Você está na página 1de 100

Why 2015 will Not just games: Apple Watch apps:

be Apple’s best how VR changes see what’s coming


year yet p46 everything p38 to your wrist p16

MAC iPHONE

iPAD

M a r c h 20 1 5 N O.9 9 w w w. M ac l i f e .cO M

discOver the

OS X
h i d d e N f e at U r e s O f

YO S e m i t e
All the things you never knew your
Mac could do in OS X 10.10 p24

HOW TO :
Create email shortcuts in the Dock
Master Google’s advanced search
Customize the Dock in OS X
Make complex spreadsheets on iOS
It’s cloud storage made simple.

100% Automated Sync Multiple Computers

Access Files Anywhere 256 Bit Secure Encryption

Tr y i t Fr e e !
www.zipcloud.com/maclife
m a r c h 20 1 5 N O.9 9 w w w. m ac l i f e .cO m

Yosemite’s hidden features Virtual reality is real apple in 2015


There are a lot of obvious changes to Will 2015 be the year that sees virtual Looks like Apple made a resolution to
Apple’s latest OS, but there are many reality become, er, a reality! We look into enjoy its best year yet in 2015. We look
more subtle extra options that will make the technology, don the headsets and step into our crystal ball and predict the shiny
you love your Mac all the more. into the make-believe world of tomorrow. new Apple loveliness we’ll be lusting after.

Immerse yourself in
another world as virtual
reality looks set to finally
deliver the goods.

maclife.com mar 2015 3


>>> Contents

76
56 civilization:
Beyond earth
Oddworld: Stranger’s wrath Sid Meier’s engrossing empire
Bounty hunting in an alien wild west building on an alien planet

06 Digital|life 52 rebelsauce 60 lacie d2 Thunderbolt 2 80 ask


Head on over to maclife.com with SSD Upgrade Our Apple experts answer
for the very latest news. 53 Proun+ your burning hardware
62 Typed 1.0 and software questions.
08 consider 53 Polyform
Editor-in-chief Chris Slate 63 myPhotoStream 86 create email shortcuts
ponders iPad sales figures. 53 Kingdom rush
Origins hD 64 flare 2 88 customize your Dock
10 Share
Email us your thoughts 54 Game of Thrones: 65 Outline for mac 3.1 90 Tidy your iPhoto library
at: letters@maclife.com. episode 1 – iron from ice
66 logitech Keys-To-Go 92 Get better results
12 issues and advances 55 1writer from Google searches
Apple’s ebook anti-trust 67 walTr for mac
case; Broadwell is coming! 55 fileThis 94 master formulas
67 Tree 2.0.1 in Numbers
14 app frenzy & app fail 56 Oddworld:
Okamoto’s Monster Strike; Stranger’s wrath 68 mischief 2 96 Share files with airDrop
Apple app approval issues.
57 PDfpen 2 70 Thunderbolt 2 96 Next Big Things
16 watch developments express Dock hD Happy birthday to us! We
Great new Watch apps. 57 Deliveries 6 look forward to celebrating
71 carbon copy cloner 4 100 issues of Mac|Life;
18 crave 57 Stacks 2 and think about the
The gear we’re lusting after. 71 evermail next 100 issues…
58 The 6 best iOS
20 The lifer board games 72 wacom creative
The ups and downs of Stylus 2 and Bamboo 72
the much-anticipated film Stylus fineline wacom creative
about the ups and downs Stylus 2 and
of Steve Jobs. 70 74 Prizmo 3.0.1 Bamboo Stylus
fineline
Thunderbolt 2
express Dock hD
22 $50 iTunes card 75 Guardian angel
What would you buy with
a $50 iTunes gift card? 75 atama Sesame 2

76 Sid meier’s civilization:


Beyond earth

78 This war of mine

79 app Game Kit 2

4 mar 2015 maclife.com


In a sea of cookie cutter bags and cases, the North Carolinian leathersmiths
ColsenKeane handcraft is the kind of head-turning bag you’ll consider an heirloom.
The No. 4313 Satchel: hand-stitched beefy aged hide, eight hours of artisanship, copper
rivets and four heavy-duty buckles comprise the last bag you’ll ever own. Guaranteed
for life. The acme of grassroots American made custom leather goods for the
vintage-minded in the digital age.

COLSENKEANE LEATHER 704.750.9887 COLSENKEANE


www.ColsenKeane.com
Visit MacLife.com EDITORIAL
EDITOR-In-ChIEf Chris Slate
MAnAGInG EDITOR Chris Hoffman
EDITOR Matt Bolton
OpERATIOns EDITORs Jo Membery, Ed Ricketts
COnTRIBUTORs Orestis Bastounis, J.R. Bookwalter, Richard Cobbett, Emma Davies,
The march of technology never hot (and what’s not) on iTunes and Paul Dean, Luke Dormehl, Ian Evenden, Craig Grannell, Kenny Hemphill, Paul Kercal,
Joseph Leray, Gary Marshall, Nick Peers, Christopher Phin, Nik Rawlinson,
stops, so neither do we. Get the whether you agree with our pick of Gary Riches, Alan Stonebridge, Alex Thomas, Jordan Erica Webber

latest Mac and iOS news on our the best new iOS games. We’ll also ART
ART DIRECTOR Paul Blachford
website at www.maclife.com. alert you to the best Apple deals DEpUTy ART EDITOR Mat Gartside
COnTRIBUTORs Apple, iFixit, Seth Singh, Thinkstock
Check out our new App of the Day plus keep you informed and
BUSINESS
and easy Mac hacks. See what’s entertained until the next issue. DIRECTOR Of sAlEs Stacy Gaines, sgaines@futureus.com
VICE pREsIDEnT sTRATEGIC pARTnERshIps Isaac Ugay, isaac.ugay@futurenet.com
REGIOnAl sAlEs MAnAGER Michael Plump, mplump@futureus.com
REGIOnAl sAlEs MAnAGER Tad Perez, tperez@futureus.com
REGIOnAl sAlEs MAnAGER Austin Park, apark@futureus.com
REGIOnAl sAlEs MAnAGER Jessica Reinert, jreinert@futureus.com

read more news, reviews, and MANAGEMENT


COnTEnT & MARkETInG DIRECTOR Nial Ferguson

tutorials at maclife.com hEAD Of COnTEnT & MARkETInG, TEChnOlOGy Nick Merritt


GROUp EDITOR-In-ChIEf Paul Newman
GROUp ART DIRECTOR Steve Gotobed

PRODUCTION
pRODUCTIOn MAnAGER Mark Constance
pRODUCTIOn COnTROllER Frances Twentyman
pROjECT MAnAGER Clare Scott
pRODUCTIOn AssIsTAnT Emily Wood

Future US, Inc. is part of Future plc. Future produces carefully


targeted magazines, websites, and events for people with
a passion. We publish more than 180 magazines, websites,
and events, and we export or license our publications to 90
countries across the world. Future plc is a public company
quoted on the London Stock Exchange (symbol: FUTR).

FUTURE US, INC.


4000 shoreline Court, suite 400, south san francisco,
CA 94080
Tel: 650-872-1642 www.futureus.com
sEnIOR VICE pREsIDEnT Charlie Speight
VICE pREsIDEnT, MARkETInG & OpERATIOns Rhoda Bueno
DIRECTOR, hUMAn REsOURCEs Eric Buska

FUTURE PLC
Quay house, The Ambury, Bath, Avon, BA1 1UA, United kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1225 442244 (Bath) • Tel: +44 (0)2070 424000 (london)
www.futureplc.com
ChIEf EXECUTIVE Zillah Byng-Maddick
nOn EXECUTIVE ChAIRMAn Peter Allen
ChIEf fInAnCIAl OffICER Richard Haley

Volume 9, Issue 3
MAC|LIFE (Issn 1935-4010) is published monthly by future Us, Inc., 4000 shoreline Court, suite 400, south san
francisco, CA 94080. periodicals postage paid at san Bruno, CA, and at additional mailing offices. newsstand
distribution is handled by Time Warner Retail. Basic print subscription rates: 12 issues U.s. $24.95, Canada:
$29.95, foreign: $39.95. U.s. prepaid funds only. Canadian price includes postage and GsT #R128220688. pMA
#40043631. subscriptions do not include newsstand specials.
POSTMASTER: send address changes to Mac|life, p.O. Box 5852, harlan, IA 51593-1352. Ride-Along Enclosure in
the following editions: none. standard Mail Enclosure in the following editions: none. Canadian returns should be
sent to IMEX Global solutions, pO Box 25542, london, On n6C 6B2, Canada. future Us, Inc. also publishes
@Gamer, Crochet Today!, Maximum PC, Official Xbox Magazine, and PC Gamer.
pRODUCED In ThE UnITED sTATEs Of AMERICA.
SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE: Mac|life Customer Care, p.O. Box 5852, harlan, IA 51593-1352. Online:
www.maclife.com/customerservice. phone: 1-888-771-6222. Email: MCDcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com.
BACK ISSUES: www.maclife.com/shop or 1-800-865-7240.
FACEbOOk: facebook.com/maclife
GET SOCIAL
REPRINTS: future Us, Inc., 4000 shoreline Court, suite 400, south san francisco, CA 94080. phone: (650) 872-

TwITTEr: twitter.com/maclife 1642. fax (650) 872-2207. Website: www.futureus.com.


AND NOW, A WORD FROM OUR LAWYERS: Entire contents copyright 2015, future Us, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited. future Us, Inc. is not affiliated with the companies or products
covered in Mac|life. All information provided is, as far as future is aware, based on information correct at the

MAC|LIFE DIGITAL MAC|LIFE time of press. Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to products/
99

Why 2015 will Not just games: Apple Watch apps:


be Apple’s best how VR changes see what’s coming
Mac |Life

year yet p46 everything p38 to your wrist p16


MARCH 2015

MAC iPHONE

services referred to in this magazine. We welcome reader submissions, but cannot promise that they will be
iPAD

Our AppS
M A R C H 20 1 5 N O.9 9 W W W. M AC L I F E .CO M

EDITIOn FOr IpAD FOr IphOnE


>>>

published or returned to you. By submitting materials to us, you agree to give future the royalty-free, perpetual,
DISCOVER THE

OS X
H I D D E N F E AT U R E S O F

YO S E M I T E
non-exclusive right to publish and reuse your submission in any form in any and all media and to use your name
Apple Newsstand bit.ly/ML_iphone_app
All the things you never knew your
Mac could do in OS X 10.10 p24
<<<

HOW TO :
Create email shortcuts in the Dock
Master Google’s advanced search
Customize the Dock in OS X and other information in connection with the submission.

6 MAR 2015 maclife.com


Introducing the world’s most advanced visual effects and motion graphics solution!
Fusion is the world’s most advanced compositing software for visual effects Simply More Features
artists, broadcast and motion graphic designers and 3D animators. With over Whether you need to pull a key, track objects, retouch images, animate titles,
25 years of development, Fusion has been used on over 1000 major Hollywood or create amazing particle effects, Fusion has a massive toolset that lets you
blockbuster feature films! You get a massive range of features and effects tackle the most demanding visual effects and motion graphics jobs. You get
included, so you can create exciting broadcast graphics, television commercials, the world’s best 3D workspace along with tools for compositing, keying,
dramatic title sequences and even major feature film visual effects! painting, animation, stereoscopic 3D and more, all in a single application!

Hollywood’s Biggest Blockbusters GPU Accelerated Creative Workflow


Thousands of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters and hit television shows Fusion is an extremely fast visual effects software tool that’s responsive
use Fusion to create their groundbreaking visual effects. Fusion has been enough to be used in high pressure, client driven sessions. With its GPU
used on feature films like Thor, The Amazing Spiderman 2, and The Hunger acceleration, you get instant feedback while you work so you can see exactly
Games, as well as hit television shows like Orphan Black, Breaking Bad, what you’re doing. Whether you’re working alone or with a client, Fusion
Grimm, Adventure Time, Downton Abbey and the Emmy award winning gives you the real time control you need so you can spend more time being
Battlestar Galactica. creative and less time waiting.

Nodes, A Better Way to Work!


Fusion uses nodes which are small icons that represent effects, filters and
other processing which can be connected together to easily build up larger
and more complex visual effects. Because nodes are easy to see and
connect together, you can combine tools, images, and objects in any order
to create unlimited visual effects. Nodes make it easy to adjust any single FUSION 7 .................................................................................................................... Free
part of your project simply by clicking on the node and making an adjustment.
That’s much faster than a timeline based tool such as an NLE. FUSION 7 STUDIO .................................................................................... $995

Learn more today www.blackmagicdesign.com


iPad sales? no big deal >>>CONTRIBUTORS

There’s been a lot of hand-wringing


lately with regard to the iPad and how it
seems to be losing steam. Back in
November, the analysts at IDC reported
that 2014 iPad shipments would reach
64.9 million units, down 12.7% from the
previous year and marking the first sales
decline in the product’s history.
It wasn’t a banner year for other tablet
manufacturers, either: while the overall Matt bolton
market grew 7.2%, the increase pales in editor
comparison to the 52.5% jump seen Matt’s Valentine’s Day
between 2012 and 2013. Are people tiring plans feature a Mac Pro, a
of tablets? Was the iPad just a fad? Should 1983 Lisa, and some celery.
Apple be scrambling to stick on a second
screen or something in a desperate bid to spark fresh excitement?
Absolutely not. No fix is necessary, because there isn’t a problem.
The IDC’s common-sense conclusion was that the natural sales
cycle for tablets is more akin to that of PCs rather than mobile phones
– as with PCs, people don’t need a new tablet every year. Now that
most people with the desire and means to own an iPad have one,
there’s no rush for them to run out and buy another. My daughter
uses my old iPad 2, which can still do pretty much everything an iPad
Air 2 can, albeit a little sluggishly sometimes. Since the newer model
starts at half a grand, the older one is plenty good enough.
Mat gartside
Mobile phones are different. They commonly come with a two-year
deputy art editor
contract, the expiration of which provides a natural time to upgrade
Mat is still working through
– a process made more tempting by subsidized carrier discounts.
Valentine’s Day missives
Phones also matter to us more; we carry them with us everywhere. But
from 2014.
a tablet? If it can play Netflix and surf the web, we aren’t as picky.
Just like iMacs and MacBooks, the iPad will continue to be a big
earner for Apple for years to come. Tablets are here to stay, and Apple
still makes the best ones. If the company wants to recapture the
explosive growth of a hit product’s first few years, it just needs to
launch something new. And what do you know? Apple Watch is just
around the corner…

Jo Membery
operations editor
Every day is Valentine’s
Day for Jo, robbing it of
its power, ultimately.

Chris slaTe, Editor-in-Chief


Twitter: @ChrisSlate

8 MaR 2015 maclife.com


DOMAINS | MAIL | HOSTING | eCOMMERCE | SERVERS

WEB
HOSTING
POPULAR APPS - NOW EVEN BETTER!

WordPress & Powerful App Platforms!


■ Supports over 140 popular apps including WordPress,
Drupal™, Joomla!™, TYPO3, and more
■ Security & version upgrade notifications

■ Trial version available for all applications

■ App Expert Support

■ 1&1 CDN powered by CloudFlare™ and 2 GB


guaranteed RAM for peak performance

Powerful Tools
■ PHP 5.6, Perl, Python, Ruby
■ 1&1 Mobile Website Builder
■ NetObjects Fusion® 2013 included

Successful Marketing
■ Facebook® advertising credits
■ Listing in business directories
■ 1&1 Search Engine Optimization

0
COMPLETE
■ 1&1 E-Mail Marketing Manager
Starting at
State-of-the-Art Technology
■ Maximum availability (Geo-Redundancy)
■ 300 Gbit/s network connection
PACKAGES
FOR PROFESSIONALS
$ .99 per month*
All Inclusive
■ 1 FREE domain: .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info
■ Unlimited Power: webspace, traffic, mail accounts, MySQL databases
■ Secure e-mail addresses with virus and spam protection

■ Linux or Windows operating system ®

1 TRIAL
30 DAY MONEY
BACK GUARANTEE 1 MONTH
FLEXIBLE PAYMENT
OPTIONS 1 CALL
SPEAK WITH AN
EXPERT 24/7

1 (877) 461-2631
* Offer valid for a limited time only. The $0.99/month pricing for the 1&1 Unlimited Hosting Package applies during promotional period only. Regular price of $8.99/month
applies after promotional period. Some features listed are only available with package upgrade. Visit www.1and1.com for full promotion details. Program and pricing
specifications and availability subject to change without notice. 1&1 and the 1&1 logo are trademarks of 1&1 Internet, all other trademarks are the property of their
1and1.com
respective owners. ©2015 1&1 Internet. All rights reserved. Rubik’s Cube ® used by permission of Rubik’s Brand Ltd.
Your opinions, rants & raves

I predict that Apple will be out of the


computer market in a few short years.
I say this because they are making Macs
too much like the iPad, iPhone, and
iPod touch. There are no upgradeable
options anymore; what they put in is all
Apple has a long, rich history that we just
you have. On the other hand, Windows- can’t shut up about.
based PCs can be customized to a
buyer’s likes, or for those of us who I have especially liked your
know how, we can build whatever we want to put Windows or Linux on. articles about the history of
Bottom line: I love OS X, but unless Apple gets back to basics, they computing, such as the one a couple
will be like Microsoft and only make the OS, or be out of the computer months ago about Apple’s 30-year
market altogether. Tim anniversary and how Apple has
evolved over the years. I’m sure
Wow, that’s harsh! I understand that the inflexible nature of Apple many others enjoyed it too, and we
hardware can be a hassle sometimes, but is that really anything new? would all love to see more soon,
Compared to PCs, Macs have never been very customizable. To be fair, especially a column every month!
that’s part of Apple’s appeal for many people – that buying and using a JoHN wriGHT
Mac is so simple and straightforward. With Macs only gaining market
share over the past few years, I don’t see Apple leaving the space soon. Thanks for the kind words, John
– your vote is duly noted! we love
writing about apple history as
what’s the Password? while both auto-generate website- much as you love reading it, so
Aargh! I just can’t remember all specific passwords and store whether we stick to nostalgia-
these passwords anymore. In your credit card details, they each offer filled features or create a column
opinion, what is the best password unique advantages. icloud at some point, more classic apple
keeper that will work on both my keychain is free and comes built content is on the way.
iPhone and my MacBook? into recent versions of mac oS X
In iOS 7.0.3 and JoHN maYbErrY and ioS. 1Password costs $50, but blame the Subs…
OS X Mavericks
it works across a wider range of In the 40 Best Apps feature [issue
or newer, head to
System The two most obvious web browsers and operating 97], in the blurb for Pocket, Richard
Preferences >
recommendations are apple’s systems (including windows and Moss claims to be “a vociferous
iCloud and check
“Keychain.” icloud keychain, and 1Password. android), and can store info for reader.” Never heard of that.
more things, such as your driver’s “Voracious,” yes. That would be an
license and passport. No matter insatiable appetite for reading.
which you choose, you’re in for a “Vociferous” would be a loud,
safer, slicker browsing experience. verbose, obnoxious blatherer.
DaViD mEaDE
Hooray for History
I am replying to Sam Hasting’s idea in this case both would be true.
about a column in Mac|Life richard tears through books at an
dedicated to old Macs and other incredible rate, and he always
Apple products. I think the idea is reads aloud, shouting the words at
amazing! I only recently became an people who pass by until they
Apple fan, but I still enjoy reading skitter away from his hateful gaze
about old products. and thrown shoes.

Email: letters@maclife.com
SHarE wiTH US! FacEbook: facebook.com/maclife TwiTTEr: twitter.com/maclife

10 mar 2015 maclife.com


Apple’s ebook
deals – fair or
unfair? The case
continues…

GO
For more Apple
ebook news, visit:
www.maclife.com/
tags/ebooks

Apple’s book the sAgA of Apple’s


ebooks anti-trust case

case gets
looks set to continue for
another few months at least,
after an appellate court hearing

strengthened appeared sympathic to Apple’s


appeal. Having originally been found
to have colluded with five major book 
The DoJ anti-trust case against Apple and publishers to raise prices by district judge Denise 
Cote in 2013, the judges in Apple’s appeal hearing criticized 
ebook publishers takes a hit at appeal the approach by the Department of Justice and appeared to 
BY MAtt Bolton suggest that the case had not been handled correctly.
Much of the change came from the question of whether
Amazon has a monopoly on the ebook market, and so 
whether it’s appropriate for new entrants to make similar
deals to that between Apple and the book publishers. When

12 mAr 2015 maclife.com


Feed your mind. Feast your eyes.

Broadwell finally
stumbles to release
After huge delays, Intel’s impressive new chips
are finally getting closer to reality BY MAtt Bolton

Apple entered the ebooks market with Intel’s next-generAtIon chip with HyperThreading
the iBookstore, Kindle devices and processor line, known as Broadwell, (meaning that it can act as four
service were firmly entrenched as the  held a lot of promise when it was virtual cores), with Intel HD 6000
market leaders, with 80-90% of users. first announced. After Haswell graphics. Apple has considered
Amazon was also selling ebooks for  (Intel’s current processor line) Intel’s HD graphics line as good
a price that was below the wholesale introduced a new architecture enough to run Retina displays in
price it paid to the publishers. Apple for processors and powerful new the past (on the 13-inch Retina
argued that this was “predatory graphics options, Broadwell is due MacBook Pro), and this would be
pricing” to maintain a monopoly, and to refine that architecture, making an especially low power option –
that Apple’s deals to ensure publishers it smaller and less power-hungry, probably no hotter or more energy-
got to set the prices of books (rather while again introducing more hungry than the current MacBook
than Amazon) were made to bring  powerful graphics chips. (This Air processors. However, it’s also a
competition to the market. Judge Cote  strategy is known as Intel’s “Tick direct replacement for the current
disagreed this was worth consideration, Tock” system, where each big MacBook Air’s processors – Apple
but the appellate judges were more  revision to its products alternates may choose to go with something a
open to this argument on appeal. between being a redesign of the little more powerful for the Retina
chips or an improvement in how screen. In that case, the Intel Core
the future Is stIll uncertain. the chips are produced.) Broadwell i5-5257U might be its choice – it’s
The appellate court consists of three was due to give us better Iris a 2.7GHz dual-core chip (with
judges, so even if one is receptive to  graphics in the MacBook Pro and HyperThreading) that offers Intel’s
Apple’s case, it may not be the case iMac lines, as well as – most new generation of Iris graphics –
that they all are. For now, the judges  excitingly – finally a chip powerful giving it more GPU power than
have reserved their decision, meaning enough while being low power to even the current Retina MacBook
that it could be many months before launch a Retina MacBook Air. The Pros. This might be too hot and
we know anything. If they agree with problem is that Broadwell has been heavy on the electricity for the
Apple, they may send the case back to continuously delayed, meaning rumored ultra-thin new MacBook
Judge Cote for re-litigation. If they find  that any products that want to Air design, though. For more on
against Apple, it’s possible that Apple use Broadwell are delayed too. the Retina MacBook Air and its
will take its appeal to the Supreme The good news is that a realistic Broadwell dilemma, see page 50.
Court. In all cases, there’s a lot of release for Broadwell seems to
money at stake – Judge Cote ordered  finally be on the horizon, and
Apple to pay $400 million in damages Apple is usually one of the first
Finally… Intel’s
to consumers. That could be reduced companies to get access to Intel’s new chip should
to $50 million, or it could be overturned latest and greatest. A look at the soon be bumping
up the power in
completely by the appeals court. planned Broadwell chip models Apple products.
Apple also had a recent court success offers a few particularly interesting
defending a class action anti-trust suit tidbits for divining what might go
alleging that it unfairly stopped music into a Retina MacBook Air, too. The
not bought from the iTunes Store being Intel Core i5-5250U is a strong
played on iPods. candidate – it’s a 1.6GHz dual-core

maclife.com mAr 2015 13


>>> Start

Monster Strike:
collect different
monsters then
pinball them
around the
playing field.

