Macworld UKの April 2016 の目次

The week of 21 March, 2016 will go down as an important one in the Apple history books. It’s been confirmed that Apple has pushed back its spring event to 21 March, the day before its federal court hearing against the FBI. Apple is expected to announce a 4in iPhone, a 9.7in iPad Pro, and new Apple Watch bands. The BuzzFeed confirmation came on the heels of an Apple Insider report, which said that “Apple employees have been asked to keep the days around March 22 free, presumably for an upcoming event.” Originally, this event was rumoured to happen a week earlier on 15 March with new products hitting store shelves that Friday, 18 March. If Apple is delaying the announcement event, it’s likely that shipments will also be pushed…

Macs cost a lot of money – we think they’re worth the premium price tag, but Apple fans are generally going to be paying a little more than the equivalent PC buyer. Those who’ve just shelled out for a new Mac, therefore, are probably feeling a bit cash-poor. Over the following pages, we’ll be looking at 22 of the best free software choices for Mac owners, running the gamut from minor but useful utilities to antivirus packages and productivity software. 1. Audacity If you need to perform basic editing functions, such as trimming or cutting, on an audio file, Audacity is excellent. Whether you’re producing a podcast, cleaning up a Skype interview or narrating a video clip, Audacity can do the job for free. You can preview Audio Units and…

It’s easier than you might think to connect an Apple laptop to a TV. With the right cables, or a set-top box, you can get the screen from your Apple MacBook displaying on any television screen in no time. You can play movies from your laptop on your TV, stream programmes from catch-up services such as BBC iPlayer, or even show off all your photos on a larger display. Many companies now use large-screen televisions in the boardroom instead of projectors, so this is great advice for those who have to give presentations. It’s straightforward to connect an Apple laptop to a television, but there are a few different techniques to choose from. These can be divided into two main strategies: • Use an adaptor and a cable to connect…

Notes Apple’s Notes app is a great starting point for handwriting on the iPad Pro. The default drawing tool is a pen, and you get a horizontal sheet of paper to draw on. One nice touch is the slight paper grain on each note (you can see this in more detail by pinching to zoom). It’s easy to use, but it has limitations and they quickly become apparent. The drawing tools are limited, and there’s only one type of pen. You only get a single sheet to draw on, and can’t expand it. You can’t change the sheet of paper to lined or graph paper. Free Paper Paper is one of our favourite iPad Pro apps. Originally designed to work with FiftyThree’s Pencil, the app has taken a wider lease…

The background The FBI has an iPhone 5c that belonged to the San Bernardino gunman, Syed Rizwan Farook, and believe it has evidence inside. The agency can’t access the information because of the phone’s passcode, so on 16 February, the US government issued an order essentially asking Apple to get the data off the phone. Apple posted an open letter to customers on its website explaining its side of the case, prompting government attorneys to file a motion on 19 February disagreeing with Apple’s view of the situation, and asking the court to force Apple to comply. A hearing is scheduled to take place on 22 March. Until then, the lawyers will file more motions, while the two sides also take their case to the court of public opinion. So…

In many ways, most Macs are broadly similar when it comes to price and specs, each category of Mac often offers a range of specs similar to another Mac category, but in other ways, Mac desktops and MacBook laptops can be very different. For example, Apple’s Mac desktops usually ramp up to higher-spec models when compared to Mac notebooks, so if it’s the most powerful Mac you need then a desktop is probably going to suit you best. However, many of the Mac desktops still use older hard disks rather than the flash storage that the laptops use, which can slow them down in typical operation. Plus, desktop computers chain you to a desk; while Apple’s MacBook laptops let you roam free. Apple’s desktop computer range Apple currently produces three…

From £59 • microsoft.com/en-gb The biggest and most welcome change to Word for Mac 2016 is the new Ribbon-based look and feel, designed from the ground up for Retina displays – although it works just fine on non-Retina screens, of course. Everything looks very smart and professional. The Ribbon is also much more accessible than you might think, with several Ribbons hidden until needed. It’s only when you click inside a table that the Table and Layout Ribbon become visible, for example. The clumsy Ribbon design of Office 2011 has been massively overhauled, with some features moved into more sensible locations, and an always-visible Design tab introduced that lets you apply one-click templates and looks to your documents. Notably, the Ribbon isn’t customisable – or at least not yet. Microsoft…

Is your Mac running slowly? Has it always been a little underpowered, or has it got slower with age? Macs generally run efficiently, but with an older Mac you might want to keep an eye on the performance. And don’t worry - whether you’ve got an iMac, a MacBook (of any kind), a Mac mini or even a Mac Pro, our speed tips (updated for Mac OS X El Capitan) will help make your Mac run faster. Spend a bit of time to clean up Mac OS X and it will pay you back by running software quickly and smoothly. These tips give you the confidence to clear out the clutter without losing any precious files. Follow these steps and Mac OS X will pelt ahead at full speed. 1.…

Jean-Louis Gassée takes over from Steve Jobs The most recent stop of our tour through the history of Apple saw Jobs leave the company after falling out with the board. It wasn’t entirely unexpected – and the news wasn’t greeted with the same kind of dread as the announcement of his cancer many years later. Indeed, Wall Street responded positively to Jobs’ departure, and the price of Apple stock went up. Jean-Louis Gassée, who had been Apple’s Director of European Operations since 1981, was appointed by CEO John Sculley to take over from Jobs and head up Macintosh development. Fewer positions could have been more prestigious in a company that owed its very existence to that single iconic product line – particularly at a time when the company’s focus and…

From £59 • microsoft.com/en-gb As with all of the Office 2016 apps, arguably the biggest change in Excel 2016 is the neat look and feel. A ready-for-Retina-screens ribbon makes Excel 2016 for Mac feel more like the Windows version, while retaining a Mac distinctiveness. This comes at the price of the traditional formatting/standard toolbars disappearing although Excel 2016 for Mac retains the traditional main menu by which many of its functions can be accessed. User interface changes are more than skin-deep. The pinch-expand gesture is now supported, for example, so you can zoom in and out of larger spreadsheets easily using a trackpad. Keyboard shortcuts used in the Windows version of Excel are now supported, which will aid PC switchers. Alas, it’s not all good. The cell highlight now slickly…