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Posts tagged ‘Apple’

11
Nov

How to Install Windows 10 on Your Mac Using Boot Camp Assistant


windows_10_boxFollowing the launch of Windows 10, Apple updated Boot Camp to support the latest Windows operating system on select Mac computers from 2012 and newer. If you’ve always wanted to try Windows on your Mac and think that now is the time to finally take the plunge, we can help you get through the basics with our how-to guide for installing Windows 10 on your Mac using Apple’s Boot Camp Assistant.

This guide assumes you are installing Windows on your computer for the first time.

What You Need

You will, of course, need Windows 10, which can be purchased from Microsoft for $119. Older Mac computers support older versions of Windows, but won’t work with Windows 10.

Make sure to check the system requirements for the version of Windows you want to install to ensure your Mac meets or exceeds them. You can find out the system specs for your Mac using System Information, accessible by typing “System Information” into a Spotlight search or using the Apple menu to go to About This Mac –> System Report.

To install Windows 10 (or Windows 7 or 8 for that matter) you will need at least 30 GB of free space on your startup drive and you’ll need a keyboard and a mouse or trackpad to use with your computer.

If you’re running OS X El Capitan and have an 11- or 13-inch MacBook Air, a 13- or 15-inch MacBook Pro or the Mac Pro, there’s no need for a USB drive. If you’re running a different version of OS X or have an older Mac, you’ll need a 16 GB flash drive that doesn’t have anything you don’t want erased on it (Boot Camp Assistant automatically reformats the flash drive).

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10
Nov

Apple Music now available on Android


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Apple Music has finally made its way to Android.

Apple first announced that its new music service would be coming to Android devices sometime “this fall”, though we really haven’t heard much about it since then, aside from a few leaked screenshots. The majority of the features Apple originally announced would come with the service have made their way to the Android version, including the Beats 1 radio station, the Connect feature and the ability to get handpicked recommendations based on what you’re listening to. Since not all features are available in this first release, the app technically sports a “beta” tag for the time being.

Apple notes that music videos are missing from the Android version, and signing up for a family plan requires a Mac or iOS device for now.

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Interested Android users can sign up for a three-month free trial. After the trial is up, individual plans will cost $9.99 per month, and when family plans become available, you can have up to six members on the same account for $14.99 per month.

The new Apple Music application for Android looks pretty similar to its iOS counterpart, though you can tell Apple at least tried to make it look a bit more like an Android app. It has a slide-out hamburger menu on the left hand side and even an overflow button for extra settings on each individual track. Interested in trying it out for yourself? Head to the Play Store link below for the download.

Download Apple Music from the Play Store

10
Nov

T-Mobile Unveils Doubled Data Plans, Free Video Streaming at Un-Carrier X Event


T-Mobile CEO John Legere today hosted an Un-Carrier X event, where he announced T-Mobile’s latest offering, free video streaming. Going forward, T-Mobile customers who watch streaming video will not have the video data count towards their monthly data usage.

That means services like YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu will no longer eat up data, making T-Mobile’s data plans go further. T-Mobile’s lowest-priced plan costs $50 per month and includes just 2GB of data, but T-Mobile is now the only company that excludes video streaming data from data usage. T-Mobile also allows for free streaming music, a perk introduced at an earlier event.

With the new Binge-On free video streaming service, there are 24 current partners, and the program is open to any video streaming product that wants to participate. Binge-On uses a proprietary data compression algorithm to stream 480p “DVD quality” video that uses a smaller amount of data to a T-Mobile device. For those who don’t want to use the compression service, it can be toggled off. Binge-On is available to customers with a 3GB plan or higher.

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Binge-On partners at launch include Netflix, HBO Now, HBO Go, Hulu, WatchESPN, Showtime, Starz Play, Encore Play, Vevo, MLB.tv, NBC Sports, Movieplex Play, Vessel, Sling TV, Sling Box, T-Mobile TV, Go90, DirecTV, Univision Sports, Crackle, FOX Sports, FOX Sports Go, Vudu, and Ustream.

T-Mobile has also doubled the amount of data available to its Simple Choice customers. Rather than offering data in 1GB, 3GB, and 5GB increments, T-Mobile is now offering 2GB, 6GB, 10GB, and unlimited plans.

Customer plans are being doubled at no cost and a new Family Match promotion doubles the amount of data available to each family member. A family of four can now get 6GB of data each for a total of $120 per month using Family Match. Family Match includes a free fourth line for all customers as part of a limited time promotion.

