Índex per March 2018 a MacFormat

The world has been ablaze with talk of the Meltdown and Spectre bugs, but what are they, and how do they affect you? The vulnerabilities first came to light on 3 January 2018, when they were made public in the media. Affected hardware and software vendors had been made aware of the issues in the summer of 2017, but had been unable to release security patches in time. Meltdown and Spectre are security vulnerabilities in the architectural design of modern CPUs. If taken advantage of, they could allow an application to read any information stored in your device’s memory, whether its authorised to or not. That is, of course, a very serious weakness. Meltdown, for instance, could allow a hacker to gain access to your passwords, emails, photos and more…

Apple only recently unveiled its new iPhone design with the iPhone X, and it looks like there is already a tweak on the way. When Apple launched its newest phone last year, it replaced Touch ID with new facial recognition tech called Face ID. Apple said the technology offers a much more secure system than Touch ID. According to South Korea’s ETNews, LG Innotec, the company that makes the depthsensing system in the iPhone X, has invested $821 billion to improve the sensor array. Significantly, ETNews suggests that an updated version of the sensor could take the form of a combined camera and facial recognition module on the front of the phone. This in turn could result in a reduction in the size of the iPhone X’s notch, something which…

Pages packs a punch when it comes to word processing. Here’s how to use its tools to powerful effect, controlling how text flows around images, making docs non-linear with hyperlinks, and personalising the docs you create. 1 Create and apply styles Styles make it very easy to quickly change text attributes throughout a doc. Pages provides several default styles, or you can create your own: select some text, click the paintbrush icon in the toolbar to open the Format inspector and open its Style tab. Set a font, size, weight and other attributes, click the arrow next to the current style name at the top of the inspector, and click the + at the top right of the list. Name your style and press return. 2 Wrap around images With…

1 Who’s working? The number next to the Collaborate button shows the number of participants actively working on the currently shared document. 2 Real-time changes Collaborators’ changes and comments appear in the shared document impressively quickly, and you can respond immediately to comments in threaded conversations! 3 Recognise your authors Collaborators can choose their own author colours on the Mac in View > Comments & Changes > Author Color, or on iCloud.com in the preferences pane under the Tools icon. 4 Avoid conflict Click the coloured dot next to a collaborator’s name in the participant list to jump to where they are working in the shared document. This is a handy tool to avoid editing conflicts. 5 Change your mind You can change collaboration options at any time. If you…

NEW IDEAS Your in-depth guide to getting more from your Apple kit Understand iOS gestures A tap is a brief contact of (usually) one finger on your device’s screen. To drag is to move a finger across the screen to scroll or pan around content. Swipe means move one or more fingers across an item or the screen, then let go. A flick is like swiping, but it’s quicker, and is often used to scroll content more quickly. Pinch means move two fingers together or apart, usually to zoom in or out. Touch and hold means lightly rest your finger on an item and wait for a reaction. Master Mac keyboard shortcuts When you see a shortcut like command+option+C, hold all but the last key, then press that one. command…

There’s nothing inherently wrong with Open and Save dialogs – they do the job. But Default Folder X offers something better – a kind of ‘pro’ take on this aspect of working with your Mac. Mostly, this involves providing fast access to useful tools and saved files, in order to boost efficiency. Much of this happens by way of a frame Default Folder X adds to the aforementioned dialogs. Once you’ve installed the app, ensure you’re using the expanded version of a dialog box (click the Default Folder X icon to do so). You’ll then find all manner of new menus and options, some of which we explore in the three walkthroughs here. That said, Default Folder X moves beyond these dialogs. It enables you to create systemwide keyboard shortcuts…

GarageBand for iPad is versatile – approachable for beginners, and powerful for pros. You can use it to record an entire album, but let’s kick off here with more modest ambition: composing a ringtone. Making a ringtone is a useful exercise because it provides insight into various aspects of GarageBand, giving you skills you can expand on and later use to write and record full tracks. But also you’ll end up with your own personal ringtone and won’t end up feeling foolish when frantically digging out your iPhone and yelling “Hello?” several times, before realising someone nearby is already deep in conversation while simultaneously edging away from you. We’ll start with drums, rhythm being the foundation of every good music loop. GarageBand offers acoustic drums (manual tapping), Smart Drums (drag…