I wanted to make a game that was


closer to the arcade experience in that
it was exciting in short bursts and
people wanted to continue. Like if you
lost? You wanted to give that extra
quarter and continue playing.”
Of course, free-to-play games
have been criticized for this kind of
approach – taking the most hard and
unfair practices of the arcade scene –
but Koki Kimura, Monster Strike’s
producer, says that it can be done well.
“[In our game] only one person has
to spend an orb to continue, so by
building a community where everybody
sort of shares the expenses, you don’t
really have to buy anything. And we
also give away orbs very frequently. I
think that the reason Monster Strike
is so popular in Japan is because other
games that use free-to-play mechanics
didn’t use them correctly … The way
that Monster Strike is designed, you

Big in Japan can’t buy a win from it. You can’t just
pay more money to get better.”
The key thing that’s exciting
Why the creator of Street Fighter II Okamoto, though, is the connection
that mobile games create between the
left consoles for iOS games players and the creators. “When you
BY Chris hoffman make a console or an arcade game, you
finish it, you put it out, and then it’s
WiTh more Than 14 million downloads over. The thing about mobile games
in its native country, it’s fair to say that and especially Monster Strike is that
Monster Strike – an iOS/mobile title it’s created with the next year in mind.
from Mixi Inc in which creatures fight What I really want the most is to please
each other via billiards-like play – as many users as possible, and mobile
has taken Japan by storm. One of the games provide a way to do that,
game’s designers is Yoshiki Okamoto, because you can make tweaks and
who got his start creating arcade interact with the community more.”
classics such as Street Fighter II and
Final Fight. Switching to iOS gaming
seems like a big departure…
“When making Monster Strike,
I relied more on my arcade experience
Koki Kimura (left) and Yoshiki Okamoto
(right) enjoy Monster Strike’s success. than my console-game experience;

14 Mar 2015 maclife.com


Feed your mind. Feast your eyes.

V i Ta L
sTaTs

$20m
Tim Cook announced to Apple
employees that appLe’s
(PRODUCT) RED campaign in the
holiday season of 2014 raised over
$20 million in just one quarter to
help fight AIDS. The campaign
included RED-branded apps in the
App Store, while Apple’s Black
Friday sales went RED, too.

app store approval


agony continues
Rejections leave developers uncertain
BY maTT BoLTon 90%
appLe has aLWaYs the internet. Most team creating features After signing more banks to
maintained that some of these cases have for devs to use and the Apple Pay, appLe says that
of the reasons an app revolved around iOS 8's app review team then the cards supported by Apple
might be rejected for Extensions, and what rejecting overly Pay now represent 90% of all
inclusion in the App kind of utility should be ambitious uses of them. credit card purchases.
Store go unwritten – allowed in Notification Another high-profile
that they’ll know the Center add-ons. Apple app review story came
line when you cross it. told some developers from the hit indie game
iOS developers have that their apps did too Papers, Please, which

41%
lived with this well much in these widgets, had to remove non-
enough, but after the but it was pointed out pornographic pixel-art
release of iOS 8, there that some of these nudity from the game.
has been an increase in widgets were similar Again, Apple later According to KanTar
high-profile cases where to uses Apple had reversed this decision. WorLdpaneL, the iphone 6 pLus
developers have had proposed on-stage at It’s this lack of has accounted for 41% of all sales
apps approved, then WWDC, when it first consistency that’s the of phones with a screen size of
removed by Apple and announced Extensions. real worry for devs – 5.5 inches or larger – despite
forced to change the It’s thought that there one part of Apple might constrained supply. Larger phones
app, then ultimately could be internal turmoil say an app is fine before still only make up 10% of overall
allowed back into the between the different another rejects it. We phone sales, though.
store in their original teams at Apple – with hope a more coherent
form after a furore on the iOS development solution is coming.

maclife.com Mar 2015 15


>>> Start

6 Third-Party Apps
Coming To The Apple Watch
Discover the apps you’ll be able to use on Apple’s latest creation

Remote lighting is all well and good, if you can


locate your iPhone. Now just tap your wrist!

other home
devices without
As an iPhone app, OfficeTime is brilliantly useful, but as a Watch app it could be essential – track
how long you spend in meetings with a single tap, syncing data back to your phone seamlessly. free2go having to find your
Locate and iPhone first!
reserve car2go
EvEn bEforE ThE Apple Watch familiar colorful cars near you that
keynote was over, developers had list of things you can be refueled
started working out what apps they officeTime can check-off – for free driving Citymapper
could create for it, but they had to A terrific example though on the minutes – all on This transit app
wait another couple of months for of how an app can Apple Watch, your wrist. lets you see what
Apple to make the tools available be even more Clear’s trademark buses, trains and
before they could actually start indispensable on swipe to clear is, more you need
building in any meaningful way. the Watch, this in fact, a tap . to get on – totally
As soon as they got their hands on keeps tabs on how home remote live – as you
them, though, they started making, much time you Already available travel across
testing and prototyping all kinds of spend working for for Pebble, Home San Francisco,
apps – and we’ve found six of the clients. Tap to Menelao Remote lets you New York, London
most innovative and promising start the clock as The developers of control lights and and other cities.
options on the horizon. you walk into a this expenses app
The Apple Watch will need apps meeting, and the learned that users
like this – apps that aren’t just well times sync to your found the iPhone
made and easy to use, but that iPhone and Mac. process fiddly.
specifically make sense in how With the Watch
they’re used on the Watch – if it version, you just
has any hope of convincing the speak the amount
public they don’t just want one, Clear you’ve spent; you
but need one too. Popular to-do app can also assign
Clear is coming to categories and Menelao takes the friction out of recording your
the Watch. It’s the geo-tag entries. expenses, so you never forget anything.

16 mar 2015 maclife.com


Book smart

contactless scanner

Floating optical array

Curvature correction

Page turn detection

http://Ez.com/maclifemag

© 2014 Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. All rights reserved. Fujitsu and the Fujitsu logo are registered trademarks of Fujitsu Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
>>> Start Feed your mind. Feast your eyes.

CRAVE THE GEAR WE’RE LUSTING AFTER

Autodesk Ember
spark.autodesk.com
$5995

>>> As one of the heavyweights of 3D, it’s great to


see Autodesk getting into the 3D-printing game
with this cool-looking unit – though it’s far from
affordable. It still might change the world, though;
the point of Ember is that it’s the first unit based
on Autodesk’s free and open Spark platform. This
new ecosystem promises better interoperability
between 3D tech, and Ember’s designs files are
available for all to study – maybe leading to a
cheaper, more flexible system in the future.

18 Mar 2015 maclife.com


Satechi 10-port Aluminum Hub
www.satechi.net
$64.99

>>> Designed to sit comfortably alongside Apple’s Magic


Trackpad and Wireless Keyboard on your desk,
Satechi’s premium aluminum hub pretty much solves
the problem of not having enough USB hubs once and
for all (and also the problem of most USB hubs being
ugly blocks). Seven USB 3.0 ports provide you with
plenty of data options, while the other three are for
charging devices – one is a 2.1A fast-charging port for
getting iPads (even Retina ones) up to 100% rapidly.

Blossom
www.myblossom.com
$179

>>> Continuing the growing (pun intended) trend of


making everything around your home smarter, Blossom
is a smart controller for your sprinkler system. It can
connect to your existing system, and is controlled from
your iPhone; set schedules for it to follow, with custom
routines for up to 12 different watering zones. Part of
the idea is to use water more efficiently, so it takes live
weather information into account, too. It’s due in
March… just in time for summer.

Somabar
www.somabarkickstarter.com
$699

>>> Somabar won’t listen and nod along to your


problems in the way the robotic bartender of our
dreams would, but it makes complex cocktails in just
five seconds, so it gets a pass anyway. Fill its six tanks
with ingredients of your choice, then choose your
preferred drink from its iPhone app and it immediately
starts measuring and mixing as needed, popping the
result in your waiting glass. Its Kickstarter funding was
successful, and the first units are due in July.

maclife.com Mar 2015 19


>>> Start

>THE LIfER
How I learned to stop worrying and love Aaron
Sorkin’s Jobs movie. Well, love anticipating it,
at least… by LuKE DORmEHL

T
here’s one bit of Apple-related unexpected series of twists revealed Bale, both top choices for the role,
news on the horizon that this month. At first, the news was turned it down. (Sorkin apparently
harks back to the good old good. A veteran of smart Hollywood wanted Tom Cruise.) Natalie
days of 1997, when Apple was movies and TV, Sorkin comes to Portman got out, too, having
clawing its way back to profitability, the Jobs movie with the kind of reportedly been linked with the role
and the iPod, iPhone and iPad were impeccable credits you just know of one of the female leads. Worst of
still unused ideas scribbled down in Apple’s co-founder and legendary all, Sony Pictures ditched the
some vast notebook somewhere in CEO would have approved of. project; selling it off to Universal
a back office at 1 Infinite Loop. For anyone fearing the movie Pictures for little more than the
I am, of course, talking about the would be a “greatest hits” biopic, development costs.
long-awaited Steve Jobs movie. Sorkin put our nerves to rest by While things have apparently
No, not the disappointing 2013 one revealing this wasn’t going to stabilized – Michael Fassbender is
starring Ashton Kutcher, which be a cradle-to-grave bio. The reportedly playing Jobs now – it just
might as well be subtitled “Dude, screenwriter disclosed that (spoiler
Where’s My Mac?”, but rather the alert!) his script takes place in three Sorkin revealed this
official big screen adaptation of different 30-minute scenes, all
Walter Isaacson’s bazillion happening in real time, and all
wasn’t going to be
copy-selling 2011 biography of showing Jobs at product launches a cradle-to-grave
Apple’s co-founder, written by at different stages in his life. (My biography
The Social Network’s Aaron Sorkin. guess: the original Macintosh, the
NeXT Computer, and either the iPod
HOWEVER, LIKE THE APPLE or iPad.) More recently leaked
products whose creation it depicts, emails suggest the locations include goes to show that Hollywood movies
this project isn’t coming together two auditoriums, a restaurant and are no more stable than the beta
easily – as an intriguing and a garage. As anyone who has ever software used at a product launch.
watched an episode of The West Wing Still, I’m excited: as should be
will know, dialogue-heavy walk/talk anyone who wants to finally see
sequences are a Sorkin trademark Steve Jobs done justice on the big
– and make this an enticing screen. (The best version of the
proposition. Walter Isaacson story to date has been the excellent
reportedly teared up after reading it. 1999 TV movie Pirates of Silicon
But from here things went south Valley.) If Aaron Sorkin and director
– at least temporarily. Original Danny Boyle’s movie comes
director David Fincher, who brought together half as well as it should
us Fight Club and The Social Network, do, it will be yet another string in
parted ways with the project. Then Apple’s bow as it achieves total
Hopefully, Sorkin will do Jobs’ story justice. Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian pop culture domination.

>>> Luke Dormehl is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula. He is a regular contributor
to Cult of Mac, Wired, Fast Company, The Sunday Times and The Guardian.

20 mar 2015 maclife.com


>>> Start

$50 iTunes Card


How would you blow 50 bucks on music,
movies, books, TV shows, and apps?
BY MAtt Bolton

Hope to Die BoyHooD MonuMents to geoMetry Wars


James Patterson Patricia Arquette, Ethan an elegy 3: DiMensions
$9.99 Hawke, Ellar Coltrane Smashing Pumpkins Aspyr Media
The perennial James $14.99 HD $9.99 $14.99
Patterson drops yet another Director Richard Linklater There’s a key part of the Geometry Wars returns to
brutal psychological mystery pulls off something truly brain that struggles to cope the Mac, bringing a whole
on Detective Alex Cross, astonishing here. Filmed with with the idea that the new version of the twin-stick
this time putting the police the same actors over a Smashing Pumpkins would shooter to OS X (make sure
psychologist’s family under period of 11 years, Boyhood is make synthy rock pop that you’ve got a gamepad for
threat. How far will he go a coming-of-age story where gets you tapping your feet, playing, though). Like
to save them? What will he the main character literally but that’s what you’ve got in previous games, you still take
be prepared to sacrifice to grows up before you. Ellar Monuments to an Elegy. And part in neon-fuelled, fast-
ensure the safety of his wife Coltrane stars as Mason they’re pretty good at it, too! paced bullet-hell warfare, but
and children? How many Evans Jr, and the film follows The music might be worlds the 2D grids of old are gone,
clichéd thriller questions will how his and his family’s life away from the Pumpkins’ replaced with 3D shapes.
be answered? We kid, we kid changes over time – how breakout sound in the ’90s, Cubes, doughnuts and more
– it’s a great, gripping read. relationships guide their but as long as Billy Corgan mean that you can’t see
Though it does make us wish lives, how closeness with is singing, they’re fairly everything that’s going on
they would make some more different people can ebb and unmistakeable. A short at once. It’s frantic, fast fun.
films starring Morgan flow, how someone can grow album of short songs, this is
Freeman as Alex Cross. both into and out of the very much an alternative pop
Better yet, how about a David things they want. It’s a record of dense guitars and
Fincher-directed cable show? beautiful, incredible punchy choruses that makes
Now you’re talking… achievement in film-making. for easy, fun listening.
TOTAL
spend
$49.96

22 MAr 2015 maclife.com


Money Management Skills
Taught by Professor Michael Finke
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
LECTURE TITLES

D TIME OF 1. Understanding Your Financial Brain


E
IT
2. Managing Money with Life Cycle Theory

FE
LIM
70%

R
3. Basic Investing—Keep It Simple
4. The Key Financial Instruments
off

5
R 5. How to Use Credit Optimally

H
DE C
R BY M AR
6. Investing in Education
7. The Economics of Home Ownership
8. Managing Risk with Insurance
9. Essential Tax Principles
10. Saving for Retirement
11. Fundamentals of Estate Planning
12. Putting Your Financial Plan Together

Enjoy a Worry-Free
Approach to Finances Money Management Skills
Course no. 5231 | 12 lectures (30 minutes/lecture)

Money management can be intimidating. Fortunately, most of us only


need to know a few basic principles to get our financial houses in order.
Learn these principles in Money Management Skills, a comprehensive
overview of what everyday people need to know to make good financial SAVE UP TO $ 155
decisions. Using a scientific, evidence-based approach, Professor
Finke shows how humans are hard-wired to make emotional decisions
that often run counter to the best course of action when it comes to
finances—and gives tips for how to avoid these common mistakes. DVD $199.95 NOW $44.95
Whether you are starting your first job or contemplating retirement, CD $134.95 NOW $29.95
this course is an excellent primer for making successful financial +$5 Shipping, Processing, and Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee
Priority Code: 110203
decisions at every stage of your life. You’ll tour some of the most widely
available financial products and tools, including stocks and bonds,
credit, mortgages, and insurance, and you’ll come away with all the For 24 years, The Great Courses has brought the
information you need to build a financial plan to achieve your goals. world’s foremost educators to millions who want to
go deeper into the subjects that matter most. No
Offer expires 03/05/15 exams. No homework. Just a world of knowledge
available anytime, anywhere. Download or stream
THEGREATCOURSES.COM/6 MAC to your laptop or PC, or use our free mobile apps
for iPad, iPhone, or Android. Over 500 courses
1-800-832-2412 available at www.TheGreatCourses.com.
>>> Feature

O S X YO
hidden f
Powerful, superbly designed
and, as always, with plenty
of new features. But there’s
much more to Yosemite than
what’s on the surface
BY AlAn StoneBridge
& KennY HempHill

24 mar 2015 maclife.com


OS X Yosemite features

OSemite
f e at u r e S he new look might take you

t
a while to get used to, but
once you do we think you’ll
love Yosemite. But it’s not
all about the looks, of
course. Over the next few
pages we’ll look beyond Yosemite’s skin
– and even beyond the headline features
– to appreciate the little things. There
are small tweaks and extra options all
over the new OS that can help to make
it even better. To make things easier to
follow, we’ve categorized the tips around
key parts of OS X – from system tips and
Finder to iTunes, dictation and Safari.
Delve into these tips to get a sense of
what has changed, and where to find the
best new enhancements in OS X 10.10.

maclife.com mar 2015 25


>>> Feature

Finder
Changes to files and folders

review fileS
p witHin more
finder viewS
Previously only
available in Column view, the
Preview Pane can now be used
in Finder’s Icon and List views
by choosing View > Show
iTunes
Preview Pane. In Icon view, it’s Your media revamp
useful as a way to browse a
folder that contains images.
Use the slider (bottom right of
the Finder window) to set icon
previews to medium, then skim >>> QuicK AcceSS to recent Now go to View > Column Browser >
through. Select any file you mediA in ituneS Show Column Browser to return to
want to see larger in the iTunes has provided a Recently iTunes’ oldest layout. For movies,
Preview Pane – no need to Added smart playlist for years, but choose Movie List as the sort order,
use Quick Look! iTunes 12 has a fresh take. When you or Episode List for TV shows.
choose certain combinations of
media kind, view and sort order at >>> tHe mini plAYer
the top of your library, iTunes will If you’re looking for the button that
display a Recently Added group. transforms the giant iTunes window
This makes it easy to find music into a more manageable and
bought in the last few months. You unobtrusive miniplayer, you won’t
can change how far back it looks to find it in its old spot; instead Apple
one, three, six or 12 months under has incorporated it into the playing
View > Recently Added, or it can be window. Just click the album art and
turned off, and it can be hidden for, you’ll be rocking out to tiny tunes.
say, movies but kept on for music.
AtcH renAme >>> metAdAtA editor
B fileS in finder >>> tHe SideBAr iTunes 12 has a new editor for
There’s no need to iTunes 12 no longer displays the making adjustments to track
resort to Automator traditional sidebar in all views. metadata, with a pop-up at the
or to use an app to rename a However, something very similar bottom left to add more fields. If
bunch of files any more – it’s appears if you choose Playlists you prefer the old-style, form-like
all possible from Finder. Select from the views listed in the middle editor, in which checkboxes give a
several files, right-click on one of the navigation bar. clear view of what changes will be
and choose the item with the applied, hold ç and å, right-click
label “Rename [number] >>> tHe column BrowSer your selection and then choose Get
items.” The existing filenames The column browser remains Info. If asked to confirm editing of
can be: prefixed/suffixed with available, but it’s easily missed. multiple items, keep the keys held
additional text; you can search When viewing music, switch the until after you’ve clicked the Edit
for and replace text; or you can sort order (top right) to Songs. Items button.
change all of them to the same
format with a number or the
current date and time added.

26 mar 2015 maclife.com


>>> Feature

General
tips
Terrific tweaks

et Sleeping
l mAcS lie
Do Not Disturb has
a new setting to
prevent notifications coming
through if your Mac’s display
has gone to sleep (on purpose
or after a period of inactivity).

