In tandem with Monday's iOS 11 release, Apple today also launched the first public betas of macOS High Sierra, and tvOS 11 for the Apple TV.

Earlier this month Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple's CEO Confirms Project Titan is the 'Mother of all AI Projects' Focused on Self-Driving Vehicles." This afternoon Bloomberg report that Apple was partnering with Hertz. However, Apple was quick to squash the rumor.

Apple CEO Tim Cook made a surprise appearance at a Cisco event in Las Vegas on Monday, revealing plans to help businesses with discounts on cyber-security insurance if they use products from both companies. Following the event, Cisco announced another outcome of its Apple partnership, the Cisco Security Connector app for iPhone and iPad.

As we just noted, the iOS 11 public beta has been released for anyone who is interested in trying iOS 11 before it is officially released later this fall. That means that you don’t have to be a registered Apple developer in order to install iOS 11, as the public beta process affords a straightforward process for anyone wishing to take the software for an early test drive. In this walkthrough, we’ll guide you through the iOS 11 install process step-by-step on your eligible iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. more…

Apple has released the first iOS 11 public beta for iPhone and iPad. This allows users who are not registered developers to test pre-release versions of iOS with new features for free.

more…

Apple may have purchased an eye tracking technology company called SensoMotoric Instruments, MacRumors believes. The report is based on legal activity discovered through a shell company and Apple attorney Gene Levoff.

more…

[Update: iOS 11 public beta 1 is rolling out now, but macOS High Sierra may not be available yet. macOS High Sierra public beta is still coming soon.]

Apple has released the first macOS High Sierra public beta for Mac. This allows users who are not registered developers to test pre-release versions of macOS with new features for free.

more…

Vimeo -- typically seen as a YouTube competitor -- has officially cancelled plans to enter into the world of Netflix-style subscription video.

Apple and Cisco, which specializes in IT and networking, want mutual customers to receive a cyber-security insurance premium discount, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said at a Cisco event in Las Vegas, reports Reuters.

During his appearance onstage at a Cisco event, Tim Cook commented on the safety of using Apple and Cisco products together rather than a competing device from Alphabet. He said the companies will “spend some energy on” achieving these discounts and customers choosing the more secure product partnership should “reap that benefit.” 

Cisco is the largest networking company in the world. It develops, manufactures, and sells...

U.S. Supercomputers falling behind, the story of the slow death of FireWire, and some very special hardware in the coming iMac Pro.

SoftRAID allows you to create and manage disk arrays to increase performance and reliability. SoftRAID allows the user to create and manage RAID 4 and 5 volumes, RAID 1+0, and RAID 1 (Mirror) and RAID 0 (Stripe) volumes. SoftRAID also provides "predictive disk failure", where users are alerted to potential disk failures even before they fail.

SoftRAID's intuitive interface and powerful feature set make this utility a must-have for any OS X Server admin, "Pro" user, photographer, digital-video editor, or desktop user who wants more reliable backup for his computer.

Version 5.6.1:

New

• Added the SoftRAID Easy Setup application which makes creating your first RAID volume quick and easy
• Added support for SMART reporting on USB and FireWire disks; this allows SoftRAID to monitor the health of these disks and predict the failure of them too
• Added simplified Chinese translation to SoftRAID
• Added a 5...

Nostalgic gamers rejoice, for Nintendo is bringing back its classic console as the mini Super NES Classic console system. It will come with 21 games like Super Mario World, F-ZERO, Final Fantasy III, Earthbound, Super Mario Kart, and Star Fox 2, which was previously unreleased. Nintendo will launch the mini SNES Classic Edition on September 29th for US$79.99. Just like the NES Classic, it will have an HDMI port so you can hook it up directly to your TV. Hopefully Nintendo learned its lesson when it released the NES Classic, which was hard to come by because of limited stock and was discontinued earlier this year. When September finally comes around, it wouldn’t be surprising if the SNES Classic is quickly sold out.

Apple's effort to test autonomous vehicle technology in California involves a collaboration with Hertz, the second largest U.S. car rental company, reports Bloomberg.

The disclosure of the relationship between Apple and Hertz came in documents recently released by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The documents note Apple is leasing its small fleet of Lexus RX450h SUVs for autonomous driving tests from Hertz's fleet management group.The iPhone maker is leasing Lexus RX450h sport-utility vehicles from Hertz’s Donlen fleet-management unit, according to documents released recently by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. When Apple received its license...

