Innehållsförteckning för No. 160 från iCreate

“We’re expecting big Mac announcements in the very near future” This is an exciting time to be a Mac user. After what seems like keynote after keynote that focused on iOS devices, we’re expecting big Mac announcements in the very near future, possibly as early as Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June. Apple has already got the ball rolling, updating the gorgeous 12-inch Retina MacBook. We’ve taken it for a spin this issue and given it the full iCreate test treatment. That’s likely to be just the start, so our main feature this month asks: Which Mac are you? Packed with practical buying advice, we’ve taken a look at every Mac in Apple’s line-up to find out who is best suited to what model. We’ve also got a great round-up…

Apple’s often-overlooked desktop might not be your first thought when you’re looking for a new Mac, but it is by far Apple’s cheapest model. This makes it a great choice as a first-ever Mac, or as a media server from which to stream movies, music and TV shows to Apple TVs and other Macs around your home. The biggest downside is the lack of display, which means you’ll need to invest in a third-party option or hook it up to your TV. However, the mid-level model is only slightly less powerful than the mid-level iMac at a fraction of the cost, making the mini surprisingly good value for money. While the iMac is big and beautiful, the mini is a little powerhouse that people usually forget about. For those wanting…

Knowledge base Add metadata Once you’ve summoned the Info panel (see step 1 of the boxout), you can add extra information to the selected image file’s metadata, including keywords. Once you’ve typed some in, go to View>Metadata to activate the Keyword metadata display option. A keyword icon will then appear on the relevant photo’s thumbnail, indicating that keywords have been attached. Menu commands The View menu offers even more ways to zoom in and out of your image. You can also use the Command key in conjunction with the plus and minus keys to zoom in or out. A helping hand Once you’ve zoomed in for a closer look, the Hand tool will automatically appear. Click and drag within the image to re-position the visible content so you can spot…

Knowledge base Subtlety is key There’s no need for your vignette effect to be huge, bold and obvious. You don’t want the viewers’ eyes to be drawn to the corners of your shot because you overdid the effect. Instead, keep it subtle and ensure that it does the job of moving people’s eyes to the centre of the frame. Adjust the balance You can use the dropper tool in the White Balance menu to adjust the colour of your shot. Use the different options to pick the best white point and combine it with the vignette for amazing outcomes. Light and colour If you prefer to apply your vignette to a colour image, you can use the Light and Color controls to lower the saturation and increase the contrast to…

Knowledge base Cross-processing techniques The cross-processing method that results in high-contrast tones was probably discovered by accident in a photographer’s darkroom. If you developed print film using chemicals designed for processing slides (or vice versa), this could cause blue skies to take on a cyan hue. This stylised look is still popular in television commercials and dramas. Over-cooked filter effect This section of the screen shows the effect of iMovie’s preset Vintage filter. The sky is given a cross-processed cyan hue but it’s clearly over-saturated. The highlights are clipped and lose detail, and the shadows are crushed and look too black. Colour correction This icon gives you access to handy colour and tone tweaking tools, which you can use to adjust the garish preset colours and clipped tones produced by…

As your music-making experience with GarageBand progresses and you begin to create longer compositions, it won’t be long until you start structuring your tracks. Songs tend to have definable parts and recognisable sections, traditionally starting with a beginning or intro before taking a melodic journey through verses, choruses, bridges and instrumental solos until the outro to finish. GarageBand usefully provides an Arrangement Track that segments and uses markers to label precisely where these individual passages are situated. In this tutorial we’ll demonstrate how these are applied and take a look at how this is used to perform structure-aware edits. Step-by-step Structure your songs with the Arrangement Track 1 View the Arrangement Track To start, typically you have a project loaded with tracks that follow at least a rough, basic working…

When editing GarageBand projects and mixing or fitting tracks together, you might discover clashing sections of audio. There may be certain points where two or more signals overlay each other and it doesn’t quite work, or perhaps you’ll find that a backing track could be quietened down at certain points. In music production terms, this technique is known as ‘ducking’ and refers to the lowering of volume for certain tracks in order to create space for another. This is useful for emphasising lead or vocal lines over a musical backing, and although GarageBand once had a dedicated ducking feature, it is now achieved using automation curves. Find out how, along with how to delete unwanted sections completely. Step-by-step Duck and delete specific audio tracks 1 Backing and vocals Typically you’ll…

Knowledge base Monophonic material The term monophonic means one note at once, so this technique only works on parts where only one note happens at a time, such as solo voice, flute, single-note guitar lines, bass parts or synth leads. This rules out complex keyboard parts or layered vocal harmonies where the melodic information would be too difficult to accurately separate into a MIDI region. Velocity response The velocity of each note in the generated MIDI part will be an approximation of the loudness of the notes in the original audio. Region transpose Depending on the instrument you choose to play the MIDI part, you may need to use the Transpose feature in the region inspector to shift your converted MIDI notes into the correct register. Show/hide flex With this…

