Tag Archives: MacBook Air

Apple, Breaking News, iPad, iPhone, Mac, macOS 12 Monterey, OS Software, WWDC2021

The Hit of WWDC2021 is the combo of AirPlay to Mac and Universal Control

Video
credit: Apple

Allow me to explain, it’s better than it sounds…

Among the avalanche of new features and upgrades to iOS, iPadOS and most of all macOS 12 Monterey, there were two that were like a dream come true for anyone who has used AirPlay with AppleTv or “SideCar”, which originally came to the mac with macOS Catalina, and wished for one bold step further.

In an office environment, like our newsroom, being able to beam an iPad or mac on to a large conference style TV is great, but springing for the $ it takes to get a high resolution computer monitor large enough for group viewing is not such a great treat.

A fantastic compromise, one that many have wished for but never seen is the new option cogently called “AirPlay to Mac” which, just as the name implies, allows you to bean your phone or iPad (or I presume one mac to another) for paired or group viewing. (there were times when I, for one, forgot that this feature did not yet exist and tried to connect a mac screen using airPlay, to no avail).

AirPlay brings the Mac to life in all-new ways.

Even with tiny bugs that might arise at first when trying to get multiple macs to act as screens for a single source, once this is mature it should revolutionize meeting of small groups of colleagues all armed with trusty macs but wanting to do a group think and discussion session. (At a digital publisher meeting, like at Lynxotic, we might be looking at analytics data for the past week and all want to see the same data across all screens, for example.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that sound, just as in “regular” AirPlay, is included in the bargain. So even if it’s audio only that you want to share (like force feeding colleagues your favorite song) that is going to sound great on built in iMac speakers etc.

This seems instantly like something that is so obvious and intuitive that it could be one of those things, like AirPlay itself, that once entrenched and bug free, would be hard to live without.

Apple’s marketing copy:

“With AirPlay to Mac, users can play, present, and share just about anything — from the latest movies and games to vacation photos and presentations — from their iPhone or iPad right to their Mac’s stunning Retina display. The Mac’s high-fidelity sound system can also be used as an AirPlay speaker, so users can play music or podcasts on their Mac, or use their Mac as a secondary speaker for multi-room audio.”

Universal control, which sounds somehow ominous is, hopefully, just a simple way to more easily migrate live from device to device (of the same owner)

Though the mechanics of this feature were not explained in detail at the Keynote for WWDC2021, this is another feature that seems mind-bendingly obvious as a boon for any Apple device power user, it also seems strange that it did’t exist all along.

As shown with one example in the video below, it involves having a single mouse or trackpad control multiple devices. Or the same set up for a keyboard, or both. While there are some unanswered questions – such as would the keyboard designated as being the one to “universally control” another device automatically turn off the control on the remote devices native keyboard?

Perhaps this is a naive question since it appears that it is presumed that any device being universally controlled is owned and being used by a single human.

In one way this seems to have the best use when using, say, an iPad pro for a drawing task and then moving across to the mac to process the drawing in photoshop, illustrator etc. Honestly, sometimes it’s interesting to see each device as connected to a “chair mode” – iPad for a chaise lounge, iMac or MacMini for an office chair, iPhone or iPad mini for freedom from any chair, and switching from the more human-centric modes (chaise lounge) to get down to serious business on the biggest baddest screen and most powerful CPU seems like a utopian dream, with this feature activated and working without a glitch.

The ways this could be integrated into a workflow, and the permutations of how this could be useful, seem infinite, assuming it operates anywhere near as seamlessly as in the demonstration by Craig Federighi in the video. Being able to drag and drop, as he did, across three (3!) separate devices at will is pretty incredible, if not only for its simplicity and elegance.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/videos/universal-control/Apple-Universal-Control-cc-us-_1280x720h.mp4

As per Apple: “Universal Control lets users work more seamlessly across their Mac and iPad. Working across Apple devices is now better than ever with new Continuity features:

Universal Control lets users work with a single mouse and keyboard and move between Mac and iPad for a seamless experience, with no setup required. Users can even drag and drop content back and forth between devices — great for sketching a drawing with Apple Pencil on iPad and placing it into a Keynote slide on the Mac.

