Mac

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Digging into Apple's T2 Chip

Bryan Chaffin ·

AppleInsider has a good piece on Apple’s T2 chip. It’s incomplete in that it doesn’t cover the T2’s built-in image signal processor and SSD controller, but it’s still good info to have, and we recommend it.

If you spent any time looking into which Mac desktop or notebook to buy before you paid out for a shiny new machine, you’ll have seen Apple’s website extolling the fact that many of them have T2 security chips. That’s nice. Only, it’s more than nice, it’s more than a way to invisibly secure your Mac, it is a process that has a dramatic and visible effect on just about everything you do.

TMO Deals

InPixio Photo Clip 9 Editor for Mac: $29.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on InPixio Photo Clip 9 Editor for Mac. This software allows you to perfectly cut out objects or people in your photos, and it features an eraser tool for removing unwanted objects. It allows you to make creative montages with many backgrounds available. It’s $29.99 through our deal.

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Apple Takes Another Step Towards ARM-based Macs

John Martellaro ·

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and Ian King report:

Apple Inc. hired one of ARM Holdings Inc.’s top chip engineers as the iPhone maker looks to expand its own chip development to more powerful devices, including the Mac, and new categories like a headset.

The company hired Mike Filippo in May for a chip architect position, according to his LinkedIn profile.

For Apple to divest the Mac of Intel CPUs while maintaining X86 compatibility will require some serious engineering skill. This looks like one step in the process.

Podcast

Mac Hardware at WWDC, AppKit vs. UIKit, Next-Gen Wi-Fi, with John Kheit - ACM 513

Bryan Chaffin · · 2 Comments

Bryan Chaffin and guest John Kheit start this week’s show off with an immediate siderail about The Curse of Oak Island and Cooper’s Treasure, because that’s what they do. The real topics, however, include what Apple’s MacBook Pro announcement might mean for Mac hardware at WWDC. They also look at the brewing fight between UIKit and AppKit, and what’s coming in the world of Wi-Fi.

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Intel's Latest CPU Roadmap and Implications for Macs

John Martellaro ·

Intel’s struggle to get to a 10 nm production process, its latest CPU roadmap, the new Ice Lake CPUs, and what it all means for the Mac are nicely presented by Jason Cross at Macworld. This is must reading for all Mac users.

On Wednesday [5/8], during an investor presentation, Intel extended its public roadmap through 2020 and gave an update on future products and manufacturing processes. Here’s what that means for the Mac.

 

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Bloomberg WWDC Leak Highlights: Updated Maps, Health, Apple Watch Audio Books, Reminders, More

Bryan Chaffin ·

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman got the goods on Apple’s WWDC software plans. Highlights include several improvements to Maps that I’m looking forward to. Apple is also improving the Health app, Reminders, adding audio book support to Apple Watch, a standalone app for the Apple Watch App Store on the watch itself, new Watch complications and faces, improved share sheet in iOS, combined Find my Friends and Find My iPhone, improved iMessage, an updated Books app with a reward system, and much more. There’s a ton of information in this piece, and it’s a good read.

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5 Reasons to Upgrade Your Mac to an SSD

John Martellaro ·

This was written a few months ago, by the awesome Steve Sande by the way, but is worth discussing.

Chances are good that if you have an older Mac, it has an internal hard disk drive. Today, we’ll look at five reasons why you should update that Mac to an SSD.

SSDs are very affordable nowadays. If your Mac isn’t too old and ready to retire, this upgrade is a good move.

Podcast

Oprah, Prince Harry, and JJ Abrams on Apple TV+, Ming-Chi Kuo's Mac Predictions, with Charlotte Henry - ACM 509

Bryan Chaffin · · 1 Comment

Queen Oprah and the UK’s Prince Harry are doing a docu-series on mental health for Apple TV+, and Bryan Chaffin is joined by Charlotte Henry to talk about what that says about Apple’s video efforts. Charlotte also brings some across-the-pond context about Prince Harry and the royal family and how this news was greeted in England. They also talk about JJ Abrams saying that working on Apple TV+ was like the Wild West. They cap the show by discussing Ming-Chi Kuo’s most recent Mac predictions.

Podcast

Mac Pro Mockups, State of the CPU, and John's Cable Research, with John Kheit - ACM 508

Bryan Chaffin · · 1 Comment

Some Mac Pro fan mockups have been circulating, and Bryan Chaffin is joined by John Kheit to discuss their pros and cons. And surprise, John Kheit is full of mostly cons, so they also discuss what they think the Mac Pro needs to be awesome. They also discuss the state of the chip industry, Intel’s 56-core Cascade Lake, and Apple’s ARM ambitions for the Mac. They wrap up the show with a look at John’s obsessive research to find the best USB-C cable.

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Expensive Apple Hardware Isn't New. Remember the Lisa?

Andrew Orr ·

The 2018 iPhones were fairly expensive, and this isn’t a new Apple strategy. The company has been down this road before with the Lisa computer.

Named for Saint Steve’s daughter, the Lisa project kicked off in 1978, finally making an appearance on 19 January 1983. It was pitched as a graphical competitor to the tiresome text-based computers dominating the marketplace.

Aside from all the snark the author pumped into the article, it’s a nice blast from the past. As Battlestar Galactica says, “All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again.”

Podcast

Cricut, Rocket Book, and Setapp, with Bob LeVitus - ACM 497

Bryan Chaffin · · 1 Comment

In this episode, Bob LeVitus tells Bryan Chaffin all about the Cricut. This thing can cut 150 different substances, draw, write, and like I said, even sew. And you can control it from your Mac, iPhone, or iPad. They also discuss Rocket Book, which is part reusable paper (you can erase it!) and part app-based service that will scan what you write and draw and convert text with OCR. They cap the show with a look at Setapp and why they think this multi-app service for the Mac is great.

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