Innehållsförteckning för January 2018 från MacLife

TEN YEARS AGO,when the iPhone had just launched and many of us were still carrying iPods, Apple was far from anything you could call “the largest company in tech.” Today, by measures such as market cap, Apple is the most successful company in the world. While this might be largely attributable to the success of the iPhone and iPad, the Mac is still core to Apple and its customers. But is it still unique and relevant enough to the broader industry? The answer might not be as straightforward as you think. I’m not going to compare specs or toss out a storm of confusing acronyms. But in the big picture, the personal computing landscape has changed dramatically over just the past decade. Much of our file storage and collaboration has…

“DO NOT INSTALLthat game,” my friend ordered, when I told him there was a new Final Fantasy game. “If you feel the urge, throw your phone into traffic. It will be cheaper than getting hooked.” I thought this was hyperbole. It’s not. I have been gaming since 1985, and Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire is the most aggressively monetized game I’ve ever seen. If you’re reading this and asking “how bad can it be?” I urge you: Do not risk installing it to find out. You might know the developer behind A New Empire from the uncomfortably sexualized television ads for Game of War starring Kate Upton. In the 2015 Super Bowl, Upton is sitting in a bathtub for no discernible reason, then puts on a bustier armor and…

EXPLAINED Make the most of iCloud A ICLOUD SYNC If you use iCloud, documents and other data can be synchronized across your Mac and iOS devices, avoiding duplication or copies of files at various stages of completion. B SHARE DESKTOP & DOCUMENTS Opt to store your Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud Drive, and they’ll be accessible and kept in sync across Macs with Sierra or later, iCloud Drive in iOS 10, and Files in iOS 11, if signed in to your iCloud account. C OPTIMIZE In iCloud Drive’s prefs, turn on Optimize Mac Storage. If space is low, your Mac works out what you’re unlikely to use soon and turns the local copy into a link that redownloads the file from iCloud if needed. Be wary of any files…

EXPLAINED Breaking down storage information A VISIT SETTINGS Go to Settings > General > iPhone/iPad Storage and you’ll see something similar to the image shown above. Be mindful that it can take a short while for the entire page to fully load. B BREAK IT DOWN At the top of the page, you’ll see your device’s maximum storage, and what types of media are currently eating up space. This feedback gives you a good starting point when it comes to pruning. C OFFLOAD APPS As of iOS 11, your iOS device can automatically offload apps and games when storage is low. This can free up space, and you don’t lose anything — simply tap an app’s Home screen icon to redownload it; its docs and data will still be present.…

Pinching the canvas zooms and rotates it, so you can paint from any angle. Flick-pinch to pop it back to full-screen size. This version integrates iOS 11’s new file system, so you can drag pictures and more to and from iCloud or elsewhere. Every session is automatically recorded, and you can save a time-lapse video from the Actions menu at any time. You can set the top toolbar and brush size controls (left) to hide themselves when you brush near them.…

Free (IAPs) FromBenjamin Mayo, visualcod.es Made foriPhone iPad NeedsiOS 11.0 or later After years of ignoring QR codes, iOS 11 finally supports them: Open the Camera app, point it at one of these square pixellated barcodes wherever you see it, and an alert pops up offering the action or information contained in it. Most commonly QR codes will take you to a website, but they can also be used to send you to a location in Maps, add an entry to Contacts, and more. One handy idea is to use a QR code to log into a Wi-Fi network, saving you the trouble of typing the username and password. But how do you create your own QR codes? Visual Codes makes it easy: Tap Add Code, then enter the URL,…

$0.99 FromNam Kennic, namkennic.com Made ForiPhone, Watch NeedsiOS 11.0 or later ARKit has done wonders for making Augmented Reality mainstream, enabling developers to come up with many clever iOS 11 apps. One of the more curious is AirRuler, which turns your iPhone into a virtual ruler to measure length, height, or distance. In practice, AirRuler isn’t all that accurate. There are two different modes: One for smaller objects where the user aims the camera at two points, and another best suited to measuring height or distance. AirRuler supports watchOS, turning the Apple Watch into a digital readout as measurements are made. That may not sound like much, but it makes the process easier, since you can see the results as measurements are taken without the graphics getting in the way.…

