Tabla de contenidos para May 2014 en Macworld Australia

BE SECURE AND EFFICIENT May is as good a time as any to get your Mac and iOS devices sorted. Whether you use your Apple-made device for tasks of leisure, for work or a combination of both, an organised device is an efficient device. Where should you begin? In this issue we have three features to get you moving. On Page 38, Joe Kissell has put together a super-helpful guide to cleaning out your Mac’s basement. From unused apps to last year’s files, managing the unnecessary data being stored on your Mac can be a great way to find required files and speed up your workflow. In a similar vein, Kirk McElhearn’s feature on Page 24 takes a look at a number of Mac power users and how they deal…

BOUNCING AROUND My Apple wireless mouse was misbehaving – bouncing about, not responding to my command and so on. I searched in vain on the many online help pages. It was driving me nuts. I am a long-time Mac user. I can usually figure out most problems by going to the online forums. This time I was stuck. I turned it on and off, changed the batteries, cleaned it, repeated the pairing, cursed the evil rodent etc. I noticed it was worse at home, not at work. I looked for equipment interfering, was it the microwave? Finally, I twigged. I had a second wireless mouse that was turned on in my briefcase. My poor MacBook Pro was trying to respond to two mice and having a meltdown. As soon as…

On the back of hugely successful releases of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Bethesda and ZeniMax Online Studios have released a new chapter in the series, The Elder Scrolls Online. Game director Matt Firor talks us though the developer’s first game for Mac, its subscription model and the state of OS X gaming. What type of game is The Elder Scrolls Online? We could talk for hours about this topic! Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) is an online role-playing game (RPG). It has many elements from single-player RPGs, as well as systems and features more often found in Massively Multiplayer RPGs. For Elder Scrolls fans, the game offers a familiar world, open character development system and a clean, uncluttered interface that will be very familiar…

How do you arrange your desktop? How do you manage the files on your Mac? How do you keep calendars organised? Every Mac user must answer these questions in his or her own way. But the big question is, are you doing all that stuff in the smartest, most efficient way possible? To help you answer that last question, we went to a handful of the smartest Mac users we know and asked them how they arrange their desktops, manage their files and organise their calendars. Perhaps the answers they provide will help you reconsider the way you’ve been doing things – and find practical approaches to doing them smarter and more efficiently. Illustration by Jimmy Simpson HOW MAC EXPERTS SET UP THEIR DESKTOPS These days I work on a…

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” proclaimed Apple’s first marketing brochure. And that’s as true for the way you work as it is for the computer or phone you use. Just as Apple’s hardware eschews unnecessary add-ons and frills, you can benefit from paring what isn’t essential from your work style and focusing solely on what is. In that spirit, JOE KISSELL offers a guide to ways in which you can simplify the nitty-gritty chores you handle every day: managing files and apps, dealing with email and arranging your physical workspace. In each case, simplifying means eliminating duplication and maximising efficiency. It means that every app and file on your hard drive is there because it needs to be. It means not wasting time when managing messages. It doesn’t mean getting…

Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) radios bring a new listening experience to one of the oldest communication mediums still popular today. ANTHONY CARUANA puts four to the test. Kogan Bluetooth Retro Digital Internet Radio Product quality with Kogan can be a little hit and miss in our experience. But the Bluetooth Retro Digital Internet Radio is definitely a hit. As soon as we turned the Bluetooth Retro Digital Internet Radio on, we were impressed with the sound quality and how easy it was to use. The retro styling, complete with fake wood grain laminate, makes a stylistic impression, but, by invoking some old-world buttons and dials, we found Kogan’s entry to this Group Test by far the easiest to use. Once we turned on the device and used the auto-tune to…