Is a Fusion Drive worth it? Q I intend to replace my iMac, and am considering a Fusion Drive rather than a hard disk? by LIZ DENTON A Fusion Drives are an Apple-specific combination of a smaller SSD with a larger conventional hard disk. They attempt to deliver the speed of an SSD most of the time, at a cost which is little more than a hard disk. To do that, macOS locks the two drives together using its Core Storage technology. This aims to keep your most active data – down to the block level, not necessarily whole files – on the SSD where they can be accessed most quickly, and less active ones on the hard disk with its far greater capacity. Fusion Drives used 128GB SSDs back…

REUSE OLD KIT Inspiring ideas for revamping old Apple kit Although we live in a tiny flat in London, we’re lucky enough to also have a house in North Devon that we escape to whenever we need some fresh air, or we have run out of clean coffee cups in the flat. This is obviously extremely lovely, but it does have the tiny disadvantage that I am forever leaving things behind in the wrong house. This month, the internal hard disk in my Mac mini was getting annoyingly full and – of course – my external hard disk was down south. The cost of a new one was less than the £60 in petrol for the round trip, but so long as I was going shopping, I wondered why I…

BUYING ADVICE Our authoritative reviews help you make more informed choices Manifesto – our ratings explained Our reviews are totally independent; we’re not affiliated with Apple or anyone else, nor are we influenced by advertisers. You can trust us to give an honest assessment of a product’s worth. The prices quoted for products are correct at the time of writing and are the best we can find from a reputable online dealer, excluding delivery. A brilliant thing in all regards, and worth every penny Strongly recommended; any flaws are only minor concerns Worth considering, though there may be better options Fundamentally flawed; look at alternatives as a priority A waste of your money and everyone’s time; do not buy! The MACFORMAT Awards Awarded to a five-star product we believe is…

£19.99 FROM Flexibits Inc, flexibits.com NEEDS OS X 10.11 or later There once was a utility called TapDex, which provided convenient access to Mac contacts from anywhere. It was great for looking up phone numbers or copying addresses, but was sadly abandoned in the transition to macOS. Thankfully, the creators of Fantastical have now come up with Cardhop, a contacts app that goes beyond those modest ambitions. Rather than simply displaying information, Cardhop can edit entries, assign groups, and add new fields or notes – basically anything macOS’s Contacts app can do, but straight from the menu bar. If you’re at a desk all day, Cardhop is a boon. Using configurable Quick Actions, you can initiate text messages, emails and calls from cards; outgoing calls go to your iPhone via…

£19.99 FROM Black Pixel, getpixelboardapp.com NEEDS iOS 11 or later Virtual meetings can be useful, but they often lack a crucial component: a virtual whiteboard where you can sketch ideas. That’s something that Black Pixel encountered, and so created a virtual whiteboard app. The app enables you to share three boards with up to nine people. The free trial is fully featured for two weeks; you can permanently unlock Pro for £19.99 to keep using multiple boards, collaboration features and gesture support. The interface is very simple and straightforward, so nobody’s wasting time trying to make it work when you’re supposed to be working together. It works just like a real whiteboard does, with the rather brilliant addition of disappearing ink that remains on the board for only a short…

Pages, Numbers and Keynote are free with every Mac, iPhone and iPad these days, and they’re capable of turning out incredible results. This issue’s first feature teaches you tips and techniques to help you make amazing documents with them. Our second feature is a special insider interview with Phil Schiller, one of Apple’s most popular leaders, who you may recognise from the company’s product announcements. It’s thanks to our sister magazine T3 that we can bring you Schiller’s thoughts on Apple’s recent products and their importance for the future of the company and the whole tech industry. After High Sierra woes in late 2017 and the tech industry’s chip security issues at the start of 2018, I was excited to hear that HomePod would be available from 9 February. Sadly,…

According to a recent patent application, Apple may be working on a long-range wireless charger. The radio-frequency based system has a few clever tricks up itssleeve, too. For one thing, the patent states that the charger could gather information from your iPhone and Apple account (potentially iCloud) and use this to predict your usage patterns, then distribute power accordingly. In other words, the charger could send enough power to your iPhone to get it through the day based on how you use it, then automatically switch to charging your iPad. Apple’s patent states that the charger could use battery charge state information, usage history, device information and more. RF-based remote charging gets weaker the further your device is from the charger: Apple’s patent application details a way to efficiently manage…