Jim Tanous is the founder of the TekRevue website. That’s where you’ll find a wealth of technical articles and reviews for Apple, PC and Linux products. He’s also a regular contributor and editor here at The Mac Observer. Jim was always interested in computer technology, even from age seven. There was no computer at home when he was growing up, but his elementary school had Apple IIs, and he learned the BASIC language. However, Jim’s father was an attorney, and Jim thought, all the way into his second year of law school, that he would become an attorney also. Then one day, he realized that he wasn’t enjoying himself. That, in turn led, by his account, to becoming an Apple Genius. Tune in to find out how he made that grand leap.

[Background Mode will return on July 10.]

Apple CEO Tim Cook has made an unannounced appearance at this year’s Cisco Live US event happening now in Las Vegas. Cook’s appearance marks two years since Apple and Cisco unveiled a new partnership to create an iOS “fast lane” for enterprise customers.

more…

If you have an older iPhone or iPad running iOS 11 Developer Beta 2 there’s a good chance you’re seeing an update today.

Suitcase Fusion 7 is the creative professional's font manager.

Every professional font manager should deliver the basics: spectacular previews, powerful search tools, and efficient font organization. You have those basics covered. But there is a lot more you actually DO with fonts - namely traditional and web design. We can help with that too!

Features

• Secure, professional font storage
• Full-featured font previews allow you to compare fonts side-by-side
• Auto-activation plug-ins for professional design applications, including Adobe Creative Cloud and QuarkXPress
• Support includes OS X 10.9 Mavericks and Windows 8
• See how fonts work side-by-side in paste-up style previews with QuickComp
• Patented Font Sense technology fingerprints fonts for precise identification
• Find similar fonts fast with QuickMatch
• Web font enabled with WebINK and Google Font connections
• Organize...

Following up on today’s release of iOS 11 beta 2 update 1, Apple has also updated their beta software support page to detail the proper methods in downgrading to iOS 10. Many developers on iOS 11 beta 2 had noticed that downgrading was broken and today’s changes look to resolve that.

more…

Facebook is reportedly planning to launch high-budget scripted TV shows by late summer, directly competing against services like Amazon Video, Netflix, and Apple Music.

Ahead of the launch of the Echo Show this Wednesday, June 28, Amazon has given review units to a few sites so that they can test out the new Echo and see how its 7-inch touch screen adds to the traditional Amazon Echo experience. Amazon revealed the $230 Echo Show earlier in May and bills it as having all of the features of the traditional Echo, with the addition of a display to enhance user interactivity.

According to The Verge, one of the best aspects of Echo Show is that, "you basically never need to tap the screen for anything, unless you really want to." Instead of adding an array of touchscreen-required actions that overcomplicate the interface, the company focused on adapting the abilities of the previous Echo...

Forget the (still unreleased iPhone 8). That’s yesterday’s news. We need rumors about 2018’s “iPhone 9.”

Oh wait, here’s one: LG Innotek is setting up flexible printed circuit board (PCB) production, with the goal of becoming a primary supplier for next year’s Apple smartphone, according to the Korea Economic Daily.

Quoting unnamed “industry sources,” LG Innotek has almost completed the development of flexible PCBs and is likely to break the ground for related facilities in the latter half of this year. If the rumor is true, does that mean more flexible iPhones?

Most likely. PCBs have the potential to replace multiple rigid boards and/or connectors.

MacSales.com has announced the availability of the new OWC 2.0TB Aura Pro Solid State Drive for mid-2012 to early 2013 Apple MacBook Pros with Retina display. It’s also compatible with 2010-2012 MacBook Air.

The Aura Pro 2.0TB SSD upgrade frees up and boosts capacity on the internal hard drive. It’s also available as a kit with an Envoy Pro enclosure to immediately reuse an Apple internal hard drive, creating a new external USB 3.1 Gen1 portable drive.

read more

Apple today seeded a revised version of the second iOS 11 beta to developers for testing. The new version has a build number of 15A304j, compared to 15A304i for the original second beta, which was released last Wednesday.

The software update appears to be available for select iPhone and iPad models. It's unclear what revisions have been made at this point.

