What you need to know

• Apple's Mac range is in incredibly short supply.
• New research shows that the new MacBook Pro and Mac Studio are experiencing delays of months when shipping to customers.
• The only readily available Macs in the U.S. are the old M1 Mac lineup.

New research has revealed that Apple's Mac lineup across the board is experiencing huge delays and shortages, with customers being quoted weeks if not months for the delivery of most machines.

From Macworld:

The report notes that the only readily available Macs in the U.S. are Apple's old M1 Macs, the MacBook Air with M1, 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1, Mac mini, and the 24-inch iMac.

Apple's best MacBook, the MacBook Pro (2021), has fallen to shipping times of 7-9 weeks in both the 14-inch and 16-inch models in the U.S., UK, Germany, and Australia. The same is true of the new Mac Studio, and the report notes that while shipping delays for products aren't uncommon, these times have tumbled in recent weeks.

It could be that customers on the hunt for a new Mac might do well to shop around on third-party outlets including Amazon. However, with WWDC just around the corner, the prospect of Apple unveiling a new Mac in the near future looms large, so it might be just as prudent to try and wait out long shipping lead times and the prospect of a new product.

During this transition period, some of Apple's current Macs continue to use Intel-based (x86-64) architecture, while newer models feature Apple's silicon-based ARM architecture. As a result, some users will likely find various app versions, including Intel apps.

Though the push is on to have developers create software versions that support both types of architecture, there are instances where the Intel-based version is the one that's best to run on an Apple silicon machine. This is possible as you'll see below on the current Apple silicon machines: the recently announced Mac Studio (2022), 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro (2021), 24-inch iMac (2021), Mac mini (2021), 13-inch MacBook Pro (M1, 2020), and the best Mac: the MacBook Air (M1, 2020).

The different types of app versions

Until recently, Mac developers only had to worry about creating Intel-based apps. However, that started to change when the first Apple silicon Macs arrived. For Intel-based apps to run on these computers, Apple introduced Rosetta 2.

Developers now have three choices when it comes to creating apps for Mac. They can continue producing Intel-based apps only, shift over and create "Universal 2" versions, or only offer Apple silicon versions. The former means Apple silicon users will need to use the Rosetta emulation software to convert Intel-based titles. At the same time, the middle option creates Intel- and Apple silicon-based software versions. On the Apple silicon Macs, the ARM versions will run automatically. The last option, creating only Apple silicone-based apps, is unfeasible since there are more Intel-based Mac users — and developers wouldn't want to exclude those users.

Which versions do your apps use?

You can find out which architecture apps are using Apple silicon-based apps by following these simple directions:

1. Click the Apple icon at the top left of the menu bar.
2. Choose About This Mac for the pull-down menu.
3. Select System Report...

4. Click Applications under the Software selection on the left side of the System Report.
5. Review the list of apps on the top right, noting the different kinds of apps under the Kind column: Apple silicon, Universal, Intel, iOS, or other.

What if you need to use the Intel version?

In most cases, it's preferred to run universal apps on Apple silicon machines since Intel-based versions must rely on Rosetta 2. Apps designed to run natively with Apple silicon chips provide a better process overall. Because of this, apps with a universal version installed will run this version on Apple silicon Macs by default.

However, in rare instances, you might need the Intel version of an app. For example, maybe the Intel version has a feature not currently offered on the other version, or there are third-party software or hardware limitations that you can only avoid by going with the x86-64 version.

To open the Intel-based version of an app on Macs with ARM:

1. Find the app in the Applications folder.
2. Right-click on the app.
3. Choose Get Info on the pull-down menu.

4. Click the box next to Open using Rosetta.

The Intel version of the app will run by default from now on. Uncheck the box next to Open using Rosetta to use the universal version again.

The end is near

Apple will support some of the best Intel-based Macs for many years to come. Because of this, developers will continue to produce Mac apps that run on both Intel and Apple silicon machines. Increasingly, however, attention will begin to focus on Apple silicon development as the footprint for Intel-based machines gets smaller.

What you need to know

• Multiple reports indicate Apple has more new Macs on the way.
• New insight from Ming-Chi Kuo claims a new Mac Pro, iMac Pro, and Mac mini, have all been delayed until 2023.
• Previous reports stated these devices were closer at hand.

Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo says a new Mac Pro, iMac Pro, and Mac mini expected from Apple later this year may not arrive until 2023.

In a tweet Friday, an account purportedly belonging to Kuo stated:

That is a revised prediction from the same account earlier this week which stated that while a new Mac Pro and iMac Pro were coming next year, the Mac mini would arrive in 2022 alongside a "more affordable" external display, likely a 27-inch display with no mini-LED. However, that prediction was made prior to the Apple March 8 event where Apple announced the Studio Display, which fits this description.

The report is strange as it directly contradicts previous reports from other analysts and insiders, and comes from Kuo's unofficial Twitter account, not his usual verified source.

Apple confirmed at the event that a new Mac Pro is on the way from the company, but of course, didn't reveal a date. Mark Gurman reported that multiple new Macs were on the way in 2022, from December:

More recently, Gurman confirmed a new iMac Pro and an M2 version of the Mac mini are in development at Apple. In February, DSCC's Ross Young reported that a new iMac Pro was coming out possibly as early as June. As early as August Gurman also reported that a new Mac mini was on the way "in the next several months." More importantly, it doesn't match up with Apple's own timeline and reports that Apple will be done with its transition from Intel chips to Apple silicon by 2022.

A recent report from 9to5Mac claims that a new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro both with M2 chips are coming later this year.

At its Peek Performance March 8 event Apple unveiled a new powerful Mac Studio and companion display.

Even the best Macs eventually are no longer welcomed into your home. Maybe the device no longer has that new Mac sparkle you crave like the 24-inch iMac above. Maybe it's just old and busted. No matter what the reason, it's time to part ways. Here's how to sell your Mac!

How to prepare your Mac for sale

There's more to selling your old Mac than simply putting it in a box and shipping it away.

Before you sell your Mac, you have to make sure it's ready to sell. Physically, make sure it's in good-looking and sellable condition. Next, clean the screen and the case, keyboard, and trackpad. Use a microfiber cloth and alcohol-free cleanser.

The next step is to back up your data. If you're migrating to a new Mac, now's a good time to make sure you've got a secure copy of everything you need for the transition, so use Time Machine or clone your Mac's hard drive. That way, you won't lose your data once you sell your Mac.

If you leave your Apple ID signed in to a Mac you're selling (or any device for that matter), you're gonna have a bad time. So make sure you're signed out!

1. Launch Music from your Dock or the Finder.
2. Click Account in the menu bar on the top left of your screen.
3. Click Authorizations.

4. Click Deauthorize This Computer.
5. Enter your Apple ID and password.
6. Click Deauthorize.

Yes, you're going to factory reset your Mac, but you can never be too careful. Sign out of Messages before selling your Mac to someone.

1. Launch Messages from your Dock or the Finder.
2. Click Messages in the menu bar on the top left of your screen.
3. Click Preferences.

4. Click iMessage.
5. Choose your account on the left.
6. Select Sign Out.
7. Click Sign Out again in the prompt.

This is a very important step. You need to sign out of your iCloud account.

1. Go into System Preferences.
2. Click Apple ID.

3. Choose Overview on the left side.
4. Click Sign Out.
5. Select Keep Copy and follow the additional directions.

Next, you'll need to restore your Mac to factory condition. Depending on its age, it may have come with a boot disk. If you have it, that's a bonus for some buyers, so make sure to keep it safe. You can also boot off that disk, reformat your Mac's hard drive, and reinstall.

If you're running Lion or later, your Mac sports a recovery partition that'll let you restore the operating system.

Sell it to a friend or relative

Check around with friends, relatives, and acquaintances to find out if anyone is interested in buying your old Mac. Use social media, like Twitter and Facebook. You never know when you're going to get a hit.

Someone who knows you is less likely to rip you off and probably won't haggle with you nearly as much as a total stranger. Just go into the transaction with eyes wide open, and make sure you're ready for some post-sales support, especially if they're a new Mac user who's not familiar with how things work.

Also, make sure you're very honest with them about the working condition of your Mac. If there are any peculiarities at all, you're going to want to be upfront about them to avoid hurt feelings and buyer's remorse later.

Trade it for an Apple Gift Card

If you're in the United States, Apple has its own Renew and Recycling program that might interest you. Apple will take back any Mac, PC, iPhone or iPad to be reused or recycled. And if your Mac still has value, you can get an Apple Gift Card with the amount tacked onto it.

The service is coordinated through a company called PowerON. PowerON sends you packaging materials with free shipping too.

You can plug in your Mac's information on the site, and it'll tell you how much you'd get back in the form of a gift card. Like trading a used car in to a dealership, you'll likely get significantly less back than if you were to sell it to someone.

The upside, however, is that it's about as ironclad a deal as you can get online. You're dealing with a third party that Apple_ _ authorizes, and you're getting an Apple gift card that'll knock some money off your next Mac purchase. A bird in the hand, as the saying goes.

Use a local Mac reseller or big-box retailer

Apple retail stores will accept recycling drop-offs, but if there's a friendly neighborhood Apple-authorized third party reseller in your area, it may be worth a call or a drop-in to find out if they deal with used equipment.

Typically, a reseller will only be interested in the Mac if it's still reasonably new and can be resold without too much of a hassle. It would be a bonus if you had the foresight to get AppleCare for it (and it's still active).

Don't always count on walking out with cash in hand. The dealer may want to sell it for you on consignment — they'll broker the sale and get a cut for their effort. You can try to wheel and deal a bit with them to see if they'll sweeten the pot for you by offering you a discount on accessories or services for your next Mac if you purchase it from them. Don't count on a big discount on your next Mac, though — Apple sets the price on those, and resellers can't typically deviate very far without losing money or their right to sell Apple products.

Best Buy, for example, offers a trade-in program for used electronics — many Macs are eligible (mine wasn't). You'll typically be rewarded in the form of a gift card to be used at that retailer (Best Buy is a case in point).

As with most of these corporate programs, there's overhead, and there's the company's profit margin, so the value of your system is likely to be way less than some of the other services mentioned. Still, it's a convenient way to get rid of something you'd rather not have a hassle with.

There are businesses like SellYourMac.com, Gazelle, CashForYourMac.com and others that will buy your used Mac for you and resell it or sell it wholesale to a used computer dealer. I don't think they're a great solution for selling your Mac, simply because they don't offer you very much.

Freecycle

You may ultimately decide your Mac's just not worth selling. Maybe it's broken, or maybe it's just too old and worth too little money. If that's the case, consider listing it on the Freecycle network.

Freecycle's basic mantra is "one man's trash is another man's treasure." Of course, no money exchanges hands, but it's a good way to clear out that shelf of unwanted stuff that other people might like.

Any more ideas on how to sell Mac?

Are you thinking of selling your Mac? Have you sold one recently? How did you do it? Let us know in the comments below!

Updated September 2021: Updated to reflect the most recent Macs.

When Apple released iTunes and the iPod many years ago, it is no understatement to say that they revolutionized the music industry. As the industry has gone increasingly digital, and as our tastes in music have evolved, it is now easier than ever to make studio-quality music from the comfort of your home. Whether you are an experienced professional with an in-home studio who just needs some new monitors, or you're a young musician with big dreams, we've compiled some of the best monitors you can get for your studio.

Down to the sound

No matter what your studio setup is, be it a dorm room or a professional in-home studio, you'll need some good monitors to ensure you're getting just the right sound for your music. My favorite are the Edifier R1280Ts because they look great, they sound great, and they won't break the bank.

And don't forget to check which cables you need to hook those bad boys up! It might be a good idea to purchase a 3.5mm to RCA cable at the same time as your speakers. Even if you aren't producing tracks and just love listening to good music or you want the ultimate gaming audio, any of the speakers on this list would be great for you.

Each fall, Mac users are introduced to an operating system update. Later this year, we'll say hello to macOS Monterey and all of its new goodies. Windows users, by contrast, have to wait years before Redmond decides to flip the number on the world's leading operating system. 2021 is one of those years. Finally, after six years, Microsoft's about to replace Windows 10 with Windows 11.

These two changes, coupled with the gradual Mac transition to Apple silicon, have no doubt caused plenty of sleepless nights for Corel's Parallels team over the past year. Normally tasked with releasing one new version of its popular virtualization software for Mac each year, the team had to create and complete three versions since the middle of 2020.

In August 2020, Parallels Desktop 16 launched just ahead of the release of macOS Big Sur. Eight months later, a rare mid-year version was released, Parallels Desktop 16.5, which added support for Apple's M1 Macs. Now there's Parallels Desktop 17, which supports the incoming macOS Monterey update, and Windows 11 as a virtual operating system, which should launch to the public before the end of the year.

Parallels Desktop 17 isn't packed with as many new features as some of its more recent predecessors. Instead, nearly everything added in this update falls under the broader performance umbrella. That's in no way a dig. Rather, it underscores the company's almost obsessive commitment to making sure its top-selling product continues to impress no matter what Apple and Microsoft throw at it.

Parallels Desktop 17: Price and availability

The new Parallels Desktop 17 is available for download from the Parallels website. It's available in full and upgrade packages starting at $50. You can purchase Pro or Business versions through yearly subscriptions or a Standard version for a one-time fee. Student pricing is also available, as well as a free trial.

Parallels Desktop 17: Easy Setup, incredible speed, and improved drag & drop make it a winner

It wasn't that long ago when installing Parallels Desktop required a lot of time and patience. That's no longer the case. Once you've downloaded Parallels Desktop 17, the installation process is a breeze that takes just a few minutes.

Speed isn't just left for the Parallels Desktop 17 installation. Across the board, there are significant performance improvements that almost make you forget you're using a virtual desktop. The latest Parallels Desktop version runs Windows 38% faster than before, while graphics performance has increased 25% for 2D graphics and 28% for Directx 11. Additionally, disk performance is up 20% for Apple M1 users versus Parallels Desktop 16.5.

Shifting gears, although it's definitely not a technical term, cool is the best word to describe drag and drop between a virtual Windows desktop and your Mac. One impressive highlight: in macOS Monterey, you have the amazing ability to drag and drop content from Windows apps to Apple's new Quick Note feature.

Parallels also deserves kudos on making Coherence mode even better. When using this mode, the actual Windows desktop gets removed, keeping only active Windows apps in the foreground. Improvements make it nearly impossible to tell the difference between these and open macOS apps. This type of setup is important for anyone who doesn't want to choose between using macOS and Windows. Now you can have them both with no slowdown or disruption when moving between the two.

Finally, it's important to circle back around to the improved gaming performance on Parallels Desktop 17.

Gaming has always been popular for Windows users. Until now, however, a poor performance made it difficult to do PC gaming through virtual Windows on a Mac. Parallel's improved performance mentioned above means smoother Windows UI and synchronized video playback. There's also a new display driver in place that increases the frame rate. The result is a PC gaming experience on Mac like no other and reason alone to upgrade to Parallels Desktop 17.

Installing Parallels Desktop 17 on my MacBook Pro with M1 (and the latest version of macOS Monterey beta) worked very well, as well as adding a fresh virtual copy of Windows 10. However, upgrading to Windows 11 was a much rockier experience, although this had nothing to do with the virtualization tool and everything to do with Apple silicon.

First, understand that Parallels Desktop 17 supports virtual versions of Windows 11, even though all the best Macs and older ones don't have TPM 2.0. Short for Trusted Transport Module, TPM 2.0 is a hardware security feature found on most Windows-based computers and a requirement for Windows 11.

When Windows 11 was first announced, this requirement caused much anger in the Windows community. The reason? Some Windows 10 computers (even some newer ones) don't come with TPM 2.0 and won't work with Windows 11.

Regardless, Parallels Desktop 17 lets you install Windows 11 through virtualization. As the company explains:

For those with an Apple silicon-based Mac, there are a few more steps to take to install Windows 11 through Parallels Desktop 17. Unfortunately, these steps aren't very pretty.

To run any version of Windows through Parallels on an Apple M1 Mac, you need an ARM version of the operating system. Unfortunately, Microsoft's only offering a free ARM Insider Preview version of Windows 10 Pro. Once M1 users get that version installed using Parallels Desktop 17, they must get past a nasty TPM 2.0 error before upgrading to at least a beta version of Windows 11.

There are various workarounds available online that make this possible, each sometimes more painful then the next. Once this step is completed, Parallels Desktop 17 works very well with virtual Windows 11.