The HP Z Display Z27i is a 27in professional desktop monitor with 2560 x 1440 native resolution. It features a high-quality IPS screen, LED backlighting and an anti-glare that many people find desirable. The Z27i also offers far greater ergonomic flexibility than most monitors, providing height adjustment, tilt and the ability to rotate into portrait orientation. Other niceties include four downstream USB 3.0 ports and plenty of connection options such as VGA, DVI-D and HDMI. Though the Z27i does support DisplayPort, it does not offer the DisplayPort out connection necessary to allow for that spec’s multi-streaming feature that lets you daisy chain monitors. There are wide 178 degree viewing angles to ensure that those collaborating around your screen see the same colours as you do. The display uses an IPS…

iOS-focused, this smartpen notes everything you write digitally. If you’re a gadget lover who still prefers to go old school with paper and pen, the Livescribe 3 Smartpen could offer the perfect bridge between old and new. Like its predecessors, the Livescribe 3 is an oversized biro with the ability to digitally capture whatever you write or draw. For this trick to work you need to scrawl on special Livescribe notepaper. Once you’ve filled the 50-page starter notebook, you can buy another or print your own – Livescribe recommends using a colour 600 dpi laser printer. Livescribe’s free iOS app lets you set up the pen and see your digitised notebooks. To turn on the pen you simply turn the ring on the shaft, which extends the nib and turns…

Favourite iSnap from the last year? JONATHAN STEWART ANGEL PLACE Brian Bornstein’s image that adorned the cover of our May issue last year and won the following month’s competition is still my favourite iSnap. MADELEINE SWAIN THE GAP I love so many of them, but I’m going to choose The Gap, because not only is it visually arresting, but that tiny figure hints at an intriguing story. TYNAN McCARTHY THE GAP Like Madeleine, August iSnap winner Kristin Simone Rodriguez is my choice. Why? Because the Australian coast is a beautiful thing. MONIQUE BLAIR CLAWS-LINE My favourite has to be Fiona Howell’s feline companion, Felix, from October. Felix is adorable and almost makes the washing look fun!…

APPLE LAUNCHES 8GB iPHONE 5c IN AUSTRALIA Apple introduced a new lowerend iPhone to its iOS lineup in March, with the addition of an 8GB iPhone 5c. The smartphone is, at the time of writing, only available in Australia, China and a number of European countries. In Australia, the new model will cost customers $679 for an unlocked device, $60 less than the 16GB model and $190 cheaper than the 32GB model. The appeal of the new model may be hampered by the price point, situated too close to the 16GB model. The size of the storage will also appeal to very few customers. With the option to purchase an iPhone 4s, why would the budget-conscious customer consider a 8GB iPhone 5c? They could purchase an iPhone 4s with the…

Most of the time, Mac users sit back, grab a bowl of popcorn and enjoy the show as Windows and Android users fight against the latest piece of nasty malware spreading across their patch of the internet. But the world is changing and the big threats are no longer malware or phishing scams (even though they are still out there). No, they are far more insidious and targeted. ANTHONY CARUANA takes a look. WHAT’S OUT THERE? The last year or so has seen a huge shift in the world of information security, or infosec. Until the middle of last year, most of us were content that the firewalls we had running in our routers or on our Macs were keeping the bad guys at bay and that, other than a…

Moshi VersaKeyboard Combining the company’s VersaCover case with a slim, detachable Bluetooth keyboard, Moshi’s VersaKeyboard for iPad Air features an origamistyle folding stand and a slide-in housing at the rear of the case for the keyboard. Weighing 380g and measuring 1.5cm at its thickest point, the VersaKeyboard has a 130-hour battery life, according to Moshi, and is rechargeable via micro USB. $129.99 Moshi www.moshistore.com BenQ W7500 Home Cinema Projector BenQ’s new top-of-the-line home cinema projector features Full HD 1080p picture quality, a light output of 2000 ANSI lumens, a 60,000:1 contrast ratio, 2D to 3D content conversion and comes equipped with frame interpolation to reduce motion blur. The $4499 W7500 ships with four pairs of 3D glasses and includes dual HDMI connectivity. $4499 BenQ www.benq.com.au ViewSonic ViewSync WPG-370 Compatible with…

