Innehållsförteckning för December 2014 från Macworld

Welcome to the new all-digital Macworld Like most of you reading this, I was sad to hear that Macworld would no longer be available on paper, beckoning from the nearest newsstand with friendly how-to articles and expert reviews, no batteries required. Macworld’s print magazine enjoyed an amazing 30-year run, and I’ll miss seeing it at the airport, in the dentist’s office, and on my desk. But we’re not going anywhere—we’ll keep producing all the same reviews, advice, features, and columns you’ve loved over the years, because technology is our passion and we wouldn’t have it any other way. And lucky for us, we’re Apple fans. So as our favorite printed publications go digital, we can keep reading them on gorgeous devices that let the content shine. The beautiful new iPad…

Do you ever wonder how you can click a link on a webpage and quickly zip to another page on a server halfway around the world? Or send an email message to aunt Alice or uncle Bob, using just their simple email addresses? All this depends on DNS, or the Domain Name System. This is what lets your computer find macworld. com, keeping track of the fact that this domain name corresponds to an IP address of 70.42.185.230, and that numerical address is hosting Macworld’s webpages. When you click on a link, your browser sends a request to a Web server to load a page, but that request passes through a DNS server, which stores this information in huge databases containing every single domain recorded listed together with its numerical…

Notability for Mac 3.5/4.0 PRICE: $10 COMPANY: Ginger Labs gingerlabs.com FOR ANYONE WHO reaches for pen and paper to take notes, using an app like Notability on an iPad is already an adjustment. Using such an app on a Mac, which doesn’t even have a touchscreen, is even more of a stretch. On iOS, Notability is a popular and elegant note-taking app with an ink-first mentality. Now it’s available on the Mac (go.macworld.com/mac), promising to bring that same design sense to the desktop and sync your notes with iCloud—and it largely succeeds. But with free note-taking powerhouses like Evernote and OneNote out there, is Notability worth $10? NOTABILITY STRENGTHS The short answer is, it depends. If you’re a die-hard Notability user on iOS—especially if it’s your go-to notetaking tool on…

BEOPLAY A2 This $399 Bluetooth speaker from Bang & Olufson has one extraordinary power: It can play music for up to 24 hours on a single charge. Plus, it’s got a leather strap that makes it portable. Beoplay A2 (www.beoplay.com) comes in gray, green and black, and ships in November. TREK 360 From TDK Life on Record, the new TREK 360 Bluetooth boombox (tdkperformance.com) is weatherproof—you could set one up poolside, soak it with the splash from your flying cannonball, and it would keep right on playing, while your iPhone is 30 feet away hidden under a nice fluffy towel. The TREK 360 packs four 2-watt speakers and a 15-watt subwoofer, and the rechargeable battery should last 6 hours between charges. LINK POWER DRIVE Imation’s LINK Power Drive (imationlink.com) is…

This week’s video is all about Handoff and how it works on devices running iOS 8. Suppose I’m working in Notes on my iPhone and after typing for a bit I realize that I’m going to need to do a lot more typing than I anticipated. Much as I love my iPhone, its keyboard is cramped. So I’d like to finish the note on my iPad, which has a larger keyboard. If the two devices are on the same Wi-Fi network, all I have to do is leave Notes open on my iPhone and pick up my iPad. When I press its Home button, I see a small icon of the Notes app in the bottom-left corner. I swipe up on it, enter my pass-code, and Notes launches with the…

NBA 2K15 NBA 2K15 (go.macworld.com/nba) costs $8, but that’s a steal compared to console versions. The look and feel of this game stayed pretty much the same for several years, but the newest version boasts overhauled graphics and animation to make it look and feel as if you’re really on the court. (Only the most recent-generation iOS devices can handle this game.) Drop Jawbone pitches this free music app for iPhone (go. macworld/drop) as a “social DJ.” It spins playlists of your favorite music from your Spotify Premium or Rdio account, and adds to the list when your friends tweet the name of a favorite song to you. It reminds us of the dear, departed Turntable.fm—you’re the only one who can hear the music, but it’s fun to let your…

Unlock the new features in Apple’s latest mobile operating system. iOS 8 doesn’t radically change the look and feel of your iPhone and iPad, like iOS 7 did. A lot of the improvements in iOS 8 are aimed at developers, who can now trick out their apps with support for Touch ID, extensions, widgets, and HealthKit. But there are still plenty of goodies for users like us, too. The Settings app has tons of new powers, from setting up Family Sharing to customizing what happens when you swipe a message in Mail. Safari has some little tricks that speed up browsing and especially shopping from your mobile device. And the all-new Today view in Notification Center lets you add handy widgets from tons of third-party developers. Get to know iOS…