The Mac is much more secure than other computers we could mention, but there are still harmful apps out there that should be avoided, adware that display irritating adverts so often it drives you nuts and browser hijackers that redirect web searches in Safari and can even change your homepage. Viruses are thankfully rare, but malware – the general term for anything harmful to your computer – is not. You need to protect your Mac by implementing the security tips outlined here, which are sure to keep you safe while using the internet. Much security advice is simply common sense, such as avoiding dubious websites, ignoring email scams and so on. Keep your wits about you and you will rarely have a problem. Trust in Apple The Mac App Store…

Knowledge base Ignore small files Gemini 2 can be set to ignore small files under a certain size. There is little space to gain from deleting them and it reduces the amount of files you have to browse and check when reviewing the files for deletion. Go to Preferences in Gemini and click the General tab. Select one of the file sizes from the menu, such as 1MB, or simply choose Automatic. Similar files At the top are exact duplicates, which are files that are identical. Here are similar files. They aren’t the same, but you might want to delete them anyway. An example is a resized photo. Browse the categories The scan results are organised into categories – what you see depends on the file found. Select each category…

Network problems can sometimes be difficult to solve and knowing where to start is certainly not easy. When you cannot access a website in Safari, is the website down? Is there a fault with your router or the Wi-Fi connection to the network? There are always several potential reasons for why such issues occur, so what you need is a way to discover exactly where the error lies. Network Utility can do just that. Problems can occur with several devices on your home or work Wi-Fi or LAN, and although this app cannot fix the faults themselves, you will know exactly what needs to be fixed in order to solve the issue. Step-by-step Get to know this OS X utility 1 Search for it Network Utility is a hidden app,…

If you’re serious about security, you’ll already know the purpose of a firewall. Put simply, it’s a gatekeeper between your Mac and the internet, controlling which applications your machine can accept incoming connections from. Some PC users may have to download a separate firewall application, but for Macs there’s one installed with every modern copy of OS X. Your Mac’s firewall is actually disabled when you first open its Preferences pane, but don’t worry, that’s simply because most modern wireless internet routers have their own firewalls already in place. Your Mac’s firewall is a great additional level of security, though, so follow the steps below to find out how to set it up. Step-by-step Set up your Mac’s firewall 1 Find the firewall You’ll find all the related options for…

1 Set the timer Go to System Preferences and click Desktop & Screen Saver. Select the Screen Saver tab and click Start after. Select a short time so that the screensaver activates soon after being inactive. 2 Set up Hot Corners Click Hot Corners, choose a corner and select Start Screen Saver. Now you can instantly start a screensaver, locking the Mac, by simply pushing the mouse into the selected screen corner.…

Camera+ £2.29/$2.99 Camera+ may be one of the oldest iPhone camera apps out there, but its feature set and originality is still way ahead of much of the competition. The huge range of features are almost endless. AfterFocus £0.79/$0.99 The eventual goal of phone cameras will be to rival DSLRs, but you can already create DSLRlike snaps with AfterFocus. The UI is sublime, making it incredibly easy to use, and the end results are fantastic. ProCamera £3.99/$4.99 If you want an app that includes every possible feature you could ever need, ProCamera is a decent option. Throw in live editing with 78 filters and effects and you have a do-it-all camera toolbox. Warmlight £1.49/$1.99 You could purchase a camera app and a separate photo editor, or you could buy Warmlight…

Live Wallpapers for Me Free It’s great fun to capture Live Photos and, with the iPhone SE fully supporting this feature, you can use them to spruce up your lock screen background. With Live Wallpapers for Me, you can download professional-quality animated images to use as your phone’s wallpaper, which come alive with a touch of the screen. You can download a lively new background every week, and all completely free too.…

1 See the world’s planes Upon opening, you’ll see planes local to you placed over a real-time map. Zoom in and tap any plane to see information appear at the bottom of the screen. 2 Get even more detail Tap the double arrow to view everything from current flight speed to altitude to exact flight times. The amount of information included is vast. 3 Experience the flight When you tap the 3D icon, you will see a real-time virtual display of the plane’s movements. It’s almost as if you are travelling on the plane – pretty cool!…

The Smart Keyboard is an innovative accessory that lets you manage high levels of data input with ease. When used with the right apps, it has the potential to replace your old laptop when working away from the office or home. We recommend Byword, which also allows you to sync your docs across your all devices. 1 Lose the keyboard When you are writing documents, the on-screen keyboard will cover the majority of your work. This doesn’t matter when you want maximum portability, but it can get in the way. 2 Get focused The large iPad screen and Smart Keyboard work perfectly with the minimalist apps that dominate the iPad app store. You can focus on exactly what you need to while working. 3 Work efficiently Markdown is fully supported…