>>> mAKe onlY tHe docK Save the application workflow,


And App SwitcHer dArK then open System Preferences >
Apple provides a single checkbox Users & Groups, select your
to enable dark mode for the account and then click Login
oiceover menu bar and the Dock, but no Items on the right side. Click
v for videoS individual option. However, it’s the + button and browse to the
Speaking of possible to trick just the Dock into app you just saved.
accessibility, Apple adopting dark mode, which gives it When you log in, your app will
has added a cool new feature to a nicer, high-contrast look. In turn on Dark Mode, restart the
make OS X even more useful Automator, create an application Dock so that it adopts that
for blind users. QuickTime and workflow and add the Run Shell appearance, giving it two seconds
iTunes now support video Script action to it. Add these four to do so (you may need to allow
descriptions – so if you’re lines (indented lines are new lines): longer), and then reset the Dark
watching a video with Mode preference. That last step is
embedded descriptions of defaults write nSglobaldomain crucial; without it, any apps opened
what’s happening, VoiceOver AppleinterfaceStyle dark from that point would also adopt
adds a spoken voice to what’s killall dock the dark presentation, but by
happening on-screen. sleep 2 resetting the preference in this
defaults remove way, they’ll adopt the default bright
end to recent nSglobaldomain look, but the Dock isn’t refreshed,
S recipientS AppleinterfaceStyle and so it stays dark.
OS X takes note of
who you share with
and by what methods, and
maintains a list of recent

28 mar 2015 maclife.com


OS X Yosemite features

contacts so that those


recipients are immediately
available when you next press
the Share button.
This also comes into play
when you open a PDF
attachment from Mail in
Preview. Double-click the
attachment to work with it in
Preview then, when finished,
click Preview’s Share button to
find an option to reply to the
original sender – choose it and
you’ll be sent back to Mail,
where you’ll find a message
addressed to the sender,
complete with any other
recipients copied in, and your By opting for Power Assertion in Activity Monitor you’ll be able to access a
annotated PDF attached. “Preventing Sleep” column to identify any apps that may be causing problems.

ccount This option is available when iSABle


A pASSwordS creating a new user account, d trAnSpArencY
Make it easier to too, and your Mac will need If you think
remember the to be online the first time Yosemite’s use of
passwords for your user someone signs into an account transparency affects legibility,
account and iCloud account by that’s set up in this way. or you just don’t like it, it can
making them the same. In the be turned off in System
Users & Groups pane in System HecK on Sleep Preferences > Accessibility >
Preferences, attempt to change c Having trouble Display. Put a check next to
your password, and Yosemite putting your Mac to Reduce Transparency and
will ask if you want to change sleep? Right-click windows will turn solid, as
it just for your account, or the a column heading in Activity will the menu bar and Dock.
one used by your iCloud Monitor and choose the new
account. If you choose the Power Assertion item. This o retro witH
latter, the two are kept in sync. adds a column that’s headed g A dASHBoArd
“Preventing Sleep” and overlAY
contains “Yes” and “No” Many reasons for
values to identify culprits. using Dashboard are now
replicated by Notification
He Second wAY Center’s Today view, but the
t to trigger Dashboard does remain
HAndoff available in Yosemite. Web
The Dock isn’t the Clips are a good reason to keep
only place where your Mac it around, for example, but you
indicates it can take over a task can turn it off in Mission
from another device. Hold ç Control’s preferences. You
and press † once to reveal the also have the option to display
app switcher, left of which Dashboard as it was in older
you’ll see a Handoff icon to versions of OS X, as an overlay
receive the task using the on any space rather than as a
corresponding Mac app. space of its own.

maclife.com mar 2015 29


>>> Feature

cceSSiBilitY SettingS
A There are two additional visual
preferences for accessibility.
Differentiate Without Color is
intended for people who are color blind,
and it uses shapes instead of just color to
draw attention to status changes. There’s
also Increase Contrast, which adds a black
stroke around objects within windows.

rAffic-ligHt ButtonS
t In Yosemite, the green button
now switches an app to
fullscreen mode. Holding å
gets back the old behavior of resizing the
window to a good fit for its content. In
many apps, double-clicking a window’s
title bar (or combined title and toolbar) has
the same effect, as long as you haven’t set
that to minimize a window. However, it
doesn’t work in every app – Reminders and
Microsoft Word are just two exceptions.
Alternatively, assign a keyboard shortcut
to the Zoom menu item in System
Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts >
Wi-Fi
App Shortcuts > All Applications, but Even easier Wi-Fi!
note that not every app includes that
command. In Microsoft Word, for example,
the equivalent command is “Zoom
window,” but Adobe Creative Cloud doesn’t
have one. Handily, the modified green
button behavior doesn’t affect those >>> diSconnect >>> HotSpot
apps currently, anyway. from tHe vS HotSpot
current wi-fi One benefit of
networK Continuity is you don’t
If you need to have to type a Wi-Fi
disconnect from a password to connect to
particular Wi-Fi network your iPhone’s hotspot.
(if you’re in a public Another is your iPhone
hotspot for instance), relays extra info to your
but want to keep Wi-Fi Mac about its battery,
turned on to continue network connection and
using AirDrop, å-click signal strength, so you
the Wi-Fi status icon. don’t have to turn on
You will now find an your iPhone to check its
option to disconnect connection quality –
from the current click the Wi-Fi icon on
network. your Mac instead.

30 mar 2015 maclife.com


SUBSCRIBE GO TO
UFC.COM/MAGAZINE
TO SUBSCRIBE NOW!
>>> Feature

Safari
Better browsing with Safari 8

rivAte windowS have a more protective choice


p In Safari 8, if you about whether to allow them.
choose File > New “Allow from websites I visit”
Private Window, permits cookies to be created
you can be assured any sites even if hosted on another
visited in that window are not domain than the page visited.
recorded, while sites in other The “Allow from current
windows will work as normal. website only” setting lets you
To remind you a window is do things on your own terms.
private, its Smart Search Field
will turn to a dark gray. preAd tABS
S With enough tabs Get a clearer view of your Amazon without having to go
browsing with Safari 8.
Areful cleAring open, Safari stacks to the site and type in its search
c If you forget to them, like windows bar. Try typing “amazon.com
browse in a private in Mission Control. Press the taylor swift” (without quotes)
window and need to spacebar and the tabs will into Safari’s search field, but
cover your tracks, the Clear spread out, which is handy don’t press ®. The first
History and Website Data… when working with two or suggestion (press æ), submits
item in Safari’s app menu and three sites. your keywords to the site’s
History menu will help, as it no search engine.
longer clears your entire web uicK SeArcH
history. There are now options Q When you use a ooKmArKS
to clear only the last hour’s site’s built-in B AS fAvoriteS
browsing, all of that day’s, or search engine, If you already have
today’s and yesterday’s. Safari notes the query string. a folder containing
Search on Amazon and you’ll bookmarks to your favorite
ooKie control notice the site becomes listed sites, you don’t have to drag
c Concerned about in Safari’s preferences under them into the Favorites view.
advertisers using Search > Enable Quick Website In Safari’s General preferences,
cookies to track Search > Manage Websites… click the pop-up menu next to
your movements? You now You’re now able to search “Favorites shows” to choose
a different bookmarks folder.

loSe cloud tABS


c You can now close
iCloud Tabs on iOS
devices from your
Mac. Go to the tabs screen and
scroll down – below the
thumbnails of the tabs open
on your Mac is a list of “iCloud
Forgotten to opt for a
Tabs” on your other devices.
private window? Now Move the pointer over one of
you can back track more
them and the click the cross
selectively with Clear
History and Website Data. that appears to its right.
OS X Yosemite features

uicK icloud tABS


Q Right-click an
empty space in
Safari’s toolbar and
click Customize Toolbar… Drag
the iCloud Tabs to the toolbar
– now you can see tabs from
iOS devices instantly.

AnAge fAvoriteS
m When you create a
new tab or window,
Safari shows icons
for sites chosen as favorites, as
well as others you visit often.
To add a site you’re reading to
the Favorites group, click in the
Smart Search Field, and then
drag the icon from the left of
the page’s address into the
panel that appears below. Drag
the icons of your favorite sites
to rearrange them, or drag one
from the Frequently Visited
group into Favorites.

Ync HiStorY
S You don’t have to
leave tabs open to
carry on reading
>>> SeArcH preferenceS >>> SHow tHe full pages between devices; on
Items relating to search used to be weB AddreSS Yosemite, Safari automatically
scattered between a few tabs in In its effort to take away any and syncs your browsing history
Safari’s preferences, but they’re all distractions from the browsing with your other devices, so
now consolidated in a single tab, experience, Apple has stripped the even if you’ve closed a page on
aptly named Search. web address down to its barest your iPad, you could find it on
The option to change your essentials in Safari 8. Instead of your Mac to read again.
search engine now includes the a lengthy URL with hyphens and
privacy-focused DuckDuckGo slashes, it now only shows you the SS feedS
engine (see duckduckgo.com/ site you’re on until you click into r Safari has never
about). Along with some options the address field. If you want to been very friendly
that existed in Safari 7, you’ll also see the whole address without to RSS, but it
find options to choose whether clicking, however, head over to extends an olive branch in
Spotlight Suggestions – items the Advanced tab in Safari’s Yosemite, so you don’t have to
intelligently picked based on your preferences to turn it on – or you rely on third-party apps any
keywords – are included in the list, can use the shortcut ç+L. more. Bring up the Sidebar and
and whether your Favorites are Obviously, you can still click on it click on the Shared Links panel
shown when you first click the and select the text to copy and (the @ symbol). At the bottom
search field. paste the full link. is a new Subscriptions button.
Click it and you can add an RSS
feed from the site you’re
reading (if it has one).

maclife.com mar 2015 33


>>> Feature

messages them to click on, for example.


From the menu bar, the sharer
can enable you to fully control
More to messages… their screen.

HooSe How to
c Be contActed
ute Specific screens. Search for “Screen in meSSAgeS
m notificAtionS Sharing” in Spotlight and open Messages’ Video
Click Details at the app this finds. Screen menu includes three items at
the top-right of a Sharing’s initial window can the bottom that determine
conversation to activate Do Not accept an Apple ID. Ask the what communication methods
Disturb for that thread alone. person needing help what are active. You can disable
This setting persists until you email address is listed on the screen sharing, video chats and
return to the conversation and left-hand side of the iCloud audio chats if you like, and
turn it off. You can tell who is pane in System Preferences, stick to text messages.
muted, as you will see a moon then enter that address. The
icon to their left in Messages’ app will show a list of matches ecord Audio
main window. from the Contacts app as you r in imeSSAgeS
type the address. If your Apple Just like on your
creen SHAring ID isn’t in their address book, iPhone and iPad in
S in meSSAgeS the other person will be asked iOS 8, you’ll see a microphone
Click Details at the if they want to share their icon next to the compose field
top right of an screen or block you. Blocked when sending an iMessage.
iMessage conversation and, users can be managed in the Click it and you’ll start
next to the phone/video icons, app’s preferences, where you recording an audio message.
you’ll see an icon resembling can also choose whether to Press the spacebar to stop
two overlapping rectangles. accept sharing requests from recording, and again to send
Click it to find options for everyone or known contacts. the soundbite.
sharing your screen with the If both participants have a
contact, and to request to see Mac with a microphone, the nSwer or mAKe
their screen – handy for connection will start an audio A pHone cAllS
helping with technical issues. call as well. Initially, you can When our iPhones
only observe the other person’s are in our pockets,
creen SHAring screen, although you can move we rarely miss a call, but when
S witHout your pointer over their screen we’re working at our desks we
Help a friend or family meSSAgeS and then click and hold to don’t always hear it buzzing. In
member using Screen
You don’t even have display a highlight if they don’t Yosemite, a notification banner
Sharing and you can now
talk through the dilemma. to start an iMessage to share understand what you’re telling will alert you when a call is
coming in on your iPhone, and
you can answer it on your Mac.
And you can make calls, too;
click a number in Contacts or
Safari and it will start dialing.
In order for phone calls to
work on your Mac, your iPhone
will need to be running iOS 8
(or 8.1 if you also want to see
SMS texts in the Messages
app). Both your Mac and your
iPhone need to be signed into

34 mar 2015 maclife.com


Away from your iPhone? You can still
take a call by answering it directly from
your Mac. Very, very handy!

the same iCloud account, and


they must both be connected to
the same Wi-Fi network, too.

w
HicH deviceS
receive cAllS
Contacts
Under Settings in Clever contact capability
FaceTime’s
preferences, the checkbox
labeled “iPhone Cellular Calls”
determines whether calls will
come through to the Mac >>> cHooSe wHicH contAct >>> ASSign Alert toneS
you’re using. On your iPad or detAilS Are SHAred to contActS
iPod touch, the same option is When sharing your Contacts card Here’s another example of OS X
found in Settings > FaceTime. with other people, you can choose to now working in closer harmony with
You will of course have to be limit which information is shared. In iOS. Now that your Mac can receive
running iOS 8. Contacts, go to Preferences> vCard phone calls, it provides the same set
then check ‘Enable private me card’. of ringtones as iOS for you to assign
uStomize Now go to Card > Go to My Card, and to people in the Contacts app. This
c text Size then click the Edit button at the means you can tell who is calling
Messages no longer bottom of it. Checkboxes appear even if you’re away from the screen
allows fancy next to the items you’ve filled out, – and you can then opt whether to
customizations for the fonts enabling you to choose which should take the call or not! As with other
and colors of message bubbles be included. Sadly, this ability isn’t details about contacts, ringtone
(a loss for some), but it does available for other contact cards, assignments are synced via iCloud
include a new slider for setting so you can’t quickly choose which to your other devices. Sadly, there’s
a persistent size at which to details to provide about, say, no option to assign custom
present things in the iMessages someone from your team at work. ringtones, though.
window. The seven options can
be found in its preferences
under General.

maclife.com mar 2015 35


>>> Feature

App Store
Update upgrades

ind out How


f mAnY updAteS
Are pending
If you don’t keep
the App Store in the Dock, click
the Apple menu and look at the
App Store… item. It displays a
badge if there are software
updates pending.

Dictation
Accessiblity advances

>>> dictAte uSing mAnY workflow into the box labeled


new lAnguAgeS Dictation Command (on the right
You can now give verbal instructions side of the window), then assemble
to Yosemite in more languages, actions in the space below that, like
including Catalan, Danish and you would for other workflow types.
Vietnamese. In the Dictation & You’ll need to turn on Enhanced
Speech pane, click the Language Dictation in System Preferences >
option and choose Add Language Dictation & Speech to run the
to find out if the languages you command (note the shortcut
speak are available. that activates dictation – normally
ƒ pressed twice). Go to the
HooSe wHetHer >>> creAte dictAtion Accessibility preferences pane
c oS x updAteS commAndS witH and scroll down to find Dictation,
itSelf AutomAtor then click “Dictation Commands…”
There’s a new Automator allows you to create and put a check next to “Enable
checkbox in the App Store pane workflows that are triggered by advanced commands.” Your
in System Preferences that spoken phrases that you choose, command will appear at the top of
controls whether OS X updates so you might tell your Mac to “Eject the list; put a check next to it to turn
are automatically installed. flash drive”, “Play my favorite it on. Press the keyboard shortcut
Disable this if you need music” or whatever else you can that activates dictation and say the
to postpone think of to make daily life more phrase you entered at the top of
installation until convenient. Choose File > New and your workflow. OS X will interpret
you’ve had a chance then choose Dictation Command. your speech and run the workflow
to ensure an update Type the phrase that will start this if it understands your words.
won’t cause
problems with apps
you depend upon.

36 mar 2015 maclife.com


OS X Yosemite features

Preview
Location off and signing off

emove An imAge’S gpS dAtA


r You could already review GPS
data embedded in an image
from Preview’s Inspector
window. Click the information tab (the
second one) in that window, then choose
GPS. Below the location preview you’ll see
a new button to remove the location data.

AperleSS document Signing


p You no longer need to hold up a
piece of paper to a Mac camera
to capture a signature and add it
QuickTime
to a PDF. Now just sign with your finger on Record and edit
the trackpad – and documents can be
signed in Mail and Preview. Move the
pointer over the preview of a PDF
attachment and click the icon that appears
(top right) to use Markup to create and add
your signature. Your signature is synced to >>> witH QuicKtime, You cAn
your iCloud account to make it available on record Your ioS gAmeplAY
all of your Macs signed into that account. Yosemite includes an easy way for app
developers to record video and audio of
their iOS apps, and it’s available to you as
well. It’s a great way to show off your game
skills, and send a video to a friend to show
them how to do something.
Connect your iOS 8 device to your Mac
using its Lightning-to-USB cable. Open
QuickTime and choose File > New Movie
Recording. Click the arrow to the right of the
record button and choose your iOS device’s
name from the available cameras, and under
microphones if you want to record its audio as
well. Press the red button to start recording.

>>> Slow-motion video


editing in QuicKtime
QuickTime Player 10.4 includes slow-motion
video controls similar to those that have been
introduced on your iOS device. This enables
you to decide when the clip slows down and
when it speeds back up to normal.

maclife.com mar 2015 37


>>> Feature

How
virtual
reality
will
After 25 years of a

cHange failed dream, 2015


looks to be the year
we all put on headsets

tHe to explore strange


new worlds. richard
cobbett investigates

world why we should hope


it works out this time

irtual reality isn’t


v simply a new way to look
at screens. Your first 
experience is, admittedly,
a slightly drunken out-of-body one; of
reaching for things that aren’t really
INVESTIGATES there – of knowing that you’re sitting
with a fancy headset and tangle of
wires on your head, yet your brain
is convinced it’s in deep space. Or
a movie. Or a cyberpunk cafe. It’s
an experience that can’t quite be
described, and which has little do with
the very primitive first attempts that 
took arcades by storm and then flamed 
out at the start of the ’90s. This time,
some of the smartest minds in the tech
industry have devoted themselves to
taking us to incredible
new places. >>>

38 mar 2015 maclife.com


Virtual entertainment

maclife.com mar 2015 39


>>> Feature

Sony’s Project Morpheus


VR headset is smart, but
will likely be PS4-only.

arely does an idea written everyone is watching most closely, includes Oculus DK2 support. (DK
r off as a failure make a  currently uses a single, stock Samsung stands for “Development Kit,”
resurgence some 25 years Note 3 display for its screen. Half is not intended for consumers.)
later, but there are good dedicated to each eye, with software That’s a great example of VR in
reasons for it here. Virtual Reality in and a pair of lenses working together action. It’s easy to grasp the basics
the ’90s was a great idea fighting  to correct the perspective and help – that instead of seeing a cockpit on
against the painful truth that the turn the flat image into 3D reality. your screen, you’re sitting in one.
technology wasn’t ready for it. 3D was What it doesn’t convey is VR’s most
still in its infancy, games like Doom
were still state of the art, display
technologies were big and bulky, almost as important is that while
and computers were expensive. the first wave of VR had one company 
Today, technology has advanced to providing both hardware and software,
the point that a basic smartphone has now anyone can develop games,
enough power to be a VR rig. That’s applications, experiences, movies and
not an exaggeration; Google released much more - the Oculus software
a cardboard-based headset design with development kit being free, and
a couple of lenses on it that anyone plugging into engines such as the
can just slot a phone into, using the popular and freely available Unity.
built-in gyroscope for basic head This means that companies can
tracking. In practice, more technology create unique experiences solely for
than that is required to do it well, but VR, or just support them as an extra;
the basics aren’t much more advanced. space trading game Elite: Dangerous,
The Oculus Rift, the device that for instance, is primarily made for The BBC has created an immersive VR news
brought the dream of VR back and that playing on a monitor like usual, but bulletin to let users see a studio in 360 degrees.

40 mar 2015 maclife.com


Virtual entertainment

oculus rift
The tech behind the experience

5
2
4

©iFixit www.ifixit.com

1 Headset 2 motHerboard 3 screen 4 camera 5 lenses 6 tracking


The headset is The motherboard The screen is just a The camera only Two sets of lenses The frontplate of
currently fairly uses off-the-shelf Samsung Note 3 picks up IR light due are provided with the Oculus Rift has
flimsy plastic, with components – aside display currently. to a filter on the the DK2, one for a number of IR
dials to move the from a six-axis gyro The final model will front, and is used “normal” and one lights used by the
screen in and out and motion sensor, need a higher for head-tracking. for short-sighted camera for head-
that are far too most of it is just for resolution at the This means that if people. It’s possible tracking. They’re
easy to push while interfacing and same size to get rid you duck, stand, to wear glasses, but only visible to the
donning it. The final providing power of the “screen door flinch or otherwise not comfortable, camera, though,
version will need to where needed. Your effect.” At present, move, the Rift can and you do risk unless you break
be much sturdier, Mac or PC handles the Rift is respond. (Though scratches. open the HMD to
without getting the heavy lifting 960x1080 per eye; you do often leave Prescription lenses see the cables
heavier or hotter. and processing. not bad, not great. your body behind.) are coming. powering them.

maclife.com mar 2015 41


>>> Feature

important, but hardest to pin down, Sightline: The Chair, doesn’t offer any  of a virtual world, they feel they are
feature: presence. Space has depth, jump-scares or particularly creepy in there and they respond differently.”
stretching out to infinity in a way that  moments, but a section where you’re A good example of this in action is the
makes the same image on a monitor slowly bricked into an ever-shrinking final Sightline segment, which sees the 
look like someone’s just draped a black room still carries an atavistic shudder. player transported to a beam at the top
sheet and sparkled it with stars. of a construction site, just in time to
Another experience, Museum of be sent tumbling down towards a grisly
Games, simply puts static models from virtual end.
various games into a basic set of “novelty Has probably some effect,  All of this is with technology that’s
corridors and galleries. Even in the but there’s a big difference in how  at least a year away from market,
stark light, monsters you might have people engage with virtual reality,” the current hardware in particular
gunned down in their thousands in a says Sightline’s creator Tomáš suffering from low resolution and 
game like Left 4 Dead suddenly become Mariančík. “They clutch their chair for  what’s called the “screen door effect” 
intimidating horrors. safety when sitting on a beam of a large - being able to see the gaps between
At times, it can be creepy. Looking building, they move their arms close to pixels. The finished version promises 
down from a high building is enough their body and are afraid to move when to be far more immersive, hopefully
to trigger any acrophobe, and jumping there are lot of spiky things around with a lighter and cooler headset.
or being dropped down is enough to them, they attempt to grab things on Other technologies are also
send your stomach flying. In Elite:  the virtual table in front of them when available or on the way, including an
Dangerous, the sun coming through they put the Oculus on for the first  omnidirectional treadmill from Virtuix
your cockpit actually feels warm, just time, they look around and generally (priced $499) intended to be used with
because your brain assumes it is. One behave more naturally. They’re no the Oculus so that you can physically
of the best demos currently available, longer looking at some projection walk and run around worlds; and
controllers like the Razor Hydra with
a Wii-style controller for each hand.
We’re some distance away from
The current Oculus
actually simulating physical objects,
dev hardware is
chunky, but not but the equivalent of force-feedback
aimed at consumers.
(the rumbling of joysticks and
controllers) would be better than
nothing. Even so, early experiments
are already showing other ways to
bring reality into things.
The University of Applied Sciences
Kaiserslautern has one of the most
exciting: combining virtual reality with
a rollercoaster. Users ride the coaster,
but instead of seeing the death-drops
and corkscrews, get to experience an
impossible fantasy ride through the
skies; racing and fighting dragons or 
chasing through the woods, with the
real-life motion synchronized with the
VR experience and the ability to look
around in 360 degrees. Imagine
something like a Harry Potter ride that

42 mar 2015 maclife.com


Virtual entertainment

Can your stomach


handle a virtual
rollercoaster ride?

