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Parallels Desktop, a go-to program for anybody wanting to run Windows on a Mac, just got more powerful and convenient to use. The Parallels Desktop 12 update, brings increased speed as well as a suite of handy new tools that simplify everyday tasks.

“This is the best Windows-on-Mac performance in the history of Parallels,” said John Uppendahl, Parallels’ vice president of communications, during a briefing about the new software, which will be available Thursday for subscribers and upgraders. (New users must wait until Aug. 23.)

Apple’s next-generation iPhones will indeed be named the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but they will not be accompanied by an iPhone 7 Pro, according to a new report citing “reliable sources.”

The Mac debut of Siri on macOS Sierra opens up a ton of intriguing new use-cases in terms of functionality. One of the most useful? The ability to use Apple’s virtual assistant to search for photos either on the web or your own computer — and then drag them into directly into apps.

Here’s how to use the feature when running Apple’s next-gen macOS, which is currently in public beta and will be released this fall.

When Chris Maury tried helping an elderly blind woman use voice commands on an iPad, she thanked him but said, “I just wish Siri could read me the news.”

Maury understood her frustration. He, too, was losing his vision and could foresee a struggle to remain productive using the visual interfaces common on all computing devices.

The slim Lightning cables that come with our iPhones serve as their lifeline, but they sure are fragile. If you’ve had one for more than a few weeks, you’ve seen it get frayed, cut, scuffed, and generally put through the ringer. It’s only sensible to have a backup lying around, or three — right now you can get a trio of MFi-certified Lightning cables for a big discount, $21.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Most people are pretty darn excited about the possibility of Apple adding an OLED display to the iPhone in the near future, but according to one analyst, the feature is likely to be rolled out slowly — arriving first of all as an “added bonus” for only select higher-end iPhones.

August 17, 1944: Larry Ellison, billionaire co-founder and former CEO of Oracle, and Steve Jobs’ best friend, is born.

A later member of the Apple board of directors and the closest thing Jobs had to a confidante, in the 1990s Ellison even considered staging a hostile takeover of Apple to reinstall Jobs as CEO during his time away from the company.

Jobs’ son, Reed, reportedly referred to Ellison as, “our rich friend.”

This post is brought to you by i2e Consulting.

Keeping any project on track is like cooking a meal, requiring close attention to all the ingredients as well as the sequence and timing of critical tasks. In the kitchen you use a cookbook; in the digital workplace, you face a dizzying array of platforms and software for keeping all the goals, team members, deadlines and contingencies in order.

Project Planning Pro streamlines all that, and right now Cult of Mac is offering a special 30 percent discount on the Mac version of the easy-to-use software.

The Apple Watch has been out for well over a year now, and it’s beginning to get a little bit long in the tooth. In addition, the second-generation wearable, which is rumored to arrive along with the iPhone 7 this September, isn’t shaping up to be a worthy upgrade just yet.

The best way to breathe new life into your Apple Watch is to customize it with some different bands and bracelets. Check out my top seven picks in the video below.

A new iPhone 7 Plus prototype has leaked out weeks ahead of its official debut, and not only is it a working handset running regular iOS, but it’s also finished in a beautiful blue that could be added to the iPhone lineup this fall.

Apple Watch is getting a UI makeover with watchOS 3 which completely changes how you interact with apps, making them faster and easier to access thanks to the all new Dock feature.

Now when wearers press the side button on Apple Watch, instead of bringing up your favorite contacts, the watch brings up the dock providing a quick view of your favorite apps that are now updated immediately, so you spend less time staring at the spinning wheel.

Here’s how to make the most of the new Apple Watch dock:

Apple desperately wants the iPad to replace your computer, but it can’t carry out everyday computer tasks as well as some other tablets can. Microsoft highlights that by mocking the iPad Pro’s computer dream in its new Surface Pro 4 ad.

Is your living room like a boneyard for old remotes? In the age of smart devices, having a separate plastic brick for each appliance in our home seems pretty dumb. Blumoo went ahead and did the logical thing, creating an app that turns your Android or iPhone (or Apple Watch) into a universal remote for your A/V devices. For a limited time, you can get it for $47.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

A new iPhone 7 component leak suggests Apple’s next-generation smartphones will finally deliver faster charging technology. According to one leaker, the devices will feature “at least” five volt two amp charging.

August 16, 2013: JOBS, the Steve Jobs biopic starring Ashton Kutcher, lands in theaters.

The first of two competing Jobs movies (the second one was the Aaron Sorkin version, based on Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography), the movie receives polarizing reviews from critics, but fails to make an impact at the box office — where it earns just $6.7 million in its first weekend.

The release of Apple Maps with iOS 6 was so disastrous it led to the firing of Scott Forstall, former SVP of iOS, and to a rare public apology from CEO Tim Cook.

Almost four years on, Maps is in a very different place. Apple has worked hard to iron out the kinks and add new features that help the service compete with rivals like Google Maps. But is Apple Maps still the laughing stock of maps apps?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fights as we battle it out over the state of Apple Maps.

Apple has today rolled out its sixth beta updates for iOS 10 and watchOS 3 ahead of their public debuts this fall. iOS 10 beta 5 is also available for public testers, and all releases promise improvements to performance and stability.

Apple has made a bunch of improvements to its QuickType keyboard for iOS 10, and one of those is support for multilingual typing. This lets you type in multiple languages simultaneously, and it’s super simple to set up. Here’s how.

iPhone sales continued to decline in China during the second quarter of 2016, despite a slight rise in overall smartphone shipments. High-end devices from Samsung are also struggling, and it seems unlikely the situation will change soon.

The secondary speaker grille on recent iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus mockups has led us to believe Apple’s next-generation smartphones will get an extra speaker, but according to a new leak, one of those grilles may be just for show.

The devices in Apple’s ecosystem always work really well together, and macOS Sierra doesn’t buck that trend. In fact, the upcoming desktop operating system lets Apple Watch owners automatically unlock their Macs using the wearable device — no lengthy password needed.

It’s a small, but incredibly useful, new feature that rewards Mac owners who have taken the dive and invested in an Apple Watch. Here’s how to use it when running macOS Sierra, which is currently in public beta and will be released this fall.

Twitter has inked a deal with the NFL that will allow it to live-stream content to iOS and later the Apple TV. It’s thought the company has paid around $10 million to stream ten games — all of which are Thursday night fixtures.

Traveling puts you in many situations where your mobile device or laptop need juice but there’s none to be found. It’s a problem you can avoid entirely by bringing the power you need with you, which is a lot more convenient than it sounds.

These two battery packs by Mophie — one a sleek power brick with multiple charging levels, the other an iPhone 6 case with built-in charger — carry enough power to vastly extend the road life of your devices without being bulky. Take a look:

Apple will ship three new iPads next year, according to well-connected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo — including a low-cost 9.7-inch iPad, upgraded 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro variant as well.

But the really big changes, he claims, are planned for the year after…

Due to Apple’s secrecy, and the company’s marketing-driven need to stay “on message,” interviews with senior execs can often be frustratingly free of revelations. That’s not the case with the recent in-depth interview the Washington Post did with CEO Tim Cook, however.

Here are the 10 most interesting tidbits we learned from Cook’s most revealing chat yet.