Registered developers can download the iOS 11 beta from Apple's Developer Center, or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed. A public beta will be released later this month.

iOS 11 is Apple's biggest software release ever for the iPad, with a new Dock that introduces much improved multitasking, a Files app for better managing files, improved Apple Pencil support, a revamped App Switcher, and system-wide drag and drop.

...

LG Innotek is in the process of setting up flexible printed circuit board (PCB) production, with the goal of becoming a primary supplier for the Apple iPhone, according to a report out of LG's home country, South Korea.

watchOS 3.2.3 beta 4 (14V5751a) Now Available

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications. more…

Pearl Automation -- a startup founded by former Apple workers, which sold an iPhone-connected rear-view camera for cars -- has reportedly shut down, largely because of low initial sales.

Mellicia Marx is in the business of transformation. She runs Poplin Style Direction, a personal styling business that ensures a client’s look is on point. She’s helped new mothers revive their wardrobes, and other clients dress for new office environments confidently. “I love watching people transform,” she says.

Mellicia helps people understand which garments best complement their shape, personality and lifestyle. She teaches them how to shop, what to wear and how to wear it. Mellicia finds the secret style sauce that elevates each client.

Polishing a business’s image

Mellicia also knows that the success of her business depends on styling, too. The look and feel of her business and good communication with clients are key to growth. Through her website, she introduces clients to the...

I’m looking to replace my older iPad with a Pro for the reasons Carlson lists in his piece. It really is very close to being a Mac replacement for some photographers.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Apple has said that its public beta program for upcoming software releases including iOS 11 will start in June. That means we can expect the first public betas sometime between now and Friday. Apple’s public beta program this year will allow users to test iOS 11, macOS High Sierra, and tvOS 11 for free, but there are still some things to consider before jumping in…

more…

iOS developers have already gotten their hands on ARKit, Apple's latest platform which enables developers to quickly and easily build augmented reality experiences into their apps. ARKit blog Made With ARKit has been sharing even more examples of the augmented reality apps that developers are toying around with, coming a few months ahead of when the first apps will launch to the public alongside iOS 11 this fall.

In two new videos shared on Twitter, developers have created useful measuring apps with ARKit, using the camera, processors, and motion sensors in an iPhone or iPad to calculate the size of various objects. In the first video, the app requires users to tap two locations and then shows the total distance between the spots as a floating number in the air.

Adorama this week is offering AI readers an additional $50 to $100 off popular Mid 2017 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro configurations in Space Gray with our exclusive promo code. On top of the instant and coupon savings, the Apple authorized reseller will not collect sales tax on orders shipped outside NY and NJ -- and shipping is free.

Today, we are rolling out updates for the OneNote Class Notebook add-in, including new Learning Management System (LMS) and Student Information System (SIS) assignment and grade integration for Edsby. To see the full list of over 40 committed education partners, please visit our OneNote Education Partners page. This page also has helpful training videos demonstrating how the OneNote Class Notebook integrates with each of the different LMSes. Read on to learn what’s new in OneNote to help you in the classroom.

OneNote Class Notebook improvements

With this update we made several additions and improvements for the...

Radio Garden uses a Google Earth interface that allows you to roam the planet and click on radio stations around the world.

This is fun to play with, though I wish the collection of stations was larger, more inclusive. But worth a look.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Yesterday, we embedded a video pulled together by David Pogue on the 4 people Steve Jobs handpicked to review the original iPhone.

David Pogue also wrote a cover story for CBS News with a broader embedded video, which includes bits of the “4 original iPhone reviewers” piece, but goes further, including an interview with Bas Ording, an iPhone engineer who helped pull together the original touch screen mechanics.

...

From June 10 to 21, Apple cut around 58,000 Chinese apps from its App Store, a number six to 10 times larger than usual, People.cn reports. Beijing-based data analysis firm ASO 100 noticed the sudden spike, leading to some grumbling that the move could be seen as retaliation against Tencent, owner of the WeChat app at the center of a debate about Apple’s insistence on taking a 30 percent cut of “tips” sent through social media apps…

Matt Birchler:

Auto updates only happen when you are connected to Wifi, but iOS won’t stop you from updating on cellular if you tap the update button. The fact that someone could blow through 10% of their monthly data plan (2GB) just by updating Snapchat and Messenger once. This could be tough if you do it once, but Facebook updates Messenger all the time. They’ve updated the app 5 times in the past month, which could work out to upwards of 400-500 MB over just a month.