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Apple, Breaking News, Mac, Tech

Updated iMac with Ultra Large Screen in the works at Apple: Credible Source

Above: fantasy take Lynxotic Credit: Apple

Possible Pro Display XDR-like Screen Real estate up to 32”

Well known and previously credible Apple leak-meister l0vetodream added credence to the wildly rumored concept that a high-end newly designed iMac will feature a “really big” screen, larger than the current max for iMac of 27 inches (5k).

With the iMac Pro already out of production and only the “standard” 21.5 inch and 27 inch models remaining an update, definitely this year, is an obvious prediction.

However, since the iMac Pro itself never had an option for a larger higher resolution screen, and in the mean time the $5 to $6 thousand 32 inch 6k Pro Display XDR setting the standard for ultra large high quality screen design it is also not unlikely that some of the technology of that product could trickle down into a high end iMac without adding the cost of such a colossus.

Above: 6k Pro Display XDR Credit: Apple

Further, there’s a slightly less credible but interesting rumor out regarding a new iPhone design based on the “cheese grater” style of the new Mac Pro and Pro Display. Though a bit mind-blowing to imagine, a matching set of gear with cheese grater styling for my iPhone 13 Pro, and a new high end iMac is a bizarre pleasant (but perhaps a bit macho) daydream.

Image Credit: YouTube / PocketNow

It’s not likely that this new machine would surface as soon as WWDC 2021 but, it is not entirely off the table either (nothing is out of the question with Apple’s secrecy history)

Since the iMac outward design has not had a total makeover since 2012 (!) the possibility (probability?) of a new, higher end, iMac with new styling (perhaps with bezels and edge styling like the iPad pro of late), faster, upgraded performance (M2?) and a bigger and better screen than the current 27 inch model would be just fine, thank you.

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Apple, Cutting Edge, Mac, Observation, Tech

Apple 32-core M1X chips for Mac Pro are just the tip of the tip of a very important iceberg…

Photo / Apple

An eco-system about to emerge at a level beyond what any other company can match

The ultimate superiority of the “whole widget” concept at Apple: making not only the computer or device, the system software, add on software, and now, with the M1 chip, even the most important components that power the “widget” is something we’ve been writing about for years. 

With the release of the first macs powered by M1 chips, it was surprising, even to adherents inside our building, just how dramatic that superiority is turning out to be, and how quickly it has been confirmed in real-world tests. 

The focus has, rightly, so far been on benchmarks and tests using various software in typical real world situations. The consensus on the results has been in general; “astounding” or “amazing” or “shockingly good”, nearly unanimously. 

Why this has far more to do with the overarching “whole-widget” ecosystem than the traditional stand-alone cpu / gpu / architecture, however, seems, at least partially, lost in the brouhaha.

The layers of “synergistic” (not a word used by Apple) interaction and integration between the cpu, gpu, machine learning, code within the system, and, initially, the apple applications that are either free or standard paid software such as Final Cut ProX or Logic Pro X are where the real magic happens. Other developers such as Adobe, are going to have M1 optimized versions out soon, as well. 

While the long vaunted Moore’s law at a virtual standstill for nearly a decade, the timing couldn’t be better for Apple’s revolutionary “revenge of the turtle” strategy – where a long term end-game they have been working on the probably at least a decade comes to fruition – big time.

Looking ahead, even more exciting possibilities are beginning to emerge

All this leads to today’s headline, courtesy of Bloomberg. I can summarize but let’s quote directly the introductory paragraphs:

“Apple Inc. is planning a series of new Mac processors for introduction as early as 2021 that are aimed at outperforming Intel Corp.’s fastest.

If they live up to expectations, they will significantly outpace the performance of the latest machines running Intel chips, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the plans aren’t yet public.

For higher-end desktop computers, planned for later in 2021 and a new half-sized Mac Pro planned to launch by 2022, Apple is testing a chip design with as many as 32 high-performance cores.

With today’s Intel systems, Apple’s highest-end laptops offer a maximum of eight cores, a high-end iMac Pro is available with as many as 18 and the priciest Mac Pro desktop features as much as a 28-core system.” 