Over the course of the last two years, T-Mobile has aimed to disrupt traditional mobile service with its 10 “Un-carrier” initiatives. The company began with uncoupling device costs from service costs in 2013, and then went on to offer several additional incentives to encourage customers to switch to the carrier, including paying early termination fees, offering a JUMP! upgrade plan, unlimited texting and 2G data in 100 countries, free streaming music from Spotify, Rdio, iTunes Radio, and Pandora, one week free trials to test the T-Mobile service, Wi-Fi calling, data rollovers, and low-cost plans for businesses.

Tag: T-Mobile

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10
Nov

Apple Raises TestFlight Beta Tester Limit to 2,000, Extends Build Expiration to 60 Days


testflightApple today announced it is now allowing developers to invite up to 2,000 individuals to beta test iOS and tvOS apps using the TestFlight beta testing platform, an increase from the former 1,000 participant limit.

Since its 2014 launch, Apple has capped TestFlight beta testers at 1,000, but announced plans to expand that number at the June Worldwide Developers Conference. Apple has now made good on that promise, boosting the number of people who can install a beta app.

Apple has also increased the period of time before a TestFlight beta expires from 30 days to 60 days, another change that was first announced at WWDC.
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10
Nov

Apple Music on Android is near-identical to iOS, for better or worse


Steve Jobs once famously said that launching iTunes for Windows was “like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell.” Well, Apple has a second glass ready today: the company just released a beta of Apple Music for Android, the first app that really gives Android users a taste of one of Apple’s flagship services. If you’ve used the somewhat-jumbled Apple Music app on iOS, you’ll be quite familiar with its Android counterpart — nearly all of the service’s features are intact, and the user interface is a surprisingly tasteful blend of what Apple put together for iOS that still feels native to Android. Slideshow-340754

10
Nov

NewerTech’s ‘HDMI Headless Video Accelerator’ Keeps GPU Active for Better Performance With No Display


headlessadapterNewerTech today announced the launch of its HDMI Headless Video Accelerator, an adapter that’s designed to plug into the Mac mini’s HDMI display port to fool it into thinking there’s a display attached. With the adapter plugged in, the Mac mini’s GPU is activated and video drivers are loaded, resulting in smoother performance.

When the Mac mini is used without a monitor, its GPU isn’t used. As a result, the interface lags, resulting in choppy screens and slow video, animation, cursor movements, menu navigation, and typing. Plugging the NewerTech HDMI Headless Video Accelerator into the HDMI port of the Mac mini solves this problem, engaging the GPU so your remote interface works exactly how you’d expect.

Apple’s small and portable Mac mini is often used sans display as a storage device or a media server, but without a display, the Mac mini does not take advantage of its GPU. Without an active GPU, certain tasks performed on the Mac mini can be choppy and laggy, such as visiting websites, as described in a Macminicolo blog post on the subject.

This kind of adaptation has been used by Macminicolo on video intensive servers for several years, but as the site says, even simple web browsing benefits from having active video drivers. Macminicolo even recommends a similar dummy dongle product directly on its site.

The NewerTech HDMI Headless Video Accelerator is designed to work with the following Mac mini models: Mac mini Mid 2010 (Macmini4,1), Mac mini Mid 2011 (Macmini5,1 / Macmini5,2 / Macmini5,3), Mac mini Late 2012 (Macmini6,1 / Macmini6,2), Mac mini Late 2014 (Macmini7,1). It works with OS X 10.6.8 and later.

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Mac mini owners interested in purchasing the NewerTech HDMI Headless Video Accelerator can do so from third-party retailers like OWC. The adapter is priced at $19.50.

Related Roundup: Mac mini
Tag: NewerTech
Buyer’s Guide: Mac Mini (Don’t Buy)

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10
Nov

Apple Launches ‘Tech Talks’ Tour for Apple TV Developers


Apple today announced the launch of a new series of “Tech Talks” for the Apple TV, designed to help developers learn how to create apps and games for Apple’s new set-top box. The Tech Talks are held in a number of cities around the world and are hosted by “Apple experts.”

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The new Apple TV is here, bringing incredible and immersive apps and games to the big screen. Get in-depth technical information on building and designing for tvOS, learn refined coding techniques, and obtain valuable development instruction from Apple experts.

Developers can register to attend a Tech Talk through Apple’s website, with registration open from now until November 13 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Dates and locations are below.