And:

“App thinning” is not a magic bullet that erases this problem though, as Facebook Messenger, which shows as being 154 MB, still downloaded 99MB of data for its update.

And:

So are giant app sizes a problem? Yes. Do delta updates allow these updates to use less data? Yes. Do delta updates make these large apps a non-issue? Hell no!

And from this Washington Post article, titled...

MacFly Pro LLC (www.macflypro.com) has introduced MacFly Pro 1.0, a subscription-based Mac maintenance product. The “personal tech assistant” purportedly learns, with every use, from the user's habits for everyday tasks, software preferences and adjusts its recommendations accordingly.

read more

If you have an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil, Procreate is a must-have app for illustrators who want to test the limits of Apple’s hardware. The latest version of Procreate includes fixes for users with either model of the new iPad Pro. Procreate has also starting teasing out a major update coming this fall…

more…

Apple is boosting its push into the digital health realm once again, hiring Dr. Sumbul Desai, the former head of Stanford’s Center for Digital Health, Internet Health Management reports. The center, created this January to connect the university’s researchers with technology companies to further their health goals, has close ties to Apple. Stanford was an early adopter of Apple’s HealthKit platform, using it as early as 2014 in studies…

In yet another likely reason that external graphics card support for Mac will not exit beta until 2018, there are not any external monitors currently on the market, compatible with macOS High Sierra's eGPU feature, that match the pixel density of Apple's own Retina displays.

The first iPhone SE models built in India -- by Apple partner Wistron -- are now on sale in various cities around the country such as Bengaluru, according to local reports.

VPN Unlimited has partnered with our friends at Stack Commerce to give you one heck of a deal on a lifetime subscription to their powerful VPN service; US$49.99, which gives up to five of your devices access to the service forever.

Readers of Apple World Today already know what a virtual private network is and how it can work to give you absolutely secure communications on any network, provide access to geo-limited services like streaming video, and mask your location for ultra-secure work. VPN Unlimited has won a number of awards from top websites and publications over the past few years as a leader in VPN services, and there are good reasons for the kudos.

With VPN Unlimited, you have:

• Secure public...

As the anniversary iPhone is getting closer to launch, the mainstream media has begun to revisit the historic moment when the iPhone came to market and ignited a mobile revolution and eventually slayed the giants of the day who ruled the mobile industry: Nokia, Blackberry and Motorola. Without Steve Jobs to interview, the next best thing is to take a trip down memory lane with the original team members. In today's report we cover a new interview with some of the key leaders behind the iPhone team while taking a look back at a 2006 iPhone patent that gave the world a peek at what was about to change the world.

For many casual Mac users, the default Apple Mail app is adequate. For those who are power users sending and receiving hundreds of emails each day, Mail just doesn’t cut it. Postbox (US$40) is a powerful and flexible desktop email application for power users that begins where Mail’s limited feature set ends.

Available for both macOS and Windows, Postbox has more available features than we’d be able to cover in a week’s worth of articles. Let’s look at some of the key features that can help power users become more efficient and effective in handling the daily flood of email:

Account Groups - Do you find that your unified Mail inbox is an unorganized mess of work and personal emails? With Postbox’s Account Groups, you can create groups for work and personal accounts that work to separate your work and personal lives.

A look at the Postbox Focus Pane

Focus Pane - With...

BetterTouchTool adds many new, fully customizable gestures to the Magic Mouse, Multi-Touch MacBook trackpad, and Magic Trackpad.

These gestures are customizable:

• Magic Mouse:
• Pinch in / out (zoom)
• single-finger tap left
• single-finger tap right
• single-finger tap middle
• single-finger tap
• single-finger click middle
• two-finger tap
• two-finger click
• two-finger swipe (up/down/left/right)
• two-finger tip tap left/right
• three-finger tap
• three-finger click
• three-finger swipe (up/down/left/right)
• four-finger swipe up/down
• four-finger click
• TipTap left/right
• Touchpad:
• single-finger tap top-left
• single-finger tap top-right
• single-finger tap top-middle
• single-finger tap bottom-left
• single-finger tap bottom-right
• single-...

MacFamilyTree, the genealogy software for macOS (10.10 and higher), has grown to version 8.2. A good app continues to get better.

