Night Shift—the feature that slowly shifts your display color temperature as the sun sets–has been available on the iPhone and iPad for a while, and now it’s coming to the Mac. Apple added Night Shift support to macOS 10.12.4, which is currently available as a beta. It’s easy to activate, so follow along to learn how.
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macOS: Taking Timed Screenshots
Today’s Quick Tip is about using the underappreciated Grab program to take timed screenshots on your Mac, so if you want to set up a shot without having to use keyboard shortcuts, you can do so. It’s handy, especially for sending instructions to other people, so let’s learn how!
macOS Sierra: Sharing Apple Notes
One of the updates that macOS Sierra brings to the table is collaboration, specifically in Apple Notes. Sharing notes is a great way to collaborate with your friends, family or coworkers.
Apple Addresses MacBook Pro Video Issue with macOS Sierra 10.12.2
Apple released macOS Sierra 10.12.2 on Tuesday with a fix for the video artifacting issue many Touch Bar MacBook Pro users have been experiencing. The update also ensures System Integrity Protection is enabled on the new laptop model, and improves Auto Unlock reliability, too.
macOS Sierra: Launching Apps from Unidentified Developers
macOS Sierra wants to keep you safe from apps that might not have your best interests at heart, say like, ransomware that locks you out of your files until you pay out a couple bitcoin. But what about the apps Sierra won’t let you launch that you know are safe? There’s a fix for that once you know where to look.
macOS Sierra: Enabling Your Mac's Firewall and Stealth Mode
Your Mac is pretty safe on your private home network, but what about when you’re surfing the Web in coffee shops? Anyone with a computer and rudimentary hacking skills could target you, which is why it’s important to make sure your Mac’s built-in firewall is enabled—and that Stealth Mode is turned on, too. Read on to learn how.
macOS Sierra 10.12.1 Leaks New MacBook Pro Images
Apple seems to have tipped its hand and accidentally revealed the upcoming Retina MacBook Pro in Monday’s macOS Sierra 10.12.1 update. Photos showing the soon to be announced MacBook Pro with a touch sensitive OLED function strip were buried in the macOS update, which is about a close to a pre-event confirmation Apple will get.
macOS Sierra: Resetting Your System Sound Effects Output
Every macOS/OS X update has its own quirks, and those quirks can be amplified by whatever peculiarities existed on the Mac being upgraded. For instance, when I upgraded to Sierra, that setting got changed so that it was independent from my System Output. Fortunately, putting it back is easy.
TMO's Jeff Gamet Talks iOS 10, macOS Sierra at MacinTech Tuesday Oct 11
The Mac Observer’s Managing Editor, Jeff Gamet, will be speaking at Denver’s MacinTech Macintosh User Group on Tuesday evening, October 11th, in Centennial, Colorado. Jeff will be diving into iOS 10 for the iPhone and iPad, along with macOS Sierra.
Fujitsu Begins ScanSnap Fixes for macOS Sierra
Fujitsu announced a schedule for ScanSnap updates to correct issues in macOS Sierra. The company has been dealing with compatibility problems that threatened PDF content for Apple’s newest Mac operating system. Futjitsu pushed updates to some users on Thursday and unveiled a schedule for other devices later in October.
macOS Sierra: Rearrange Your Menu Bar
If you’ve ever been frustrated by not being able to customize the Mac’s menu bar, then this Quick Tip‘s for you. Under macOS Sierra, that funny little omnipresent bar just got a lot more adjustable, and this article will tell you how!
The Most Important Reason to Upgrade to macOS Sierra: Security
When Apple launches a new version of one of its OSes, say, macOS Sierra, the first thing users think about is the features. If they’re a bit more methodical, they’ll look at their mission critical apps and monitor for updates from those developers. But, above all, a decision to not upgrade (or do it soon) must be balanced against the security updates folded into the new version. John explains.
macOS Sierra: Fast Sound Settings from the Menu Bar
Apple gets that we’re always looking for ways to make the routine things we do on our Macs easier and some of the subtle changes in macOS Sierra really show that off. The Sound menu bar item is a perfect example because now switching audio input and output sources is even simpler.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-09-26: macOS Sierra PDF Issues, Apple ID Two-Factor Authentication
Worried about viewing PDF documents in macOS Sierra? Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at what we know now about potential data loss in PDFs, plus they dive into two-factor authentication for Apple IDs and why that matters for HomeKit and Apple Watch users.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-09-21: Upgrading to macOS Sierra
With macOS Sierra out the big question is whether or not you should upgrade now. Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at who should install Sierra now and who should wait, how to check for compatibility issues, their data backup routines, and more.
TASCAM Users: Don't Upgrade to macOS Sierra Yet
As has become unfortunately typical from TASCAM, macOS Sierra-compatible drivers for much of their audio hardware are not yet available. Previous years have seen a three-to-six month wait after the release of each new build of OS X for TASCAM to finally put out even preliminary public beta drivers.
TL;DR: if you use TASCAM audio hardware, don’t upgrade to macOS Sierra yet. Check back around Christmas. Maybe.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-09-20: macOS Sierra Launch Day, ProDOS gets an Update
Heads up, everyone! It’s macOS Sierra release day. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to talk about the new Mac operating system, issues with incompatible software, and some best practices ahead of installing the upgrade. They also note a just released update for ProDOS on the Apple II and IIGS. Seriously.
The Complete Guide to a Clean Install of macOS Sierra
Apple’s macOS Sierra launches on September 20th. Last year. John wrote a detailed article on how to do a clean install of OS X El Capitan. That is, if one were highly motivated to do an awful lot of work. The article applies equally to a clean install of macOS Sierra this year. If John couldn’t talk you out of it and a clean install is what you really want to do with Sierra, here’s a link to his 2015 tutorial so you can make a decision.
MGG 623: macOS Sierra Tips and Tricks and More!
macOS Sierra is almost upon us, and there are already some great tips and tricks to share. Some follow-up from our recent deep dive into Backups is included, too, as well as lengthy discussion about Amazon’s Alexa vs. HomeKit!
Apple Releases iTunes 12.5.1 with New Look & macOS Sierra Support
On September 13th, Apple released iTunes 12.5.1. It works in El Capitan but has some new features that make it macOS Sierra ready and provide support for iOS 10. Most notable is a fresher, cleaner look which addresses some of the early criticism regarding the complexity and busy look of iTunes 12.
How to Display the macOS/OS X Version From the Command Line
There may be occasions when one wants to verify what OS X version is running on a Mac. We all know how to do it from the GUI with “About This Mac,” but John shows us how to do it from the UNIX command line when necessary.
WebP Comes to iOS 10, macOS Sierra Betas: What You Need to Know
Apple added support for Google’s WebP image format to Safari in the beta versions of iOS 10 and macOS Sierra, which could make websites load faster. “Could,” in this case, assumes Apple keeps WebP support in the shipping versions of its operating systems, and Web developers adopt the format for their site images.
Apple Launches iOS 10 and macOS Sierra Public Betas
Apple delivered on its promise of public betas for iOS 10 and macOS Sierra on Thursday. The betas were previously available only to developers, but now everyone can get in on the pre-release action.
ACM 365: iOS 10, macOS Sierra, watchOS 3.0, and Differential Privacy
Bryan and Jeff delve into some of the things they’ve learned about iOS 10, macOS Sierra, and watchOS 3.0. Spoiler, it’s all looking really good. They also talk about Differential Privacy and explain (loosely) how it works, what it means, and why it’s important.