Macworld June 2022

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is kicking into gear, with the keynote starting off the weeklong event on June 6. While it’s an event aimed toward developers, WWDC is also the day Mac enthusiasts look forward to, because Apple takes it as an opportunity to introduce the next versions of its macOS operating system. Though we haven’t heard much about macOS 13 from the rumor mill just yet, we do have thoughts on what we’d like to see in the next major revision of macOS. FIXES, OPTIMIZATIONS, AND STABILITY If Apple Senior VP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi came on stage and said, “macOS [insert name-of-idyllic-California-location-that-fits-the-macOS-nomenclature here] will feature only optimizations and updates to make it the most stable OS on the planet,” dropped the mic, and walked off stage, I’d be very…

When I started working for MacUser magazine in 1993, I was assigned to a gray cubicle with an old Mac IIci inside. (The summer intern didn’t get the latest and greatest.) I don’t know how that was nearly 30 years ago, but here we are. Over the last few years, I’ve spent a little time buying a few old Mac models and getting them up to speed. Within five feet of me as I write this are a working G4 Cube, G4 iMac, Mac Plus, PowerBook 170, and even a Power Computing Mac clone. As much as using old computers can be a fun nostalgia trip, it also makes me appreciate what we have today all the more. You remember the good times, but forget the bad! As someone who recently had…

Sometimes I like to spend the morning working at my local coffee shop. The atmosphere is nice, the owner always greets me with a sincere “Hello, my friend, it’s good to see you!”—and it’s a lot warmer than my garage office at home. The problem is, the internet connection isn’t great. The streaming background music in the shop acts as an audible network connection monitor—every so often you’ll hear it stutter and pause as a sign that the connection has gone wonky. When that happens, the Wi-Fi in the shop stops working—most of the time, it’s just for a moment, but it’s a flag that gets raised, and it means I need to be aware of something I really shouldn’t have to pay attention to at all. Free Wi-Fi isn’t too difficult…

For a number of years now, Apple’s Logic Pro X music production software has been one of the quiet jewels in the company’s crown. Yes, the iPhone, iPad and Mac will be used by more people, but when it comes to quality, value for money, and continual addition of new features, Logic takes some beating. Now with Apple Silicon support to match your creative ambitions, plus plenty of fun and forward-thinking new features, Logic Pro X is the best it’s ever been. To see how the pro-level software compares to the free music production app that comes with every Mac, read our Logic Pro X versus GarageBand feature. Logic Pro has a free trial here, it costs £174.99 ($199.99) as a one-time purchase, after which subsequent updates are free. NEW FEATURES AND FIXES As…

Batch processing is a powerful process for applying the same operations to a set of inputs—raw text, images, and more—as a set that’s cycled through instead of manually, one at a time. The first batch implementation arguably dates back to 1890, with the first punch-card–based processing of the U.S. Census. It’s a constant theme in modern software, particularly when dealing with a group of like things, such as images that are in one file format and that all have the same starting parameters you need to convert. Realmac Software’s Squash is a single-minded batch-processing imaging app that offers configurable compression along with automatic application of image correction, color and monochrome grading effects, and stripping out metadata. If you work with lots of images regularly, it could hit the spot with the…

VICTROLA V1 MUSIC SYSTEM The Victrola V1 Music System is a versatile, all-in-one solution that includes a turntable, speaker, subwoofer, and RCA inputs allowing you to connect a CD player or tape deck. If you prefer to play audio through another speaker—or wireless headphones—the Vinyl Stream setting uses Bluetooth for streaming. You can also use the built-in speaker and the subwoofer as a Bluetooth receiver to play music from a phone or other device. The V1 System is a solid choice for a someone who wants to keep their setup as simple as possible or who’s just getting started with home audio. —ROMAN LOYOLA AMAZON ECHO FRAMES The Echo Frames are sturdy, handsome, cleverly designed, sound good (although not as good as dedicated Bluetooth headphones), and deliver on all the tricks that Amazon…