Indice dei contenuti per No. 206 in iCreate

“We’ve got all the pros and cons to help you make informed buying decisions” The silly season is about to reach its epoch with stress-induced sweat condensing off the walls and panic buys aplenty occurring up and down the high street. But one area that you don’t have to stress about is which Apple device would make the perfect present for your loved ones, because we’ve got that covered. In this, the final edition of iCreate magazine of 2019, we present the Ultimate Apple Buyer’s Guide, an in-depth rundown of the various iPhones and iPads available complete with all the pros and cons you need to make informed buying decisions. With so many models and variants available, it’ll help ensure that you don’t go crazy beyond your means and spend…

iPhone 11 + There is real value for money in this handset + The huge price jump to the Pro range makes this more appealing - No third camera lens, but do you really need it? - LCD – not OLED – display could be improved on iPhone 11 Pro + Identical performance to the Pro Max + 5.8-inch display is a helluva lot more portable - Battery lags slightly behind the Pro Max - None of the bright colours of the standard iPhone 11 iPhone 11 Pro Max + If you want the best, this is your next iPhone + Glorious 458 ppi True Tone OLED display - 6.5-inch screen isn’t far off the size of an iPad mini - You’ll part with £1,499/$1,449 for the 512GB version…

Adjust panel Tap here to access the Adjust panel’s suite of colour correcting and tone tweaking tools. You can also find tools to sharpen up detail and even reduce nasty picture noise in low light clips. Creative filters Tap here to access nine colour and tone altering filters that can change the mood of your clip. You can use a slider to dial down the strength of the filter’s adjustments to fine-tune the clip’s look. Here we’ve applied the Vivid Warm filter. Crop and rotate Tap the Crop icon to access tools that can distort your video footage to help straighten tilted horizons or reduce the presence of perspectival distortion. Vertical correction Our original clip’s vertical lines were converging towards the top. Tap the vertical correction icon to use a…

One way to create a striking title sequence for your shows is to place video clips inside text. By applying artistic effects to the background footage you can give video clips the stylised look of hand-drawn animation. The combination of cartoon-like footage and moving text creates an eye-catching introduction to your production. We’ll show you how to use layers and blending techniques to make the text behave like a stencil, so that ‘the animated’ footage is only visible inside the letters as they move across the black screen. We’ll start off by combining two clips with a mask to create a montage to place inside our text. You can adapt our masking, blending and art effect techniques to create a range of looks for your title sequences. Step-by-step  Combine text…

You may think of Sidecar as just a clever wireless solution that gives you a second screen to play in and one which is useful for using two apps at once or for viewing multiple images or videos at the same time. The thing is that Apple has spent a lot of time ensuring that it works in a way that does not feel like an extra, but more as a part of the computing system that you need to use. When you add an Apple Pencil to the mix you are effectively given a completely new way to interact, and vice versa, using a mouse with the iPad also becomes a feasible proposition. Sidecar can greatly enhance and change the way you use your Mac. Step-by-step  Use Sidecar in…

At first sight, the Photos app looks much the same as it did before macOS Catalina, but there have been some interesting tweaks that are not obvious. For example, there have been some subtle changes to the way Memories works. Photos used to play slideshows and that is still an option, but in addition to that, Photos now creates a movie from photo events, like a trip or holiday, your pets, life at home, weddings and parties. The video can be long, medium or short and a selection of music is provided so you can create a mood. Titles used to dominate the memory and, to be honest, they got in the way. Now the title is smaller and in the corner of the main image. Let’s see how the…

Click Transfer When a transfer has been downloaded, you will receive an email notification. But you can also click ‘Transfer’ from the main Dropbox menu to view some stats. Viewing numbers Choose the transfer you want to manage by selecting it from the list. You can now see the link again as well as how many times it has been viewed and downloaded. Check the recipients If you have chosen to email the link via Dropbox, then you will see those invites here. Pro users will be able to see exactly who has downloaded the file and who hasn’t. Delete a transfer Want to stop people downloading your transfer? Remove it from your account by clicking ‘Delete’ in the pop-up window or clicking the … icon next to the transfer…