A IT’S ALL ABOUT COOL The iMac Pro isn’t just a reskinned iMac — it’s newly configured to give priority to the cooling system, which is unlike any other iMac’s. Its dual-fan cooler, huge heat sink, and beefier rear vent increase cooling capacity by 80%. B POTENTIALLY UPGRADABLE... Some components are modular – the memory (left), dual SSDs (center), and CPU (at right of the motherboard). This means that, in theory, they could be upgradable, although the SSDs and CPU seem to be custom-made for Apple. C NOT UPGRADABLE Graphics are handled by an AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 GPU with 8GB of HBM2 memory. Sadly, this part is soldered in place, so easy upgrades aren’t possible. Not that it’s exactly easy to get at the modular parts... D CUSTOM…

PRIZES WORTH OVER £700 Kit your Mac out with a new mouse, keyboard, speaker set webcam and presentation remote! It’s important that the peripherals and accessories you use with your Mac are top quality. It’s no use trying to get work done with an uncomfortable keyboard or a mouse that keeps dying. That’s why this month’s prize is a bundle of Logitech products, starting with the MX Master 2S mouse. We rated it four stars in issue 320, thanks to its highly customisable nature and clever ability to work across two Macs at once. The next part of our bundle is a Logitech Craft wireless keyboard. What marks it out as special is its control dial, which (like Apple’s Touch Bar) adapts to the app you’re using. So you could…

Almost nothing makes us happier that we’re not forced to use PCs than Keynote. It’s far more pleasant to use than PowerPoint. Here are our favourite features that’ll power up your presentations! 1 Use two or more screens With your MacBook connected to a projector or TV, you can mirror what’s on it to the external screen, or, using System Preferences > Displays and Keynote’s preferences, show your presentation on the external and other stuff on the Mac’s screen – a timer, notes, the next slide, and so on. If you can connect even more screens, once you’re in presentation mode, you can choose what’s on each independently by clicking the stacked rectangles icon on the presenter display – you may need to move the pointer to reveal it. 2…

Pages, Numbers and Keynote are free for most Apple users, and the iCloud.com versions are available at no cost for other people. However, much of the world uses Microsoft Office and Google Docs, so here are tips to ensure your docs work for other people. 1 Line management When converting an iWork doc to an Office format, text reflow is inevitable. Stick to common fonts to mitigate this and, because Pages and Word interpret lines and paragraphs differently, you’ll get better results if you set line and paragraph spacing in fixed point sizes rather than relative measures. 2 Translation issues Apple’s apps work well with Office docs – comments and tracked changes transfer seamlessly – but there are gaps. Macros are unsupported, linked text boxes and watermarks don’t transfer from…

1 Layers This Hue/ Saturation 1 adjustment layer enables us to remove selective colours from the photo. 2 Properties In this panel, we select unwanted colours from this pop-up menu and desaturate them by dragging the Saturation slider to the left. 3 Masks Our second adjustment layer temporarily desaturates reds to help us spot stray red pixels for brushing out. 4 Brush tool With the Brush tool, we can selectively hide or reveal red pixels by painting on the Hue/Saturation 2 adjustment layer’s mask. 5 Brush Preset picker A brush tip’s size and softness can be adjusted using the Brush Preset picker in the Options bar. The term ‘selective colour effect’ refers to the technique of converting a shot to black and white while retaining the colour of a specific…

Sharing a calendar using iCloud is a great way of organising family life, work projects or regular events with friends. There are two distinct types of shared calendar: public and private. The key difference between the two is that public calendars can only be edited by the calendar owner. Private calendars can be edited by the owner or anyone to whom the owner grants specific permission. Invitees with editing privileges can create, edit and delete events, and track invitation responses. Both public and private calendars can be viewed in the Calendar app on a Mac or iOS device and in Microsoft Outlook on a Windows PC. Public calendars can also be viewed in any app that supports the iCalendar format (files usually having the extension .ics). Regardless of whether a…

1 Add items Tap the + button to add items to Yoink, whether they’re stored in iCloud or on the Clipboard, or to insert a web address. 2 Edit items Tap Edit to give a new title or description to items you’ve added to Yoink, one by one – or, indeed, if you want to remove items you no longer need there. 3 Snippets Yoink recognises when a text snippet or web address is copied to the Clipboard and asks whether you want to import that item to its shelf. 4 Virtual shelf This is where shelved items appear. Tap the three dots for more actions you can perform on the corresponding item, such as sending it elsewhere via iOS’s built-in Share sheet. 5 Clear the shelf Tap this icon…

