Apple's WWDC 2016 Keynote Event: How To Watch Online

Apple's WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) is nearly here! The annual event held by Apple in San Francisco, California, is the time of the year when Apple allows thousands of developers from all around the world to meet with Apple engineers and attend workshops.

Apple kick starts the event with a Keynote presentation that announces what to come from Apple later in the year, relating to software updates. 

This year, Apple is expected to unveil the latest (work-in-progress) updates to iOS, OS X, WatchOS and more... 

Apple will live stream the event on their website and on Apple TV, on June 13th at 10 a.m. PDT. 

If you'd like to watch the Keynote event with commentary from some of the best in tech, I'd recommend you check out TWiT.TV live coverage of the event. 

Best Ad-blocking Extension for Google Chrome or Firefox

Ads are annoying. Everyone hates them and for good reason. A lot of websites mistreat ads, they place them everywhere, they are intrusive, and often flashing, and telling you that you've won a price that you really haven't. And ads can even contain malware! There has been many cases where adware (or worse) has snuck into advertisement, even on major websites.  

Many people know of AdBlock Plus, but there's another great extension that may be even better!

uBlock Origin (unrelated to ublock.org) by gorhill; the founder and original author of uBlock, is a efficient ad blocker that is easy on your computers CPU and memory resources.

With all ready over 3 million users on Google Chrome, uBlock Origin is easy to use and comes pre-packed with the best filters including: EasyList, Peter Lowe’s Ad server list, EasyPrivacy and known Malware domains.

When compared to ABP, you can view a efficiency comparison, here.

uBlock Origin is free and open source with public license (GPLv3).

Wanna know more about uBlock Origin? Check out this podcast with security expert, Steve Gibson from TWiT.TV (about 1:21:50 into episode).


> View and Download uBlock Origin for Google Chrome

> View and Download uBlock Origin for Mozilla Firefox

View Your Mac's Performance Data in Notification Center

MONIT by Tildeslash is a FREE app in the Mac App Store that all Mac users should install - it's awesome.

What MONIT provides is a widget for Notification Center that shows you performance data about your Mac in a nice design - filled with heaps of infomation.

In the widget, you can see info for your Mac's; CPU, Memory, Disk, Battery, and Network. By clicking on a topic you can then drill down into even more stats and details about your system.

In CPU; you can view; CPU usage percentages in user, sys, and idle and more...

Memory; gives you stats about how much is wired, active, compressed and free. You can also view physical memory, memory used, and more...

Disk; provides you with quick access to hard-drive stats, and how much is used and free.

Battery; view stats about how much time you have remaining on current charge. You can view your Mac's batteries Health percentage and the condition, age, cycle count, temperature, voltage, amperage, and capacity.

In Network; you can view your Mac's and Internet's download and upload speeds, IP address, Wi-Fi name, and total uploaded and downloaded figures.  


MONIT is a cool tool for Mac users. A great way to quickly view performance stats about your Mac - recommend for all users. And did I mention - it's free!


-> View MONIT on the Mac App Store.

First Look At Material Design on Google Chrome For Mac OS X

Google has been updating all their products to their new Material Design look for awhile now, and recently, the Material Design has been worked on for the Google Chrome web browser for Chrome OS, Windows, Linux and now Mac!  

To get a live look at the new Material Design makeover in progress, you'll need to install Google's test build version of Chrome, designed for developers and early adopters - Chrome Canary. Note: This program is NOT recommend for your everyday use - it is an experimental build and can completely break down. 

To switch on the new Material Design look, type into the address bar:  chrome://flags

Then find the title "Material design in the browser's top chrome". Then from the drop down menu, select "Material".   

At the moment on Mac, the main differences implemented are to the Navigation Bar with lighter and flatter colors and a new sharper edged shape on the tabs. There is also a new darker theme added to Incognito mode.  

Hating the new Material Look to Google Chrome? Don't worry, remember, this is a work-in-progress and far from the final look and version that will ship out at a later date in the stable Chrome release.

----

UPDATE (March 10th 2016): A progress report - here is what Material Design on Chrome Canary for Mac currently looks like:

How To Preview Links In Safari Without Opening A New Tab

Ever wanted to preview a link without actually opening a new tab? Well there is actually this very feature built into Apple's Safari web browser on OS X El Capitan, that you probably didn't know existed!  

To load a weblink in a preview window, all Mac users need to do in Safari is simply use a Three Finger Tap on the hyperlink (without actually clicking down on the trackpad).

To get this feature to work, you may first need to switch on a feature in System Preferences. 

Open System Preferences, then click Trackpad and then on the Point & Click tab, switch on the feature "Look up & data detectors". 