  • Toronto – December 7, 2015
  • Los Angeles – December 10, 2015
  • Austin – December 14, 2015
  • Seattle – December 16, 2015
  • Cupertino – December 17 and 18, 2015
  • Berlin – January 8, 2016
  • London – January 11, 2016
  • New York – January 12, 2016
  • Tokyo – January 21, 2016
  • Sydney – February 3, 2016

Each of Apple’s all-day Tech Talks will include morning sessions focused on the Apple TV’s capabilities, designing apps, creating interfaces, integrating the Siri remote and game controllers, and using on-demand resources. Afternoon sessions will focus on topics like technologies for graphics and gaming, media streaming, and more, and a reception will follow giving attendees a chance to interact with each other and Apple’s staff.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)

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10
Nov

Apple Music Expands to Android With New App


Apple is launching its first major app for Android devices today, expanding its Apple Music platform to Android-based smartphones and tablets. With the introduction of a beta Apple Music app for the Google Play Store, Android users will be able to subscribe to the Apple Music streaming service, listen to Beats 1 radio, and access the Apple Connect artist-based social network.

The new Apple Music app is available from the Google Play store and requires Android 4.3 or later. It’s available in all of the countries where Apple Music for iOS is available, with the exception of China. Apple Music includes the same three-month trial for Android users and it is priced the same – $9.99 for an individual plan and $14.99 for a family plan.

applemusicandroidImage via TechCrunch

TechCrunch spoke with Eddy Cue about the launch of the new Android app for Apple Music, who said Apple’s decision to create an Apple Music Android app was based on a desire to let people enjoy music “no matter where you were and what products you were using.” Apple wants “everyone in the world” to be able to try Apple Music, including those in areas where Android devices remain more popular than iOS devices.

Apple Music for Android offers a design that’s similar to the iOS version, but as it’s a beta, it does not yet include Music Videos or the ability to sign up for a family membership within the app. Family memberships will need to be purchased on an iOS device. According to Cue, Apple Music is “a full native app” that will “feel very much like an Android app.”

“We wanted customers on Android to naturally be able to use it — what they’ve learned and how they interact is common. Things as simple as [that] the share icon looks like an Android share icon; the menu structure being where it is; these are things that most Android customers are familiar with. We wanted to make sure that they felt very familiar with Apple Music when they sat down to use it.”

Apple Music is not Apple’s first app for Android, but it is the most significant. Apple previously released a “Move to iOS” app that helps Android users transition to the iPhone, and it’s launched an Android app for controlling the Beats Pill+ speaker. All of Apple’s Android apps have come in the last few months, signaling its willingness to expand beyond the iOS ecosystem for the first time.

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10
Nov

Apple Seeds Third iOS 9.2 Beta to Developers and Public Beta Testers


Apple today seeded the third beta of iOS 9.2 to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the second iOS 9.2 beta and three weeks after releasing iOS 9.1 to the public. As a .1 upgrade, iOS 9.2 will mark the second major update to iOS 9.

The new iOS 9.2 beta is available as an over-the-air update and through the Apple Developer Center. Today’s beta is also available to public beta testers, and there’s also a new version of the Xcode 7.2 beta available.

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Earlier betas of iOS 9.2 introduced changes for the Safari View Controller, which is what allows a pop-up Safari window to be used in third-party apps. Safari View Controller now supports third-party Action Extensions, allowing apps like 1Password to be accessed in the Safari view of other apps like Tweetbot.

Safari View Controller has also been updated with the ability to long tap on the Reload button to reload content without content blockers and it now supports the request desktop site function. iOS 9.2 beta 2 improved Safari View Controller further, introducing support for dismissing it with an edge swipe.

Along with improvements to Safari View Controller, iOS 9.2 also introduces support for AT&T’s NumberSync Wi-Fi Calling feature and includes bug fixes for iCloud Keychain, Apple Watch syncing and pairing, audio quality when streaming to stereo systems, and more.

Related Roundup: iOS 9
Tag: iOS 9.2

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10
Nov

Apple Seeds Third OS X 10.11.2 El Capitan Beta to Developers


Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.2 El Capitan update to developers, just one week after seeding the second beta and three weeks after releasing the first OS X El Capitan update to the public, OS X 10.11.1.

The new beta is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store and can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center.

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We don’t know exactly what improvements the second update to OS X El Capitan will introduce, as many of the changes seem to be under-the-hood upgrades. It’s likely to focus on bug fixes, security enhancements, and performance improvements to address problems that have popped up since the release of OS X 10.11.1.

Apple’s release notes for OS X 10.11.2 have asked developers to focus on Networking, Graphics, Mail, Wi-Fi, Calendar, USB, Notes, Photos, and Spotlight.

Related Roundup: OS X El Capitan
Tag: OS X 10.11.2

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