Articles about macOS

Apple may have just announced macOS Sonoma and a full release may still be some months off, but there are going to be plenty of beta builds to play with in the meantime.

Starting right now, there is a developer build of this latest version of macOS. If you are particularly keen to try out all of the new features and enhancements that Apple has introduced, here's how to download that beta right now.

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At its World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) Apple made various hardware announcements, but the event wasn't just about the likes of Apple Vision Pro VR headset. Also revealed was the latest version of Apple's desktop operating system -- macOS Sonoma, or macOS 14.

Like Microsoft with Windows 11, macOS Sonoma sees Apple adding new widget capabilities and boosting the experience for gamers. Other updates include Presenter Overlay in video conferencing, new screensavers, and significant privacy updates to Safari.

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Solid state drives make wonderful internal boot drives for computers, but they are great options for external storage too. Not only are they smaller than mechanical hard disk drives, but they use less power and are much quicker as well. Quite frankly, if you are someone that needs to transport data on a portable drive, you'd be crazy to still use a HDD with moving parts.

Today, Transcend unveils its latest portable solid state drive. Called “ESD310C,” this diminutive drive has the form factor of a flash drive. Making it incredibly versatile, it has both USB-C and USB-A connectors, meaning it is compatible with most computers and devices.

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The stock Mail application that comes with macOS is pretty damn good. While there may be better email clients for Mac, you can't argue with the price of Apple's official offering -- FREE. And now, there is yet another gratis email client for Mac, and it is one you should already be familiar with -- Outlook!

Yes, folks, Microsoft's wildly popular email program is now totally free to use on macOS. As of today, the Apple Silicon-optimized app no longer requires a license or subscription to Microsoft 365. The now-free Mac app even supports a useful Hand-off feature, allowing you to easily move between Outlook on iOS and macOS. How cool is that?

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Running Windows on Macs is nothing new, but with the loss of BootCamp support for the newer Silicon-based Macs (those running M1 and M2 chips), your only option for installing Windows is through virtualization software. You’ll find plenty of free and paid-for options available, so what makes UTM 4.1 stand out from a crowded field of virtualization tools?

When it comes to running Windows, UTM offers nothing you can’t find elsewhere in the form of Parallels Desktop, but there’s one crucial difference: UTM is open source and -- if you’re willing to update it manually -- completely free. If you want automatic updates, or you simply want to support the project, a one-time fee of $9.99 can be paid by purchasing UTM through the Mac App Store.

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A Microsoft security researcher has unearthed a security vulnerability in macOS which has been named Achilles.

Tracked as CVE-2022-42821, Jonathan Bar Or found that the flaw could be used to bypass the Gatekeeper security feature of macOS in order to execute malicious apps. Apple has now fixed the vulnerability in Big Sur, Monterey and Ventura versions of macOS.

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Apple switched to its own ARM-based desktop processors for Mac computers in 2020. Believe it or not, despite it now being 2022, not all macOS apps are optimized for Apple Silicon. While M1 and M2 Mac computers are also compatible with Intel apps (with some emulation sorcery), the software won't run as well -- developers really need to embrace the Apple Silicon future.

Thankfully, after much waiting, one of the world's most popular open source image editors, GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), has finally been optimized for Apple Silicon. Yes, a stable M1/M2 version of the excellent (and free) Adobe Photoshop alternative can now be downloaded for macOS.

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After what has felt like a very long wait, DuckDuckGo for Mac is now available to anyone who would like to try out the private web browser. Previously only available as a closed beta, the macOS version of DuckDuckGo beta is now open to all.

In addition to protecting privacy in general web browsing, DuckDuckGo for Mac also includes Duck Player, a built-in YouTube player that blocks targeted advertising and stops profiling.

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I hated Windows 95 when I first used it back in 1995, purely because it was so different from what I was used to. I soon came to realize the error of my ways and it introduced many of the features we still use today, including a desktop, taskbar and Start button.

Slack developer Felix Rieseberg released Windows 95 as an Electron app four years ago, updating it shortly afterwards to allow it to run gaming classics like Doom. Now he rolls out a new version which can run on any Windows, Mac or Linux system.

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No matter how recently Microsoft has launched a new version of Windows or released a significant update, talk about "the next version of Windows" is always babbling in the background. At the recent Microsoft Ignite conference, however, the company gave good reason for people to start looking to and talking about the future by seemingly leaking an update look for Windows -- Windows 12, maybe?

There is not a huge amount to go on, but a still from the video of the opening keynote speech from Ignite shows a version of Windows with a different look. A version of Windows that looks heavily inspired by macOS. A version of Windows with a floating taskbar and a macOS-style menu bar at the top of the screen.

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There are plenty of virtualization tools to choose from, but if for anyone looking for one that offers solid support for a wide range of host and guest operating systems, it's hard to go wrong with VirtualBox. Bringing support for Windows 11 -- something previously available in the beta builds -- Oracle has now released VirtualBox 7.0.0.

As has been the case in the past, VirtualBox 7.0.0 is available for Windows, Linux and macOS (as well as Oracle's own Solaris), but this release is about more than adding full Windows 11 support. There are also new options for cloud-based virtual machine, as well as improved security and much more.

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Microsoft has been working on a new security tool for a while now to help protect you and your family’s data and devices against online threats, such as malware and phishing attacks.

Three months ago it made a preview build of Microsoft Defender available for Windows Insiders to try out, and today it announces the tool's official availability for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers.

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If you want to run a modern version of Windows, you can choose between Windows 10 and Windows 11. If you have an Apple computer, then it will run macOS, and if you don’t fancy any of those options, then you can opt for various flavors of Linux distro.

But what if you’re not blown away by any of those? AvdanOS Pro gives us a glimpse of what the future could look like.

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Toronto developer AgileBits has unveiled 1Password 8.7.0 for Mac, almost six months after it released 1Password 8 for Windows.

The app is the first Mac build developed using the cross-platform Rust and Electron tools, which has resulted in a brand-new design language -- code-named Knox -- that aims to provide a consistent user experience across Mac, Linux and Windows.

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Towards the end of last year, we learned that 2022 is the year that DuckDuckGo's privacy-focused web browser is coming to the desktop.

Today the company has launched the beta version of DuckDuckGo for Mac -- meaning macOS users will have another alternative to Chrome et al before people running Windows 11. The DuckDuckGo browser is billed as offering a high level of security, fast performance, and privacy by default which is more than just a replacement for Incognito Mode.

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