-Bloomberg

Buckle up, Sunshine, the worm has turned and soon there’ll be no looking back

The bottom line here is: If you think the M1 MacBook air is faster, take a seat cause “you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet”. But this emphasis on the chip itself and various stats, such as, the number of cores, etc. belies just how backward the entire industry is, and how ground breaking the total concept is that Apple has planned to roll-out over, roughly, the next two years. 

In short, just as the entire world was changed forever once the iPhone took hold between 2007-2012, something similar will happen between now and 2024, but on a much larger scale. 

The most radical reality of this, that is in many ways so hard to comprehend, let alone explain, is that this is a “virtuous battle” that is being fought on so many different fronts simultaneously, that the actual outcome, should the potential be realized in full by 2022, goes far beyond what can be imagined today with regard to what a “computer” or “mobile device” is.

In short, just as the entire world was changed forever once the iPhone took hold between 2007-2012, something similar will happen between now and 2024, but on a much larger scale. 

The unification of the various system softwares, between iPhones, iPads, Macs, as well as peripheral devices such as Apple Watch, Apple TV and even the HomePod mini, will be combined with increasingly powerful “A” and “M” chips and that combination will be even more improved by integrated machine learning upgrades and applications that are specifically coded to maximize the benefits of the entire inter-dependent system, meaning the systems within each device and the larger ecosystem of devices, machines and software.

This is not Apples to Oranges, this is Horses to “beam me up Scotty” in magnitude. Don’t believe it? Check back in 2022 and we’ll talk…

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Apple, Cutting Edge, Mac, OS Software, Tech

MacOS Big Sur: Apple’s Ultimate Ecosystem Triumph is almost here

Photo / Apple

Apple software upgrades are now so deep and extensive that it will take months to absorb the potential benefits

Mac OS upgrades, which have been free going back more than 20 years, have been bordering on spectacular recently, but also do carry some dangers. Early adopters have been known to experience buggy not-100%-ready-for-primetime features that do, however, generally get fixed fairly quickly once live bugs are identified. 

The upside is that there is, just as in the iOS systems, a literal cornucopia of free built in apps and features most of which benefit from the periodic upgrades.

As a matter of fact, many, many of the improvements are not detailed or listed in any manual and not used in the marketing materials for the free software upgrades. As the saying goes, they just “work”.

Read more: How Apple Created the Tech Universe

Probably the biggest of these invisible improvements, one that spans multiple apps and functions is the now, fully established, system known as iCloud. Born as “Mobile-me” and a nightmare until about 3 years ago, this system for syncing across all Apple devices, apps and software has become a powerhouse that has no comparable rival.

An evolving system nearly two decades in the making

The idea, sometimes maligned as overkill, is simple in theory. An Apple aficionado might own a desktop mac such as an iMac, Mac Mini or Mac Pro. For travel; a MacBook Air, Pro, etc, an iPhone (of course), an iPad and, whew, maybe wear an Apple Watch. There might be an Apple TV unit in the house and perhaps a HomePod mini (and so on!).

All of these can benefit from iCloud. Many functions, particularly with the Apple Watch, for example, are mandatory and help to link various functionality between devices. 

But where this software enhancement has really begun to shine is when using built in apps that have a version on both the mac family and also within iOS and iPadOS, such as Notes, Photos and, of course, Safari.

Read more: Apple Search Plans & Potential are Casting a Massive Shadow on Google Anti-Trust Case

Although these have been around since Yosemite and have had the benefit of iCloud Sync since at least that time, with Catalina they really started to function at a very high level. With Big Sur the potential is off-the-charts. 

One caveat that is still a work in progress is the need for identical, or nearly identical, functionality across all devices (mac, iPhone and iPad at least). For the photos app this is nearly the case but for Safari and Notes there is still a way to go before all functions match on every device and OS. 

Of course, this is the very lofty goal, already underway with the new M1 chips and the gradual goal of total interchangeability between macOS and iOS / iPad Os.

