Category Archives: Apple News

Mac OS Sonoma…50 things I didn’t know I needed…and don’t.

round colored thing indicating Mac OS

Widget Colors
System Settings still like Ventura but with way back. So much better now?
Facetime reactions. Um. ok. Thumbs up?
Browser Profiles (Safari lets you clutter up more from work, or school, or home) Who uses Safari anymore? I prefer other.
Typing with keyboard and voice. Well I stopped typing and … well? Oh, I don’t have microphone on!
Overlay in Facetime. You know, Wanna know more? Like Starship troopers…
Web Dock Apps! Ok, THIS I think should have been from the start. You take a URL you visit often, and now put it in your dock! One Click! So original!

There is more on MacRumors… I want to atleast give them credit for listing FIFTY new features of Sonoma (Mac OS 14)

Apple release Mac OS 13.5.1 Update to Ventura…fix for Location issues

Wavy flower like image on blue background

Per Apple and Update info: MacOS Ventura 13.5.1 fixes an issue in System Settings that prevents location permissions from appearing.

Direct download of Ventura

Latest updates information previous to 13.5.1

Latest updates information previous versions to 13.5.1 for Enterprise users

Update files size for the Delta (via Software Update) is 1.21GB while the Full update version is 11.49GB, and System Firmware version still same at 8422.141.2

I haven’t noticed anything other than taking 15mins from download, verify, reboot, install, reboot, more install, then reboot.

The last Mac OS update to Catalina? 10.15.7

round image of catalina island Mac OS 10.15
Image Apple © 2020

***Download the Combo Updater to 10.15.7 from Apple support weighing in at a hefty 4.82 GB.

Apple doesn’t say much about this update:

macOS Catalina 10.15.7 provides important security updates and bug fixes for your Mac.

• Resolves an issue where macOS would not automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks
• Fixes an issue that could prevent files syncing through iCloud Drive
• Addresses a graphic issue that may occur on iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) with Radeon Pro 5700 XT

I guess the next release will be MacOS 11 (X1) “Big Sur” …

*** I always recommend the Combo Updater when available. The Delta patches seem to be unreliable to leftover previous versions (aka band-aiding). The Combo will replace the OS changes throughout.

Apple adds new iPad Pro with LIDAR and more…

 The new iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard

The new iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard.

This month, Apple is releasing a new iPadPro with optional Magic Keyboard and trackpad support.

I read the reviews…and some make sense: why? This is expensive and the LIDAR for AR is before the cart, so to speak. I just know too many cool uses and also that fragility of Apple design for replacement costs… but hey, watch their pro-mo video on it!

You can read more about the technical specifications.
Apple keeps saying that iPads are not a computer but then they taunt this as your next “computer that is not a computer”. Honestly, I think many do not need a computer, and just a tablet and phone. But durability is not Apple. And reasonable cost is not Apple.

Read the pricing below, but I think that for the value, a loaded 13″ MacbookAir would do all you need (except the LIDAR and pencil). Think about the new MacbookAir at $1499 for 16GB ram, and 512GB storage vs a 12.5″ iPad ($1299 with 512GB), plus add ($349) for the Magic Keyboard and another ($129) for the Pencil. That is more than the MacbookAir. Oh, and if you are worried, AppleCare+ should be a no-brainer at $199-249.

Now the OUCH in Pricing:
The new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro will be available in silver and space gray finishes. A starting configuration of 128GB offers pro customers more room for their apps and content, along with 256GB, 512GB and 1TB configurations.

The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799 (US) for the Wi-Fi model and $949 (US) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model, and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at $999 (US) for the Wi-Fi model and $1,149 (US) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.

Trackpad support will be available on any iPad running iPadOS 13.4, and work with Apple’s Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad 2 and the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. Third-party mice connected over Bluetooth or USB are also supported.

The Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro will be available for purchase in May for $299 (US) for the 11-inch iPad Pro and $349 (US) for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with layouts for over 30 languages, including simplified Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.

The second-generation Apple Pencil for iPad Pro is available for $129 (US). The new Smart Keyboard Folio for the new iPad Pro is available in space gray for $179 (US) for the 11-inch iPad Pro and $199 (US) for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with layouts for over 30 languages, including simplified Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.

