MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Griffin Technology has announced that its BreakSafe Magnetic USB-C Power Cable for the 12-inch Retina MacBook, including the new Early 2016 model introduced earlier this week, will start shipping on Monday, April 25. BreakSafe is a magnetic breakaway power cable for USB-C laptops such as the 12-inch MacBook which, unlike the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, does not feature Apple's proprietary...

Product Hunt, the site that specializes in surfacing new technology products, books, games, and podcasts, is today launching a dedicated Mac app. The Product Hunt Mac app adds a menu bar widget to Macs, giving users a way to stay updated with new site content throughout the day. Once installed, Product Hunt for Mac adds a "P" icon to the Mac's menu bar, which can be clicked to display a list...

Norway-based company Opera Software has integrated a virtual private network (VPN) feature into the latest developer version of its free Opera web browser for OS X. A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel from the user's computer to the VPN server, hiding browsing activity from other users on the local network and enhancing security and privacy online. A VPN shields a user's real IP address,...

Apple today updated its investor relations page to note the earnings announcement for the second fiscal quarter (first calendar quarter) of 2016 will take place on Tuesday, April 26 instead of Monday, April 25 as was previously announced last month. It is not clear why Apple has moved the date of the earnings call by a single day, but it will now take place next Tuesday instead of next Monday. ...

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.5 El Capitan update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the first OS X 10.11.5 beta and a month after releasing OS X 10.11.4, the fourth update to the OS X 10.11 operating system. The new OS X 10.11.5 update, build 15F24b, can be downloaded through the software update mechanism in the Mac App Store or...

Intel has announced a major corporate restructuring that will see 11 percent of its workforce laid off as the company intensifies its focus on its data center and smart connected computing businesses. The move is being billed as a profitable and efficient evolution of the company away from its traditional PC sector base toward more high-growth areas, broadly defined as its cloud-powering...

Apple hired former Tesla Motors Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Chris Porritt last year to join its "special projects" group, possibly to spearhead its much-rumored electric vehicle project, according to Electrek. Chris Porritt and the Aston Martin One-77 supercar Porritt brings decades of experience in the European automotive industry with him to Apple, having worked on vehicle...

Less than two hours after announcing the new 12-inch MacBook, which has yet to become available for purchase online, Apple has released the first software update for the notebook. Apple's website says the Bluetooth update for the 12-inch MacBook (Early 2016) improves compatibility with third-party Bluetooth devices, and is recommended for all users. The software update is a 157.8MB download ...

In addition to releasing the next-generation 12-inch MacBook with faster specs and a Rose Gold color option, Apple has announced that its two 13-inch MacBook Air configurations now ship with 8GB of RAM as a standard option starting today. 13-inch MacBook Air models previously had 4GB of RAM for stock configurations, with 8GB of RAM available as an upgrade option for built-to-order models....

At today's National Association of Broadcasters Convention (or NAB), LaCie announced the new 12big Thunderbolt 3 professional 12-bay desktop RAID storage solution. The 12big combines a storage capacity of up to 96TB with the performance speeds of Thunderbolt 3 and RAID 5/6, aimed at helping video professionals and other creatives manage data from high-end cameras that record 4/5/and 6K...

Today at the 2016 NAB Show, CalDigit announced four new storage products utilizing the latest Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1 Type-C technologies. The first is the CalDigit T8, a Thunderbolt 3 RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and JBOD storage solution with 8-bays offering capacities up to 48TB with 3.5” HDDs and 8TB with SSDs. The device's dual Thunderbolt 3 ports deliver up to 40Gb/s bandwidth, while dual USB-C...

Apple released its latest annual environmental report yesterday, and some of the numbers included reveal just how much the company is able to recover from old devices. Business Insider notes that Apple was able to recover over 61 million pounds of steel, aluminum, glass, and other materials from its computers and iPhones. Included in that total is 2,204 pounds of gold, which is well over a...

Renderings of some of the more minor buildings planned for Apple Campus 2 have been shared by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, giving us a look at the planned design for two visitor reception locations, a set of outdoor eating areas or food stations, and a maintenance shed. Apple provided the renderings to the City of Cupertino ahead of a planned administrative hearing set to take place...

The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team today issued an alert recommending Windows users with QuickTime installed uninstall the software as new vulnerabilities have been discovered that Apple does not plan to patch.Computers running QuickTime for Windows will continue to work after support ends. However, using unsupported software may increase the risks from...

Apple is close to signing 21-year-old Raheem Sterling, a skilled forward for Premier League's Manchester City F.C. and England's national football team, as a global ambassador, according to British newspaper The Sun. Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling (Image: PA:Press Association) Sterling, who has not played since suffering a groin injury in a match against Manchester United on March...

Apple has hired Cynthia Hogan, a top lobbyist for the National Football League, as vice president for public policy and government affairs for the Americas, reports Politico. She will head the company's Washington D.C. office starting April 29 and report to Apple's environmental, policy, and social initiatives chief Lisa Jackson."Cynthia’s intellect and judgment have consistently distinguished...

Apple has announced that it will be ending support for iTunes Allowances, a feature of the service that allowed parents to automatically place money into a child's iTunes account on a monthly basis. As of April 13, users can no longer create new iTunes Allowance deposits, with the feature officially getting cut-off for good on May 25, 2016. After that date, any unused allowance credit will be...

Apple's industrial design team is losing one of its core members, with longtime designer Daniel Coster moving on to join GoPro as the company's Vice President of Design. GoPro announced the news in a press release this morning, which outlines Coster's role. He will "influence all aspects of design" at GoPro, ranging from software to surfaces, reporting directly to GoPro founder Nick Woodman."Ironi...