Hopefully, they'll be fewer steps to install Windows 11 through virtualization prior to its general release. However, for this to happen, Microsoft will need to offer a full ARM version of Windows 11.

Parallels Desktop 17 supports a significant lineup of guest operating systems, including older versions of macOS and Windows, plus Ubuntu Linux 21.04, 20.10, 20.04, Fedora Workstation 34, 33-1.2, Debian GNU/Linux 10.7, Kali Linux 2021.2, 2021.1, and many others.

Support varies, depending on whether you have an Intel or Apple silicon Mac, however.

Parallels Desktop 17: Confusing price points

My biggest beef about Parallels Desktop 17 has nothing to do with the actual software. Instead, year-after-year, Parallels continues to offer different packages in ways that make selecting one somewhat confusing.

A few years ago, Parallels switched to a subscription model that requires yearly payments to continue using the software. For this, subscribers get free upgrades to every version of Parallels and choose between Pro and Business versions of the software.

The confusion comes into play because Parallels is still offering a standard version of Parallels Desktop. Available for a one-time fee, this version has fewer features and only covers updates for the current version of Parallels. Thus, moving up to a new version (such as Parallels Desktop 16 to 17) requires paying for an upgrade.

Parallels should at least be commended for still offering a non-subscription version of its software — it's an option other tech companies no longer provide. And yet, the pricing for it and the two subscription versions are so close that it probably makes more sense to go with the latter, especially when you consider the changes that come with new versions of Parallels each year.

Those who subscribe to Parallels Desktop 17 also receive Parallels Toolbox, which is offered separately for $20 per year. Parallels Toolbox offers over 30 tools that make it easier to use your computer. These tools include ones involving video, time management, security, and more. This bonus feature is perhaps reason enough to subscribe to Parallels Desktop 17 and not buy the standard edition, which doesn't come with the extra software.

Beyond the confusing pricing, Parallels Desktop 17 is a terrific product that deserves the five-star rating it's receiving this year.

Parallels Desktop 17: Alternatives

VirtualBox and VMware Fusion are the two most obvious Parallels competitors, although there are others. To date, neither of these versions run on Apple silicon Macs, although they both support running Windows 11 virtually. If you're not on Apple silicon and don't care so much about Windows 11, the alternatives are worth considering. Otherwise, choose Parallels Desktop 17.

Parallels Desktop 17: Should you get it?

If you're looking for a virtualization solution for your Mac, look no further than Parallels Desktop 17. The software is compatible with Intel and Apple silicon Macs and is ready to go on macOS Monterey. Unfortunately, to date, it doesn't appear the competition is anywhere near supporting everything Parallels does.

Parallels Desktop 17: The bottom line

The best virtualization software for macOS just got better. Buy a copy or download a trial version of Parallels Desktop 17 today and start using other operating systems on your Mac.

What you need to know

• iCloud+ will include support for custom domain names for iCloud Mail users.
• Poeple will be able to invite others to use the same domain name.

Apple's big WWDC opening keynote saw a ton of things announced yesterday with iCloud+ just one of them. The new name for iCloud's paid tiers brings with it its own new features, including one that wasn't announced during that event – support for custom domain names when using iCloud Mail.

The feature is mentioned on the iOS 15 preview page on Apple's website, but that's as much as we have. It does sound promising though, with Apple also noting that we'll be able to invite other people to use the same domain on their iCloud Mail accounts as well.

The addition of support for custom domains could change the game for many, especially those who have had to deal with using Google and Microsoft products when they'd rather use Apple's.

We don't know any more than that at this stage and there doesn't appear to be any kind of interface relating to this in the initial iOS 15 beta that I can find. It's still early days however and Apple will no doubt be adding – and removing! – things as we work our way through the long and winding beta process.

One thing we do know is that the new M1 iPad Pro is super duper awesome. It isn't cheap though, so make sure you snag one from our list of the best iPad Pro deals on the internet. Everyone likes saving money, right?

What you need to know

• Apple now lists the iPhone and Mac in France with repairability scores.
• That's in order to comply with a new law in the country.

Apple has added repairability scores to listings for the iPhone 12, M1 MacBook and other products in a bid to comply with new laws in France.

From Macgeneration:

Apple has also listed the repairability of its Macs, including the 16-inch MacBook Pro, M1 MacBook Air, and M1 MacBook Pro.

As the report notes, companies must set their own ratings using criteria set out by the Ministry of Ecological Transition. The new laws in the country came into effect from January 1, but seem to have had some grace period as Apple has only just pushed out its scores to comply. The rules cover smartphones and laptops, as well as lawnmowers, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines. Repairability is based on available documentation, how easy a device is to disassemble, the availability and delivery time of spare parts, the price of spare parts, and available software updates.

You can have it for years, and it'll still work fine without any major issues. The downside is, when Apple releases a new Mac, you don't really need to get one since your current MacBook still works fine, and is still getting software updates, like Big Sur. If you're still rocking an older MacBook with no Touch ID, you don't know what you're missing. Being able to unlock your Mac with the tip of your finger is simple and more convenient than typing your password every time you use it.

Fortunately, you can still enjoy Touch ID, even if you're MacBook doesn't have the necessary hardware. And that's thanks to a little app called MacID. With this little app, you can unlock your Mac, control your music, and even send a copied text from your device to your Mac's clipboard. All that right from your iPhone or iPad. If you want to learn how to use Touch ID on older Macs, here's what you need to know.

How to get MacID

To use MacID, you'll need it on your iPhone or iPad and your Mac. You can purchase the iOS version in the App Store for $3.99. The Mac version is available for free directly from the developer's website. Make sure all of your devices are compatible before downloading the app.

• MacBook 2015 and newer
• MacBook Air 2011 and newer
• MacBook Pro 2012 and newer
• Mac Mini 2011 and newer
• Mac Pro 2013 and newer
• iMac 2012 and newer
• iPhone 4s and newer
• iPad 4th generation and newer
• iPad mini
• iPad Air
• iPod Touch 5th generation and newer
• Apple Watch

How to set up MacID on your iPhone and Mac

You'll have to set up MacID on both your iPhone (or iPad) and your Mac so the two devices can communicate with each other.

1. Launch MacID on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Launch MacID on your Mac.
3. Select your iOS device from the list in MacID on your Mac.
   • If no device appears, you can reset Bluetooth, which will restart your Mac. This will clear any miscommunications between your iOS device and your Mac.

4. Enter your Mac's login password.
5. Re-enter your Mac's login password to confirm.
6. Click Continue.
7. If applicable, make sure that MacID is set up to show on your Apple Watch.

When you look at MacID on your iPhone, you will see that your Mac is listed under Connected Devices.

How to use Touch ID on older Macs using MacID

Once the two apps are set up and synced to talk to each other, you will be able to set up MacID to automatically lock when you leave the room, wake up when you walk back into the room, and unlock using Touch ID on your iPhone or secure contact using Apple Watch.

1. With the screen locked, wake your Mac.
2. On your iPhone, hold your Touch ID registered finger on the Home button to unlock your Mac. On your Apple Watch, tap Unlock.

Your Mac will unlock and you can start working.

You can set up your Mac to automatically lock when you walk away from it (and have your iPhone and Apple Watch on you). I should note that, even if you have MacID on your Apple Watch, you will need to move your iPhone away from your Mac to trigger proximity auto-lock.

1. On your Mac, click on MacID in the Menu bar.
2. Click on Auto-lock when away from Mac from the drop down menu.
3. Click on the distance threshold to lock your Mac. You can choose from low, medium, high, or a customized distance.

When you walk away from your Mac, it will automatically lock.

You can set up MacID so that it wakes your screen when you walk into the room. You can also enable it to automatically unlock your Mac, instead of having to follow the two-step process of waking, and then unlocking your Mac. This method is slightly less secure, so I only recommend using it with Macs that are stationary in your home and won't ever leave your house.

I should note that, even if you have MacID on your Apple Watch, you will need to move your iPhone away from your Mac to trigger proximity wake.

1. On your Mac, click on MacID in the Menu bar.
2. Click on Proximity Wake from the drop down menu.

3. Click On.
4. Click Custom to adjust how close you must be to wake your screen.
5. Click on Unlock automatically to enable MacID to wake and unlock your Mac in one step.

How to lock or unlock your Mac with a tap pattern using MacID

You don't have to use biometrics to unlock your Mac. If you have a trackpad or Magic Mouse, you can actually set up a tapping pattern instead.

1. On your Mac, click on MacID in the Menu bar.
2. Click on Tap to Unlock.
3. Click on Set up.

4. Hover your mouse over the virtual trackpad on the screen and tap your physical trackpad or Magic Mouse in specific spots.
   • This takes a bit of practice to get used to, so you may have to re-setup your tap pattern a few times before you get it right.
5. Click Save.

6. Click on MacID in the Menu bar again.
7. Click on Tap to Unlock.
8. Click on Taps visible on Lock screen to see a visual notification that your taps are actually working when your Mac screen is locked.
9. Click on Only enter password if primary device is connected so that you can't use the trackpad or Magic Mouse to unlock your Mac if your iPhone or iPad is not connected.
10. Click on Tap pattern also locks Mac to enable the ability to lock your Mac using the same tapping pattern.

How to control audio playback on your Mac with your iPhone or iPad using MacID

You can do many other things using MacID, not only learning how to use Touch ID on older Macs. For instance, if you are playing music from your Mac, you can use MacID on your iPhone or Apple Watch to pause/play or skip ahead or back. On Apple Watch, you can also adjust the volume or mute the audio.

1. Play music on your Mac.
2. Launch MacID on your iPhone or Apple Watch.
3. On your iPhone, tap pause/play, skip ahead, or skip back on the connected device. On your Apple Watch, tap the musical note, then tap pause/play, skip ahead, or skip back.

4. On your Apple Watch, tap volume up, volume down, or mute to adjust the audio.

How to turn on your Mac's screensaver using MacID

With MacID, you can quickly trigger the screensaver on your Mac without having to wait for it to turn on automatically.

1. Launch MacID on your iPhone or Apple Watch.
2. On your iPhone, swipe to the left on your connected device.
3. On Apple Watch, tap the More button (...).

4. Tap Screensaver.

How to share clipboards between iOS and Mac using MacID

MacID makes it possible to copy text from your Mac and paste it on your iPhone or iPad. So, if your Mac doesn't support Universal Clipboard in macOS Sierra, you're in luck.

1. Copy text from a document, app, or web page on your Mac.
2. On your Mac, click on MacID in the Menu bar.
3. Click on Send clipboard text to all iOS devices.

4. On your iPhone, select a text field (like email, message, URL, etc.).
5. Press and hold the screen until the options menu appears.
6. Tap Paste.

The text you copied from your Mac will paste into the text field on your iPhone or iPad.

Any questions?

As you can see, MacID has a bunch of features you can use, but they may be hard to understand at first. Do you still have any questions about how to use Touch ID on older Macs? Let us know in the comments!

Updated December 2020: Updated for iPadOS 14.

So, you've finally jumped ship and entered the Apple ecosystem as a new Mac owner. Welcome to the family! We Mac users love to share our knowledge, so please join the iMore forums if you have any questions. In the meantime, here are a few tips you should know about using your new Mac.

1. Set up a backup plan for your Mac

No matter how much you store in iCloud, you should always back up your Mac. Time Machine is the easiest method, but other plans might work better for you. The choice is yours.

• How to set up and use Time Machine
• How to choose a backup plan for your Mac
• Best backup services for your Mac

2. Sign in to iCloud

One of the best reasons to switch to Mac is the Apple ecosystem, which is largely fueled by iCloud syncing. You can access photos, documents, movies, music, and more, all with your iCloud account. Just make sure you are signed in to iCloud using the same Apple ID to sync your iOS, tvOS, and watchOS data.

• How to set up iCloud

3. Sign in to the Music, Podcasts, and TV apps

The Mac no longer has a singular iTunes program. Instead, all of your music, movies and TV shows, and podcasts have been divvied up across three dedicated apps. I promise the user experience is much, much better. We've got a guide for each of these apps for you for macOS Big Sur.

• How to use the Music app on Mac
• How to use the Podcasts app on Mac
• How to use the TV app on Mac

4. Set up Email and Calendar

Although there are many fantastic email and calendar apps for the Mac, you should still set up the built-in Mail and Calendar apps on your Mac. The reason? Some third-party apps use them as a jumping-off point for syncing data (mostly just iCal, actually), and partly because you never know when your favorite third-party app will stop working. The built-in Mail and Calendar apps will most likely always be supported by Apple for the foreseeable future.

• How to use the Mail app on Mac
• How to use the Calendar app on Mac

5. Set up Optimized Storage

Apple has developed a great way for you to keep your Mac's hard drive from getting too full. Using several iCloud syncing options, as well as a healthy clutter cleaning regimen, you can keep your hard drive free for more important downloads.

• How to set up and use Optimized Storage on Mac
• How to customize or disable Optimized Storage on Mac

6. Set up automatic downloads

Apple regularly updates macOS with new and awesome features. Some Mac app developers also like to keep things ticking with regular updates. You can ensure you don't miss anything by setting up automatic downloads, which run in the background.

• How to set up automatic downloads on Mac

7. Connect your printer

Peripherals like a keyboard, trackpad, and mouse are all important to getting the most out of your Mac, but you should also think about setting up a printer. Even if you don't need it now, you will probably need one at some point, and you don't want to be rushing around at the last minute.

• Best AirPrint printers

8. Download apps and games

As much as Apple gives you plenty of programs to help get you started on your Mac, there are still a ton of other apps you will need for productivity, entertainment, and more. That's where the Mac App Store comes in. You can find almost every type of app in the Mac App Store. Once you download an app, it is available to download on all other Macs synced with your Apple ID, as long as the app is in the Mac App Store.

• How to download apps from the Mac App Store

9. Get to know Spotlight

Spotlight is your go-to program for finding practically everything you need on your Mac or the Web. You can look up directions using Maps, open a Terminal window, find utilities you didn't know you had, and more. All you have to do is click on the search icon in the upper right corner of your Mac's screen and type in a word or phrase. Spotlight will search through all of your files, folders, emails, and documents to find the right content. If that's not enough, Spotlight will also search through your entire computer system and even look up stuff on the web.

• How to use Spotlight on the Mac

10. Migrate your files

Just because you've moved from Windows to Mac doesn't mean you can't take your important paperwork with you. You can move data from your old PC to your new Mac using Migration Assistant.

How to transfer data from your old PC to your new Mac

Are you a new Mac owner looking for a change?

As Apple adds new Macs to its lineup, iMore adjusts our yearly recommendations. Be sure to check out our latest recommendations before making a decision.

• Best MacBook
• Best Mac Desktop

Have any more questions?

As a new Mac owner, do you have any questions about getting started with your Mac? Leave a comment below. You can also visit the iMore forums for help from our staff and readers.

Updated December 2020: Updated for the latest Macs.

Apple has made it easy to pay for things on the web securely. Whether you are browsing mobile or sitting at your desk, you can pay with Apple Pay at dozens of participating online retailers with a touch of your finger.

If you do a lot of online shopping on your Mac, Apple Pay lets you authorize payments made on your Mac via the Touch ID (or Face ID) sensor on your MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iPhone, or via Apple Watch — as such, you can say sayonara to typing your credit card information into every site that needs it.

Note: Apple Pay on the web is only supported in Apple's Safari app.

How Apple Pay on the Mac works

When you're shopping online on your Mac with Safari, you may be able to use Apple Pay to purchase your items. Participating online stores will offer a Buy with Apple Pay button during checkout; when you click that button, your Mac will request authorization (either via Touch ID sensor on your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro keyboard or via your iPhone or Apple Watch). From there, all you have to do is use your fingerprint (or skin contact, if using Apple Watch) to authorize the sale.

How to set up and manage Apple Pay on your Mac

The iPhone, Apple Watch, and Mac support Apple Pay. Whether you have a new MacBook Air or MacBook Pro with Touch ID or are still rocking an older Mac, here's how you can set up Apple Pay and manage your Wallet.

• How to set up and manage Apple Pay on your Mac

How to use Apple Pay on your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro with Touch ID

1. Open Safari on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Navigate to a participating retailer website that offers Apple Pay on the web.
3. Navigate through to the checkout process.
4. Tap Checkout with Apple Pay.
5. Tap Pay with Apple Pay.
6. Double-check your contact information to make sure your shipping and billing address is correct.
7. Rest your Touch ID-registered finger on the Touch ID button to confirm that you want to pay with Apple Pay.