TOUGH TESTING, TRUSTED RATINGS From $999 FromApple, apple.com Features5.8-inch Super Retina HD display with True Tone, Face ID, A11 Bionic chip, 12MP camera, wireless charging (charging pad not included) Mac|Life EDITORS’ CHOICE This is the biggest shake-up in the market since Apple’s original iPhone defined the smartphone a decade ago. It also seems risky, axing reliable key elements such as the Home button and Touch ID, instead introducing new methods of navigating and unlocking — and charging a lot more for the privilege: The iPhone X costs $999 for the basic 64GB model, and an eye-watering $1,149 for the 256GB version. So what does your money buy you? The 5.8-inch OLED display is leaps ahead of the screen in the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus for many reasons: the sharpness,…

Free Cutting ties with cable or satellite companies might be easy on the wallet, but it does come with compromises. Case in point: Launching multiple apps to watch favorite TV shows. Disney has now eliminated one such headache by combining the former Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, and Radio Disney apps into one. The rebranded shingle provides everything a kid aged two to 14 could ever want, complete with full episodes of your favorite shows, a personalized experience, original movies, games, and more. You’ll still need a verified subscription to access live or on-demand content. Otherwise, Disney has done a good job, and there are parental controls too.…

WHAT’S THE BEST PROTECTION FROM MUD FOR AN IPHONE? A sealed case cover, such as the Griffin Survivor Extreme, seals controls and ports and provides water resistance. Mud is often quite abrasive, so inspect the case when in use. When it’s soiled, rinse the case clean and use an old soft toothbrush to gently remove debris. HOW CAN I EXTEND BATTERY LIFE IN PATCHY COVERAGE? In areas with patchy coverage, searching for a signal is a substantial drain on your iPhone’s battery. Low Power Mode does little to help, though. The only way to get better battery life is to switch on Airplane mode until you’re back in better cellular reception conditions. HOW DO I GET MY MAC TO REMEMBER ITS VOLUME SETTING? If your Mac is forgetting its sound…

REQUIRES OCRTOOLS, OS X 10.6.6 or later YOU WILL LEARN How to take a document that’s been digitized as an image and turn it into editable text, and optionally translate its contents, too IT WILL TAKE 15 minutes YOU MAY STILLhave a wealth of documents that are not easily available in digital form. Perhaps you have old newspaper cuttings related to your family, recipes you’ve collected from magazines over the years, or a thesis from your college years that’s now available to you only as ink on paper. We do so much with digital text today that it feels strange to use anything else, but there’s an easy-touse and efficient app called OCRTOOLS that enables you take scanned versions of documents and automatically convert them into easy-to-edit digital text on…

REQUIRES iPhone, plus (optionally) Hiya or another caller ID lookup/blocking app YOU WILL LEARN How to have Siri announce caller names, depending on whether you’re in a car, using headphones, or just using your phone IT WILL TAKE 5 minutes SIRI DOES MUCHmore than simply answer your queries and tell you jokes. It can also be used to announce who is trying to contact you, interrupting an incoming call’s ringtone for a brief moment to tell you the caller’s name. You can assign different ringtones to your contacts instead, of course, but that requires more effort on your part to ensure each person’s ringtone is set to something that identifies them uniquely, or at least their connection to you. As well as being useful if you have vision problems, having…

WE’VE FINALLY GOTour hands on the iPhone X, and you’ll find our review of Apple’s cutting-edge smartphone in this issue. I have to agree with Gareth Beavis, our reviewer, that it’s a stunning piece of tech — though it’s unarguably expensive, which might stop many people buying it. Don’t worry, because the great tech that’s packed into the iPhone X is sure to filter down to more affordable models in Apple’s smartphone lineup over the next few years. I’ve used a Plus-size iPhone for three years, and found the practicalities of its larger screen have outweighed any concerns of unwieldiness for me. The Plus isn’t for everyone, though, and I expect the iPhone X will prove popular with people who want a very large phone display in a leaner package.…

