Inhaltsverzeichnis für April 2017 in Macworld Australia

Dear Editor I don’t think that in the absence of evidence; i.e. users not writing in to tell you of their success with new technology, you can conclude that “…there are many more people whose lives have been enriched by it.” Perhaps they have just given up trying to do the things they previously did. The single most destructive thing Apple has done in recent years is to adopt a philosophy of minimalism with regard to controls; i.e. buttons, icons, etc. On a mobile phone, I can understand the reason for this, as the screen real estate is small and precious. The user does not want to have content obscured by buttons, menus, icons, etc. But this does not apply to a tablet or indeed a 24in computer screen. The…

With every release of a new iPhone powered by another cutting edge processor designed by Apple, the rumbling grows. It’s amplified by the perception that the Mac is being delayed and hamstrung by the moves of the Mac’s chip supplier, Intel. It’s the theory that, one of these days, Apple is going to break from Intel and power its Macs with an Apple-designed processor related to the ones in the iPhone and iPad. It’s a story with a certain amount of sense behind it. It seems like several Mac models have been delayed because Intel’s chips just weren’t ready in time, or weren’t ready in enough supply. The latest hubbub about the MacBook Pro being limited to 16GB of RAM is due to Apple’s choice of a low-power Intel chipset…

A security researcher finds a gaping hole in automatic network connections made by plugging in a dongle. A proof of concept from security researcher and software developer Samy Kamkar shows that macOS, Windows, and Linux computers can have any previously active Web logins hijacked merely by plugging in a tiny Unix device via USB or Thunderbolt, even if the computer is locked and password protected, and possibly even when it seems to be asleep. It can also hijack many router brands on the same network. PoisonTap (samy.pl/poisontap) exploits several interlocked network and browser design features, rather than relying on an operating system, hardware or browser flaw. This will make it harder to root out and resolve. Kamkar said in an interview, “The interesting attacks to me are by design: how…

Dali KATCH With busy lifestyles, having a compact and portable speaker that not only sounds but looks incredible and can charge your phone or tablet on the go is vital. Dali’s new KATCH is a compact and portable battery-powered Bluetooth speaker that incorporates modern design with innovative technology to ensure ultra-clear audio projection. The KATCH has two audio profiles ‘clear’ and ‘warm’ to ensure the best possible audio experience for the user. ‘Clear’ offers users clear audio, perfect for everyday listening. The ‘warm’ profile is just right for listeners who want their music to have more bass, and it produces great audio projection in larger rooms. The Dali KATCH easily connects via Bluetooth 4.0 or a 3.5mm jack. Knowing that users will bring their portable speaker on the road, Dali…

Q: After five years, I am considering the purchase of a new iMac. In migrating from the old to the new is the best choice Migration Assistant, Time Machine or SuperDuper? – Les Rosenbaum A: It depends on the vintage of machines you’re migrating from and to. If the new Mac can run the same operating system as the old one, I’d lean towards using SuperDuper (go.macworld.com/superduper) or Carbon Copy Cloner (bombich.com). However, if you can’t run the same version of macOS/OS X on both computers, a clone won’t work: it can’t boot on the new machine, and you need to pick Time Machine or Migration Assistant. If you want to use a cloning tool, follow these steps: 1. In SuperDuper or CCC, make a full clone of your…

Home audio needs to be far more flexible today than in the past. The Dynaudio Xeo 2 is a very versatile pair of speakers that can connect over optical, RCA and 3.5mm cables, as well as via Bluetooth. The initial setup process is very straightforward. Although each speaker in the pair requires its own power supply, they work together wirelessly using a proprietary wireless standard. I connected one speaker to my TV (designated as the master of the pair), flicked a switch on each speaker designating it as the left and right channel and was ready to start watching my current favourite movie. Bluetooth pairing is also easy to configure. The speakers can be used individually or as a pair. Switching between inputs is easy using the remote control although…

The release of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in September 2016 had case makers scrambling. Not only had the headphone port disappeared, but the larger iPhone 7 Plus introduced a whole new camera arrangement on the rear face of the device. Now armed with a two-camera set-up, there was no way older cases could be used with the new model. For those of us with a more adventurous spirit, this probably meant holding on to older iPhones until new, ruggedised cases hit the market. LifeProof’s FRĒ for the iPhone 7 Plus is one of several such options. OtterBox also has an iPhone 7 Plus model on the market, as do several others. The LifeProof FRĒ is designed to protect your iPhone 7 Plus from most of the potential…

In a moment of somewhat unexpected nostalgia at its most recent media event, Apple pointed out that it was the 25th anniversary of the PowerBook. (It’s good to know that, 27 years later, Apple still would rather nobody remember the Mac Portable.) I’ve been a Mac laptop user since the original PowerBook era. That ancient history is my history. Since 1991, Apple has gone through seven distinct eras when it comes to its laptop strategy and design. THE CLASSICS: THE 680X0 ERA The original PowerBooks (and, sure, the Mac Portable) used the Mac’s original processor, the Motorola 680x0 series. The first generation of PowerBooks took the world by storm, which is why it’s their anniversary that Apple noted. I distinctly remember a magazine story attentively describing entertainment industry executive Barry…

Apple gave its new MacBook Pro a thinner, sleeker case, which demanded a new, lower-travel keyboard, a new venting system and even a smaller battery. But while I appreciate a Mac that’s smaller and lighter, I’d rather have a Mac that’s easier or just more fun to use. These 13in and 15in MacBook Pros with Apple’s new Touch Bar are both. The Touch Bar brings my favourite things about the iPad Pro’s software keyboard to the Mac. The amount of useful shortcuts it adds is ridiculous, and this is before most third-party developers have even had a chance to add Touch Bar support. Even for a premium price – and these Macs aren’t cheap – I think the Touch Bar makes this a much more compelling buy than the MacBook…