How to use Apple Pay on Macs without Touch ID

Don't have a new MacBook Air or MacBook Pro? You can still use Apple Pay on an older Mac to buy from dozens of online retailers if you own an iPhone with Touch ID or Face ID or an Apple Watch. Here's how!

1. Open Safari on your desktop or laptop computer.
2. Navigate to a participating retailer website that offers Apple Pay on the web.
3. Navigate through to the checkout process.
4. Tap Checkout with Apple Pay.
5. Tap Pay with Apple Pay.
6. Double-check your contact information to make sure your shipping and billing address is correct.
7. Grab your iPhone or lift the wrist your Apple Watch is on.
8. Rest your Touch ID-registered finger on the Home button of your iPhone with Touch ID, double-press the Side button on devices with Face ID, or press the Side button on your Apple Watch to Pay with Apple Pay.

Upgrade time?

Are you in the market for a new Mac? Check out our list of the best MacBooks of the year. You'll be happy you did!

Questions?

Any other questions about using Apple Pay on your Mac? Let us know in the comments.

Updated November 2020: Updated for the new M1 MacBook Pro.

Apple's "One More Thing" event has now passed, but not without unveiling the new Apple silicon M1 System on a Chip (SoC) and accompanying Macs with M1. There was a lot to take in during the short presentation, so here's what you may have missed.

The new Apple silicon M1 Macs cannot be upgraded later in terms of memory and storage

Apple's M1 SoC is going to be in the new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. With M1, you're getting 16 billion transistors, Apple's own GPU, CPU, T2, and RAM, all in one chip. The CPU is also going to be 8-cores (except in the base MacBook Air), with four of them for power and performance, with the remaining cores geared for efficiency (using a 10th of the power of previous Macs).

However, one of the biggest issues with the new M1 chip is the fact that Apple is only giving users the option to choose between 8GB or 16GB of RAM. There is no higher configuration available, and since the RAM is on the M1 chip itself, you cannot upgrade it yourself later. Upping the RAM to 16GB also adds on another $200 to the price of whatever Mac you're choosing, so it's not cheap.

While Apple provides users with the option to upgrade the storage on their Mac when purchasing, if it's like recent Macs, you won't be able to upgrade the storage on your own since they're soldered in. But you can expand the storage with an external hard drive.

It's important to note that the M1 Mac mini will be the first Mac mini where you won't be able to upgrade the internal storage.

Apple silicon M1 Macs do not support eGPUs

The new M1 SoC features Apple's own GPU on it, which will be Apple's most advanced GPU yet. It'll be able to run nearly 25,000 threads simultaneously thanks to the eight powerful cores. But if you were hoping to add to that with an eGPU, then you're going to be out of luck.

The new M1 Macs seem to have stopped supporting external GPUs (eGPU). So if you were hoping to augment the graphical power of a new M1 Mac, especially for gaming or heavy photo and video workflows, then you'll have to wait or pick up an Intel Mac that still supports eGPUs, as those are still being sold alongside the new M1 Macs.

The M1 chip packs in a lot of custom technologies

Besides being Apple's first SoC for Macs, the M1 packs in many other custom technologies that improve the overall Mac experience. The M1 includes Apple's latest image signal processor (ISP) that delivers higher quality video with better noise reduction, greater dynamic range, and improved auto white balance.

macOS Big Sur is fully optimized for Apple silicon M1

Even though macOS Big Sur is still going to be available for Intel Macs, it has been revealed that it is optimized to be used on M1 Macs for best performance. Big Sur has been engineered down to its core to take advantage of the capability and power of M1, so you'll see the best performance, battery life, and strongest security on the M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, as well as the Mac mini.

Big changes involving Big Sur and M1 Macs is the ability to wake up from sleep instantly, and Safari browsing will be 1.5x faster with JavaScript and 2x more responsive.

This is the start of a 2-year transition to Apple silicon

It may not have been announced in big print during the presentation, but the M1 SoC is the beginning of a 2-year transition for Macs. The M1 MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini are the first Macs with M1, and the entire process of switching over from Intel to Apple silicon will take about two years. These are just the first Macs, and we'll see more Apple silicon Macs in the coming year.

The Mac mini starting price got cut by $100

Previously, the Mac mini started at $799. The new M1 Mac mini now starts at $699, which is cheaper than its previous iterations. This brings it down to a more reasonable price for those who want to pick up a Mac mini, but the upgradeable configurations can bump the price up by quite a bit, depending on your needs.

The new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro still have 720p cameras

During the event, Apple claimed that the M1 SoC would have improvements to image signal processing, so you get higher quality video with better noise reduction, greater dynamic range, and improved auto white balance. However, it seems that all of this is done through software because the MacBook Air and MacBook Pros with M1 still have a FaceTime camera with 720p resolution. So if you were holding out for a 1080p FaceTime camera, that's not happening just yet. But the M1 processor sounds like it will greatly improve the image quality captured with that 720p camera, so it's a start.

Apple silicon paves the way for the future of Macs

Even though the "One More Thing" event was short and only discussed the Apple silicon M1 SoC and a few Macs, there was a lot of information to digest. These are a few of the things you may have missed from the event, but they are pretty important.

Are you excited about Apple silicon Macs? Did you order a new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or Mac mini? Let us know in the comments!

What you need to know

• Apple's T2 chip has a major security flaw.
• That's according to the findings of one security researcher.
• Apparently, the chip can be compromised using the same checkm8 exploit used to jailbreak devices running iOS.

According to a security researcher, Apple's T2 chip has a critical vulnerability that could allow a hacker to bypass a Mac's disk encryption, firmware passwords, and more.

According to Niels Hofmans at ironPeak:

Hofmans says the vulnerability is unpatchable, however is not a "persistent vulnerability". This, Hofmans states, means that for a hacker to take advantage of this, they would need a hardware insert or "other attached component" like a malicious USB-C cable to take advantage.

The report continues:

The report also says that FindMy's remote device locking feature can be bypassed if you were to misplace your Mac or have it stolen.

According to the blog, this vulnerability has been disclosed to Apple "on numerous occasions" without a response. The report postulates that Apple doesn't plan on going public with a statement and is quietly developing a new patched T2 chip for its upcoming Macs.

A T2 vulnerability has previously been alluded to by various iOS hackers, as noted by ZDNet:

The report says that the long and short of the exploit is that "macOS devices are no longer safe to use if left alone, even if you have them powered down." The exploit can be used to brute-force a FileVault2 volume password, alter your macOS installation, and load arbitrary kernel extensions. The report again stresses, however, that this is only possible through physical access.

In response to the post, security expert Will Strafach noted a few responses tempering alarm around the issue, stating on Twitter:

"T2 is and has been vulnerable to checkm8, released in late 2019.

Strafach echoed ironPeak's sentiment regarding Apple's failure to respond to the issue stating:

You can read the full report here.

What you need to know

• You can now officially trade-in a Mac at Apple stores in the U.S. and Canada.
• Previously this service has only been available online.
• It means you can take your Mac into a store and get a gift card towards a new purchase.

Reports that Apple was planning to introduce a new Mac trade-in program to stores in the U.S. and Canada are now official.

A report last week suggested Apple would introduce the new trade-in program this week:

On June 16, Apple updates the FAQ for its trade-in program, removing a sentence that stated that the service for Mac trade-in was only available online.

Apple's Trade In FAQ now states:

Apple's estimated trade-in values for Mac models is as follows:

• MacBook Pro Up to $1760
• MacBook Air Up to $690
• MacBook Up to $480
• iMac Pro Up to $3850
• iMac Up to $1390
• Mac Pro Up to $1580
• Mac mini Up to $1100

If you previously thought you could trade in a Mac at an Apple store, then you're technically not wrong. Ever since Apple introduced its online-only Mac trade-in service, store staff have been trained to assist customers in carrying out the online process in-store, even shipping the old Mac for the customer. The difference now is that staff will be able to do this on Apple's retail systems, using the credit to offset the price of a new purchase immediately in-store.

All technology ages. Hardware becomes outdated; software becomes too burdensome for older models — its the product life cycle in motion and MacBooks are no different.

Apple recently moved five models to "Vintage" status on its Vintage and Obsolete products list, and it's possible it the model you use is on that list. A few of my coworkers here at iMore still use vintage and obsolete machines every day, meaning its no reason to panic.

What does vintage and obsolete mean?

While the word may make you think of a cool old piece of clothing or a rare collector's item, you rarely think of anything good when you hear the words "vintage" and "MacBook" in the same sentence — nevermind the word "obsolete." The terms come down to the age of the device and Apple's stance on repairing them.

Vintage products are devices that have not been sold for more than five, but less than seven years ago, and they will continue to receive hardware service from Apple service providers (like the retail stores) as long as they have inventory.

Here's what Apple says about obsolete products:

Basically, if you have a vintage device, you should still be able to get it repaired as long as the parts and services are still available. If you have an obsolete product, you won't be able to get the hardware serviced at all.

There's no correlation between vintage and obsolete products and software updates. Apple prides itself on providing software updates devices for years on all its products, and even if your device is considered vintage or obsolete, it doesn't necessarily mean it won't be supported through software updates.

Apple support for hardware and software is impressive

It's no secret that Apple is fantastic at support older devices with software updates — way better than the fragmented Android market does — but the hardware support is pretty impressive.

If you buy a new MacBook today, you have at least five years before that model becomes "vintage," meaning regardless of which problem you have with that MacBook, for five years, you should be able to get it repaired no problem. Obviously, paying for that repair (depending on what needs fixing) will cost you something depending on what coverage you may have, but you will be able to get it fixed.

In my experience, getting a Windows laptop repaired after a few years can be a nightmare. Depending on what warranty you have and where you bought the device, the repair process can be atrocious.

MacBooks are often criticized as being quite expensive for what they are, and while there is some truth to that, I think you need to take the lifespan of the product into account when making any big purchase. At a minimum, it takes seven years for a new MacBook to become "obsolete" if you break down the price of a MacBook over seven years, it starts to look a lot better.

Take the new 13-inch MacBook Pro as an example. The base model costs $1,300, which means the price over seven years would work out to about $185 per year — that's a great value. Plus, that entire time, you're able to get repairs done. Meaning you won't be stuck without a device if your MacBook did decide to give out.

MacBooks work for a long time

The bottom line is that Apple is great at supporting its devices, both through software and hardware, and the "vintage" and "obsolete" designations aren't that important.

Plenty of people I know are still using 2013 MacBook Pros in 2020 wth no issues. Sure they run a little slower than they used to, but the value they've gotten out of that machine for the past seven years is virtually unmatched by other companies.

iMore's not just the best place to come for news, how-tos, and analysis on all thinges Apple. It's also a vibrant community of writers and readers, interacting with one another discussing the important issues and hottest topics of the day regarding technology and how it impacts our daily lives.

If you want to join in with the discussions that the community's having, the best way to do that is to create a Passport account here at iMore. Here's how to get started.

How to sign up for iMore

1. Open iMore.com in your browser of choice.
2. Click or tap the hamburger menu (looks like three black horizontal lines) in the top-left corner of the screen.
3. Click or tap Sign Up.

4. Enter a username.
5. Enter your email address.
6. Enter a password. Make it a strong one.

7. Enter the same password again to confirm it.
8. Complete the reCAPATCHA box.
9. Click or tap the checkboxes to remove the checkmarks if you don't want to receive newsletters or promotional emails.

10. Click or tap Continue.
11. Open your email app of choice. In this case, we'll use Mail on the iPad.
12. Click or tap the verification link in the email titled Mobile Nations Passport New Email Verification.

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Let us know in the comments down below!

I don't know how long I've been hearing that ARM Macs were "coming in the next year or two," but I'm pretty sure I was still in my 20s. Now we have another report that Apple will start selling Macs with Apple-designed processors by 2021. The Mac chip is reportedly based on Apple's upcoming A14 system-on-a-chip, expected later this year with Apple's new flagship iPhones.

To put it plainly, I've waited for this moment for years. I think a lot of people have. Well, maybe not Apple-designed chips specifically, but it's been clear for a while now that Intel can't keep up with not only Apple's schedule but its own. Apple's chip design has run rings around Intel (and everyone else) for years now, but only Apple's mobile devices and the Apple TV get to take advantage of them.

The Macs are relegated to using Intel chips, but it seems like those days are finally numbered. And I have to tell you, I'm really excited.

Diving into the future

The Mac lineup has been leashed to Intel's release roadmap since the mid-2000s when the company shipped the first MacBook Pro with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. And that was fine for a while. Intel would come out with increasingly-powerful chips that still sipped power relative to the PowerPC chips that Apple used before, and everything seemed alright.

But then Intel slowed down. Chips and process shrinkages got delayed. And thus, Apple would wait to release new Macs. After all, what was the point if the processors available to the Mac lineup weren't any better?

But in transitioning the Mac line to ARM, those concerns fade away. Apple's in-house chip design team has been working what might be some actual magic for the past several years. They've bypassed everyone in the processor game when it comes to mobile, including Intel and AMD. And while the team is bound to slow down at some point — the laws of physics come for us all, eventually — even when they do, Apple will always know when a chip update is coming.

Because when it comes to scheduling, it's less about improvements and more about consistency. Improvements to performance and power consumption are always necessary, but if Apple has control over when its processors are going to come out, it has a better handle on scheduling more consistent updates to the Mac lineup.

In adopting its custom-designed chips, Apple might also be able to bring some long-awaited features to the Mac. Apple's custom chips are known for their excellent power consumption, and the company will doubtless bring that power management to the Mac. The MacBook Air is currently rated for up to 12 hours of battery life (and has been for a while). I can imagine a scenario where Apple-designed processors allow that number to climb much higher. Or maybe that power efficiency gives Apple the headroom it feels that it needs to bring another long-requested feature to the Mac: cellular connectivity.

Given the performance of Apple's chips, especially more recent ones like the A12X and A13, I'm also looking forward to the possibility of a lot more performance in lighter, smaller packages. I'm not saying I'm looking for MacBook Pro performance in a MacBook Air chassis. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if an Apple processor in a Mac got us closer than ever before, at least relative to Intel.

Chip-pocolypse Now

If Apple is really planning on making this transition soon, I'd hope to hear about it officially at some point this year. In any kind of processor change, developers are going to need some lead time to look over exactly what this transition means for them, and what they need to do. They'll need to compile and optimize their applications for the new architecture to be ready to go by the time the first ARM Mac launches.

Maybe it won't be as much work as I'm thinking, but we won't know until Apple reveals this switch. No matter how much time we have, users should be prepared, because it's likely that there will still be apps that aren't ready for the transition as ARM Macs arrive on doorsteps. I'm a little hopeful that we'll hear about an ARM transition coming out of this year's virtual WWDC, so hopefully, we don't have too much longer to wait.

Final thoughts

I'm excited about the possibility of an ARM Mac. I haven't cared that much about Apple's portable Macs since I started going all-in on the iPad Pro (I still use a desktop Mac for a lot of work like editing and podcasting). But if I could get a MacBook with 15-20 hours of battery life, or with cellular connectivity, or even vastly improved performance with the same battery life, I'd certainly be intrigued.

If Apple's indeed preparing for this switch, there are a lot of questions that it'll have to answer. But I, for one, am ready for the next era of the Mac to begin.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm always happy to get more video games and nerd culture in my day. If you feel the same way, then we've got some exciting news for you. We're happy to announce that we've just created a new video game-centered Twitter account: iMore Games.

We'll post primarily about things related to Nintendo, Pokémon, Zelda, or any other games/accessories that make their way onto Nintendo's gaming systems. That means if we see good Nintendo deals, or if we see news regarding upcoming Nintendo hardware or services, you'll be sure to hear from us. Yes, we will also post big news regarding Xbox, PlayStation, PC, or mobile gaming, but if you're a big Nintendo fan, iMore Games is your best bet.

We'll be posting several times a week with the best stories and news as well as retweeting hilarious gaming posts, creating videos, polls, and more:

Of course, we'll also bring you more informative articles, like this one:

The bottom line here is that we're gaming nerds that want to share our love of Nintendo and other consoles with fellow gaming nerds. If you love seeing hilarious Zelda memes, or want to be better informed on video game-related news, follow us at iMore Games! You won't be disappointed.

We're also excited to see your feedback on the iMore Games Twitter account. Let's get a conversation going. You can leave us a comment below or tweet at us!

By the by, if you're interested in Xbox gaming, we do have a sister Twitter account for you, Windows Central Gaming. Check it out when you get a chance!