“ t H e o c u l u s d k 2 a d d s a c a m e r a t H at t r a c k s
yo u r 3 d p o s i t i o n , m a k i n g i t p o s s i b l e to l e a n ”

could actually put you into the world Cantina VR. In terms of characters, sickness that many people suffer with 
instead of just showing it on flat  early demos are primitive, but there’s the technology.
screens. Ironically, the creators also get already something different about  The Oculus DK2 adds a camera that
to claim “These rides feel much more being able to make direct eye-contact, tracks your 3D position, making it
comfortable than riding an Oculus or – with the help of the Oculus’ ability possible to lean around and look at
Rift coaster at home in front of your to track the headset’s movement and something from the side, or to peer in.
desktop,” simply because for once your position – to stand up and have your Elite: Dangerous, for instance, pops up
eyes and ears aren’t left fighting over  character rise as well, or shift a little menus and status windows as you look
whether or not you’re moving. to the side to dodge a bullet. around your cockpit, but the current
Much of the focus right now is on generation of VR is too low-resolution
that kind of interaction; the subtle to read them comfortably. The natural
stuff that you’re not even necessarily  inclination is to lean in for a closer
tHis kind of project is why at the aware of. Original VR for instance, and look. Previously, that did nothing;
moment people talk less about VR the first version of the Oculus Rift,  now, it works exactly as it should.
games than VR “experiences” – though had no concept of moving your head The more invisible the technology,
there are a few games already built for forwards – it could detect movement the more potential it has. One of the
the Oculus Rift in mind, including up and down and left and right, but if most interesting early VR applications
fast-paced racer Radial-G, shooter you leaned in, nothing happened. This was VR Cinema, which gives you a
Time Rifters, and bar game Shufflepuck  is a big contributor to the motion personal theater – a huge screen,

maclife.com mar 2015 43


>>> Feature

Thanks to virtual
reality, you can pilot a
plane, race a futuristic
space vehicle and
much, much more.

a choice of seat, 3D movie effects  immersion than 3D movies and Many issues remain unresolved too,
thrown in for free with a supported directorial control. Drone maker Parrot including the way you have to retrain
movie. It also supports multiple has even released a quadrocopter with yourself to move your head to look
viewers, allowing friends to get one of these cameras and VR support, around instead of just glancing with
together to watch a movie in VR, with letting you fly through the air as the  your eyes. (If you do that, you just see
the playback synced and microphones drone. a mess of distortion and the edge of the
conveying directional sound to each screen.) To fully flourish, VR needs to 
other just if you were sitting there be thin, light and fully wraparound
for real. While at the moment with eye-tracking, and about twice if
the hardware isn’t very comfortable, it Has to be said that much of this not four times the current resolution:
if it can be slimmed and cooled down was being mooted in 1990 as well, and  all problems rather easier to describe
a little, essentially everyone can have there’s a chance we’ll be looking back than to cheaply fix.
their own IMAX experience. in 2035 and wondering how we all got Just a few minutes in an Oculus Rift
In other movie experiments, some fooled again. Certainly, at the moment or Sony’s VR headset Project
filmmakers are playing with cameras  the technology isn’t mainstream- Morpheus, though, make it clear that
capable of filming between 180 and 360  ready, and a bad debut performance a VR future is one worth hoping for.
degrees. These put you in the middle from the Oculus Rift especially could It’s the potential for one of the biggest
of a place, such as taking a trip through critically wound the entire market technological revolutions since the
Tokyo, or right in the action, but allow before it even has a chance to flourish.  invention of the screen – a chance to
you to look around to various degrees, The current DK2 headset, for instance, step into the future in a way the ’90s
allowing for a far greater sense of is still big, heavy, clumsy and hot. could only dream of.

44 mar 2015 maclife.com


Virtual entertainment

tHe best vr
experiences
rigHt now

> sigHtline vr
Hands-down the best “This is VR!” demo
currently available, Sightline puts you into a
series of vignettes controlled by simply looking
around. With that one, immersive interaction
it takes you from lush fields to blowing up
asteroids in deep space, from dizzying highs
to cramped oubliettes.

> vr cinema
While seemingly simple, this stands as
a great example of what VR can add to an
experience – allowing social interaction instead
of simple passive watching, and wrapping it all
up in an engaging form. Other movie players
are available too, ranging from fictional drive-
ins to fullscreen views.

> second life


Second Life is an amazing player-built world
to explore, with the interface offering teleports
to particularly good spots for VR – fantastical
monster-filled worlds, the streets of imaginary
cities, and more. It might look a little primitive
by the standards of other games, but no single
experience offers so much scope for spectacle.

> elite: dangerous


The classic space-trading game is reborn,
and no other game does VR better. From the
depth of space and the scale of planets to the
interface being based on glancing around, it’s
a completely immersive (if occasionally hard
to control) experience. Nothing has ever put
the universe at your fingertips like this.

maclife.com mar 2015 45


>>> Feature
e
l i
p

n
ap

20
p le’s best

1
A p ye 5
s all
rsh
si

ar

m a
y
Why thi

yet
ga
by

46 mAr 2015 maclife.com


Apple in 2015

This year will

be abOuT much
mOre Than jusT
a p p l e waT c h –
j u sT f e asT yO u r
eyes On These…

n a scale of difficulty from informed guess based on Apple’s track


one to 10, getting information record and its rivals’ mistakes.
O out of Apple scores a billion: Over the next few pages we’ll sift
the world’s most-watched the river of rumors for shiny nuggets
and most-copied company of truth, discover what Apple’s APIs
knows the power of secrecy as a mean for the future, and predict the
marketing tool and as a way to keep next generations of Apple hardware.
rivals’ photocopiers powered down. Not all of the predictions here will
Predicting what Apple might be doing come true, and there’s always a chance
10 years from now is near impossible. of the completely unexpected – but
One year, though? That’s different. there’s one thing we’re absolutely,
By combing through Apple’s one hundred percent sure of:
own statements, APIs and patents, for Apple fans, 2015 is going
checking its suppliers’ product to be really exciting. >>>
roadmaps and subjecting the rumor
mill to our patented Fact-o-Matic™,
you can divine a surprising amount
about Apple’s future plans – and when
you can’t, you can always make an

maclife.com mAr 2015 47


>>> Feature

ipad pro
Best of both worlds?

his is The rumor that just won’t


go away: a big iPad designed for
T enterprise customers and called
the iPad Pro, or possibly iPad Plus.
The conditions are certainly
right for a big iPad, because iPad sales are
slowing; we hang onto tablets longer than
we do smartphones, and big phones are
good enough for many people – a trend
that Apple’s embraced with the iPhone 6
Plus. An enterprise-focused device could
shift serious units – especially now
that Apple and IBM are best friends – and
it would appeal to prosumer users, too.

smarT acTive sTylus - The hardware


doesn’t need to be too different from the
iPad Air 2. The bigger screen (rumors say
12.9 inches) would need to be higher
resolution, presumably 4K, but the A8X
processor is likely capable of driving that
and the bigger case would mean more room
for a bigger battery.
Some speculation has suggested that the
iPad Pro will be a hybrid device, either in
> iPhone and iPad the form of a tablet-cum-notebook or as
a dual-OS device. We don’t like either
as far as The iPhone Apple doesn’t bin four- option, and we reckon Tim Cook doesn’t
is concerned, 2015 is likely inch iPhones now it has either: as he said during Apple’s most
to be a ’tweener year: if the 6 and 6 Plus: iPhone recent earnings call, “you can merge a
Apple follows its usual 6C, anyone? toaster and a refrigerator, but that’s
pattern we’ll see “s” We’re not expecting probably not going to be pleasing to
models, such as an massive changes to everyone.” Why run OS X when you have a
“iPhone 6s”. So… same the iPad (apart from a 64-bit, touch-first OS designed specifically
design, a few minor spec massive version), and for Apple’s mobile devices? Why make a
bumps and at least one the non-Retina iPad mini hardware hybrid when you could simply
headline feature – maybe probably won’t last long. craft a Smart Cover with a keyboard in it?
the inductive charging Reports suggest Apple One rumor that might be credible is the
we’ve seen in the Apple plans to scale back all mini iPad Pro’s stylus. Yes, Steve Jobs slammed
Watch, or the sapphire production, partly because styluses – but Apple’s patented a smart
glass we all expected in of the success of the more “Active Stylus” with multiple tips and a
the 6. We’re hoping that profitable iPhone 6 Plus. light sensor, and it’s patented other stylus
ideas in the past. You’ll recall that Steve
Jobs also slammed small tablets; two years
later Apple launched the iPad mini.

48 mAr 2015 maclife.com


Apple in 2015

watch
The wearable that ticks all the right boxes

e dOn’T need to do any guessing


here beyond battery life: the
w Apple Watch is imminent, and
there will be versions for a range
of budgets, from $350 to a
rumored $4,000-plus for the gold one.
Apple clearly thinks it’ll be a success –
reports claim that it’s placed an initial
order for 40 million devices.
In many respects, the Apple Watch
is rather like the first iPhone or iPad –
a blank canvas for developers’ bright
ideas. This time the paint is WatchKit,
the development framework Apple
released at the end of 2014.
WatchKit is coming in two parts. The
first set of tools gives developers access to
two key sets of features: Glances, which
give you app controls when you swipe up
(like Control Center in iOS), and Actionable Watch OS. Apple’s press release certainly
Notifications, which alert the wearer and hints at that when it says “starting later
provide options like replying to a message next year, developers will be able to create
or sending a command to their phone. fully native apps for Apple Watch.”
While some of Apple’s pals will no doubt What will those apps be? You can see
get early access to the second element of some on page 16, but that’s just the start.
WatchKit, we wouldn’t be surprised if most If developers are even half as innovative as
developers don’t get it until WWDC, they’ve been on iOS, we’re going to wear
alongside the second generation of the some amazing things.

> OS X 10.11
Os X and iOs won’t could make it across, Music, public
merge this year, if although that might transport in Maps,
ever. We’d expect the require pairing your and Family Sharing to
iOS-ification of OS X Mac with a Touch be supplemented by
to continue in 10.11, ID-enabled device. As multi-user accounts
with Siri and Control for iOS, we’d expect to like Macs and
Center. Apple Pay see rebranded Beats (whisper it) Android.

maclife.com mAr 2015 49


>>> Feature

retina
macbook air
Thin enough to slice atoms…

f yOu’re wOndering where the


long-rumored Retina MacBook Air
i is, you can blame Intel: ongoing
manufacturing problems with
its next-generation Broadwell
processors mean that the low-power chips
have been plagued with massive delays.
It’s not a good situation. And it leaves
Apple with three choices: use the current
Core M processors, wait for Broadwell,
or wait slightly longer for Broadwell’s
replacement, Skylake. Using the current
processors is the worst option. We’d have
a situation like the iPad 3, which had to be
bigger, heavier and slower to charge than
its predecessor in order to cope with its
Retina display. Compromises like this are
hardly ideal for a laptop whose key selling super skylake prOcessOrs - Broadwell
points are lightness, thinness and battery processors are 30% more efficient and have
life, and they don’t chime with rumors of better graphics performance than current
a super-thin new fan-free design. chips, but the delays have gone on for so
long that by the time any Broadwell-
powered MacBook Air ships, Broadwell’s
replacement is scheduled to be be just
a few months away. Intel’s Skylake
processors won’t just sip power: the
> retina macs platform is planned to support wireless
charging and wireless displays, too. We’ve
iT's nOT a quesTiOn of A 5K display for the Mac waited this long for a Retina Air; why rush
whether the smaller 21.5- Pro would also delight video/ to use processors that might already on the
inch iMacs will get Retina; it’s image pros, but they’ll have brink of obsolescence when they appear?
a question of when. It just so to wait for the next Pro: Whichever processor powers it, a Retina
happens that if you take the the current Thunderbolt screen is a given – and according to Canalys
panel from a 5K Retina iMac interface doesn’t have the analyst Daniel Matte, the MacBook Air will
and cut it from 5K resolution bandwidth for 5K video, and come with an 11.88-inch screen running at
(5120 x 2880) to 4K (3840 while the Thunderbolt 3 spec 2732 x 1536. That’s the same pixel density
x 2160), you end up with a does, it requires Intel’s as the iPad Air, which means it can use the
panel of around 21 inches. Skylake – the successor to same panels. Other tipsters say it’s so thin
How very convenient… the Broadwell processors. that Apple has had to redesign the MagSafe
port and embrace the tiny USB Type C, and
one rumor says it’ll come in the same
range of colors as the iPhone and iPad.

50 mAr 2015 maclife.com


Apple in 2015

4k Tv
Will Apple jump into the “terrible” TV business?

he rumOred 2014 Apple TV box hub: unlike iOS devices, it never leaves the
didn’t appear. There’s still no sign house, and it’s perfectly placed for all your
T of an Apple TV set, either. Are home automation and entertainment
they coming in 2015? Let’s start needs. HomeKit support has been added
with the TV. We don’t think it’s to Apple TV software, and it positions the
likely yet: while Steve Jobs famously said device as a “remote access peer” that you
that Apple had cracked the TV interface, he can use to control HomeKit devices when
also said that it’s a “terrible” business to you aren’t at home. Rumors also suggest
be in. People don’t replace TVs very often, the addition of a microphone in the device
the margins are awful and global sales are or in the Apple Remote, enabling you to
in decline. A set-top box is a much better control the whole shooting match with Siri.
idea, which is why so many firms have A frustrating thing about the Apple TV is
copied the Apple TV, which is already a the lack of content. While Apple has added
billion-dollar business for Apple. An content in the US, European countries are
update is overdue, though what Apple does lagging behind; this is driving calls for an
with it is up for debate. Would it add 4K Apple TV App Store. If Apple won’t add
support? Turn it into a games console with shows and games, let app devs do it.
an A8 processor? We’d expect more
memory, at least. However, a bigger
change is coming, and it’s called HomeKit.

The perfecT hOme hub - HomeKit is


Apple’s home automation framework, and
an Apple TV would make a perfect home

> Streaming
apple’s dOwnlOad sales which would enable high
are starting to slip. Music resolution audio. The iPhone
downloads aren’t dead, but 6 and 6 Plus can play 24-bit
the money is moving audio (via Lightning), so all
towards streaming – and that’s missing is the music.
Apple has both iTunes Radio Apple’s got that too, thanks
and Beats Music. Those two to its Mastered for iTunes
services will become one. program. So Beats for
Apple’s “Made for iPhone” streaming and iTunes HD
specs support headphones downloads for audiophiles,
connecting over Lightning, then? Sounds good to us.

maclife.com mAr 2015 51


APP LIFE
THIS MONTH’S MOST INTERESTING iPHONE & iPAD APPS

Rebelsauce
Emulate analogue photo styles on iPhone
99c Developer Last Automaton App Supply, rebelsauce.com
Platform iPhone, iPod touch Requirements iOS 8 or later

Rebelsauce is best or the full collection for $5.99


known for its – which as usual is the cheapest
film-style presets for way to do things.
Lightroom on the The filters are stacked at the
Mac. Now those presets have bottom of the screen and applied
come to the iPhone, enabling you with a single tap, where they
to give your crisp digital shots a make an immediate and often
bit of life and character. The 99¢ marked difference to your image,
app includes 36 filters, and you saving you from a lot of manual
can buy packs of between 10 and tweaking. You’re not restricted
15 additional filters for 99¢ a pop, to just slapping on presets, You can use more tailored adjustments
though – you can also apply to tweak the look of your shot.
more tailored edits, with control
over grain, contrast, color fading you choose), blog them to
(which gives them an aged Tumblr, or dispatch them using
finish), rotation and more. Each iOS’s built-in sharing tools,
of these adjustments is applied which give you access to AirDrop,
frame-wide, so everything is Messages and Mail and the
kept in proportion. We heartily ability to copy them into various
approve of this approach, for the other apps.
most part, but it does mean you the bottom line.
can’t target just a dark corner to Inexpensive and more flexible
brighten up, for example, than Instagram, Rebelsauce
without simultaneously affecting makes it quick and easy to add
the rest of the shot. character to your photos.
In this respect, it nods quite niK RAWlinSon
pointedly towards Instagram, but
there’s one area in which the two
differ significantly: the lack of a Rebelsauce
built-in social network. Once Low up-front cost
you’ve finished editing your Generous range of built-in filters
snaps in Rebelsauce, you can
The quickest way Quick and easy to use
to make an save them back to the Camera
adjustment to your Lack of targeted editing tools
Roll or share them on Facebook,
image is to apply a
ready-made filter. Flickr, Twitter (and Instagram if good

52 mar 2015 maclife.com


Tough testing, trusted ratings >>> App Life

Proun+
Take a journey through modern art
$3.99 Developer Engine Software, engine-software.com
Platform Universal Requirements iOS 6 or later

Inspired by the artwork of a new track or challenge is unlocked.


Mondrian and Kandinsky Open up all of a level’s tracks and you
(welcome to the Mac|Life art get to do it all over again — only faster.
club…), Proun+ resembles a Proun+ isn’t the most immediate game. Your brain will be twisting and turning as much as
breakneck dash through the synapses of a It can be dizzying and disorienting, and the track does in Proun+.
painter’s brain. Rejecting the gritty realism although most challenges are straight
or cartoonish Nintendo-style fare found in races, it can cause frustration until you world — this time, your device even has it
almost every other 3D racer, ever, Proun+ understand a track’s layout, or if you get in for the computer-controlled opposition.
is instead an explosion of color, with you stuck repeating rarer survival races (one hit And to simply be shooting along in such a
wrestling a little ball along tube-like and it’s game over). But tracks with point vibrant and imaginative world feels great.
rollercoaster tracks — albeit rollercoasters gates are fun, as are the straightforward the bottom line. An entertaining — if
covered in colorful barriers that stop you races, against five other balls. Fortunately, tricky to master — high-speed racing game,
dead. Your aim, first and foremost, is to spin you can’t collide with them, but they can with plenty of content and a decidedly
left and right around the tube, avoiding collide with other track obstacles; and they artistic bent. CRaig gRannell
obstacles, in order to keep your speed up do — often. It’s great for once in a twitch
and place in the top three; manage this and racer to feel it’s not just you against the Great

Polyform Kingdom Rush Origins HD


$2.99 Developer DeNA Co, manicgamestudios.com $2.99 Developer Ironhide Games, kingdomrushorigins.com
Platform Universal Requirements iOS 6 or later Platform iPad (also on iPhone and iPod touch) Requirements iOS 7 or later

Mix a standard the right approach, so it means iOS is rich with new here, but it’s all highly
color-matching the game can be as complex as tower defense polished in presentation. The
block game with you make it for yourself, which games, and the biggest issue is that some of
a Rubik’s cube and is great. Special cube types Kingdom Rush the levels feel needlessly long,
you get Polyform. There’s a (such as protected armor series has always been one of especially at Normal difficulty.
3D shape made up of cubes of cubes) add more strategy later. its best, offering lush cartoony Why do we have to wait for 15
different colors, which you can We really like Polyform, but graphics and accessible, manic waves of enemies to come
view from all angles. You drop it could be even better. Placing action. Enemies come down set when all our towers are maxed
more cubes on the shape, and a new block in the right place paths to the point you’re and killing everything almost
if you connect four or more can be fiddly, and the time limit defending; you need to build instantly after 10? A big boss at
cubes of the same color, they on levels irked us – it’s more fun towers to attack them and stop the end of the level might upset
vanish. Clear the whole thing as to play in a zen-like way, aiming them. The game might tout your current tower strategy,
quick as you can! Simple. You for the biggest combos. new tower abilities over other fine, but it takes another five
can play just by spamming the bottom line. A Kingdom Rush entries, but it’s waves to get there.
cubes of the same color, but simple and fun puzzle game, all pretty standard – the tower the bottom line. Origins
the game rewards you for with some frustrating elements. types have different strengths, is great fun, but there’s not
building up to eliminate, say, matt bolton such as the fast-paced archers much new to it. matt bolton
seven or eight in one go instead or area-affecting boulder-
of just four. Neither is explicitly Great throwing druids. There’s little Good

maclife.com mar 2015 53


The House Forrester family
needs your help in this tale
of warfare and revenge.

are lurking on the peripheries.


True, HBO was never going to let
you mess with canon, but it does
mean you don’t have an instant
attachment to the characters.
Taking control of various
members of House Forrester –
mentioned once in the books,
and never in the TV show – you
do come face-to-face with
plasticine-faced versions of

Game of Thrones: favorites like Tyrion, Margaery


and the wholly formidable

Episode 1 - Iron From Ice


Cersei. Voiced by their actors
from the TV series, they’ll feel
fantastically familiar. A fair
So the word often is mightier than the deed amount of knowledge is
assumed: if you’ve not watched
$4.99 Developer Telltale Games, telltalegames.com as far as the end of the third
Platform Universal Requirements iOS 7 or later season, don’t get this yet.
The biggest disappointment is
It’s every Game of Walking Dead game? As per in how Game of Thrones looks –
Thrones fan’s dream Telltale’s usual formula, it’s a objects often appear jaggy, and
to be able to walk point-and-click episodic title the game occasionally runs
around the land of (the first of six outings), with an slightly jerkily, even on an iPad
Westeros, so the only surprising emphasis on dialogue, choice Air 2. But if you’re a fan itching
thing about this videogame and the impacts of those choices. for a fix, don’t let that put you
adaptation is that it’s taken this While there are no right and off. Plenty of seeds have been
long to come about. And what wrong responses, there are ones sown here, and we’re excited to
better studio to tackle it than that will rile those around you. see how this series blossoms.
Telltale, maker of the astounding Whether it’s backing yourself the bottom line. A slow
into a King’s Landing corner or start that sets up several strands
angering the new Warden of the of intrigue. emmA DAVieS
North, you’ll fail at keeping
everyone happy. While it often
feels like you’re trying to keep Game of Thrones:
episode 1 - iron from ice
an entire table’s worth of plates
spinning, it also feels true to the Delicate balancing act
feels true to the world
source material – in Game of
Thrones, every alliance must be Actual actors voicing
characters from the TV show
weighed up, and the world exists
solely in shades of grey. You don’t get to play
as any major characters
It is undeniably exciting to
take a role in the proceedings of Doesn’t always look the best
the Seven Kingdoms, even if you Good

54 mar 2015 maclife.com


Tough testing, trusted ratings >>> App Life

1Writer
Will this distraction-free writing app draw the eye?
$2.99 Developer Ngoc Luu, 1writerapp.com
Platform Universal Requirements iOS 8.0 or later

Throw a digital stone in the add hashtags to link documents in local


App Store and it’ll bounce off searches. Full support for iOS 8’s Document
at least a half-dozen Picker makes it simple to grab files from,
distraction-free Markdown/ and save them to, wherever you like. There’s Quick and easy Markdown editors are nothing new,
text editors. Fortunately, 1Writer does also a “Today view” widget, for accessing but 1Writer does bring extra things to the table.
enough to stand out from the crowd. recent edits.
The basics are all in there: The really clever feature, though, is the poorly, flagging misspellings with a
a straightforward interface; Markdown inclusion of custom actions – JavaScript strikethrough but subsequently ignoring
support and previews; an extended that makes the app extensible. On adding them if you continue typing. Secondly, the
keyboard for adding headings, links and an action you can manipulate text, jump to extra keyboard items feel arbitrarily
image references. But this app goes further document sections, and send content to a grouped, and the bar uses too much space.
than most. From a purely visual standpoint, service, all with a single tap. Over 30 the bottom line. A smartly designed
1Writer is stripped back, but provides theme actions were available at the time of Markdown editor/note taker with a few
options (toolbar color changes, essentially), writing, and you can always write your own. snags, but lots to like. CRaig gRannell
a dark mode and the means to tweak line The app rarely stumbles, but there are
height and font size. While writing, you can two doozies. First, spellchecking is handled great

FileThis
A handy online-statement saver
FRee Developer FileThis, filethis.com
Platform Universal Requirements iOS 7 or later

FileThis is a cloud-based categories such as Home, Work or Utilities.


