Report: Siri for Mac coming this fall via OS X 10.12 software update

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 24, 2016

This fall, Mac owners will at long last be able to converse with Siri as the voice-activated personal assistant makes its way into OS X 10.12, the next major release of Apple's mobile operating system that powers Mac desktops and notebooks.

According to 9to5Mac's reliable Mark Gurman, “Apple currently plans to use its next major release of the Mac operating system this fall to continue to expand Siri across its product lines.”

The news will no doubt make Mac owners happy. Siri, which debuted in 2011, is currently available across the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Apple Watch and the new Apple TV. It makes a lot of sense to bring Siri to the Mac given that processing power and battery life on desktop is much better than on mobile devices.

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Apple releases first over-the-air firmware update for iPad Pro’s Smart Keyboard

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 24, 2016

Apple has issued its first firmware update for the iPad Pro's $169 Smart Keyboard accessory. After attaching a Smart Keyboard to their iPad Pro, users will see an iOS prompt informing them of the availability of the new software. They can postpone updating the Smart Keyboard update or select to apply the new firmware immediately.

As reported by AppleInsider, the new firmware software for the accessory is delivered as an over-the-air download and is transferred to the Smart Keyboard through Apple's new magnetic Smart Connector on the iPad Pro.

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Instead of a much-wanted Dislike button, Facebook adds six reactions to its Like button

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 24, 2016

Facebook on Wednesday announced a move that has been long in the making: the company is extending the functionality of its ubiquitous Like button with six different reactions that help describe users' mood and express how something they see in the News Feed makes them feel.

Available to all users globally across all mobile and desktop platforms, the six new reactions—Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad or Angry—can be applied by holding down the Like button on mobile or hovering over the Like button on desktop.

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‘Seeker’ is a feature-filled extension of Apple’s native audio scrubbing

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 24, 2016

The music controls from the Lock screen and Control Center leave a lot to be desired, which is why iOS jailbreak tweak developer Ron Thakrar has launched an excellent extension for the music controls.

Dubbed Seeker, this extension for jailbroken devices brings an array of new features to the music controls in the aforementioned interfaces and can be had from Cydia's BigBoss repository for the price of $2.99.

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Quiver 3: a digital notebook built for developers

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

Without fail, anytime I settle down to work on a programming project, a large chunk of my time is devoted to searching Google and StackOverflow for the best ways to tackle a given coding issue. Even if I haven't run into a problem per se, looking for the most efficient approach to a function or finding a snippet of code that carries out a specific purpose are just a couple reasons why I'm continuously researching whatever language with which I'm working. That's why Quiver is such a huge help to me.

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Major MacID software update now available for iOS and OS X

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 23, 2016

Popular for letting users unlock their Mac with the Touch ID sensor on their iPhones and/or iPads, MacID comes with a slew of other useful features as well that take advantage of a Bluetooth connection between these devices.

A massive update to the $3.99 MacID app for iOS devices and the free software for Macs is now available that provides a slew of improvements and new features for users. 

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Apple will bring back UI navigation with Apple Pencil in the next iOS 9.3 beta

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 23, 2016

Well, that didn't take long. In response to concerns that it is taking features away from the iPad Pro's Pencil, Apple confirmed in a statement to The Verge that the next iOS 9.3 beta will reinstate the Pencil's ability to be used as a finger replacement for the user interface navigation.

“We will add this functionality back in the next beta of iOS 9.3,” said a company spokesperson. Earlier today, MacRumors discovered that the most recent beta of iOS 9.3 has removed the ability for iPad Pro customers to use the Pencil to navigate the entirety of the iOS user interface.

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Viber gains more 3D Touch goodies, Split View and Slide Over multitasking on iPad Pro and other perks

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 23, 2016

Viber, the popular instant messaging application, has received an update in the App Store. Bumped to version 5.8, the app now works side-by-side with other apps in iOS 9's new Split View and Slide Over multitasking on the iPad Pro.

On the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, your most recent chats are now available right from the app's 3D Touch shortcut menu on the Home screen.

This edition of Viber also packs in some other improvements related to 'read' and 'liked' icons in group chats and an all-new media browser for chats.

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YouTube picks up native resolution support on iPad Pro

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 23, 2016

Google on Tuesday issued a small update to its YouTube client in the App Store, adding support for the iPad Pro's 12.9-inch 2,732-by-2,048 pixel resolution screen, bringing the app's version number to 11.0.6.

Unfortunately, advanced iPad-only features provided by iOS 9 are not yet supported in YouTube for iOS, namely the new Slide Over and Split View multitasking modes.

This edition of YouTube also fixed a bug that caused the keyboard to freeze while commenting and another one which caused the app to crash after adding a Google or YouTube account on iOS 7.

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Elgato Eve Energy review: a HomeKit-enabled wireless sensor & switch

Andrew O'Hara ∙ February 23, 2016

Apple’s HomeKit has had a bit of a rocky start. The home automation platform that was meant to tie all of your smart home devices together was plagued by delays from Apple, as well as manufacturers. Devices started to hit the market in the middle of last year, and this year at CES, we saw many new options that are slowly starting to trickle out. Today, we are going to take a look at one of those devices, Eve Energy from Elgato. It is a simple solutions for those who want to start or grow their smart home, without breaking the bank.

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