What you need to know

• A Gartner report indicates that shipments of Mac fell 3% year-over-year in Q4.
• Decline is despite the PC market's first signs of growth in 7 years.
• Apple's worldwide marketshare also declined to 7.5%.

A report from research and advisory company, Gartner, released today indicates that Apple's worldwide shipments of Macs has declined year-over-year. According to the press release, in Q4 2019 Macs dropped 3% when compared to 2018, with an estimated 5.26 million shipments reported, down from 5.42 million previously.

Apple's worldwide marketshare also took a hit, dropping to an estimated 7.5% of the overall market, down from 7.9% in Q4 2018. The decline in Mac shipments comes at a time where overall PC shipments were actually up for the first time in seven years, seeing growth of 2.3% year-over-year, and 0.6% for all of 2019.

The report continues with an estimation of 2019's shipment totals, also showing a decline for Apple in both growth and marketshare. For 2019, Apple's total Mac shipments are pegged at 18.35 million, down from 18.52 million across 2018, and marketshare dropped 0.9%, finishing at 7% for the year.

Apple's 7% marketshare for 2019 puts the company as the 4th largest PC vendor worldwide, which is the same as it was for 2018. The top 3 vendors include Lenovo with an estimated marketshare of 24.1%, HP at 22.2%, and Dell with 16.8% for 2019.

Despite the signs of life for the overall PC market, Gartner maintains that the consumer PC market will see a steady decline over the course of the next 5 years, but advancements for foldables is something that they will "keep an eye on".

As always, the numbers provided by Gartner are an estimation, and the actual numbers are no longer being reported by Apple, so there could certainly be some variances. Gartner's report also notes that the data only includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premiums like the Microsoft Surface line. Chromebook's and Apple's iPad sales are not included, and all of the numbers are stating as being estimates that are subject to change.

What you need to know

• An IBM study has revealed that employees using Macs were 22% more likely to exceed expectations in performance reviews compared to Windows users.
• Those employees using Macs also generated 16% more sales proceeds compared to Windows.
• The employees were also found to be more satisfied with their software and work in general.

An IBM study presented on November 12 has revealed that employees using Macs were 22% more likely to exceed expectations in performance reviews compared to Windows users.

According to AppleInsider - IBM's CIO Fletcher Previn presented the study and said:

Back in 2015, IBM gave employees the option to choose a Mac computer for work instead of Windows. The study covers some 200,000 devices since the inception of the Mac@IBM program.

Employees using Macs were not just more likely to perform better in individual reviews. The study also suggests that they also generated 16% larger proceeds when generating sales deals

In terms of overall job satisfaction, IBM reported that Mac users were 17% less likely to leave the company compared to Windows users, and only 5% of users felt the need to ask for additional software, compared to 11% for Windows.

Not only that, Macs proved more cost-effective, as IBM found that a team of only seven engineers is needed to maintain 200,000 Macs, compared to 20 for the same number of Windows PCs. 98% of Mac users found migration during setup simple, compared to 86% of users moving from Windows 7 to Windows 10. And Windows users were apparently five times more likely to require on-site support than Mac users.

As early as 2015, IBM had made it clear that giving employees the choice of Macs in the workplace had significantly cut its tech support workloads. However, these numbers probably aren't cut and dry. It seems quite a stretch to suggest that when considering performance review, sales proceeds and job satisfaction, simply using a Mac instead of Windows could be such a big factor. Or does it? Could a different device really make such a big impact on employee performance? Maybe you have a story about switching from Windows to Mac (or heaven forbid from Mac to Windows) in the workplace, let us know!

If you start to notice weird advertisements popping up in strange places on popular websites like YouTube, you might be infected. These ads tend to feature adult content or claim that a virus has been detected on your device and will often appear in places that you don't normally see ads.

You may also discover that your personal email or social networking sites are sending out messages that you didn't write. If this happens, you should immediately change your password to stop any more messages being sent from your account.

If your Mac just isn't responding the way it should, you might have malware planted into your system somewhere. If it takes much longer for your Mac to wake up than it used to, there may be something lurking in the shadows.

You won't always know if you have a virus. Technology has improved for the bad guys just as much as it has improved for the good guys. There are viruses out there that are smart enough to know how to hide deep in your system and work constantly to keep you from noticing it, all while performing malicious attacks. And once you're infected, it super easy for other devices connected to your network to become infected, too.

While you may think you don't need antivirus protection on your Mac, it's more important than ever now that Apple has grown so popular. Even if you use a limited, free version of a program, you'll be doing yourself a favor.

The Mac operating system includes a number of security tools that help keep adware and malware off your computer, including default restrictions on opening apps from unidentified developers. If you stick to only downloading apps from the Mac App Store and are good about staying away from seedy websites, you can keep your computer secure from most virus issues.

In fact, Apple's security tools are why you'll hear many old-school Mac users say that you don't need anti-virus protection. The Mac is locked down well right out of the box.

However, there is more to protecting yourself than just avoiding bad apps and websites. You never know when you are going to pick something up that could create havoc on your Mac or on somebody else's PC. That's why, for added protection, you should think about getting antivirus software.

Apple's built-in Time Machine app makes it simple to back up Mac data. You don't have to back up everything on your Mac, however. Here's how to selectively back up content using the Time Machine app in macOS Mojave.

• Our 2019 favorite: G-Technology G-Drive 1TB ($70 at Amazon)
• Compact: SanDisk Extreme Portable External 250B, 500GB, 1TB, 2GB (starting at $73 at Amazon)
• Sleak choice: LaCie Porsche Design 1TB, 2TB, 4TB (starting at $90 at Amazon)

How to enable Time Machine backups on your Mac

1. Select System Preferences from the Apple menu.
2. Choose the Time Machine icon.

3. Click Select Backup Disk.
4. Select which disk you'd like to use as a Time Machine backup.

5. Check the Back Up Automatically box in order to automatically back up your Mac to your chosen disks.

How to exclude files from Time Machine

Time Machine will back up most of your Mac automatically, but you might want to exclude certain files.

1. Open System Preferences on your Mac.
2. Click Time Machine.

3. Click Options….
4. Click the + button.

5. Choose the files or folders that you wish to exclude.
6. Click Exclude.

7. Click Save.

Use the steps above to successfully set up a backup process on your Mac and exclude certain files from being backed up.

Our top equipment pick

There are countless hard drives available that support Apple's Time Machine app for backup purposes. These three are among the best on the market.

Also available with 2TB and 4TB, G-Technology's G-Drive is one of the easiest drives to use for backup. Just plug it in and you're halfway there! It's available in silver, space gray, and rose gold.

The following hard drives are also among our favorites for 2019.

SanDisk Extreme Portable External 250B, 500GB, 1TB, 2GB (starting at $73 at Amazon)

This product proves that even hard drives can be beautiful.

LaCie Porsche Design 1TB, 2TB, 4TB (starting at $90 at Amazon)

LaCie is well known for its backup devices; this is one of the most popular on the market.

Sure, having your phone number attached to your Twitter account for two-factor authentication is great, but if you really wanted to make sure your account was secure, you'd take a peek into generating an app-specific password.

Before you assume this is too complicated to do on your own, just know that Twitter makes it super simple to set up. All you'll need is your computer, your cellphone, and a third-party authenticator app.

Some examples include

• Duo Mobile
• Google Authenticator
• Authy

How to set up a separate third-party authenticator to generate an app-specific password

1. From your Mac, click your profile icon.
2. Click Settings and privacy.

3. Click the Review your login verification methods button under the Security section.
4. Enter your password and then click confirm.

5. Click Set up next to Mobile Security app.
6. Click Start after reading the instructions. You may be asked to verify your password at this point. If not, a QR code will pop up on screen.

7. Launch your third-party authenticator app from your phone.
8. Scan the QR code. You will then see a 6-digit numeric security code appear on your phone screen.
9. Enter this code from your phone in the Security code text field in the pop-up window on your Mac and click Verify when you're done.

You can now use a separate app to generate your verification codes for your Twitter account.

Click here for more information on how to protect your Twitter account.

What do you think about app-specific passwords?

Are you someone who lives with the mindset that more security is better? Or would you rather just stick to your simple "Password123" and get it over with (kidding. Your password should never be Password123).

Let us know what you think in the comments down below!

According to a report by Joe Rossignol for MacRumors, Apple has finally replenished its top case assemblies with accompanying glued-in batteries for mid 2012 and early 2013 MacBook Pros with Retina display. This is following over a year of shortages during which Apple offered "free, delayed repairs" to customers — a service that the company is discontinuing now that the part is widely available again, Rossignol noted.

The shortage of the top cases for these models came to light all the way back in March 2017, when Apple technicians were notified of a "severe constraint." Apparently, Apple expected the shortage to clear up in just a few months — around September 15, 2017, to be exact — but the company kept pushing the date back as the lack of supplies persisted. All this resulted in some pretty generous offerings on Apple's part, such as the aforementioned free delayed repairs or allowing customers to exchange their non-functional MacBook Pro for a "functionally equivalent model."

Essentially, all this is to say that the system has once again returned to normal, and if you've got a MacBook Pro model in question in need of a battery replacement, you can go back to going through the usual channels and won't have to worry about a big delay.

For more information, I'd strongly suggest you give MacRumors' article a glance here.

Thoughts?

Did you have to wait for a battery replacement for your MacBook? What was your experience like? Share in the comments below.

Read more comics from The Pixel Project.

The holidays see many new devices gifted to everyone, young and old. A new Mac is a wonderful gift for a kid, as access to great apps and the internet can help them learn and discover new worlds, hobbies, talents, and potential career choices. But as we all know, the internet can be a dark and scary place, and certain aspect of the computer can get pretty messed up if little fingers decide to start exploring apps and processes they shouldn't.

Here's how to set up your Mac to be kid-friendly, safe for them to use, and fun!

• Best parental controls to set up
• Best starter apps for kids
• Kid-friendly accessories
• External parental controls

Best parental controls to set up

It's always to look at the parental restrictions when setting up any new computer, and Apple makes it incredibly easy to kid-proof your Mac. There's lots you can do with regard to parental controls, but these are the ones you should set up first:

Creating separate accounts for your kids gives them a sense of ownership and independence, but it also lets you slap parental controls on them so that you can safeguard their activity. It sounds counterintuitive, but you'll thank us when your Mac still works in a month, and your kids'll thank you in a few years when they're not scarred for life.

1. Click the Apple button on the top left of your screen.
2. Click System Preferences.

3. Click Parental Controls.
4. Click Create a new account with parental controls and then Continue.
5. Enter the administrator's username and password.

6. Click Unlock.
7. Select an age group from the dropdown menu when the new user account window appears.

8. Enter the name of the child whose user account this will be.
9. Create a username.

10. Create a password.
11. Verify the password.

12. Add a password hint in case you forget.
13. Click Create User.

You can repeat this for each account you'd like to make.

Let's face it: The internet is filled with porn. Not only that, but there's a ton of other stuff on there that kids just shouldn't see. Luckily, you can set parental controls to try and combat the onslaught of unsavory materials online.

1. Click on the Apple icon in the far left corner of your Mac's screen.
2. Select System Preferences from the dropdown menu.

3. Click on Parental Controls.
4. Click the lock in the bottom left of the Parental Controls window.

5. Enter the administrator username and password for your Mac.
6. Click Unlock.

7. Select an account that has parental controls enabled.
8. Click on the Web tab at the top of the Parental Controls window.

9. Click Allow unrestricted access to websites if you want your child to have access to all websites.
10. Click Try to limit access to adult websites.
    • Click Customize to specify websites that your child can access and ones that they cannot.
    • Enter web addresses that your child can always access and ones your child can never access. This method is difficult and time-consuming, but if you know what to look for, it can give your kids more freedom to explore the internet.

11. Click Allow access to only these websites to limit your children's use of the internet to only specific websites.
    • Click the add (+) button to add a specific website.
    • Click the remove (-) button to remove a specific website.

12. Click Logs... to see what websites your child has visited and what apps your child has accessed.
    • You can view activity from today, through an entire year, or all data saved.
13. Click the lock in the bottom left of the Parental Controls window before closing it to prevent further changes.

Just like watching TV for too longs makes your eyes square, sitting at the computer for too long turns your brain to mush (it's true; I'm writing this with mush brain now). You can set up time limits so that once your kid's allotted time is over, that's it. You can set things up for weekdays, weekends, and bedtime.

1. Click on the Apple icon in the far left corner of your Mac's screen.
2. Select System Preferences from the dropdown menu.

3. Click on Parental Controls.
4. Click the lock in the bottom left of the Parental Controls window.

5. Enter the administrator username and password for your Mac.
6. Click Unlock.

7. Select an account that has parental controls enabled.
8. Click on the Time tab at the top of the Parental Controls window.

9. Tick the box for Limit weekday use to: to set up how many hours per day during the week your child can access his or her account.
   • You can select between 30 minutes and 8 hours.

10. Tick the box for Limit weekend use to: to set up how many hours on each weekend day your child can access his or her account.
    • You can select between 30 minutes and 8 hours.

11. Tick the box for School nights to prevent access to a parental controlled account on weeknights.
    • You can set the block for any time of day and any length of time.

12. Tick the box for Weekends to prevent access to a parental controlled account on the weekend.
    • You can set the block for any time of day and any length of time.

13. Click the lock in the bottom left of the Parental Controls window before closing it to prevent further changes.

These are probably the three biggies off the start. If you'd like to delve deeper into privacy settings, app usage, Siri, and more, check out our ultimate guide to parental controls on the Mac:

How to use Parental Controls on your Mac: The ultimate guide

Best starter apps for kids

The wonderful world of Mac apps is filled with games, educational apps, tools, and more. Check out these great apps to get your kids started!

Amelia and the Terror of the Night - Story Book for Kids

This is an interactive picture book of sorts that features the odd minigame. The story centers on Amelia and her friends as they endeavor to stop the evil Whine from stealings souls. It's all about finding acceptance, courage, friendship, and cooperating with others.

It's a great starter that requires no real skill level, and it's a fun way to introduce your child to tech.

• $2.99 - Download now

Color by Numbers - Princesses

This is exactly what it sounds like, but with math involved! For $4.99, you get a catalogue of princess pictures for your kids to digitally color in. The thing is that in each color spot, there's a simple math equation to be solved so that you kids know which color to use.

There's a huge color palette to choose from and lots of fun to be had. Developer Kedronic UAB also has fairy, animal, Christmas, dinosaur, and many other variations.

• $4.99 - Download now

Monkey Junior: kids learn to read English, French

This highly rated literacy app is perfect for kids who are just starting to read or who are perfecting their reading skills. You can probably even start them on this one before age 6. There are thousands of lessons ($36.99 to unlock all lessons in all languages or less for fewer lessons or one language), which only last from 7 to 10 minutes -- perfect for young ones with short attention spans.

There are reading games, comprehension questions, vocabulary lessons, and you can even test for reading level to make sure lessons aren't too hard or that you aren't lobbing them softballs.

Note: The user who downloads the lessons is the only user who can access them, so make sure you download them on your child's account.

• Free to download, in-app purchases for lessons - Download now

AB Math - fun games for kids

This math app is really great for all ages, since it involves math games of varying difficulty. There are multiple game modes, you can follow the results of several players. This is a great way for your kids to learn how to do quick mental math and develop logic and reasoning skills.

• $1.99 - Download now

Once your kids hit 10, games that require a higher skill level or better motor development can come into play, as well as more advanced educational apps!

Frozen Free Fall

I mean, come on. It's Frozen. Say no more! This Candy Crush-style game has your child matching three objects of the same type in order to make them disappear and make room for more. The characters from Frozen watch and cheer your kids on, and if you're not careful, you may find yourself spending a few hours at this as well.

As you go, you'll unlock more characters and unique powers to add to the frosty fun.

• Free, in-app purchases - Download now

Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse

This platformer originally came out for Sega Genesis, but you and your kids can now enjoy it on your Mac! Play as Mickey and learn time jumps so as not to fall, solve puzzles, and more. This is a beautiful, colorful game that's a perfect stepping stone on the way to more skill-based gaming.

• $11.99 - Download now

Rail Maze 2

This puzzler has your kids laying down train tracks in order to guide trains to where they need to go. The arena is set, with train tracks facing every which way and initially leading your trains to crash. Your child must orient the train tracks properly in order to get the trains to safety.