The software lets you explore your personal family history and discover your origins, your ancestors and how your family has evolved over the course of time. Version 8.2 features new, improved, and configurable charts and diagrams as well as improved FamilySearch integration and better CloudTree performance. In version 8.2, almost every aspect of a chart can be configured. Many presets can now be further refined to your taste. You can adjust coloring, shadows, line styles, information to display, and fonts for all charts.

Four new charts have been added to MacFamilyTree 8.2 using fractal algorithms to create stunning representations of your tree: Fractal Tree, Circular Tree, Symmetrical Tree, and the Square Tree. The chart editor in MacFamilyTree 8.2 has been enhanced...

The global cloud mobile music services market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 7% from 2017-2021, according to Technavio’s (www.technavio.com) latest market research.

read more

Did you know you can use keyboard shortcuts to navigate tabs in the Safari web browser of macOS Sierra? Well, you can.

Just hold down Command + Shift, then tap the Left and Right arrow keys move through through the browser tabs from left to right or right to left. Or you can hold down Command + Shift, then tap the Open or Close Bracket keys to move through the browser tabs from left to right or right to left.

You can find more shortcuts here.

(This how-to is based on my experiences and info on Apple's support pages — where the images sometimes come from.)

SpaceX's technical problems that caused an explosion last September seem well behind it, as it pulled off the rare feat of launching two rockets this weekend. On Friday, the Falcon 9 lofted a Bulgarian communications satellite into orbit from Florida...

Apple has been granted a patent (number 9,684,196) for a “display having a flexures element” that hints at flexible iPhones — and perhaps iPads,

The invention is for a display device may incorporate a cover glass with one or more flexure bearing sections. The flexure bearing may permit the cover glass to flex and/or bend in response to stresses or strains while still maintaining contact with an attachment point. If the attachment points have different heights, for example, the cover glass may flex at the flexure bearing, thereby permitting the portion of the cover glass between the attachment points to maintain a relatively planar alignment.

Of course, Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product.

This doesn’t mean that ads are going away, just that Google promises not to use the contents of your emails to come up with personalized ad ideas.

Those looking for an official Apple keyboard with numeric keypad can now shell out $129 on the new wireless model, or try to pick up the old wired model from third-party retailers before supplies run out.

WhiteCap is a sleek and sophisticated music visualizer and screensaver that features futuristic, wireframe mesh visuals with dynamic backgrounds and colors.

WhiteCap contains thousands of visual combinations, real-time audio response, configurable on-screen menus, and an extensive library of visual content.

• Continuously morphing stream of visual effects
• Adjustable zoom, speed, and music response
• Easy to install, easy to use

Version 6.7.1:

• Fixed screen saver for macOS retina displays
• Fixed not restoring Direct3D state under VirtualDJ
• Smarter hotkey support for Winamp and MediaMonkey
• Fixed audio frozen visually when iTunes is paused
• Fixed prefs not always being saved when quitting iTunes

• OS X 10.6 or later

Download Now]]>

Lyn is a fast, lightweight image browser and viewer designed for photographers, graphic artists, and Web designers. Featuring an extremely versatile and aesthetically pleasing interface, it delivers an easy-to-use geotagging technology and a complete solution for sharing your photographs. The new editing inspector gives you everything to turn your shots into great photos. Adjust exposure, color temperature, brightness, and contrast, or reveal image details with highlight and shadow adjustments. You can experiment and convert your color photos to black and white, try a classic sepia tone, or add a vignette.

Lyn natively supports all popular image formats like JPEG, TIFF, JPEG 2000, PNG, PPM, TGA, RAW, HDR, OpenEXR, animated GIF, and any other image format supported by OS X. It also integrates a movie player to watch camera recordings.

Features

• Progressive display, on single- or multiple-monitor configurations, of images of virtually any...

You're probably used to ignoring all those overpriced New Age-y therapies and miracle cures Gwyneth Paltrow's website Goop tends to promote. Remember that time when it suggested inserting jade eggs into the vagina to "increase chi?" No? Well, you can...

As it has done in past years, Apple this week celebrated Pride 2017 in a handful of cities around the world, participating in parades in San Francisco, New York City, and Toronto. Tim Cook also commemorated the parades with a tweet….

more…

There's been a lot of speculation around whether Mark Zuckerberg is or is not planning to run for office. From his nationwide tour to his rejection of atheism, there have been quite a few moments that could be interpreted as a lead-up to a presidenti...