On the go Make sure you set the preferences to suit your needs because there will be times when you want to set a task and deal with the detail later. Choose a suitable alert time for these. The thought process The panels at the top-left let you only deal with the tasks you need to at the current moment and cleverly move everything else you need to do to the background until needed. Add some detail Links and images will be held within each task and are available to click and use as needed from within the task. They do not get in the way of the text at any point. Changing priorities Any task you create can be made a sub-task in a second and you can also…

Recently used codes Each code listed within the Honey panel will offer a green indicator showing when the code was last used. This is one of the best ways to know if the code is likely to work. An iconic number The small icon in the toolbar will display a number automatically when applicable codes are available for the website you are visiting. It is a minimalist visual indicator that starts an efficient code checking process. The best codes? The search feature lets you quickly see trending websites that have good discount codes active. This turns the coupons around and offers you even more potential to save some money online. Home screen The Home screen enables you to manually enter numbers to search for so you can identify bad ones.…

Turn-by-turn Ask for directions to a device and Maps opens with the best routes to it. Choose whether to drive, walk or go by public transport, and then click ‘Details’ to get directions. Device actions Ctrl+click a device in the sidebar list to access an actions menu. If you know a device is near, but cannot see it, play a sound. If you lost it or it was stolen, get directions. View the route The route from where you are now to where your lost device is located is highlighted on the map. Click a route and get the details in the sidebar. Can you walk or drive? Icons mark locations Every Apple device that has location services and Find My enabled is displayed on a map. There are icons…

There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of podcasts to listen to and it is great fun browsing them all in the macOS Catalina Podcasts app and subscribing to your favourites. After a while, however, the list of podcasts will become a disorganised collection that makes it hard to find the ones you want to listen to. Podcasts can be organised into stations and these are collections that are related in some way. For example, you could create a station that contains science podcasts, sports, comedy and so on. It is up to you how you organise them, and after placing similar podcasts into a station, you can then browse the podcast shows and listen to them at your leisure. The order in which episodes play can be made automatic or…

As of iOS 13, you can create an account with an app or a website without inputting lots of personal data. All you need to give is your name and an email address – and you can even hide the latter so the service you’re accessing only sees a randomly-generated address. The idea is the address is unique to the service you’re using, with correspondence forwarded to your real email. This increases your level of privacy when setting up accounts, especially since the logins are also protected with Touch ID, Face ID or a passcode for extra protection. Web-based sign-ins require two-factor authentication and you can manage all of the apps that make use of Apple ID. With Apple promising not to track your activity, it’s certain to become a…

Font settings Open the Settings app and tap ‘General’. Press ‘Fonts’ and either you will see a message to go and install font apps from the App Store or see fonts that you have installed. View fonts Tap the arrow at the right side of any font to see details like the copyright, size, typefaces and to remove it. Tap one of the typefaces to see several screens previewing the font. Search and filter It is possible to install many fonts and you could end up with dozens or even hundreds. Tap in the Search box and enter a word or partial word to filter a long font list. Edit fonts Tap the ‘Edit’ link and one or several fonts can be selected. They can be deleted if you do…

The Books app didn’t really need much improvement with the iOS 13 update, but Apple has introduced an interesting new feature called Reading Goals that lets you set a target for how many minutes per day you spend reading on your device and the number of books that you want to read in the year. By default, your Reading Goals are set to five minutes per day and three books a year, but these can be adjusted depending on how prolific a reader you are. In this tutorial we show you how to access and view your Reading Goals within the Books app and how to set new goals at any time. Of course, if you find the whole thing a waste of time then you can turn Reading Goals…