Puzzels range from super easy to incredibly challenging and teach your young ones logic and reason skills. For example, in some puzzles, you just have to make sure the tracks are oriented properly. In others, you have to time multiple trains using stop lights to make sure they don't crash into each other. As you progress, different obstacles and mechanics arise that make for some pretty difficult levels.

• Free - Download now

If you're interested in more great games for kids, check out all of Lory Gil's top picks:

Best Mac games for kids

Grab some accessories to complete the experience

The Mac on its own is fine, but there are certainly some peripherals and accessories you can grab to make things more fun for your children.

Logitech's M325 mouse is smaller than most mice, so it'll fit perfectly in your child's hand, and it comes with fun patterns and colors that are sure to delight. The best part? Pricing starts around $13 on Amazon.

See at Amazon

This colorful keyboard is designed to help your kids learn the layout of a keyboard and how to use on effectively. The keys are all brightly colored, while the base of the keyboard is black so that the keys pop. LearningBoard is built to last, and the colors are laid out for finger placement to help stop bad typing habits before they start. You can use the LearningBoard wirelessly, and it's only $40 on Amazon.

See at Amazon

Whether you have a MacBook or an iMac, no matter the size, All-Inside has a keyboard cover for you, and if you have young'uns using your machine, you'll want to protect the keyboard from spills and sticky fingers.

These translucent rubber keyboard covers are washable and even reduce typing noise. They come in all the colors of the rainbow and pricing only starts around $6 depending on which model you have. Just make sure you choose the right cover for your keyboard/MacBook/iMac.

See at Amazon

Set up external parental controls

The parental controls that Apple has built into macOS are great, but if they're you're only line of defence, something's bound to get through now and then. If there's anything that you really don't want your kids seeing or you'd like to more aggressively filter content, consider one of these third-party parental control solutions.

Circle is sort of the Big Brother solution to monitoring your kids' online activity. You pair it with your home Wi-Fi network and then you can connect to every device in the house, allowing you to set timers, filter content based on age, and even reward your children when they've been good about their use. Rather than just setting full-on time limits, Circle also has the option to simply pause your kid's screen time, which is great if you want to get them to sit down to dinner or engage in some family time.

The coolest part is that you can set limits for specific types of content, so if, for example, your kid watches too much Netflix, you can set a time limit specifically for Netflix.

If you want a tech-savvy way to manage all of the devices in your home, then Circle is an awesome solution, and at $71, not a bad deal at all.

See at Amazon

This is a parental control software that supports just about every platform, allowing you the ability to fully manage every device in the house. It lets you filter web content, block specific apps, and it'll even keep an activity log so you can see just what the kids have been up to on their new Mac while you're out.

You can set up a yearly plan for as little as $55, which lets you protect up to 5 devices, or you can go with medium and large plans, which let you monitor 10 and 15 devices, respectively.

See at Qustodio

This software is just what it says it is — a sort of nanny for your kids while they're online. It features internet filtering, a porn blocker, alerts about certain usage that you can set up, and profanity masking, so you can pretty much bleep and blur the internet. Net Nanny also lets you remotely manage devices and set time limits for content and apps.

Pricing starts at $40 per device, or you can save 20% with a family pass for five devices, at $12 a device.

See at Net Nanny

Any questions?

We hope this helps you and your kids get started with your new Mac! If you have any questions, hit us up on Twitter, via email, or in the comments below!

Ask anyone who makes anything and they'll tell you the black — or in this case, space gray — is the most popular color. It can go anywhere and go with anything. But that can make it difficult to find just the right accessories to accentuate your space gray iPhone.

... Beyond a space gray Apple Watch, iPad, and MacBook, that is!

• The Scarf from Totallee
• Space gray Olloclip 4-in-1
• iPhone Lightning Dock in Space gray
• Satechi aluminum wireless headphones & stand
• Mophie Powerstation in Space gray
• LAX Gadgets extra long nylon cable

The Scarf from Totallee

The Scarf from Totallee is an ultra thin, snug-fitting, and protective iPhone case that's minimalist design won't distract from your space gray iPhone's stylish appearance and feel. Praised for it's no-nonsense, no-bulk look, it adds only 0.02 additional inches to your space gray iPhone. The Scarf is designed with a slightly textured, frosted finished, making the case easy to grip in your hands and ideal if you just want a slight splash of color to match with your iPhone.

Because of The Scarf's minimalist design, you won't have to worry about logos cluttering up your iPhone, taking away from its simplicity. While the perfect color to match your space gray iPhone is the light gray color, The Scarf comes in four other shades, including black, white, navy, and mustard yellow.

Plus, it only costs around $15. How awesome is that?!

See at Amazon

Space gray Olloclip 4-in-1

Shoot your iPhoneography masterpieces in with the perfect mobile photography accessory: the space gray Olloclip 4-in-1 lens for your iPhone!

The Olloclip is perhaps one of the best tools out there for shooting photography and video with your iPhone. The 4-in-1 specifically breaks down into four lenses, including a fisheye, wide-angle, 10x macro and 15x macro, all which capture bright and vivid photographs and videos for around $80.

Simply slide on the Olloclip to your iPhone, adjust the lenses accordingly, and you have a whole new perspective! With the space gray Olloclip, you won't only be taking incredible pictures, but also shooting in matching, accessorized style with your space gray iPhone (ain't that just the most picture perfect thing?)

See at Amazon

iPhone Lightning Dock in Space gray

When you're charging your iPhone, why not charge it in style with Apple's iPhone lightning dock in space gray? If you like keeping everything uniform on your home-office desk or at your cubicle at work, then picking up a sleek lightning dock like the space gray model from Apple for around $50 may be worth considering.

With the iPhone lightning dock, you can comfortably make important speakerphone calls straight from the dock, connect your headphones to listen to music comfortably, and attach the dock to speakers or a stereo with a cable sold separately to play your favorite band's newest single or the latest podcasts.

While the iPhone lightning dock comes in three other bright, eye catching colors – including silver, gold, and rose gold – the perfect shade to match your space gray iPhone would be the space gray lightning dock.

See at Apple

Satechi aluminum wireless headphones & stand

Finding a great, affordable pair of Bluetooth wireless headphones is one thing, but finding a pair that matches your space gray iPhone and comes with the perfect matching stand is a whole 'nother cause for celebration.

The Satechi aluminum wireless headphones and stand are a great pairing and a spot-on set of accessories for your space gray iPhone because of both their stylish simplicity and design. The headphones come with audio playback buttons with a sleek, modern aluminum look, including a built-in microphone and the perfect space gray finish.

The Satechi stand's corresponding design balances your headphones perfectly on your desk or side table, keeping them safe from potential spills or scratches. These space gray headphones will set you back around $70.

See at Amazon

Mophie Powerstation in Space gray

If you use your iPhone constantly — for Pokemon Go or Snapchat, we don't judge! — then you know how terrifying it is to run the risk of running out of battery power all together.

That's why the Mophie Powerstation in space gray is a solid option to consider if you want to keep your anxiety down (and your battery at 100%!) while still accessorizing to match your space gray iPhone for around $80!

With the Mophie Powerstation, you get up to three times the extra battery life, as well as two outputs, so you can charge two iPhones at once. The Mophie may look bulky or big, but it's actually quite thin, making it portable and easy to slip into your bag.

The Powerstation comes in a few different colors, but in order to match the Mophie's modern, aluminium finish best with your space gray iPhone, check out the space gray version!

See at Amazon

LAX Gadgets extra long nylon cable

Keep your space gray style strong with LAX Gadget's extra long nylon cable in gray, another perfect accessory to pair with your space gray iPhone! This charger is Apple MFi certified and charges your iPhone quickly, while the nylon cable is made to withstand any tears or tension that a normal cable may face.

Tough aluminum end-pieces keep everything secure and connected, while the nylon design prevents extreme tangling.

The LAX comes in four different lengths, including one foot, ten feet, four feet, and six feet, so you can mix and match your cables depending on where you need to charge your space gray iPhone. Depending on the length, you'll be spending between $9 and $15.

See at Amazon

What's your fave space gray accessory?

Is there a space gray iPhone accessory that you think is perfect that we missed on our list? (Sorry about that, btw). Then let us know in the comments below! We'll be sure to check it out.

Updated September 2017: This list still has the best of the best options for your space gray iPhone!

Since the start of 2016, our entire team has been brainstorming about the next iteration of iMore. We've always had big goals for the site since its earliest iterations, and this next step puts some of our biggest ones in motion.

In short: We want to put the "more" in iMore — to help everyone live a connected, fruitful life with their technology; provide better analysis on the news that matters; and give our readers a great place to enjoy all of this content.

For the last year, we've been chatting with you about your vision for the future of iMore, and we've been rolling out various editorial and under-the-hood changes to get us on that track. Today, we're launching our first big visual and navigational change: a new iMore look and feel, along with a new website header.

The evolution of iMore

In the beginning, there was phone different — a site dedicated to giving our readers the latest and best news and tips coverage for iOS. As we found ourselves conquering iPhone and iPad, we wanted to expand our coverage, and became iMore — your place for all things iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple.

Now, it's come time for us to take that next step. Our iPhone and Mac world has widened beyond what Apple has to offer:

• Covering the latest Apple news and rumors now means following (and understanding) topics like politics, education, commercial zoning, the entertainment industry, privacy issues, and federal law
• More people than ever have entered the iOS and Mac ecosystem — and that means more people looking for help on base issues as well as more advanced ones
• Apple's Beats line of headphones and speakers means we're covering more audio technology than ever before
• Gaming titles like Pokémon Go and consoles like Nintendo Switch further blur the line for what mobile gaming has to offer
• With rumors that Apple will soon enter the AR/VR space, we may soon have to explore virtual reality

The old iMore structure and site isn't built to handle this, and we've struggled at times to help support our newer readers and provide great content for our core community. We believe there is a place for both, but these content types don't necessarily play well together; for a news junkie, the fifth article about Pokemon Go will be four articles too many — and we get it.

Just because we are expanding our Apple world doesn't mean you want to take part in everything that world has to offer, and we don't want to force readers who want expert analysis from Rene or Serenity to sift through six how-to articles to find it.

Starting today, we're beginning the process of refreshing our site to make it easier for you to find what you want to read amidst the growing technology ecosystem on iMore. We're doing that by refreshing the infrastructure of both our site, app, and forums, and a brand new iMore look and feel:

As of today, you'll see this new style appear on iMore.com as well as on our Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube channels. And in addition, we're rolling out the first piece of the new iMore.com website: a new header page, along with new navigational changes.

Previewing our new site

We're rolling out our new iMore site in pieces (more on that below), but here's a preview of what you'll get when we're all finished: Instead of one, unified roll of stories, we'll be providing readers with central hubs that cover the stories that matter to them. You'll be able to bookmark the sections you want to read; those will then become your customized home page and RSS feeds. Never want to see a how-to article again? You soon won't have to.

• Apple: This is where you'll find our core reporting and analysis from sources you trust like Rene, Serenity, Lory, Mikah, and more. If you want to keep up to date on the most important events and occurrences in the Apple world, here's the place you want to go. When our new site is completed, our Apple hub will focus entirely on news, analysis, reviews, and comparisons of Apple's products, business decisions, and cultural impact.
• Hubs: For those interested in how-tos, tips, and tricks on specific topics, we've broken down our non-analysis coverage into specific hubs like Apps and Games, Fitness, Home Automation, and more. You'll be able to visit these hubs to find device reviews and roundups, how-to content, and app coverage, and customize your home page to only show the bits you want to see.
• Destinations: Rather than create a new Buyers Guide or roundup every few months, we've built a single location for our most-often updated pages. When our rollout is complete, you'll be able to use these to check on the latest and best iPhone models, headphones, speakers, and more.

Every part of iMore's code base has undergone significant improvements; the site should load faster and perform better everywhere. Rogue ad units can still grind a page to a halt, but we now have considerably better oversight on finding those units and stopping them before they pose a nuisance to our site and our readers.

Our launch timeline

Many of the editorial decisions and underlying structural work for the new iMore have happened over the past six months, but starting today you'll see the first fruits from our visual and tech team. Rather than bombard you with an entirely new site, we're going to be launching our redesign in stages; it's a little bit messier, but it's also safer from both a tech and readership angle — we can get live feedback as we progress, and keep from accidentally breaking too many things in the process. Ideally, we're hoping to roll out all these changes over the next few months, so don't panic too much if you see a few bits of construction here and there.

This week, we're also rolling out a new iMore app that's faster, smarter, and offers a great support team behind it. We plan to constantly test and improve this app over time; if you have feedback, please send it our way!

Today, you'll see iMore's new styles and header; next on our timeline is our Destinations section, which will contain our new-and-improved Buyers Guides and Roundups; once we've rolled those out, we hope to launch the rest of the homepage and fully transition into the next generation of iMore.

Our readers and supporters are some of the best out there, and we genuinely hope that these changes and improvements will help everyone get what they love from iMore — whether that's expert analysis, how-to coverage, buyers guides and recommendations, or app reviews. And as always, we want to hear from you as we undergo this process: If you have thoughts or feelings about these changes, let us know. More on the way soon!

• Have thoughts about iMore 2017? Let us know in the forums!

Mark Gurman and Ian King, writing for Bloomberg:

And:

Now — and I'm just spit-balling here — imagine this is something beyond the whole Intel/ARM question. (Apple has been prototyping ARM-based Macs for years, after all).

Imagine it's an extension of the "fusion" architecture that Apple's been increasingly using across their products and services. Fusion Drive melds high-capacity platters with high-speed solid state. iCloud Libraries do something similar but meld online and local storage. The iPhone 7 Plus camera melds a wide-angle with a telephoto lens.

A better example is the A10 system-on-a-chip, though, which Apple went so far as to brand "Fusion". When Apple made the main A10 cores, they noticed it was so high-performance it actually made lower-performance tasks less efficient. So, to fill the space left beneath it, Apple added a second set of lower-performance, more power efficient cores. The result was Apple's first big.LITTLE chipset.

For several generations now, though, Apple has also been doing sensor fusion hubs by including the M-series co-processors — originally alongside but now integrated into — the A-series. That lets them do things like track motion more power efficiently.

The T1 system-in-package on the MacBook Pro is another example. The Mac controls the majority of the Touch Bar but the T1 SIP handles Touch ID, Apple Pay, and displaying any and all related data.

Power efficiency is Apple's jam. Unless and until they license x86 or swap MacBook to ARM, there's only so much even the tight and belabored integration they do with Intel will deliver them.

Offloading low-power, low-level tasks to their own silicon, though, is absolutely something Apple could and would do regardless of the main processor architecture. Same as they could and did offload display to their own, custom timing controller when they wanted to bring 5K to the iMac and the industry just hadn't gotten there yet.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple take on more and more of the silicon inside all of their devices as time goes on. Modems, graphics processors, central processors — with the team they have in place, there's no limit to what they can do other than what makes sense to them and what they choose to focus on at any given point in time.

Like I said when Apple's first wireless chip, W1 was introduced...

Updated 1/27/17 for Snapchat's newest update.

While the zoom is used sparingly in Hollywood movies to convey drama, fear, and tension, the zoom on Snapchat is used to convey ridiculousness, creepiness, and hilarity. So how does this earth-shattering zoom change your life for the better? Let us tell you, Snapchat addicts. Check out our video or read on for five ways to use Snapchat's one-handed zoom!

1. Creep on friends easier

Who hasn't taken an unflattering Snap of a friend or coworker when they were least expecting it? Now you can do it sneakier and smoother with Snapchat's one-handed zoom!

2. Use your free hand for all the activities

Eat a cupcake, save a life, ride a scooter and more with your free hand. The possibilities for extra activities are endless (the only limitation is your imaaaaaagination).

3. Make your selfie videos even more uncomfortable

Sure, you could pull a Kylie Jenner and take a boring selfie Snapchat video for your millions of followers to see, or you could spice things up with an uncomfortable zoom! Show your followers what it's like to get up-close and personal with your beautiful face.

4. Smoothly zoom in on everything (no more awkward tapping!)

One benefit about the one-handed zoom is that there's no need for any more awkward tapping! Simply tap the recording button, and with your finger still touching the screen, hold and slide back and forth for an effortless zoom.

5. Create the best dramatic snaps you can

Turn your snapchat story into a drama that would rival 1920s detective movies, James Bond films, or dramatic horror scenes – get creative!

What will you use your one-handed zoom powers for?

Let us know what amazing things you can accomplish now that Snapchat lets you zoom with one hand!

