Indice dei contenuti per August 2015 in Macworld

News and Analysis About Macs, OS X, and Apple The Wall Street Journal isn’t trolling us, is it? Columnist Christopher Mims penned an essay titled, “Why Apple Should Kill Off the Mac” (go.macworld.com/thews, it’s behind a paywall), and goes on to enumerate various reasons. But it ignores the elephant—or El Capitan—in the room: Apple will never again let another company decide its destiny. Mims’s thesis is that Apple is stretched so thinly, it cannot design new Macs and produce an operating system for them while maintaining its focus on making the best products in the world. The iPhone, iPad, and Watch suffer because Macs still exist, he posits. No longer investing in “one-of-a-kind feats of engineering like the Mac Pro” would free the company to go all-in on the future…

THE MAJOR CHANGE since I last did a roundup of Thunderbolt docks (go.macworld.com/roundup1) is that the latest docks use Thunderbolt 2, which makes them aligned with Apple’s Thunderbolt 2 implementation in its MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. The market has also grown a little, with a few more offerings to consider. But essentially, the basic functionality of the docks is the same as before: You plug in your display, hard drives, printer, ethernet, headphones, USB devices, and whatever else into the dock, then you connect the dock to your laptop via a single Thunderbolt 2 connection. When you want to take your laptop, you only need to unplug a single cable. When you return to your desk, all you have to do is connect one cable. THUNDERBOLT 2 DOCKS AKITIO…

OWC USB-C DOCK The $129 USB-C Dock (macsales.com) has 11—count ‘em!—ports: four old-school USB ports, one USB-C port, an SD card reader, an HDMI with 4K display support, Gigabit Ethernet, audio-in and -out ports, and a connection for your new 2015 MacBook. Plus, it comes in color schemes that precisely match your MacBook: Gold, silver, and space gray. The device is currently available for preorder; it ships in October.— JOEL MATHIS DXO ONE The $599 DxO One (dxo.com) combines the convenience of shooting photos with your iPhone with the image quality and RAW formats of a DSLR into one killer device. This compact camera attaches to your iPhone’s or iPad’s Lightning connector, so you’ve got an external lens, a real shutter button, and even space for a microSD card. You’ll…

VIDEO To view this video, go to go.macworld.com/squarevid You can use Apple Pay at more than 700,000 retail locations across the United States, but good luck trying to pay with your phone at your neighborhood coffee shop or favorite food truck. While national chains and big-box stores are working to upgrade their systems to accept contactless payments and chip cards, small businesses have been slower to join the mobile payment party. When Cupertino took the wraps off Apple Pay last fall, some predicted that Apple would crush smaller mobile payment companies like Square. Now it’s clear that Apple needs Square to reach the millions of independent shops that otherwise would sit out the switch to mobile payments. Square’s new Apple Pay reader (squareup.com/emv-reader) will do with contactless payments what its…

AS A GOLFER and a techie geek, I’m always interested in gizmos that marry the two together. A few years back, I wrote about GolfSense, which uses a sensor on your golf glove and an app on your iOS device to track your swing on the driving range. A more recent entrant in the geeks-and-golfers segment is Arccos Golf (arccosgolf.com), which is also a physical sensor and iOS app (go.macworld.com/arccos-iosapp) combination. Arccos, though, uses 14 sensors—one for each club, and is designed for use while you’re playing, not while on the range. The sensors are very tiny and light (10 grams each), and screw into the hole in the grip at the top of each club. Each sensor links to your iOS device via Bluetooth. The installation and pairing process…

PAD & QUILL The Leather Backpack (all iPad models; $295, padandquill.com) provides plenty of room for your laptop, iPad, and accessories. Made with full-grain leather and waxed canvas, the backpack features a padded laptop sleeve, a smaller dedicated pocket for your iPad, and various compartments for pens, charging cables, and other accessories. Handcrafted and signed by the artisan, the Leather Backpack sports copper rivets, nickel hardware, and parachute nylon stitches for extra safety. It’s available in five fashionable color combinations. MOLESKINE The Reporter Bag (all iPad models; $140, store.moleskine.com) features a zippered pocket with metal pullers, a dedicated pocket for tablets, and plenty of room for other essentials for on-the-go computing. Made with Moleskine’s classic black leather, the bag comes with an adjustable shoulder strap with concealed sliding buckle and…

