Macworld February 2022

Apple is in the midst of a two-year rollout of its own Mac processors, with the first Mac System on a Chip (SoC) blowing away expectations. The entire company’s consumer lineup is outfitted with the incredibly fast M1, and with the recent release of the M1 Pro and Max in the MacBook Pro, we got a taste of what Apple can do with its silicon to meet the performance demands that pro users put on high-end Macs. When it comes to pro Macs, however, the model that most readily comes to mind is the Mac Pro, Apple’s high-end workstation. What optimizations does the M1 Max have that will dictate the demise of the old Intel guard? One important battle will come down to the graphics processor, which is traditionally the…

Mac users have a lot of alternatives in obtaining software. You can buy directly from a developer’s Web site or through the Mac App Store. Some software is bundled or discounted by third parties. You might purchase a one-time license upfront for a flat fee, one that could seem relatively high. Or pay an ongoing monthly or annual subscription price to get continuous software updates. The Setapp subscription bundle offers an intriguing combination of the above. Run as a division of software developer MacPaw, it’s a third-party monthly or annual license to over 200 Mac apps that seems to offer the best of all worlds for app users and software developers alike. The collection of apps provides unlimited, ad-free access to a subscriber for as long as they’re paying the…

While everyone else is reflecting on the last 12 months, a graphic designer has created a project that goes back even further than the beginning of 2021—way further. Michael Feeney’s (mac)OStalgia project is a fascinating look at how macOS Monterey would look in 1999 before OS X ever came along. As he describes it, (mac)OStalgia explores how his work-from-home routine in 2021 would look with “the limitations of yesterday. Unreliable internet, little disk storage, macOS 9, and much more.” It’s all here: Chrome, Zoom, Notes, Spotify, even Slack, and Figma, all looking and working as well (or not) as they would in 1999. Feeney’s project is most impressive for its attention to detail, capturing the beauty and simplicity of macOS 9 while highlighting how today’s apps would struggle. Check…

The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro has a new feature that everyone is talking about. No, it’s not the blazing processor speed, it’s the notch at the top of the display. Some people don’t like how it looks, even though it doesn’t take away from the workable space of the screen. Apple made the bezels on the laptop super thin in an effort to provide the user as much screen space as possible. But there is a module that cuts into the screen to house the 1080p FaceTime camera, thus the notch. It’s important to point out that the notch doesn’t infringe on the screen area—you still get a 16-by-10 screen below the notch, so the notch area is “extra” screen space compared to the older MacBook Pro. Apple has…

DuckDuckGo started as a simple idea: a search engine site that respects your privacy. It doesn’t remember your searches, store information about you, embed trackers, or in any other way violate your privacy. It works well and has become quite popular, so the company wanted to go further. First, it built a mobile browser for iOS and Android that’s just as privacy-minded as the search engine, with a nifty Fire Button that instantly “burns” all your data and local history. It enforces encryption, blocks hidden trackers, and more. In a blog post summing up the company’s accomplishments through 2021, the company revealed that a desktop browser is also on the way for multiple platforms, starting with macOS. The announcement is light on details, but DuckDuckGo says the browser is built around “OS-provided rendering…

Hard drives aren’t sexy and they aren’t particularly fast, but they do offer a whole lot of storage space for a lot less cash per gigabyte than SSDs. Their Achilles heel is reliability, but with a little toughening up—as SanDisk has managed to do with the G-Drive ArmorATD—they can withstand relatively severe rigors. The ArmorATD is an enclosure with a 2.5-inch hard drive inside. It’s available in 1TB ($89.99), 2TB ($109.99), 4TB ($149.99), and 5TB ($179.99) flavors. Compared to SSDs you’re paying considerably less per gigabyte–especially in the larger 4TB and 5TB capacities. Larger SSDs still carry a big premium, though the difference is shrinking. The hard drive inside is shock-mounted, and the rugged aluminum case is surrounded by a silicon sock for extra protection. It will withstand minor abuse,…