Coding apps are surprisingly resource-hungry, but they are seen as the Holy Grail by those who want to use an iPad in place of a laptop. Coda is the app that these people have been waiting for, because it looks incredibly clean on an iPad Pro screen and takes full advantage of an attached Smart Keyboard. Potentially, apps like this mean that anyone can leave their laptop at home and work wherever and whenever they need to. It includes every feature that the serious coder needs to work on the move, including local and remote file management. Always hear the best The speakers on the iPad Pro automatically adjust when turned around, so that the high frequencies always come from the top. It highlights the level of care Apple put…

The new Wi-Fi and 4G antennas let data-hungry apps and games work quicker than ever before. This means that you will see a noticeable improvement in performance with the iPad Pro in many of the apps that you currently use. Amazon Video Free Amazon Video lets you stream movies and TV shows wherever you are and, because the data required is relatively large, the iPad Pro is well-placed to always ensure a seamless viewing experience. Spotify Music Free There is nothing worse that having to wait for a track to play, even for a few seconds, but Spotify Music will now stream every track instantly. It will feel as though the songs are stored on your iPad Pro. Dropbox Free You can thousands of files online using Dropbox, but the…

Now that the iPad Pro has the same camera as the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, there has never been a better time to start snapping on your tablet. This 12-megapixel marvel takes incredible photos and the new screen offers the highest saturation ever, so you’ll see the very best colours in your pictures. Of course that doesn’t mean you can’t take and edit amazing images if you have an older device. All iPads pack some impressive camera kit that means you’ll be able to shoot and edit quickly with the benefit of the larger screen. And VSCO is the perfect app to do it in – not only can you use the built-in camera to shoot, you can edit within the app itself and upload and store your photos…

Have you ever fancied producing your own game but always been put off by the need to learn a complex programming language? Well, luckily that’s where the GameSalad app can step in to simplify the process. Aimed at non-coders, it provides a drag-and-drop-based visual editor that you can use to create virtually any genre of game you please. It will still take hours of effort to pull off a true masterpiece, but the principles of development will take no time at all to fathom. We’re here to introduce you to the very basics of GameSalad, creating the most primitive of collect-‘em-ups that will hopefully give you enough confidence to explore further. Step-by-step Start making your first game 1 Begin a project Once opened, you’ll see a welcome window with an…

Knowledge base Create price alerts You can manually create alarms for more general purchases as well as individual apps. Tap the menu button and select Alerts. Tap Create own Price Alert and go down the list, choosing genres, release year, prices and so on. This way you’ll be notified of any media or apps fitting your selected criteria. My Deals You will be shown a snapshot of deals that you may be interested in under My Deals. Any that you add to your Wish List will also be shown here. Blog The CheapCharts blog should flag up some of the best bargains of the day as recommended by the app makers. It’s worth checking from time to time. Schedule notifications The Settings option lets you schedule your notifications. You can…

George Cairns comes editing, George our fountain of knowledge. Check out his tutorial on creating a cross-processed look in iMovie on page 26 and fall in love with its retro vibe. Roland Waddilove This month Roland has been delving deep into the depths of OS X, giving you guides to securing your Mac on page 40, and mastering Network Utility on page 46. Stephen Ashby As a iCreate , Stephen knows everything there is to know about Macs. That’s why we put him in charge of the Which Mac are you? feature on page 12. Facebook iCreateMagazine Twitter @iCreateMagazine Web icreatemagazine.com Email icreate@imagine-publishing.co.uk…

Making the most of iCloud is not as simple as setting up the service and letting it run in the background. Not all features are turned on by default, so you need to activate them to get them up and running. We’ve detailed how to activate three of iCloud’s lesser known features below, starting with iCloud Photo Sharing on your iPhone, before getting the iCloud Drive icon to show up on your iPad’s home screen and then deleting old backups with a Mac. 1 Turn on iCloud Photo Sharing iCloud Photo Sharing is one of iCloud’s best features, enabling you to create albums to share with other people or subscribe to other people’s shared albums. Here’s how to make sure you can see it as an option, and then activate…

Unlike soft clumps of analogue film grain, digital picture noise can be unsightly. You can only really see noise and fix it effectively if you zoom in for a closer look. Images shot using a high ISO speed are especially prone to noise, so it helps if you summon the photo’s metadata to see if it is likely to feature nasty picture noise. You can then work at 100% magnification to get a balance between smoothing noise while still preserving important detail. 1 Access metadata Choose Window>Info (or press Cmd+I) to open the Info panel. This features the camera settings used to capture each shot. The higher the ISO value, the more likely the shot is to suffer from noise. Browse to find a high ISO value shot. 2 Zoom…

