Mac

Mountain Lion security and AppleScript

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Lex Friedman: To the average user, the two new security technologies coming to OS X this year—sandboxing and Gatekeeper—should be virtually invisible. But they could be all too visible to more advanced users, particularly those who use AppleScript and Automator. … Continued

Hazel, a personal housekeeper for the Mac

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Hazel watches whatever folders you tell it to, automatically organizing your files according to the rules you create. It features a rule interface similar to that of Apple Mail so you should feel right at home.

My desktop is begging for this app.

Reflection brings screen mirroring from iOS to the Mac

Written by

TUAW:

Ever wanted to use AirPlay mirroring to show the screen of your iPad 2 or iPhone 4/4S on your Mac? Just released, Reflection ($14.99 for a single license, $39.99 for a 5 pack) offers a well-featured mirroring receiver for OS X, ideal for education and demos — and a great way to eliminate the Frankencable for iPad video capture.

The Apple product that scares Wintel vendors

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Tim Bajarin:

Yes, the iPad is a real concern for the PC vendors as Apple has a huge lead in tablets and strong demand. But if Apple starts eating into their laptop market share, this will have the greatest impact on these PC vendors in the future and make it even harder for them to make strong profits on this part of their laptop business.

Tim brings up a good point. You could argue that Wintel vendors are scared of everything Apple does because they don’t understand how to compete with them. The iPad is a perfect example of that. However, it must scare the hell out of them when Apple starts eating their lunch in the laptop market.

Apple is attacking the PC vendors from both sides — one with the iPad and the other with the MacBook Air.

Screens 2.0 VNC client for Mac, iPhone, iPad

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I’ve been playing around with Screens 2.0 all day and I love it. The app allows you to connect your Mac or iOS device to another computer on the network, see its screen and interact with the computer. I tried it on my Mac and iPhone, but haven’t gotten around to the iPad yet, but I haven’t had a single problem. It took a couple of tries to nail the position of my finger when using the iPhone version, but that’s a minor user thing.

Apple considered AMD for MacBook Air

Written by

Brian Caulfield for Forbes:

AMD’s engineers were trying to do too much, too quickly, however, shifting to a new manufacturing process at Global Foundries for a processor with a radical new design.AMD couldn’t even get early working samples of Llano to Apple on time, one former employee says. Several former AMD employees disagree on just how close AMD came.

HP earnings fall 44 percent

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Reuters: The storied Silicon Valley company, which has been trying to move past the internal upheaval that marked 2011, posted quarterly sales declines in three of its key units: personal computers, printers and enterprise equipment. The PC market sucks for … Continued

Dell stock tumbles on weak sales outlook

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Shares of Dell Inc fell more than 7 percent in premarket trading on Wednesday, after the world’s No.3 personal computer maker forecast weak sales for the current quarter.

Sandboxing

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Longtime Mac developer Daniel Jalkut writes a great article on Gatekeeper and Sandboxing.

A case for Siri on the Mac

Written by

Lex Friedman:

But whatever the reason, I hope Apple changes its thinking quickly. I’m a fan of Siri on my iPhone, and I can imagine plenty of ways Siri could deliver awesomeness on the Mac.

Lex makes his case for why Siri should come to Mountain Lion and some ways it could work. I don’t know if I’d use Siri that much on my Mac. It seems quicker for me to just use the built-in data detectors to add an appointment or open an app using Spotlight.

Clusterfuck

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Shadoe Huard talking about Windows 8 Developer Preview: I could waste a few thousand words describing every bewildering detail of this clusterfuck but I can talk about one thing that will sum it all up for you: The Windows logo.

OMG iOS is being OS X-ified

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I’m going to use the same faulty logic that some people have used to claim that OS X Mountain Lion is being iOS-ified to show how iOS is being Mac-ified. Calendars: On the Mac first as iCal, clearly Apple added … Continued

Moving in together

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For many, the announcement of OS X Lion was viewed with a great deal of negativity. Perceived as subverting the complexity of OS X, Lion was painted by many as an unwelcome agent of change – an entity seeking to castrate the strength of the Mac. Boasting nascent implementations of iOS features, many were quick to point accusatory fingers at the budding mobile operating system. OS X was courting a younger, sleeker companion, and its personality was starting to change – starting to dress a little better and clean up its act. Many felt betrayed. […]

Mac OS X 10.8 requirements omit more Intel Macs

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CNET’s MacFixIt:

If you’ve taken a look at Apple’s sneak peek of its upcoming revision to OS X, you might wonder if your system will be able to run the operating system. In recent versions of OS X, some requirements have resulted in older hardware no longer working properly, including the drop of PowerPC support in Snow Leopard, and Lion not installing on some of the earliest Intel-based Mac systems.Unfortunately Apple has not yet officially released the system requirements for the new OS, but the developer release that is being issued to members of its Mac development community does contain a list of supported devices.

no. No. NO!

Written by

Ina Fried:

Although they are doing it in different ways, Apple and Microsoft are aiming for a similar goal with their next desktop operating systems: To make the computer more like the phone.

This just isn’t what’s happening. Microsoft is trying to shoehorn one operating system into the desktop and mobile spaces, but that will ultimately fail. They are different platforms and should be treated differently. […]

First Look: OS X Mountain Lion

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Apple on Thursday unveiled OS X Mountain Lion, the next generation desktop operating system. I’ve been using Mountain Lion for about a week now and it’s packed with new features that existing Mac users and iOS users will enjoy.

Mountain Lion will be released this summer. Pricing isn’t currently available, but it should come as no surprise that Mountain Lion will only be available via the Mac App Store when it’s released. […]

MacTech Boot Camp

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MacTech Boot Camp is specifically designed for those techs and consultants supporting home users, small office/home office, and small-to-medium sized businesses. This one-day, hotel-based, seminar is designed specifically to help you be the most successful consultant you can be. Learn. … Continued

Mooresville School District, a laptop success story

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New York Times:

“This is not about the technology,” Mark Edwards, superintendent of Mooresville Graded School District, would tell the visitors later over lunch. “It’s not about the box. It’s about changing the culture of instruction — preparing students for their future, not our past.”As debate continues over whether schools invest wisely in technology — and whether it measurably improves student achievement — Mooresville, a modest community about 20 miles north of Charlotte best known as home to several Nascar teams and drivers, has quietly emerged as the de facto national model of the digital school.

ARM and Intel chips

Written by

John Brownlee:

Apple’s not serious about ditching Intel for the Mac, but even so, the next few years will be very interesting as ARM and Intel trade body blows. If Intel plays its cards right, come 2015, we could all be talking very seriously indeed about whether or not Apple will be putting Intel’s new mobile chips in the iPhone 8 and iPad 6.

Interesting rundown of the chips and what we may see.