IpadPro profile from side with magic keyboard attached
Looks helluva lot like Surface Pro from Microsoft.

Anyone else think this looks like A Surface Pro in this shot?

iPadOS 13.4 with trackpad support will be available on March 24 as a free software update for all iPad Pro models, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, and iPad mini 4 and later.

Same site, new look!

firewood shed
Simple Firewood shed!

New look. New year. New debt. New fear.

Hope 2020 is as clean as the look on this site!

See you soon with more comments on how Apple isn’t being a good company. How Apple products are still too expensive to own, fix and maintain. And let’s see if having Siri in my house is a good thing! Cheers to more pwd/account breaches and hoping other states follow in California Privacy laws.

MacOS Mojave update 10.14.6 Combo out…

…at a whopping 3.1 Gigabytes!

Ironically, my Mac with 10.14.5 indicated no updates available…

(per Apple’s download page)

(included in) This update:
• Makes downloaded issues available in the My Magazines section of Apple News+, both online and offline
• Adds all publications in Apple News+, including newspapers, to the catalog at the top of the News+ feed
• Adds the ability to clear downloaded magazine issues in Apple News+ by selecting History > Clear > Clear All
• Addresses an issue which prevents creation of a new Boot Camp partition on iMac and Mac mini with Fusion Drive
• Resolves an issue that may cause a hang during a restart
• Resolves a graphics issue that may occur when waking from sleep
• Fixes an issue that may cause fullscreen video to appear black on Mac mini
• Improves file sharing reliability over SMB

Apple Removed RSS feeds?

Rss logo in orange

For several years, I’ve linked to Apple’s RSS feeds for Downloads. This would allow an automated updated of what updates are available from Apple on the Mac OS, along with link to the update (e.g. Mac OS Combo Updates, iTunes updates, etc.).
Well, on an infrequent update to the Macanix site (backend WP updates, plugins,…), I’ve found that for some time, Apple no longer provides RSS updates that it had.
Now, the only RSS feeds are more for iTunes store, than Mac OS, and Apple products.

Here is a link to Apple’s Downloads that should allow what recent updates are available (until Apple changes this link; note this link is for US…it may be different in your country).

MacbookPro Touch Bar… somethings just …

mbp13touch-gray-select-201610The new MacbookPro models have arrived and man, was that a yawn?

Ok, for most this might be moot…but here it goes:

  • You need to buy it with all the RAM you will ever think you will need because you can’t upgrade after.
  • You need to buy it with the maximum storage you need, that is, it should be greater than what you are replacing it with.
  • No more magsafe power connector. It can be any Tbolt-3 port. On the 15″ model, there are 4.

And now, the biggest cost … I built a 1TB, loaded 15″ Touch model. It costs $3499. And that is without Applecare. Oh, must…have…Applecare if you are a “me firsty”.

Hey, with the 15″ MBPTB, it can have 512GB, 1TB or even 2TB of storage! Ouch, that 2TB is $1200 option over the 512GB. 4GB of VideoRam is $100 more (you will need that to drive a 5K LG display…ooooooi!) Maximum SSD storage on the 13″ model is 1TB.

USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 as they call it is rather interesting. The speed, video, adaptors… more to come!

 

Why has Apple not updated MacPro?

Apple-Mac-Pro-2013-3So, it’s been 3 years. Late 2013 to be exact. And Apple gave us this…trash can, wine cooler, bin thing. Elegant. Quiet. Ports. Dual GPUs. Up to 12 cores. Easy to add RAM.

But now we see the mess. No raid. No internal capacity (incapacity) increase. Still mired at 1TB. Sad.

Meanwhile, designers either snatch up 2010-2012 MacPro leftovers and ramp them up to more storage, ram and GPUs. The MacPro Late 2013 is actually behind.

Apple, I hope you read this and are going to top the cooler this year. Otherwise, I can see myself moving to a custom PC with Windows 10 Pro and SSDs raided. Some MLBs have Tbolt THREE now. And I can have bluray drives. In a quiet, water cooled case. Sigh.