Brings several improvements to the app’s appearance, as well as added support for Things 3. ($29 new, free update, 14.1 MB)

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

Spectacles have made sharing marginally exciting videos on land via Snapchat easier. It also helps that you no longer need to hunt down a vending machine to snag a pair in the US. But a partnership between the social network and Royal Caribbean cruis...

In the embedded video, look for a (hairless!) yours truly at 2:15.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Today, twenty-one of Silcon Valley's top leaders met with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is in the US today on the second leg of his three-nation tour. PM Modi will hold his first bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump at a working dinner at the White House on Monday. In our cover graphic, you're able to see India's PM Modi centered between Apple's CEO Tim Cook and Cisco's executive chairman John Chambers.

Tumblr* says it has fixed the main issues that were plaguing "Safe Mode," a feature it recently launched to hide all NSFW posts from your Dashboard. It's a welcome addition for libraries, schools or parents who don't want to block the social network...

On June 19, Patently Apple posted a report titled "The EU Rolls the Dice and Sides with No Decryption, No Reverse Engineering of Communications." Now the U.S. along with the top Commonwealth countries are set to push efforts that are contrary in nature to those proposed by the EU. Today Australia said it will push for greater powers to tackle the use of encrypted messaging services used by terrorists ...

With the iPhone's tenth birthday coming up this week, CBS Sunday Morning aired a segment today taking a look back at the development and launch of the original iPhone.

The segment from David Pogue includes a roundtable session with Pogue, Walt Mossberg, Steven Levy, and Ed Baig, the four journalists who received review units of the iPhone in 2007 just prior to its launch."After three days," said Mossberg, "I was ready to throw this thing out of the window for trying to type on glass."

"It's ten years later," said Levy, "and half the emails I get still have a little message underneath saying, 'Typed on phone, forgive typos'!"Pogue also sits down for a brief interview with Bas Ording, one of the key Apple engineers behind the first iPhone.Part of what made the iPhone a hit was that objects in that touchscreen world have their own physics. You can thank Bas Ording for some of it, like how lists have...

It was a bountiful week for mass consumption. Twitch announced that it will run 6 straight days of MST3K, German police went on a 36-house raiding spree in search of hate speech and Sega's bringing some of its most beloved titles to mobile. Numbers,...

WhiteCap is a sleek and sophisticated music visualizer and screensaver that features futuristic, wireframe mesh visuals with dynamic backgrounds and colors.

WhiteCap contains thousands of visual combinations, real-time audio response, configurable on-screen menus, and an extensive library of visual content.

• Continuously morphing stream of visual effects
• Adjustable zoom, speed, and music response
• Easy to install, easy to use

Version 6.7.1:

• Fixed screen saver for macOS retina displays
• Fixed not restoring Direct3D state under VirtualDJ
• Smarter hotkey support for Winamp and MediaMonkey
• Fixed audio frozen visually when iTunes is paused
• Fixed prefs not always being saved when quitting iTunes

• OS X 10.6 or later

Download Now]]>

DiskMaker X (was Lion DiskMaker) helps you to build a bootable drive from the official OS X installer app (the one you download from the Mac App Store). It detects the OS X Install program with Spotlight then proposes to build a bootable install disk and make it look as nice as possible. It’s the easiest way to build an OS X Installer in a few clicks! Then you can use the Install drive to fully re-install the OS on a freshly formated drive, or install it on your many Macs without re-downloading the full installer.

Version 6.0 rc5:

Note: Now requires OS X 10.9 or later

• Release notes were unavailable when this listing was updated.

• OS X 10.9 or later.

Download Now]]>

LaunchBar is an award-winning productivity utility that offers an amazingly intuitive and efficient way to search and access any kind of information stored on your computer or on the Web. It provides instant access to your applications, documents, contacts, and bookmarks, to your music library, to search engines and more, just by entering short abbreviations of the searched item's name.

You just hit Command-Space to bring LaunchBar's input window to front, enter an arbitrary abbreviation, and as soon as you start typing LaunchBar displays the best matching choices, ready to be opened immediately.

Start applications, open documents, invoke system services, compose emails, or navigate the Web--LaunchBar will be your essential servant.

Version 6.9:

Appearance

• Re-organized Themes.
• Changed Default Theme. The previous default theme is still available (it has been renamed to “Base”).
• Improved...