Perhaps one of the worst threats your Mac faces is the chance of being doused with water or other liquid: In an instant, a cup of coffee could leave you about $1500 in the hole if you have to buy a new Mac (plus $5 for another latte, of course). Unfortunately, warranties for your Mac (and other electronics) do not cover accidental liquid damage. And if you bring your broken computer to an Apple Store for repair, techs may check built-in sensors that can indicate whether or not liquids may have contributed to the problem at hand. Since most everyone has had instances where liquids came dangerously close to our Macs, here are some quick tips for avoiding disaster, plus a few more that could help fix your Mac should…

Adobe’s Creative Cloud tools let you seamlessly work on multiple devices, so you can convert photos of objects into vector art, start editing a video on an iPhone and then send it to Premiere Pro, and more. Adobe might not be the first name that springs to mind when you think smartphone and tablet apps, despite a gradual encroachment into mobile over the last few years. The revered software publisher solidified that commitment with the launch of nine new and updated apps and connected services. The timing coincided with the company’s annual Adobe MAX creativity conference, which kicked off at the Los Angeles Convention Center. During a livestreamed keynote, executives laid out Adobe’s sweeping plans for a “new mobile canvas” that better unites iOS devices with the existing universe of…

We live in a high-resolution world—our phones have been shooting HD video for years, and 4K-capable cameras are finally within reach of regular consumers. And now Apple’s new iMac with Retina 5K display (apple.com) will let you push those pixels with maximum efficiency. With a native resolution of 5120x2880 pixels, this iMac shows a ridiculous amount of detail in everything you look at. In the hands-on area at Apple HQ, I saw the new 27-inch iMac editing 4K video in pixel-for-pixel resolution, with enough room left on the screen for all of Final Cut Pro’s toolbars and controls. Final Cut Pro wasn’t even running full screen—in the photo below, notice the Dock still hogging some space along the bottom. Not bad. I also saw some 4K photos displayed at full-resolution…

Apple’s MacBooks had a strong back-to-school showing last quarter, as the company hit fifth place in IDC’s global PC shipment charts (go.macworld.com/idc). Mac sales rose from 4.58 million in the third quarter of last year to 4.98 million this year, IDC estimated, allowing Apple to edge out Asus for the number five slot. (Rival research firm Gartner (go.macworld.com/gartner) still has Asus in fifth place, with 5.77 million shipments last quarter. Hey, these are estimates.) Overall, last quarter was fruitful for major vendors. Both IDC and Gartner estimated shipment gains for Lenovo, HP, Dell, Acer, and Asus, along with Apple. IDC attributed the gains to solid back-to-school sales, the continued Windows XP to Windows 7 migration for businesses, and a rise in low-cost PCs such as Chromebooks. Why does this matter?…

Nixeus VUE27D 2.0/4.0 PRICE: $470 COMPANY: Nixeus www.nixeus.com THE NIXEUS VUE27D (go.macworld.com/nixeusvue27d) is an affordable, 27-inch desktop LCD display that combines an LED-backlit IPS panel with one of the crappiest stands I’ve seen. Nixeus takes an interesting approach here: Use high-quality components where it counts (screen and backlight), but keep the price down by cutting back on features such as speakers, webcams, input options, and integrated USB hubs that might never be used. If the designers had stopped there, this review would have turned out much differently. Upon opening the box, I knew this was going to be a different sort of experience. I can’t remember the last time I needed screws and a screwdriver to attach a display’s base to its stand, and the stand to the display. Eight…

What’s rectangular, gold, and 18 percent thinner than a No. 2 pencil? The iPad Air 2 (apple.com/ipad), which Apple unveiled in October. Sporting subtle refinements like a Touch ID finger-print sensor and a beefed-up iSight camera, Apple’s second iPad Air isn’t a dramatic leap past the first iPad Air. But that’s no surprise. When you make the most popular tablet, there’s really no reason to reinvent the wheel every year. In fact, the iPad mini 3 changed even less. It got Touch ID and comes in new colors, but that’s it—it’s even got the same A7 chip that was in last year’s iPad mini with Retina display, which is still on sale as iPad mini 2 starting at $300. So unless you really want to pay $100 premium to add…

Apple CarPlay is now first available on Pioneer’s NEX and AppRadio 4 installable systems, making this new, smartphone-safe auto interface available in older cars before it has shown up in any new car models (except for the Ferrari, which is too fancy-shmancy to count). If you install one of these systems in your car, you’ll be able to plug in your CarPlay-compatible iPhone (iPhone 5 or later) (go.macworld.com/carplay) to make calls, send and receive text messages, and use compatible apps safely from the display and other controls. WHY THIS MATTERS One of the coolest new kinds of car tech, from the most popular technology company in the world, is available for your oldish beater of a car before basically anyone else gets it. And it’s not just cool and new—it…

