Inhaltsverzeichnis für April 2016 in Macworld Australia

I’ve loved taking pictures since I was a kid. Back when I was about nine, I received my first camera as a gift. It used film cartridges that shot 12 images per roll, used a cube flash that was good for four shots and the film had to be taken to the local chemist to be dropped off for development and collected a week later. How times have changed. The cost of photography is almost free once you get past the initial equipment layout, if you’re an amateur snapper, and pros now operate in a market where a great deal of what was handled via a deep understanding of how cameras operate is being replaced by post-production software. Although this offers lots of opportunities, my friends making a living as…

In the previous issue of Macworld Australia, we completed the process of installing El Capitan and the Server app on an external hard drive. Now we’ll look at the Server app’s features and we’ll also get started with Server’s remote management features. APPLE’S SERVER (YUP! IT’S REALLY AN APP) If you’re used to working with typical server software, you’re also used to the notion of a server operating system, such as Microsoft’s Windows Server 2012. Apple’s server app is a horse of a different colour, which is to say, it’s an app running on Apple’s El Capitan operating system. Install and set up the app and you have all the features of a server operating system. Drag the app to the Trash and the app will detect that it’s no…

ON1 PHOTO 10 PHOTOGRAPHY On1 US$120 For about a decade, On1’s photo-editing tools were plug-ins for Adobe Lightroom, Apple Aperture or Adobe Photoshop. A couple of versions back, On1 began rolling these into a Perfect Photo Suite that created a dashboard for all the tools. On1 Photo 10 now stands on its own as an alternative to Lightroom and Photoshop. NEW NAME, NEW LOOK At the heart of Photo 10 are three editing modules – Enhance, Effects and Portrait – and a fourth module for creating and managing layers. Photo 10’s Enhance module can read raw files and perform basic adjustments, corrections and enhancements, such as exposure, contrast, colour, noise and sharpness, and spot removal. The Effects module gives you a quick start on your images by selecting a preset…

! From Martyn Cox I read with interest the article on page 50 of the December issue ‘How to make a bootable OS X 10.11 El Capitan installer drive’. I have been using the methods described for the last three or four OS X releases. While I have had no issues I can appreciate how having to use the Terminal and the steps involved may be too daunting for some. I recently found a small app called Install Disk Creator from MacDaddy that reduces the process to three clicks of the mouse. Perhaps you might share this great little app with your readers. You can download the app from http://macdaddy.io. Thanks for the tip, Martyn. • EACH MONTH, STM gives a prize to the Macworld Australia reader who submits the…

MACKEEPER ANXIETY I thoroughly enjoy the magazine and read every word, although a lot of it is much too technical for an aged person (my first exposure to a computer was in 1967 – Basic and punchcards!). After years of frustration with Windows, I drew back the blinds, saw the light and, just like Adam, ‘bit the Apple’ in 2010. I upgrade every new version, and was ‘El Capitan’ as soon as it came out and before you wrote about how to install it. Now to the purpose of this letter. This month I was dismayed to read at line three on page 36 “never be tempted to install MacKeeper”. I was aghast! I have had MacKeeper for a couple of years now and have never found a problem with…

WHAT’S THE STORY WITH ERROR 53? BY ANTHONY CARUANA A number of iPhone users have been hit with a significant issue. It seems that iPhones that have been exposed to two conditions are being ‘bricked’ – or rendered unresponsive and unrecoverable. The two conditions that can create the Error 53 issue are running recent versions of iOS and the Touch ID sensor being ‘tampered’ with in some way. I use the word ‘tamper’ with some reservations. In all the cases I’ve read about, the affected party’s iPhone has suffered some type of damage and been repaired by an unauthorised repairer. When the screen is replaced, the button on the front face of the iPhone is disassembled or, in some cases, replaced. According to Kyle Wiens, from iFixit.com, independent repairers sometimes…

Like it or not, cloud storage is the future, despite the fact that even major players with deep pockets haven’t quite nailed it yet. Now that Dropbox has come down to Earth on pricing and capacity, it’s generally considered superior to competing services from Amazon, Google and Apple – and don’t even get me started on Microsoft, which recently reneged on its promise of unlimited storage for Office 365 subscribers. Recently, a new player named Upthere (upthere.com) burst onto the scene, offering an alternative, sync-free ‘cloud computer. Currently available free with unlimited storage while in beta (the company has yet to announce pricing), Upthere does have at least one ace up its sleeve: founder and former Apple vice-president Bertrand Serlet, who worked as the software engineering lieutenant under Steve Jobs…

So you’re in the market for a new iPad. Excellent choice – I couldn’t live without mine. It’s my companion when I’m catching up on news and email in the morning over tea, reading a comic book in the evening to unwind, or watching a movie while travelling on an aeroplane. But these days, picking an iPad can be tricky. Apple currently sells five different models of iPad, with prices ranging from $369 to $1699. There are size, storage, colour and connectivity options to consider. All in all, there are 61 different variations of iPad from which to choose. So which iPad is right for you? Read on. IF YOU WANT IT ALL: iPAD PRO The iPad Pro is the newest and biggest iPad, with a 12.9in diagonal screen. It’s…

