Apple needs to step up its game with the built-in FaceTime cameras in Macs. They suck. Apple laptops are popular with podcasters and video conferencers. Why do so many of us buy external cameras? Because the FaceTime camera built into the Mac is mediocre at best. I love my 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro. It's the best laptop I've ever used, except for one glaring problem: I find the...
Want to be able to unlock your Mac using Touch ID? Now you can. What's more, it's free for the next two days. Beginning March 16th, the MacID iOS app is free, but only for 48 hours. It's normally $4. It's an app for your Touch ID-based iOS device, and it works in conjunction with a second app that you install on your Mac. MacID lets you lock your Mac with a swipe of the finger on your...
Every so often something comes along that changes your life and stays with you forever. For Charlie Jane Anders and me, it was Star Blazers. Charlie Jane Anders' love letter to Star Blazers is one of my favorite pieces on the Internet this week. I encourage everyone to read it. I'm in my mid-forties, and I'm squarely in the first Star Wars generation. I was seven when that movie...
Everyone has their own idea of what the best game should be. Here's your chance to participate. Best app lists are by their very nature arbitrary; they're usually one person or a small group's opinion. A new focus on crowdsourcing a Best Mac Games list is encouraging everyone to chime in. Ric Molina at MacGamerHQ is taking this approach to help develop awareness in Mac users about...
I've had quite enough of "power users" who think they're too good for the new MacBook. I've been using a Mac for 30 years. I got my first one in 1985. I sell Macs on the weekends and write about them during the weekdays. I am, by any definition, a "power user." Yet I detest that term, and I react viscerally whenever I hear someone else use it. So it'll be no surprise at all that I...
Controversy surrounds Apple's decision to use USB-C in the new MacBook. Is it one interface to rule them all, or is it just another port we'll see on future Macs? Apple's glitzy new MacBook is a pretty amazing piece of engineering and design that polarizes Mac users more than anything I can remember since the last colored MacBook, the black one that came out in 2008. The new MacBook...
Could you use an easier way of selecting colors to use in upcoming design projects? Download Skala Color 2.0 for the Mac. It's free. Skala Color 2.0 is the latest Mac software offering from Bjango, makers of iStat Menus. Among the changes in this release is improved support for OS X Yosemite. Skala Color is a compact and feature-rich OS X color picker that works with a huge...
Now's a great time to pick up a new Apple TV, or two! At Apple's Spring Forward event this week the Apple TV saw its specs unchanged but its price slashed from $99 to $69. If you already have one, now's a great time to grab another. That's what I'm doing. Yep, it's another episode of "first world problems," cats and kittens. Versatility in a little black box My family and I have...
Monday's Apple reveal of the new MacBook has some people shaking their heads no. Even if it's not right for you, Apple's gonna sell millions. Here's why. First of all, if you haven't already read it, check out Ren and Rene's first look at the new MacBook: Hands on with Apple's unbelievably-thin, battery-packed MacBook Like the American Tourister gorilla I'm hard on portable...
You have to decide which MacBook Air is right for you - the smaller 11-inch model or the larger 13-inch version? Also, what configure to order options make the most sense? Let's have a look.
There was lots of speculation that Apple would introduce a Retina MacBook Air. Instead, Apple reinvented the MacBook. Leading into today's Spring Forward event, oddsmakers suggested that a Retina MacBook Air was inevitable. Turns out they were wrong. Apple's gone back and reinvented the MacBook. Waiting in vain I remember waiting the day the iPad was released. I waited line at...
How to keep your kids safe while on the Mac with Parental Controls in OS X Yosemite Keeping your kids safe while using the computer is paramount in many parents' minds. Fortunately Apple gives you the resources you need to keep your Mac safe for little ones. So today I'm going to give you some tips on the parental control features that are available to you in OS X Yosemite. If you...
Just because Apple's pulling Aperture from the Mac App Store doesn't mean you have to pull it from your workflow. Apple sent out an email to Aperture owners this week reminding them that as soon as Photos for OS X goes into general distribution, Aperture will no longer be available for purchase from the Mac App Store. The usual gnashing of teeth and tearing of hair erupted soon...
Microsoft's Office for Mac enhancements offer welcome changes for long-time Windows users. If you're a long-time Windows PC user considering a switch to Mac and you're heavily invested in Microsoft Office, you may be concerned about whether all the features and functions you're used to will still be there. Before now I'd say that you had to make a lot of adjustments. The change from...
It's been almost a year since the last MacBook Air refresh. Rumors suggest Apple's about to release a new model. Rumors started circulating Wednesday that Apple's about to pull the trigger on a refresh to the MacBook Air, equipping it with a moderately faster processor and bigger battery. The update could arrive next week when Apple is expected to show off the Apple Watch at its Spring...
Save some mileage on your fingers — and your keyboard — with this quick trick. If you frequently type the same things over and over again, the Mac can save you the time and trouble of having to type it out in full each time. It involves something called text shortcuts and once you learn how to use them, you'll never want to be without them. How to create keyboard shortcuts on the...
The 13-inch non-Retina MacBook Pro (called the "mid-2012" model, in Apple parlance) is still available from Apple. It costs $1,099, making it cheaper than a Retina model by $200. Given that it's an older, slower machine that hasn't been updated since 2012, it's easy to overlook. But it's also the only MacBook that still ships with an optical drive, and that can be appealing for...
Does it make sense to fix my old Mac when it breaks, or am I better off buying a new one?
A bona fide Mac game classic is back from the dead, but it needs your help to get over the finish line. Crystal Quest is beloved by a whole generation of Mac users who came up during the 1980s. It was the first color Mac game, an early entrant into the Macworld Game Hall of Fame and most recently resurrected for Xbox 360 in 2006. There's a new attempt to update Crystal Quest for new...
Now that Parallels Desktop supports Windows 10 Technical Preview, you can safely run Microsoft's new OS on your Mac. Apple's Boot Camp software lets Macs runs Windows by restarting in Windows instead of OS X. Boot Camp, however, doesn't officially support Windows 10 yet. In the interim, there are other ways to get Windows 10 to work on the Mac. One of the best ways is using Parallels...