Venmo is reportedly taking a leaf out of other digital payment services' book and making a physical debit card. According to Recode, the PayPal-owned mobile app created to make going Dutch with friends a lot easier has already begun testing a card th...

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone and while Apple celebrated earlier this year, this month marks the anniversary of when the device was released to the public. To celebrate, CBS Sunday Morning is airing a special segment on the device tomorrow morning…

more…

Most current self-driving technology relies on cameras, radar and lidar. These sensory devices serve as eyes for the car, mimicking what a human driver can see. But a University of Michigan public-private partnership called Mcity is testing V2V, or v...

LaunchBar is an award-winning productivity utility that offers an amazingly intuitive and efficient way to search and access any kind of information stored on your computer or on the Web. It provides instant access to your applications, documents, contacts, and bookmarks, to your music library, to search engines and more, just by entering short abbreviations of the searched item's name.

You just hit Command-Space to bring LaunchBar's input window to front, enter an arbitrary abbreviation, and as soon as you start typing LaunchBar displays the best matching choices, ready to be opened immediately.

Start applications, open documents, invoke system services, compose emails, or navigate the Web--LaunchBar will be your essential servant.

Version 6.9:

Appearance

• Re-organized Themes.
• Changed Default Theme. The previous default theme is still available (it has been renamed to “Base”).
• Improved...

The iPhone 8 leaks continue this weekend with images emerging of yet another dummy unit. Shared on Twitter by leaker Onleaks, the dummy model corroborates much of what we’ve seen many times in the past related to the iPhone 8’s design, including a glass back, vertical dual-camera design, and more…

more…

This is the place to catch up on all the biggest product announcements, hardware, apps, synths, Logic/GarageBand instruments and so much more in the world of iOS/Mac music production. This week, Roland and Studio Electronics unveil a brand new mono analog synth, Native Instruments drops a toy box full of quirky sounds and Output introduces us to its new studio desk Platform… more…

A report earlier this week detailed Apple’s efforts to remove spam and copy-cat apps from the App Store, and one area the company specifically seems to be targeting is China. As noted in a new report from People.cn, Apple has removed around 58,000 Chinese apps from the App Store over the last two weeks, a drastic increase compared to normal.

more…

Apple is hiring Stanford Medicine’s digital health leader, Dr. Sumbul Desai, according to Internet Health Management.

She headed up Stanford’s Center for Digital Health, which the Stanford University School of Medicine launched in January 2017. 

The goal of the center is to enhance Stanford’s digital health initiatives via collaboration with digital technology companies, clinical research and education. Stanford has close ties to Apple, notes Internet Health Management.

Along the same lines, Apple is working with a start-up called Health Gorilla in its secretive personal health record initiative, reports CNBC, quoting unnamed sources. Health...

In this week’s top stories: iPhone 8 dummy unit leaks, iOS 11 beta 2, iPad Pro, Apple Watch, HomePod, and much more.

more…

Earlier this week, satellite footage highlighted the progress Apple has made in construction on Apple Park, showing the new campus go from skeleton form to near completion. Now, Duncan Sinfield is back with his newest drone footage, offering our clearest look yet at Steve Jobs Theater.

more…

On May 09 Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Acquires Beddit, Developer behind a Sleep Tracking App." Apple has now filed for a trademark covering this product name starting in Hong Kong. Apple has filed their application under five international classes covering such things as electronic sensors that measure and track general well-being, sleep patterns, sleep quality, respiration sounds, respiration movements, heart rate, limb movements and more. It's also covered as a medical device and for medical research as well as for beds, linens, bedroom furniture and more.

Drone videographer Duncan Sinfield has posted a new video on his YouTube channel today, giving viewers a fresh look at Apple Park as a small number of employees begin settling into the campus and more buildings take shape. It's been nearly two years since Sinfield originally started providing monthly drone footage for what was previously referred to as "Apple Campus 2."

Now, Sinfield's late June 2017 update provides a glimpse into Apple's ongoing construction progress at Apple Park, including a noticeable progression in the number of trees and other pieces of greenery within the "spaceship" building's circular courtyard. Early on in the video, viewers can also catch a shot of the main atrium of Apple Park, with its floor-to-ceiling glass doors that originally began to take shape in...

