MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Apple has been trying to get its $1 billion data center in County Galway, Ireland built for well over two years now, and last week the company finally won approval for construction by the Irish High Court. While it was expected that Apple would now move forward and begin planning for construction, two local residents have brought up a new legal challenge for the company. As reported by The...

Popular YouTube singer-songwriter Jonathan Mann has uploaded a humorous Apple-related tune that is currently doing the rounds on social media and tech blogs. Mann originally rose to prominence among Apple watchers for catching the eye of Steve Jobs, who opened his iPhone 4 press conference by playing to the audience Mann's 2010 "iPhone Antenna Song", which criticized parts of the media for its ...

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced more than a year ago in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari. Safari Technology Preview release 42 includes fixes and improvements for Files and Directory Entries API, Clipboard...

Flexibits, the company that makes popular calendar app Fantastical, today launched a new contacts management app, Cardhop. Designed to be more than just a simple contacts app, Cardhop is interactive and is designed to be your communications hub, allowing you to email, message, and interface with your contacts from one central location. When developing Cardhop, Flexibits aimed to do the same...

Adobe's annual Adobe MAX conference kicks off today, and the company is introducing a whole slew of updates to its Creative Cloud platform. Among those updates is a new version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC, which is now a full cloud-based photography service. Lightroom CC has been available cross-platform for some time now with a dedicated Mac app and an iOS app, but with the new cloud...

At its annual Adobe MAX Creativity Conference, Adobe today announced a range of updates that are being introduced to its Creative Cloud software. Three Adobe apps that have been available in a beta capacity are officially launching, including Adobe XD CC for user interface design, Adobe Dimension CC for 2D to 3D compositing, and Adobe Character Animator CC for 2D character animations. Adobe ...

A bug in macOS High Sierra is causing users to receive iMessages and SMS texts on Macs and other iCloud-connected devices long after they were originally sent, according to reports that have been gradually building up over the last week or so. First spotted by AppleInsider, a growing number of complaints on Apple's support forums detail the issue, which is affecting Mac owners with iPads,...

Microsoft and Qualcomm have revealed they hope to release ARM-powered laptops by the end of the year, with the two companies promising multi-day battery life from the new machines (via Trusted Reviews). At its annual 5G summit in Hong Kong, Qualcomm revealed new details about the PCs it is developing in partnership with Microsoft. Known as "Always Connected PCs", the laptops are powered by...

Several Apple executives were today awarded 128,584 restricted stock units or RSUs worth upwards of $20 million at Apple's current price. The RSUs are set to vest after a set period of time and serve as bonus compensation to encourage employees to stay with the company. Johny Srouji, Phil Schiller, Dan Riccio, Luca Maestri, Craig Federighi, Eddy Cue, and Angela Ahrendts all received 128,584...

Last year, popular accessory maker Twelve South introduced a candle that promised to deliver a "New Mac" scent. The limited time product was so popular among Apple aficionados that it quickly sold out. Twelve South is back at it again this year with a new "Inspire" candle, which it refers to as Mac candle N°2. Made from 100 percent soy wax, it is said to give off strong notes of bergamot,...

Microsoft has revealed a redesign coming to its Outlook apps for Mac and Windows platforms, which is described as aiming for a "simplified" user interface that falls in line with the Outlook app for iOS. The Verge detailed the new and less complex version of Outlook on desktop, which was first spotted by MSPowerUser. The Mac and Windows apps will feature a single-line ribbon that will be...

Apple's Macs aren't optimized for gaming and often don't have powerful enough GPUs to run the latest gaming titles, a problem that Nvidia is aiming to solve with its GeForce NOW service designed for Macs. GeForce NOW for Mac, currently in beta testing in North America, lets you use a virtual GeForce GTX gaming PC in the cloud to run games that otherwise may not be possible to play on a Mac....

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Elevation Lab to give MacRumors readers a chance to win some MagicGrips that are designed for Apple's Magic Mouse. MagicGrips, made from a solid silicone rubber, are designed to make the Magic Mouse a lot more comfortable to work with by making it wider and giving you more to hold onto. MagicGrips cover 75 percent of the sides of the Magic Mouse,...

Western Digital's My Cloud Home is a network-attached personal cloud storage solution, designed to combine the convenience of cloud storage with the privacy and security of local storage. It's available in capacities ranging from 2TB to 16TB, to meet the needs of both families and small businesses, and with apps for the Mac, PC, iOS devices, and a cloud website, content can be accessed from...

Apple's Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad is now estimated to ship in 6-7 weeks in the United States and several other countries, fueling speculation that a refreshed model could be released alongside the iMac Pro in December. The extended wireless keyboard was just released alongside WWDC 2017 in June, so any possible update could be relatively minor. The eject key could be replaced...

Logitech's MX Sound 2.0 Bluetooth speakers are the audio offering in its latest desktop accessory range, which includes the MX ERGO mouse and CRAFT keyboard. Like most stereo speakers around the $99 price point, they're positioned as a decent upgrade over typically lifeless-sounding integrated monitor and laptop speakers. The company says it focused on design quality and audio performance...

Apple has pledged to donate $1 million to fire relief efforts in Northern California, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition to donating $1 million, Apple will also match employee donations two-for-one. Image via the SF Chronicle Tim Cook on Tuesday said Apple would donate to relief efforts, but at the time, he did not specify a dollar amount. Our thoughts are with our Bay ...

Apple employees Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre this week broke ground on The Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation, a new academy named after the two men opening at the University of Southern California in 2019 (via USC News). The academy will focus on four areas of study: art and design; engineering and computer science; business and venture...