Mac

Stay up-to-date on the latest Mac news, and tutorials. Get expert tips and tricks to optimize your Mac’s performance and learn about the latest Apple products and software updates. Discover the best Mac apps and accessories to enhance your user experience.

See how Alexa compares to Siri with Reverb

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2017

If you missed our post nearly a year ago about a web app at Echoism.io that lets you try out Alexa in a web browser, you're going to like a new app, called Reverb, that brings Amazon's personal assistant to your Mac desktop, as well as iPhone and iPad.

The brain child of developers at digital consultancy agency Rain, Reverb is available at no charge from App Store and Mac App Store or in your favorite web browser.

Reverb takes advantage of the fact that Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service is now available as a web service to access through a web browser and other thin clients, with the recent API 2.0 update having enabled a richer set of features.

macOS 10.12.4 beta 3 seeded to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2017

Aside from watchOS 3.2 beta 3, tvOS 10.2 beta 3 and iOS 10.3 beta 3 with a new name and shame list for legacy apps, Apple today seeded a third beta of what would become the fourth major update to Sierra since its launch last fall. macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 3 (build 16E163f) with Night Shift Mode and other perks is now available to registered developers.

You can deploy the latest beta over the air on your Mac through the Mac App Store's Updates tab. Today's release is only for developers but a version aimed at public beta testers should drop in the next 24 hours.

How to change mouse or trackpad pointer size on Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 12, 2025

Learn how to enhance visibility and ease of use on your Mac by adjusting the mouse or trackpad cursor size.

New Mac malware from Russia targets your saved passwords and iPhone backups

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 15, 2017

It used to be that Mac computers were immune from the vast majority of viruses and malware plaguing Windows and other platforms. But as Apple's products have been growing in popularity, hackers and malware developers have been increasingly targeting macOS.

Following recent reports of Mac malware that uses a very old Windows trick which relies on Microsoft Word macros, a new strain of malware from Russian hackers has been found to steal your saved passwords and iPhone backups, security firm BitDefender said.

New malware uses auto-running macros in Word documents to infect your Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

Taking advantage of a primitive Windows technique relying on automatically-running macros embedded in Microsoft Word documents, a new type of Mac malware attack has been discovered recently. As first noted in a research compiled by Objective-See, the technique used may be crude but once an unsuspecting user opens an infected Word document and chooses to run the macros, the malware installs itself silently on the target Mac and immediately attempts to download a hazardous payload.

Microsoft previews Touch Bar support in Office for Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 8, 2017

Microsoft was one of the companies mentioned during Apple's “Hello again” Mac event last October as working on implementing support for Touch Bar shortcuts in their productivity apps.

Today, the Windows maker launched a preview of Touch Bar shortcuts on the new MacBook Pro available across its suite of Office apps. Beginning this week, users on Microsoft's beta program, dubbed Office Insider, will be able to test the new Touch Bar support across Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook for Mac.

References to next-generation MacBook Pros with Kaby Lake chips found in Sierra code

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 7, 2017

A developer-only preview of what would become the macOS Sierra 10.12.4 software update references a total of eight next-generation MacBook Pro models with the latest Kaby Lake processors from Intel. First discovered by the Apple-centric blog named Pike’s Universum, the code strings in question point to unused IDs for three motherboard identifiers. Aside from other improvements, the Kaby Lake platform enables lower power consumption while possibly bringing support for 32GB RAM.

How to find out when macOS was last reinstalled on your Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 11, 2025

Use a simple Terminal command to find out when macOS was last reinstalled on your Mac.

Apple releases $199 education bundle: FCP X, Logic Pro, Motion, Compressor & MainStage

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 3, 2017

If you're a teacher, college student, faculty member or staff, or a K12 or higher education institution, you can now buy a bundle of Apple's pro video and audio editing apps for Mac. As reported by The Loop, the Pro Apps Bundle for Education includes Final Cut Pro X ($300), Logic Pro X ($200), Motion 5 ($50), Compressor 4 ($50) and MainStage 3 ($30).

The bundle is priced at just $199, a $430 savings versus the apps' combined retail price.

This upcoming piece of silicon may first become available in a next-generation MacBook Pro planned for later this year. Among other things, it would help improve battery life.

Mac