repository for paperless Tags are automatic and generally quite
documents, including bank accurate, but can also be manually edited
statements, credit card and individually or by Cabinet with a somewhat It’s a great idea, but FileThis might be just too
utility bills. The free service can add up to obscured Select All option (tap the orange extravagant unless you file online a lot.
six connections, automatically downloading Select option in the upper-left corner to
online statements and parsing them into reveal it). runs daily, increasing cloud storage to 10GB
text-searchable PDF files which are then Privacy advocates won’t be thrilled to with 30 connections.
uploaded to your choice of providers, learn FileThis requires handing over login the bottom line. FileThis takes the
including FileThis Cloud. credentials for every service it connects to, legwork out of online statements, but we
The iOS app is far more nimble than the although the company touts “bank-level consider the subscription option too costly
Adobe Flash-powered web app, although security” and 256-bit SSL encryption for for the resulting convenience. Whether it
the UI gets crowded on iPhone, especially keeping sensitive data safe. The “Forever works for you depends on your own
as landscape mode is only supported on Free” and web-only $2 per month Premium circumstances. J.R. booKWalteR
iPad. Documents can be viewed as Accounts plans only check for new data once a week,
or Cabinets, the latter sorted via tags into whereas the $5 per month Ultimate plan good

maclife.com mar 2015 55


There’s a great game here
trying to escape from a slew
of bizarre controls.

want to jump you have to wiggle


your virtual stick to make sure
you’re facing in the right
direction, then look to find the
jump button on your virtual array
– and repeat if there’s a
sequence. Combat involves one

Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath button to switch from third-


person exploration to first-
person crossbow view, one
Never mind the stranger – you’ll be livid button to fire from each barrel,
$5.99 Developer Oddworld Inhabitants, oddworld.com and one button to access the
Platform Universal Requirements iOS 7 or later, iPhone 4S, iPad 2/mini ammo menu to load up different
creature-based projectiles.
Stranger’s Wrath is a bounties on boss-type Those ammo creatures make
port of a 10-year-old characters, with a larger reward the combat the most interesting
console game (one of if you get them alive, but as you part of the game, each having
several featuring go about your work you’ll different effects that enable
Oddworld), but despite the discover there’s more to the tale. tactical play when you’re faced
limitations that come from its Unfortunately, you’re unlikely with an area filled with enemies
age, it’s different enough from to actually get that far, just to lure, trap and take down. So
the 3D action-adventure norm because it’s so incredibly it’s a shame the experience is so
to feel interesting. frustrating to play. inaccessible; the game has great
You play a gravelly voiced For instance, disorienting ideas and character, but it just
bounty hunter in Oddworld’s gyroscope controls are mercifully hasn’t translated well for playing
version of the Wild West. optional, but the baffling on touchscreen devices.
Ostensibly, your task is to collect requirement to shake the device the bottom line. Oddworld:
to heal is not. There is iOS Stranger’s Wrath should be a
gamepad support, at least, but fun, different kind of shooter,
most people playing will use the but the touch controls just don’t
configurable but convoluted work well, leading to frustration.
touch controls, which here JoRDan eRica WebbeR
means virtual analog sticks
wherever you place your thumbs OddwOrld:
on the sides of the screen, with Stranger’S wrath
virtual buttons in the bottom- Story and world are interesting
right corner. Ammo types enable tactical combat
It all leads to this being an
Can’t change difficulty mid-game
action game where each action
you might want to perform is Controls are incredibly fiddly
fiddly rather than fun. If you POOr

56 mar 2015 maclife.com


Tough testing, trusted ratings >>> App Life

PDFpen 2
The budget-priced PDF app with pro features
$19.99 Developer Smile On My Mac, smilesoftware.com
Platform Universal Requirements iOS 8 or later

There are so many PDF signature widget makes signing documents


creation and annotation apps effortless while on the go.
for iOS, it’s hard to imagine The all-new release also delivers an iOS
how Adobe can still justify 8-style makeover that adds iCloud Drive as With added features and an iOS 8 makeover,
charging $449 for the desktop version of an import/export option, consolidating tools PDFpen 2 represents even better value for money.
Acrobat Pro when solutions like PDFpen can into an editing bar at the top of the screen.
perform most of the tricks from the comfort The editing bar isn’t always intuitive — you’ll enables AirDrop document sharing, palm/
of a smartphone or tablet for under $20. have to collapse the current tool prior to wrist protection to prevent accidental input,
With the arrival of PDFpen 2, this selecting objects, for example. The flatter and the option to add the annotation
feature-to-price ratio becomes even more UI also makes some button options such as author’s name, as per the desktop version.
glaring, thanks to the addition of a stamp “Make Transparent” a little less obvious. the bottom line. PDFpen 2
library, automatic page numbering, and Thankfully, there’s far more to love about delivers more desktop-class functionality
the ability to add password protection this version, which is now a Universal build for iOS, but could benefit from further
(with optional encryption) to documents. with support for all iOS devices, and unique UI refinement. J.R. bookwalteR
Annotations can also now be flattened bundle pricing to help previous users
upon export, and a new easy-to-use form upgrade at a reduced price. PDFpen 2 also great

Deliveries 6 Stacks 2
$4.99 Developer Junecloud, junecloud.com $2.99 Developer WapleStuff, waplestuff.com
Platform Universal Requirements iOS 8 or later Platform Universal Requirements iOS 7 or later

Few apps benefit now be filled from iCloud Stacks is The magic of this new
from the great Keychain or 1Password a currency version is in its Safari
new iOS 8 (rejoice!), and Deliveries converter app, extension, though. When
features like remembers most-used services, and quite a smart browsing a site in Safari, you
Deliveries (formerly Delivery presenting them in descending one. There’s a huge range of can use Stacks to convert any
Status touch), already the order when adding new entries. currencies, and you can update prices on websites to another
Mercedes of apps for tracking Likewise, tapping in a new to the latest rates with just a currency, with the result sitting
packages from a dizzying tracking number intelligently swipe, as well as see historical in place on the page. It works
assortment of shipping predicts the correct service for data. There are some hidden really well, though again can
providers. Version 6.0 adds you, the kind of timesaving functions in it (such as a confuse – to switch to a second
Notification Center support attention to detail we adore. calculator you can swipe converted currency, you have
courtesy of a Today widget for the bottom line. sideways to reveal) and we find to convert from the first, rather
keeping tabs even when the Deliveries 6.0 proves even the its layout a little confusing than just change what you’re
app is closed, a more refined best apps can still manage to (we’d expect typing to fill in the converting the original to.
UI and slick new iPhone 6 delight, especially now the app green currency at the top of the bottom line. A very,
landscape view. can take advantage of iOS 8. the screen, not the white one very useful and slick app, if
But it’s the little J.R. bookwalteR underneath, but it’s the other quirky. matt bolton
conveniences that make this way around) – but once you get
update rock: Passwords can awesome used to its quirks, it’s very slick. great

maclife.com mar 2015 57


>>> App Life

rounduP

The 6 best iOS board games


Fantastic, clever games to play alone or with friends… without the tidying up
By Paul dean

Board games are enjoying a into space and you’ll face pirates,
renaissance. It’s well deserved, smugglers, meteors and more.
given the wealth of original ideas This iPad version is an impressive
and remarkable designs they’ve been translation of an often ridiculous
showing off. Simply rolling dice and game and, while luck certainly plays
moving counters is a thing of the its part, that doesn’t make it any less
past, and not only is the iPad one fun, or any less funny.
of the best ways to play new games, Part card game, part board game,
it’s also one of the cheapest. part abstract experience, Summoner
Take Pandemic: The Board WarS (Free, Universal) is almost
Game ($6.99, iPad). This race chess-like in its precision, yet
Pandemic is an infectious game all right –
against time to beat the spread of it might plague your dreams. packed with possibilities. Two
sickness (as people the world over players take control of armies
crawl into bed with hot toddies and Warhammer. It pares things down represented by decks of cards,
Netflix) tasks one to four players considerably, giving you dozens of but using cards to fight requires
with saving the world from units instead of hundreds, controlled spending others as a resource. The
dangerous diseases. You work as by straightforward orders according strategy is in what you sacrifice.
a team, dividing up roles such to which flank they sit on. The base game is free, but additional
as Scientist or Quarantine Specialist Nevertheless, it’s still all about factions (each with their own unique
and face a difficult game that rolling lots of digital dice and casting powers) will cost you.
requires diligence and forethought lots of spells, has capable AI and carcaSSonne ($9.99, Universal)
to avoid being overwhelmed; you get offers a respectable amount of is one of the pricier iOS board game
four actions per turn to try to cure skirmish and campaign battles. adaptations, but is absolutely worth
epidemics and save the world. The Again, surprisingly, the game is it. There’s canny AI and single-
only downside is that you and your not tied in with Game Center. player challenges, but this simple
friends have to share the same SuBurBia ($2.99, iPad) is more yet devious turn-based game of
iPad, as there’s no online play. considerate and constructive. building and seizing towns and roads
If your preference is for the Imagine SimCity with hexagonal is best played with friends, and
combative, BaTTlelore: command tiles, specific objectives and much there’s a strong online community.
($9.99, Universal) is the cousin of tighter budgets. It’s a game of Up to five can play, but two-player,
tabletop miniatures games such as city-planning that has you fitting head-to-head games tend to be best.
together high-rises and highways
as you try to build a town both
profitable and attractive. It’s
a balancing act, as the more popular
and more populated it becomes, the
less appealing it looks. As well as
online play, a series of single-player
challenges will keep you hooked.
Then there’s Galaxy Trucker
($7.99, iPad). Any game that starts
with you assembling your vessel
Be a hero and stand up to those giant… trolls…
from a pile of spare parts is never Carcassonne’s competitive medieval town
we’ll be over in the trees, if anyone needs us. going to be a space opera. Head out planning is possibly not historically accurate.

58 Mar 2015 maclife.com


VISIT MACLIFE.COM FOR ONLINE-EXCLUSIVE REVIEWS, UPDATED DAILY

TOUGH TESTING, TRUSTED RATINGS

LaCie d2 Thunderbolt 2
with SSD Upgrade
A hard drive with scorching-hot flash storage option
$499 (6tb drive); $299 (128Gb SSD add-on) manufacturer LaCie, lacie.com
Requirements OS X 10.8.5 or later

T
his drive pairs a Thunderbolt 2 connection with a 3.5-inch hard disk that can’t
come close to using all of that interface’s 20Gbps bandwidth. However, the
drive has two such ports, so you can daisy-chain other devices or a 4K
display, while keeping USB ports free.
The disk’s sequential transfer rates are good, peaking at 223MB/sec and
227.2MB/sec, and averaging 186.9MB/sec and 178.7MB/sec when reading and
writing, respectively – but, like any single hard disk, rates are significantly lower
for the random transfer of small amounts of data.
However, LaCie offers an optional SSD upgrade for this drive, which you install
in addition to the 6TB drive. You buy it separately, and it replaces the whole back
panel with one that adds 128GB of flash storage. LaCie refers to the upgraded d2
as a hybrid drive, but it doesn’t operate like one: the SSD isn’t used to cache
frequently used files from the combined storage. Instead, you get two volumes in
Finder, and the burden of manually choosing what’s stored on each.
LaCie says the SSD can read data at up to 1150MB/sec. We measured its peak
transfer rate as 1170.2MB/sec when reading sequentially, and its mean rate as
LaCie d2 850.8MB/sec – 206.6MB/sec quicker than the 2014 MacBook Pro in the same
ThunderboLT 2 test. When writing data sequentially, the SSD peaked at 926.4MB/sec, averaging
wiTh SSd 477.5MB/sec. It also held up well in tests of randomly reading and writing small
upgrade
amounts of data. To ensure the d2’s internal workings would not negatively affect
Extremely fast read speeds with both volumes in use, we set away one task creating a 500GB file on
speeds from SSD upgrade
the hard disk, and concurrently tested the SSD’s performance. Happily, there was
Good transfer rates from no meaningful difference in the SSD’s transfer rates.
hard drive
As a plain hard drive, the d2 performs well enough, but its performance doesn’t
Upgrade doesn’t make a warrant the premium price tag for a drive of its size. As a standalone drive, we’d
true hybrid drive
give it a rating of 2.5 (“OK”) – the speed of the SSD gets the bundle a 3, though.
Limited SSD capacity the bottom line. The basic 6TB d2 is a good drive, but pretty expensive.
SoLid The SSD add-on is very fast, but clunky and still not cheap. AlAn StonebRiDGe

60 MAr 2015 maclife.com


Tough testing, trusted ratings

For detailed
definitions of every
score on mac|life’s
ratings scale, go to
maclife.com/ratings.

The d2’s SSD upgrade


performs very well, but
it doesn’t make this a
true hybrid drive and
is low on capacity.

maclife.com MAr 2015 61


>>> Reviews

Typed 1.0
Yet another minimal text editor appears, and this one’s offering Zen
$24.99 Developer Realmac, realmacsoftware.com/typed
Requirements OS X 10.9 or later, speakers/headphones if using soundtracks

concentration and focus with a fullscreen


window and soundtracks. This has been done
before on OS X and we thought we’d hate it;
as it turns out, the bundled soundtracks are
mostly very pleasant, drowning out background
noise but not distracting. Optional interface
sound effects are more abrupt, but infrequent
enough to not annoy.
The question, then, isn’t whether Typed is
good, but if it actually offers a better experience
than its strongest rivals. That’s tougher to
answer. Byword, for example, costs half as
much as Typed, is superior for adding certain
markdown elements (such as links), offers a
typewriter mode, paragraph focus, publishing
to blog services as an add-on, and is more
flexible regarding fonts.
But then Typed hits back with superior
find-and-replace, nicer (if more limited in
choice) typography, and the very handy means
to export portions of text to HTML rather than
an entire document. Really then, it’s a dead
heat between Typed and Byword, and Typed’s
In Zen mode, the app Ever since distraction-free writing environment slightly twee yet endearing addition of
goes fullscreen and you
can choose from six
WriteRoom appeared, developers have tried to inspirational quotes to blank documents
chilled-out soundtracks. find the perfect balance between features and threatens to nudge it ahead.
control, enabling writers to concentrate without the bottom line. Typed 1.0 manages to
clutter, yet not feel hemmed in by limitations. fuse minimalism with usability and infuse a
Typed has a keener sense of design than most, little character along the way; we liked it the
yet doesn’t overpower the user by overly enforcing more we used it. CRaig gRannell
the developer’s way of doing things. There’s a
minimal user interface, the toolbar fading to
leave only your page and typed text, but you
can optionally display word/character counts,
and choose alternate backgrounds (white,
Typed 1.0 sepia, black) and typefaces (from a selection
Well-considered minimal of six). In Yosemite, subtle transparency effects
writing environment provide a hint of your desktop, but this effect
Good customization can be disabled.
and features When it comes to writing, you get
Surprisingly pleasant two further aids. Markdown support and
soundtrack and character associated keyboard shortcuts make
Minor niggles regarding structuring documents a breeze, and the
HTML export built-in preview works well. Then there’s
To improve your workflow, it’s best to remove distractions
excellenT the “Zen” mode, designed to further boost and Typed 1.0 offers a very clear and focused interface.

62 mar 2015 maclife.com


Tough testing, trusted ratings

MyPhotostream
The Notification Center
widget doesn’t do much,
but it makes your photos
brilliantly fast to access.

Get your iOS photos without firing up iPhoto


$6.99 manufacturer We Are Yeah, weareyeah.com
Requires OS X 10.10 for latest version

We always like an app that makes life that out of the app into any other app, or
little bit easier. MyPhotostream is a simple right-click one for sharing options and
thing: it pretty much just displays your Open In suggestions.
iCloud Photo Stream, so photos taken on The best recent addition to the app is a
your iOS devices pop up there shortly after Notification Center widget, showing up to 16
being taken. Usually, seeing your Photo recent photos. All you can do is click to open
Stream pictures means launching iPhoto, them in the app, but it’s a great timesaver.
and with big libraries on older Macs, that can It’s a shame you can’t upload to your
be kind of a hassle. MyPhotostream lets you Photo Stream from the app, and there are a
get at those photos much more quickly. few areas where the interface could be even
As we said, there’s not much to the app friendlier, but it’s still a superb little utility.
– it’s a window with a bunch of photos in However, it’s currently unknown what will MyPhotostreaM
it. You can change how large the images happen to the app when iCloud Photo Easy Photo Stream access!
appear, and how many are displayed when Library replaces Photo Stream. Fast and simple
launching the app. They’re snappy to load the bottom line. A very useful app, if
Great widget
on a good connection, with pretty much no maybe not essential for all. You might want
waiting around. Double-click an image to to check for certainty over its future before Limited in places
view it larger, and you can drag the photos grabbing it, though. matt bolton Great

maclife.com mar 2015 63


>>> Reviews

Flare 2
Advanced Edit lets you
tinker with applied effects
and create your own
through Snapshots.

Add effects to your photos, and create your own


$14.99 Developer The Iconfactory, iconfactory.com
Requirements OS X 10.10, 64-bit processor, 2GB RAM (4GB recommended), 100MB disk space

There are plenty of photo-editing apps, so the palette on the right and sliding the entire image
good ones need to stand out. Flare offers a across. Keyboard shortcuts flip between them,
variety of built-in effects plus the ability to but there’s no Photoshop-like toolbar. Flare’s
create your own, some film simulation settings “Snapshots” concept is also clever but
and iCloud awareness to sync custom settings counterintuitive: it adds a snapshot of the
to a free iOS app or other Macs. Flare will open current image to part of the Effects palette,
JPEGs or raw images and allows you to choose which is hidden, without saving it and syncing
from 36 effects – including frames, light leaks, it across devices – so you can reassess its quality
monochrome, and some weirder ones – before later. Happily, the app will walk you through its
flare 2 sharing to social media. Your new effects can be functions on launch, if you want it to.
saved and effects applied to multiple images. Flare has a broad range of filters on offer;
Plenty of built-in effects
Unfortunately, the app can be a little obtuse. some of them very fine looking, and the ability
Ability to create Not everyone will guess that the three squares to use them as a starting point and create your
DIY edits
in the top right, next to the box-and-arrow own effects is a powerful one. If, that is, you
Snapshots feature (which is “Export”, incidentally) opens the can get to grips with the interface.
could work better
Effects palette – it’s not labeled. The button to the bottom line. Flare 2 is a decent
Interface is confusing edit an effect is bottom left, and the editing image-filtering app, but the interface is
solid sliders open on the left, closing the Effects tricky to get the hang of. ian evenDen

64 mar 2015 maclife.com


Tough testing, trusted ratings

Outline for Mac 3.1


Move over OneNote – is Outline the Mac’s digital notebook king?
$29.99 Developer Gorillized Corporation, outline.ws/mac
Requirements Mac OS X 10.8 or later; 64-bit processor

Before OneNote soared onto the Mac App


Store in early 2014, OS X users were left out
of Microsoft’s digital notebook party. Paid
solutions like Outline came to the rescue,
offering OneNote support for Apple users.
But with OneNote on Mac and iOS now, does
it still make sense to shell out hard-earned
cash for a third-party app?
The answer is mostly yes: for starters,
Outline for Mac 3.1 features a more intuitive
interface than OneNote, with the ability to
show or hide the notebook tree with a single
click to free up screen real estate. There’s
also a convenient “page only” view that can
be combined with OS X’s fullscreen mode for
distraction-free writing.
Free from Microsoft’s “ribbon” layout,
Outline features a full complement of tools to
construct even the most complicated notes,
while existing OneNote notebooks This version of Outline introduces support Outline for Mac 3.1 deftly
one-ups Microsoft’s
are opened with such frightening accuracy, for OS X share extensions, which at the official OneNote for Mac
note-takers may think they’re using the moment is primarily useful for saving Safari app, but you’ll need to
pay for the privilege.
wrong app. There’s also support for tables, content to a generic inbox; pages can then
links, photos, nested pages, and more, along be moved to local or cloud notebooks.
with PDF import/export. Likewise, pages can be shared out of Outline
Outline stores your notebooks on your to Mail, Messages, or AirDrop.
local drive, with the option to use OneDrive, We did find a couple of odd user interface
Dropbox or Box as your cloud syncing and quirks in the app. Clicking the green window
storage solution. Cloud notebooks can also button in Yosemite correctly switches to
be accessed on the iPad from a similarly fullscreen, but there’s no clear way to exit
full-featured paid companion app; a cheaper that mode. (Hint: the Window menu is your
version transfers OneNote packages using friend.) The app also defaults to hiding the
iTunes, with OneDrive support available main window in the background at launch.
through in-app purchase. Our biggest issue was the inability to create
new OneDrive notebooks – users must first OUTLINE 3.1
add them using OneNote for web, desktop, FOR MAC
or mobile, although no such limitation exists Supports OneDrive,
when adding new pages or content to Dropbox or Box
existing notebooks. A curious omission for Rich formatting tools
a relatively pricy but otherwise capable app. OneDrive notebooks must
the bottom line. Outline for Mac offers be created using OneNote
clear advantages over OneNote for Mac, but Occasional performance
interface gaffes and an inability to create issues and non-standard
OneDrive notebooks make the asking price UI behavior
Even the most content-rich OneNote notebooks can be
opened in Outline for Mac with complete visual fidelity. feel a little steep. J.R. bookwalteR gOOd

maclife.com mar 2015 65


>>> Reviews

Logitech Keys-To-Go
Worrying about spills or
other accidents is a thing
of the past with the Keys-
To-Go. It’s the little things…

Tough and slim, Logitech’s latest iPad keyboard is just our type
$69 Manufacturer Logitech, www.logitech.com
Requirements Works with all iOS devices, including iPhone, iPad and Apple TV

One of the more interesting aspects of resisted at every turn. Dropping and stepping 


Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 is the Type Cover, on it with all our weight did nothing, too.
a Smart Cover-like affair that includes a  Importantly, Typing was also a mostly
keyboard. Logitech evokes this spirit for the  pleasant experience: the FabricSkin cover feels 
Keys-To-Go, making an even slimmer keyboard  nice to the touch, but typists looking for audible 
in the process, lightweight enough to go almost feedback may be disappointed by the silent 
unnoticed when carried alongside an iPad. keys. We were able to type at normal speed, 
Logitech Keys-To-Go works exclusively with  although with slightly less accuracy and a few 
iOS devices (including Apple TV) via Bluetooth.  additional missed keystrokes. There are also the 
There are mechanical keys protected by a fabric  usual dedicated iOS hotkeys, including media 
Logitech skin, which makes them durable while  control, cut and paste, and a Home button. 
Keys-to-go deflecting spills and other accidents. Unlike the  Logitech claims the battery will last about 
Amazingly thin and light Type Cover, Keys-To-Go offers no protective  three months of typing two hours per day. We 
Durable and tactile typing covering for the iOS device it’s connected to. didn’t have the time to test that fully, but never 
Speaking of durability, Logitech has really  needed to recharge it during our time with it.
Works with Apple TV
outdone itself in this department. We  the bottoM line.  Portability and good 
Reduction in accuracy attempted to bend the insanely thin keyboard  looks in a rugged yet amazingly slender 
great just to see if it was possible, and Keys-To-Go  keyboard. J.R. bookwalteR

