Table of contents for October 2021 in Macworld UK

Apple has announced that the three features it revealed to stop the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) will not be available at the autumn release of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8 and macOS 12 Monterey. The company will make the CSAM features available “later this year in updates”. In a press release (fave.co/3l2tKMp), Apple stated that: “This programme is ambitious, and protecting children is an important responsibility. These efforts will evolve and expand over time.” Apple revealed the CSAM features in early August, and while many in the tech community applauded Apple’s efforts to protect children, many also voiced concerns about the potential for how the technology behind the CSAM features could be used for other surveillance purposes. Over 90 policy and rights groups published an open…

With the iPhone 13 release getting closer and closer, speculation is heating up about the features of the new phone. The latest comes from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who states in an investor’s note that the iPhone 13 could have low earth orbit satellite connectivity, which would allow users to make phone calls when cellular coverage is unavailable. According to Kuo (who has a record of reliable reports), the iPhone 13 will be equipped with a custom Qualcomm X60 modem that works with low earth satellites. Kuo also says that Qualcomm has been working with Globalstar to use the company’s satellite communications service. However, it’s unclear as to how the user can get access to a satellite service. Kuo explains one ‘scenario’ in which the user’s network operator has a partnership…

Last month, Apple announced an agreement with developers involved in a class-action lawsuit that involved several changes to the App Store. As part of the agreement, which still needs to be approved by a judge, Apple has made several concessions that will change the way developers can sell subscriptions and in-app purchases, including allowing developers to promote outside payment options free of Apple’s fees in correspondence with customers. However, not all developers are happy with the moves. As part of the agreement, Apple also said it will be keeping the App Store terms the same for the next three years, which means Apple’s 30 per cent cut for developers making over a million dollars a year stays in place. It’s also not allowing developers to offer alternative payment methods inside…

Students, teachers, lecturers and those who work for an educational institution can save money on a new Mac, MacBook or iPad purchase thanks to the Apple Education Store. In this article, we’ll show you how to use the Apple Education Store to get a student discount from Apple. Students are a big market for Apple, which is why it has an entire separate education store that offers hefty discounts on Mac computers and iPad tablets – and sometimes gives away products like AirPods as an incentive for customers. Most Apple customers aren’t aware of the Apple Education Store, or don’t think the discount applies to them. But this is a mistake, because Apple throws the education net quite wide, and there’s a good chance you qualify if you are enrolled…

The Mac’s cursor is designed with a white outline and black fill. It’s a good combination, making it easy to spot no matter what is on screen. But man, is it boring. In past versions of macOS, you can’t change the cursor colour without using a third-party utility. That’s changing in macOS Monterey, though. With Monterey, you can easily change the colours of the cursor to something that is easier to catch with your eyes or just add some flair to reflect your personality. You can find it in the Accessibility pane in System Preferences. Here’s how it’s done. HOW TO CHANGE THE CURSOR COLOUR 1. Go to System Preferences and click Accessibility. 2. In the left column, look for the Vision section and select Display. 3. Click on the…

You probably already know that you can shrink (or enlarge) the Dock by clicking and dragging the bar that separates the applications from folder stacks. You probably also know that you can adjust the Dock size in System Preferences, by opening the Dock & Menu Bar pane and dragging the Size slider whichever way you want. But these tools can only take you so far. They’ll make the Dock small, but not really small. To do that, you need to open the Terminal (Applications/Utilities) and type: Press Return, then type: killall Dock The number at the end of the command can range from 1 (too small to be useful) up to 16 (the smallest size you can achieve with those other tools); 8 is tiny but still visible. To make…

Apple has long allowed what it calls “reader” apps (like Netflix, Kindle, Spotify, Audible or Dropbox) to bill users outside of Apple’s usual in-app purchase method (in which Apple takes 15 to 30 per cent of subscription or purchase revenue). However, such apps are forbidden from mentioning that such a thing is possible, and cannot link out from the app to their websites for account management (including subscription renewals or purchases). Apple has announced that is making a small revision to this policy in order to close an investigation by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC). Apple’s press release states: “The update will allow developers of ‘reader’ apps to include an in-app link to their website for users to set up or manage an account. While the agreement was made…

Apple has revealed that it has acquired Primephonic, a streaming media start-up with a focus on classical music. In a press release (fave.co/3yNup9d), Apple says users will be able to access Primephonic playlists and exclusive audio content, and that a “dedicated experience with the best features of Primephonic” will eventually be available. Digital music can be challenging to manage on streaming services – the metadata system for music files was created with popular music in mind. Apple made some improvements years ago when Apple Music was called iTunes, but it still was frustrating for classical music listeners. With the Primephonic acquisition, Apple says it can provide a better experience, with the ability to search by composer and repertoire, as well as “detailed displays of classical music metadata, plus new features…

Thinking of buying a Mac or MacBook for school, college or university work? Here, in our best Mac for students guide, we take a look at Apple’s current Mac line-up to find out which Mac is best for students. We’ll examine whether you should get a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro for college, or if another Mac might actually be a better choice. If you’re looking for stability, security and a reliable and easy to use operating system then Apple’s Mac’s come highly recommended. If might seem that Macs are expensive compared to their Windows alternatives, however the added premium is justified, and, as you will see if you read on, you don’t have to break the bank to buy one. To find out how to get an Apple Student…