TWO BELGIAN RESEARCHERShave published details of a serious flaw in the WPA2 protocol, which helps keep Wi-Fi networks secure. Mathy Vanhoef and Frank Piessens of the Katholieke Universiteit Levuen in Belgium say the vulnerability makes it easy for hackers to steal passwords, read the content of emails, intercept bank details, or even insert ransomware and other malicious content into TCP packet streams — and no network is safe without being patched. To prove the point, Vanhoef and Piessens produced a proof-ofconcept code called KRACK (Key Reinstallation AttaCK), which is able to exploit the four-way handshake used between client devices (such as your iPhone or Mac) and the WPA2-protected Wi-Fi network they’re connected to. The researchers even set up a website at krackattacks.com, which explains the WPA2 flaw in more detail.…

A WHOLE NEWway to interact with products in Apple Stores may be coming sooner than you think, thanks to some clever tech revealed in a patent application submitted by Apple to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and spotted by the Patently Apple website. The application, filed in Q2 2016, describes the use of Force Touch technology in a displaytopped table, which can interact with any iOS device connected to it — pressing on the screen on an iPhone, for example, will cause the table to respond with sound and graphics. And the idea isn’t as far-fetched as it might sound. Two years ago, Apple actually installed two prototype Force Touch tables in its flagship San Francisco and New York stores, the aim being to show off the 3D…

THE SOLUTIONS WE’VElooked at so far for decluttering and cleaning your Mac have been fairly minor — the rough equivalent of a bit of dusting, or trashing old boxes that have been stacked in a corner for way too long. But there’s a more extreme option — the decluttering equivalent of “nuke it from orbit.” We’ll now explore this course of action, which starts with beginning afresh, reverting your Mac to the equivalent of factory settings. After that, you’ll gradually build it back up to a workable state, restoring your documents, media, and apps. STARTING AGAIN Although there’s a sense of busywork when peering into your Mac with GrandPerspective, starting from scratch is serious hard work. You can’t expect to finish a complete Mac refresh in an odd half-hour. Instead,…

Free FromAppzCreative, appzcreative.com Made ForiPhone, iPad, Watch NeedsiOS 8.0 or later If you’re interested in a mortgage, new car, or other bank loan, a standard calculator will only get you so far — especially when estimating monthly installments. Better known in the banking industry as “EMI,” this is the amount of your principal plus interest, amortized over the loan term. Although an App Store search turns up several items with the name “EMI Calculator,” this particular one caught our eye because it’s free and includes support for Apple Watch. It’s also surprisingly adept at tackling the basics and has a straightforward interface. Calculations can be done in four ways: By EMI, amount, percentage rate, or period. Although this kind of math isn’t something you’ll do every day, it’s cool to…

1ELGATO EVE DEGREE $69.95 elgato.com Ideal if you’re renting or don’t want your thermostat to be permanently fixed to a wall, the Eve Degree is a battery-powered device that’s great for controlling temperature and humidity in your home. Compatible with Apple HomeKit, it uses Bluetooth Low Energy tech and is beautiful to look at and easy to use. 2HONEYWELL LYRIC T5 $149.95 honeywell.com Honeywell’s Lyric thermostat takes pride of place on the Apple Store, and its HomeKit support makes it a good option for iPhone users. The price doesn’t include installation, however, so you’ll need to find a local electrician or HVAC engineer to install it for you. 3NEST LEARNING THERMOSTAT $249 store.nest.com There’s no HomeKit support, sadly, but the Learning Thermostat from Google’s Nest will earn its keep. It’s…

Free (requires Core Edition) Games like Jenga don’t typically translate well to digital, but this game combines real-world physical pieces with a virtual Pokémonstyle component designed for between one and five players. Beasts of Balance challenges you to build balancing towers and fabulous worlds using all of the skill, strategy, and creativity you can muster. Although the game works just fine on iPhone and iPad, Beasts of Balance is ideal for Apple TV. The app is free, but a $99 Core Edition is required, which includes 24 sculpted pieces called “Artefacts” that players stack on a special sensing platform known as the Plinth of Life. When a player touches an Artefact to the platform, it appears on screen, turning into an amazing beast that lives in a digital world. There…