Tips, Tricks, and Tools to Make You and Your Mac More Productive After the Working Mac column about scanning your Mac for viruses, I received an email message from Yolanda: “Hope you can help your readers with something that I haven’t found. I’ve just purchased my first Mac after being on Windows for about 15 years, so I’m looking around for reputable recommendations of free and good antivirus/firewall programs.” The article Yolanda linked to (go.macworld.com/scan) recommended ClamXav for scanning your Mac for viruses, but Yolanda was correct, there was no mention made of firewall applications. Most people, whether you’re using a Mac or a PC, are aware that commercial virus scanning applications such as Norton Security (go.macworld.com/norton) not only provide virus and malware protection, they also include firewall protection. What’s…

Answering Your Questions and Sharing Your Tips About Getting the Most From Your Mac Solving OS X problems Mac 911 focuses on OS X and things that are missing or migrating. I answer questions about deauthorizing software on a Mac before a migration, where to find old Wi-Fi utility software and firmware, deleting a Fusion drive’s extra partition, and a small array of Migration Assistant questions. Deauthorizing OS X software before a transition Q: Is there a place on OS X Yosemite to find programs that are currently authorized on my Mac? I am specifically interested in those that must be deauthorized before moving to a new device. I’m already aware iTunes must be. —Philip Shook A: As Philip notes, iTunes lets you deauthorize a computer (Account → Deauthorize This…

With iOS 8, Apple introduced Family Sharing, a way for a group of people to share purchased iTunes, iBooks, and App Store items. If Mom buys a TV show, the other people in the group (up to six people) can access that show, too. Parents can control what the kids buy, and Family Sharing can be used with photos, calendars, and more. You can use Family Sharing on a Mac, as well as set up a Family Sharing account. In this how-to, we’ll take you through the steps of setting up Family Sharing on a Mac. In order to use Family Sharing on your Mac, you must be running OS X Yosemite or later. 1. SET UP YOUR APPLE IDS Chances are, you and your family members already have Apple…

IN THE FIELD OF MAC web design programs, River SRL’s Sparkle 1.2.3 (go.macworld.com/macapp) lands between Blocs’ do-it-for-me ease and Macaw’s free-form flexibility. Like a raw gemstone fresh from the mine, Sparkle’s still a bit rocky from some angles. But with a few extra facets, it could really shine. SPARKLE AT A GLANCE: Sparkle’s another solid entrant in the field of web design programs, with some features its big rivals lack, but it doesn’t quite feel complete yet. PROS: • Powerful, easy-to-use layout engine • Ability to add your own web fonts • Great ideas for supporting responsive design… CONS: • …that don’t always work well in practice • Limited ability to fine-tune styling • Occasional quirks and glitches PRICE: $80 Sparkle.com PLENTY OF BRIGHT IDEAS Unlike its Adobe-influenced rivals, Sparkle…

The Latest on the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and App Store In some ways, Instacast doomed itself. One of the first pod-cast clients on the iPhone, the pioneering player helped propel the medium from its humble roots into a global phe-nomenon spanning the gamut of genres and subjects. But with the podcast app’s popularity came a catch–along with a hoard of new users, a slew of competing players popped up too, all vying to chip away at Instacast’s sizable audience. Over the course of its lengthy version history, it went from paid to free with in-app purchases and even offered two levels of subscription memberships, but modern clients kept the pressure on until the company announced recently that it had run out of money and was shutting down for good.…

VIDEO To view this video, go to go.macworld.com/sensoriavid I RUN 15 TO 20 MILES a week on New York City sidewalks and through parks without aches or pains, which I attribute to good shoes and good luck. I’m not particularly diligent about stretching or paying attention to my form. Foam rolling? Forget it. But I’d eventually like to start adding longer-distance runs to my routine, and I know I need to be mindful of injuries. So I bought a pair of smart socks—yes, smart socks—to see if intelligent textiles can help me improve my performance beginning at the most basic level: the way my feet hit the pavement. Sensoria, a maker of sensor-filled clothing like heart rate-monitoring sports bras and T-shirts, is back with a pair of socks that can…

Apple Music was worth the wait. Amidst a marketing frenzy and controversy over royalty payments and Taylor Swift’s feelings, it was easy to forget that few people had actually used Apple’s new streaming service. Apple finally launched Music on June 30, and it was everything we expected it to be (plus a few surprises thrown in for good measure). Whether you’re giving streaming a try for the first time or just weighing the pros and cons of Apple’s service against rivals like Spotify, Rdio, Tidal, and Pandora, there’s nothing to lose by taking Apple Music (apple.com/music) for a spin. Let’s get started. THE SETUP Once you upgrade to iOS 8.4, diving right into Apple Music is simple. The revamped Music app appears in your iOS device’s dock. Open it up,…