Apple’s desktop and mobile operating systems provide a full suite of applications that allow you to do most of what you want without downloading any additional apps. You can browse the web, send and receive email, manage calendars and contacts, and much more, all with the stock apps included in macOS and iOS. But on macOS, you have the choice to not use those apps. Say you want to use Microsoft Outlook instead of Apple Mail, you can make this change, and when you click a link to send an email, Outlook will open. Or if you want to use Chrome instead of Safari, the same thing will happen: URLs you click will open in Google’s browser. You can even change the default app to open any specific file type…

“I need Apple advice,” my sister texted me last week. “I got a message that my computer is blocked due to an unexpected error. It gives me a number to call to fix it. Does that sound legit?” No. It did not sound legit. What’s worse, the error message gave her an 800 number to call, which she did, and the person on the other end of the line offered to share her screen and tried to sell her $200 worth of security software. That was the point at which her instincts kicked in and she got off the call and asked me for help. The culprit in all this was a pop-up message in Safari, which read in part: “Your Apple computer has been blocked. Mac iOS alert! System…

An apparently huge number of iOS and macOS users received calendar invitation spam recently. If you began seeing an invitation to an event in your calendar listings for Ugg Boots, Ray-Ban sunglasses and other products, it’s because spammers took advantage of a long-available feature in iCloud that extracts invitations from email and presents them as notifications in calendar apps. The ones I received were set as a repeating event, making the invitation show up on every day of my calendar. The standard iCalendar format can package an invitation in an ICS file, a format with which you’re probably familiar for adding events from other calendar services or subscribing to a school or sports calendar via a website. Apple automatically examines ICS attachments sent via email to your iCloud email account,…

I have just spent a few days running the latest offering in the iKlip Grip series from IK Multimedia through its paces. In this case it’s the iKlip Grip Pro, a multifunction smartphone stand, which can also be used with a compact DSLR. The unit itself is basically in three parts: a moulded plastic handgrip that can be splayed to form a stable tripod, an inbuilt telescopic metal tube with four extensions up to a total of 500mm and the detachable camera grip itself, which is an expanding, spring-loaded rubber bracket accommodating phone sizes from 50 to 90mm, case included. This covers the range of most current and recent smartphones. The bracket has a standard tripod screw thread for attaching to a full-size tripod if necessary. The fourth part of…

Mac users are fortunate to have not one, but two excellent commercial virtualisation software packages to choose from, not to mention less polished free alternatives like Virtual Box (virtualbox.org). In what has now become an annual ritual, VMware (vmware.com) and Parallels (parallels.com) have updated their respective Fusion and Desktop products to coincide with the recent release of macOS Sierra. Last year, both companies delivered ambitious new versions to capitalise on back-to-back debuts of Windows 10 and OS X El Capitan, but the 2016 editions are somewhat more subdued by comparison. VMware marked the occasion by launching Fusion 8.5, a maintenance update with no new features. Having celebrated its 10th anniversary for Desktop earlier this year, Parallels encouraged engineers to come up with at least one unique new feature to justify…

APPLE RESOLVES THE MACBOOK PRO BATTERY LIFE ISSUES FOUND IN CONSUMER REPORTS’ TESTING BY ROMAN LOYOLA Apple and Consumer Reports have been working together to determine the issues that Consumer Reports had with the new MacBook Pro’s battery life during its review. It turns out that Consumer Reports uses a developer setting that typical users don’t use, and also that the same setting has a bug that affects performance. In its review of the MacBook Pro, Consumer Reports said its battery life test results varied wildly, from four hours to 19 hours. Consumer Reports explained on its website that its laptop battery tests do not necessarily reflect real-world usage; instead, tests are designed to be consistent across different laptops for comparison’s sake. In the case of the MacBook Pro, Consumer…

For years, people have speculated about whether Apple would ditch macOS in favour of iOS, shedding desktops and turning laptops into something like an iPad Pro in a fixed clamshell. A version of iOS has apparently come to the Mac, but not in a way that anybody expected. The new Touch Bar has a separate brain – a custom T1 ARM processor system-on-a-chip (SoC), that looks to be running a stripped-down variant of iOS, possibly derived from watchOS. Steve Troughton-Smith, an iOS developer known for deep examinations of how the operating system ticks, has put the pieces together, some of which rely on information provided by Apple during on-the-record press briefings and on its site, and some from examining files within the newest release of Xcode, which allows developers to…

BROKEN OFFICE SINCE SIERRA Thank you for your wonderful magazine, which I read with relish and find loads of useful information. I am now seeking your wisdom please. I am using an iMac computer – Retina 5K Late 2014. I have recently updated to MacOS Sierra 10.12.1 and am now having problems with MS Word and Excel. I am still using (and like) Word and Excel for Mac 2008 12.3.6 (130206). Both are part of the Office for Mac Suite. The problem now is, since this last Sierra upgrade, when I open Word it sometimes opens up as a new template and not a new document, which I cannot close unless I shut down Word – sometimes having to force quit. The same has been happening with Excel. However, if…

Today’s smartphone-enabled generation wants to take their iPhone with them wherever they go. That means finding a convenient way to carry their preferred device, not just at the office or when socialising, but also while exercising. Melbourne-based designer Chris Peters recognised this problem when he was looking for convenient ways to mount his phone onto the handlebars of his bike. After some experimentation, he came up with his own design – the Quad Lock system. He then launched a crowd-funding campaign on KickStarter that smashed its way through its funding goal. Now, almost six years later, Peters has sold Quad Lock cases and mounts to over 4000 cities in over 100 countries. The Quad Lock consists of a case with a circular moulding on the back. There are four, small…