Yesterday Apple released the second developer beta of macOS 11.3, and today it followed up with 11.3 public beta 2. As we step through the latest macOS 11.3 beta 2 changes and features, we showcase what’s new. Be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more video walkthroughs.
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Recently departed (but still friend of the site!) Mark Gurman went on the Jay and Farhad Show podcast this evening and gave his predictions for WWDC 2016 and beyond. Most of the conversation material was either posted previously on 9to5Mac or elsewhere but there were certainly some new “whispers”…
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We’ve already run down much of what can be expected from iOS 9, OS X 10.11 and Apple Music at the 2015 Worldwide Developers Conference, and now it’s time to run down what 9to5Mac’s editors want to see at the conference. You can find our hopes below, and stay tuned for our comprehensive roundup of what to expect at WWDC.
Apple will begin providing select retail store employees access to upcoming versions of iOS in order to widen its pre-release testing program, according to multiple sources. The program will begin in the near-future with an upcoming iOS release, perhaps version 8.2, which is slated to be released alongside the Apple Watch…
Autodesk has announced the release of AutoCAD for Mac 2015 with a feature-set that for the first time brings it close to that of the Windows version. The lower-cost AutoCAD LT for Mac version has also been updated.
Autodesk is emphasizing cross-platform compatibility for companies using a mix of OS X and Windows machines. The ability to save layer information like color and line type has been added to the Mac version in line with the Windows edition.
The company also says AutoCAD for 2015 is faster at the same time as offering improved stability …
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Apple today released the sixth public beta of the upcoming OS X Yosemite to AppleSeed testers. The build number is 14A388b, which coincides with last week’s OS X Yosemite Golden Master Candidate 3.0 release for registered developers. Apple plans to provide final details on OS X Yosemite at the October 16th event, then release it as soon as later that date.
Earlier this week, concerns emerged on Skype official message boards about the Skype Mac app no longer functioning on OS X 10.5.8 Leopard (an operating system that launched the same year as the original iPhone), and a Skype representative on the forums apparently confirmed that Skype will no longer be supported on Macs running operating systems below OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
While Skype has not been downloadable nor functional for Leopard users the past few days, a Skype spokesperson tells us this morning that this will soon change: “We have a Skype version for Mac OS X 10.5 users which will soon be available for download.” No additional timing details are available as of yet, but it’s good to know that Leopard users will soon be able to go back to making Skype calls and sending messages as normal.
We’re also told that this new download will be for Leopard users only, so anyone on OS X 10.4 Tiger or below will need to upgrade to Leopard or something newer (like Mavericks) in order to keep on using the Microsoft-owned communications tool.
We noted yesterday that Apple released OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 build 13E19 to developers, and now users of Apple’s customer AppleSeed software testing program are reporting that the seed has also gone out to those non-developers. 10.9.4 is a bug fix release without major feature enhancements, and it is unclear when it will ship publicly to all Mac users. This fall, Apple will ship OS X 10.10 Yosemite with a refreshed user interface, new Continuity features, and improved applications.
In addition to the comprehensive redesign, OS X Yosemite could have made a significant change to how the Mac operating system functioned since it originally shipped just over thirty years ago. The above image from a source shows a March build of OS X Yosemite that featured a Control Center panel. The panel did not end up shipping in the first beta of Yosemite and was not announced on the WWDC stage last week, but Apple definitely considered including it.
In fact, developers have located numerous code strings in the first Yosemite build that confirms Apple’s testing of an OS X variant of Control Center:
[ooyala code=”tyZ3RkZDptTdk4MiQaHJVCnxUdZyD8pf” player_id=”null”]
Today Autodesk launched FBX Review for Apple Mac OS X and iOS 7. The free standalone app gives professional artists and animators a powerful, lightweight tool to conduct detailed reviews of a wide range of 3D assets, including detailed 3D models, environments and character animations.
Now artists on the Windows or Apple platforms can use FBX Review to view 3D assets with a full feature set, without using commercial 3D animation software. An artist working in Autodesk 3ds Max can send an animation file to anyone who has installed FBX Review, and the recipient will have a full menu of features with which to view the assets.
New features coming to the Apple platforms are:
To download FBX Review for iOS, visit: http://autode.sk/1qzHAFX and for Mac OS X: http://autode.sk/1spZtmp
For a complete list of FBX Review features, visit: http://area.autodesk.com/products/features/fbx
A claim that “Apple job listings suggest cameras coming to Apple TV” and that this is “hinting at motion controls” appears to be reading way too much into some standard wording used many times by Apple in the past.
The Apple TV is one of the few products in Apple’s lineup that doesn’t include an integrated camera, but that may change with future versions of the hardware, according to new job listings from the company, potentially paving the way for gesture-based motion controls in the living room.
