Apple Says Mac Mini is 'Important' But Remains Tight-Lipped About Future Updates

Tuesday April 4, 2017 6:27 AM PDT by
Apple today introduced reshuffled Mac Pro configurations and pricing, and revealed that it's working on a "completely rethought" Mac Pro alongside an Apple-branded pro display that will launch beyond 2017. However, Apple remained tight lipped about the Mac mini, beyond noting that it's an "important" product in its lineup. Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller via Daring Fireball:"On that I'll ...

Trump Administration Delivers on H-1B Visa Overhaul, Affecting Tech Companies Hiring Foreign Talent

Tuesday April 4, 2017 6:17 AM PDT by
Apple and other technology companies in Silicon Valley will now find it more difficult to bring foreign workers into the U.S. through the H-1B work visa program, thanks to the Trump administration's follow-through of one immigration-related "America first" promise. In January, the administration drafted an executive order outlining an overhaul of various work visa programs, including H-1B, that...

Feral Announces 'F1 2016' Coming to Mac on April 6 for $49.99

Monday April 3, 2017 2:48 AM PDT by
Feral Interactive announced today that F1 2016 is coming to the Mac on April 6 and has been refined using Apple's new graphics API, Metal. F1 2016 is Codemasters' official game for the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship and features extensive online multiplayer game modes that allow players to compete against up to 21 rivals on any of the 21 Grand Prix circuits. "It's been three...

Apple Hires Former YouTube Executive to Boost Video Content Strategy

Friday March 31, 2017 1:24 AM PDT by
Apple has hired Shiva Rajaraman, a former YouTube and Spotify executive, to help formulate its video content strategy, according to a report on Friday. Citing two people familiar with the matter, The Information said that Rajaraman will work on a range of projects under the supervision of Apple's Eddy Cue, senior VP of internet software and services. According to The Information's sources ...

Apple Seeds First Public Beta of macOS 10.12.5 to Public Beta Testers

Thursday March 30, 2017 1:19 PM PDT by
Apple today provided public beta testers with macOS 10.12.5, a new update that's been in developer testing since March 28. macOS Sierra 10.12.5 comes a little over a week after releasing macOS Sierra 10.12.4, which introduced Night Shift for the Mac. Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the 10.12.5 macOS Sierra beta through the Software Update mechanism ...

Privacy Concerns Loom as Congress Moves to Allow Internet Providers to Share Users' Sensitive Data

Wednesday March 29, 2017 6:32 AM PDT by
The House of Representatives voted this week to repeal a law previously passed by the Obama administration, requiring Internet Service Providers to gain permission from users in order to access and share certain pieces of personal information with advertisers (via The Washington Post). The law, which was approved last year prior to the Presidential election, limited what ISPs such as Verizon, ...

LastPass Working on Security Patch For Browser Extension Vulnerability

Wednesday March 29, 2017 1:40 AM PDT by
LastPass has advised all users of the password manager to launch sites directly from the LastPass vault and enable two-factor authentication wherever possible, until it addresses a vulnerability discovered in LastPass browser extensions. The client-side vulnerability, discovered by Google security researcher Tavis Ormandy, allows for an attack that is "unique and highly sophisticated", said...

Apple May Join SoftBank-Backed Investment in Didi Chuxing to Avoid Dilution of its Stake

Tuesday March 28, 2017 1:36 AM PDT by
Chinese ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing is considering a $6 billion investment offer by the Japanese SoftBank Group that could dilute Apple's stake in the company, according to people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg on Tuesday reported that the potential funding would be the single largest for a Chinese technology startup on record, but that it would mean Beijing-based Didi would have to ...

How to Use Night Shift in macOS Sierra 10.12.4

Monday March 27, 2017 1:37 PM PDT by
Night Shift, the feature first introduced in iOS devices with iOS 9.3, has expanded to the Mac with the release of 10.12.4. Night Shift is compatible with 2012 and newer Macs, so it won't work on older machines. For those unfamiliar with Night Shift, it's designed to cut down on the amount of blue light you're exposed to during the evening by shifting the display of a Mac to a more yellow...

