News tagged ‘Mac’
Top 10 Stories of the Week
It is Sunday today, so you're probably waiting for our traditional roundup of the most interesting posts of the past seven days. Let's take a look at them right now.
IBM Created Smartwatch with Digital Crown Long Before Apple?
Looks like the concept of the smartwatch is much older than we all have thought. According to the video, which I managed to find on 9to5Mac this morning, back in 2001, IBM created a kind of smartwatch with small black-and-white display with touch input and something very similar to Apple's Digital Crown. The video is available below, so take a look and tell me what you think.
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Microsoft Releases New Cortana vs. Siri Ad
Microsoft has recently released another anti-Apple ad. This time it's a short clip featuring an iPhone 6 with Siri virtual assistant and a handset with Windows Phone 8.1 and Cortana on board. As you might have guessed, the guys from Redmond mock Apple's creation claiming their product is more efficient, functional and user-friendly.
Anyway, let's get back to the main topic. Today, Microsoft advertises Cortana's ability to create contextual reminders and traffic alerts based on the latest traffic data. Take a look at the video below and you'll understand what I mean.
Apple's A8 Chip Supports 4K Video Playback?
According to the latest reports from people familiar with the matter, the A8 chip found inside of Apple's latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus is capable of playing 4K video. And that is rather strange, I must admit, as the aforementioned devices have a display resolution of "only" 1334 x 750 and 1920 x 1080 pixels respectively. The support of ultra high-definition video has been discovered by developers who created a popular Mac app called WALTR.
iOS 8.1.1 Slightly Improves Performance of iPhone 4S and iPad 2
As you probably know, after the release of iOS 8 back in September, many iPhone 4S users began reporting various performance issues. On Monday, Apple released iOS 8.1.1, which, according to the release notes, was expected to improve performance on older devices, namely, the iPhone 4S and the iPad 2. As noted by the researchers from Ars Technica, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system does improve the stability and performance of the older handsets and tablets, however, only slightly. Moreover, average users are very unlikely to notice these improvements as nearly all the build-in apps still work slower than that of iOS 7.
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Apple Releases Glitchy OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 Beta to Developers
Apple has recently seeded the first beta of OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 to developers for testing. The release of this version of Apple's operating system for Macs comes just three days after the official public release of OS X 10.10.1 that contained stability and performance improvements as well as some bug fixes.
What is important about the latest beta is that it contains bugs, which cause constant crashes of Google Chrome browser as well as Retina iMac graphics issues. That is why I suggest that you shouldn't upgrade to this version, especially if you plan to install it on your main computer.
Apple to Integrate Beats Music in iOS?
Apple Replaces 'Free' Buttons with 'Get' Buttons on the App Store
Apple has changed usual free games and applications purchase buttons on the App Store. Earlier, all the software one could get without paying money was displayed with a "Free" button on top. Now those apps are available for download after pressing the new "Get" button. According to what many users report, the changes have been made both on the iOS version of the App Store and on the desktop one.
Apple Planning 'Biggest Camera Jump Ever'?
According to what Daring Fireball's analyst John Gruber told in his recent podcast called The Talk Show, next year Apple may demonstrate the "biggest camera jump ever" in the history of the company and its iPhone lineup. Citing sources familiar with the matter, he says that the guys from Cupertino are currently working on major improvements for the photo-sensor of the next-generation flagship device.
38mm and 42mm Apple Watch to Get Different Screen Resolutions?
Immediately after the developers got access to iOS 8.2 with WatchKit SDK, they managed to find out what screen resolution the upcoming Apple Watch will get. Though the guys from Cupertino announced their long-anticipated wearable device in September, they somehow forgot to tell us about such an important parameter.
Apple Releases iOS 8.2 Beta with WatchKit SDK to Developers
Just one day after making iOS 8.1.1 available for users worldwide, Apple on Tuesday seeded iOS 8.2 to developers for testing. What is interesting about this particular update is that it contains WatchKit SDK that allows to create apps for the Apple Watch. Apart from tools for developers, the new beta-version of Apple's mobile operating system contains several stability improvements. Well, as always.
Apple Made Samsung Main A-Series Chip Supplier
According to the latest report from The Korea Times, Apple has made Samsung its primary chip supplier. 80% of orders for 14-nanometer processors will go to the South-Korean manufacturer starting 2016. As to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), it will get the remaining 20% of orders, which is also pretty good for this firm.
Microsoft Releases New Surface Pro 3 Ad Featuring MacBook Air
Microsoft has recently released another ad. As you might have guessed, in the short video one of Apple's products is compared to one of Microsoft's products. To be honest, I don't understand how a tablet can be compared to a laptop with normal keyboard, operating system and completely different form factor. I should probably ask the guys from Redmond as they seem to be comparing Apple's MacBook Air with their Surface Pro 3 on a regular basis.
Anyway, let's get back to the most recent commercial. This is the second ad from the so-called MacBook vs. Surface Pro 3 series. It is entitled "Winter Wonderland" and is available below.
Apple Releases OS X Yosemite 10.10.1 to Users Worldwide
Aside from making iOS 8.1.1 available for users worldwide, Apple on Monday released OS X Yosemite 10.10.1, which contains a number of security improvements and bug fixes. The release comes about two weeks after the release of the first beta version of 10.10.1. This update is recommended for all OS X Yosemite users as it fixes several noticeable bugs in the operating system. In particular, Apple managed to eliminate the problem, which caused Wi-Fi connection issues on a wide number of Mac models running OS X 10.10.
Aaron Sorkin Shares New Details on Movie About Steve Jobs
According to the information about the upcoming movie about Apple co-founder and ex-CEO Steve Jobs shared by a screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, the actor for a leading role is still under consideration, but its name will be officially announced within several days or weeks. What Sorkin knows for sure is that neither Leonardo DiCaprio, nor Christian Bale will get the main role. Earlier it was reported that one of these actors will be chosen to star as Steve Jobs, but looks like something went wrong and they both won't.