Apple is often criticised for the walled garden approach that it takes which leads to a lack of compatibility with many products that the company does not create. The reasons for this approach are justifiable because it leads to added security, more stability and an overall experience that is as smooth and stable as you could hope for. With iPadOS, and iOS 13 as it happens, you can now access external storage directly from a compatible iPad and use it in almost any way you like. This gives you the ability to create local backups of important files, the opportunity to potentially purchase an iPad with lesser storage and of course to transfer files with others in a quick, safe and convenient manner. It really is a game changer. Step-by-step…

When Pulp released their albums, they’d include the lyrics but ask fans not to read them while listening to the recordings. Singer Jarvis Cocker felt it would make them feel clunky and awkward, but he didn’t say anything about singing along, and it’s fair to say there’s a lot of fun to be had with an impromptu karaoke session. Apple Music can display a song’s lyrics on Apple TV, highlighting the words when they appear in the track. The lyrics are also searchable so you can ask Siri to find songs using their words (by saying something like, “play the song that goes…”) or hit ‘Search’ to find what you’re after. Lyrics are available for most songs but those with explicit content may not play. If this is the case,…

Terminal This is a command line interface (CLI) app that comes on all Macs and allows users to modify various characteristics of their Macs, including fonts, files and certain aspects of the desktop. USB-C This is a relatively new type of connector for delivering data and power to and from devices. Because the plug is symmetrical in shape it can be inserted any way up, and the latest versions of USB-C are capable of delivering superfast data transferral speeds. Xcode This Apple-developed application is free to download from the Mac App Store and is essentially a suite of tools used for developing software for macOS, iOS, watchOS and tvOS. It is designed to support source code for a wide range of programming languages, including C++, Java and Swift.…

Key features 68W RMS • Bluetooth 4.1 • 50Hz-20kHz • RCA • AUX-in Learn more thonet-vander.com Available from amazon.co.uk IF YOU WANT TO BE FLOORED by your audio like a mule-kick to the abdomen then we can attest that Thonet & Vander’s KURBIS BT bookshelf speakers are satisfyingly loud and, best of all, don’t distort their sound, even at the highest volumes. Power and the glory Standing at a shade under a foot tall and weighing in at about nine pounds apiece, these speakers aren’t designed to be moved around much, despite offering Bluetooth connectivity. They deserve to sit pride of place in your home office or studio where they will serve you very well for a very long time. Despite being around for about five years, the KURBIS BT…

David Crookes Our resident tvOS expert helps you get into the festive spirit this month by showing you how to turn your Apple TV into a karaoke machine to belt out those seasonal bangers. Shaun McGill This month our tech expert demonstrates how to get the most out of iPadOS and helps you save money with Safari every time you shop online. Handy for this time of year. George Cairns This issue, our creative expert shows you how to add artistic effects to your Final Cut Pro text and correct all exposure-related issues with your iMovie videos. Facebook iCreateMagazine Twitter @iCreateMagazine Instagram icreate_mag Email icreate@futurenet.com…

iPad Air  £479/$499 (Wi-Fi)/£599/$629 (cellular) The iPad Air offers a considerable amount of performance in a design we all know and love. It is the same shell as the iPad 10.2, but 1.4mm thinner and 30g lighter – only the Pro models are thinner. If you’re looking for ultimate portability but need more screen real estate than the iPad mini, this could be your perfect iPad. Just like the new iPad mini, the Air is kitted out with state-of-the-art front and rear-facing cameras, so you’ll be able to capture clear and stable 1080p HD videos. You might not think tablet photography or video is for you, but Group FaceTime and document scanning make a good camera essential. You’ll also be able to dip into the world of AR easily. Released…

Capturing an accurate exposure that reveals detail in the shadows, midtones and highlights can be a challenge for digital cameras. On full auto mode most cameras will meter the scene to try and get an average exposure. However, it may still end up with over-exposed highlights or under-exposed shadows, especially when faced with high-contrast landscapes. Fortunately, iMovie can lighten up or darken a shot’s overall exposure. It can also boost contrast to make people and objects stand out more. We’ll show you how to fix over and underexposed clips. We’ll also demonstrate a technique that enables you to adjust exposure on the fly, which is useful for panning camera shots that start off correctly exposed but end up underexposed due to changes in light. Step-by-step  Tackle common exposure problems 1…