Damaged file and high CPU use Q I ran EtreCheck because of performance issues, and it tells me that mdworker(13) is the ‘top process by CPU’ with 56%. Is this normal, or should I do something about it? by BOB ASPINALL A Mdworker is a background daemon which is responsible for compiling the metadata indexes that are used for Spotlight searches. There are usually several copies of it running at any time, and each should typically take less than 5% of CPU time, although sometimes when working on large files they can exceed that – but never as much as 56%. High CPU usage by mdworker normally occurs when it’s choking on a file, causing it to crash repeatedly and be restarted automatically. This is normally recorded in the log,…

Strange alert from a website Q When visiting a website, a peculiar transparent alert appeared over Safari’s window, warning that a ‘System Scan is recommended’. I quickly moved off that page, but wonder if macOS might ever show warnings like this? by KENNETH WATKINS A No: if you ever encounter this type of pop-up, you can be certain that it’s bogus, nothing to do with macOS, and an attempt by a malicious website to trap you into doing something which you and your Mac will deeply regret. The best immediate action you can take is to close all browser windows and quit the app as soon as possible; closing the windows first ensures they won’t reopen next time. So long as you don’t click on any buttons or controls in…

DIGITAL PAINTING APPS ON TEST… Affinity Photo £19.99 ArtRage £4.99 Paper by FiftyThree Free (£5.49 per 6 months for Pro) Pixelmator £4.99 Procreate £9.99 Tayasui Sketches Free (£4.99 for Pro version) There’s no more rewarding use for a touchscreen than painting and making art. Whether you’re into pen-and-ink drawing, pencil sketches, watercolours, charcoals and pastels or more esoteric effects, an iPad Pro combined with Apple’s pressure- and tilt-sensitive Pencil is as intuitive as digital art gets. Other iPads and third-party styluses come a close second, and even a rubber-tipped passive stylus, or just your finger, can serve as a brush or a trusty 2B. In this group test we’ve chosen six of the most best art apps, of which three – ArtRage, Procreate and Tayasui Sketches – are purely for…

£17.76 FROM Decisive Tactics, decisivetactics.com NEEDS OS X 10.7 or later Back in the days before AirPrint, Printopia was about the only way you could print directly from an iPhone or iPad. If you don’t have an AirPrintcompatible printer, it’s still one of the easiest options for getting documents from an iOS device onto paper. Previously a System Preferences pane, Printopia is now an app in its own right, but the app doesn’t have to be running in order to print from an iOS device. You don’t even have to be logged in on the Mac on which it’s installed. As long as the Mac is switched on and connected to the same network as your iPhone or iPad, you can simply open an iOS document’s Share sheet and then…

Making music on your Mac just got a boost thanks to the latest version of the popular djay Pro app. One of the most interesting new features is Automix AI, which makes use of artificial intelligence and Spotify technology to create mixes, playlists and transitions. The interface has been overhauled with a modular design, with customisable tools and configurations for samplers and effects. There is a new video mode with Photos integration, Single Deck mode, and the ability to cue loops. There’s also a brand-new audio engine with high-quality effects, filters and EQs, plus a new PhotoBeat feature that syncs photos to the time of your music. The library management and Keyboard Shortcut Editor have also been reworked. That makes djay Pro 2 a powerful update to an already excellent…

Apple is the most successful company on the planet, but it’s no stranger to controversy. Cast your mind back to the removal of the iPhone’s headphone jack or the floppy drive from the original iMac for just two examples of righteous anger on an epic scale. That other companies invariably follow suit does not seem to calm the commentariat or clip the column inches. It’s a rare day indeed that sees Apple moved to issue a public apology. Yet that’s exactly what happened after it was revealed the company had been slowing older iPhones – iPhone 6 to 7 Plus, including the SE – in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns, without informing users. A walled garden The critics pounced. USA Today said Apple’s apology didn’t go far enough. Wired argued…

Dig deeper into Apple’s spreadsheet app than its templates. Whether you need to track your budget, monitor investments or plan a project, these quick tips will get you started. 1 The Function button If you’re an Excel emigrant and miss its AutoSum function, Numbers offers a versatile alternative: select a series of cells and choose one of the common functions from the toolbar’s Function button. Numbers inserts the function’s calculation in the nearest empty cell above or to the side of the selection. 2 Quick calculations Numbers’ Quick Calculation bar only appears at the bottom of the window when a range of cells is selected. Its capsules hold at-a-glance calculations for your selection – their average, sum, and so on – that you can drag to a table cell to…