Many actions are still more functional on a mac than on iPhone or iPad: but that’s changing

Much attention is paid to the idea of using and featuring iOS apps on a mac, but for practical applications it is the ability of the software on iOS devices to have all the functionality of the macOS versions that is even more important and desirable. 

A great example, and a glaring one, is Safari. Differences between browsing on a mobile platform (with iPad being a sort of in-between experience) and on a desktop or laptop can be frustrating and difficult.

For surfing news or browsing static content the differences are not significant, but if you start trying to do banking, or eCommerce or other more complex tasks you can hit a brick wall. 

Read more: The Exaggerated Confusion around 5G and iPhone 12 is the beginning of a new era for internet access

Much of this is on the server side where the websites themselves either block or are not compatible with all versions of Safari in every OS version. 

However, particularly on iPad, there should be an eventual ability for Safari on iPad to emulate laptop / desktop browser specs for those purposes. And, with macOS Big Sur that is already nearly a reality. 

Similarly when using the Notes app, which we do at Lynxotic extensively for story development and shared processing, the functionality is nearly seamless between macOS Big Sur and iPad or iPhone. 

As a matter of fact, the differences are so minimal that, when switching between devices, finding a “missing” function, such as the ability on an iPhone to format the text into Title, Heading, Body and so forth, as you would do in WordPress or other text editing system, it is a shocking experience. 

Beyond detailed individual features it’s the overall end-result that’s astounding

The overall experience from mac to mac – when using full iCloud Sync, is that you can move from machine to machine and a have 100% seamless transition. Although some files can be specially segregated by machine, if you choose, making them only available locally on that machine, this is up to the user.

You can have an expanded iCloud storage limit added to your account (2TB is currently $9.99) and have access to all files on all machines and devices. 

Although still not 100% functional in all situations, even the files app and iCloud storage system on the iPhone can access and store all files and allow you to save or access many important documents on the go. 

Starting with macOS Catalina, and now even more with Big Sur, the invisible and seamless “clone” experience when moving from desktop to laptop has been very functional and hugely beneficial, and now the iPhone and iPad are rapidly realizing a similar potential. 

Shared Albums in photos, Shared Notes, Safari’s vast and ever improving ability to safely  store 1000s of passwords and other site specific data, obviously the huge privacy upgrades, and soon, the identical user experience for all these apps across all devices, this amounts to a must-have success in software that easily matches the acclaim that the new hardware built-in with the new M1 chips have rightfully received. 

The future is coming, faster than you think, and that’s a good thing (in this case)

Another big, I mean huge, factor that is coming into play with Big Sur and the various OSs, is the emergence of machine learning and “over-the-air” updates, including some that are unannounced and take place within individual apps without requiring user interaction.

The photos app is a huge example of this but the phenomenon is also spreading into other built in software. 

Read more:iOS14 quick & easy with Wiley Simms – how to create Perfect Shapes in Markup Mode

This means that improvements in functionality and sometimes even added features are taking place faster and can be major, even between the official updates themselves. 

In the end the “whole widget” approach will provide benefits so astounding that a user of Apple products will be in a “universe of capability” that has no comparable alternative and certainly no rival. 

The improvements across all apps and functions are so vast that it would take thousands of pages to catalog even a fraction of them – basically it is better to do what we have always done with Apple system software; wade through while learning by doing and rejoice each time the “singularity”, that is now a stated goal, becomes a little bit closer. 

With macOS Big Sur, your mac via iCloud and your other Apple devices are now already a vastly more powerful network of tools working together than they ever could be separately. 

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Apple, Books, OS Software

Apple Safari Version 14.0 OUT NOW with fully functional Privacy Tracker for macOS Catalina & Big Sur

Video

The writing is on the wall – but it’s about to collapse: privacy wars 2021

While Apple apparently agreed to delay the surveillance-blocking privacy tools for iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 until 2021, not so apparently for Safari and Big Sur. The tracker is amazing. The system is fully automated at launch of the browser and immediately blocking tons of nasty data thieves from the jump.

I surfed about 10 minutes and it blocked 69 trackers. It has a button to allow you to check each web site and see what it is doing with your data and also a continuously updated full report screen where you can see who they all are. Surprise ! They are mainly Facebook, Google, Amazon and companies that are affiliated with or in competition against these big three.

