Jeff Benjamin

Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Studio both received recent updates that implement support for the Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro. The professional non-linear editor is popular among videographers for its immersive color correction features.

While Apple’s flagship Final Cut Pro X received Touch Bar support back in October, DaVinci Resolve’s December 14th update brings one of the most impressive Touch Bar support implementations that I’ve seen thus far.
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Not interested in potentially sharing the content of your Evernote notes with the company’s employees? Then your only option will be to leave the service, because you can’t opt out. Although it appears that this particular policy has already been in place for some time, an upcoming January update to the privacy policy has shed additional light on the issue.
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Back in April of 2011, Final Cut Pro X was previewed at the Los Angeles Creative Pro User Group meeting, or LAFCUG, which occurred during NAB2011. This preview happened several months prior to the official debut of Final Cut Pro X later that summer, which was a drastic departure from the previous Final Cut Pro 7.

Final Cut Pro X has evolved immensely since its debut release, reacquiring many of the features that were dropped from Final Cut Pro 7, and adding a ton of additional features along the way. The latest version of the app, version 10.3, is arguably the biggest update of the software since its debut.

During a November, 2016 LAFCUG meeting, just after the announcement and subsequent release of Final Cut Pro 10.3, Apple representatives demonstrated the latest version of the video editing software in a much more in-depth fashion than what we saw on stage during the product’s October release in Cupertino.
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macOS 10.12.2 was released to the public earlier today, and in this post we’ll take a hands-on look at some of the release’s most notable features.

First and foremost, everyone should update to macOS 10.12.2 for the stability features alone, especially if you’re a new MacBook Pro user. But there are a couple of additional new features that users may be happy to find as well.
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In a recent interview with Wenner Media’s Glixel, Mario-creator Shigeru Miyamoto opens up about the creative development process, working with Apple, and the upcoming Super Mario Run for iOS. Miyamoto describes approaching Apple on the idea for the game, and working with Cupertino leadership that was willing to listen.

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Spigen’s Kuel AP12T Car Mount is a well designed product that anyone in the market for an iPhone car mount should lend a serious look. It features a typical suction apparatus to make the mount stick your your car’s dash, but has several other notable features that make iPhone car mounting easy.
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I tested my MacBook Pro using a stringent version of Apple’s own iTunes movie playback test that the company uses in its official battery tests. I found that under more stringent conditions, the 13-inch MacBook Pro will last a hair over 8 hours, but likely less in more realistic scenarios.

Have a look at the test results in our hands-on video, along with a walkthrough on how to perform an accurate iTunes movie playback test on your MacBook Pro.

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The HyperDrive is a compact USB-C hub that adds some much needed port-diversification to the 2016 MacBook Pro. While it may look similar to some already existing USB-C hubs out there, the HyperDrive is Thunderbolt 3-enabled, and supports the new MacBook Pro only, as it connects to two of the machine’s USB-C ports simultaneously.

The hub adds all sorts of ports to the otherwise barren MacBook Pro. You’ll find two USB-A ports for USB 3.0 connectivity, an SD Card and microSD card reader, HDMI output, a Thunderbolt 3 port and a USB-C (gen 1) port.

Hyper just launched a Kickstarter campaign for the HyperDrive today, but I’ve already been testing out a few almost-finished, fully-functioning prototypes, and it seems promising. Have a look at our video walkthrough for a brief hands-on look at the HyperDrive in action.
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As Chance noted last night, an alpha version of BetterTouchTool was released yesterday with support for the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar. Being an alpha release, you can expect to find bugs, but I decided to go hands-on with the update to see how the Touch Bar implementation worked.

What I found was a seriously impressive tool that will allow users to have a ridiculous amount of fine-grained control at their fingertips. Have a look at our brief video walkthrough inside to see the customizable Touch Bar controls in action.
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If you took advantage of one of the many recent Apple Watch deals over at 9to5Toys, then you may find yourself in the market for a new band or two. There are many third-party band options available for the Apple Watch, but I’ve always enjoyed some of the offerings from Monowear.

If you’re looking for a stylish third-party Apple Watch band option, then check out our hands-on video featuring Monowear’s metal, leather, nylon active, and ceramic bands.
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If you want to record audio via your iPhone while on the go, you basically have two choices: you can use your iPhone’s on-board microphone, or you can use an external microphone. For anyone who’s compared the difference in sound quality, the decision is a no brainer. You’ll get significantly better sound quality by opting for an external microphone like the Shure MV88 ($150 on Amazon). Check out our video walkthrough for a brief look at some of the details.
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Earlier this week we showcased a new MacBook Pro Touch Bar app called TouchSwitcher that allowed users to easily switch between running apps via shortcuts in the Touch Bar. Another recently launched app, called Rocket, employs a similar method for fast app switching, but features a few key differences.
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LG’s UltraFine 5K Display is not yet available for purchase via Apple’s online store, but it’s already beginning to makes the rounds in the press. Popular YouTuber Marques Brownlee just unboxed the MacBook Pro-centric 5K display in a hands-on video.
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A new MacBook Pro Touch Bar-oriented app called TouchSwitcher is now available for free download. The app’s premise is simple: it allows you to quickly bring to focus any running app via a tap of the app’s icon displayed in the Touch Bar.

There are some inherent downsides to consider when using TouchSwitcher, but it’s nonetheless very interesting to see when running on a new MacBook Pro. Have a look at our brief hands-on video to see it in action.
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Instead of using Target Disk Mode, there is another way to quickly transfer files between two MacBook Pro machines using Thunderbolt 3. Thunderbolt networking provides a peer-to-peer connection at 10 GbE speeds for super fast local transfers. In the following brief step-by-step tutorial, we’ll show you how.
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TB3 enabler is a brand new hack from Khaos Tian that enables unsupported Thunderbolt 3 devices on the latest MacBook Pro.

As explained by Tian, Apple impedes support for some categories of Thunderbolt 3 devices by implementing a software block. TB3 enabler allows users to bypass that software block, enabling access to previously unsupported Thunderbolt 3 devices.
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I’ve spent a considerable amount of time with both the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro that features standard function keys. The machines share some noteworthy differences, but there are numerous similarities as well.

One unfortunate similarity is the fact that the three-finger drag trackpad gesture doesn’t work like it should. In other words, if you’re having a problem with the three-finger drag gesture on your shiny new MacBook Pro, it’s not just you.
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