Macworld September 2014

Tim Cook’s instruction from Steve Jobs was clear: Don’t let Apple become paralyzed like Disney did in the wake of Walt Disney’s death, endlessly asking how the esteemed founder would react in any given situation. The only directive from Jobs’s tenure that mattered after his death was the one that freed Cook and everyone else at Apple from playing “What Would Steve Do?” Criticism of post-Jobs Apple tends to run in one of two directions: Either Apple is doomed because it’s slavishly following the old playbook of its former CEO, or it’s doomed because it isn’t following the playbook of its genius former CEO. As a close observer of Apple before, during, and after Jobs’s tenure, I can tell you that the Apple of today is not playing by the…

Nine Technologies That Apple Disrupted at WWDC A fleet of new products in iOS and OS X promise stiff competition for some developers. This year’s WWDC keynote was jam-packed with new technologies destined for the next versions of iOS and OS X. While this is great news for users, a number of developers who will soon be competing directly with Apple may not welcome the innovations. CLOUD STORAGE iCloud has matured into an essential element of the Apple ecosystem. With the introduction of iCloud Drive (go.macworld.com/iclouddrive), services such as Dropbox will face pressure from Cupertino’s aggressive pricing and iCloud Drive’s seamless integration with iOS, OS X, and even Windows. SCREEN-RECORDING APPS OS X Yosemite will allow users to make screen recordings from compatible iOS devices. This capability targets developers who…

With plans afoot to gradually retire the long-used Objective-C programming language, Apple has introduced a new language, called Swift, for designing apps to run on Apple iOS devices and Macintosh computers. The company designed Swift (go.macworld.com/swift) to be as intuitive and easy to use as popular interpreted languages such as Python and JavaScript, while maintaining the speed and flexibility of compiled languages such as C++. “Swift is fast. It is modern. It is designed for safety, and it enables a level of interactivity and development you’ve never seen before on the platform,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook, who introduced the language to a surprised audience at the Worldwide Developers Conference. Cook explained that Apple designed Swift to eliminate entire categories of common programming errors. It includes modern constructs such as…

This year’s WWDC focused on showcasing something a bit different: the cult of the developer. The Worldwide Developers Conference 2014 keynote (go.macworld.com/wwdc2014) seemed like a developer’s dream: extensions, TestFlight, third-party keyboards, a framework for building cloud-based apps, a compelling successor to Objective-C, and more. But what does this avalanche of empowerment mean for developers, and what impact will it have on the future of Mac and iOS apps? CEO Tim Cook and Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, jumped right into the good stuff, showing off the new features in OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 (see “What You Need to Know: OS X Yosemite and iOS 8,” page 46). In Yosemite, you can use your Mac as a phone, making calls and answering SMS messages, as long…

Will iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite Keep Us Safer? Apple defends user privacy with iOS extensions and security enhancements in the Swift language. with a mere two hours to cover the wealth of advances in its operating systems and developer tools, Apple offered few details in the WWDC keynote about security updates. Still, if you’re somewhat familiar with Apple’s platforms, the future of Mac and iOS security looks a little clearer: For the next generation of products, extensions are the name of the (security) game. iOS 8: PRYING OPEN TOUCH ID AND THE SANDBOX The inclusion of the Touch ID fingerprint reader in the iPhone 5s made it easy and convenient to use strong passwords. According to Apple, less than half of iPhone users enabled a passcode before the…

Apple recognizes apps that set new standards in design and innovation. Apple describes the recipients of its annual Apple Design Awards (go.macworld.com/appledesignawards) as apps that “raise the bar in design, technology, and innovation.” Developers of the winning apps haul in a load of Apple hardware, as well as a trophy cube. Here are this year’s winners. ADDIMAL ADVENTURE Teachley’s Addimal Adventure (free; (go.macworld.com/addimal) is a game for kids who are learning single-digit addition. Players must save the city of El Sumado by solving problems that exercise different math strategies. BLEK The point of Denis Mikan’s Blek ($1; go.macworld.com/blek) is to draw lines that then animate to knock out dots as they appear on the screen. The game sounds easy enough, but it gets more complicated as you try to figure…