Articles about macOS

After discovering a no fewer than seven security vulnerabilities in Safari for iOS and macOS, a researcher has received a $75,000 bug bounty pay out from Apple.

Ryan Pickren, a former Amazon Web Services (AWS) security engineer, found a series of security flaws in Apple's web browser, some of which could be exploited to hijack the camera of a Mac or iPhone to spy on users. The webcam hacking technique combined a total of three zero-day bugs.

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There has been talk of a macOS version of Facebook Messenger for the best part of a year, and now it seems that the app is finally rolling out.

Facebook had said that it wanted Messenger for macOS to launch by the end of 2019, but it is only now that it has started to appear in the Mac App Store. For now, sadly, it is limited to a handful of markets, suggesting that this is a staged rollout targeting key countries first.

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Microsoft has announced that its cross-platform automation tool and configuration framework PowerShell 7 is now Generally Available.

Available for Windows, macOS and Linux, PowerShell 7 sees Microsoft moving from .NET Core 2.x to 3.1 which enables greater backwards compatibility with existing Windows PowerShell modules thanks to the resurrection of numerous .NET Framework APIs. The cross-platform nature of PowerShell 7 means that Ubuntu, openSUSE, Fedora, Debian and other Linux distro are embraced.

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Rocket League is one of my favorite PC games. Not only is it extremely fun, but it runs well on average hardware and is very easy to play. Seriously, folks, the learning curve is so low that almost anyone can just start playing right away. If you aren't familiar with Rocket League, please know it is essentially soccer with cars -- you drive into a giant ball and try to get it into the goal.

Another cool aspect of Rocket League? It is cross-platform, running on Windows, Mac, and even Linux. Sadly, this is changing, as the game's developer, Psyonix, is killing support for all desktop PC platforms that aren't Windows. That's right, if you are a Linux or macOS gamer (yes, they really exist), you will get one final patch before March -- when support officially ends. Sadly, this update will remove the ability to play the Mac and Linux versions online. And no, you cannot avoid the patch and continue to play online. In other words, you will soon be limited to offline play. Laughably, the game will continue to work fully on the now-unsupported Windows 7.

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Apple laptops are very good computers -- they even make solid makeshift desktops when you connect a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. While Apple's wireless Bluetooth keyboard is very good, it is also quite expensive. Apple charges a staggering $129 for the white model with number pad. Hilariously, it charges a $20 premium if you want the space gray color! Oh, Apple...

Today, Satechi launches a beautiful Apple-like wireless keyboard for macOS that features the coveted space gray color. It even charges with USB-C rather than Lightning. Best of all, Satechi's keyboard costs nearly half that of the Apple equivalent! Since the Mac mini doesn't come with a keyboard or mouse, this new product should be a good choice for Apple's diminutive desktop too.

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The latest version of macOS  -- 10.15 Catalina -- was released just a month ago, and introduced some big changes, including the break-up of iTunes, and dropping support for 32-bit apps, which unfortunately meant some popular third-party software stopped working.

It might not happen any time soon, but if Apple does eventually make the jump to macOS 11, it’s fair to say the operating system will get a fairly major overhaul at that point. If you’d like to see how it should look, we’ve got this stunning video to wow you.

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Apple is working to fix an issue that makes it possible to read portions of encrypted email in macOS after an IT specialist discovered a flaw in the way Mail's messages are handled by Siri. The problem affects macOS versions from Sierra to Catalina.

It is important to note that there are a number of criteria that have to be met for the issue to rear its head, but the fact that it is possible at all is still a concern. For a company that has just been shouting about its privacy policies, the timing is less than ideal -- particularly as Apple has been aware of the problem since July.

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Apple only released Catalina three weeks ago, and already there is a fairly significant update available -- macOS Catalina 10.15.1.

With this release, Apple adds support for the newly announced AirPods Pro as well as fixing a number of bugs. There are also new HomeKit options, enhanced privacy in Siri, and the arrival of more than 70 new or updated emoji, including gender-neutral options.

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Renowned open-source eBook management tool Calibre 4.2 has been released. The cross-platform app, also available in 32-bit form, makes it easy to organize, manage, view, convert and even edit eBooks.

Version 4.2 comes a fortnight after version 4.0 was released. This update promises improvements to macOS dark mode support and the Viewer application, including the generation of covers and table of contents.

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After a period of beta testing, Apple has released macOS 10.15 Catalina for everyone. There's quite a lot to the latest version of the operating system, including the break-up of iTunes, an update to Sidecar that lets you use your iPad as a second screen for your Mac, and numerous security updates.

However, the dropping of support for 32-bit apps (Catalina is fully 64-bit), means some people installing the free update are finding that the apps they rely on no longer work. More than this, Apple has even gone as far as warning people who are reliant on XML files -- such as DJs -- to hold off installing the update for the time being

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Earlier in the week, Variety reported about a mysterious problem with Macs in Hollywood. As the issues -- which prevented systems from rebooting -- affected television and film editors in LA, it was initially thought that the Avid Media Composer software was at fault.

But in fact, it was Google that was to blame. A buggy update for the company's Chrome browser caused issues for a number of Mac users whose systems met certain conditions. Google has published details of a workaround for those hit by the problem which saw the Chrome update damaging the macOS file system.

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Launching Thursday September 19, Apple Arcade is the iPhone-maker's new game subscription service. Dubbed the Netflix for games, it will set subscribers back $4.99 (or £4.99) each month, and will provide unlimited access to a library of games.

Apple Arcade is compatible with iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV, and at launch there are more than 100 games available through the service, and many of these will be exclusives. The service will compete with Google Play Pass when it eventually launches.

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Windows 95 has been enjoying a nostalgia-fueled revival in recent years. There have been concepts made for modern versions of the ancient OS on desktop and mobile and it’s even now possible to give an Apple iPhone a Windows 95 makeover.

Last year, developer Felix Rieseberg released Windows 95 as an Electron app and a few months later updated it to run gaming classics like Doom. Three months ago he gave the OS a welcome performance boost, and now it gets a smart new user interface and upgraded components.

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Parallels IP Holdings GmbH has released Parallels Desktop 15.0, the latest major update of its popular Mac virtualization tool.

Parallels Desktop 15 adds support for the forthcoming MacOS Catalina (10.15) release, plus taps into the Apple Metal framework in macOS 10.14 or later to deliver major graphics improvements alongside other performance tweaks and a smattering of new integration features.

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Bug bounty programs are a common way for companies to learn about problems with their hardware and software, while giving people the chance to get paid for finding them. Apple is one of the big names to run such a program, and it has at long last expanded it to included macOS.

The iPhone-maker made the announcement at the Black Hat security conference, where it also revealed that not only will its bug bounty program spread to tvOS, watchOS and iCloud as well, but also that the maximum reward is increasing to a cool $1 million.

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