Whether you’re the proud owner of an iPad Air, iPad mini or iPhone, great apps abound for your iOS device. Here are some of our top picks. PART 1: iPAD AIR AND iPAD MINI We’ve surveyed our colleagues for their favourite iPad apps, and picked the ones that are best for certain tasks. Whether you see your iPad as a productivity tool, a gaming device or a family resource, we’ve selected the right app for you. Write: The iPad can be a powerful productivity tool, especially when loaded with the right apps. Power users who work with text can turn to Editorial ($6.49; OMZ Software). Its customisation features let you bend the interface and the extended keyboard to your will. The app also makes it simple for even non-programmers to…

Bluetooth speakers that look good and sound great Anything goes in the world of modern desktop speakers – including baby speakers modelling as classic big monitors. The Ruark Audio MR1 speakers are based around the traditional wooden box, with two drivers a side: a mid/bass woofer and little soft-dome tweeter. Helping in efficiency and bass extension are little reflext ports on the underside of each cabinet, with tall rubber feet on the underside letting the speakers breathe below. Continuing the classic speaker theme is the choice of finishing materials. Like regular hi-fi speakers, this one’s made from MDF with a real wood veneer. We tried the walnut version, in beautifully figured dark grained hardwood. You can also find them in black or in white. The right speaker is the boss…

Suitable for the iPhone 5/5s, the Moshi SenseCover looks like another wrap-around case, but its unique, standout feature is right in front of your eyes. Available in Brushed Titanium (a golden grey colour) and Steel Black (a dark grey colour), the SenseCover’s front cover features a clear plastic window, allowing users to check the date and time with the cover closed, and four horizontal metallic inlays. These are its distinctive features. Why? Because they enable users to answer calls while the iPhone cover is closed. The four metal inlays, which Moshi calls SensArray pads, allow you to swipe to the right and accept any incoming phone calls, while the window shows the details of who is calling. It’s a nifty feature that works really well. If you already have a…

Pebble’s second-generation smartwatch is a stylish update When the original Pebble smartwatch debuted, it was a solid piece of Kickstarterfunded hardware in desperate need of software upgrades to enable most of its features. A year later, the Pebble has received some impressive software updates, and added an app store. That’s all to the benefit of the new Pebble Steel, a high-end version of the standard Pebble that benefits from upgraded materials and a more mature software platform. The insides of the US$249 Steel are almost identical to those of the US$150 base-model Pebble – what’s new here is design, which is fitting for a wearable device. The Pebble Steel is made from stainless steel, and available in silver or matte black. It ships with two different watch bands, one also…

WHAT ELSE IS THERE? In regards to the Macworld Australia online article, ‘Apple, Yahoo and Google also claim the right to read users’ emails’ (www.macworld.com.au/?p=121774), I guess it all comes down to the fact that if you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to worry about. It still concerns me that my emails can be looked at by anyone other than me, but what other alternatives are there? I think you’ll find that the vast majority (if not all) mail hosts and ISPs have similar clauses in their agreements, as in many cases this lack of privacy is mandated by local laws. Jamie BIGGER IS ALWAYS BETTER Middle-aged people (who use reading glasses) need two hands to zoom and/or type. So, Apple’s argument of onehanded use makes no…

Taken on the pier in Lorne, a picturesque seaside town situated on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, this beautiful shot should be the talk of the town. What was it that captured the eye of our photographer Colin Warren? “A little like a previous winner, Ritu, we were checking out the Lorne Sculpture Biennale held during March this year,” Colin says. “It always features some amazing work that is sited all along the beachfront, from the river mouth to the end of the pier. “There were lots of people about enjoying the exhibition and a number of weddings were being celebrated despite the blustery weather and some rain late in the day. “The gulls were flying around trying to catch chips being thrown up into the air by some people having…

