macOS

Apple has today proposed a new set of emoji to the Unicode Consortium that focuses on accessibility. The new set includes at least nine new emoji.

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For the latest macOS 10.13.4 beta seed, the update notes merely say ‘This is the latest version of the macOS High Sierra developer beta and is recommended for all Apple developers’ in English locales as normal for pre-release builds. However, it seems Apple has accidentally published the final full release notes in some other languages.

The release notes indicate that iMessage Business Chat will be available on macOS, as well as formally supporting external GPU (eGPU) systems. You can read the full French release notes for the upcoming High Sierra update, with an English translation, after the jump …

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Over the last week, we’ve reported on Calendar 2, an app from Qbix that seemingly added cryptocurrency mining as an alternative to paying for premium features. Qbix itself acknowledged issues with the model and Apple said such practices are not allowed in the Mac App Store, but that almost certainly won’t stop developers outside of the Mac App Store from doing it.

Would you be willing to let an app mine cryptocurrency in the background in exchange for premium features?

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Last month, Twitter announced that it was ending support for its desktop Mac Twitter client today. The app had been abandoned for months (years?) before that, so it wasn’t exactly a huge loss, but it meant that I needed to migrate to a new app.

Believe it or not, I’ve used Twitter for Mac until the very end. Below is my roundup of the best Twitter client apps for Mac currently available: Tweetbot, Twitterrific and TweetDeck. Personal preference is a big factor here, so I separated out some individual impressions too …

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Yesterday, we reported on a macOS app called Calendar 2 that seemingly added cryptocurrency mining as an alternative to paying for premium features. At the time, the app’s developers, Qbix, had made the decision to remove the feature from the app.

The company now tells us, however, that Apple ended up pulling the app from the Mac App Store for violating its guidelines…

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Cryptocurrency mining has become common across certain apps, but now the trend has infiltrated the Mac App Store. As noted by Ars Technica, the app Calendar 2 briefly, and openly, embraced crypto mining as an alternative to having users pay a subscription fee…

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[Update: The fifth public beta for macOS 10.13.4 is now available in addition to the developer beta.]

Apple has released macOS 10.13.4 beta 5 for registered developers to test on compatible Macs. We’ll dig in to the new version and detail changes below.

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Apple has released macOS 10.13.4 beta 4 for registered developers to test on compatible Macs. We’ll dig in to the new version and detail changes below.

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Earlier this week, Zac outlined all of the hardware products Apple is likely to release as this year progresses. Just as important as those hardware releases, however, are the software updates that will accompany them.

We already know that Apple has iOS 11.3 planned for this month, but beyond that are major releases like iOS 12 and watchOS 5…
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A new concept today from designer Álvaro Pabesio imagines how Apple could dramatically overhaul macOS when it finally makes the jump to ‘macOS 11.’ The concept depicts a redesigned menu bar with an iOS-like Control Center, as well as universal apps, a system-wide dark mode, and much more.

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Apple has released macOS 10.13.4 beta 3 for registered developers to test on compatible Macs. We’ll dig in to the new version and detail changes below.

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Parallels Toolbox, an ever-growing suite of handy single-purpose tools that simplify common computing tasks to just a click or two, has received a major update for both Mac and PC users. New tools and key features include presentation mode, capture for lengthy webpages, free memory reclaim, quick resolution switching, and time-saving tools to download and edit videos or make a GIF. A Parallels Business Edition also launched today, which gives IT the control they need to easily provide employees with tools to be more productive.

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Today’s news about Apple putting new features on the back burner for iOS 12 means that the company will finally be focusing on polishing up its mobile operating system. After years of interface inconsistencies and frame rate issues, iOS may be getting some much-needed attention on the finer details.

While frame rate issues have gone unnoticed by many, prominent YouTuber and entrepreneur Chris Pirillo has been documenting his findings over the years with a public list of issues. The most jarring and obvious frame rate issue is when invoking Siri and trying to access Control Center. This is an example of an “unlikely situation, so Apple didn’t check,” which some feel has been Apple’s software mantra with iOS 7 and beyond.

While it’s good to hear about Apple shifting focus to zero in on refinements, I would argue these sort of issues should have never should have shipped to begin with.

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Good news for those of you who already use or have been considering an external GPU for your Mac: Apple has enhanced support for eGPU setups in macOS 10.13.4 beta.

Ahead of Apple’s promise to bring better eGPU support to the Mac by spring 2018, the initial beta release for 10.13.4 brings several noticeable changes and enhancements to the fore.
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macOS High Sierra is going even higher today with the first developer beta version of macOS 10.13.4 now available. The new developer beta comes one day after the release of macOS 10.13.3 which includes security improvements and a fix for Messages bugs.

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Alongside macOS High Sierra 10.13.3, released today, Apple has also issued Security Update 2018-001 for macOS Sierra and macOS El Capitan.

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