The text in question, which appears in a number of job ads like this one, is this:
The Camera Software team provides the capture and camera foundation across all of Apple’s innovative products, including iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, iPod, iTunes, and Mac OS
Well, let’s see …
First, this is nothing new. Apple has used the exact same wording in job ads at least as long ago as last September.
Second, this is an ad for a software, not hardware, role. Not a single one of the hardware team ads mentions Apple TV. The software team likely works on everything photo-related, which on Apple TV would include Photo Stream and Airplay.
Third, you’ll note that the standard wording used includes iTunes. Again, because iTunes needs software support for the camera to read gift certificates. Or perhaps iTunes is getting its own hardware camera too …
None of this is to say it’s impossible (though it would perhaps be more likely for a full-on Apple television rather than the existing Apple TV box), merely that the job listings tell us nothing.
From 9to5Toys.com:
Parallels again offers its $79.99 bundle of impressive apps at the retail price of Parallels alone. Each one of the below apps is a keeper and they are all free with the purchase of the Parallels 9. You even get 6 free months of use of the Parallels iPad App.
Parallels Desktop 9 for Mac
The #1 choice of Mac users for more than 7 years to run Windows on Mac. Ready for Mavericks OS X(10.9) and 40% faster disc speed. MSRP $79.99
Fantastical
Plan your day in style with the most attractive calendar you’ve ever seen. The Mac calendar you’ll actually enjoy using. MSRP $19.99
CleanMyMac 2
Simple yet surprisingly powerful application for keeping your Mac clean, organized, and free of files that slow it down. MSRP $39.95
Parallels Access for iPad
6-month subscription – use PC and Mac applications like they were made for your iPad. MSRP $29.95
1Password
1Password gives you the security you need in today’s online world without slowing you down. Super secure passwords and more – 21st century digital wallet on any device. MSRP $49.95
Keep your Mac, your data and your children safe! Real-time protection against Mac, PC and Linux malware. MSRP $39.95
MacHider
The easy way to hide files and folders, put your confidential information out of sight from third parties or other unwanted eyes. MSRP $9.99
We reviewed Parallels 9 in September and said:
PD9 is definitely the most noticeable Parallels Desktop upgrade ever. The performance boosts are the best part of the upgrade, but the sticky multi-monitor setup has been extremely helpful for me and saved quite a bit of time. As a Mavericks user, the software hasn’t been giving me any issues even though the operating system is still in beta.
Already have an older version of Parallels? Save $30 and get the ‘v9 Update bundle’ for $49.99.
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From 9to5Toys.com:
Parallels again offers its $50 bundle of impressive apps at a $20 discount off the retail price of Parallels alone. Each one of the below apps is a keeper and they are all free with the discounted purchase of the Parallels update. You even get 6 free months of use of the iPad App.
Note this is a Parallels update so you’ll need an older copy laying around, The full Parallels 9 bundle is $79.99
Save $319.99 – Buy Parallels Desktop for Mac and Parallels Access bundle
Sony has confirmed earlier rumors that it is exiting the PC business, selling both its computer division and the VAIO brand to a Japanese investment fund which plans to use the brand only within Japan, at least initially.
Once the coolest laptop brand around, VAIO notebooks were admired even by Steve Jobs for their slim form factors and sleek designs, and it was to Sony that Apple turned for help in designing its early PowerBook models. Sony, however, failed to maintain its design momentum, and found itself increasingly overtaken by smaller companies.
We described yesterday how Sony in 2001 turned down an offer from Steve Jobs to run Mac OS on Vaio laptops.
Sony is also restructuring its TV business, announcing that it will be focusing much more on high-end models. Sony is the current market leader in 4K TVs, a market Apple is expected to enter.
The news coincides with a report by Canalys that if you measure PC and tablet sales as a single category, considering both to amount to personal computers, then Apple is the leading computer manufacturer, with a 19.5 percent market share – more than HP and Dell combined.
Combining Macs and iPads, Apple sold just over 87 million personal computing devices last year (excluding iPhones).
Update: the rumor was true, Sony confirmed that it is selling its PC business and the VAIO brand to Japan Industrial Partners, with the deal set to complete by the end of March.
Former Sony President Kunitake Ando says that Sony turned down an offer from Steve Jobs back in 2001 to allow it to run Mac OS on Vaio laptops, several years after the original Mac clone program ended in 1998.
Speaking to freelance writer Nobuyuki Hayashi, Ando described the moment Steve Jobs met senior Sony execs to make the offer.