SAMSUNG UN49MU7000FXZA $799.99 • SAMSUNG.COM Not every room in the house deserves a top-of-the-line TV, and this 49-inch 2017 model hits the sweet spot with bright, colorful HDR in an affordable, space-saving design. The trade-off is no Dolby Vision support, but for a playroom or guest room, this one provides an all-around quality picture on a budget. NYRIUS ARIES PRO $249.99 • NYRIUS.COM If your TV and Apple TV have to be placed far apart, this wireless HDMI transmitter and receiver combo will reunite them, no cables required. Think of it as an invisible HDMI cable, although this 3D-capable hardware is best paired with older Apple TV models, since 1080p HD is the maximum resolution available.…

HOW TO DO ANYTHING ON YOUR MAC, iPHONE & iPAD REQUIRES Photoshop CC, and a picture to recompose YOU WILL LEARN What Content-Aware Fill is and how best to use it IT WILL TAKE 30 minutes GENIUS TIP When cropping an image, consider cycling through Photoshop’s composition guides — select the Crop tool and hit O (the letter) — for composition ideas. IT USED TObe that cropping an image went only one way — smaller. Cropping in to an image usually means making the subject of your shot bigger, and discarding pixels around the edge of the frame. This is useful; not only does it mean you can draw attention to your subject, which is helpful if it’s small, but you can also reposition it in the frame if it’s…

REQUIRES An iOS device, iTunes, and iBetterCharge YOU WILL LEARN How to use a tool on your Mac to be notified of low batteries on iOS devices over your network IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes HOW OFTEN DOESthis happen in your life: you’re rushing out somewhere and grab your iPhone to take with you, but discover it is down to 20% charge. Or maybe the niggling situation for you is when you sit down to watch Netflix on your iPad only to find the battery is about to run out. It’s frustrating when you need to use an iOS device and realize its battery needs charging. One solution to this is to monitor the charge on your Mac. iBetterCharge is a free tool that shows the battery level of your…

I am long retired from a PC-centric work world, but my genealogical work requires that I gather a great amount of information from the internet, with which I make PDF, JPEG, TIFF, DOCX, and other files to share with people who may use a PC. If I were to purchase a new MacBook with a flash drive that was formatted with APFS, would others with a PC be able to read these files when I create them on my computer and send them to theirs? BILL HOYT It’s good news, Bill. The introduction of APFS (Apple File System) as the default file system on SSD drives in High Sierra means under-the-hood changes to the way your files are stored and organized on your drives — and in turn how many…

GOOGLE ENGINEER FELIXKrause has detailed a vulnerability in iOS that means any app with permission to use the camera on your iPhone or iPad can secretly film you or take pictures of you — whether you are aware of it or not. The problem stems from the fact that once you give an app permission to access your camera, it can do so at any time provided that it’s in the foreground… and Krause has created a demo social networking app called watch.user, which does exactly that, to show how the potential exploit works. Talking about the issue on his website at krausefx.com, Krause says: “iOS users often grant camera access to an app soon after they download it (e.g., to add an avatar or send a photo). These apps,…

MOORE’S LAW, WHICHstates that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (typically a processor) will double every two years, is no longer true — or so says Morris Chang, CEO of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which makes Apple’s A11 Bionic chip for the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X. Chang made the comment at a technology forum to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary, stating that while transistor density will continue to increase, it won’t increase at the same rate as it has until now — and that the year 2025 will be a major challenge. Some kind of slowdown seems inevitable. Recent CPU updates from Intel, such as Kaby Lake, have focused more on energy efficiency than pure processing grunt, and Intel is struggling to move to…