Want a better car mount for your iPhone? Josh Center has one to recommend, assuming you have an accessible CD slot in your car and keep your iPhone in a case.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

These days, keeping up with games can be a full-time job. So how do you separate the signal from the noise, the wheat from the chaff, the Temple Runs from the Temple Jumps? Allow us to help by regularly selecting a game You Should Play.

I wasn’t even looking for new games on the App Store when the trailer for After the End: Forsaken Destiny caught my eye. Despite its clunky, somewhat cliché title, the game immediately piqued my interest with its smooth, perspective-based puzzles, constantly-evolving landscapes, and low-poly artistic style that’s reminiscent of an all-time favorite, Monument Valley.

...

A report from the Israeli website The Verifier says the upcoming “iPhone 8” will include an iPad Pro-like smart connector that may be the link up for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality headsets. The article adds that the smart connector will also be used for charging, sort of like MagSafe for the iPhone. 

Personally, I’m dubious, but, if the rumor is true, the timing might be good. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) continue to gain momentum in the mainstream tech media. According to recent forecast data from the International Data Corporation, (IDC) ...

As Apple CEO Tim Cook attended a tech summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, the rest of the company was preparing upgraded betas of iOS 11, macOS High Sierra, watchOS 4, and tvOS 11. More rumors meanwhile emerged about the iMac Pro and the "iPhone 8," and AppleInsider got a chance to put Apple's new 12.9-inch iPad Pro and 27-inch 5K iMac through their paces.

VOX just sounds better! The beauty is in its simplicity, yet behind the minimal exterior lies a powerful music player with a ton of features and support for all audio formats you should ever need. VOX was originally developed following the principles of clarity, simplicity and versatility. Thus, the minimalistic interface incorporates both essential and unique features, which let you:

• Listen to your music regardless of the format:
• Play numerous lossy and lossless audio formats;
• Export playlists in various formats (PLS, M3U, XSPF);
• Open different playlist types including M3U, PLS, XSPF and the popular CUE format used to store CD rips;
• Play audio files stored on NAS devices and other network drives.
• Rule your music with ease:
• Control the player from the main interface, Dock context menu or main menu controls;
• Automatically search for all the missing album artwork from...

LibreOffice is an office suite (word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, drawing tool) compatible with other major office suites. The Document Foundation is coordinating development and maintenance of this OpenOffice.org fork.

Many different language versions are available here.

Version 5.3.4.2:

• Release notes were unavailable when this listing was updated.

• OS X 10.8 or later

Download Now]]>

Calibre is a complete e-book library manager. Organize your collection, convert your books to multiple formats, and sync with all of your devices. Let Calibre be your multi-tasking digital librarian.

Manage, convert, sync, and more

• Library management. Calibre keeps things orderly by creating single entries for books that contains multiple formats. Add tags and comments for better searchability.
• Format conversion. Calibre's robust conversion options support a wide variety of file formats.
• File syncing. Calibre's device drivers seamlessly support all the top e-readers and devices.

Version 3.1.1:

Note: Now requires OS X...

Earlier this month, Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two angered the PC gaming community after sending a cease and desist letter to the developers of the OpenIV modding tool. OpenIV allowed people to create modifications for GTA IV and GTA V single pl...

It might be hard to top Titanfall 2's last DLC release that dropped the first new playable titan since the game launched. But the mech-filled multiplayer shooter's next free content block will add something back that fans have been wanting for months...

Apple is moving forward with efforts to build out its health products team with the recent hire of a top Stanford doctor who headed up the university's own digital health initiative.

Nike is the latest company to join the augmented reality craze. The sportswear giant has started using the tech to sell limited-edition kicks through its SNRKS app, with the system's first drop being the Nike SB Dunk High Pro "Momofuku," a model desi...

If you were disappointed that you had to keep the $80 disc for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in your gaming rig to be able to play the better-reviewed Modern Warfare remaster, you're in luck. Publisher Activision has announced that it will reverse t...

Providing internet to remote users beyond the telecom grid has always been a difficult dream to realize. But as Trump assured supporters in Iowa yesterday that better rural broadband would get looped into his infrastructure plans, the ambition at lea...

Good for your game

Image by Rob Schultz/Macworld

This week’s roundup includes a new app that improves your golf game, and also includes apps to help you manage tasks, track weather, and even call a locksmith. Read on!

Backtrack Golf

Image by Backtrack Golf

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here