While a vignette can be applied to add a stylish feel to your photographs, it can also be used in combination with other effects to make your shot feel older and nostalgic. Early cameras added vignettes by accident, simply because not enough light reached the corners of the paper, and now you can imitate this effect using the editing options within Photos to make your image look and feel like a classic. It’s far easier than you might think to get that retro look, and here’s how to go about it. 1 Drain the colour Use the Effects menu to quickly add a vintage feel to your image. The Process, Transfer and Instant filters all drain the colours in different ways, so select the one that works best for the…

All it takes is one glance at your social media feeds and you’re sure to be bombarded by a multitude of video clips all vying for your attention. Now that we have so much viewing choice, our own video productions need to catch and hold a viewer’s attention before something more interesting distracts them. One way to keep them engaged is to cut long, dull events into a montage of short, sharp shots using iMovie’s editing tools. This project’s source clips are statically framed, so we’ll add a greater variety of movement by splitting and re-timing some of the sections, adding jump cuts and inserting dynamic shots to make a more eye-catching and snappier sequence. Step-by-step Expand your editing techniques 1 Create new project Choose File>New Movie. In the Create…

The Arrangement Track can be as useful for structuring new songs as it is for quickly arranging pre-populated projects. For example, if you know you want to build a typical verse-chorus-verse composition over a set duration and span a certain amount of bars, the arrangement markers can form a guide to adding tracks. Conversely, rearranging songs using the arrangement markers is better performed and finalised before adding vocal lines or lead instrumentation that segue between each section. 1 Arrangement template By creating a series of arrangement markers first, you can define a typical song structure over a typical duration. From here a blank project can be built up around intro, verses, choruses and the like to fit those fundamental arrangement rules. 2 Seamless rearrangements Rearranging song sections quickly using markers…

Knowledge base Noise Gate plug-in Another related tool for automated signal volume control is GarageBand’s Noise Gate plug-in, found within the Smart Control Inspector panel. Applied by default, this behaves like a virtual gate that opens and closes to only allow out track signal noise beyond a certain decibel level. You control that threshold using the slider, and it’s an ideal alternative for gating out low-level track noise instead of simply ducking. Audio Editor The Editor panel provides a close-up on the corresponding track’s audio and makes the selection of portions for deletion more precise. Click and draw a highlight box on the underside of the track, then hit Delete to remove. Track automations To automatically apply volume changes or ‘ducks’ along the track timeline, we use volume automations. Show…

When documenting a live event it can be beneficial to film the action from at least two different angles and shot sizes, so that when it comes to the editing stage you can cut from a close-up of your subject to a wide shot, and back again. Traditionally this can take up a lot of editing time, as you need to ensure that the action flows continuously when you cut from one camera angle to another. To speed up the editing process, Final Cut Pro X enables you to combine the footage from your two cameras into a single Multicam clip. You can view both clips simultaneously in the Angle view and tap on a clip to cut to it. This lets you vision mix between the clips, so that…

Knowledge base Viruses and malware While Macs are far less likely to become infected by a virus than other computers, they are still vulnerable to a multitude of malware out there. You need to always remain vigilant when browsing, downloading files and receiving email, and only ever trust reputable sites and companies. Enable FileVault If someone gains access to your Mac, your files, personal information and more is at risk. FileVault prevents this by encrypting the disk. Enable it here. No automatic logins If you automatically log in to your account when your Mac is started, it allows anyone easy access. Disable it and your Mac will be more secure. Set a strong password You should make a password for your account to prevent other people from accessing your personal…

The MacBook’s trackpad and the Magic Trackpad accessory for iMacs are capable of recognising a variety of gestures, and it does more than just move the mouse and accept taps with one finger. You can use two, three or four fingers to scroll, move, and access several different features and functions, and a favourite gesture for many users is the three-finger drag. Position the mouse over the title bar of an app or window and then drag it around the screen using three fingers on the trackpad. It’s much easier than trying to click, hold and drag, which requires two hands. If you’ve found that three-finger gestures are no longer functioning on your device, which has been the case for a fair few people after the upgrade to El Capitan,…

Knowledge base IP addresses All network devices have an IP address, displayed as four numbers like 192.168.1.254. The router, which connects to the internet, has a public IP address assigned by your ISP. All the devices on your network, like Macs, iPhones and iPads, have private IP addresses that only you see. Network connection This menu lists the network connection methods including Wi-Fi and Ethernet. Select the relevant one to display the information below. More than one network interface may be active, so check them all. Your IP address If you ever need to know your IP address, it is displayed here. This is an internal private address used on the local network, and is not accessible to others via the internet. Send errors These transfer statistics show 59k packets…