Logic’s Retro Synth includes a wavetable synthesis engine capable of taking any audio file and using it as the basis to calculate a set of waveforms to create a wave ‘table’ which is used as the primary sound source for the oscillators. The synth ‘looks up’ the waveforms in the table and cycles through them to make the sound evolve over time. The cycling through of positions in the wavetable is usually controlled by another component of the synth, like a low frequency oscillator (LFO) or envelope generator (EG). This sound-mangling characteristic makes it easy to quickly create unique sounds, as you can use literally any audio file on your system as a starting point. Step-by-step  Sound creation with Wavetable synthesis 1 Set the table On a software instrument track,…

Get creative In imaging apps or any app that requires input you may find that some of the features work much better on an iPad. It feels like you are controlling your Mac through your iPad. No mouse Small touch areas are easier to hit on the iPad with an Apple Pencil and you can also use the trackpad or mouse to control touch points from the Mac. It’s a clever solution. A mini Mac In every respect the iPad displays Mac apps and the entire interface to 100% accuracy. It gives a glimpse of what a Mac powered tablet may look like, if it happens. Handy controls Many of the standard Mac commands can be replicated on the iPad to the point that you are effectively using the iPad…

Play controls Open a memory and double-click it to play it. Maximise the window to view full-screen. Move the mouse to show the controller and use the Play/ Pause button, and step back/forward buttons. Skip forward and back Pause the video and drag the slider to skip forward or back through the video. Push up/down or slide left/ right with two fingers on a MacBook trackpad to quickly skip through the contents of the movie. Select the music Music plays in the background while watching the Memories movie and clicking the gear icon at the right side of the controller lets you choose the type to play. Use it to set the mood for the movie. Set the length If there are sufficient photos and videos in the memory, there…

One immediately obvious change in macOS Catalina is the replacement of iTunes with three new apps: Music, Podcasts and TV+. Here we look at Podcasts, which is now very similar to the iOS version, but the interface is slightly different, but probably easier to master than it was in iTunes. Podcast subscriptions are synced with the iPhone, so you may find it easier to browse and subscribe to shows and episodes on the Mac even if you plan to listen on your phone. There are buttons, links, clicks and Ctrl+clicks to master and some great shows to add to your playing queue. Let’s see how to configure the interface and access features you may have missed in this new Catalina-exclusive app. 1 Configure the buttons Either side of the Play…

View the email addresses The address that the service has received from Apple is displayed under ‘This app received’. If you wish to use the address under ‘Forward to’, however, see the Change forwarding address Knowledge base, below. View the details Reach this page by opening the Settings app on your iPhone and selecting your name. Tap ‘Password & Security’ and select ‘Apps Using Your Apple ID’. Stop forwarding When you choose to hide your email address, any correspondence is forwarded to your Apple ID email address. You can stop this by turning this toggle to off. Disassociate Apple ID Should you want to stop the app or website from using your Apple ID as a login, you can tap this option. It may entail setting up a new account…

Safari has been in iOS since the start, but downloading on the iPhone and iPad has always been a bit puzzling and troublesome. Where were downloaded files stored? How did you access them afterwards? Where was the Downloads folder? Strange as it may seem today, for 12 generations of iOS and Safari, there was no folder for downloads! That has all changed and now you can download files on the iPhone, save them to a Downloads folder and even access the files on a Mac. You can download files on the go out of the home or office and load them up on your Mac when you get back to your desk. This is a brilliant new feature in iOS 13 and it makes use of Safari and iCloud to…

When iOS 13 was released, the option of creating a Memoji in your own likeness was opened up to all iPhone users, not just owners of the higher-end models, and could be used to visually express your feelings in the Messages app without having to write it out. But what if you have dyed your hair, grown a beard or changed your physical appearance in some other way? Thankfully you can go into the Messages app and edit your Memoji at any time to keep it up to date and then update it across all apps and services. The editing options are varied, so you can also add new glasses, piercings or a different hairstyle altogether. Here we’ll guide you through the entire process.  How to update your Memoji…

