Mac

Over the decades, personal computers have made enormous gains in speeds. But in the short term, not much has happened. On the other hand, the maintenance burdens on customers just kept increasing. That's why customers have moved briskly to the tablet. In a sense, the PC industry failed its original vision, and customers moved on.…

The Post-PC era, the era of iPads and other tablets, suggests that it is time to re-evaluate the archaic computer interface developed by Xerox and Apple 30 years ago. However, before we get too excited, there are lots of questions to ask and answer. The interface we use on our PCs and Macs is generally…

Some time ago, I went over how to add media files to iTunes automatically. What I didn't mention, though, is that iPhoto has pretty much the same special folder. I'm such a stinker. Anyhow, if you accumulate lots of pictures, this can be a handy feature. Just put everything you want to keep into that…

Companies that claim they make the very best product of its kind but then waffle on selling low volume, premium, awe inspiring, likely very expensive high end products will implicitly lose credibility. That seems to be the discussion around the Mac Pro lately. Will Apple's next Mac Pro light the world on fire? Or just…

While Java remains an important tool for the Enterprise, its fate on the personal computer for home users is all but sealed. Preamble There was a time, when Macs were competing tooth and nail against PCs when software developers, enammored by the Mac but aware of the business prospects in the PC world, wanted an…

You can run Java apps in two ways. The first is to run Java applets inside your Web browser with a plug-in. The second is to run native Java apps on your Mac. With the grave security concerns about Java these days, you may be thinking about how to remove or disable both of those…

Microsoft Office users on OS X may not get the new Office 2013 that was released for Windows Tuesday, but the Redmond-based company has at least released an update with important bug fixes for the existing retail and subscription users of the Office for Mac 2011 productivity suite. The update, version 14.3 (a.k.a. “Service Pack…

Parallels unveiled its new Parallels Management plug-in for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager on Tuesday. The plug-in lets Microsoft-based IT departments manage the Macs and Parallels virtual machines on their networks without investing in additional hardware. Parallels Management adds Mac management to Microsoft's SCCM Parallels Management can auto-discover all of the Macs on a network,…

The recent Java security update has some minor implications for the average Mac user. Here's what you need to know in terms of making sure your Mac is secure, how to verify that your update worked, and how to make sure native Java apps developed for Java 6 will still work. _________________ Very briefly, what…

Following Tuesday’s report of production delays on the new iMac that have led to major shortages of the product at Apple Stores and resellers, new information late Wednesday from DigiTimes corroborates evidence that screen lamination issues at Apple supplier LG Display are to blame. The previous suggestion that screen production issues were preventing maximum levels…

Last September, we reviewed the Other World Computing (OWC) Aura Pro SSD, the first and thus far only third-party SSD for Apple’s line of Retina MacBook Pros (rMBP). At the time of the review, only the 15-inch rMBP had been released, but that was soon followed by the introduction of the 13-inch version in October.…

Apple’s 2013 Macs may sport ultra-fast Wi-Fi thanks to the inclusion of support for 802.11ac wireless networking, according to sources speaking with The Next Web Wednesday. Apple has reportedly reached a deal with Broadcom to include 802.11ac chips in future Macs, which can theoretically support connection speeds of up to 1.3 Gbps. Apple’s current line…

The launch of the newly designed 21.5-inch iMac has revealed an interesting discovery: some of these units have markings claiming assembly in the United States. While Apple has long performed final assembly in the U.S. of some of its built-to-order Mac configurations — including the iMac and Mac Pro — this is the first time…

A long history exists in the computing world of hiding “easter eggs,” cool little tidbits that are there more for the programmer's indulgence than the actual user, and OS X (indeed, most software Apple has ever produced) has its share of them. Today we find one that traces back to OS X's Unix roots (specifically…

In Part One of this two-parter on the topic of doing screen captures on your Mac with built-in software, we explored the keyboard shortcuts and options that are configured in OS X. If you haven't had the opportunity to read it, be sure to do so before proceeding. Before we start, a couple of tips…

Microsoft released a pair of critical updates for Office for Mac on Tuesday. Office 2008 12.3.5 and Office 2011 14.2.5 both address security holes in the productivity suites, while the 2011 update includes other bug fixes. Patch Notes for Office 2008 12.3.5 Update (218.4MB Download): The Office 2008 for Mac 12.3.5 update improves security. This…

Photo slideshow applications are nothing new to the Mac. Even iPhoto does a reasonable job. But professional photographers and photo enthusiasts demand much more control than the basic applications can deliver. FotoMagico 4 delivers this control and takes the humble slideshow to a level worthy of the term professional. _________________________   A Complete Overview Of…

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display (rMBP), unveiled by Apple during its media event Tuesday, has been torn down by iFixit. While the newest Apple laptop shares much in common with its 15-inch “least repairable laptop ever” sibling, there are some interesting differences that indicate that the Cupertino company learned much from its first…

One of the more interesting things released today at Apple's event was the new “Fusion Drive” in the new iMac (and yes, it's only for the new iMac and new Mac mini models so far). Fusion Drive is Apple's take on solving the “I want the speed of an SSD but I have way more stuff than…

The Stationery Pad feature in Finder—when I mention this in passing to my students and clients, most of them give me that deer-in-the-headlights blank stare, usually followed by, “uhh, yes, Sandro… the Stationery Pad.” But they know that I know that they have no idea what the Stationery Pad feature is! Well guess what, this…

Our Macs are the place where we run iTunes, backup our iDevices, and even manage iOS apps on the iPhone/iPad pages. The apps are in there, we just can't run them.  And now we’re waiting a very long time for a new Ivy Bridge iMac. What if the delay is because Apple is working to…

Apple’s MacBook Pro with Retina Display (rMBP) is a marvel of engineering and performance, but its unusually high resolution, 2880-by–1800, and the way that Apple scales it to lower “equivalent” resolutions means that the Cupertino company had to change the way that it presents resolution options to users. Instead of an extensive list of all…

Let's say you launch an app that is not already positioned on your Dock. For example, you launch it from your Applications folder. Typically, it will plop itself onto your Dock – way over at the right end, assuming your preference is to have the Dock at the bottom of your screen. It will show…

Apple has its own reasons for doing what they do; they're certainly entitled to do so. You see, Apple is very focused on getting brand-new Mac customers and, in particular, those coming to the Mac with iOS experience, to not have to think about a “file system” where folders and files can be moved, copied,…