Safari Privacy Screen from the Privacy Report Pop-up window

Although income for News Orgs like Lynxotic might be negatively affected initially the adjustment is history in the making and there will be no going back. The old way was wrong. Your data belongs to you. Period. You shouldn’t have to mess around with external ad-blocking software and plug-ins.

Why there was never any privacy protection built into the internet before now, one day will be seen as a mystery

The future is that you will be automatically protected (within the Apple ecosystem, at least), and, in you choose to be tracked and surveilled so that Mark Z. can get richer, you can opt in. (Wanted by nobody, ever).

We have been warning about this for months – here are a few articles with some more in depth information about the situation:

Read more: Cracks in The Wall: Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook

Apple’s billion users would need to allow their data and browsing habits to be monetized by those massive ad built eco-system killers. A lot has also been discussed about how this new regime change by Apple could negatively affect publishers, like Lynxotic, but this is a case of seeing the big, long term benefits, such as an internet where the users and netizens, and not Zuckerberg, are finally in charge. This goal is lofty and honorable and long overdue. Therefore, any adjustments needed to be made by publishers business models is well worth it.

Read more: Apple is Coming 4U

That’s not all, in iOS 14 and iPad OS14 searches will default for “best for user” rather than automatically being diverted to google or any other “search engine”. If you are searching for a news article or information about an apple product, for example, the search will offer you results, within the global search on your device rather than in a browser, and this will direct you to your Apple News App or to Safari, landing directly on a web site, as appropriate. https://www.youtube.com/embed/2e2iZa3G9_0?feature=oembed

Above: Changes to search in the new iOS14, iPadOS14 and macOS 11 Big Sur

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Business, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Tech

MacBook Air and Pro Upgrades Harken Back to Steve Jobs Heroically Simplifying Apple Line Up in 1997

Video
https://video-lynxotic.akamaized.net/MacBookPro-Air.mov

On September 17, 1997, Steve Jobs took over at Apple as Interim CEO and immediately set about to right the ship by removing both products and people that had sent the company nearly to the brink of oblivion. 

It’s easily forgotten that, at the time, the product offerings included literally dozens of desktop computers, servers and laptops as well as printers, digital cameras and, of course, the “MessagePad 2000” which, although ahead of it’s time, was surely better off dead. 

He created the “4-square grid” to simplify and focus the computer product line up. Two categories for consumer machines and two for pro machines.

Fast forward to July, 2019, and once again Apple is choosing to re-focus the line up. With the MacBook line now gone, only the MackBook Air and MacBook Pro laptop product categories remain. 

The MacBook Air models designed before 2018 have been removed from the Apple Store as has the 12-inch MacBook.

The remaining machines have improved specifications and, in the case of the new entry level MacBook Air, a $100 price cut to go along with the improved stats. The entry level portable has a new price of $1099 ($999 for students and teachers).

https://www.apple.com//105/media/us/macbook-air/2018/9f419882_aefd_4083_902e_efcaee17a0b8/films/product/mba-product-tpl-cc-us-2018_1280x720h.mp4
MAcbook air Video promo, provided by apple

The new entry level Air sports a 13.3 in. Retina True Tone Display, sort-of new keyboard design (which appears to be an attempt to reassure that this is better than the infamous original “butterfly” style, which was widely complained about), 1.6 GHz dual core 8th Gen processor and 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports. It also comes with Touch ID.

The lowest cost for a MackBook Pro model, which now features the Touch Bar and will set you back an additional $200 more than the Air at $1299. It has the same display specs, other than additional brightness, but with higher powered quad-core processor and the Touch Bar.

Storage options have also been upgraded and re-priced across the entire Mac product line. 

The simplifications of the full Mac lineup, now comprising 2 laptop categories, then the consumer and pro iMac all-in-one  desktops, and finally, the Mac mini at the low end, contrasted with the mighty Mac Pro, coming in September, at the high end, are all revealed . The overall refresh for 2019 feels solid and complete and, as one biased observer put it, it borders on being wildly satisfying. 

A good sign, from on high? Perhaps…

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