Carrot Fit looks like a novelty app at first glance because it is heavily marketed to be a fun and snarky experience that may just help you to get fit. The reality is, however, that the app really can help you improve your fitness in the shortest possible period of time. Hit exercises are widely regarded as being beneficial, particularly for those who do not move much, and in our tests we have seen some quick improvements in the ability to undertake each exercise by simply repeating the steps on a daily basis. They are deliberately hard and your heart rate will increase quickly, but you should feel fitter by exercising for a handful of minutes every day. On top of all if this you will be fed snarky instructions,…

For what feels like an eternity the iPad has relied on presenting an interface that looks just like an expanded iPhone screen. To be fair this does not take advantage of the extra screen real estate and has felt like a wasted opportunity, but things have now changed. In iPadOS the main Home screen can be made to look more like a traditional computer interface while retaining the simplicity and obviousness of the iOS visuals. You get the opportunity to set up widgets to see information at a glance and to organise all of your favourite tools in any way you like. The end result is a near perfect balance between usability and having everything you need from the moment you pick your iPad up, which is obviously a good…

1 A guaranteed hit The Lightning to USB Camera Adaptor from Apple may be more expensive than most options, but it is guaranteed to work with any storage device that can connect through USB. 2 Power is important If your external drive can use power you should make sure it is plugged in before you start. Chances are that the iPad may not offer enough juice to keep it powered. 3 Take it further If you want to access your iPad files at a deeper level and then move them to external storage easily, take a look at iMazing (imazing.com) – it will change how you manage iPadOS files.…

The new Series 5 Apple Watch offers better battery performance than ever before, but if you are intending to use many of the more advanced features you may still struggle to get through the day on one charge. This is inevitable because there is only so much that can be done in such a small space and with Bluetooth, GPS, heart rate monitoring, general fitness tracking, notifications, music playback and so much more available you will need to take steps to keep it running over extended periods. No smartwatch can handle all of these features over many hours due to the limitations of today’s battery technology, but with some simple steps and considered usage you can be sure that you are doing all you can to make the most of…

I have heard that there is a Mac trick to go straight to the top of the office printer queue – is this a thing or have I misheard? It is, indeed, a thing. Go to System Preferences>Printers & Scanners and then select all of the shared printers in your office and create a printer pool that includes all of them. Now, whenever you need to print, remember to select the pool and your printing job will be completed using the first available printer from your collection. I regularly use the WhatsApp service on my iPhone and some of my friends tend to post pictures of a fruity nature in our group chats. Is there a way to quickly remove these so that my family don’t accidentally stumble across them?…

Price £14.99/$16.99 Requirements macOS 10.6 or later • 64-bit processor • 419MB Learn more headupgames.com Available from Mac App Store SOME OF GAMING’S GREAT success stories have come by combining genres to imaginative effect, but whoever thought that bullet-dodging and typing would make for a compelling mix definitely deserves a cap-doff. With a city overun with evil, you play the Father Merrin-sort charged with exorcising it and restoring order. However, in order to defeat the forces of evil, you have to type out the exorcisms on your keyboard while dodging tons of bullets, avoiding puddles of hellish vomit and diffusing bombs. It takes multitasking to whole new stressful levels, presented in a charming old-school interface that apes some of horror’s finest set-piece moments. It’s on the pricey side, but the…

THE LATEST GENERATION OF MACBOOKS HAVE BEEN ‘LOVE IT OR HATE IT’ AFFAIRS  FOR MANY USERS. Among the many controversies include Touch Bar, the butterfly keyboard, USB-C ports… the list goes on really. No one can ever fault Apple’s willingness to improve its product range, but the feeling is that some of the changes have been unnecessary. Why change a keyboard that is industry-leading, for example? The announcement of the all-new 16-inch MacBook Pro completes the Pro machine lineup for 2020. So, what’s in store and more importantly, has Apple been listening to its critics for a change? “Our pro customers tell us they want their next MacBook Pro to have a larger display, blazing-fast performance, the biggest battery possible, the best notebook keyboard ever, awesome speakers and massive amounts…

