OS X El Capitan

New watchOS 2.2.1 and OS X 10.11.5 betas have dropped, too

After seeding iOS 9.3.2 beta 2 to its registered developers this morning, Apple has also released new betas for its other forthcoming operating system updates: watchOS 2.2.1 and OS X 10.11.5 El Capitan. You can download watchOS 2.2.1 beta 2 (build 13V420) and OS X 10.11.5 beta 2 (build 15F24b) through Apple's Developer Center, which requires a paid account for full access, or apply them on the devices themselves through the Software Update mechanism on devices running a beta OS.

OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 beta 1 also seeded to developers

Just over two weeks after posting OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 for public consumption, Apple this morning seeded the first beta of OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 to its registered developers. A fifth major update to the the most recent operating system powering the Mac, OS X 10.11.5 includes bug fixes, performance improvements and general security and stability fixes.

It is not expected to bring any major user-facing features. The new beta carries a build number of 15F18b and can be installed on computers running a prior OS X beta through the Mac App Store's Updates tab.

The ultimate guide to protecting your private information in Notes from the prying eyes

According to Apple, Notes is one of the most popular and most-frequently used stock applications on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

People use Notes for everything from memorizing recipes to keeping track of errands, creating shopping lists, storing inspirational quotes and even passwords, codes and medical data.

Not all notes contain sensitive information, but many do. Beginning with iOS 9.3 and OS X El Capitan 10.11.4, you can protect your notes with a password or Touch ID.

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to set up Notes protection, secure items on a note-by-note basis so no one can view their contents and more.

OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 is out with full Live Photos sharing, password-protected Notes and more

After spending more than two months in beta, OS X 10.11.4, a fourth major update to OS X El Capitan, today released for public consumption. The software update is now available and recommended for all OS X El Capitan users.

Even though it comes with a few noticeable outward-facing changes, OS X 10.11.4 does pack in some newsworthy improvements—namely in stock Messages, Notes and Photos apps. Full sharing of Live Photos via iMessages has been implemented throughout the system, too. Like other major OS X releases, 10.11.4 includes a handful of under-the-hood changes and tons of bug fixes and performance optimizations.

Apple seeds OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 beta 7 to developers

Just 24 hours after seeding iOS 9.3 beta 7 to developers and public testers, Apple on Tuesday released a seventh beta of the forthcoming OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 software update.

The new version with a build number of 15E64a is available as an over-the-air update through the Mac App Store's Purchased tab on Macs authorized for software development through the Apple Developer Program and on computers enrolled into the Apple Beta Software Program.

OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 beta 6 now available

In addition to releasing new betas of the forthcoming iOS 9.3 and watchOS 2.2 software updates, Apple on Monday seeded a sixth beta of OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 (build number 15E61b) to members of the Apple Developer and Apple Beta Software program.

The new beta is available through the Updates tab in the Mac App Store on Macs with a prior El Capitan beta installed while a standalone installer will appear shortly on Apple's portal for developers.

Latest El Capitan beta has fixed Safari’s mishandling of shortened Twitter “t.co” links

An annoying issue pertaining to broken Twitter links, which has persisted in Safari for Mac since November 2015, has been fixed in the third beta of the forthcoming OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan software update, according to user reports on the Apple Support Communities forums.

The “Safari can’t open the page because the server where this page is located is not responding” error page no longer appears when clicking shortened “t.co” Twitter links with the secure HTTPS protocol in Safari and third-party apps like Tweetbot.

Apple’s Notes app in OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan can import files from Evernote

The forthcoming OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan software update, currently in testing, will bring out the ability to import Evernote content into the stock Notes application, Apple's Vice President of Marketing, Brian Croll, has confirmed in an interview with Japanese publication PC User, as relayed yesterday by the Japanese blog Mac Otakara.

Through a new Import Notes menu command, Mac owners will be able to import Evernote files into Notes, which in OS X 10.11.4 supports Evernote's proprietary .enex file format.

How to move Photos library to an external drive

In addition to moving your multi-gigabyte iTunes library to an external drive, a significant amount of Mac storage space can be freed up by moving your photo libraries onto a separate drive.

If you take a lot of pictures with a DSLR camera or your iOS devices and import them in Photos, you'll fairly quickly run out of free space on most Macs.

This tutorial will guide you through the process of moving an entire library of photos to an external drive, preferably to a much larger external hard drive, in a way that won't disrupt your photography workflow.

Apple seeds OS X 10.11.4 beta 3 to developers

In addition to several other releases, Apple on Monday pushed out the third developer beta of OS X 10.11.4. The update is available either via the Updates tab of the Mac App Store for current 10.11.4 testers, or on Apple's developer website as a standalone download.

Today's beta 3 comes two weeks after beta 2 and nearly a month after the original version of 10.11.4 was released. The update is mostly under-the-hood improvements, but it does include a few new features such as support for Live Photos and password-protected Notes.

How to disable transparency effects on your Mac

The release of OS X Yosemite in 2014 gave the Mac's user interface a fresh coat of paint in part through adopting much of the transparency effects that Apple added to iOS 7 in prior year.

Transparency is used throughout macOS and can be observed on the desktop and seen in drop-down menus, title bars, sidebars and toolbars.

This post will teach you how to disable transparency for all user interface elements that have a translucent appearance on your Mac.

Public beta testers: iOS 9.3 beta 2 and OS X 10.11.4 now available

Two days after seeding OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan beta 2 and iOS 9.3 beta 2 to members of the Apple Developer Program, public beta testers who are signed on the Apple Beta Software Program can now freely deploy these new beta builds on their Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices.

iOS 9.3 beta 2 is available as an over-the-air update in Settings → General → Software Update on enrolled devices. OS X 10.11.4 beta 2 can be downloaded through the Mac App Store's Purchased tab for those who are enrolled in Apple's beta testing program.