EXPLAINED Finding a clearer perspective A SCAN YOUR DRIVE Prettier apps exist to examine your Mac, but few are more usable than GrandPerspective (Free, grandperspectiv.sourceforge.net). Go to File > Scan Folder to scan your Mac’s entire drive and give you a graphical overview. B SELECT ITEMS Click an item to highlight it. You’ll also see how it sits within any group of associated files (such as Applications, or tracks in iTunes). The Focus buttons (top left) move the selection up and down the hierarchy. C VIEW ITEM DETAILS Whatever the selection you make, the path to the item will be shown in the status bar at the foot of the GrandPerspective window — along with the crucial value that tells you how much space it is taking up. D PERFORM…

EXPLAINED Automate your Mac’s clean-up routine A INSTALL HAZEL Hazel ($32, noodlesoft.com) is an app that can automate your ongoing maintenance, using rules you set up. It monitors folders for you and performs specified actions. B START DEFINING YOUR RULES Open System Preferences > Hazel and add a folder to watch using the Folder pane’s Plus button. Then create rules for that folder, adding each using the Plus button beneath the Rules pane. You can have duplicate files or broken downloads trashed automatically, for example. C BUILD ACTIONS If you’ve ever created a playlist in iTunes, the steps for creating rules are similar here. You define conditions that trigger actions when any, all, or none of the conditions are met. Use the Preview button to test a rule. D REMOVE…

THIS MONTH’S MOST INTERESTING iPHONE & iPAD APPS $9.99 FromSavage Interactive, procreate.art Made foriPad Air, iPad mini 2 or later NeedsiOS 11.0 or later Procreate was one of the first apps to take full creative advantage of the iPad, and this fourth version confirms it’s still ahead of its rivals. It’s aimed squarely at artists — whether dabblers or full-time professionals — both for finished artwork and visualization, where a scene or character is roughed out. So you can get results quickly, but you also have the depth and precision to produce polished work if you wish. This is a big update, with changes both above and below the surface. The neat interface is more streamlined than ever, with everything clearly and logically laid out in drop-down panels accessed from…

$4.99 Fromreturn7, return7.com Made foriPhone, iPad NeedsiOS 10.3 or later When it comes to staying on top of payments, BillMinder does the job better than most — or it did, until regular updates stopped coming in early 2013, suggesting the app had been abandoned. Thankfully it has not been, and here’s a new version with a cleaner interface, which nicely complements iOS 11. It’s a good news/bad news scenario, however: BillMinder 4 is a completely new app, with no free upgrade for users of the previous version. That said, the $4.99 price tag is reasonable, especially considering the app is now universal and works equally well on iPhone and iPad. You can get up to speed pretty quickly by logging into your account and syncing data from the previous version,…

APPS AND GUIDES TO GET MORE FROM YOUR WATCH Free FromSamiroy, samiroy.com MADE FORiPhone, Watch NeedsiOS 10.0 or later Apple Watch games are something of a mixed bag. Most tend to be a fun diversion when you have a few minutes to spare, but are otherwise a pretty forgettable experience. Endless Traffic makes an admirable attempt at porting an addictive old-school arcade classic to watchOS, but that effort is mostly for naught. You’ve played this one before: An endless stream of traffic converges on a busy intersection, and it’s up to you to avoid a crash by safely directing automobiles along the safest route. The graphics are a big improvement over the eight-bit retro editions this game was inspired by, and the iPhone takes great advantage of haptic feedback and…

1 CONTROL CENTER watchOS 4 introduces a handy new Flashlight mode, which can be found by swiping up from the bottom of the Watch screen to summon Control Center. 2 LIGHT IT UP Tap the Flashlight icon on the right to illuminate the entire display with white at maximum brightness. Swipe down or press the Digital Crown to dismiss it. 3 THREE MODES But wait, there’s more! Swipe left once while Flashlight is active to quickly flash between white and black, or twice to enable red safety mode for runners.…

THE PHIN HOUSEHOLDis locked in disagreement over which Amazon Dash Buttons to order. Obviously the correct answer is “all of them,” but once again we are thwarted by the threat of losing our rental deposit, figuring that covering every flat surface in Wi-Fienabled online ordering buttons probably isn’t wise. I am lobbying hard for hardcore home essentials buttons. Imagine a world where we never run out of laundry detergent or toilet paper or Pop Tarts! Meanwhile my husband has weird concerns over the brands available — should we commit to Listerine mouthwash? Will our weekend slow-brew artisan coffee ritual turn into an environmentally-inadvisable Cinnabon-flavoured Keurig frenzy through sheer ease of availability? Are we the sort of family that publicly acknowledges its over-consumption of Goldfish Crackers? The answer to that one,…