Thanks to the release of iOS 13 the Photos app can now process videos in the same way as it does with still images. Previously you could only trim a clip’s duration in the Photos app. Now you can fix common problems such as over or under-exposed tones, reduce noise in low light shots and sharpen up detail. You can even correct perspectival distortion, a phenomenon where a building’s vertical walls converge towards the top of the frame. You can also apply creative filters to a clip for quicker grading and even dial down the strength of the filter for a more subtle look. By processing footage in the iOS 13 version of Photos you can share better looking clips more quickly without needing to export them to iMovie. Step-by-step…

As far as input instruments go, GarageBand is mainly geared up for electric guitars and bass. Players will know that very quickly, they can plug in and get authentic tones via the default Library patches. However, these presets are not set in stone and under the hood they are modelled in a way to encourage limitless customisation. Smart Controls only go so far, which is why the Amp Designer is available to make more profound changes or build from scratch. In this guide we’ll show this by creating a wholly custom amp rig by using Amp Designer to choose an amplifier head model, a speaker cabinet and models for setting EQ and Reverb. With the new rig assembled you can then save the patch to the Library for future use!…

Dropbox allows you to share access to folders, with each person able to make edits. It also lets recipients add or remove whatever is in a folder so that only the most up-to-date files are available. This, however, is not always ideal. Sometimes you simply want to share files and draw a line under them – so the recipient would be able to download files but any edits they make would not affect the originals. They wouldn’t have access to a shared folder either. With the new Dropbox Transfer service, this is now possible. It gets users around the typical 25MB attachment limits of emails, lets you manage whatever you send and even protects files with passwords. Expiration dates will encourage recipients to download too. Step-by-step  Send big files via…

Situated in one of the most competitive areas of the App Store, Reminders simply cannot compete in terms of features and advanced functionality that is designed for project management and other work-related tasks. However, the new features in Reminders, that all work in Catalina, iOS 13 and iPadOS, are enough to bring parity to the equation and it does have an advantage over most other solutions that is hard to beat. It is of course designed by Apple and as such is exceptionally easy to add content to, whether that be text, images or links, and with this comes a solution that can catch everything you need to do in detail and one that with work will easily be able to manage the most complex of your days with ease.…

Coupon websites can be a hit or miss affair due to the number of coupons that do not work and potential privacy concerns. The offers of money savings are prevalent, but it can feel at times as though some of the offers are just there to tempt you to visit the site which can knock your confidence quickly. Honey takes a different approach in that it sits unobtrusively in the Safari toolbar and does nothing until you try to use it. All you see is a number which indicates the potential coupon codes on the site you are currently visiting and then you can quickly copy the code to see if it works. It’s not 100% successful – that is not possible – but it is quick and will certainly…

The ability to track Apple devices has been around for a long time, but the new Find My app introduced in macOS Catalina and iOS 13 has changed the way the process works. Now devices and people can be tracked in one app and here we take a close look at the ability to track the Mac, iPhone and iPad. This is useful when you accidentally leave a device somewhere or even have it stolen. Watch out when you are in public with an iPhone and make sure you have your devices packed when you come home from a holiday. Finding the location of devices is easy and with Maps integration, Find My can give you driving or walking directions to recover them. Step-by-step  Locate devices and get directions 1…

Stream it You can play podcast episodes on the Mac, which is fine if you are sitting at it, but to play it on the TV or external speakers like HomePod, click this button and select the device. Play or download Hover your cursor over a podcast episode to highlight it and buttons appear. The Play button on the left streams the podcast, but the cloud icon on the right downloads it and saves it. Episode menu Ctrl+click on a podcast episode or click the ‘…’ button on the right to display this special actions menu. The ‘Play Next’ or ‘Later’ options add it to the queue or mark it as played. Add an episode Use the Subscribe link at the top to get every episode of a show or…