Dell UltraSharp U2515H A versatile monitor delivering a stunning picture, the Dell U2515H will appeal to those looking for plenty of high-end features. This 25in Dell monitor offers 2560 x 1440 resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio, so it’s sharper than a 1080p Blu-ray movie, but not quite sharp enough to do Ultra HD content justice. It’s an IPS (In Plane Switching) LCD panel offering 350 cd/m2 brightness and an 8ms grey-to-grey response time. The result is a bright screen with vivid colours, wide viewing angles and deep blacks‚ making it a great choice for multimedia work or watching action movies. It’s a matte display with an anti-glare coating. You’ll find two HDMI video ports on the back which are MHL-compatible (Mobile High-Definition Link). The monitor also sports DisplayPort and…

What, I hear you ask, didn’t we just see a film about Steve Jobs a couple of years ago? Well, yes, we did and even more confusingly they both were at least a little inspired by Walter Isaacson’s best selling biography of the Apple founder. But the two films are very different, Jobs was made in 2013, starred Ashton Kutcher and was a fairly straightforward TV movie-style. Steve Jobs has a much more formidable pedigree. It was written by Aaron Sorkin, who has form in this department, having already won an Oscar for his screenplay about Mark Zuckerberg and the beginning of Facebook in The Social Network, but is also famous for films like A Few Good Men and The American President, as well as TV shows like The West…

The last major release of the ‘new’ Numbers came with a slew of changes – both good and bad – to the interface and feature set. Now, two years on, Numbers has gained 0.6.1 version numbers, as well as some new features and changes to its interface. It’s also now a much stronger collaboration tool, and you can work on spreadsheets on OS X, iOS and the web. ISSUES FROM THE ORIGINAL REVIEW When I reviewed version 3.0, I noted that the left-hand sidebar and customisable toolbar were both gone. While the left-hand sidebar is still gone, the customisable toolbar has returned. No longer are you stuck with the buttons Apple deems most important. If you’d like some room back on the toolbar, consider removing the Tips button; it just…

VOICE 2.0 PRODUCTIVITY Adobe iPHONE AND iPAD FREE (IN-APP PURCHASES) If you are already using Adobe Voice, you’re not the type who wants to leave much margin for error. You have something to say and you want to get that message across quickly and succinctly. A bit of flair and polish wouldn’t hurt, either. The newly released universal iOS app guides you through each step of creating a unique and appealing animated video presentation, complete with audiovisual elements, images, icons and, critically, your own voice. With Voice, Adobe diverges from its target audience of professional designers, photographers and artists into consumer territory. The more you know about design, and the pickier you are about elements like colour, layout or fonts, the less inclined you’ll be to surrender your visuals to…

Well, I tried. I tried the whole ‘use the iPad Pro instead of my computer for a week’ thing and barely lasted a day. It doesn’t fit my workflow like my MacBook Air does, so I stopped trying to force it – and that’s OK. Apple’s newest largest tablet doesn’t need to be a laptop replacement to be good, but for a $550 premium over the cheapest iPad Air 2, it does need to deliver more than just a larger screen. In some ways it does. Thanks to a faster processor and more RAM, the iPad Pro can enable a new class of applications that feel as powerful as desktop apps. Support for the Apple Pencil is limited to this iPad, so if your work includes drawing or drafting, or…

The humble padlock, first invented almost 2000 years ago, has barely changed. A key on the bottom, a solid metal shackle and a strong body have been the recipe for security for a long time. But that doesn’t mean this guardian of our gear isn’t ripe for a technological facelift. Dog & Bone has taken this age-old protector and added a wireless twist to create the LockSmart Keyless Bluetooth Padlock. At first glance, the LockSmart looks like almost any other padlock, albeit a slightly more stylish one. The polished zinc alloy body safely houses the electronic and mechanical components within. The shackle is made of 8mm stainless steel. There’s a rubber cover over the USB port that’s used to recharge the LockSmart. That also covers a small button that can…

Not every home is a good candidate for coverage by a single Wi-Fi-enabled router or access point. In some cases, your router, because of where you installed your inbound internet connection, will be poorly placed to deliver optimal coverage. Or the construction of your home means the wireless signal can’t pass through some areas easily. In particular, an extender installed to a power outlet near the backyard can extend your wireless network outdoors without the need for extra wiring. The Linksys RE6700 AC1200 AMPLIFY Dual-Band Wi-Fi Range Extender picks up a wireless signal from an access point and rebroadcasts it back to the main router, acting as a relay point for your wireless LAN. I installed the RE6700 in my home. The unit plugs into a regular power outlet. It’s…