BALLISTIC The Hard Core (iPhone 6; $60; goballisticcase.com) offers protection from the harshest conditions with multiple layers of tough materials. Tested to withstand drops from up to 12 feet, the case features raised edges around the iPhone’s bezel and reinforced corners to prevent cracked screens, a built-in screen protector to prevent smudges, and an optional rugged holster with a swivel belt clip for easier carrying. DODOCASE The Durables Wallet (iPhone 6 and 6 Plus; $50 to $60, dodocase.com) combines fashion and functionality in a three-layer handcrafted wallet case. Made of waxed canvas, soft leather, and cotton, the Durables Wallet fits snugly onto your handset. It includes two leather pockets for cash and credit cards, and comes in sage, midnight, and navy. ELEMENT CASE The SoftTec (iPhone 6 and 6 Plus;…

Get a website’s desktop version Sometimes you don’t want the stripped-down mobile version of a website. Google’s Chrome has long had a “request desktop version” option, and now Safari does also. To access this, give a gentle pull down on the menu bar to see two new choices: Add to Favorites and Request Desktop Site. Tap the latter and the page will reformat, usually presenting itself in desktop glory. Scan your credit cards Forget squinting at your worn-out credit card to get the numbers when buying something online. Apple’s browser has a clever new feature that will scan the information with the device camera. While Safari already offers to save your cards with auto-fill, this is another step that simplifies the process of buying something online. Search with DuckDuckGo If…

To-do list apps have stiff competition, from the sophisticated OmniFocus (go.macworld.com/omnifocus2) to the simple yet elegant Clear (go.macworld.com/clearios7). But none seems to be as wildly popular as Wunderkinder’s Wunderlist. Available for Mac (go.macworld.com/wundermac) and iOS (go.macworld.com/wunderios), Wunderlist has even public radio’s Ira Glass singing its praises as his tool of choice. Once you sign up for a free account, Wunderlist has a full-featured Web version, plus native apps for just about every platform on the planet (I’m looking at you, Windows 7). The free version will likely meet the needs of most users, limiting you to 25 assignees, 25 subtasks, 5MB attachments to your tasks, and 20 backgrounds. Upgrading to Pro for $5 per month or $50 per year gets you unlimited assignees, subtasks, and attachment size, and up to…

Sharing content, brushes, and color palettes between Adobe apps has never been easier, and Creative Cloud's newest mobile apps let you fill your libraries with inspiration from anywhere. Creative Cloud (go.macworld.com/ creativecloud) turned three in October, an age when most children finally begin to walk more confidently as they grow out of the toddler stage. The same could be said of Adobe’s latest steps —the company took an adult-size stride with the release of new mobile apps, and technology that connects them to a traditional desktop workflow like never before. The feature that makes this possible is Libraries, a cloud-based repository for colors, text styles, brushes, graphic assets, and even full images. Content added to Libraries from mobile or desktop apps gets synced immediately to Creative Cloud, ready to serve…

It may seem akin to mixing oil and water, but as it turns out, installing Microsoft Windows on your Mac isn’t a violation of natural law—your Retina display won’t explode into flames. In fact, installing it is a relatively pain-free process. To give the Windows 10 Technical Preview (go. macworld.com/win10)—a very early prerelease version of Windows 10—a whirl, you don’t even have to pay for a Windows license or already have Windows on your Mac. The Technical Preview is free to test. Intrigued? Let’s dig in. DECISIONS, DECISIONS There are two ways to get the Windows 10 Preview on your Mac. The first is to install Windows on a separate partition of your hard drive using Apple’s built-in Boot Camp software. When finished you can boot directly into Windows, essentially…

Voyager Air 2 (1TB) 4.0/4.0 PRICE: $179 COMPANY: Corsair www.corsair.com CORSAIR IS GETTING good at the Wi-Fi streaming game. The Voyager Air 2 (go.macworld.com/voyager), a mobile hard drive that creates its own wireless hotspot to stream files and multimedia, is a distinct improvement over the original product; in fact, it’s a contender for best in class. This latest rendition offers the same 1TB of storage for the same $179, but the case has improved ergonomically and you’ll find several new features in its firmware. The new industrial design is svelter, and the power and Wi-Fi on/off buttons are now part of a recessed rocker switch on the top front of the unit. This setup is less likely to snag on your pocket or backpack than the original’s slide switches. Found…

