| Cult of Mac

Front and Center makes the Mac Finder behave like it should

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Front and Center screenshot
The window 'manager' you never knew you wanted.
Photo: John Siracusa

If you’re at your Mac, go ahead and click a window for another app (don’t forget to come back right away). Clicking an app’s window brings it to the foreground, of course. But did you notice that only the window you clicked came forward. If that other app has any other windows open, they will stay hidden. It wasn’t always this way. In pre-OS X days, the default behavior was to bring all those windows to the front. And now, thanks to a new app called Front and Center, from John Siracusa, you can get this behavior on a modern Mac.

The Mac mini is back and better than ever

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Apple Mac mini 2018
Save on the new Mac mini while you still can.
Photo: Apple

After being forgotten for four years, the Mac mini is back with an upgrade that was well worth waiting for.

Apple’s most affordable desktop, which is still small enough to stick anywhere, is vastly more powerful than it’s ever been before. You now get quad-core processors as standard, significantly faster graphics, all the memory you can shake at stick at, and so much more.

It also comes in gorgeous space gray.

Today in Apple history: OS 9 is ‘classic Mac’ operating system’s last stand

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Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 brought welcome new features.
Photo: Developers-Club

October 23: Today in Apple history: OS 9 is 'classic Mac' operating system's last stand October 23, 1999: Apple releases Mac OS 9, the last version of the classic Mac operating system before the company will make the leap to OS X a couple years later.

It does not veer far from OS 8 in terms of look and feel. However, OS 9 adds a few nifty features that make it well worth the upgrade.

Today in Apple history: NeXT customers get early taste of OS X

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NeXTstep
NeXTStep was an operating system ahead of its time.
Image: NeXT

September 18: Today in Apple history: NeXTStep gives NeXT customers an early taste of OS X September 18, 1989: Steve Jobs’ company NeXT Inc. ships version 1.0 of NeXTStep, its object-oriented, multitasking operating system.

Incredibly advanced for its time, NeXTStep is described by The New York Times as “Macintosh on steroids.” In an ironic twist, the operating system Jobs plans to use to compete with Cupertino turns out to be one of the things that saves Apple a decade later.

Apple blocks iTunes payment changes on old versions of iOS, OS X

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AirPods will ‘just work’ with a 10-year-old iPhone
AirPods will ‘just work’ with a 10-year-old iPhone
Photo: Apple

Apple has confirmed that it plans to block iTunes and App Store payment information changes on old versions of iOS, OS X, and Apple TV Software.

As of June 30, those with really old devices could have trouble making purchases when their existing payment information expires. Apple says the change is to “ensure your financial data is protected when you make purchases.”

OS X has now outlasted Apple’s classic Mac OS

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os x
OS X passed a major milestone this week.
Photo: Olarila

Call it macOS or OS X if you want, but today Apple’s Mac operating system passed a major milestone: overtaking Apple’s classic Mac OS by a single day.

Pointed out by Jason Snell of Six Colors, the original Mac operating system lasted 6,269 days from January 24, 1984 to March 24, 2001. The current operating system, meanwhile, has lasted from March 24, 2001 to the present day — a total of 6,270 days! Time sure flies, right?

Now anyone can try macOS High Sierra

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Apple Beta Software Program
Get in on the new betas while they're hot.
Photo: Apple

Public testers can finally get their first taste of Apple’s new operating system for Mac starting today with the release of the first public beta of macOS High Sierra.

Apple’s new operating system was unveiled earlier this month at WWDC 2017 where the company showed off macOS High Sierra’s new features and improved design. Developers have been testing the new software since June 5th, but now anyone can get macOS High Sierra which is being billed as Apple’s best desktop operating system ever.