The iPad is a convenient note-taking tool for the classroom and boardroom alike. And while Apple’s own Notes app is more than equipped to handle any text you can throw at it, it lacks breakthrough features to keep you coming back. Enter Microsoft. What? Microsoft? Yes, I’ll say it: Microsoft has a better iOS app than Apple, and it’s called OneNote. OneNote does so much more than the Notes app that comes installed on your iPhone and iPad. How is it better? Glad you asked. ALL IT TAKES IS A FINGER (OR STYLUS) There’s something intimate about seeing your own handwriting on a piece of paper, or in this case, on a screen. With OneNote for iPad, you can jot down notes, or circle and highlight important bits of information,…

The Latest Mac Products Review & Rated MAC GEMS ARE APPS THAT OFFER STANDOUT UTILITY OR UNIQUE FEATURES AT A GREAT PRICE. WHEN APPLE RELEASED the first 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display late last year, all it took was just one look at the gorgeous images on the display and you knew you wanted it. Then you took a look at the $2,499 price tag and suddenly you didn’t want it as much as you thought. So maybe you forgot about the Retina 5K iMac, until Apple announced a new, lower-priced model (go.macworld.com/cheaper) this year in May. The new Retina 5K iMac (apple.com/imac-with-retina) is $1,999, which isn’t as scary a price. (Also, the $2,499 Retina 5K iMac was reduced to $2,299.) APPLE 27-INCH iMAC/3.3GHZ WITH RETINA 5K DISPLAY (MID-…

IN AN INCREASINGLY competitive market, Bluetooth keyboard manufacturers have to seek out ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. The forced innovation has lead to a range of products that extend a keyboard’s functionality well beyond that of a tool to aide in typing. One such feature found on the Kensington KeyFolio Thin X3 for iPad Air 2 (go.macworld.com/keyfolio) adds an interesting dynamic to an otherwise standard keyboard: the ability to charge another device using the keyboard’s battery. Even with such a useful feature, if Kensington didn’t create a quality keyboard, the ability to charge a device doesn’t hold much weight. A QUALITY CASE The KeyFolio Thin X3 is a folio keyboard, which means it encloses your iPad in a protective case. It’s heavy but not bulky, leaving you with…

Cameo Cameo (vimeo.com/cameo) has come a long way from its first days as a “fill-in-the-blank” video app that let users dump video clips into a template that did the hard editing work for you. Under new owner Vimeo, it’s instead become a simpler, more straightforward video editor. Plenty of filters and music options help you create just the video atmosphere you’re looking for. Hotel Tonight The free Hotel Tonight (hoteltonight.com) app has a pretty nifty new feature in its latest version: “Escape” lets you know the best hotel deals within driving distance, letting you get away quickly for the weekend without costing a fortune. Dark Sky The Dark Sky (darksky-app.com) weather app updated recently with a new layout that fea-tures a detailed hour-by-hour timeline for the next…

I’m not feeling a lot of love for OS X El Capitan out there. That might not be surprising, given that it’s firmly in the tradition of Mountain Lion and Snow Leopard–new-feature-light, speed-and-stability-focused OS X updates. But as someone who reviewed Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion, I can tell you that not only did these cat modifier cat releases contain a bunch of bug fixes and other internal tweaks, they also managed to add a bunch of new features, too. Apple can’t help itself. So let me present to you six reasons to be excited about what’s coming in El Capitan. SPOTLIGHT AS SEARCH ENGINE Some people love clicking around looking for things, whether it’s on their computer or on the Internet. For those people we have navigation bars on…

The past several versions of QuarkXPress added features that were most requested in Quark’s user surveys, and QuarkXPress 2015 continues this strategy. For example, they changed its version numbering scheme to indicate the year of release (otherwise this would be QuarkXPress 11), and the product is still offered with a traditional perpetual license rather than requiring an ongoing rental fee. QuarkXPress 2015’s big new features include Fixed-Layout eBooks, text variables that automatically populate content such as running headers, a new table feature with Excel integration, automatic footnotes and endnotes, and PDF/X-4 output. EPUB ENHANCEMENTS A large portion of Quark’s user base produces corporate communications, financial reports, books, and other publications. QuarkXPress 2015 enhances these kinds of workflows. (In many companies, QuarkXPress is just one part of a multi-stage automated system…