Apple's 2017 Supplier Responsibility Report Highlights Cobalt Supplier Audits, 98% Work Hour Compliance

Monday March 27, 2017 8:20 AM PDT by
Apple today released its 2017 Supplier Responsibility Progress Report, outlining progress that the company has made in its supply chain by highlighting its "highest ever" work hour compliance, advocating the success of Apple's Supplier Education Program, and celebrating more than 2.4 million workers who were trained on their rights last year. Apple releases such progress reports each year as a...

Apple Releases Revised Version of iTunes 12.6, Eliminates Strange 'Profile Page' Toggle

Friday March 24, 2017 10:25 AM PDT by
Apple today released a revised version of iTunes 12.6, which appears to eliminate a hidden option that may have accidentally been built into the software release. Shortly after the original release of iTunes 12.6 on Tuesday, a reddit user discovered a "Show on Profile Page" toggle on a Playlist edit page. The toggle didn't appear to do anything because there's currently no individual...

Twitter Considering Paid Subscription Tier for Professional Users on TweetDeck at $20/Month

Friday March 24, 2017 5:16 AM PDT by
Twitter is said to be "considering" whether to implement an all-new paid subscription tier that would be introduced in a premium package for TweetDeck, Twitter's popular desktop client, and be aimed directly at professionals (via Reuters). If enacted, this would be the first time Twitter charges users for any part of its social media services, which began eleven years ago in March of 2006. A ...

Small Sample of iCloud Credentials Provided By Hackers Are Valid, But Questions Remain

Friday March 24, 2017 4:34 AM PDT by
On Wednesday we reported that Apple had become the target of a ransom threat, with hackers claiming to have access to more than 600 million iCloud accounts. A group known as the "Turkish Crime Family" said they would reset and wipe the accounts unless Apple paid them $150,000 in Bitcoin by April 7. Apple responded to the threat by stating that there had not been any breach of its systems, and...

Tim Cook Hails China Investment, Says Apple 'Here to Stay'

Thursday March 23, 2017 4:14 AM PDT by
Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down for an interview with Chinese media outlet Caixin on Tuesday, in which he emphasized Apple's ambitions in China and its long-term commitment to investment there. Despite Apple's need to see off competition in the country from the likes of Chinese mobile makers Oppo and Huawei, Cook took pains to explain that Apple isn't simply in China to grab a piece of the market, ...

How to Tell Whether Your New LG UltraFine 5K Display Has the Shielding Fix

Wednesday March 22, 2017 11:09 AM PDT by
Last week, we shared a brief video showing that LG's revisions to the shielding in the UltraFine 5K display have successfully addressed issues with the display flickering and disconnecting when in close proximity to Wi-Fi routers. Apple and LG had temporarily pulled the display from the market while LG adjusted its manufacturing processes to incorporate the fix and push the new stock into sales...

Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 26 With WebGPU Prototype

Wednesday March 22, 2017 10:44 AM PDT by
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 26 includes fixes and improvements for Web API, CSS, Rendering, Web Inspector, WebDriver, and ...

djay Pro for Mac Gains Touch Bar Enhancements, Pioneer DJ Integration

Wednesday March 22, 2017 10:31 AM PDT by
Algoriddim's djay Pro for Mac received a major update today, introducing a range of new features for both hobbyists and professional DJs. Through a partnership with Pioneer DJ, djay Pro is now officially certified to work with hardware like the CDJ-200NXS2 and the TOUR1, equipment widely used by professionals. Seamless plug-and-play integration adds support for Pioneer DJ's DJ Link...

Apple Releases iTunes 12.6 With Cross-Device Movie Rental Access

Tuesday March 21, 2017 2:01 PM PDT by
Following a slew of new product announcements early this morning, Apple today released iTunes 12.6, the next major update for the iTunes app on Mac devices. iTunes 12.6 introduces a "Rent once, watch anywhere" feature that lets iTunes users watch iTunes movie rentals across all devices with iOS 10.3 or tvOS 10.2. Prior to this update, an iTunes movie was only available on a single device at ...