Knowledge base Why open a port? It’s very rare that you’ll need to open a port for a specific application, particularly if it’s been signed and already has access to incoming connections. However, if you’re a developer or using custom software, for example, you may have to complete this manual step to ensure that the app you’re using can work properly. Always be sure to proceed with caution, though. Add an app To open a new firewall port for an app, click on the plus icon at the bottom of the list. This will load a Finder sheet in the Applications folder to choose the app you want to add. Unknown apps You may see some unusual names in your apps lists; it’s worth looking them up if you’re unsure…

TomTom GO Mobile Free Apple Maps is built in to the iPhone SE and is more than competent, but TomTom GO Mobile offers a huge range of features that let you navigate to absolutely anywhere. Real-time traffic, world maps, safety cameras, points of interest and advanced lane guidance are just some of the useful features, and it all works within a highly professional interface that is always easy to understand at a glance. Time to throw away your old sat nav system.…

1 View every bone When you open the app, you will see a familiar skeleton on the screen. You can zoom in and rotate it with your fingers, or tap a bone for more detailed info. 2 Select a bone Tap the bone you need and select Fade others to view it in detail. You can also hide all of the surrounding bones or tap the left arrow to draw a note next to it. 3 Tap for essential info Tap ‘i’ and a description will appear detailing which bones are attached to it and its purpose. You can also jump to surrounding bones using the thumbnails.…

Magic Piano by Smule Free Magic Piano takes a novel approach to 3D Touch by sensing the force of touch on the screen and reacting accordingly. The harder you press, the louder the note will be. PCalc £7.99/$9.99 A clever calculator app that has been recently improved even further with 3D Touch support. You can now press on the icon to immediately access frequently used options, and you can customise the shortcuts in seconds. Fallout Shelter Free Who says that 3D Touch should be exclusively used for apps? In Fallout Shelter the developer has embraced this feature by letting you open any of your saved vaults directly from the main icon. AutoCAD 360 Free It takes time to create CAD drawings and it’s common to be working on more than…

It’s only when you open the Living Earth app that you realise just how impressive the iPad Pro screen is. Not only does the app offer one of the most brilliant visual designs available, it also gives a huge amount of real-time information with just a couple of taps. From maps that display the current temperature, humidity and wind to weather forecasts and a world clock, there is a vast amount to explore and it’s all held within a sublime UI. It really is one of the very best iPad Pro apps you can buy.…

Google Play Music Free If the Apple Music UI is too crowded for you, Google Play Music also offers millions of tracks but in a more restrained interface that works well on the iPad Pro. Pocket Casts £2.99/$3.99 Good audio quality should not just be reserved for music. With Pocket Casts you can also enjoy immersive podcast audio that will draw you further into each episode. djay 2 £3.99/$4.99 A huge screen and four speakers make for a perfect virtual mixing setup and djay 2 sits at the heart of it. This app shows off the Pro’s excellent audio capabilities. Final Touch £14.99/$19.99 Final Touch is a professional recording studio that works on your iPad Pro, leveraging the wonderful audio quality in a variety of ways. It’s an excellent tool.…

AG Drive £2.99/$3.99 AG Drive can be enjoyed on any iOS device, but on the iPad Pro it is a truly immersive and frantic experience. This is a seriously quick game that benefits from the power of the iPad Pro, especially the large and pin-sharp screen. You will want to try this game on the ‘big’ iPad screen. Lumino City £3.99/$4.99 From a visual standpoint, Lumino City is truly breathtaking. It is a marvel to play on any device, but install it on an iPad Pro and we soon become lost for words. Amazing visuals, deep gameplay and a thoroughly original experience makes this a highly recommended addition to your app collection. Epic Zen Garden Free That certain something The visual effects can at times be hard to notice, but…

Knowledge base Image bank If you want a place to store all your favourite edited photos online, VSCO offers a great way to do it. You can create an account for free, and once you’ve uploaded your shots they are viewable within the app itself on any device you sign in to, as well as the VSCO website. You can then access them all wherever you are. Get inspired The Explore section is the place to go to get inspiration for your own work. It pulls together images from other users of VSCO, so you can see a whole range of different shots and styles all in one place. Follow people When you’re in the Explore section of the app, the photographer’s name will appear below each image in the…

Knowledge base Art and sound There are no art or music creation tools within GameSalad, but you can create them in an external package and then load them into your game. If your artistic or musical skills aren’t up to scratch, then click either Images or Sounds in an actor’s Library and select Purchase. You’ll be taken to the GameSalad Marketplace, which also sells templates and tools. The Library The Library is broken down into three sections: Behaviours, Images and Sound. Behaviours are actions that determine what happens when an event occurs in the game. They are dragged into the Rules for an actor. Publishing a game When you are ready to publish a game, GameSalad makes the process relatively straightforward, especially for titles you’re earmarking for HTML5. You willl…

