MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Media management service Plex has announced that its Plex Media Player app is now free to everyone. Previously only available to Pass subscribers, the Plex app for Mac is a home theater-style media browser and player for content stored in personal media libraries. Plex Media Player (which is distinct from the Plex Media Server client app) now features a fullscreen desktop interface where it...

Mozilla and Tor have published browser updates to patch a critical Firefox vulnerability used to deanonymize users (via ArsTechnica). Privacy tool Tor is based on the open-source Firefox browser developed by Mozilla, which received a copy of the previously unknown JavaScript-based attack code yesterday. Mozilla said in a blog post that the vulnerability had been fixed in a just-released...

Following the announcement of Apple's annual fundraising for World AIDS Day this morning, USA Today has now published a new interview with CEO Tim Cook, discussing the lengths Apple goes to in support of projects like PRODUCT(RED) and what it means to Cook personally. The fundraising will donate $1 to (RED)'s fight against AIDS for every purchase made with Apple Pay in an Apple Store, on...

Readdle today announced that its popular Spark email client for iOS devices is expanding to Apple's Mac lineup with the launch of Spark for Mac. Like Spark for iOS, Spark for Mac includes a Smart Inbox feature, which intelligently organizes email into different categories (Personal, Notification, and Newsletters), to make sure important messages are always highlighted first. Learning...

With just over a month left in 2016, the latest drone video showing the progress on Apple Campus 2 has been shared online, letting fans check out the ongoing creation of Apple's newest campus. Construction on the site continues with progress being made on the glass panels for the atrium of the main building, as well as in the campus' solar panels and landscaping. Solar panel installation is...

Amazon has acknowledged a worsening counterfeit problem on its site and says it has made fighting the fake products a "major goal" for next year (via The Verge). Last month Apple filed a lawsuit against Mobile Star LLC which it accused of infringing upon its trademarks and copyrights by selling counterfeit power adapters and cables on Amazon. Apple claimed the fake products posed a risk to...

Google has released a free Mac screensaver that showcases popular high-quality photos shared and liked by Google+ users. The company regularly showcases Google+ photography on idle Pixel phone screens as well as on TVs and monitors connected to its Chromecast and Google Fiber products. Called Featured Photos, the free screensaver download announced yesterday brings the same eye-catching...

Popular calendar app Fantastical 2 for Mac was today updated to version 2.3.1, adding support for the Touch Bar in the new 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro models. The Touch Bar in Fantastical 2 allows users to quickly swipe through the months, days, weeks, or years on their calendar, accessing future or past information with a few gestures. There's also an option to return to today's date and a...

Apple will continue to expand the reach of its research and development centers around the world with a new location in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, sometime in 2017. The news comes from Indonesian Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara, who mentioned that the project's preparation has now progressed to "the final stage" (via Tempo). Additionally, the Minister added that Apple ...

Two free third-party Touch Bar apps have been making the rounds this week that may be of interest to some owners of new MacBook Pros. The apps essentially offer alternative ways of accessing pre-existing macOS functions. TouchSwitcher adds an icon to the right side of the Touch Bar that when tapped brings up a list of currently running apps for quick app switching, similar to the Command + Tab ...

Since it's been revealed that Apple chose to use a soldered down, non-removable SSD in its 13-inch and 15-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pros, it's natural for users to wonder about the fate of their data in the event of a fault that requires a logic board replacement. Fortunately it appears as if Apple has a proprietary in-house tool to rescue stored user data when disaster strikes. 9to5Mac reports ...

Steve Jobs' history with the now-acclaimed animation studio Pixar began in 1986 when the former Apple CEO purchased The Graphics Group, which was one third of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm, renamed it Pixar Animation Studios, and began guiding it into a burgeoning feature film production company. In a new book called To Pixar and Beyond, written by former Pixar chief financial officer...

Apple has announced it is opening a third retail store in Paris, France at Marché Saint-Germain on Saturday, December 3 at 10:00 a.m. local time. Marché Saint-Germain render based on renewal plans Apple will be one of several new stores opening this month at Marché Saint-Germain, or the St. Germain Market, which has been under construction for several months following a renewal project. The...

The first wave of European shipments of MacBook Pros with Touch Bars appear to be out for delivery, after several Apple customers across the pond and beyond saw their orders enter the "Preparing for Dispatch" stage over the last 48 hours. Many MacRumors readers in the EU are reporting notifications of imminent courier deliveries, while a handful of readers in Germany, Sweden, France, and...

512 Pixels blogger Stephen Hackett has created a unique video showcasing Apple's new "Designed by Apple in California" coffee table book alongside actual Apple products, ranging from the PowerMac G5 to iPod socks. The video helps bring the book to life by providing a nostalgic look back on the past two decades of Apple products, starting with the original iMac in 1998 through to the Apple...

A developer has created a $5 device that can hack into screen-locked Macs and potentially other computers as long as a web browser is left running on the desktop. Samy Kamkar made a YouTube video showing what happens when his creation hacks into a target computer. Called a "Poison Tap", the device runs on a Raspberry Pi Zero which plugs into a computer's USB port. Once attached to the...

Amazon has slashed $100 off the official price of Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Pro sans Touch Bar, offering the machine at $1,399 instead of $1,499, presumably for a limited time. Spotted by AppAdvice, the discount is for the stock 13-inch model, which comes with a 2.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and 256GB storage. Meanwhile, for anyone still debating whether a Touch Bar ...

Apple design chief Jony Ive and longtime collaborator Marc Newson's take on the London hotel Claridge's Christmas tree has been revealed – and perhaps not surprisingly, there's not a bauble in sight. Mayfair's landmark festive tree has been drawing crowds since 2009, when notable designers began creating the seasonal decoration each year. But Ive and Newson's interpretation takes the...