App Store from Yosemite to see if you currently reflect the update.
Whether you’re a Mac novice or a seasoned veteran, there are a ton of tips and ticks out there for mastering OS X Yosemite. In Part 2 of our Yosemite tip series, we gather more of the very best.
OS X Yosemite’s Mail app is a Mac-crashing memory hog, but that might be good news for Microsoft — it appears from new leaked images that Redmond is readying a special version of Outlook built especially for the new Apple OS X. And Office probably won’t be far behind.
OS X Yosemite is supposed to make Macs run more efficiently than ever, but some early upgraders have discovered a huge memory leak that causes memory pressure to skyrocket and productivity to drop.
The updated Mail app appears to be the culprit of the memory leak that is triggered whenever multiple files are dragged into an email to be added as attachments. Over 100 hundred users have confirmed the memory leak on Apple’s Support forum with screenshots of Mail hogging up to 24GB of RAM.
Apple pays more attention to the details then anyone else. Sometimes the details they pay attention to are so small, you don’t notice them at all for a long time… but once you see what they’ve done, you can never unsee it, or accept anything less.
Here’s a great example from OS X Yosemite. Compare the two images above. The top is from OS X Yosemite, the bottom from Windows 7. Notice anything? One of these images has much better typography than the other. But can you tell why?
With its candy-like icons, gradients, and transparencies, OS X Yosemite is a major departure from the look and feel of the Macintosh operating system. But if you don’t like that look and feel, here’s a few things you can do to make OS X look less candy-like, hearkening it back to the design language of OS 9.
In the past, using the Messages app on a Mac could be an irritating experience. And what if a friend dared to send a green-bubble text from an Android phone? When texting from your Mac, messaging those friends wasn’t possible until now.
In today’s Cult of Mac video, find out how to enable Text Message Forwarding between your iPhone and Mac. With iOS 8.1 and Yosemite installed, enjoying this seamless feature is just a few short taps and clicks away. Find out how to do it all in this speedy tutorial.
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Apple just released iOS 8.1, bringing Apple Pay, iCloud Photo Library and other new features to the mobile operating system.
Available now via Software Update, iOS 8.1 will let you quickly set up Apple Pay on compatible devices. Upgraders running OS X Yosemite will also notice additional Continuity features that let iOS 8 work with the latest version of the Mac operating system.
OS X Yosemite packs a lot of new features inside a cleaner, flatter interface on the Mac. It’s a big upgrade, and there’s a lot to take in at first glance.
Whether you’re a Mac novice or a seasoned expert, there’s plenty to explore in the latest version of OS X. Wondering how to get started? Here are some of the best tips and tricks for getting the most out of Yosemite:
