MacFormat 1 July 2015

It’s easy to forget how important it is to back up your Mac. After all, it’s not the most glamorous of computing tasks. Yet we all should invest time, and a little bit of money, into safeguarding our precious documents, photos and music. Even if you’re already using OS X’s built-in protection, Time Machine (who isn’t?), there’s more you can do. Is your back-up routine appropriate to your needs? Whether you need to back up one MacBook or protect a small business, our main feature explains all, starting on page 28. If you’re enjoying Apple Watch, you’ll find more than 90 tips on how to use it to the full, starting on page 70. There’s so much it can do, so we’ve broken the tips down into different categories to…

We round up the Apple stories that matter to you Apple has introduced a new edition of the 15-inch MacBook Pro and a second lower-price iteration of its 5K iMac. The new 15-inch MacBook Pro boasts a Force Touch trackpad, Retina display, faster flash storage, longer battery life and much improved graphics. Meanwhile, the new model 27-inch 5K iMac offers quad-core 3.3GHz Intel Core i5 processors and AMD Radeon R9 M290 graphics and costs from £1,599. The cost of the existing top-of-the-range (3.5GHz) 5K iMac has been reduced to £1,849. These 5K displays provide 14.7 million on-screen pixels (5120 x 2880). “Customers love the groundbreaking iMac with Retina 5K display, and now with a new lower price, even more people can experience it,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s Senior Vice President…

METRO REDUX £18.99 Developer Fishlabs, dsfishlabs.com Requires OS X 10.6.6 or higher Cult Ukrainian-made game Metro: Last Light Redux is a dark and powerful post-apocalyptic first-person shoot-’em-up – and it’s now available for Mac. The majority of the action takes place deep underground in the mutant-infested remains of the Russian subway system. Sure enough, at first glance the game may seem a little like Call of Duty or Halo, but Metro’s own nuances makes the game series the cult classic it has become on other platforms. Last Light Redux and 2033 Redux are based on the novels of Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky, who is apparently writing books that tie in to future editions of the game. Action takes place in an incredibly hostile environment. You’ll spend much of your time…

We’re most excited about... PRIZM $169 (about £110) meetprizm.com If you prefer death metal over breakfast and Tweenies over dinner, Prizm will choose accordingly What is it? Prizm bills itself as a ‘learning music device’ that will choose which of your tracks to stream (from the cloud to your speakers) depending on who is in the room and the time of day. For example, if you prefer death metal with your cornflakes and Tweenies with your evening meal, Prizm will choose songs accordingly. If two people are in the room and Prizm understands their tastes, it’ll play music that both people can enjoy. When’s it due? October 2015. Why are we excited? Apart from looking beautifully futuristic, Prizm is a truly intriguing idea. If it can pull it off, it’ll…

One of the things I’ve always loved about Apple is its attitude to celebrities. With other firms, the celebrity is the person you pay to promote your product. With Apple, the celebrity has always been the product. Apple didn’t believe in letting people jump the queue, no matter who they were. As NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal recalls, his fame cut no ice when he tried to get the first iPhone from Steve Jobs. “I used to call him every other day," he said. “Can I please get one first? Can I please get one first? He never gave me one. He said, ‘Shaq, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.’” Many other celebrities (and their agents) tell similar stories. If you wanted the latest Apple product, you got in line with…

Back in 2001, Steve Jobs talked about the digital hub strategy, placing the Mac at the heart of your home – at least as far as music and films went. But with HomeKit, Apple’s machinations go significantly further, aiming to turn your iPhone or iPad into an engine that drives potentially countless smart accessories about your home. It’s science-fiction thinking arriving in our reality – tapping on a device to remote-control lights, locks, heating, garage doors, power strips, cameras and kettles. Granular context-oriented groupings in HomeKit will enable you to define rooms, zones and scenes, further simplifying the setup or adjustment of any given environment. Your home would transform with you only having to lift a single finger – and then tap. Of course, the idea of home automation isn’t…