Recovery Partition Creator 3.8 3.5/4.0 PRICE: Free DEVELOPER Christopher Silvertooth go.macworld.com/silvertooth TO USE OS X’S HANDY OS X Recovery feature, or to enable FileVault on an external drive, you need a special recovery partition on your drive. This utility can add it if the OS X installer didn’t. One of the best features introduced in Lion (OS X 10.7), and available on every version of OS X since, is OS X Recovery. The OS X installer creates an invisible, bootable, 650MB partition—a portion of a drive that the operating system treats as a separate volume—on your startup drive called Recovery HD that includes a few essential utilities for fixing problems, restoring files, browsing the Web, and even reinstalling OS X. The Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks installers should automatically create…

Evading flesh-eating zombies amid the undead apocalypse is a pretty good incentive to run like hell, no? The fear, the anxiety, and the uncertainty of whatlurks behind you—this reaction is one that we all surely share, even when the scenario is a fictional one. It’s part of what makes Zombies, Run! (go.macworld.com/zombies, $4) such a successful fitness app, as the narrative-led missions pump your ears full of dialogue and interactions as you run around your neighborhood, on a treadmill, or through any thankfully zombie-free locale you wish. Nearly a million people have snagged the app since its debut in early 2012, and developer Six to Start (sixtostart.com) has significantly expanded the original experience by adding many more missions and features. Recently, the studio put its talents to work on another…

Nearly three weeks after Apple rolled out its latest mobile operating system, the company says less than half of visits to its App Store come from devices with iOS 8 installed. Just 47 percent have upgraded, while 47 percent are still running iOS 7 (and 6 percent are clinging to even earlier versions). These figures are unusual: Apple’s OS adoption rate is famously fast. So why are people holding on to iOS 7? At first, the rate of iOS installs skyrocketed—up to 46 percent in just six days. In the next two weeks, that number ticked up just 1 percent. iOS 8 still has time to challenge iOS 7’s adoption rate, which hit 75 percent after three months and became Apple’s fastest-growing mobile OS, but it seems like slow going…

When Apple released the first iPhone, its 3.5-inch touchscreen seemed huge compared to the displays of other phones. Nonetheless, competitors responded with even larger screens, trying to find areas where they could provide clear alternatives to Apple hardware. Consumers responded positively, so the competition started making even bigger phones. Whatever good reasons Apple had for sticking with its 3.5-inch (and later 4-inch) screens—and there are good reasons, including the fact that larger phones are harder to hold and control—it also meant Apple was ceding the large end of the market to the likes of Samsung. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus (go. macworld.com/iphone6review) are Apple’s reply to the success of large Android phones. The iPhone 6 is 4.7 inches, while the iPhone 6 Plus comes in at 5.5 inches. Both…

It’s time to add some widgets Widgets are enabled by default in iOS 8. To get started, swipe down to Notification Center, then choose the tab on the left entitled Today. A few of Apple’s own selections are already in place, such as the Today Summary, which gives the weather and notifies you of upcoming appointments, Calendar, and Reminders. There is also a Calendar widget, traffic conditions, and the ability to add in Apple’s Reminders app. You can rear-range, add, or remove any of these by scrolling all the way to the bottom of the list, tapping Edit, and then dragging them to a new order, or pressing the plus and minus icons to add or remove widgets from your list. With that down, it’s time to check out some…

Capturing notes in a classroom lecture or business meeting can sometimes be a daunting task. And if you’re like me, the race to capture the spoken word on paper can sometimes keep you from listening to what’s being said next, leaving your notes with Grand Canyon– size gaps that limit their usefulness. The Livescribe 3 Smartpen and associated Livescribe+ app for iOS are designed to change the way you capture information, helping you take notes while the app and pen track what’s being said in the classroom, meeting, or lecture hall. The way Livescribe works is fairly simple. You need three components: a Livescribe Smartpen, a Livescribe notebook, and the Livescribe+ app. The app is a free download (go. macworld.com/livescribeios) from the App Store; it works on third-generation and later…

iCloud two-step verification just added another step: App-specific passwords Q: I use Outlook for Mac for my email and today it’s been telling me that my iCloud account isn’t authorized. I’ve entered it multiple times and it still won’t work. I’ve tried other third-party apps that use iCloud and am having similar difficulties. Any idea what’s going on? A: If I had to guess I’d say that you have implemented two-step verification (go.macworld.com/twostep) for your Apple ID. As of October 9, 2014, Apple requires that you generate app specific passwords for thirdparty apps that use your iCloud data. This includes apps such as Outlook and BusyCal. In order to generate one of these things you must go to Apple’s My Apple ID page (go.macworld.com/ myappleid), click Manage Your Apple ID,…