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.

The Sims 2: Pet Stories hits Mac App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2017

Tired of good ol' Sims? How about Sims with pets? Based off of The Sims 2 engine, this classic Sims title returns to the Mac—courtesy of Electronic Arts and Aspyr Media—with updated graphics and several other enhancements and is available for the first time on the Mac exclusively through the Mac App Store.

With native display support for Retina and 4K Macs, gesture support for zoom and rotate, drastically improved performance and other tweaks, you can now care for and train those lovable yet unpredictable pets as you compete for Best in Show at the most important local pet show of the year.

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Apple Music launches “Star Wars” radio station

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

Apple on Wednesday joined the chorus of other tech companies looking to capitalize on the popularity of the new Star Wars movie, by rolling out a dedicated radio station in Apple Music. You can find the new station in the 'Radio' section of the Music app on iOS, or in iTunes.

As you'd expect, Star Wars radio plays through a library of memorable music from past movies. In my short time listening to the station, I heard the popular Main Title/Rebel Blockade Runner, Yoda's Theme, Emperor Arrives, and a slew of sound effects like R2-D2 beeping.

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Apple seeds OS X El Capitan 10.11.3 beta 1 to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 16, 2015

After releasing the first beta of iOS 9.2.1 to developers earlier today, Apple also seeded OS X El Capitan 10.11.3 beta 1 to members of the Apple Developer Program.

The first beta of what would become El Capitan's third major software update since its October 2015 debut carries a build number of 15D9c and is available as a standalone download through Apple's portal for developers or through the Mac App Store's Update tab on Macs enrolled in the beta program.

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How to control your Mac with the Siri Remote

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated May 30, 2017

Better Touch Tool, one of the most useful power-user utilities available for macOS has been updated to include support for Siri Remote control. The update, which is currently available as an alpha version download, lets you control your mouse with the Siri Remote, as well as assign shortcuts and mouse clicks to the Touch Surface and each of the remote's buttons.

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iTunes 12.3.2 with Apple Music browsing improvements now available

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 11, 2015

A few days following the release of the iOS 9.2 software update for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad with Apple Music improvements and other changes, Apple today posted a matching iTunes update for Macs running OS X El Capitan.

iTunes 12.3.2 makes it easier to browse classical songs on Apple Music with support for works, composers and performers.

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iDB holiday gift guide: Christian’s picks

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

Is it that time of year again? Gosh, time surely flies, doesn't it? And what an action-packed year it has been in terms of exciting Apple product releases and upgrades, new-category product launches, interesting new accessories, novel new apps and games and what not.

I believe in smart holiday shopping that doesn't force you to break the bank just to purchase cool gifts that your friends and family will actually love, not pass along like a hot potato. So without further ado, I present you my personal holiday gift guide.

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Duet Display now works on iPad Pro, lets you run iOS and Mac apps together

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 9, 2015

Duet Display, a terrific app which turns an iOS device into an external display for the Mac, has been updated in the App Store with official support for the iPad Pro and major performance improvements on both iOS and OS X.

The best thing about the updated app is its ability to allocate one-third of the iPad Pro, iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 4' display for iOS apps, with the remaining two-thirds of the screen real estate dedicated to Mac apps.

Dual-screening using an iPad Pro and Duet Display comes with zero lag, developers claim. Crafted by ex-Apple engineers who worked on the iPad and iMac, Duet Display through its desktop helper app appears as an external display hooked up to your Mac or Windows PC via the USB port.

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Apple releases OS X 10.11.2 El Capitan update

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 4, 2018

Following an extensive testing, Apple on Tuesday released OS X 10.11.2 (build number 15C50), the second major update to El Capitan, for public consumption. In addition to improving the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac, OS X 10.11.2 improves iCloud Photo Sharing for Live Photos, as well as the reliability of Wi-Fi networking, Handoff and AirDrop.

Moreover, the software update includes fixes for Bluetooth devices disconnecting on a whim, the Mail app deleting messages in an offline Exchange account and problems with importing photos from an iPhone to a Mac using a USB cable.

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Today’s Pixelmator for Mac update brings several new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Pixelmator, one of the best Photoshop alternatives on any platform, has received a nice little update in the Mac App Store this morning. Bumped to version 3.4.1, the refreshed app brings half a dozen new features and refinements and packs in nearly two dozen bug fixes and stability improvements, including faster and more responsive performance on 2011 Macs with Intel's HD 3000 graphics cards.

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Review: CleanMyDrive 2—stylish, lightweight app to get rid of junk cluttering your drives

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 17, 2017

MacPaw, a fresh, independent developer behind the versatile and powerful CleanMyMac application, today unleashed a major update to CleanMyDrive.

CleanMyDrive is a free-of-charge Mac utility designed to help reclaim free disk space by cleaning the junk from your internal hard drives and external storage devices such as USB thumb drives, SSDs and more

The new and much improved CleanMyDrive 2 app boasts a completely redesigned user interface that lets you check disk stats, drag-and-drop files directly to any drive, automatically clean disks after hitting the Eject button and more.

With it, cleaning hidden junk that's been clogging up your drives is easy and fun.

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