OS X

In this episode, Benjamin and Jeff talk about the newly announced MacBooks, speculate on future MacBooks and iPhone redesigns, as well as the WWDC announcement and early expectations for Apple’s upcoming software announcements for iOS 10, OS X 10.12 (macOS?), watchOS and tvOS. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed.

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As someone who uses timeline-based apps such as Logic Pro X and Final Cut Pro X on a regular basis, horizontal display real estate is incredibly important to me. When it comes to editing video and audio, the bigger the monitor the better.

With the recent popularity of extra-wide 21:9 monitors, I’ve come to understand that width can make a major difference in managing timeline-based editing workflows as well. The extra horizontal real estate is also a nice option for watching movies shot with a 2.39:1 aspect ratio.

With this in mind, I’ve been looking forward to going hands-on with a 21:9 display. LG’s 34UC98 UltraWide IPS monitor is not only extremely wide at 3440 x 1440, but it’s curved as well. How does this new display fit into my workflow? Does having a so-called UltraWide display make a difference? 
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Renaming multiple files can be a tedious process when doing so manually, but the Finder in OS X can make it easier to rename a batch of files at once on your Mac. Instead of relying on a third party app, use this handy tip to quickly rename a batch of files without breaking a sweat.
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Earlier today, Apple unveiled the beginnings of its efforts for Earth Day 2016, and with it came an updated webpage that aims to answer all sorts of questions about Apple and its focus on the environment. One tidbit of information on that page, however, is that instead of referring to its desktop operating system as OS X, Apple again has referred to it as MacOS.

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If you have multiple audio inputs or outputs connected to your Mac, then you’re probably aware that you can visit System Preferences to manage and switch between interfaces at will. But wouldn’t it be nice if there was a quicker way to switch to a set of speakers or a microphone without venturing all the way into the Sound panel of System Preferences? In this post, we’ll share with you a handy shortcut that we use every day to do just that.
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SteelSeries is well known around Apple circles for its iOS and Apple TV gaming controllers, but the company specializes in other gaming-related hardware ventures as well, such as mice, headsets and keyboards.

After browsing SteelSeries’ site to find some information on its popular Nimbus controller, I stumbled upon its keyboard line. Anyone that knows me understands that I have a special affinity for mechanical keyboards, and that’s exactly what I found on the SteelSeries website.

The Danish hardware manufacturer’s marquee mechanical keyboard, the SteelSeries Apex M800, is not your ordinary mechanical keyboard. It’s a fully customizable, gaming-centric experience that lets you assign an overwhelming variety of functionality and colors to individual keys. While the Apex M800 ships configured for Windows, it’s fully compatible with the Mac, and even comes with OS X key cap replacements.
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Apple earlier this week released the public stable version of OS X 10.11.4, but for a number of users the update process has been less than pleasant. A plethora of users are voicing issues on Apple’s support forums centered around logging in to iMessage and FaceTime following the update to OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan.

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Apple has officially released the OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan update through the Mac App Store. The software update is available for all Macs capable of running OS X 10.11. The Mac update delivers new features including Live Photo viewing and sharing through iMessage using the Messages app as well as secure password support for individual notes in the Notes app.

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If Apple’s most recent hardware events were about going bigger (larger iPhones, a jumbo iPad, and a new Apple TV), Apple’s March 21st event is about going smaller. Apple yesterday officially sent invites to its much-anticipated event to be held at its Cupertino campus with the tagline “Let us loop you in.” The event, which was originally internally scheduled for a week earlier, will focus on Apple’s new 4-inch iPhone SE, a smaller, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and new Apple Watch bands. The company will likely also reveal the final versions of iOS 9.3, tvOS 9.2, watchOS 2.2, OS X 10.11.4, and an iTunes update. We’ve reported nearly the entirety of what’s expected to come at the event, so read on for a full roundup of everything we’re likely to see. (Updated March 18th with the latest information):

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This week Apple joined Twitter. Yep. Along with that, Zac and Benjamin discuss OS X’s first ransomware, and later on we’ll go over our iOS 10 wishlist and talk about what Apple needs to make the next version better than ever. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed. Big thanks to Harry’s this episode.

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Yoink is a utility available on the Mac App Store that I find to be extremely useful. When you begin dragging a file on a Mac with Yoink installed, the utility’s interface appears on the side of the screen. Yoink serves as a temporary holding area for files on your Mac as you move them between apps, folders, and wherever else in the Finder.

There are few apps that I consider to be must-haves on OS X, but Yoink is certainly one of them. Moving files around the Mac is easier with Yoink installed, especially if you make the most of using full screen apps. Watch our video walkthrough inside to see how.
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Update: Version 2.92 of Transmission has now been released. This claims to actively remove the ‘KeyRanger’ malware files from the infected Mac.

OS X users have today been hit with the first known case of Mac ‘ransomware’ malware, found in the Transmission BitTorrent client released last week. Infected versions of the app include ‘KeyRanger’ malware that will maliciously encrypt the user’s hard drive after three days of being installed. The malware then asks for payment to allow the user to decrypt the disk and access their data — the ‘ransom’.

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Mission Control is a great feature found in OS X that can simplify the process of moving items between full screen apps when combined with Hot Corners. Hot Corners, a feature that I talked about in my 10 getting started tips for new OS X users, allows you to place your mouse pointer in one of the four corners of your Mac’s screen to invoke a specific response.

When combining the power of Hot Corners with Mission Control, you can easily move items to and from full screen apps. Have a look at our video tutorial inside for the details.
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Apple currently plans to use its next major release of the Mac operating system, known as OS X 10.12, this fall to continue to expand Siri across its product lines. Last year, Apple implemented Siri as cornerstone features of both the Apple Watch and new Apple TV, and for 2016, Siri is planned to finally make its way to the Mac.

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Apple has released the fourth OS X 10.11.4 preview for registered developers to test ahead of its expected release next month. The software update to the Mac will likely be released around next month’s March 15th event and is expected to coincide with a new version of iTunes. For Mac users, the latest version of OS X El Capitan adds enhancements like being able to view and share Live Photos originally taken on the iPhone 6s or 6s Plus as well as the ability to lock notes behind a secure password. We’re check out the latest beta and update with any changes.

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No one will be surprised to hear that I greatly prefer Apple’s platform to those of competitors. I’ve often argued that if you want a single ecosystem where everything Just Works across devices, Apple still has a significant lead, even if other platforms are gaining ground.

But that doesn’t mean I think Apple’s own platform is perfect. There are reliability issues that mean the platform doesn’t always live up to that Just Works ideal, and there are annoyingly persistent bugs which the company doesn’t seem in any hurry to fix.

In a podcast interview on Friday, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi argued that while all software has bugs, the sheer number of users means that complaints are “amplified,” making them appear more prevalent than they are in reality. There may be some truth in this – at least on the iOS side – but I’d argue that Apple allows known bugs to persist through too many platform and app releases …

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Apple has released the third OS X 10.11.4 public beta for non-developer testers. Public beta testers running the El Capitan pre-release can find the new software update through the Mac App Store. The latest public beta update follows the third developer beta of the same update earlier this week. Apple has also released a second OS X 10.11.4 beta 3 build (15E39c to 15E39d) for developers as well.

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Apple has released the third OS X 10.11.4 beta today to testers. The latest developer preview can be found in the Updates section of the Mac App Store. Previous versions have added new features to the Mac including the ability to view and share Live Photos shot on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus using Messages, and the ability to password protect Notes. We’ll check out the latest beta version of the upcoming release and highlight any changes below.

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