66 MAR 2015 maclife.com


Tough testing, trusted ratings

Tree 2.0.1
The lightweight outliner of choice
$9.99 Developer Kazuhiro Kawana, topoftree.jp
Requirements OS X 10.9 or later; 64-bit processor

Tree is a lightweight outline tool that can tackle plain


or rich text from a variety of document formats
including OPML and Word, and allows tree views to be
expanded vertically or horizontally – a feature unique
to this application. Version 2.0.1 retains what’s already
great, including a minimalist UI and multi document
access from Safari-style tabs – you can now add new
tabs with a double-click on the tab bar or using the +
button; the adjacent button also makes it easy to

WALTR for Mac move a selected family into a new tab in one click.
Tree rewards users who learn keyboard shortcuts,
and this version adds support for applying color
The best way to sync media to an iOS device labels without taking your fingers off the keys. The
$29.95 Developer Softorino Inc, www.softorino.com software is now 64-bit native for tackling larger
Requirements OS X 10.9 or later, iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad amounts of data, and features shiny new icons. These
features may not sound worthy enough for existing
users to pay for an all-new version, but the asking
A new Mac application, WALTR, has managed to find a way price is fair considering the move to Mac App Store.
to circumvent iTunes’ rigid adherence to MP3/AAC and MP4 Our only complaint is the lack of formatting options
formats. The process is a model of simplicity: launch WALTR when exporting to PDF, which winds up spreading
without iTunes running, plug in any supported iOS device, then horizontal views across multiple pages.
drag and drop your files over. After roughly 30 seconds, files are the bottom line. Tree 2 may be a modest
copied, ready for playback alongside previously synced media feature update, but it’s still the best Mac application
and iTunes in the Cloud content. The real trickery, though, lies for creating outlines. J.R. bookwalteR
in how the software deftly makes unsupported formats – MKV,
AVI, FLAC, WMA and OGG among them – “just work” without
the need for conversion software. Note that MPEG and Divx TRee 2.0.1
files are among the few formats the software currently rejects. Horizontally expandable tree view
Note also that WALTR will use the first image found inside Extensive keyboard shortcuts for working more efficiently
a folder to create a thumbnail. For now, the workaround is to
Requires new purchase for previous customers
temporarily create new folders for each album/video with only
those media files and image; Softorino is working on a solution. Lacks formatting options for PDF export
the bottom line. WALTR is hands down the fastest, most exceLLenT
user-friendly method we’ve ever seen for syncing music and
videos to an iOS device, no iTunes required. J.R. bookwalteR

WALTR foR MAc


iTunes-free music and video sync for iOS devices
Sync from unsupported formats like MKV, AVI, or FLAC without conversion
Fast, effortless, and intuitive to use
No MPEG or Divx support
No Wi-Fi sync support
exceLLenT

maclife.com mar 2015 67


>>> Reviews Tough testing, trusted ratings

Mischief 2
Infinite possibilities for digital artists?
$24.99 Developer Mischief, madewithmischief.com
Requirements OS X 10.8 or higher, 64-bit processor, OpenGL 2.0 or greater

M
ischief may not be as well known in digital-painting circles as Adobe or
Corel, but that is about to change. What sets it apart from similar apps such
as Painter or Sketchbook Pro is its infinite canvas. Artwork is no longer
restricted to a landscape or portrait orientation, or set size and resolution. You
can work at any size and zoom in/out with its “trillion times zoom” without your
artwork losing quality or lines becoming pixellated. Artwork is rendered on-screen
in a new way, offering not just the subtlety and softness of pixels, but also the
hard edges of vector. As such, Mischief can be quite processor heavy, but during
testing on our 2012 MacBook Pro we had no noticeable lag and the app worked
smoothly no matter how many layers we used.
The resolution and size of your image is set when exporting, and you can save
images as the entire canvas or just a selection. You are also able to set resolution
and pixel dimensions to ensure high quality for print or a small file size for web.
Although this means a lack of accuracy and precision on your canvas, it also
means you aren’t constrained when drawing. Using Mischief is super simple with
its subtle unfussy interface. With just four floating palettes on-screen, it has a
fairly limited toolset compared to its rivals. There’s only a brush tool, eraser, and
shape tools on offer, and, as such, the app’s functionality is relatively basic too.
For example, when it comes to brushes there are only six defaults available, three
of which are quite similar, with only limited options to further customize them.
There are a couple of neat touches, though, for example, when zooming you can
choose to have the brush size reduce or increase with the zoom ratio, or have it
remain constant – this is great for adding detail or swathes of color with ease –
and there’s also adjustable “smoothing”, which helps remove handshake from
artwork and is a great way to ensure line work has a steady vector-like quality.
Mischief is also configured to work with tablets and styluses; using a stylus and
gestures on our Wacom Intuos tablet was easy and although traditional shortcuts
on the app are subtly different, on a tablet you quickly forget this.
At $25, Mischief is a fair bit cheaper than its more celebrated rivals, such as
Mischief 2 Corel Painter Lite (at $69.99), but that doesn’t mean it’s inferior. And, while
Infinite canvas SketchBook Pro 6 is around the same price, Mischief is an absolute joy to use.
Both Painter and Sketchbook Pro can be unwieldy with their dense menus and
Trillion times zoom
palettes, whereas Mischief is so simple and fun, it’s like using your favorite
Tablet and stylus notebook and pen. As such, you quickly forget you are using an app and you can
compatible
just lose yourself in your drawing instead of hunting around for the next tool.
Basic toolset the bottom line. May lack the depth of its rivals, but it’s one of the
excellent most enjoyable pure drawing apps on the Mac. Alex thomAs

68 MAr 2015 maclife.com


maclife.com MAr 2015 69
>>> Reviews

Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock HD


To connect two displays (if
your Mac supports it), one
will need a Thunderbolt or
mini-DisplayPort connection.

Belkin’s second-gen Thunderbolt dock is smaller and faster


$299 Manufacturer Belkin, belkin.com
Ports (front) 1x USB 3.0 and 3.5mm combined audio input/output
Ports (back) Gigabit Ethernet and 3.5mm audio output, 2x USB 3.0, 2x Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, power port
Includes 1m Thunderbolt cable and external power supply

Thunderbolt docks let you connect multiple Our test SSD reached the same rates as other
devices to your Mac by plugging in just one docks offer, but no faster – and slower than
cable. This is Belkin’s second go at making one, when connected directly to a Mac.
and though it looks similar to the first, it’s The dock works with older Thunderbolt ports,
more compact and has a few enhancements, too – though minus 4K support. There’s one USB
including speedy Thunderbolt 2 ports. port and a headphone/mic socket on the front,
We tested transfer rates from an eight-disk and a mobile device can charge through the
storage array connected first directly to a Mac, dock even when a Mac isn’t connected. It lacks
and then tried it through the dock. Performance convenience in one way, though: there’s no
thunderbolt 2 dropped by no more than 34.8MB/sec, meaning option to quickly eject connected drives, unlike
express dock hd the dock won’t bottleneck your system. Even if Elgato’s rival dock. Still, there’s impressive
Good USB 3.0 performance you don’t plan to buy such fast and expensive performance, and the slimline unit looks good
Charges even Retina iPads storage, the dock’s Thunderbolt 2 ports enable a – but it’s not the cheapest out there.
4K display to be connected through it, provided the bottoM lIne. Belkin has made big
Supports one 4K display
your Mac supports the resolution. improvements over the old model, but it’s still
No quick eject for drives Belkin’s old dock limited USB performance to lacking some finesse for use with a MacBook.
great about 200MB/sec, but that isn’t the case here. AlAn stonebrIdge

70 mar 2015 maclife.com


Tough testing, trusted ratings

EverMail
Evernote notes from email, fast
$9.95 developer ChungwaSoft, chungwasoft.com
requirements OS X 10.9 or later, Mail,
an Evernote account

Evernote already lets you create notes from email,


but can be a little clunky. EverMail is an Apple Mail
plug-in that simplifies this process with two keyboard
shortcuts that enable you to quickly generate notes
from a selected mail: choose Quick to specify a
notebook and add tags, and Full to edit the note

Carbon Copy Cloner 4 before sending.


EverMail also provides more control over what you
include in the note, such as header information or the
Keeping your Mac up and running just got email itself as a .eml attachment – and, like Evernote’s
a whole lot easier email feature, file attachments are transferred and
existing formatting preserved.
$39.99 developer Bombich Software, bombich.com
The user interface is straightforward, and the app
requirements OS X 10.8 or later
has other time-saving features too, such as
remembering the last notebook selected. Notes also
We’ve mentioned this app many times when discussing show up more quickly in Evernote when sent via
backups and minimizing downtime. It’s invaluable for EverMail, making it a good choice for Mail users who
maintaining a bootable backup of your startup disk, and as need to convert email to notes on a regular basis. It’s
a complement to Time Machine. This version is necessary a small detail in the grand scheme of things but it’s
if you’re running Yosemite, and there are good reasons to also surprising how much difference a handy utility
upgrade on older systems, too. like this can make.
Chief among them is a new layout that consolidates task the bottom line. A clever, fast alternative to
creation and scheduling in one window, making things clearer Evernote’s built-in tool for generating notes from
at a glance. All that’s required to make a bootable clone of your email. nick PeerS
startup disk is to identify it as the source, choose a destination
volume and, optionally, set how often the task will run.
Advanced options are revealed only when you want them, and evermail
context-sensitive explanations are only a click of a question Clear and simple interface
mark button away. More control over note content
A task can be reviewed by selecting it in the sidebar, where
Quick and Full options make for easy mail management
you can also select a volume to confirm that it’s being backed
up. Long overdue is the ability to modify tasks, rather than Some reports of crashing in early versions
recreating them from scratch and possibly getting something great
wrong. It’s about time!
the bottom line. Easier to learn than ever, and a
compelling way to minimise downtime. AlAn Stonebridge

Carbon Copy Cloner 4


More rational layout
Approachable for newcomers
Easier to monitor and maintain
Advanced settings also available
awesome

maclife.com mar 2015 71


>>> Reviews

Wacom Creative Stylus 2 and


Bamboo Stylus Fineline
Two fine-tip pens from the same company…
but which one is right for you?
bamboo Stylus Fineline $59; creative Stylus 2 $79
manufacturer Wacom, wacom.com
requirements iPad 3 or later, iPad mini or later
Pressure levels Bamboo Stylus Fineline: 1,024, Creative Stylus 2: 2,048

T
he Wacom name is synonymous with quality stylus and pen-tablet solutions.
For decades the company has been connecting computer users to their
screens and, more recently, created desktop-class touchscreens with the
Cintiq and Companion lines. The first Wacom pressure sensitive stylus for iOS
– the Intuos Creative – quickly became a firm favorite.
Fast forward two years and the company has released not one but two
sequels: the Fineline (for note makers) and the Creative 2 (for artists). On paper
(ahem) the obvious difference lies within the levels of sensitivity: the Fineline has
1,024 pressure levels and the Creative 2 has 2,048. The tips of both styluses have
shrunk to less than 3mm and are made of a firm, rounded plastic material, and the
battery is now built in and rechargeable (rather than the AAA battery of the
creative
stylus 2 original Creative Stylus). The Fineline nib is smaller than the Creative 2 (1.9mm
and 2.9mm respectively). The Fineline is slightly heavier, but that includes a
Rests easily in the hand
protective cap, which the Creative 2 lacks. Both suffer from a Bluetooth pen tilt
Three buttons to help issue: angle from left to right and you’ll see a moving offset in the drawn line.
speed up work
In both styluses, the rechargeable battery shifts the centre of balance towards
Buttons are poorly placed the back of the pen. If you’re drawing on a screen for a long time this is an issue;
Currently limited the Fineline is marginally preferable in this regard, though. Both styluses have a
app support rubber cap that shields the micro-USB recharge port and neither feels like the
solid protective end will last the life of the pen. While the Creative 2 has, technically,
three buttons (to the Fineline’s one) the placement leaves a little to be desired.
Most concerning, for both styluses, is the lack of out-of-box app support. At
bamboo stylus
fineline the time of writing, pressure-sensitive support is patchy (with only Bamboo and
Sketchbook flying the flag in a meaningful way). Though the styluses will work
Pen cap and colors
with many apps in terms of connection, this limits their full usefulness. Support
Better button placement will come, but it’s not here just yet.
Works in Sketchbook the bottom line. The winner, by a fine line (ahem again), is the Fineline. It
and Bamboo feels a better shape and weight, the protective cap allows you to pocket it when
Still fairly limited not in use and it certainly doesn’t feel the cheaper of the two devices (though it
app support is). Having used both styluses in the Sketchbook and Bamboo apps, we can’t say
great the difference in pressure sensitivity levels is hugely noticeable. Paul Kercal

72 MAr 2015 maclife.com


Tough testing, trusted ratings

The Wacom Fineline has


a thinner tip and a more
colorful personality –
and costs less!

The Wacom Creative 2


shows its pedigree but
misses a best-in-class
recommendation.

maclife.com MAr 2015 73


>>> Reviews

Prizmo 3.0.1
Prizmo makes a good
fist of recognizing text,
but it’s not perfect.

Correct skewed images and apply OCR to document scans


$24.99 Developer Creaceed, creaceed.com
Requirements OS X 10.10 or later, 64-bit Mac

While the built-in Image Capture tool is fine In Recognize mode, Prizmo carves up the text
for image-based scans, if you want to extract and images into individual elements, then
text and other elements, you’ll need Prizmo. attempts to generate editable text from them.
It works with a range of input sources, from The results depend on your original scan’s
scanner or image file to iOS camera (over iCloud resolution, plus any corrections. If the quality’s
or USB) or even a captured portion of your good enough there’s little to be done, but you’ll
desktop – useful for translating text from one find all the tools you need if more radical edits
of 40+ languages supported by the program. are required, from retyping text to adjusting
Once your image is imported, Prizmo consists selected objects and changing object types.
Prizmo 3.0.1 of two modes: Prepare and Recognize. Prepare Version 3 is Yosemite-only, with a redesign,
is where you crop your image, with a curvature support for Handoff with the iOS version of
Fast, accurate, powerful
tool for correcting warped scans. You can Prizmo, and improvements to its Accessibility
Better value than ever perform basic image corrections, such as color and VoiceOver features. It also introduces
Curvature tool fiddly balance and lighting. It works well, although extensions to allow the image clean-up and
to use the curvature tool is a little fiddly – changes OCR tools to be used in other compatible apps.
No support for older are only shown after you’ve applied them, the bottom line. Prizmo remains the go-to
OS X builds which can quickly make for a frustrating app for those who want to get more from their
great experience of trial and error. image and document scans. nick PeeRs

74 mar 2015 maclife.com


Tough testing, trusted ratings

Atama Sesame 2
The key fob with locking power
$49 manufacturer Atama, atama.io
Requirements Macs with Bluetooth 4.0

This key fob acts as a locking device for a Mac or


MacBook. Just walk away with it and your Mac will
lock at a defined distance and then unlock when you
return. You can set two ranges for locking – whether
there should be a time delay in locking your Mac and
the method to unlock when you return. It works
flawlessly (but is only for newer Macs with Bluetooth
4.0). Sesame can also suspend certain applications
(using AppleScript), including pausing iTunes/Spotify
and setting you Messenger/Skype status to “Away”,
so the device can easily be tailored to suit your own
particular requirements.

Guardian Angel In terms of being a truly portable solution, the


Sesame 2 is spot-on, measuring just 0.26x2.36in and
less than an inch thick, the device weighs a mere
Use an iPhone to lock your Mac 0.02lbs. The design also includes a neat wedge
$3.99 Developer Ingenious Bytes, igensiousbytes.com cut-out that doubles the clever device as a key fob.
Requirements OS X 10.8 or later, Bluetooth 4.0 the bottom line. A very convenient security
solution and easily configurable from the simple
admin panel on your Mac. ChRiStiAn hAll
We all want to keep our Macs secure when we’re away from
them, and this app uses your iPhone as a tool to lock and unlock
a Mac. It’s much like the Atama Sesame 2 wireless proximity atama sesame 2
lock (see right), just without the extra piece of hardware to keep A genuinely portable and useful Mac-locking solution
in your pocket. If you have an iPhone and a Mac, then, Guardian Ability to set two different ranges and opt for a time delay
Angel might seem like the better solution – it’s way cheaper,
Use Apple Script to tailor application behavior
after all. But it isn’t better. Still, you can choose the lock range
(much like Sesame), but the range map is a bit hit and miss, Expensive
with your Bluetooth device (iPhone) struggling to be great
pinpointed. Forgot your phone? Your master password will get
around that problem. The options to tweak are plentiful, but a
little overblown for something that’s supposed to be mostly
admin-free. Still, it works and is a very inexpensive solution.
the bottom line. A useful proximity locking app, using
your existing devices, but a few niggles prevent it from being
the best solution. ChRiStiAn hAll

guardian angel
Nice idea to use your iPhone as the locking tool
Very affordable option
Plenty of ability to tweak settings (though perhaps too many…)
The range map is not reliably accurate
solid

maclife.com mar 2015 75


>>> Reviews

Atmospheric, challenging
and out of this world. Go
Beyond Earth to see what
you can achieve.

76 mar 2015 maclife.com


Tough testing, trusted ratings

Sid Meier’s Civilization:


Beyond Earth
Futuristic empire building is as addictive
on an alien planet as it is on Earth
$49.99 Developer Aspyr/Firaxis, aspyr.com
requirements OS X 10.9.5 or later, 2.2GHz Intel Core i3 processor,
4GB RAM, 8GB disk space, AMD Radeon HD 4850/NVIDIA GeForce
640M/Intel HD 4000 graphics card

B
eyond Earth is largely similar to Firaxis’ strategy behemoth Civilization 5,
but set against a backdrop of colonizing an alien world. It retains the familiar
turn-based mechanics, with units spread over a world map divided into
hexagons. Your micromanagement skills will be put to task, from outpost building,
to researching technologies of the future, managing trade routes, and
terraforming the alien soil to improve human survivability.
It feels more than just a polished mod for Civilization though; Beyond Earth
keeps thing fresh by adding new elements to the formula. Progress along the
enormous technology web leads to humanity’s future evolving in accordance with
one of three philosophies: Harmony, Supremacy or Purity. This affects both the
visual appearance of your units and your bonuses. Harmony is a path to greater
understanding of alien lifeforms, so your units become green and adopt bug-like
features; Supremacy’s mechanical approach leads to a more robotic appearance.
a lot of thought has gone into the game design. This is a compelling vision of
what it would be like if humankind tried to set up shop on another planet, and the
trials we might face. It’s a bit complicated to start with, though, and it can feel
bland, not helped by the lack of variation between the faction leaders, aside from
the graphics and limited speech that plays when you meet them.
Once you have a dozen cities and a living, breathing empire, ploughing through
each turn can feel tiresome. Workers and explorers can be automated, and the
CIVILIZATION: game becomes a lot faster when animations are turned off. But trade routes, an
BEYOND EARTH essential part of the economic game, still need to be managed manually. Hopefully
Complex turn-based Firaxis will improve this mechanic in a future patch. Performance is surprisingly
management strategy good, though, and it ran well on Iris graphics on a 2013 macBook Pro. That said, we
Exciting future-gazing recommend avoiding play on the largest of maps if you have an older mac.
and alien environment although we’ve moaned about some aspects of the game, it’s a lot of fun, and
Lacks variation between has the same compelling one-more-turn pull of every Civilization game. Though it
human factions has its blander elements, there are many different ways to win and strategies to
Mechanics can be try out. But it’s short of being a masterpiece, when it had all the potential for it.
tiresome to plod through the bottom line. Beyond Earth is a deep, engrossing strategy game, but it
gOOD could have been far more. orestis bastounis

maclife.com mar 2015 77


>>> Reviews

This War of Mine


The red circles may be
rats, traders, or hostile
guards. Tread carefully.

