Apple steals Microsoft's Windows 11 thunder with macOS Monterey unveil
Today at WWDC 2021, the folks at Apple talked. I mean, they talked a lot. Like, for nearly two hours, various Apple employees highlighted the company's plans for the future, including iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. While consumers are probably most excited about Apple's aforementioned mobile operating systems, other people (such as yours truly), are more intrigued by the newest version of the desktop OS. Called "Monterey," this once again looks to be the best macOS ever.
Despite Apple switching to its own ARM-based processors for the newest Mac computers, macOS Monterey will be compatible with Intel-based machines too. Notably, Shortcuts from iOS and iPadOS will be coming to Monterey. While Automator is still supported, it is unofficially on death-watch. Most interestingly, Apple is making it easier to work between iPhone, iPad, and Mac -- you can now do AirPlay to Mac and share your mouse and keyboard between devices with Universal Control.
Think Windows 10 is bad? Feast your eyes on Microsoft's macOS -- the desktop operating system we definitely don't want!
If you’re a Mac owner, then you’ll be very familiar with macOS, Apple’s desktop operating system. Similarly, if you own a PC -- and it isn’t running a flavor of Linux -- then there’s a good chance it will have Windows 10 on it.
macOS and Windows 10, like other desktop operating systems, share lots of similarities, but they are also very different in their own ways. But what if they weren’t? What if Microsoft was making macOS instead of Apple?
Linux could run on Apple M1 chips in just a few months
Apple's latest M1-based range of laptops and desktops has impressed many with the impressive speed boost over Intel chips. While many macOS fans have been eagerly waiting for their favorite apps to be ported across, others have been waiting to the arrival of Linux.
And with the launch of version 5.13 of the Linux kernel, this should become a reality. The hard work of developers means Linux support could be coming to M1 Apple devices as soon as June this year.
New solution streamlines Apple device management for enterprises
The use of Apple devices in business environments is growing. An IDC report last year showed macOS was the operating system for 23 percent of computers at US companies with over 1,000 employees in 2020, up from 17 percent in 2019.
This presents challenges for security teams which is why Mosyle is launching a new security product aimed at Apple-focused enterprises.
Apple releases important Big Sur and iOS updates to fix WebKit vulnerability
Apple has issued a couple of important security updates for its desktop and mobile operating systems. The company has released iOS 14.4.1 and macOS 11.2.3, both of which are described as being "recommended for all users".
The reason for this is simple -- these are important updates that patch a memory corruption bug that could be exploited by malicious websites. This is in addition to the vulnerabilities that have already been patched in another iOS update last month.
Microsoft Office 2021 is coming to Windows 10 and macOS, but only a fool would buy it
Microsoft Office is the best software in the world. If I was running a company, I would choose it over any other solution. While free alternatives like LibreOffice are pretty good, they are all inferior to Microsoft's class-leading office suite. Any spreadsheet power user, for instance, knows nothing compares to Excel. These are indisputable facts.
Today, Microsoft announces that Office 2021 is coming to both Windows 10 and macOS later in the year. And yet, I am not excited about that, nor would I recommend anyone buy it. Why? Because Microsoft 365 exists.
Apple fixes serious sudo vulnerability in macOS
A serious vulnerability was recently discovered in the sudo tool which could be used to gain root access on Linux-based systems. It soon transpired that the very same issue also affects macOS.
The security vulnerability -- known as Baron Samedit and tracked as CVE-2021-3156 -- is a years-old heap-based buffer overflow bug, and Apple has now issued a patch that fixes the problem for users of Big Sur, Catalina and Mojave flavors of macOS.
Linux sudo vulnerability also affects macOS
We recently wrote about a serious vulnerability in the sudo tool which could be used to gain root access to Linux systems. Now a security researcher has found that the security flaw also affects macOS Big Sur -- including on new M1 Macs.
The Baron Samedit vulnerability -- or CVE-2021-3156 -- is a heap-based buffer overflow bug that was discovered by cybersecurity firm Qualys. While it was initially thought to only affect Linux systems, researcher Matthew Hickey (who also goes by the name Hacker Fantastic) found that macOS is also vulnerable with only very minor changes needed to the original exploit.
Apple blocks sideloading of iOS apps on M1 Macs
The arrival of Apple's M1 chips opened up the possibility of running iPhone and iPad apps under macOS. Running natively in this way is reliant on developers making the necessary changes to their creations which can then be installed via the Mac App Store.
But, of course, not all developers are willing or able to make the necessary updates and so their apps have not been available in the App Store. However, many people have been side-stepping this obstacle by sideloading unsupported apps. Having noticed this activity, Apple has intervened and blocked such sideloading.
Satechi launches a quartet of backlit Mac keyboards and an aluminum iPad stand
Last year, Apple released new Mac computers powered by the company's own M1 processors. Not only are there new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, but a new Mac mini desktop too. I am fascinated by the new Apple Silicon processors, so last week, I bought my very own Mac mini. Guess what? It is a phenomenal computer that I love very much so far.
The problem with the Mac mini, however, is it doesn't come with a keyboard or mouse. This is by design, as Apple hopes Windows users will replace their current desktops with the little Mac -- simply reusing existing keyboards, mice, and monitors. Unfortunately, a Windows keyboard is not ideal for a Mac. Will it work? Yes, but it doesn't have the exact same keys, such as "COMMAND." And so, Mac mini buyers would be wise to buy a Mac keyboard.
Developers manage to run Windows 10 and Linux on M1 Macs
The launch of Apple's new range of Macs with its own M1 chips was met with excitement -- and benchmarks showed great performance even from base models. There was just one problem for some people: an inability to run Windows.
For anyone used to running Windows alongside macOS -- and, for that matter, Linus Torvalds and his desire to run Linux on an M1 MacBook Air -- there's good news. A team of developers have been able to get both Windows 10 and Linux running on Apple silicon.
macOS Big Sur is bricking some MacBook Pros
With any big update to an operating system, there are usually warnings to hold off for a bit and make sure there are no bugs that you might be affected by. When Big Sur was released last week, there were similar warnings about not immediately installing the biggest update to macOS in years.
And it seems that those warnings were justified. People running some older MacBook Pros are finding that installing Big Sur bricks their laptops. It seems that the late-2013 and mid-2014 13-inch MacBook Pros are most problematic.
How to disable transparent menus and dock in macOS Big Sur
For some people, transparent elements are a key component of any UI. Apple clearly thinks so, having introduced a new transparent menu bar in Big Sur.
But transparency is not to everyone's taste, and if you're not a fan of the new design language, you will be pleased to hear that there is a way to disable transparent menus in Big Sur.
Yes, sir, Apple macOS 11 Big Sur is here
It is November 12 and macOS 11 Big Sur is officially released today -- yes, sir, indeed. Why does the date matter? Well, I suppose it doesn't in the grand scheme of things, but still, it is rather surprising that Apple didn't release it yesterday, when the date was 11/11. Boy, that was missed opportunity, eh? Oh well.
But yeah, if you are a Mac owner, you can finally install the latest version of the macOS operating system. This is most notable for being the first version of macOS that will run on Apple's new M1-powered Mac computers. And yes, Big Sur on these new Macs can run both iOS and iPadOS apps too.
Get ready to download macOS Big Sur
It has been a number of months since Apple first unveiled macOS Big Sur (macOS 11) with the promise that this major operating system upgrade was coming "later this year".
At yesterday's "One More Thing" event at which the company revealed details of its new M1-powered Mac Mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, we also finally learned the release date for Big Sur. And the good news is that there's not long to wait -- macOS 11 is available to download from tomorrow, November 12.
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