Most of Sony’s executives spent their winter vacation in Hawaii and play golf after celebrating the new year. In one of those new year golf competitions back in 2001, ” Steve Jobs and another Apple executive were waiting for us at the end of golf course holding VAIO running Mac OS”
But there is an interesting Backstory told through Quora by the wife of an ex-Apple Engineer working on the Marklar project…
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Apple has seeded two software upgrades for OS X Mavericks internally, according to a source with knowledge of the upcoming updates. This person says that the updates are labeled as OS X 10.9.1 and OS X 10.9.2. The first update is expected to be released later this month, and it will serve as an update to squash bugs that accompanied the OS X 10.9.0 release of Mavericks last month. Many users have complained about issues relating to the Mail and iBooks applications, and Apple is preparing to release individual bug-fix updates for those apps in the coming days…
Today, the team behind Pixelmator has released the latest version of their app, version 3.0 FX. As before, the app is available on the Mac App Store for $29.99. The update brings a slew of changes to the already popular image editor, especially considering version 2.2 was only released a few weeks ago. 9to5Mac has had access to a preview copy of the update for a few days … so read on for a full walkthrough of the changes.
The headline feature for Pixelmator 3.0 is the addition of layer styles. Layer styles apply effects such as strokes, fills, shadows and reflections to the entire layer in very few clicks. More importantly, these changes are non-destructive — they affect the layer, not the canvas pixels themselves. This means layer effects can be undone and manipulated without changing the underlying image data. In fact, layer styles can even be copied to the clipboard and duplicated across layers.
Apple’s next event is upon us, and it’s likely to be action-packed. As Apple says: it has “a lot to cover.” So besides the speculation that rings in from the word cover (new Smart Covers, anyone?), Apple has some new tablets, computers, and software to discuss. Read our full roundup of what to expect (and not expect) on Tuesday, October 22nd, from Apple:
Apple plans to release its next Mac operating system, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, at the end of October, according to sources with knowledge of the launch plans.
This comes despite claims and speculation that Apple will release OS X Mavericks and iOS 7 in tandem this month. iOS 7 is set to ship alongside the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C later in September. There has also been chatter about Apple holding the iPad iOS 7 release back until October.
For the launch of both OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion, Apple released the new operating systems the day following an earning results release. Apple traditionally shares its Q4 earnings numbers during the second half of October, so perhaps Apple will release Mavericks the day following its Q4 results announcement…
IK Multimedia has announced what it claims is “the most versatile compact audio interface on the market”. iRig is a small battery-powered box that allows musicians to connect microphones, guitars, line instruments or MIDI devices to a Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
iRig PRO is designed to give mobile musicians and songwriters an interface that can handle the widest variety of audio input signals, so they can create music and audio on the go anywhere, any time.
It accepts virtually every type of audio and MIDI input. Users can plug in a dynamic or condenser microphone; a guitar, bass or other Hi-Z instrument; or any line-level source.
Additionally, iRig PRO is equipped with a MIDI input for keyboards, pads and controllers, making it a truly universal compact interface for recording and composing on the go or in the studio. Its audio and MIDI inputs can be used simultaneously, for example, to control guitar or vocal software with MIDI foot controllers or pedals, for switching presets or controlling effects levels …
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Apple has just posted Security Update 2013-002 for OS X 10.7.5 and 10.8.x. The Apple Security Updates knowledge base page hasn’t been updated with details regarding the update, but it’s recommended for all users to download and install through Software Update or apple.com.
Answering probably the biggest question regarding the Macintosh Operating System, Apple revealed today that the tenth iteration of its OS X system will be dubbed Mavericks.
OS X 10.9 delivers a collection of new features including:
According to a job listing from game developer DICE, EA might be looking to bring its popular Battlefield 3 franchise to OS X. The Battlefield3Blog pointed us to the job listing seeking a Mac OS X engineer to be”part of a team focusing on bringing Frostbite to Mac.”
Frostbite is looking for developers who want to join us in taking our engine to the next level. You will be part of a team focusing on bringing Frostbite to Mac and work closely with game team customers and the Frostbite team to deliver an engine as great on OS X as it is on Windows and traditional console platforms.
With plans to bring the Frostbite game engine to Mac, it could also mean EA plans to bring Frostbite-powered titles previously only available on Windows, Xbox, and PS3 to the Mac. There is no mention of specific games, but on top of the Battlefield series, Frostbite has been used for Need for Speed and Medal of Honor titles. We’re assuming this is for Frostbite 2, but there’s also a possibility it could be a next generation of the engine.
While we don’t expect Twitter to update its Mac app with official Retina support anytime soon, iOS developer Deniz Mert Edincik has taken it upon himself to post a patched version of the app that brings Retina support to the majority of UI elements. There was a bad link floating around earlier, but we’ve confirmed that the version in the link below works, as you can see from the screenshot above. To get the patched Retina version of the Twitter Mac App, simply download the file from the link in Deniz’s tweet below and run the patched app…
[tweet https://twitter.com/edincik/status/271993729760509952]