This war is not about winning, it’s about surviving


$19.99 Developer 11 bit studios, www.11bitstudios.com
Requirements OS X 10.6 or later, 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 512MB graphics card

This War of Mine is a survival simulator about neighbor asks for help. Bruno’s career as a chef
guiding weary citizens through the rubble of makes him efficient with food, but Pavle, a
their city. A few times per week, Franko comes former soccer player capable of dodging the
to your camp to trade: five cigarettes is the rebel snipers, could replace him.
going rate for a can of food in occupied Porogen. This World of Mine is grueling. Resources are
Vegetables are pricey – moonshine or jewelry scarce, and the game’s mechanics are stifling.
This War of Mine
will do – but also more nutritious, and if Katia is You’re only allowed to search location each
Deep, flexible crafting around, she can broker a better deal. night, even if there are several hours left before
system allows for
multiple strategies During the day, survivors purify water, pack the curfew. This rigidity elevates the mundane
homemade bullets and tend paltry gardens. At – finding meat can be a high point – but also
Random characters and
events make each play- night, one person ventures out “scavenging” while blunts This War of Mine’s moral drama: stealing
through feel fresh the others sleep or guard the house. Scavengers to survive isn’t a compelling dilemma when it’s
Writing, music and gather supplies from ruined hospitals and the only option. Still, even when tactical play
gameplay build tension supermarkets, using basic stealth and combat seems impossible, it evinces desperation and
High difficulty limits to avoid or fend off other desperate refugees. futility. You never experience war directly in
options and can be What you find at night affect how much you This War of Mine, but you will learn that Bruno,
emotionally draining accomplish each day, keeping tension high. Franko, Katia and Pavle are collateral damage.
Combat is unclear and Randomized variables can dictate your play: the bottom line. A game that engenders
leads to accidental deaths it is easier to live through spring than winter; empathy through the constancy, immediacy,
good sometimes the value of tobacco skyrockets, or a and sheer volume of its choices. JoSePh leRAY

78 mAr 2015 maclife.com


Tough testing, trusted ratings

App Game Kit 2


A great way to make games for beginners and pros alike
$99.99 Developer The Game Creators, thegamecreators.com
requirements OS X 10.8 or later, 1GB RAM, OpenGL 2 or better graphics card

More people than ever are getting into


making games, but programming can be
tough if you’ve never done it before. It’s not
too difficult to learn with the right tools,
though – and App Game Kit 2 is one of the
right tools. This game development app is
welcoming to beginners (partly thanks to a
great suite of instructional videos up on the
product’s Steam page and a very healthy
community discussing problems and
solutions), but also provides more advanced
options for experienced devs to stretch their
muscles, offering things like shader support
and access to the rendering pipeline.
You can write your app in one of two
programming languages, the first of which
is AGK BASIC. If you’ve learned any BASIC
at school or anything, AGK BASIC will feel
familiar. It’s easy to follow and learn even
if you’re totally new, though. App Game Kit
also supports writing in C++, which offers
more flexibility but comes at a cost of extra
complexity. If you have no experience, AGK
BASIC is the place to start. There’s lots that’s promising, then, Inevitably, a coding tool
isn’t the shiniest app you’ll
Once you’ve got a core game in place it’s easy but the tool itself does lack a bit of polish. ever use, but this is full of
to add extra flair like visual effects and physics There’s no Retina support for its interface, genuinely useful features.
interactions, and once it’s ready to test you and it’s filled with buttons you’ll rarely use
can stream the app straight from App Game (why is there a dedicated quit button?).
Kit to iOS or Android devices over Wi-Fi. However, the toolbar is customisable, so
This can save you hours over the life of a this can at least be configured to your liking.
project, and is a really welcome feature. In some places the documentation could
have been written better too, but those
instances are not that common and the
rest is at a good standard.
In today’s ever-changing market, no
programming tool can afford to stay still and
the App Game Kit team seems to understand
this. During the time we were using it, there App GAme Kit 2
were multiple updates with new features and Lots of example projects
performance improvements, with dialogue
Stream games to device
between the developers and users about
future updates, which is great to see. Excellent price
the bottom line. A great place to start Some documentation
for game dev beginners, with good features could be clearer
App Game Kit 2 comes with several example projects, so
you can see games in action before starting your own. for experienced pros, too. Gary riches GreAt

maclife.com mar 2015 79


ASk
TECH SUPPORT & TECHSPLANATIONS

Inky is an alternative email app that looks and


feels like Windows Live Mail.

stream and USB memory sticks hold


more data, even the cheapest ones.
If you are determined to keep using
DVDs, you can use an external drive and
third-party software, such as Roxio Toast.
But we suggest you keep the old iMac
while you get used to Yosemite and a
DVD-less world. You might be surprised
by how quickly you wean yourself off
burning discs.

Mail is too temperamental


I have an iMac running Mavericks.
Using the Apple Mail app to send and
receive from my Gmail account is a
real problem. For some reason a mail
Are there any can get replicated many times and
PowerPC apps worth
dumped into Trash. Sometimes a
the hassle of dual-
booting your Mac? message is sent, then appears in the
Outbox as if it hasn’t been sent. So
I am looking for a replacement mail

rUn TwO verSIOnS OF OS x? system that is reliable, simple to use,


and works well with Gmail – but I don’t
want to lose my existing mail.
My present iMac is one of the first 20-inch Intel models, It’s worth persevering with Apple Mail.
running OS X 10.6.8. I have a number of apps requiring the When a message appears in Outbox, it’s
installation of Rosetta, and also iDVD. Would it be possible not ‘as if’ it hasn’t been sent – it really
to partition the drive and install OS X 10.6.8 in parallel with hasn’t. The Outbox folder only appears
when a message can’t be sent, and it
Yosemite, allowing me the use of my older apps?
auto-deletes itself when the message
successfully sends.
You can dual-boot different versions you do for the sake of the challenge The real question, then, is why can’t
of OS X, but you may have problems rather than for any big benefit. you send? Since you’re using an iMac,
persuading the standard drivers that Frankly, we wouldn’t bother with any you are presumably at home, with a
shipped with Snow Leopard to work with of this; we’re struggling to believe that trustworthy connection, and you don’t
the hardware in a modern Mac. There there are PowerPC apps so essential that mention changing any email server
are ways around this – mixing and it’s worth the hassle. When iDVD was settings recently. But they could be
matching some of the newer drivers dropped, we complained about it along corrupt, so a good first step is to trash
with the older OS kernel, for example. with everyone else. But hardly anyone “com.apple.mail.plist” and “com.apple.
But they all fall in the category of things burns DVDs any more; video is easy to mail-shared.plist” from ~/Library/

80 MaR 2015 maclife.com


Tech Support & Techsplanations

Preferences. Delete the files that begin


with “Envelope Index” from ~/Library/
Mail/V2/MailData. Restart Mail and follow
the prompts to rebuild the index. If you > How to fix an overflowing backup disk
still want another app, however, try Inky
(Free, inky.com). I work from home and and tell it which drives or was made when you first
currently use Time folders to exclude from the assigned this disk to
Charging from a USB hub Machine to back up to backup. If you add every Time Machine.
Your sister magazine MacFormat a 340GB external drive. folder except the ones with The best – and easiest –
reported on a new product a few Since I installed that drive, your client data, then these option is simply to buy a
months ago, but now I can't find the I’ve upgraded my Mac mini will be the only things bigger disk. A 750GB drive
write-up about it. It was a short USB and I now have a model backed up from now on. But will cost about $60 from
cable with a hub to bring USB ports to with a 500GB drive. This is bear in mind that doing this Amazon and this will give
the front of the iMac display, avoiding now perilously close to won’t delete the original you plenty of room for all
having to hunt for one at the back. Can overflowing the external copy of the whole disk that your data.
it charge an iPhone and an iPad? backup. I have sensitive
The drain from a Retina iPad is much client documents, so any
higher than from an iPhone or non- kind of cloud-based backup
Retina iPad. The best way to charge one is out of the question.
is using the mains adaptor that came Can I just tell Time
with it. You can also charge an iPad from Machine to only back up
the USB ports on a Mac or a Cinema or the client folders? Or can I
Thunderbolt Display, but there are some extend my backup by
restrictions. The Mac or monitor must be adding another disk?
on, not sleeping; it only works for one If you add another disk,
iPad at a time; and only from the ports Time Machine will back up
on the back or those on Apple’s own everything to that as well.
wired keyboard. You can click Options in
Some hubs, like the the Belkin 4-port Time Machine preferences
model available at Apple’s online store,
can’t charge iPads. That requires a hub
that can supply 2A of current. You could
try the Anker 9-port USB 3.0 hub ($60
from Amazon), which has one 2.1A
charging port for your iPad. It’s a quality isn’t as good as I would like it sound at 48kHz with 24-bit sampling.
powered hub, so you’ll need to plug it to be. I have a set of Harman Kardon A corrupted preference file could have
into the wall as well as your monitor. three-way speakers but sound output forced it into 16-bit mode, which a keen
is quite flat, with no real treble. I have ear might hear. Try the audio test at
Improving music on a Mac experimented with iTunes’ equalizer bit.ly/1yGGwlu to see if the anti-aliasing
I play a lot of music through my mid- to no avail. Could it be a mediocre on- filter on the sound card is responsible.
2010 27-inch iMac, but the sound board sound card, or should I look for If your ears are just too good for the
a third-party equalizer? iMac’s sound card, try an external one,
Music quality – like the difference such as the rPAC (arcam.co.uk).
between a $10 bottle of wine and a $60
bottle – is something that most of us iTunes insists on notifying
never appreciate and an unlucky few are me for every song
haunted by. Before we decide which I recently upgraded to Yosemite and
camp you belong to, let’s start with the now I find that iTunes is notifying me
obvious. Try listening through a decent every time the song changes. I find
set of headphones to rule out a problem this quite distracting and I would like
with the speakers. If this makes no to turn it off. Changing this in System
difference, open the Audio MIDI Setup Preferences only lasts until the next
If you’re a musical connoisseur, you can explore
various audio options for the best sound. app and ensure your Mac is outputting time I restart, so each morning I have

maclife.com MaR 2015 81


>>> Ask

Step 1: don’t. The idea of resetting


your Mac to brand new by starting again
with a blank slate is just a seductive
fantasy. The reality is that your Mac
won’t get any faster this way. New
computers feel fast because they have
new hardware, not because they are
emptier. Your Mac feels slower partly
because you are used to it, and partly
because you’re asking more of it.
You don’t believe me, we know that
– but in our experience we’ve seen this
many, many times. If you erase and
reinstall, you’ll waste an afternoon
setting everything up, and after the
giddy excitement of spring-cleaning
dies away, you’ll be left with a computer
that runs just as it did before.
Instead, remove unwanted programs
from Login Items in Users & Groups
preferences and upgrade your RAM if
If you upgrade to Yosemite, iTunes may forget your notification preferences every time you restart. you can. After that, sit tight until you
are ready to buy a whole new Mac.
>>> to turn it off again, which is almost as change to this folder. As an aside, you
annoying as the notifications. Is there can actually do this in one step by typing How can this be a virus?
a way to force OS x to remember my I run my virus scanner (Clamxav) once
preferences? Failing that, can turning cd `getconf DArwIn_USer_DIr` a week on my iMac, and have been
them off be automated? doing so for years as part of my normal
This is something that’s been driving You need to use the single quote that maintenance routine. This week, for
us gently nuts since Mavericks! Your shares a key with ~ on your keyboard, not the first time I had a hit! The virus is
letter actually gave us the final push the one that appears on the “ key. called “win.Trojan.Skintrim-5564” and
to figure out what is going on. The From this folder, type these three Clamxav says that this file has been
~/Library/Application Support/ lines, pressing ® after each one: successfully quarantined. My concern
NotificationCenter folder seems like a is that the virus is apparently in a file
promising place to start, but if you delete rm -rf com.apple. called “hl2.exe”, which is the game
it or drag it to the Desktop, it doesn’t killall usernoted Half-Life 2. I installed this from Steam
get automatically recreated when you killall notificationCenter years ago and haven’t played it for well
restart. This would suggest that your over a year, so how could it be a virus?
notification preferences aren’t actually Restart and change your preferences It isn’t. Win.Trojan.Skintrim-5564 is,
stored there. again. Hopefully, they should now stick. as its name suggests, a Windows trojan.
Possibly they used to be and then this Trojans are rogue programs that attempt
was changed in Mavericks. If you upgrade a scorched-earth policy to trick you into running them by
to Mavericks or Yosemite, the old is not the best policy
NotificationCenter folder gets left behind Despite going through many of the
and either overrides the new preferences procedures you describe for speeding
settings each time, or prevents them up my Mac, I am still aware that it is
from being saved properly. operating slowly, and I would like to
So try this: open Terminal and type erase it and start again. everything is
backed up safely, of course, but as an
getconf DArwIn_USer_DIr install disc wasn’t provided with the
Mac, I feel very wary. Could you give
This will return a long folder name and me foolproof instructions on how to Uploading a suspect file to virustotal.com lets
you need to use the “cd” command to do this, please? you check against multiple scanning engines.

82 MaR 2015 maclife.com


Tech Support & Techsplanations

pretending to be something else. But you


can’t run this one even if you wanted to,
because it’s a Windows .exe file that
won’t run on OS X. It’s probably in your > Yosemite has brought Safari to its knees
Half-Life 2 folder because you converted
a Steam install from Windows to OS X During a day of using services such as Dropbox resolution, speaker volume
some time ago. Safari in Yosemite, the and iDrive. Disconnecting and other settings for
To cap it all, it’s probably not even a “beachball of death” has and then reconnecting them directly attached hardware,
trojan; like all virus scanners, ClamXav appeared more frequently has fixed the issue for some not devices accessed over
produces some false positives. The tiny than in 10 months of people. Other suggestions the internet. Likewise, we’re
amount of OS X malware out there Mavericks. I’ve cleared – including resetting the sceptical that significant
makes misidentifications way more likely the cache. I’ve deleted the System Management memory leaks or other bugs
than a true reading, and as scanners are Cache.db file (~/Library/ Controller and the non- have made it past Apple’s
updated with more and more Windows Caches/com.apple.Safari/ volatile RAM – seem suspect. QA process, so our money is
virus signatures, that chance can only Cache.db). I’ve quit and The NVRAM stores display on connected cloud drives.
rise. You can check this for yourself by relaunched Safari. I’ve
uploading the file to virustotal.com to added no extensions. My
compare the results from other scanners. download speed is always
greater than 50Mbps.
Dumping data to Deleting the cache files is
save disk space a good first step, although
My MacBook Pro has a 250GB drive you also need to reboot
and is almost full – about 50GB is afterwards and empty the
music and 100GB is photos. I’ve been Trash for it to take full effect.
giving thought to how best to add We haven’t experienced
external storage – to run Time Machine this Safari slowdown on any
backups, but also to adjust my network Yosemite Macs, but we’ve
setup so that my network hub works seen a lot of reports that
purely as a modem and a Time Capsule implicate connected cloud
runs the wireless network. I don’t know
how to go about setting it up though!
I know Time Capsule will enable me
to move things off my MacBook, but I
had problems moving my iTunes library
onto a wireless external drive before. and plug it into your router. There’s no Your Time
Capsule is
I’d be grateful for advice regarding a real advantage in using it for Wi-Fi best used for
similar setup using a Time Capsule or because your network hub is perfectly backing up,
not archiving.
an alternative. capable of handling that, and you’ll find it
Adding a Time Capsule backup is an easier for your ISP to diagnose problems
excellent idea, but it won’t solve the disk if you have a configuration it’s familiar
capacity problems on your MacBook Pro. with. Similarly, don’t bother moving your
Time Machine is a backup, not an archive iTunes library if you don’t need to. 50GB
and you certainly shouldn’t feel you can isn’t that big a deal and you can free up
delete files from your hard disk just more space by moving your photo library,
because they are backed up somewhere. which is simpler. Move the photos to an
You could configure the Time Capsule’s external USB drive. That’s cheaper and
disk to use part for backups and the rest easier to set up, and you can still back
as networked storage, but this defeats them up to the Time Capsule.
the point of a backup because Time
Capsule can’t back up its own drive. How do I make a calendar
You may be making this much more with photo captions?
complicated than it needs to be. Just get For the past three years I have created
a Time Capsule to back up all your Macs a calendar from my iPhoto albums,

maclife.com MaR 2015 83


>>> Ask

Terrible pictures
with apple TV
I’ve got several Apple products
including a MacBook Pro running
Mavericks. For some reason, when I
want to connect my MBP to my Apple
Tv, the sound is okay but there’s no
picture in most cases. I don’t have
this problem on my iPad, iPhone or
even my son’s MBP.
Are both MacBooks in the same room?
Because this is a network problem and
your son is most likely just getting much
better Wi-Fi reception than you are. You
can run Wireless Diagnostics (press å
and click the Wi-Fi icon on the menu) and
see if it recommends a different channel
to reduce interference. Switching your
router to use 5GHz networking (also
iPhoto uses fixed templates for calendars and books, with alternative versions that include captions as well. called 802.11n or 802.11ac) will also
improve reception because the 5GHz
portion of the radio spectrum is a lot less
>>> but can see no way to add a description Dock gone crowded than the 2.4GHz frequency used
below each of the photos in it. You can Sometimes when my MacBook Pro is by the older Wi-Fi standards. The iPad
only add details to the cover photo. at home, my family log into its guest and iPhone obviously roam around the
I have Photoshop elements 11, but account. Unfortunately, someone was house, but they can cope with lower
I have not explored it sufficiently yet on it recently but wasn’t able to use bandwidth because the screen
to see if it can do this. I have also it because the Dock was filled with resolutions are usually lower, so there
checked my copy of iPhoto ’09: The question marks. Can you tell me how are fewer pixels for each frame.
Missing Manual and it contains I go about fixing this? Regardless of any improvements you
nothing about this. Those question marks appear when manage to make to your home Wi-Fi, it’s
You can definitely do it in the current the Dock shortcut can’t find the app it also worth experimenting with switching
version (which is iPhoto 9.6). If you select points towards. This can be because the from AirPlay to Beamer (beamer-app.
a calendar page and click the Layout original has been deleted or moved, but com). This seems to offer much better
button at the bottom of the window, in your case it’s more likely to be a video performance than AirPlay.
you’ll see two layout options for each permissions fault.
arrangement of photos. If you log back into your own
The left one is just the photo; the user account (which presumably has
right-hand one has a caption beneath administrator access) and bring up the
it. The thumbnails don’t make it very Get Info panel for the Applications folder,
obvious, but it’s there. If you are you’ll probably find that it doesn’t show
marooned on an older version of iPhoto any sharing permissions for the
that lacks this option, you could use ‘Everyone’ group. This needs to be ‘Read
Photoshop to edit captions onto the only’, at least, in order to be able to see
photos themselves, and re-import the the apps. You can correct this yourself
edited versions into iPhoto, but this is a manually or run Repair Permissions in
Wireless Diagnostics can suggest ways to
good deal fiddlier. Disk Utility. reduce network interference.

eMAIL: letters@maclife.com
SHAre wITH US! FACeBOOK: facebook.com/maclife TwITTer: twitter.com/maclife

84 MaR 2015 maclife.com


MAC iPHONE

iPAD

Subscribe now.
Anywhere, anytime!

Why 2015 will Not just games: Apple Watch apps:


Print or
Digital
be Apple’s best how VR changes see what’s coming
year yet p46 everything p38 to your wrist p16

subscription
available!
MAC iPHONE

iPAD

M A R C H 20 1 5 N O.9 9 W W W. M AC L I F E .CO M

DISCOVER THE

OS X
H I D D E N F E AT U R E S O F

YO S E M I T E
All the things you never knew your
Mac could do in OS X 10.10 p24

$5.99U S HOW TO :
Create email shortcuts in the Dock
Master Google’s advanced search
Customize the Dock in OS X
Make complex spreadsheets on iOS

www.maclife.com/anywhere
CREATE
HOW TO DO ANYTHING ON YOUR MAC, iPHONE & iPAD

Create simple email shortcuts


Use Automator and Preview to create email shortcuts for your friends

AutomAtor is one of those apps can use the app for creating workflows and
rEQUIrES that, for most Mac users, lurks in miniature apps, which can save you time when
> OS X 10.8 or later, Applications and never gets used. It performing repetitive tasks.
Automator, Preview, has a cool robot icon, but as soon as In this walkthrough we’ll show you how to use
an image to use for you launch the app, it immediately asks you it to quickly create an app that sets up a new email
an icon which type of document you want to start with to a friend, which can be stashed in your Dock,
LEVEL (from a selection of eight). Whatever you click, ready for clicking at a moment’s notice. We’ll also
you’re then faced with a column featuring dozens show you how to use Apple’s Preview to create an
> Hard
of actions, from a variety of categories. It’s not got icon from a photo that will fit right in with your
IT WILL TaKE that intuitive, welcoming feel of the rather more other icons.
popular Apple apps. Start small, build confidence, and the sky’s
> 15 minutes
The thing is, Automator is as cool as its icon the limit – as is the amount of time you’ll save
promises it to be. Once you get the hang of it, you in the long run! CrAig grAnnell

o n C e yo u g e t t h e h A n g o f i t, Au to m Ato r
i s As Co o l As i ts i Co n p r o m i s es i t to b e

Drag &
Drop

Applications created
in Automator use files
dropped onto them as
input for the workflow. So
with your contact mini- Get started Add an action
apps, you can drag a Launch Automator and select New Document The Automator sidebar contains a number
document on to one and
from the initial window. Automator’s main window of predefined actions, organized into categories. On
it will be added to the
email as an attachment, appears; select Application, then Choose. This means selecting one, the available actions are filtered. Click
further speeding things that whatever you now create in Automator will be the Actions button, then Mail from the Library. Drag
up for you. saved as a standalone application. New Mail Message to the workflow pane on the right.

86 mAr 2015 maclife.com


How to do anything on your Mac, iPhone & iPad

JargoN
BUSTEr

Workflows
Chains of Automator
actions are referred to
as workflows. The default
doc type in is itself called
a workflow, and can be
run inside the application.
The “Application”
document type is a
self-running workflow.

Create an app Test your app


Decide on whatever defaults you’d like for your Drag your app to the Dock and then click it.
message and add them. To just create an app that will It opens a New Message window, populated with the
start a message to someone, type their email address details you entered. However, the app’s icon is a generic
in the To field. Go to File > Save, name your app, save it Automator one. We want to make something more
to /Applications, giving it the file format Application. personalized, but which still fits in with OS X Yosemite.

Get some images Crop your portrait


In your Applications folder, select an app with a Open Preview’s Markup Toolbar (using the
circular icon and go to Edit > Copy. Launch Preview, go relevant button), and select the Elliptical Selection tool.
to File > New from Clipboard. Go to File > Export, and Hold ß and drag a circle. Fine-tune its position; always
save as a PNG. Close the original icon and open your hold ß when resizing, to retain its proportions. When
saved PNG. Find a personal image and open in Preview. satisfied, click Crop (and Convert if asked to do so).

IT’S aLL IN
ThE DETaILS

OS X icons have become


huge (in dimensions), so
resize and paste Use your new icon you really need high-
Go to Tools > Adjust Size. For Yosemite, make the Select your app in Finder, and go to File > Get quality images. Avoid
taking a small image,
width 830 pixels (for Mavericks icons, 870 is better), Info, to bring up its info window. Deselect everything in
cropping it, and then
and click OK. Select all, then Edit > Copy; then paste Preview and then select all and copy. Back in the Get blowing it up, though,
the portrait on to your icon doc. Drag it into the Info window, select the generic icon and paste your because the end result
center and position with cursor keys. replacement. The icon and preview will update. . will look quite blurry.

maclife.com mAr 2015 87


>>> Create

customize your Dock


Use cDock to give your Dock a new theme and save time, too

REQUIRES
The Dock has been a mainstay of
OS X since the start, a place to stash
Quick look cDock interface
> OS X 10.9 or later, apps and documents as well as easily
cDock 6.0.6 or later see what’s running on your Mac. Settings
Visually, the Dock has seen big changes over The main cDock window provides you with
LEVEL
the years. Initially it was a semi-transparent menus and checkboxes to make changes to your
> Easy white rectangle with subtle pinstripes, which Dock. Changes can all easily be reverted, too.
were eradicated as of OS X 10.2 Jaguar, while in
IT WILL TAKE
OS X 10.5 Leopard the Dock turned into a 3D glass In the Dock
> 10 minutes “shelf” when at the bottom of the screen, which Whenever you hit Apply, cDock relaunches
gradually got frosted as the operating system was your Dock and quits. For this reason, you can always
upgraded further. In OS X 10.10 Yosemite, we’ve add it to the Dock while you’re making changes so
almost come full circle, with the Dock reverting it’s really easy to relaunch.
to a simpler semitransparent rectangle.
If you’re not thrilled with the new Dock, Custom settings
you can use the free cDock (sourceforge.net/ cDock has built-in themes, but it’s also possible
projects/cdock) to make changes. The app is to roll your own; when doing so, two text documents
capable of updating a number of aspects of the are launched, one as a reference and one to edit.
Dock, including the addition of spacers, creating
a “recent items” folder and dimming hidden Menu extra
apps. Note that on first launching cDock, you The cDock menu extra appears when using the
may get a security warning; if so, open System Custom theme; it’s intended to restart the Dock. Quit
Preferences, go to Security & Privacy > General the extra by clicking the icon to access the extra’s
and click Open Anyway. craig grannell menu, and select Quit Dock Refresh.