Free It’s never been easier to make animated GIF videos, but being able to watch them on the big screen remains a challenge. That all changes with Momento. Although it sadly lacks the customization niceties of the iOS app, the tvOS edition is about as easy to use as it gets. Allow the app to access your iCloud Photo Library, and a grid of thumbnails pops up, already animated and ready to view with a click of the Siri Remote. Momento works automatically when there are multiple still photos taken around the same time, as well as with videos in your library. There’s a short delay as files are downloaded but GIFs play automatically and then advance to the next one after a few seconds of playback.…

REQUIRES Be Focused, OS X 10.9 or later YOU WILL LEARN How to get into a better pattern of work and rest with the help of a neat little menu bar utility IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes BE FOCUSEDis a free app from the Mac App Store that helps you stay focused on the work and personal tasks you do on your Mac. Whether you’re writing a report for work, updating your blog, browsing the web, or doing something else, the app tracks the time you spend on each task. The app uses the Pomodoro technique, a method that’s used to focus on tasks and avoid distractions, dividing your time into work and rest periods. A timer is started and you work until it counts down to zero, when an…

REQUIRES Picniic and a free account YOU WILL LEARN What Picniic has to offer to help keep your family organized and informed of what’s going on IT WILL TAKE 15 minutes EVERY BASE COVERED Shopping lists can be created and edited as a group, to-dos allocated to individual family members, and real-time location tracking lets you keep an eye on your kids. These and Picniic’s other features can make family life run more smoothly. WHEN ANY GROUPof people is involved there are bound to be times when appointments get missed, tasks fail to get completed, and not everyone knows what is happening all of the time – and families are no different. Picniic is a handy method of automating a lot of the communication that family life involves. You tell…

REQUIRES eBay app and account YOU WILL LEARN How to configure eBay to send you notifications of items when they appear on the auction site IT WILL TAKE 5 minutes JARGON BUSTER A notification on iOS can take several forms. It can be a number badge on an app’s icon, a sound effect, a banner that appears at the top of the screen, or an item listed on the Lock screen. All but the first are effective for staying up-to-date with the eBay auctions you’re watching. EBAY PROVIDES Aglobal marketplace for anyone in almost any field to sell items to like-minded enthusiasts, and makes it easy to find what you want with a simple search. Maybe you’re restoring an old car, bike, or instrument and need one final vintage component…

REQUIRES iOS 11. Some features exist on older versions of iOS, too. YOU WILL LEARN How the accessibility features in iOS 11 can improve your iPhone and iPad experience. IT WILL TAKE 30 minutes MODERN ACCESSIBILITY’S AIM IS TO CATER FOR EVERYONE, WHATEVER THEIR NEEDS ACCESSIBILITY IS SOMETHINGmany people consider an add-on for those with specific assistive needs. A well-known example is screen reading software, baked into Macs and iOS devices to help anyone with a visual impairment. But modern accessibility’s aim is to cater for everyone, whatever their specific needs. So iOS 11 includes settings to benefit people who have hearing or motor impairment, too, and issues such as vestibular disorders. Chances are that if you don’t have any such concerns, you skip past the Accessibility section of Settings…

IN 2009, RUMORSemerged that Apple was working on a tablet computer. By the end of the year it was the talk of the industry. Not the computer industry — the publishing industry. Adobe helped Condé Nast mock up its tech magazine, Wired, on a touchscreen, while Bonnier, publisher of Popular Science, and design studio Berg produced a widely shared video of what it called “Mag+.” Interactive magazines, like CD-ROMs in the 1990s, were to be the next digital content revolution. On January 27, 2010, a visibly unwell Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, although it was two months from shipping. Highlighting how users of iPhones and MacBooks were using them for web browsing, music and video, games and e-books, he proposed a…