Price: £35 from fave.co/3hdTtjK With Mac utilities, a multifaceted approach the offers several base functions can be excellent. There’s also a possibility that the developer overextended themselves trying to be everything to everyone, and the result is that some features aren’t as good as others, making you wonder about the value of the total app. CleanMyMac X seems to be in danger of having run into the latter category. The catch-all utility offers an assortment of modules with its core focus centred around identifying and cleaning out gigabytes upon gigabytes of unused system garbage. The modules are Smart Scan, System Junk, Mail Attachments, Trash Bins, Malware Removal, Privacy, Optimization, Maintenance, Uninstaller, Updater, Extensions, Space Lens, Large & Old Files and Shredder. As with previous versions, a handy Menu Bar item…

Thanks to the internet and modern-day communication tools, it’s very easy to get in touch with someone – maybe it’s too easy. With Focus in macOS Monterey, you can set it up so that you aren’t interrupted by instant messages, calls, and alerts, allowing you to focus on whatever you’re doing on your Mac. Focus is basically an expansion of options that were originally available in the Do Not Disturb feature that’s already in macOS. To make Focus suitable for your situation, you can adjust its preferences, which we’ll go over in this article. HOW TO TURN ON FOCUS MANUALLY 1. In the menu bar, click the Control Centre icon. It’s a pair of black and white switches. 2. You can click the Focus icon and that will turn on…

Sometimes your Mac may not run as smoothly or as quickly as you expect. And the culprit may be a single application. A lone app can bump into performance issues, slowing down not just itself but your entire computer. An app may even freeze or become unresponsive to the point that you can’t close it the usual way. Whatever the problem, one tool that can help is Activity Monitor. Built into macOS, Activity Monitor shows you a list of all running apps and processes and reveals the biggest hogs based on CPU, memory, energy use, disk use, and network bandwidth. And if a specific app is unresponsive and can’t be shut down the traditional way, you can force it to close. Here’s how it works. To open this tool from…

In a surprise announcement, Apple announced several changes to its App Store terms as part of the resolution of a class-action suit from US developers. The agreement, which is pending court approval, identifies “seven key priorities shared by Apple and small developers” that will change several contentious terms that were being challenged in court. The biggest change involves outside payments. While Apple isn’t allowing developers to offer their own payment methods inside iOS apps, it is allowing app makers to “use communications, such as email, to share information about payment methods outside of their iOS app”. That means that iOS users who sign up for a free trial can be directly contacted by developers about outside payment methods without running afoul of the App Store terms. Customers who make purchases…

Numerous reports – some from very reliable sources – say that Apple will introduce a new MacBook Pro in the next few weeks. This isn’t any ordinary speed bump release, however. The new MacBook Pro promises to put Apple’s flagship laptop in a new light and set the momentum for future releases. Let’s take a look at what we could see in the next MacBook Pro and how these new features will transform the laptop from what we’re familiar with into something completely new. 1. APPLE SILICON Apple’s M1 System on a Chip (SoC) took the industry by storm when it was revealed last November in the 13in MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini. Its performance blew past expectations (and Intel CPUs) and extended battery life so much that…

Life as a student is great, but it’s not all about partying; you’ll also have to do some work. To make that easier, you will be looking for the best tech. Here, we help you select the best iPad for student life, seeking out the devices that offer the perfect combination of portability, power, ease of use and value for money. Before you decide which iPad to buy, there are a few things to note. The biggest is the fact that if you are a student, a teacher or are employed by an educational institution, you can get money off a new Apple product by shopping in Apple’s education store. You can read all about how to get an Apple Student Discount on page 67. BEST FOR BARGAIN HUNTERS: 10.2IN…

Price: £20 from fave.co/3l3doCZ Piriform’s CCleaner, which was initially created to help clean up Registry files on Windows-based machines, made its way to the Mac in the Mac OS X 10.7 Lion days and hasn’t looked back. It’s been a techie staple on Macs, Windows PCs, and Android based computers for years now, and rightfully so. Designed as freeware with an option to pay for a pro version and its appropriate annual license, CCleaner achieves what it sets out to do: help clean up gigabytes of cache files, internet history files, and locate and purge large files on your Mac, all with an impressive level of control. CCleaner may not be as flashy as its competitors but it gets the job done. You provide CCleaner with full hard disk access…

Apple’s laptops rely on flash storage, and prices really shoot up if you want more local storage (the actual storage on your computer) – if the model you want offers an upgrade in the first place. The Optimized Storage feature in macOS is designed to help free up precious storage space on your Mac. Optimized Storage requires iCloud, Apple’s online service, to use one of its features (Option 1 mentioned below). Apple provides 5GB of free iCloud Drive storage per Apple ID, so you may want more to take full advantage of Optimized Storage. iCloud storage pricing as follows: 5GB for free; 50GB for 79p per month; 200GB for £2.49 per month; 2TB for £6.99 per month. Apple has instructions on how to buy more iCloud storage at fave.co/2X69OA0. To…

HOW TO OVERRIDE THE FONT SETTINGS IN SAFARI FOR ALL PAGES Sometimes web page designers make interesting choices. Why not use tiny, fancy type on a shaded background to make reading a page more…legible? Apple’s built-in Reader View in Safari across all its platforms lets you make short work of hard-to-read type. But you lose most of the formatting, some of the images, and other elements of the page. Safari for macOS has another trick up its sleeve: custom CSS. Where HTML defines the structure and content of a web page, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is the coding that underlies the appearance and formatting, from type sizes to columns and floating boxes. In Safari > Preferences > Advanced, you can select a custom style sheet from the Style Sheet pop-up…