88 Mar 2015 maclife.com


How to do anything on your Mac, iPhone & iPad

How to Use cDock to enhance your Dock’s functionality

Make the Dock 3D Update its theme add Dock spacers


Launch cDock and select the Dock To update the theme, relaunch Spacers can help you organize
theme menu. If you’d like your Yosemite cDock and choose a new option from the multiple items in your Dock into groups. Use
Dock to resemble the one from Mavericks, menu. The Fullscreen options make the the spacers menus in cDock to add items on
select Yosemite 3D and click Apply. cDock Dock fill the screen edge; Transparent the “app” and “doc” sides and click Apply.
will quit, the Dock will relaunch, and a few removes the background. To go back to OS Drag to move your spacers; to remove one,
seconds later it’ll be a 3D shelf again. X’s default theme, select Restore > Apply. right-click and select “Remove from Dock”.

add a recents stack Show only active apps Mouse over highlights
Set “Add recents folder” to Yes > The Dock, by default, shows both If you’ve added one or more recent
Apply. A new stack appears in the Dock, stashed and running apps, but to only show folders, try selecting “mouse over highlight”
with quick access to recent apps. Right-click running apps and the Trash check “Show in cDock. On restarting your Dock, you’ll see
to switch this to documents, servers, or only active applications” > Apply. This a highlight behind any app you’re hovering
favorites. Run it again to add another makes your Dock into an app switcher. To the mouse cursor over, which helps make
stack (it won’t replace any existing ones). revert, uncheck the option in cDock and your selection easier to spot.

Lock the Dock Custom theme


It’s easy to add stuff to the Dock by For a more personal take on the SIdEbAR
mistake, but cDock can help: check “Lock Dock’s appearance, select Custom from IconS
dock contents” > Apply. You’ll no longer be “Dock theme” > Apply. It will load settings.
There’s an option to color Finder sidebar
able to add items to it by dragging them, txt and an instructions document. Edit and icons; this works fine in Mavericks, but not
and options to remove items will be gone. save settings.txt, and click the cDock icon in Yosemite. Want them colored for both
Uncheck the box and click Apply to revert. in the menu bar to refresh the Dock. versions? Check out XtraFinder.

maclife.com Mar 2015 89


>>> Create

tidy up your iPhoto library


With iPhoto soon to be retired, it’s time to get your photos organized

You might have had a bit of a shock


reQUireS on attempting to launch iPhoto on an
> iPhoto iPhone or iPad after upgrading to iOS
8. The app was abruptly dead and
LeVeL inaccessible, superseded by Photos, which gained
> Easy filters and more editing capabilities. In 2015,
Apple will bring similar thinking to the Mac,
it WiLL taKe
replacing iPhoto with an OS X version of Photos.
> 15 minutes to a Generally, when a desktop app is retired, it
few hours doesn’t suddenly stop working and force you to
migrate to an alternative product. Chances are,
you’ll still be able to continue using iPhoto for
a while – although that’s not guaranteed.
However, it’s clear that if you’re an iPhoto up in iPhoto. We don’t know precisely how iPhoto
user on OS X Yosemite, you should start planning content will map to Photos, but we can make
for the future, because Apple’s made it clear educated guesses that your albums will move
iPhoto has no future. across intact; additionally, now’s the time to
Although we wouldn’t recommend switching to eradicate clutter, such as those blurred shots.
Photos the instant it’s released (hold back a bit to Even if you decide to stick with iPhoto as long
discover whether it’s relatively bug-free), it as possible, our tips will improve your experience
makes sense to use it as an excuse to tidy things in the app! Craig grannell

i f Yo u ’ r e a n i P h oto u s e r o n Yos e m i t e ,
Yo u s h o u l d sta rt P l a n n i n g fo r t h e f u t u r e

Sort the
Sidebar

Old projects and half-


finished albums lurk in
the sidebar. They take up Make a back-up Create some albums
no disk space but clutter Some of the changes in this walkthrough cannot Got a large photo library? Get into the habit of
up the interface of iPhoto be undone, so back up your library just in case. It’s making photos easier to locate by adding them to an
(and, soon, Photos). Get
found in ~/Pictures and can be copied elsewhere on album. Use File > New Album, name it and drag photos
rid of things you don’t
need by selecting and your Mac or to an external drive. You can copy it back to it. Or, use File > New Smart Album and add conditions
deleting them. and use File > Switch to Library in iPhoto if need be. to fill the album, such as images within a date range.

90 Mar 2015 maclife.com


How to do anything on your Mac, iPhone & iPad

JarGoN
bUSter

Standard/Smart
Standard albums are
managed manually, by
dragging images into it.
Smart albums are based
on conditions, and are
automatically populated
based on their values.
They’re a good way to
organize libraries rapidly.

Name your photos Isolate iOS screen grabs


You can name photos and search for that string Go to File > New Smart Album and make an
or create smart albums based on it, but this is tedious, album called “iOS device grabs”; click “+” until you have
so make a selection and go to Photos > Batch Change. In four conditions to edit. Leave “Match set” to “all” and
Set Title to Text, type a title, check the “append” box > set conditions Aperture is Unknown, ISO is Unknown,
OK. Each image will also gain a hyphen and number. Filename starts with IMG_ and Filename contains PNG.

Delete your screen grabs Find thumbnails


Click OK and you’ll have a smart album full of We know text strings can be useful for finding
iOS screen grabs. If you want to save them outside of images, and this extends to pictures you want rid of, like
iPhoto, select them all (ç+A) and drag them to a accidentally imported thumbnails. Find one, click Info
Finder folder, or select all and press ç+å+∂. Click and note one of its dimensions in the information panel
Delete Photos to remove the images from your library. at the top right. Create a new smart album…

dUpLicateS
KiLLer

Duplicates in your library


can take up a lot of space
– especially videos – and
so they’re worth pruning.
remove thumbnails Empty the Trash Automating the process
The resolution text string could start or end with iPhoto maintains its own Trash, which works makes sense. Duplicate
Cleaner For iPhoto (free,
the noted number, so create three conditions: Any Text rather like the main OS X one and lets you view the
App Store) does the job
starts with [number], and Any Text ends with [number], images you’re about to delete. If you find something well and enables you
and “Photo is not Movie”. Set Match to “all”. Click OK. you want to rescue, right-click it and select Put Back. to preview prior
Select and delete. Or, select Empty iPhoto Trash from the iPhoto menu. to deletion.

maclife.com Mar 2015 91


>>> Create

Get better results from Google


Use Google’s advanced search operators to improve your searches

The web is a marvelous research tool


REQUIRES for study and work, to solve a problem
> A web browser with a piece of equipment or software,
or just because you’re curious about a
LEVEL subject. Part of the challenge in using search
> Easy engines such as Google is in choosing appropriate
keywords that actually yield good results. Even if
IT WILL TAKE
your words are well-chosen, a broader context
> 10 minutes than the one you intended may share keywords –
burying the pages you’re looking for deep in
search results, leading you to refine your search.
This is when you might benefit from switching You can take a shortcut by learning special syntax to use in your
to Google’s Advanced Search, by clicking the cog browser’s search field.
at the top-right of a search results page. It
provides a form that enables you to explicitly state quickly. By doing so, you leave it to Google to do
how Google should treat particular keywords and its job to the absolute best of its abilities, and for
phrases. You can also tell it to look for a sequence only a small amount of extra effort.
of words as an exact phrase, rather than as If you still can’t find what you want, it’s worth
individual keywords that might appear in checking whether certain of your keywords are
any order, as is the default. limiting. Look at their punctuation. Hyphens are
Searches can be restricted to a particular site, okay because Google considers the words either
or perhaps several, so that you only see pages side to be strongly connected, so a search
from, say, CNN and select other organizations – for “built-in” returns pages that are hyphenated
or maybe you just want to exclude a specific, less like that, or which omit the hyphen.
authoritative site that dominates results.
There’s no need to break down your search in
Refining criteria from
the search field works
this manner. Many of Advanced Search’s most usinG GooGle is
well with image
searches, especially
useful options can be used from the search bar
a b o u T a da pT i n G yo u r
itself, provided you know what to type. This
to get inspiration
for creative projects. enables you to perform complex searches more way o f T h i n k i n G
Contractions are more problematic; Google
does not treat “won’t” and “will not” as the same
search term, and you may find that it helps to
reframe a search phrase to omit contractions and
their expanded forms. In this type of scenario, the
wildcard operator can help by telling Google that
you aren’t so specifically concerned about which
form appears within a longer phrase.
Google automatically considers different forms
of the same word – so if you specify the stem word
“install”, results may include pages that contain
“installation” or “installing”.
Using Google like a pro isn’t just about knowing
how to specify keywords, though. It’s also about
adapting your way of thinking, as we’ll see in the
following walkthough. alan sTonebridGe

92 mar 2015 maclife.com


How to do anything on your Mac, iPhone & iPad

How to use Google’s advanced search features

Exact phrases Search by site Exclude terms


Search for “icloud drive” Searching for, say, “personal Words with several meanings can
with quotes and without. The words hotspot” can’t connect” gives you Apple’s be excluded by prefixing them with a minus.
are highlighted in the results, but it’s official troubleshooting article and then “Yosemite”, for example, finds pages about
coincidental that they appear as a complete more pages. Adding the ‘site:’ operator the location and Apple’s OS, so add “-park”
phrase – results soon differ. Terms between followed by a domain (site:apple.com) or “-apple -mac” to guide Google to
quotes are treated as an exact phrase. prioritizes results from that site. specifically look for one or the other.

Exclude sites One word or another Search for ranges


The minus operator can be Search for “Olympics 2016 2020” Putting two full stops between
combined with “site:” to exclude whole and the results will contain pages numbers (such as “Olympics 1980..1988”)
sites or parts of them. For example, using containing both years. To match pages gives results that match those numbers and
“site:apple.com -site:discussions.apple.com” that mention, say, either year, put OR those between them. This works when you
in your terms will search Apple’s site, but (capitalized) between them. This can supply units for numbers too (such as “rug
exclude the area set aside for forum posts. help with international terms, too. 5ft..6ft”), enabling you to narrow a search.

SITE:
opERAToR

“site: operator” can restrict searches to top-


Filetypes Wildcards level domains, not just specific sites. So,
Searching for, say, “SAT exam When using an exact phrase, specifying “site:com OR site:co.uk” excludes
paper” returns a useful starting point, but consider what you might be excluding. unwanted foreign results. Conversely, you can
search part of a site, such as “site:us.cnn.com/
by adding “filetype: pdf” you get direct links “US government energy policy” gives good
tech” – Safari 8 actually hides this level of
to papers. (Add keywords to narrow by results, but put the wildcard operator * detail until you click the search field, or
subject area, too.) Here, you might also before “energy”; this shows exact phrases enable the display of full addresses in
append “OR filetype:doc”. with any word or phrase between them. its Advanced preferences.

maclife.com mar 2015 93


>>> Create

master formulas in Numbers


Discover how to power up your spreadsheets with formulas

Formulas play a key role in every


REQUIRES Numbers spreadsheet. They allow you
> iPad, iOS 7, Numbers to perform both simple (“2+2”) and
more complex calculations, such as
LEVEL one based on the content of specific cells that
> Easy meet a certain condition. Either way, they
transform Numbers into something very powerful
IT WILL TAKE
and versatile.
> 20 minutes The key rule to entering formulas in any
spreadsheet is to make sure you precede it with an
equals sign, so Numbers knows to interpret it as
such. In the iPad version, tap the gray = button in
the entry box and Numbers will reveal the
formulas and functions keyboard, split into three:
By default, all cell references are relative; use the $ character to
operators, numeric keypad and advanced options. make part or all of them absolute.
It’s worth noting that formulas based on the
content of specific cells automatically update references should be absolute. Flick either or both
when you make changes to any of the cells they switches to see the cell reference update – for
reference. If you copy and paste a formula to a example, A1 becomes $A1, A$1 or $A$1.
different cell, it’ll update its cell references to Numbers also supports advanced mathematical
reflect its new position too. functions. These are basically predefined
You can change this by instructing Numbers to formulas, and Numbers has more than 250.
make part or all of the cell reference absolute, by The most common (so Numbers makes it most
placing a $ sign in front of the relevant reference accessible) is SUM, which adds up consecutive
(column, row or both). To add these, tap the arrow cells in a row or column. Similar functions include
Here we’ve used the IF
function to tell people button next to the cell or cell range in question in AVERAGE (returns an average of the selected
if the answer they
the input box, then use the Preserve Row and cells) and FREQUENCY (displays the number of
enter in a quiz is
correct or not. Preserve Column sliders to choose which times a specific value occurs in a range of cells).

Numbers also
s u p p o rts a dva N c e d
m at h F u N ct i o N s

To get started with functions, tap the functions


button in the calculator. You’ll see a list of
categories, from Date and Time to Statistical –
tap one to explore its contents. Tap the “i” button
next to a function for a definition, breakdown of
its component parts (syntax) and an example of
it in use. Tap a function to select it, and it’ll
appear in the formula bar with the required
syntax in place, with the first component
highlighted in blue. You then simply replace this
with the required data and move on to the next
part of the syntax. Nick peers

94 mar 2015 maclife.com


How to do anything on your Mac, iPhone & iPad

How to insert a formula into your spreadsheet

Your first formula adjust cell selection add more cells


Let’s say you have a column of You’ll see the formula expressed Add cells that aren’t adjacent to
numbers that you’d like to add and present something like SUM (D2:D15). The cell your original selection by simply tapping
as a total at the bottom of the column. reference part is color-coded, and you’ll see them – you’ll see they’re added separately
Numbers offers a shortcut function to doing the cells it refers to are highlighted in the to the formula, and colored differently too,
this: first, double-tap the first empty cell at same color for easy identification. You’ll again for identification purposes. If you
the bottom of the column. When the also see drag handles around the cell accidentally add the wrong cell, tap its
keyboard appears, tap the grey = button selection, allowing you to tap and drag the reference in the formula box to highlight it,
next to the input box to indicate you wish to selection to include additional cells or then tap the backspace key to remove it. By
enter a formula into the cell. You’ll see the remove existing cells. You’ll see the formula default, all cell values will be added to the
keyboard change; tap the SUM button and update, but the value won’t change until formula unless you tap the subtract, divide
Numbers produces the required formula. you tap the green check button. or multiply key before selecting.

Using brackets Copy and paste Selective copy/paste


If you’re performing multiple To copy and paste a formula from If you only want to copy part of a
mathematical operations within a formula one cell to another, simply tap the cell once formula to another cell, double-tap the
– for example, adding two figures and then to select it, then choose Copy. Tap the formula to view the formula in the input box
multiplying a third – the multiplication and target cell and choose Paste. Select Paste with the formulas and functions keyboard.
division are performed before any addition Formula to paste the formula, or Paste Either double-tap part of the formula to
or subtraction. So if you type =1+2*5, the Values to paste its result. By default, all cell select it, or double-tap in some empty space
result will be 11, not 15. To force Numbers to references are relative, referring to the cells to select all of it, then use the drag handles
perform addition and subtraction before around them. That means if you copy and to select the specific part you want before
multiplication, enclose them in brackets, so paste the formula into an adjacent cell, it’ll tapping Copy. Now double-tap the target
type =(1+2)*5 instead to get the result change to reflect its new position – so A1 cell, tap “=” to input a formula and finally
you’re looking for. might become B1 or A2, for example. double-tap and choose Paste.

maclife.com mar 2015 95


>>> Create How to do anything on your Mac, iPhone & iPad

Share files with airdrop


Wirelessly send files to other Macs and iOS devices around you

Wave goodbye to emailing photos, of reading what you’re sharing, it will direct
REQUIRES documents and other files, because them to the App Store and a list of apps it
> Another Mac there’s now a better way: AirDrop. It thinks can handle the item.
running OS X 10.10 or sends files between nearby Macs and AirDrop is available in other places besides
a compatible iOS 7 iOS devices over the air using an encrypted Finder. Click the Share button that appears in
or 8 device, with connection. What’s great is that unlike traditional Safari, Preview, Maps and many other apps to
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
methods of sharing files there’s no tricky setup share whatever it is you’re looking at. Using
turned on
– the devices involved in a transfer don’t need to AirDrop in this way opens a sheet that again
LEVEL be connected to the same Wi-Fi network (though lists nearby people. Click one to send to them.
> Easy AirDrop still works if they are), as it establishes Wherever you access AirDrop, the words “Don’t
a direct connection. They just have to be close. see who you’re looking for?” appear below the list
IT WILL TAKE When you select AirDrop in a Finder window of people. Clicking this and then “Search for an
> 5 minutes sidebar or choose Go > AirDrop, you’ll see a Older Mac” switches to an older AirDrop that
window with icons for nearby people who can works only between Macs running OS X Lion or
receive files. Control your own visibility at the later. This version of AirDrop can’t talk to iOS
foot of the window. When you drag files and devices, but it works with many more models of
folders and drop them onto someone’s icon, Mac – you can check whether yours is compatible
the recipient is prompted to accept or reject the by referring to Apple’s list at support.apple.com/
transfer. If their iOS device has no app capable kb/PH18947. alan Stonebridge

t h e d e v i c eS d o n ’ t n e e d to b e o n t h e Sa m e
W i - F i n e t Wo r k , t h ey j u St n e e d to b e c loS e

How to Share files using airdrop

Start AirDrop Send a file Receive files


On the devices you’d like to transfer On your Mac, locate the file you A blue arc grows around the edge of
files between, open the AirDrop window. want to send. Drag its icon onto the icon for the person’s icon to indicate progress (click
Click it in a Finder window sidebar, or the other person’s device. “Waiting” will for an estimate of remaining time). Files you
choose Go > AirDrop, or press ç+ß+R. If appear under that icon, and a pop-up will receive are saved to your Downloads folder,
Bluetooth or Wi-Fi is switched off, click the appear on the receiving device, so the which is accessible from the Finder sidebar,
button to turn it on so AirDrop can work. recipient can accept or decline the item. the Go menu, or by pressing ç+å+L.

96 mAR 2015 maclife.com


MAC iPHONE

iPAD

Get it instantly

Mac|Life at its best!


Delivery of Mac|Life, in your choice of
Apple Newsstand, Amazon Kindle or NOOK
for only $0.99 per month!

www.maclife.com/godigital
>>> Contents

Mac|Life hits 100 better than ever and the rest


It’s true – next issue, Mac|Life will reach the To take Mac|Life into its second century of Issue 100 will still be full of all the usual Mac
dizzying age of 100. The very first issue issues, we’ll be making a few changes – to and iOS goodness! We’ll show you the best
came out in 2007 – the year of the iPhone. make it the best possible Apple magazine. tips for using your Mac faster and more
It’s funny to think that, by that time, Apple For a start, we’re getting in three fantastic efficiently than ever, and we’ll have our
was already back to being an electronics new regular columnists, to give you insight ultimate guide to creative hardware –
powerhouse thanks to the iPod, but who and analysis that you won’t find anywhere picking out the very best setups for making
would have guessed that it would be the else. We’re keeping their identity a secret movies, photography, digital art, music and
most valuable company in the world by for now, but we’re so excited to have them podcasting, whether you’re a pro or just
the time the magazine hit 100 issues? on board – look out on our social network getting started. And we’ve got another
All that said, some of our readers may and at maclife.com for more details. We’ll batch of exciting reviews and how-to
remember back even further – because also be devoting more space to reviews, to guides. See you then!
before Mac|Life, there was another ensure that we’re helping you find all the
magazine: MacAddict. Launched in 1996 best apps, accessories and games out
(the year Apple bought NeXT and Steve there. And we’ll be changing how we review
Jobs returned to the company he founded), Apple products, with a new testing regime
it later transformed into MacILife. designed to give you the most practical,
So, how will we celebrate 100 issues? thorough advice anywhere.
NEXT ISSUE ON SALE
Mar 3 2015

98 mar 2015 maclife.com


Smile.
Get to the finish line sooner.
You decide what comes next.

Redefine Productivity with TextExpander!

forr Mac for iPad & iPhone


now with custom keyboard

smilesoftware.com

Copyright © 2014 SmileOnMyMac, LLC dba Smile. PDFpen, PDFpenPro, TextExpander and the Smile Logo are registered trademarks of Smile.
C O M P L E T E E D I T I O N
9012

W W W. F E R A L I N T E R AC T I V E . C O M
Lyrics © 2 015 T HE C ODE M A S T E R S S OF T WA R E C OMPA N Y L IMI T E D ( “ C ODE M A S T E R S ” ) . A L L R IGH T S R E S E R V E D. “ C ODE M A S T E R S ”®, “ E GO ”®, T HE C ODE M A S T E R S L OG O A ND “ DIR T ”® A R E R E GIS T E R E D T R A DE M A R K S
O W N E D B Y C O D E M A S T E R S . “ D I R T 3 ” ™ I S A T R A D E M A R K O F C O D E M A S T E R S . T H I S G A M E I S N O T L I C E N S E D B Y O R A S S O C I AT E D W I T H T H E F I A O R A N Y R E L AT E D C O M PA N Y. O R I G I N A L LY D E V E L O P E D A N D
P U B L I S H E D B Y C O D E M A S T E R S . D E V E L O P E D F O R A N D P U B L I S H E D O N T H E M A C B Y F E R A L I N T E R A C T I V E LT D . M A C A N D T H E M A C L O G O A R E T R A D E M A R K S O F A P P L E I N C . , R E G I S T E R E D I N T H E U . S . A N D
O T H E R C O U N T R I E S . F E R A L A N D T H E F E R A L L O G O A R E T R A D E M A R K S O F F E R A L I N T E R A C T I V E LT D . T H E R AT I N G S I C O N I S A T R A D E M A R K O F T H E E N T E R TA I N M E N T S O F T WA R E A S S O C I AT I O N . A L L O T H E R
COPYRIGHTS OR TR ADEMARKS ARE THE PROPERT Y OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS AND ARE BEING USED UNDER LICENSE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
9000

Você também pode gostar