For iMore, I often eat, sleep, and breathe Apple Watch — which often means that I, in turn, do the same with a lot of Apple Watch accessories and stands. I probably have five or six stands in my house right now, but none have captivated my heart like Elago's rubber W3 "Vintage Apple Monitor" stand.

Because c'mon. It turns your Apple Watch into a teensy Mac Plus.

Note: Elago's rubber stand is very similar to RetroConnector's $60 3D-printed plastic Classic Mac stand, which comes in a few additional colors and can be further customized depending on your preference of Mac (Plus, SE, or SE/30).

If you're any sort of long-term Apple geek and the thought of transforming your 2016 gadget into something from the 1980s doesn't fill your heart with whimsy and delight, well — I pity you and your soul. Because this thing is adorable.

I bought this little guy on a whim after seeing MacRumors post about it last week, not expecting it to be much more than a cheap Amazon gimmick. My expectations were dramatically wrong: The W3 Vintage Mac stand is not only a well-crafted and cute take on an Apple Watch stand, but a pitch-perfect miniature for the Macintosh line of yore.

It's the little details that matter: The charger and cord snap in through the underside of the Vintage Mac stand, sending power to the brick through a tiny little cutout through the rear of the computer; when viewed as a whole, it looks like a proper power cord for the tiny computer. Elago also nails the design: The slot for your Apple Watch is just big enough to slide the watch body into without feeling flimsy or too big, and its surrounding aesthetics (and perfectly-matched off-white coloration) really do make it look like you've just planted a little Macintosh computer on your desk or nightstand.

I realize that perhaps I'm not the majority in wanting a memento of my childhood computing years realized as an Apple Watch stand, but it doesn't matter — this little gizmo makes me happy, and that's more than I can say for most of my other under-$20 Amazon purchases. If it does the same for you, enjoy.

See at Amazon

The new year is here for us and for Apple. Let's take a look at where the company's strengths, weaknesses, and potential threats lie.

Strengths

There are few, if any, brands that carry the cachet of Apple's. The excitement that builds around every new product release makes other vendors weep. Apple's retail team is led by the same person who restored the Burberry brand from shlock to premium cachet. Apple's retail team is doing an amazing job to make sure Apple's brand never falters.

It sounds silly but one of the things that differentiates Apple is marketing. The marketing teams ability to create, hone, and communicate a clear message around products and strategies carries over to press, analysts, and of course, users.

Don't laugh just yet. Sure, 2016 might not have been perceived as the most innovative Apple year. That perception is wrong. Much depends on how you define "innovation". One of Apple's core skills has always been taking the commodity and making it special. The iPod was just a refined MP3 player. It also changed the course of music forever. We've seen that spirit alive and well this past year. AirPods, for example, are hardly the first wireless earbuds. They probably aren't even the best sounding. What they do is, through a powerful set of individual technologies, make the whole something special. From the magic of pairing them with an Apple device to the elegant carrying case to the simplicity of use, AirPods redefine that category. Innovation isn't always measured in feeds, speeds, or even UI. Sometimes innovation is just about the continued ability to surprise and delight.

Weaknesses

Services remain average to poor. Music has finally come into its own, but while perhaps matching competitors such as Spotify, it's hardly the leader in the market. Apple forums are filled with users, frustrated with issues related to synchronization across devices, often due to poor design choices. iWork lags behind competing services (especially for working across platforms). Cloud storage and synchronization have been usurped by services such as Dropbox, and Gmail is the de facto mail service for millions. While Apple execs have promised a greater emphasis on services (and service revenue), it's hard to see any Apple service that is best of breed. At the high end, pro applications have been recently panned as dumbed down (or in some cases just abandoned). Apple's decisions on services architectures, direction, and pricing all need review.

Opportunities

Apple has some great opportunities to make some strong inroads with the education market. New updates to iOS make iPad even more attractive to teachers. New tools for teaching principles of coding, creating interactive content, and an app ecosystem that's unparalleled are all tools Apple has at its disposal to recapture the mantle of "education brand".

Nope, Apple hasn't cracked it yet. The good news is that neither has anyone else. 2017 is a great year for Apple to break away from the pack and take a pole position in the living room. No vendor will cede this market to Apple, but Apple has the space to advance its platforms to take a market lead.

Threats

It's a no-brainer. Google is a huge threat to Apple's well-being. Google services are rapidly becoming de facto services for consumers, well beyond search. Google's ability to deliver Google services to iOS that are as good as, if not better than what's available on Android should be a huge concern. At the moment, Google could well be on track to co-opt many key services on iOS. It's only iOS lockdown of default service actions for things such as mail, maps, and browsing that's keeping Google at bay.

Google's own Pixel devices have received glowing reviews; in some cases the Pixel camera touted as superior to iPhone. Google's value add of free, unlimited, full resolution photo backup and storage is a perfect example of Google doing an end run around a place Apple should own. Google Music offers free upload and access of user libraries across multiple platforms. Apple charges $24.99 a year for the same service. Expect to see Google keep up the pressure throughout 2017 with new products such as Google Home and new WiFi devices (at a time when Apple is leaving that market).

This is not Microsoft from days of yore. A revitalized Microsoft brought new innovations in the form of HoloLens, a premiere VRg platform for the living room, and an updated Windows that's optimized for both PC and tablet form factors. New Surface Books offer more "pro" specs than the latest MacBooks. Surface Studio, while a premium product, demonstrated an ability to capture mindshare and aspiration. Apple ignoring Microsoft in 2017 would be a huge mistake.

Bottom line

2017 will be a pivotal year for Apple. Expectations are high for the next generation of iPhone, iPad, and Watch. Apple must convince the market that Mac is not just a hobby but a core part of the business, if not in revenue, then in resource allocation. The overall state of the Apple ecosystem remains strong, but as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, Apple's ecosystem is only as strong as it's weakest product or service.

Power users know that having to reach over to the mouse or down to the trackpad to click through tools and features can use up precious seconds of time. One of the best ways to get around the click-through slowdown is to learn keyboard shortcuts. When you can memorize the best ones, you'll zip through processes much faster. Bookmark this page and return to it often to help you remember how to use keyboard shortcuts to your most-used actions.

How to take a full-screen screenshot

If you want to share what your entire desktop looks like, open apps and desktop files, and all, press command + shift + 3.

How to take a screenshot of a selected window

If you want to take a screenshot of a specific window that you have open on your desktop, select the window, then press command + shift + 4, and then press the space bar. When the window is highlighted, click your mouse or trackpad.

How to take a screenshot of a specific spot on the screen

If you want to take a screenshot of a specific spot on your screen, press command + shift + 4 and then click and drag the crosshair across the section you want to take the screenshot of. When you have the entire section highlighted, let go of the mouse or trackpad.

How to quit an app

If you want to close an app out completely, press command + q.

How to open a new tab

With macOS Sierra, any window can have a tab. Not all apps support multi-tab controls, but for ones that do, press command + t to open a new one.

How to switch between open apps

Apple has an application switcher that makes it easy to switch between open apps at a glance, press command + tab to open it. Then press left arrow or right arrow to switch between open apps.

How to open an app's Preferences window

The Preferences window is where you can find many of an app's tools and special features. You can call up the Preferences window by pressing command + comma.

How to open Spotlight

If you're looking for something, either on your Mac or on the web, call up Spotlight to help you dig through it all by pressing command + space bar.

How to open the Help menu

If you are trying to troubleshoot your Mac, or find out more about what an app can do, press command + shift + ?.

How to force-quit an app

If the app you are using freezes up or stops responding, you can force it to close by pressing command + option + esc.

How to cut, copy, paste, and undo

When in a document, email, message, or other program where you can type text, you can cut, copy, paste, or undo by pressing command and then X, C, V, or Z respectively.

How to find words and phrases in a document, web page, or other app

You can quickly find and highlight words and phrases in any app that support the Find feature by pressing command + f.

How to launch Quick Look

When searching for a specific document in Finder, you can use Quick Look to get a preview of a file's contents by pressing command + y. You can also select the file and press the spacebar.

How to shut down, sleep, or restart your Mac

If you are ready to walk away from your Mac, and it's time to put it into lockdown, you can put it to sleep, shut it down, or restart it by pressing control + eject.

How to select all

If you want to copy and paste an entire page of a document, press command + a to select all.

How to jump to the top or bottom of a page

If you are viewing a long document or web page, you can quickly jump to the very top or very bottom by pressing the command + arrow up or arrow down.

How to hide windows you aren't using right now

If you want to keep your desktop free of clutter so you can focus on the task at hand, hide windows you aren't using by pressing command + option + h. All apps except the topmost one will disappear. Click on the app's icon to bring it back into sight.

How to minimize a window

If you just want to get a window out of the way for a moment, you can minimize it by pressing command + m.

How to close an active window

If you don't want to quit an app completely, but want to close the currently active window, press command + w.

How to close all windows of an app

If you are done with an app and want to close all windows you have open and lying around, press command + option + w.

How to hide or minimize everything on your desktop

If you want to quickly clear everything so that only your desktop is showing, press command + option + h + m and all windows of all apps will either hide or minimize.

How to log out of your user account with one step

You can quickly log out of your Mac user account, without having to confirm that you want to log out, by pressing option + shift + command + q. If you prefer to be asked to confirm, just press shift + command + q.

What are your favorite shortcuts?

What keyboard shortcuts to find invaluable? Do you have any that you just can't live without? Put them in the comments below to help us all out. Maybe they will become shortcuts we can't live without, either!

You may notice when accessing Apple's menu or an app menu on your Mac, that there are keyboard shortcut symbols, which use keys that don't look like anything on your Mac's keyboard (like ⌥ or ⌃).

It comes from an older version of a keyboard that Apple doesn't make anymore. It is also a shortcut to writing out the entire word. Unfortunately, it can be confusing for some Mac users.

If you don't already have the modifier key icons memorized, bookmark this page and reference it whenever you forget.

Which modifier keys go with which symbol

Keyboard shortcuts oftentimes require modifier keys (otherwise, you'd be accidentally trigging the shortcut all of the time). Modifier keys work in conjunction with other keys and act like a sort of code on your Mac. To use a keyboard shortcut, you would press all keys in the combination at the same time and let go at the same time. For example, ⌘⌃n (sometimes written ⌘ + ⌃ + n) means you should hold down the command key, the control key, and the "n" key, all at the same time.

The modifier keys are:

• Command: ⌘
• Shift: ⇧
• Option: ⌥
• Control: ⌃
• Caps Lock: ⇪
• Function: fn

What if I forget what those modifier keys are?

You don't have to bookmark this page for reference. If you want quick access to what the modifier key symbols look like (as well as how to find every key on the Apple keyboard), you can simply set the keyboard viewer right into your Menu bar for quick access.

• How to use the keyboard viewer on your Mac

Any questions?

Do you have any questions about how to identify or use a modifier key on the Mac? Drop them in the comments and I'll help you out.

By adding the Touch Bar to the latest MacBook Pro, Apple has added a way for Mac users to access all manner of tools without having to click a mouse or trackpad. Everything sits at the top of the keyboard, mere inches from where your fingers already rest. The Touch Bar is specially designed for use with Mac-based programs. But, many of us like to use both Windows and macOS on one computer and the Windows operating system relies on the function keys, which are now folded into the Touch Bar. So, what does the Touch Bar mean for Windows users on the Mac?

What the Touch Bar does when using Boot Camp with Windows

Apple's built-in utility, Boot Camp, lets you install Windows onto your Mac using a partitioned drive. When you boot up Windows via Boot Camp, the Touch Bar will display the function keys F1 - F12 and an escape key. As soon as you log into Windows, the default setting will be the function keys. It is not clear yet whether there will be further customization for the Touch Bar when you use Book Camp to log into Windows.

What the Touch Bar does when using Parallels with Windows

While Boot Camp lets you install the Windows operating system on a partitioned drive, Parallels is a third-party app that allows you to use Windows while still in macOS. Developers are able to add Touch Bar support to apps, so it is highly likely that Parallels will add a row of function keys to the Touch Bar. The company hasn't made any official announcement yet about what it will add to the Touch Bar.

What if my third-party app doesn't support the Touch Bar, but I need the function keys?

Have no fear. Apple didn't forget about the function keys, even if its own operating system doesn't really make much use of them. If you want to use F1 - F12, and the app you are using doesn't have Touch Bar support, simply press the fn key on your keyboard and the Touch Bar will display those trusty function keys for you.

Any questions?

Do you have any questions or concerns about losing the physical row of function keys on the Mac when you are booting up Windows? Put them in the comments and I'll help you out.

Growing up, I considered Apple the computer for creative professionals. My teachers in the film and theater industry used them. My graphic design friends used them. My musician friends had even switched over. And I, of course, used my Mac daily for video, writing, and art projects.

Today, I'm not so sure that's true anymore. That's not to say that the Mac isn't still a great computer and the choice of many creative pros, but Apple no longer appears to have the obsessive focus it once had on the high-end pro market. It's been almost three years since the Mac Pro saw an update, and a year since we saw new iMac models. Final Cut Pro X hasn't seen a proper update since February. And while Photos for Mac is a solid piece of consumer software, it's not full-featured enough for professionals.

The rise of Microsoft as creative pro advocate

So you'll have to forgive me for Microsoft's Surface Studio catching my eye during its release announcement Wednesday morning. Microsoft, long content to let third-party manufacturers take care of its desktop computing software, has made a definitive move into not just the desktop space — but the creative professional space — with its new all-in-one convertible desktop.

Yes, you read that right: I said convertible desktop. The computer may look like an off-brand 5K iMac at first, but the Surface Studio has the the same trick up its sleeve as its tablet brethren — its base hinges to let you transform the monitor into a 4K drawing tablet, replete with Surface Pen and the all-new Surface Dial, which rather looks like the love child of a Griffin PowerMate and Adobe's prototype Ink and Slide device for iPad.

Microsoft made a hard pitch for creative pros at its fall event, hitting both the requisite buzzwords and displaying legitimately intriguing hardware. For the Cintiq crowd, the promise of a 4.5K display that also happens to be a high-powered main computer in its own right — no drivers or cords or extra desk space needed — could be a tempting one, especially given Apple's recent inaction on the Mac side. Of course, that's assuming Microsoft's hardware is as rock-solid as Wacom's Cintiq line, and that creative pros want the buy-in of a Windows computer rather than ponying up $2000 for a Cintiq 22HD and configuring their own Mac or PC system.

I wonder about the first problem, but it's the second that clinches me not actually running to my nearest Microsoft Store and grabbing a Surface Studio: It runs Windows 10. I'll give Microsoft credit — Windows is a much better operating system today than it ever was when I was growing up. But it's just not an operating system I personally enjoy using. Nothing against the company or its software; I just prefer macOS.

Short of iOS magically fusing itself with macOS during tomorrow's Mac event, however, I have many doubts that we'll see a multitouch "creative pro" Mac anytime soon. There are many great arguments against a touch-compatible Mac, which I won't rehash here, but the main one is that macOS simply isn't built with touch input in mind. Contraptions like the rumored Smart Bridge touch bar on the new MacBook Pros may be a fine way to meld parts of touch operating systems into macOS, but a true multitouch Mac may never exist.

Enter the Pencil

But what about a Mac with a Pencil-compatible display? Apple could get around the problems of multitouch on the Mac but still offer a huge feature for creative pros. Unlike 3D Touch on the iPhone, the iPad Pro doesn't have a pressure-sensitive multitouch screen. Instead, the Pencil works by having its pressure technology built inside the pen itself; it then communicates that information to the iPad via software-based APIs.

If Apple were to make a Mac that also offered creative pros a Cintiq-like experience, the company wouldn't have to redesign macOS or develop large-scale multitouch panels; it could instead build a convertible iMac or MacBook Pro with a Pencil-compatible screen. (Heck, non-multitouch displays would also be an extra boon for palm rejection.)

That said, for all the love I'd give such a computer, I doubt Apple's interests are particularly high when it comes to convertibles; the company seems more interested in improving the iPad tablet experience than trying to hybridize its Mac line (or force you to draw at a 90-degree angle, a torture I wish on no one). There are also other alternatives for Apple when it comes to integrating multitouch and the Pencil with the Mac, such as the aforementioned rumored Smart Bridge or third-party second-screen software for iPad Pro like Astropad.

But it's an interesting premise nonetheless — and one I wouldn't have even considered if not for Microsoft's new venture. No matter what you may think of the Microsoft Surface Studio, competition in creative pro hardware is vital for creative professionals; it's how we got tools like the Pencil and iPad Pro in the first place.