SKY GUIDE REFERENCE Fifth Star Labs iPHONE & iPAD $2.49 Sky Guide is a beautifully constructed app that helps you find the stars, satellites, planets and constellations above your head. The app uses your device’s compass and other sensors to orient the stars on your screen with the stars above you in the sky. Sky Guide presents the cosmos at its most dense, with nebulae and star clusters in full view. You can also zoom in with a pinch to see objects more clearly, and tap a star, satellite, cluster or planet to learn more about it. Sky Guide’s search lets you type in what you’re looking for and then uses a white arrow to guide you to its correct location. Sky Guide also offers historical data; the app provides…

CLOUDYTABS UTILITIES Josh Parnham FREE If you like the convenience of Apple’s iCloud Tabs feature, but you don’t want to be locked in to using Safari on your Macs, Josh Parnham’s free CloudyTabs is the menu bar utility for you. CloudyTabs provides a simple systemwide menu that, at a click, displays all your iCloud Tabs, organised by the device hosting each tab. Each opentab entry displays the tab’s webpage title and favicon. Choosing any item in the menu opens that tab – and here’s the kicker for non-Safari users – in your default browser, whichever browser that may be. Holding down the Command key when you choose an entry opens that tab in the background. And you can see when your iCloud Tabs were last synced by hovering the pointer…

!SHARING BETWEEN SYSTEMS I came across a nifty feature in OS X and iOS by pure accident: any keyboard text shortcuts you create in iOS (under Settings > General > Keyboard > Shortcuts) are shared via iCloud with OS X. I was in Messages on my Mac when I accidentally typed ‘eag’ – a shortcut I had created in iOS so that I could quickly insert my work email address. But when I typed that shortcut on my Mac and pressed Space, the shortcut autofilled my email address into the message. I then tried typing some of my other iOS shortcuts, and they all autocompleted. Opening the Text tab in the System Preferences Keyboard pane, I found all of my iOS shortcuts listed there. The iCloud sharing also works the…

Improved speech recognition makes for a more reliable app It’s been nearly a year and a half since the last update to Nuance’s speech recognition software, Dragon Dictate, was released. Over the past few years, Nuance has been refining the software, taking it from a pretty good speech recognition app to something one can now rely on. While the list of new features doesn’t look impressive, there’s something new under the hood of Dragon Dictate 4. We’ve seen, over the years, how Nuance has refined and tweaked its speech recognition engine. But with version 4, we now feel, for the first time, that we can dictate without paying too much attention to the words on our screen, and go back and edit after we’ve finished speaking. Recognition quality is radically…

Shoot like a pro, share like a teenager Photography enthusiasts might not think of Samsung as a maker of fine cameras, but the NX300 may change that view. At its heart is a 20.3-megapixel CMOS APS-C sensor. The hybrid autofocusing system uses contrast and phase detection systems to ensure snappy performance. And the burst mode can record a respectable 8.6 frames per second. Still, there are a couple of hitches. First, you have to compose your images only on the admittedly beautiful 3.31in AMOLED tilting display – since you have no way to add an electronic or optical viewfinder – and doing so can be tough in direct sunlight. Second, if you go on long shooting sessions, you may not be crazy about the in-camera battery charging. The NX300 comes…

Writer, virtual-community consultant Who are you, and what do you do? I explore and try to understand the way our use of new media changes people and society, then communicate what I’ve found. I’ve written books and magazine articles, created videos, blogged, taught courses at Berkeley and Stanford (in the US), and offered my own online courses at Rheingold U. You can find out about these activities and more – such as my artwork! – at rheingold.com. What hardware do you use? A quad-core Mac Pro with 16GB of RAM, four 1TB drives, and 30in and 24in monitors. I do some video editing, hence the RAM and the big monitor. I also do a lot of writing from notes and editing video from storyboards, and the dual screens help. I…