The iCloud.com website has become increasingly useful over the years and now gives you access to webbased versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote to work on documents even without an Apple device to hand. As of High Sierra and iOS 11, the iCloud service and its website have some new features, in addition to compelling ones that were already only available at the website. Here’s how to make more of iCloud and iCloud.com in your work. 1 Share files in iCloud Drive You can share files created in apps other than Pages, Numbers and Keynote. In iOS 11’s Files app, locate a file in iCloud Drive that you want to share, tap Select, tap the file, tap Share, and then tap Add People in the bottom row of the sheet.…

Each of these art apps has its merits, making it tricky to pick a winner. Paper by FiftyThree was one of the first great iOS drawing apps, but its elegance is now outweighed by its limitations and its unappealing Pro subscription. ArtRage has a long history, and is easy enough for kids yet capable of serious work, with some uniquely satisfying brushes. But its tools aren’t the most natural or customisable, and it feels a bit clunky. Procreate has the key features we want, it’s easy to get good results, and you can delve a lot deeper Tayasui Sketches, worth a fiver for the Pro features, feels more modern and has some lovely tools, with support for most third-party styluses as well as Pencil; but it needs more settings, including…

£86.56 FROM Adobe, adobe.com NEEDS OS X 10.11 or later If you’re new to video editing, the Guided mode will help take you through the basics VERDICT A great app for video newbies, with ample power for the next step up. + Helpful guidance + Finds key scenes automatically - A little pricey - Template graphics are a bit tacky Adobe Premiere Elements 2018 is comparable with Apple’s iMovie in terms of its abilities. Both apps are designed to help entry-level editors import, fix and share their clips as slickly edited projects featuring titles and transitions. If you’re new to video editing, Premiere Elements 2018 is worth a look – its Guided mode will take you through basics, such as importing clips and trimming them in the timeline. Step-by-step text instructions…

£6.99 FROM Fluid Touch, noteshelf.net NEEDS iOS 10 or later Noteshelf 2 has tools for marking PDFs, lets you add photos, and handles typed and handwritten notes. However, there is a limitation to the handwritten content (which is explained below). You get a choice of two pen tools, a pencil, a highlighter, and intelligent shape tools. It can even record audio as you jot or type, although you can't link your jottings to locations within the soundtrack. Noteshelf 2 lacks the handwriting recognition of the native Notes app, so you can’t search entries with Spotlight, and when you export a handwritten page it will transfer as a PNG or PDF. If you want to export in a more usable format, try Nebo. Notes are synced between iOS devices through iCloud,…

£4.99 FROM Bithell Games, bithellgames.com NEEDS iOS 11 or later This game deals with a robotic ‘Tek’ underclass that serves the human population. You’re a Tek, and a fellow Tek tells you a friend’s missing. You then defy your programming to investigate the mystery. Interaction happens using on-screen text messages, and progress depends on unearthing ‘focus points’ and fulfilling objectives. The writing is tight and engaging, and the game takes place within a beautifully rendered underground train carriage. Your Tek never even rises from his seat; instead, other Teks come and go. The game’s challenges are cleverly designed. One Tek demands a joke before it’ll dish any dirt. Another exchange has you use one Tek’s mood to manipulate another. At times, it can feel rigid and repetitive; despite the odd…

Welcome to MacFormat’s Store Guide, the place to go to find out about all the Apple kit that matters, whether you’re looking for your next iPhone or a powerful new desktop Mac. We’ve highlighted the model of each product that’s ideally suited to your needs, whether you’re a recent convert or a seasoned Apple user. So be sure to check our handy tables to see which Mac, iPad or iPhone is best for you. We’ve also handpicked the gold standard in audio, storage, cameras, and many other categories, helping you complement your Mac or iOS device with the best accessories. All of these third-party devices have been reviewed in the magazine. Mac mini From £479 An update in 2014 brought a £100 price drop to the most affordable Mac, but…

ALSO INSIDE… Be prepared: Clean down and back up your Mac Energy-saving tips for your Mac and iOS devices Discover the new music controls in iOS 11.2.5 Explained: Make the most of iCloud Keychain … and more! Contents subject to change ISSUE 324 ON SALE 13 MAR 20 1 8 DON’T MISS IT – SUBSCRIBE TODAY! IN PRINT & ON YOUR iPAD Our print and digital bundle gets you the paper magazine as well as our iPad edition myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/macformat ON YOUR MAC Read digitally on your Mac: subscribe with Zinio at zinio.com/macformat Zinio subscriptions do not include a print copy of the magazine.…