Here's hoping Apple's announcements tomorrow give professionals something else to look forward to — even if that something isn't quite a Pencil-compatible iMac.

Not long after Apple announced the inclusion of Stickers in iOS 10, my colleague Rene Ritchie was asking us for headshots, reference photos, and selfies. He wanted to send an artist we'd commissioned all the necessary visuals to craft a sticker pack filled with reactions, sorta-kinda inside jokes, adorable laughing Georgia Dows, and even a facepalm (still waiting on that facepalm emoji)!

Animated iMore Goodness

First thing's first, here's where you'll find the iMore Sticker Pack:

• iMore Sticker Pack - Free - Download Now

I mean, what could be better than adorning your conversations with stickers of the iMore team? We'll answer that for you: Not a thing.

• Throw your friends some side eye with Rene Ritchie's "SRSLY?"
• Warn off your enemies with Georgia Dow's "Brace yourself."
• Skate away from awkward conversations with Serenity Caldwell's roller derby.
• Rock out with Lory Gil's guitar-wielding "rock!"
• Celebrate your friend's success with Mikah Sargent's "Yasssss!"
• Apologize profusely with Daniel Bader's "So sorry."

Plus loads more from members of the iMore team!

And here's the best part, folks: We aren't stopping just yet! We've got some surprises in the works, so don't forget to check for updates! I think Georgia Dow puts it best:

Brace yourself, indeed, Georgia. Brace yourself, indeed.

STICKERS!

Apart from the iMore Sticker Pack — which is obviously your new favorite — what are your other favorite, can't-live-without Sticker Packs? Give us a shout!

My earliest memories of technology came from my first year of grade school: It was 1992, and our teacher had installed some variant of an Apple II in the classroom. The students were only able to use it a few times, but each time I got to put a disk in the machine, I was able to escape to another world.

A world in which I was traveling west in a wagon, attempting to avoid dying of dysentery.

Oregon Trail. Number Munchers. DinoPark Tycoon. Odell Down Under. MayaQuest. While Oregon Trail is no doubt the most well-known title of the bunch, there's a lot more where it came from, thanks to one very special group: The Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium.

History of MECC

The Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium was founded in 1973 to coordinate and provide computer support and services to school across the state.

IBM, Honeywell, and other companies had facilities in the state, helping to push technology further and faster in remote locales outside of Silicon Valley. This led to a group of schools in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area and University of Minnesota College of Education partnering to provide access to HP hardware and software. Eventually, MECC would have an UNIVAC 1110 mainframe installed at its office. This spurred teachers and professors to write software that could be used in their classrooms.

After the Apple II was blessed as the official computer for schools state-wide, MECC began to start supporting these machines, too, creating programs and educational games — including, yes, The Oregon Trail. It was distributed on diskettes across the state, and after a few years, other states clamored for access to the consortium's growing library of software. By the 1990s, MECC was creating applications and games for classrooms across the country.

As the Apple II lost ground to the Macintosh, MECC began developing for the company's newest computer. In 1990, Number Munchers and Word Munchers were ported to both the Mac OS and MS-DOS systems.

This series starred green "Munchers" who the user would move around a board eating the answers to whatever question the game asked. "Troggles" — like that blue one above — had to be avoided, or your Muncher would become lunch.

I have fond memories of playing these games (and many others) on a parade of otherwise-forgettable beige Macs throughout elementary school.

Burning bright, burning out

In 1991, Minnesota could no longer offer MECC funding as part of its state education program; the consortium was thusly spun off as a private company, sold to a venture capital fund for $5.25 million. In 1994, MECC had an IPO and went public, and just a year after that, it was purchased by SoftKey for $370 million and the company's name changed to The Learning Company.

At the time, the company had $30 million in revenue annually; an estimated one-third came from the Oregon Trail series.

Throughout the mid-1990s, MECC continued to update its old titles while releasing new ones. But by that time, MECC was facing increased competition and its habit of recycling old game content over and over was becoming a problem. By the late 1990s, layoffs were affecting entire offices, and titles that had been announced were being cancelled. In 1997 and 1998, The Learning Company made several acquisitions. The next year, MECC's old Minnesota offices were closed and all titles besides The Oregon Trail were discontinued.

MECC today

The MECC as we knew it is long-gone, but its golden egg is still available. Now developed by Gameloft, a modern version of The Oregon Trail can be downloaded on the iOS App Store.

All of the other games I remember so fondly are gone, though you can still find a few in Archive.org's library of MECC titles, which can be played via its online virtualization suite.

(Super Munchers is my current favorite.)

But, as is the way of digital creations, some of my old favorite titles seem to be lost to time: Swimming the ocean in Odell Down Under or hatching eggs in DinoPark Tycoon can now only happen in my memories.

Since their inception, Apple's PowerBooks had been encased in various shades of gray and black plastics. Some were smaller than others, and they looked good for the time, but by the time 2001 rolled around, it was time for a change.

The iMac and iBook G3s were colorful machines, and even the PowerMac was clad in plastic. The PowerBook G4, however, would be a totally different beast.

This is my Titanium PowerBook. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

Jobs' pitch for the machine was simple. Apple's notebooks were powerful already, but subnotebooks like the 11-inch machines Sony was selling at the time were far more attractive.

This language even made it into the press release:

On the Inside

On the power front, the new notebook came with the G4 processor, which was notably faster than the previously-used G3. For some tasks, Apple claimed it was 60% faster, in fact. Each of the two initial SKUs came with slot-loading DVD-ROM drives, 2 FireWire ports (hidden behind a door in the back with the rest of the I/O) and were Airport-ready.

While the launch models were clocked at 400 and 500 MHz, Apple would revise these machines several times over their two and a half year run, vastly increasing the power that mobile users were growing accustomed to having.

Gigabit Ethernet was added in October 2001, with an increase in clock speed. In April 2002, the machines got faster again and a DVI port and audio in were added.

The last revision, in November 2002, brought an optional SuperDrive, which was the first slot-loading DVD burner offered from Apple. These machines ran at a clock speed of up to 1GHz and supported 1 GB of RAM.

On the Outside

The big story was, of course, the design.

The G4 was just one inch thick, and was made out of metal. It made the previous-generation machines look bloated and old, in their curvy black plastic enclosures. Instead of the aluminum used today, Jony Ive and company opted for "airplane-grade" titanium. Most of the machine was covered in the lightweight metal, giving the computer a sleek, modern look. Trim pieces were painted white, as were the hinges.

Trouble in Paradise

Unfortunately, as it is with most things, the Titanium PowerBook wasn't quite perfect. Unlike the anodized metal Apple uses today, there was paint applied to the PowerBook that would chip off over time. This left the notebook looking beat up and old.

The biggest problem with the design would prove to be the hinges. Many, many users would open their notebooks just to have the lid come off in their hands as the hinges would fail suddenly and completely. In later PowerBook and the MacBook Pros, Apple would use one very wide hinge to help spread the load over a larger area to solve this.

(Thankfully, my Titanium hasn't suffered either of these fates, as you can see.)

The Titanium's Legacy

The Retina MacBook Pro I am typing on right now can draw its family tree right back to the Titanium PowerBook.

Some of the similarities are obvious. Both are powerful, thin and clad in smooth, cool metal. Both have black key caps and nice trackpads coupled with beautiful displays.

But under the hood, these machines are even more similar.

In 2008, Jobs and Ive introduced the unibody MacBook Pro. In short, Apple starts with a slab of aluminum, carves it up and puts the logic board and other components of the computer into it. The bottom cover is just a thin piece of metal to cover it up; all the structure is formed by the top case.

While it wasn't as elegant or simple as this, the Titanium used a similar design. All of the guts of the machine came out through the bottom, making the notebook a weird, accidental proof of concept.

This sort of things is only noticeable in hindsight, of course, but that's what this column is all about. For me, as nice as this machine is, it's important to me personally because it was the first Mac I considered "mine." It was assigned to me at a job, but we were encouraged to use them as personal machines as well. I did my first creative work on a Titanium, and will always remember it fondly.

Cliquefie redefines the selfie stick. You know what I mean: Almost every selfie stick follows the same design: extendable metal arm, plastic handle or grip, a clamp to hold your phone, and not much else.

But what if you wanted to take a group shot and the stick wasn't long enough? What if you wanted to prop up your selfie stick and take a photo on a timer, only to have your device fall over because there's nothing to secure it? What if all your selfies are blurry because you struggle to balance your phone and hit the button at the same time? And what if your selfie stick is just… Ugly?

That's where Cliquefie comes in. It's the anti-selfie-stick selfie stick, and it's changing the selfie landscape for the better with the CliquefieMax and Mini (aka: a selfie stick that won't totally embarrass you when you whip it out in public).

CliquefieMax

• Style
• Features
• Design
• The Bottom Line

Take everything you know about the selfie stick and amplify its coolness, practicality, and overall appearance, and you get the Cliquefie.

The device in black resembles a baton of sorts, but extends to nearly 30 inches once it's opened up, and compacts to 10 inches when closed. Unlike most selfie sticks, the CliquefieMax can be compacted into a convenient, easy to carry stick without any loose wires or parts, so you don't have to worry about any parts breaking off in your bag like cheaper selfie sticks.

One thing that makes the CliquefieMax stand out from other regular selfie sticks are the plethora of features the little device has. It's definitely not your momma's selfie stick, that's for sure!

Besides being easy to condense down for portability and storage, and besides having a clamp that extends to 5.5 inches to fit bigger phones and cases, the Cliquefie comes with a wireless remote shutter that's embedded directly into the handle of the stick and secured with magnets. This is the perfect tool if you have shaky hands, or if you're holding the selfie stick up at an awkward angle and can't hit the button on the handle.

The best part about the shutter is that it works with Bluetooth, so you don't have to download any pesky apps (plus it works with apps like Snapchat flawlessly!) and you can shoot your photos from a distance of over 10 meters away.

The remote shutter is also great for big group shots, but what if not everyone can fit in the photo? Sure, you could prop up your Cliquefie (the base is flat and it stays balanced on most surfaces), or you could extend their one-click tripod! Retractable and easy to pull out for wide shots or taking long video, the Cliquefie's tripod pops out the bottom of the stick and can be extended depending on how high you want your phone for extra stability.

There's only one word that properly describes Cliquefie's design: Minimalist. The sticks are all one solid color, and there aren't any exposed wires or brightly colored handles to junk up the device. The CliquefieMax comes in white, black, or raspberry rose pink, so you can customize your Cliquefie to suit your personal style.

Similar to most selfie sticks, the Cliquefie weighs only seven ounces, and coupled with its minimalist, sleek design, makes it the perfect little tool to carry around without looking like a moron. If anything, people will stop and ask you where you got your Cliquefie!

Throw away your old selfie stick and pick up a CliquefieMax ASAP.

See at CliqueFie

Cliquefie Mini

• Style
• Features
• Design
• The Bottom Line

Similar to the CliquefieMax, the Mini works with the same sleek style but without all the bells and whistles.

Only nine inches tall and one inch in diameter, the CliqueFieMini is small enough to fit in most purses and bags, while still extending to nearly 30 inches with its maximum strength polarised stainless steel pole for full phone support.

Tiny, compact, and inconspicuous, the Mini is perfect for taking selfies at any angle.

While not as fancy as the larger model, the Mini still comes with a shutter remote with a range of up to 10 meters. The CliquefieMini doesn't come with an extendable tripod, but it does come with a standard sized tripod thread at the bottom so you can fasten it to most tripod types, and the grip that secures your phone is tough enough to stretch to 5.2 inches to fit even the bulkiest phone cases.

The CliquefieMini also comes with a clear looking strap that resembles an infinity symbol or the number "8." This is used to extra-secure your cellphone to the Cliquefie, so it doesn't fall off while shooting. Though it seems silly, the strap provides a ton of extra support and security and you can shake your Cliquefie around quite a bit with a decent amount of force without it budging.

The only bummer is that the Mini doesn't have a convenient little slot on the handle to store your remote, so you have to keep track of the remote separately if you take it out and about.

The CliquefieMini comes in a ton of fun colors, including blue, aqua-green, yellow, pink, black, and white, and when you get the device, you actually get a little card that shows you a couple of cute color pairing gift ideas that the CliquefieMini would be perfect for.

The overall design of the Mini is almost identical to the Max, but without the additional bulk, the slot for the remote shutter, or the tripod, making it a little bit lighter at around five ounces.

While just as awesome as the CliquefieMax, the Mini's abilities seem closer related to a selfie stick. If you want a device that goes above and beyond the call of duty, then you should consider the CliquefieMax.

See at CliqueFie

Rumors had been mounting that Apple was frustrated with the PowerPC chips it had been using. At the heart of the problem was the PowerBook, as Charles Moore points out:

In fact, the PowerMac case was radically redesigned to accommodate the G5's massive thermal needs. The tower has numerous computer-controlled fans and four separate thermal zones to keep things cool and quiet. All of that engineering seemed impossible in a PowerBook, leading to this image floating around Mac forums at the time:

Yikes.

In his keynote address, Jobs addressed the challenges in front of Apple working with the PowerPC roadmap. Apple hadn't been able to deliver the 3.0 GHz Power Mac G5 the company had promised:

(That's a pretty sick Steve Jobs burn.)

According to Jobs, this all came down to a metric he called "Performance Per Watt." In short, only Intel could give Apple the power they wanted in an efficient package. PPC was just too hot and too power-hungry for Apple to stay the course.

OS X's Secret Life

Jobs made a big reveal on stage to much laughter from the audience of developers and journalists:

Turns out, since day one, Apple had put in place a safety net: OS X must be processor independent; every release of OS X had been compiled for PPC and Intel.

For those familiar with NeXTSTEP, this shouldn't have been a surprise. The OS had been running on Intel years before this announcement; Apple had just kept that project alive as NeXTSTEP evolved into OS X.

The Developer Transition

The Intel switch meant developers would need to recompile their applications to work on the new chipsets. Apple came to WWDC prepared for this. A new version of Xcode was capable of building "universal" binaries that would run natively on PowerPC and Intel machines.

While Jobs said many developers could get their apps ready with just a little work, for some bigger applications, this wasn't the case. For those developers and users, Apple shipped Rosetta, a translator that allowed Intel Macs to run PowerPC code at nearly full-speed.

Unlike Classic Mode, it was invisible. In everyday use, a user should never know if the application they were in was built for Intel or not. It had some limitations,#Compatibility) but more than held people over until things like Office and Photoshop made the jump.

For developers who wanted or needed to work with Intel hardware early, Apple had a solution: the Intel Developer Transition Kit:

A stripped-down Intel Mac strapped to the inside of a PowerMac G5 case, these machines were $999 loaners that could be used by developers to fine tune their products. They had to be returned to Apple, as the reference hardware wasn't ever designed to be in the hands of normal users.

The Products

In 2005, Jobs said that this would be a two-year transition. Apple hoped to have the first Intel Macs shipping by WWDC 2006, with the entire line being moved over by the end of 2007.

Apple ended up moving much faster than that. The first Intel machines — the iMac and PowerBook MacBook Pro — were announced in January 2006.

The Mac mini followed in February, with the MacBook replacing the iBook in May. In August 2006, Apple announced the transition was complete with the new Xserve and Mac Pro. We've lived in an all-Intel Mac world for a decade.

Today, of course, PowerPC support is a thing of the past. 2011's Mac OS X Lion shipped without Rosetta support, and an iTunes update in 2012 made it the last Apple application to leave PowerPC behind.

The OS Is What Matters

When Apple announced this, part of the Mac community was up in arms. After years of mocking Intel chips in their advertising, Apple was now praising the company's technology. It was a bit much to swallow for some.

How could an Intel box feel like Mac? Would Intel's firmware, dubbed EFI, give users the freedom APple's old Open Firmware had? Without the ability to run the Classic environment, Intel Macs were a nonstarter for some users, regardless of personal feelings about the platform.

(I'm completely side-stepping this discussion. 2005 was a weird time.)

Jobs addressed this in his closing remarks:

He was right. I was a big Mac user before the transition, and my first MacBook Pro felt like the PowerBook it replaced. The Mac was still the Mac, just faster and quieter.

The Future

Historically, the Mac has seen several big transitions. In the mid 1990s, Apple moved from 68k processors to PowerPC chips. The early 2000s saw the transition away from the classic Mac OS to Mac OS X, and then the switch to Intel around 2006. It's been a long time, and while iOS devices are what are boosting the company's bottom line, the Mac is still important.