RiutBag R10 £79.00/$114 www.riut.co.uk With no outer zipping, the RiutBag offers protection from theft by having all access to its content held firmly to your back; although once opened, like a smaller fabric suitcase, everything is on display. With two main compartments and a selection of smaller sections for storage, it will stash your kit, but your main compartment will feel a bit like a jumble sale when opened. In keeping with the security aspect, the RiutBag has small zip pouches in each strap, ideal for key storage, however, the spacing of the straps makes the bag feel as if it’s made for a much larger chest/shoulder diameter. STM Drifter £94.99/$139.95 www.stmbags.com Camo-coloured, explorer-inspired – the Drifter is the hold-all for your tech essentials. Looking like it would be more…

Urbanista Melbourne £59/$79 www.urbanista.com The first thing you’ll notice about the Urbanista Melbourne speaker is just how tiny it is. It’s virtually the same size as an iPhone 6s, just three or four times thicker, making it very pocketable and easy to sling in a bag. Design-wise, the Melbourne feels sturdy and the outer shell is splash proof – even if the flap that protects the micro-USB port does feel a little flimsy. Six hours battery life is pretty standard, but the sound it produces definitely isn’t – it may be small but it fills any room with crisp, loud sound. TarDisk Pear 2.0 128GB SSD £99/$149 tardisk.com Storage is one of our big bugbears when it comes to buying a MacBook, and it’s something that a lot of buyers…

01 Follow the instructions on screen to create an account with our secure FileSilo system. Log in and unlock the issue by answering a simple question about the magazine. You can access the content for free with your issue. 02 If you’re a print subscriber, unlock all the content by entering your unique Web ID. Your Web ID is the eight-digit alphanumeric code that is printed above your address details on the mailing label of your subscription copies. It can also be found on any renewal letters. 03 You can access FileSilo on any computer, tablet or smartphone device using any popular browser (such as Safari, Firefox or Google Chrome). However, we recommend that you use a computer to download content, as you may not be able to download files…

Power of three The Mac Pro uses a unique triangular design under that metal casing, which allows air to be pulled up through the centre of the machine and out of the top to keep the internals cool. This desktop line has always been aimed squarely at professionals. A Mac Pro is the Mac that movie studios would use to edit their Hollywood blockbusters, or music producers would choose to mix their next number one. The latest model is incredibly powerful – it goes far beyond what the iMac can offer, and metaphorically laughs in the faces of the laptop line and Mac mini. And, of course, it has a price point to match – with upgrades you can push up the total price to almost £8 000/$9 800. Not…

Your photographs may look great when viewed on your iPhone’s screen, however your device’s relatively small display isn’t the most effective place to indulge in some quality control, even if you can zoom in for a closer look by simply pinching. What may look nice and sharp on a phone’s display may turn out to be soft when viewed in Photos. The Zoom tool enables you to view a photograph’s pixels at actual size, and this is the only way that you can actually tell if they are indeed sharp or soft. It’s also important to fix pictures at full magnification, so that you can avoid over or under-sharpening, and the Zoom tool can also help you to spot and fix problems such as excessive noise. Step-by-step Master the Zoom…

Encouraging the viewer’s eyes to be drawn to the focal point of your image can be a tough task for a photographer. It’s vital to frame the photo in such a way so that the subject of your shot is the first thing your viewer is drawn to, but there are many ways to achieve this outside of framing too. Of course you can crop your photo to get your subject in exactly the right spot, but you can also add a vignette effect to draw the eye towards the middle of your shot. Combine this with some first-class framing and you’ll have an image that says exactly what you want it to say. Here’s how to add a vignette effect to a photograph using nothing but your Mac’s Photos…

If you’re after a way to make your video footage more striking, one technique is to tweak its colours to give it a more analogue, filmic look. This can be achieved by mimicking the surreal shifts in colour hue that were produced when film was developed using the wrong mix of chemicals in the darkroom. iMovie does have a Vintage clip filter that’s designed to recreate this cross-processed look, but the colours it creates are a little garish and it also makes your filtered clips look noticeably similar to those produced by other iMovie users. You can’t directly adjust the properties of an iMovie filter, but by combining it with other colour correction tools and editing in layers, you can refine the look to instead create something unique. Step-by-step Combine…

Knowledge base Tighten it up Once you’ve inserted clips into the timeline or connected them as separate cutaway layers, feel free to split and trim some clips to give them a shorter duration. This helps the action flow more quickly and lets you cut to more interesting events. Check out our Edited Movie file to see a tighter version of the project. No time to waste After splitting a clip into chunks you can speed up the action by accessing the Speed Editor. Drag the control handle left to speed up a clip so the action unfolds more quickly. Make a connection Instead of inserting clips directly into the timeline you can use the Connect command to add them on a separate cutaway layer. You can then drag the contents…

