MacFormat 1 May 2015

Apple has once again wowed us all with its latest announcements. The all-new MacBook is a truly revolutionary Apple notebook, bursting with groundbreaking tech and a form factor we can scarcely believe exists – it’s just 1.31cm tall! We explore this exciting new product on page 8. Of course, the world will be about to get its first taste of an Apple wearable as you read this. The Apple Watch is a brave new world for Apple, and us. It opens up a whole new element to the Apple ecosystem we’ve all invested so much in over the years and we can’t wait to see what direction it takes mobile computing in. We’ve spoken to plenty of in-the-know developers who have set out their visions for the immediate future of…

The big surprise at the Apple Watch reveal was ResearchKit, an open-source software framework that turns your iPhone into a diagnostic tool for medical and health research. Jeff Williams, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Operations, said: “ResearchKit gives the scientific community access to a diverse, global population and more ways to collect data than ever before”. The software makes it easier to recruit research subjects, improving the quality of data by enabling 24/7 data collection and sharing. Apple worked with several reputable medical research teams in the development of ResearchKit, which ships this month. There are five initial apps: mPower from the University of Rochester, Xuanwu Hospital at Capital Medical University and Sage Bionetworks looks into Parkinsons Disease; Diabetes app GlucoSuccess comes from Massachusetts General Hospital; Heart Disease research is…

Tim Cook www.apple.com “Steve felt that most people… think they can’t influence or change things a lot. I think he would probably call that a limited life.” Apple CEO talks Jobs Eddy Cue www.apple.com “Not a reflection of the Steve I knew.” Apple’s iTunes chief slams ‘Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine’ documentary Steve Wozniak www.woz.org “Computers are going to take over from humans.” Apple co-founder predicts the future Jony Ive www.apple.com “I see design as a way you look at the world and a thought process.” Inside the head of the Apple design chief Jean-Claude Biver www.tagheuer.co.uk “Apple will get young people used to wearing a watch and later maybe they will want to buy themselves a real watch.” TAG Heuer CEO’s view on Apple Watch…

Force Touch trackpad Available in the MacBook and the updated 13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple’s pressure-sensitive Force Touch trackpad introduces a new dimension to Mac’s user interface: it can distinguish between a tap and a click, and it’s able to tell how hard you’re pressing. The trackpad provides haptic feedback and its built-in force sensors mean you can click anywhere to initiate an action. It will perform different actions depending on how much pressure you apply. So, while you might tap lightly to select a file, a harder press (Force click) invokes different actions, such as looking up word definitions or opening a details inspector for calendar events etc. Launched by Apple CEO Tim Cook in March, the new MacBook builds upon years of learning about miniaturisation during iPad and iPhone…

£22.99 Developer NeverCenter, nevercenter.com Requires OS X 10.6.6 or higher, 64-bit Mac CameraBag 2 is the Mac app you need if you want to get more from your photos. Elegant and easy to use, this award-winning non-destructive image editor is packed with features and tools. Developer Never-center built proprietary technology to edit images in 32-bit at, it’s claimed, “blazing speeds”. The software lets you perform image editing actions you don’t often find in other photographic tools, such as layering multiple tone curves. CameraBag’s tile-based workflow lets you immediately see what adjustments you’ve applied at any point. New in this release are the Gamma Curve tool to help you precisely control brightness levels and a Filtered B+W tool that helps find the perfect tone balance for your black and white images. The…

FILM Boyhood £13.99 A coming of age movie filmed over 12 years with the same cast, Boyhood follows a boy, his sister and their single mum, capturing the life and experiences of a child until he reaches 18. PODCAST Comedians Telling Stuff Free Sofie Hagen’s ‘anecdotal comedy podcast’ in which six comedians are asked about the most revealing or humiliating moments of their professional lives. Hilarious, humiliating, engaging and fun for the ears.…