There's been a lot of talk about the pros and cons of Apple moving to ARM chips for the Mac. If that's going to happen, I still think it's several years off. While the 12-inch MacBook seems like a good candidate for an Apple-designed chipset, I don't think anything ARM-based can take on the i5 and i7 that Apple ships in most Macs, let alone the Xeon processors that power the Mac Pro.

If Apple does move away from Intel, it will leave things like easy virtualization of Windows behind. That's a big deal for a lot of users, but is it enough to stop the change? Time will tell.

No matter what happens, I think the Mac will always feel like home for those of us who love it.

WWDC 2016 has come and gone without so much as a mention of a Dark Mode or Night Theme for iOS 10. For those who'd been hoping for one, the closest we got was the new Dark Mode for tvOS 10. And, obviously, that's fine for our televisions but not so much of our iPhones and iPads.

There have been some dark interface chunks found in the iOS 10 pre-release seed, leading some to hope that we might see more in future betas. But it's better not to confuse remnants with release plans.

Instead, I'm interested to know how many of you actually want a Dark Mode in iOS 10? How many would prefer something less bright, be it as a night theme or an all-day thing?

I've been asking for a dark mode for year and, if you have access, the request can be found at rdar://19760524 (closed as a dupe of rdar://11786790). Now, I'd like to know what you think. Please vote in the poll above and expand on your thoughts in the comments below.

Apple has this useful little tool for Macs that displays an on-screen keyboard. The Keyboard Viewer is useful for two reasons: You can see all of the symbols and characters on your keyboard when you press the Option, Control, and Shift keys, and if something should happen to your physical keyboard, you can use it as a temporary fix. Here's how to use it.

How to show the Keyboard Viewer in the menu bar on your Mac

You can enable the Keyboard Viewer so that it stays in your menu bar, always easy to access.

1. Click on the Apple Icon () in the upper left corner of the menu bar on your Mac.
2. Select System Preferences from the dropdown menu.

3. Click on the Keyboard icon.
4. Select the Keyboard Tab on the far left of the sections.
5. Tick the box to Show Keyboard, Emoji, & Symbol Viewers in menu bar.

The icon for the Keyboard Viewer will sit to the far right of your menu bar, next to the day and time.

How to see alternative characters and symbols on the keyboard on your Mac

One of the best features of the Keyboard Viewer is that it shows you what your keyboard looks like when you press a key. So, when you press the Option, Control, and Shift keys, you can see on your screen where the symbols are on your keyboard.

1. Click on the Keyboard Viewer icon in the upper right corner of the menu bar on your Mac.

2. Press the Option Key when the on-screen keyboard appears to see the symbols that are assigned to each key.
3. Press the Option and Control keys simultaneously to see more symbols.
4. Press the Option and Shift keys simultaneously to see even more symbols.

How to use the Keyboard Viewer instead of a physical keyboard on your Mac

If something goes wrong with your physical keyboard on your Mac, you can use the Keyboard Viewer as an emergency replacement to perform minimal tasks. You can't select two keys simultaneously on the Keyboard Viewer, so it is not ideal, but it will help you out in a pinch.

1. Click on the Keyboard Viewer icon in the upper right corner of the menu bar on your Mac.
2. Click on the key you wish to use with your mouse.

How to change the size of the on-screen keyboard on your Mac

If the Keyboard Viewer is too small or too big, you can adjust the size the same way you would resize any other window on your Mac.

1. Click on the Keyboard Viewer icon in the upper right corner of the menu bar on your Mac.
2. Hover over one of the corners of the Keyboard Viewer.
3. Click and drag your pointer diagonally outward or inward to resize the keyboard window.

Anything Else?

Do you have any questions about using the Keyboard Viewer on your Mac? Let us know in the comments and we'll help.

On Wednesday June 1, Justin Bieber posted a cartoon version of himself to his 70 million Instagram followers with the caption "Friday". While this could mean a billion things, a lot of people have been speculating that he is the latest celebrity coming out with their own Emoji keyboard.

It's not news that people are obsessed with Emoji. According to research from eMarketer, there are 2 billion smartphone users worldwide, and on those devices, around 6 billion Emoji are sent Every. Single. Day. That's almost the entire population of Earth sent in Emoji form on a day to day basis!

But for celebrities like Charlie Sheen and Rick Ross, Emoji are much more than silly little faces or tiny cartoon tigers and pears – they're a business. In an interview with USA, Moji Inc. founder Oliver Camilo, who has worked on designing Emoji-specific keyboards with Fetty Wap and Amber Rose, says celebrities can make a ton of money from releasing their own 'moji keyboards.

Since Kim Kardashian (aka the queen of the internet aka the person you love to hate) pioneered the way for celebrities to weave their way into Emoji culture, celebrities of all sorts (rappers, internet celebs, singers, and more) have started to design and put together their own Emoji packs for their fans. While some can be downloaded independently, the majority of them are actually part of Moji Keyboard, an app that's home to a number of celebrities with their own Emoji designs. The app is free to download, but some celebrity Emoji packs may cost you.

We compiled a few celebs who have their own Emoji keyboards for you to check out down below, but is there a celebrity that you'd kill to have develop their own Emoji? Or do you think big stars coming out with Emoji is just plain stupid?

• Kim Kardashian - Kimoji
• Amber Rose - MuvaMoji
• Kanye West - YEmoji
• Future - Future Emoji
• Blac Chyna - Chymoji
• Charlie Sheen - Sheenoji
• Ariana Grande - Ari by Ariana Grande
• Wiz Khalifa - WIZmoji
• Fetty Wap - FettyWap Emoji
• Steph Curry - StephMoji
• Martin Solveig - MartinSolveigEmoji
• The Game - The Game Emoji
• Austin Mahone - Austin Mahone Emoji
• Princess Pia Mia - Pia Mia Emoji
• Zeds Dead - ZedsDead Emoji
• Lil Dicky - LilDicky Emoji
• DJ Snake - DJSnake
• Rick Ross - RickRoss Emoji
• Shaun T - Fitmoji
• Violet Benson aka Daddy Issues - Slaymoji
• Dennis Graham - DennisGraham Emoji
• ASAP Ferg - ASAPFerg
• Carnage - CarnageEmoji
• Logic - LogicEmoji
• ILoveMakonnen - ILoveMakonnenEmoji
• Bro Safari - BroSafariEmoji
• Big Gigantic - BigGiganticEmoji
• G-Eazy - G-EazyEmoji
• Yogi Berra - YojiBerraEmoji
• Snails - SnailsEmoji

In 2014, Sam and Luke, design students from New York City, decided to create a board game (of sorts) that embraces technology rather than shun it, and after a widely successful Kickstarter campaign, Game of Phones was born.

What is Game of Phones exactly?

Think Cards Against Humanity, but with a lot more cellphones (and potentially a lot less vulgarity).

You and your friends use your phones to answer questions that the designated question master asks; the question master changes every round. Questions range from stuff like, "find something underwhelming, be creative!" or "most unread text messages win" or "find the best selfie" or "find the best niche Tumblr".

How do we play?

First, the question master picks a card and shows it to the entire group. Then everyone finds a response to the question on their cellphones and shows the person who picked the card. The question master who picked the original card then judges all the answers, and picks the winner of that round.

When the round is finished, everyone grabs their phones, and the next person draws their card – easy peasy!

Cool! So do I need anything else besides my cellphone?

You need at least 2 friends to play the game, but you can have up to as many people as you can fit around your table. Don't worry about blowing through the game too quickly, either. Game of Phones comes with over 100 prompts in a single deck (but infinite possibilities!)

Seems simple enough… Are there any rules?

From the Game of Phones site:

• We suggest the oldest player draws the first card. (They're probably at a disadvantage).
• The player drawing the card is the judge for that turn.
• Each turn is 60 seconds and the judge is responsible for keeping time.
• The judge cannot play in the turn and awards the card to the player with the best response.
• The person to the left of the judge picks the next card and becomes the judge of that turn.
• Repeat until someone has collected 10 cards to win the game.
• If a player can't or won't play a turn they can spectate (though they risk falling behind).
• Play continues if a notification card is drawn. The judge awards the card to the first person that can show they received the relevant notification.

Where can I pick up my own Game of Phones?

You can either order it right off the Game of Phones site or Photojojo.

No, it's not the Australian tool that comes whipping back to you when you chuck it, and no, it's not the Gmail email scheduling app, and no, it's not Cartoon Network's channel that shows re-runs from old cartoons.

Boomerang is a fairly new app from social media giant Instagram that breaks the boundaries on what social media content is supposed to be. How? Well to quote Instagram, "It's not a photo. It's not a gif. It's a Boomerang."

Boomerang works by taking a super short, super fast burst of photos and stitching them together into a mini video that plays forward and backward and forward and backward and—well, you get the idea.

The app first picked up speed with social media influencers (like the Jenner sisters) and has even encouraged some friendly competition amongst other popular photo-editing apps. VCSO, an app aimed at photo editing for more serious iPhoneographers, recently unveiled DSCO, "a free GIF-making app designed with VSCO's superior imaging technology."

• Free - Download now

Microsoft is rolling out a new editor for the Outlook 2016 email app for the Mac. It includes new support for resizing and formatting images along wth more options for fonts, colors and lists.

Microsoft described the photo editing features in a blog post:

Microsoft also talks about the new font features in the editor:

Members of the Office Insiders program can try out the new Outlook editor features now, and they will be rolled out to all Mac users in mid-May. Microsoft plans to add more features to the editor in the future, including support for Tables.

Mac SE

The first time an Apple product wore the SE badge was way back in 1987, when the Macintosh SE rolled off the line.

The Macintosh SE brought expansion to the "compact" Mac form factor via an expansion slot, in addition to the SCSI port that arrived with the Macintosh Plus the previous year. The SE also helped bring ADB into the world and could be fitted with a second floppy drive or an internal hard drive.

(It also came with a fun Easter Egg embedded into the ROM. Hat tip to John Siracusa for that trip down memory lane.)

The Macintosh SE would be replaced by the "SE FDHD." This alphabet soup of a Mac was more or less a recycled, 8MHz SE with a 1.4MB SuperDrive (!) instead of the 800KB floppy disk drive found on the original SE.

The Macintosh SE/30 is the best known of the three machines with the name. The SE/30 is fondly remembered by the likes of John Gruber and John Siracusa, and for good reason. It came with a much faster 16MHz 68030 processor with a much higher RAM ceiling at 32MB. The second floppy options was not offered in the SE/30, in favor of a built-in hard drive featuring a spacious 40 or 80MB of storage space.

iMac DV SE

The SE name would next appear in October 1999. After Steve Jobs announced a revision to the "Five Flavor" iMacs that brought FireWire and iMovie to the desktop machine with the new "iMac DV" models, he announced one more machine: the iMac DV Special Edition.

Available in a stunning Graphite, this iMac sat above the just-announced DV models, but offered 128MB of RAM and a 13GB hard drive, over the 64MB of RAM and 10GB of storage found on the cheaper, more colorful models.

For 2000 and 2001, the iMac SE would include multiple case options, including Snow, Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power.

iBook SE

With the iMac, Apple used the SE name to set apart the top-of-the-line model with its better specs and higher price points. While this strategy was employed for the iMac for several revisions, with the iBook G3 line it was shorter lived.

Offered for sale several months after the original iBook had been on shelves, the iBook SE was identical to the original except for a speed bump that brought it to 366MHz. Of course, it only came in Graphite:

When the iBook gained FireWire in September 2000, the SE was bumped to 466MHz and included a DVD-ROM drive, and was available in Graphite and a bright green color dubbed Key Lime.

For whatever reason, the scheme of using "SE" to note special features and colors at the top of a product line never graduated past the iMac and iBook G3 lines. My guess is that Apple wanted to streamline things, and coupled with the fact that the G4 era meant the end of colorful cases on Macs, it probably wouldn't have made sense to keep the naming scheme going.

iPod U2 Special Edition

So, yeah. I knew when I started writing this article that I would inevitably get to this point. It can't be avoided anymore. Here we are. It's just me, you and Bono's iPod:

Officially named the "iPod U2 Special Edition," the U2 iPod was a black and red and engraved version of Apple's music player.

(The Harry Potter iPods didn't use this naming scheme, oddly.)

Customers who bought this iPod received an iTunes Store coupon redeemable for $50 off of the price of The Complete U2, a collection featuring over 400 tracks.

The U2 Special Edition would be revised a couple of times, keeping up to date with the non-Bono iPods, but was eventually dropped from the lineup in September 2007.

iPod shuffle (Late 2009)

This one is probably pushing the concept of this column, but I think it's worth a mention.

For the Late 2009 iPod shuffle, Apple introduced several new colors, but at the top of the line, with more storage space and a higher price tag, sat a stainless steel model.

While it didn't have a specific product name like the iMac and iBook SEs before it, Apple did refer to this iPod as a "special edition," so I'm willing to count it.

Plus, it looked super cool. Just check out this Apple PR image of the thing:

SE Today

Today, Apple's using the SE moniker on a weird mashup of old and new iPhone technology and design in the iPhone SE. Will this particular model of phone become a normal part of Apple's lineup, or will it fade away like other things that have worn the badge before it? What do you think? Unless you're Bono, sound off in the comments below.

Deep Silver's upcoming first-person shooter Homefront: The Revolution will be available on the Mac. The game is all set to make its debut on May 17 on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC; and Dambuster Studio has announced that native Mac and Linux versions are in development:

While there isn't an exact launch date, there's plenty of reasons to be excited about Homefront: The Revolution, as it will be the first Mac game running on CryEngine.

This month's old Mac is the weird cousin of the iMac G4 we looked at in February. Introduced only months after the iMac G4, the eMac mashed up old ideas with new tech: It retained the all-in-one design defined by the iMac G3, but it shipped with a larger 17-inch CRT display and used the same G4 chipset found in the LCD-equipped iMacs.

Here we see the eMac, complete with keyboard, mouse and optional stand.

Priced at $999, it looked like a great deal — but you couldn't just walk into a store and pick one up when it launched in April 2002. You see, the eMac wasn't for the average user: It was for the education market.

E is for education

The "i" in iMac may have stood for "internet," but don't go assuming the "e" in eMac stood for "ethernet" — the computer took its first-initial moniker from a very different avenue: education. Here's how Steve Jobs introduced it to the press in April 2002:

The eMac was a tangible expression of how much Apple cared about the education market; it had been a stronghold for the company dating back to the Apple II days.

But a few months after the computer's release, Apple put the eMac for sale in its retail stores; this led to conjecture that Apple wasn't selling the eMac to schools in the volumes it had hoped. The company's press release read differently, however:

Whatever the real reason, the eMac was out in the world, available alongside the iMac in retail stores and on the Internet.

Problematic problems

While the design of the eMac may have been based on the iMac before it, the increased heat generated by the G4 processor forced Apple to add a fan to the back of the case, hidden behind a plastic cap ringed in translucent plastic.

The fan kept the processor's heat under control, but the eMac still played host to several hardware issues over its short lifespan.

Many early units were plagued by myriad video-related failures, including discoloration, jittery video and what got dubbed as "raster shift", fixable only with the replacement of an internal video cable:

In fact, units built between April 2004 and June 2005 had such widespread video and power issues that Apple opened a Repair Extension Program to address the problem. The REP covered problems due to swollen or burst capacitors, an issue that also plagued the company's iMac G5, as well as products from many other manufacturers.

I was working as a Mac Genius while this REP was open, and had a local school come in with over two dozen machines covered by the program. While the school may have been happy to get their machines repaired free of charge, storing that many eMacs while waiting for parts to come in was a challenge that my store manager was less than thrilled about helping me solve.

A slow march to nowhere

But as poor as the eMac's hardware reputation was, the machine's woes were far more philosophical than that. Designing a machine to be a low-cost, simple solution for the classroom led to what was always going to be a compromised mainstream product: While the G4 was a welcome addition for education customers, the CRT design made the eMac look old and bloated in comparison to the sleek, LCD-topped iMac G4 when the machine went on sale to the public. The 50-pound machine just didn't make a big name for itself.

That's not to say Apple didn't try: From April 2002 to October 2005, the company revved the machine three times, adding better graphics, USB 2.0 and faster CPUs. But ultimately, Apple replaced the eMac with a low-cost, education-only Intel iMac. The last CRT-based Mac slipped quietly away, forgotten by almost everyone who didn't see one in their school or office.