http://www.osnews.com/ Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2013, David Adams OSNews version 4 donotreply@osnews.com (Adam Scheinberg) donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:53:13 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif http://www.osnews.com/ 120 http://www.osnews.com/story/27121/OS_X_10_9_Mavericks/ http://www.osnews.com/story/27121/OS_X_10_9_Mavericks/ The third and final WWDC product I want to talk about is - of course - OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While iOS 7 was clearly the focus of this year's WWDC, its venerable desktop counterpart certainly wasn't left behind. Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the first OS X release not to carry the name of a big cat. Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:35:37 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 76 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/27094/OS_X_Mountain_Lion_v10_8_4_released/ http://www.osnews.com/story/27094/OS_X_Mountain_Lion_v10_8_4_released/ Apple has released OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.4 - the usual bugfix release, as the version number indicates. You all know how to get it! Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:50:52 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 6 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/26996/OS_X_10_9_to_include_power-user_enhancements_/ http://www.osnews.com/story/26996/OS_X_10_9_to_include_power-user_enhancements_/ "OS X 10.9, which is internally codenamed 'Cabernet', will focus on various 'power-user' enhancements and take core features from iOS, according to our sources. Unlike operating system updates such as OS X Leopard and OS X Lion, OS X 10.9 will likely not be an overhauled approach to how the operating system feels and functions." Features for power users and features from iOS? Seems like an oxymoron. Still, if they manage to finally fix the Finder and Spaces, I'll be happy. Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:14:21 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 73 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/26923/Who_wrote_the_Flashback_OS_X_worm_/ http://www.osnews.com/story/26923/Who_wrote_the_Flashback_OS_X_worm_/ "A year ago today, Apple released a software update to halt the spread of the Flashback worm, a malware strain that infected more than 650,000 Mac OS X systems using a vulnerability in Apple's version of Java. This somewhat dismal anniversary is probably as good a time as any to publish some clues I've gathered over the past year that point to the real-life identity of the Flashback worm's creator." Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:01:16 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 1 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/26893/Quicksilver_moves_out_of_beta/ http://www.osnews.com/story/26893/Quicksilver_moves_out_of_beta/ Via Ars Technica: "After almost 10 years of testing, Quicksilver lays the beta tag to rest (if the lack of an eszett brings a tear to your eye, you can always reminisce by hitting option+S on your keyboard). What does this release mean? It means more than just a change in the version numbering system - it signifies a maturity of Quicksilver and a sign of what's to come." Quicksilver is fantastic for those of us for whom command+space and the dock combined is not enough. While I personally don't use Quicksilver (I use Spotlight through command+space to launch applications), I know of quite a few Mac users who swear by it. Mon, 25 Mar 2013 21:24:47 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 4 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/26863/OS_X_10_8_3_released/ http://www.osnews.com/story/26863/OS_X_10_8_3_released/ Apple has released OS X 10.8.3. The biggest improvement is Windows 8 support in Boot Camp - although Windows 7 drivers seemed to work fine as well for running Windows 8 on Macs (or so I've read). You know how to get it. Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:14:30 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 18 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/26799/Getting_rid_of_the_Finder_s_Open_With_duplicates/ http://www.osnews.com/story/26799/Getting_rid_of_the_Finder_s_Open_With_duplicates/ "This is the problem: You want to open a file using something other than the default application. You right-click its icon in the Finder, choose Open With, and a submenu pops up with an absurd number of duplicate entries." This is so annoying. Dr. Dang made a little addition to .bashrc so you can fix it with a single command. Now it's up to Apple to actually fix the problem (via Daring Fireball). Wed, 20 Feb 2013 10:52:15 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 17 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/26515/Fusion_drive_on_older_Macs_using_Core_Storage/ http://www.osnews.com/story/26515/Fusion_drive_on_older_Macs_using_Core_Storage/ "Since Apple has announced the Fusion drive, people have wondered if it's possible to use the fusion drive on older machines with a SSD and HDD." Fun with Core Storage (via John Siracusa). Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:57:57 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 10 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/26388/iOS_6_OS_X_10_8_2_released/ http://www.osnews.com/story/26388/iOS_6_OS_X_10_8_2_released/ Apple has released both iOS 6 and OS X 10.8.2 today. We already covered iOS 6 when it was announced (as has the rest of the web). The OS X update adds a number of small features and addresses a load of bugs. Have fun! Wed, 19 Sep 2012 18:16:26 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 5 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/26356/From_Linux_to_OS_X_1_year_later/ http://www.osnews.com/story/26356/From_Linux_to_OS_X_1_year_later/ "A little more than an year ago I wrote my rant post The Linux Desktop Experience is Killing Linux on the Desktop and for the first time in 8 years I wasn't a desktop Linux user anymore. I spent about a month wrestling with Windows 7, but let's face it - Windows is ill suited for professional Ruby programmers like me (and it's ill suited for most programmers, except maybe Java & .Net I guess). Anyways, it was never my intention to stick with Windows - I was just doing my Mac due diligence. Now with 1+ year of OSX usage I'd like to share a few things about my experience thus far with you." Sun, 09 Sep 2012 22:58:18 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 82 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/26249/OS_X_Mountain_Lion_data_loss_via_Save_As_/ http://www.osnews.com/story/26249/OS_X_Mountain_Lion_data_loss_via_Save_As_/ How this passed through Apple's Mountain Lion testing is beyond me. "If one edits a document, then chooses Save As, then BOTH the edited original document and the copy are saved, thus not only saving a new copy, but silently saving the original with the same changes, thus overwriting the original." Just goes to show: do not mess with my ability to save my stuff. There is no one-size-fits-all for this kind of delicate stuff. Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:16:11 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 44 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/26241/Graphics_improvements_give_Mountain_Lion_that_speedy_feeling/ http://www.osnews.com/story/26241/Graphics_improvements_give_Mountain_Lion_that_speedy_feeling/ "Has Mountain Lion been feeling faster for you compared to Lion on the same machine? It's probably not just you: Mountain Lion appears to include improved graphics drivers and low-level graphics subsystem improvements. According to our testing, these improvements result in an approximate performance increase of up to 10 percent. Those improvements can make your current hardware feel faster despite the fact that your CPU can't magically crunch numbers any faster. The changes also lay the foundation for Apple to update OS X's OpenGL support in a more timely manner, which could potentially lead to better graphics performance in the future." Thu, 02 Aug 2012 21:48:52 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 19 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/26225/The_Mac_App_Store_s_future_of_irrelevance/ http://www.osnews.com/story/26225/The_Mac_App_Store_s_future_of_irrelevance/ In agreement with Marco Arment? I shall quickly venture outside and inform myself of the possibility of catching a fleeting glimpse of an avian sus scrofa domesticus. "The Mac App Store is in significant danger of becoming an irrelevant, low-traffic flea market where buyers rarely venture for serious purchases. And I bet that's not what Apple had in mind at all." There's an issue with the Mac App Store: Apple runs the danger of chasing most serious applications away from the store. While I would personally consider this to be a big win for computing, I'm sure Apple doesn't exactly see it that way. Thu, 26 Jul 2012 22:35:51 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 20 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/26219/OS_X_Mountain_Lion_released_Siracusa_s_review_also_up/ http://www.osnews.com/story/26219/OS_X_Mountain_Lion_released_Siracusa_s_review_also_up/ Apple has just released Mountain Lion to the Mac App Store. For a measly $20, Lion users can move to the new release right now, and honestly, at that price, there's little reason not to for the Mac users among us. It's not a huge or massive release or anything, but if you're a fan of iOS, you're going to love all the OS bits and pieces that are being transferred to your desktop. Have fun installing, and, as always, be sure to read the only review that matters: John Siracusa's 25000 words long review (that's almost as long as the thesis I wrote to earn my master's degree, holy cripes!). I know what I'll be reading today on my brand new Nexus 7. If you can, please support Siracusa by buying the ebook version on Amazon (currently stuck in the review process, should show up any minute now). Why? Because Siracusa's kind of technology writing is something we need to cherish, because we have less and less of it. Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:53:59 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mac OS X 35 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News http://www.osnews.com/story/26175/Confirmed_Mountain_Lion_incompatible_with_some_64bit_Macs/ http://www.osnews.com/story/26175/Confirmed_Mountain_Lion_incompatible_with_some_64bit_Macs/ Ars Technica is reporting that certain 64bit Mac models won't be able to run Mountain Lion. The problem is the graphic card drivers; these are still 32bit, and Apple is unwilling to update them to 64bit. A 64bit kernel can't load 32bit drivers, so that's that. Apple has a list of supported models on their Mountain Lion upgrade page, so you can easily check if your computer is capable of running Mountain Lion. Wed, 11 Jul 2012 22:49:30 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (OSNews Staff) Mac OS X 64 http://www.osnews.com/topics/41 News moondevil