With the latest version of iOS on your iPhone or iPad, you have access to new font handling capabilities. Eagle-eyed iPhone users will have noticed that font apps have been around for years. However, they used a nonstandard fudge to enable fonts to work and basically you had to create fake education or corporate profiles. iOS 13 brings native font handling and new features in the Settings app to view and manage installed fonts. Go to Settings>General>Fonts and it will tell you to download apps from the App Store to install fonts. Here we use Font Diner, which is one of the first apps exclusively for iOS 13, and it’s free. Step-by-step  Install and use iOS fonts 1 Find font apps A true font app works only with iOS 13…

Find downloads Press the magnifying glass to find this download. If downloads are set to save in the iCloud Downloads folder, the Files app automatically opens and shows the contents of the Downloads folder. Downloads button The Downloads button only appears under certain conditions. Firstly, you must have downloaded one or more files, and secondly, have set Downloads not to clear on completion in Safari settings. Delete download Swipe a download to delete it. No, not the downloaded file. Delete removes items from the Downloads list. Tap ‘Clear’ at the top to remove all listed items or swipe to remove just one. Download links To download files in Safari on the iPhone, long-press on a link or button on a web page. A menu is displayed which then gives you…

Navigate to settings Go to Settings> Messages>Share Name and Photo and you will be taken to this page, where you can choose what information is shared within the Messages app. Edit Memoji Tapping the ‘Edit’ option lets you edit your existing Memoji likeness, choose a different image, such as a photo, or swap your Memoji to an Animoji or another Memoji you have created elsewhere. Name and photo sharing By turning on ‘Name and Photo Sharing’, the avatar (photo, Memoji or Animoji) and the name displayed on this page will be shared with other people when you send messages to them. Sharing options If you choose the ‘Contacts Only’ option here, your name and Memoji will be shared automatically with anyone in your Contacts when you send them messages. Select…

So you’re walking to work as lorries thunder by, someone digs the road and music blares out of one shop after another. There is a chance that this is damaging your ears but you’ll only know for certain by measuring the environmental sound levels. With Apple Watch, this is easy. As of watchOS 6 and with Apple Watch Series 4 and later, the wearable can make use of its microphone to periodically measure the sound levels around you. Should it exceed a set threshold over three minutes, it will let you know. You can then consider taking action, such as hurrying away from the damaging situation. It’s a lovely addition to watchOS and the app comes with explanations of the potential harm that can be caused by certain levels of…

Whenever I try to import a double-CD into iTunes it appears as two separate entries in my library – one for each disc. Is there any way I can make both discs appear as one entry to keep things neater? There certainly is, and it just involves adjusting the CD info. Right-click on the first disc in your library and then choose the ‘Album Info’ option followed by ‘Edit Items’. Now, if you see text along the lines of ‘[Disc 1]’ next to the title of the album in the ‘Album’ field, delete it. Also, next to ‘disc number’, check that it reads ‘1 of 2’ and then click ‘OK’ to finish editing the info. Now repeat the process on the second disc, removing any reference to ‘[Disc 2]’ in…

Power Mac G5 (1st Generation) Release date June 2003 • Processor: Dual-core 2GHz PowerPC G5 • Memory: 512MB of 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-4200), supports up to 16GB • Hard drive: 160GB Serial ATA; 7,200 rpm • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE with 128MB of GDDR SDRAM Original price: £1,549/$1,999 Price now: £200/$300 Long before the very latest Mac Pro drew comparisons with a popular household kitchen utensil, the original ‘Cheese Grater’ moniker was bestowed upon the Power Mac G5, a tower of power that was way ahead of its time. Featuring the PowerPC G5 processor – the first 64-bit processor to ever be put in a personal computer – that clocked at 2GHz, and with a 1GHz front-side bus and support for up to 8GB of memory out of the…