MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

The group behind popular productivity app Todoist today launched a new team chat platform called Twist, which aims to make online collaboration more meaningful and efficient while minimizing distractions. Eschewing the more traditional real-time chat channels common to services like Slack, the Twist interface instead splits channels into topic-specific threads that function like online...

At its 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced Metal 2, the next-iteration of its graphics API for iOS, tvOS, and macOS. Metal 2 includes support for VR content creation for the first time, and when Metal 2 was highlighted at the event, Apple said Valve, Unity, and Unreal would bring their VR tools to the Mac. Epic Games is making good on Apple's promise, and has announced that...

Encrypted email provider ProtonMail today launched its own VPN service called ProtonVPN, which includes a free user tier in its pricing plan. The Swiss-based company said it had been testing its VPN service for four months with the help of over 10,000 members of the ProtonMail community, and the group was ready to make ProtonVPN available to everyone starting Tuesday. The Proton group...

We've already taken a look at several of the Thunderbolt 3 docks all coming to the market right around the same time, and popular enterprise accessory company Kensington is getting into the mix today with the launch of the SD5000T Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station, the company's first foray into Thunderbolt peripherals. Priced at $349.99, Kensington's dock is similar to many of the other options on...

Microsoft today announced that it's implementing several new features in Outlook for Mac, all of which have been highly requested by its Office 365 subscribers. Timed emails, delivery notifications, email templates, and more are being added to the Mac software. With a new Send Later feature, Outlook for Mac users can draft an email and then schedule it to send at another time using the new...

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos are among a group of technology leaders meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House today, with plans to discuss how the government can begin cutting waste and improving services. The Trump administration believes there is an "economic opportunity" to save as much as $1 trillion over the next ten years, and is seeking the advice of a...

Microsoft has quietly posted two new accessories onto its online storefront, called the "Modern Keyboard" and "Modern Mouse" (via Engadget). Both devices are built to visually match the company's line of Surface products and connect to Windows PCs, but the Modern Keyboard will also connect to any macOS and iOS device that supports Bluetooth 4.0. The Modern Keyboard has a low profile with an...

Wikileaks yesterday published its latest round of allegedly leaked CIA documents, detailing aspects of the U.S. agency's "Cherry Blossom" firmware modification program, which uses modified versions of router firmware to turn networking devices into surveillance tools. The document is the latest in WikiLeaks' "Vault 7" series of publications on CIA hacking methods. Previous leaks have detailed...

Setapp, a company that offers a Mac app subscription service, recently polled 742 developers to get their thoughts on the Mac App Store and the state of Mac app development. The survey is a follow-up to a survey that was conducted last year, which concluded many Mac developers are unhappy with Apple's platform. That same anti-Mac App Store sentiment can be seen in the results of this year's...

Feral Interactive has announced that popular stealth action game HITMAN is coming to macOS on June 20. Developed by Io Interative and published by Square Enix on PC and consoles in 2016, the critically acclaimed title is the first truly episodic triple-A game to make the transition over to Mac, according to Feral. Within the HITMAN universe, multi-layered levels offer players vast scope for ...

Google is readying a new Google Drive replacement backup tool that's intended to help users back up files located anywhere on their computer. Called Backup and Sync, the new app will replace both the Google Drive client and the Google Photos Backup app, combining their sync features in a more unified client interface. Backup and Sync will be able to monitor and backup files and photos...

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced one 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 33 includes fixes and improvements for JavaScript, WebRTC, Media Streams and Capture, Media,...

TD Canada Trust recently announced that the Apple Financial Services program has been discontinued for individuals in Canada. Canadians with an Apple Financial Services credit card issued by TD will no longer be able to charge purchases to the account as of July 26. Through the program, any approved customer in Canada could receive three months of same-as-cash or no-interest financing on...

Mozilla yesterday announced the release of Firefox 54 web browser with new multi-process architecture that promises to make browsing with multiple tabs open faster and more stable, especially on computers with 8GB of memory or less. With the latest release, Firefox uses up to four processes to run web page content across all open tabs. This means that a heavy, complex web page in one tab has...

Apple today released updates for its suite of iWork apps on iOS and Mac, introducing new features for Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. All of the apps have access to a new library that includes more than 500 professionally drawn shapes, and there's a new feature that allows users to reply to comments and join threaded conversations. Apple is also introducing new auto-correction and text...

Two new pieces of malicious software aimed at Mac computers have been discovered on the Dark Web, offered through Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) and Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) portals and estimated to have been up for around the past three weeks, beginning May 25. Originally spotted by Bleeping Computer, the two portals offer software called "MacSpy" and "MacRansom" as services for potential...

CalDigit's Tuff line of rugged USB-C external drives have been a great option for those looking to take extra storage or backups on the go for a while now, but in addition to the existing 2 TB model using a 5400 rpm spinning hard drive, the company recently expanded the line to include a 1 TB solid-state drive option. At a list price of $499, the solid-state drive version is not cheap, but...

U.K. high street retailer John Lewis is currently offering three years' free guarantee on selected Apple gear including new MacBooks, iMacs, and iPads through its online store, potentially offering buyers £159 on equivalent AppleCare. The offer extends to all listed Macs and iPads. For example, customers can today order a Space Grey 2017 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro with Intel Core i5, 8GBGB of...