Knowledge base Locked tracks and automations Once your arrangement markers are positioned, they not only label the song sections but also enable collective project edits to associated tracks. This includes actions such as moving, copying and deletion as described, but it’s worth noting that these edits cannot happen if the associated tracks are currently locked. Remember also that any arrangement edits also include track automation curves. Arrangement Track Once shown, the arrangement track itself doesn’t look or behave like any other track and is positioned below the timeline along the top of the Tracks area. It almost functions like an x-axis header row for defining track regions below. Show the track The Arrangement Track is not shown within new projects by default, similar to the Master Track. To work with…

Ever had a recording where the performance is great but the poor-quality sound simply ruins it? How cool would it be to either replace this part as a whole or enhance its sound with a second, MIDI-generated part? And what if you could even use the generated MIDI data to display a score for another musician to re-record a new part from? Well, you’re in luck, as Logic Pro X has two different solutions for producing MIDI parts from recorded audio. One is its drum replacement feature which works best for unpitched, rhythmic source material, but the one we’re going to be illustrating here involves using Flex Pitch to analyse monophonic melodic material and generate MIDI data from it. Step-by-step Convert audio regions to MIDI 1 Import source material To…

Knowledge base Vision mixer The Multicam technique simulates the work performed by a vision mixer. This is a box that takes the live video feed from two cameras on location and sends it to a separate video recorder. The vision mixer’s operator can tap buttons to cut between the two cameras (a wide shot and a close-up, for example) and edit the programme live. Multicam clip In the browser we have two source clips of the same action – a wide shot and a close-up. We also have a Multicam clip that is a combination of both the wide and close source clips. This icon indicates that this is a Multicam clip, meaning it has two camera angles embedded in it. Angle view Once you’ve combined the two shots you…

No matter how organised you keep the disk drive contents, it’s still highly likely that you will have many duplicate files occupying valuable disk space and unnecessarily adding to the clutter. When you need a file, you may not even know whether you are looking at the latest version or an older copy. Gemini was a popular app on the Mac App Store that helped to solve this predicament, finding file duplicates stored in different places on the disk. Now Gemini 2 has arrived, and with its new interface it is even better at tracking down devious doppelgängers. Our step-by-step guide details how to clean up your Mac’s disk drive using this very useful app. Step-by-step Track down and delete duplicates 1 Start over You’ll see this screen when running…

1 Access Mission Control Do you make heavy use of Mission Control? Make it easier to access by ticking the option and then selecting ‘Swipe up with three fingers’. The animation will demonstrate how it works. 2 Use App Exposé App Exposé is another great feature of OS X, helping you to declutter your desktop, and it is easily accessed with a three-finger swipe. Tick the option and select ‘Swipe down with three fingers’.…

Network Utility is one of several secret utilities that are hidden on the Mac’s disk drive. There is another utility, Wireless Diagnostics, that can be useful for tracking down many network problems, so try running it if you are struggling with intermittent Wi-Fi or a slow network. The report it saves to the desktop is very technical and a challenge to understand, but the app does display some useful tips and advice on the screen afterwards. 1 Find the tools Click Computer on the Go menu and open the Mac’s disk drive. Open the System folder, followed by Library>CoreServices>Applications. Here is a collection of secret utilities, including Network Utility and Wireless Diagnostics. 2 View the summary Wireless Diagnostics checks the Wi-Fi network and saves a report to the desktop. Ignore…

Step away from your Mac for a few moments and you leave it easily accessible to absolutely anyone. Others could view your personal information, delete files, change important settings, access websites and a lot more besides. Adding a password to your screensaver can protect your Mac, because as soon as someone touches the keyboard or moves the mouse, it prompts for a password. You can even start the screensaver yourself – one quick mouse movement and your Mac is locked, allowing you to walk away with the knowledge that your personal information is as safe as houses. Perfect for use at work or if you live with others who you don’t trust to respect your privacy! Step-by-step Set the screensaver password 1 Open System Preferences From the Apple menu in…

Manual – Custom exposure camera £2.29/$2.99 When you have great quality camera hardware, it makes sense to gain as much control as possible over the features that are available. With the Manual app, you gain independent control over focus, white balance, the ISO and shutter, alongside a bundle of additional features. From a live histogram to a delayed shutter for long exposures, this app could easily replace the default camera app on your iPhone SE – it’s just as easy to use, too. Your iPhone photos are about to look better than they ever have before. Tap and view The preview mode of your potential photo is excellent, and you can still tap anywhere on screen to change the focal point of the shot. Near-perfect focus Make sure AF (auto-focus)…

iMovie £3.99/$4.99 Capturing 4K video on the iPhone SE is a mightily impressive feature, and one that means you will never need a dedicated camera ever again. You can now edit these moments in iMovie directly on your device itself, which historically would have required high-end desktop computers. iMovie is incredibly efficient and easy to get your head around, allowing you to edit your 4K clips in a multitude of ways, with the end results being simply amazing.…

Modern Combat 5: Blackout Free It’s far from easy for a mobile game to offer a console-quality experience, but Modern Combat 5 succeeds in doing just that. Even on the relatively small iPhone SE screen, the action is engaging, immersive and at times extremely complex. It’s a very powerful game, and one which would test the resources of most phones, but remains no problem for the iPhone SE with its A9 chip in-situ that can keep you playing for as long as you like. Compulsive in almost every way, your biggest challenge will be to put this game down. Track movements An M9 motion coprocessor is built in to the iPhone SE, which means that you can track your steps and distance moved over time. Even better, it has a…

Customise the app There are a few handy settings for you to customise within the app. We all draw and paint differently, and the developers of Procreate have understood this need. No extra touches Palm detection is used to ensure that only the Apple Pencil touches the screen where you want it to. A simple but very useful solution for serious artists. Analog or digital? If you have the talent, the Apple Pencil in Procreate can help you to produce images that do not look digitally created at all. It’s an artist’s dream setup. The right tools Procreate provides a huge variety of tools so that you will always be able to create new images just how you want to. Draw, paint and sketch Procreate takes advantage of Apple Pencil’s…

1 Separate the parts You can tweak and improve every individual element of an image so that your work is focused on the key area at hand. Pixelmator makes each part of the image as clear as day. 2 Touch to tweak The on-screen controls are designed to make complex changes feel as natural as possible, giving you endless opportunities to experiment with any potential changes. 3 Change the focus The iPad Pro screen helps you to see the whole picture; you can change the focus and immediately see how your tweaks affect the entire image. It’s visually brilliant.…

Molecules by Theodore Gray £10.49/$13.99 Understanding how the major elements are bonded together doesn’t exactly sound like a fascinating subject, but if you have to learn it or are simply curious, this app will bring the subject to life. It uses the power of the iPad Pro chip to push everything along smoothly, and it also lets you interact with each element on-screen in an incredibly natural way. The content is varied and deep, but the presentation and UI remain by far the stand-out features in an app that really harnesses the power of the iPad Pro.…

Visage makeup Free The FaceTime HD camera is so good that it will show every single blemish, which is both a good and bad thing! Well, now you can fix everything with this app. LINE Camera Free This app offers a variety of ways to edit your selfie shots so that you can make them as original as possible. A great addition to the FaceTime HD camera. Flipagram Free Flipagram designed let you tell your story, and what better way to do so than to capture yourself using the FaceTime HD camera? It’s a fun app with a variety of features. Boomerang from Instagram Free This app turns your selfie shot into ten photos that can then be shared as a very short video. It’s fun, convenient and very expressive.…

Being able to receive notifications from various apps has long been a vital feature within iOS, but it has not been without fault. Instead of being displayed in the Notification Centre in the order in which they arrived, notifications have been grouped by app, making it difficult to work out which was the most recent. This issue came to the fore with the advent of Touch ID, where pressing the Home button unlocked the device straight away, giving you barely any time to register the latest on-screen notifications. But with iOS 9, this problem has been resolved. No longer do you need to go down the list to spot new arrivals, and you can now sort your notifications based on time. Step-by-step Switch to time-based sorting 1 Alter your settings…

From time to time, app and entertainment companies like to promote their creative wares with a promotional price-drop. But unless you’ve constantly got your eye on the App Store or iTunes, the chances of you coming across them in time is remote. That’s where CheapCharts comes in handy to automatically track the apps that best suit you. It’s a free, easy-to-use app that lets you keep track of price trends and set relevant alerts. It enables you to be as specific or general as you wish with your preferences, not only showcasing bargain apps that you have your eye on but highlighting lots that you may not. You may never have to pay full price again. Step-by-step Find the best bargain apps 1 Select the media By tapping the menu…

AirPort Express Release date June 7th, 2004 • 802.11b/g • 10/100 Ethernet WAN or LAN port • Analog/digital audio output jack • USB Printer Port Original price £99/$129 Price now £79/$99 The AirPort Express is Apple’s lightweight router and Wi-Fi base station designed for home entertainment such as music sharing. The term AirPort simply means Wi-Fi – Apple coined the phrase back in 1999 and has confusingly stuck with it ever since, despite Wi-Fi now being a well-known term. The first generation was released in 2004 and was compatible with the 802.11g wireless standard, and included a Broadcom chipset and a Texas Instruments digital-to-analog converter. The AirPort Express was the first AirPlay device to receive streamed audio from a computer on a local network. Its big brother, the AirPort Extreme,…