How To Solve [App Name] Can't Be Opened Because It Is From An Unidentified Developer - OS X Tip

Mac App Store icon

When trying to install a application on a Mac that you downloaded from the internet, you may run into a pop up message that says; "[App Name] can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer." This is a security feature of OS X to prevent unwanted and possible malware software from installing onto your computer. 

It is always best to just download software from the Mac App Store or from identified developers. However, there is some occasions where you may want to install an application that isn't from the Mac App Store. But remember, by switching off this security measure, you are installing the app at your own risk. So, only install apps from sources and developers that you trust!

To install an application that isn't from a identified developer or from the Mac App Store, you'll need to:

1. Open System Preferences.

2. Then click Security & Privacy.

3. Press the lock in the bottom left corner and enter your password so you can make changes.

4. Then under the heading "Allow apps downloaded from", choose the option "Anywhere".

You can now install the application. After installing the app, it'd be best to head back into Security & Privacy and changing the option back to either only Mac App Store or Mac App Store and identified developers.  

How To Transfer Videos To or From Your Mac To Your iPhone or iPad

Got videos on your Mac that you want to transfer to your iPhone? Or videos from your iPhone (or iPad) that you want to transfer to your Mac? It's actually very simple to do.

You could connect your iOS device via the Lightning Cable to your Mac computer and use iTunes or Apple's Photos app, but an even better and easier (cordless) way is to use AirDrop.  

To transfer videos via AirDrop and use them on the built-in iOS Photos app  -  you'll need the videos to be .mov, .mp4 or .m4v files.  If you are unsure what file type your video is, on your Mac, check the end of the file name or if it doesn't show, Control + Click and select Get Info. Anything that writes H.264, MPEG-4 or QuickTime should be fine.  

First, make sure you have AirDrop switched on: On iOS, slide up the Control Center panel, tap AirDrop and select either Everyone or Contacts Only (if you have your contact info added). On Mac, open Finder, tap AirDrop on the sidebar, then click "Allow me to be discovered by:" and select again, Everyone or Contacts Only. 

From Mac to iPhone or iPad, all your need to do is select and drag the file in Finder, hover over AirDrop - wait for AirDrop to find your iOS device and then hover-over and release and accept the file transfer on your iOS device, if prompted. 

From iPhone/iPad to Mac, find and select the video in your Camera Roll. Tap the Share button (square with up-pointing arrow) - and wait for your Mac device to be found and show in the AirDrop section - then tap your device and wait for the file to transfer.

11 Things The iPad Can't Do That A Desktop or Notebook Can

   VS

The iPad Pro pre-orders begins on November 11th and Apple CEO Tim Cook was recently interviewed by The Telegraph and mentioned that he believes "...the iPad Pro is a replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people." and "...why would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?" Yes, why?

I agree that many things people do on computers these days can indeed be done on a iPad or even iPhone. But to basically say 'why would you want a PC anymore' might be a little too much, or is it? I hope Cook realizes that Apple sells Macbook's and the iMac. I'm not sure if everyone at Apple would be happy saying Mac computers are only for a few.

To me it sounds like Tim Cook isn't sure what can't be done on a iPad, that people still use computers for. Is there anything? Lets find out. I did a little thinking and research to find what people still use their laptops or desktop computers for and here are the tops answers or complaints.


No native USB / Flash Drive / External Hard-Drive / HDMI or CD/DVD Drive support. 
Yes Apple may have cloud based alternatives, but a work-around is not a solution. You can buy a plug to connect a USB device - but there isn't a USB port on the iPad or a plug that comes with the iPad - and who knows if the thing you want to connect will even work.


Can't view websites that use Flash.
I agree that the web should get rid of Adobe's Flash player and a lot of sites have stopped using Flash, but not all.


That program you use on a PC or Mac that isn't available on iOS.
Not all computer programs have a iOS version.


No full Printer and Scanner support. 


No on device storage of over 128GB. 


No File System - like on a Mac or PC.
However in iOS 9 Apple has added the ability to show the iCloud file system on your home screen.


Convenience.  
Some things are still just quicker or easier to do on a Computer.


Multitasking with multiple windows - not the same. 
Yeah, in iOS 9 you can use side-by-side multitasking, but it's not quite the same 'easy' experience like on a Mac.


No Xcode / Develop Programs. 
Here's a thought, what if you wrote those apps on a iOS device? Then I guess your not part of the 'many, many people.'


Professional Video Editing.
There are many video editing apps on iOS and there is Apple's iMovie - but if you're looking for a more professional app - you're probably still sticking with your Mac.


No Full Support for third-party web browsers.
Apple has Safari and has added Content Blockers in iOS 9, however if you use Mozilla's Firefox or Google Chrome - you won't experience their full potential on iOS with there many Extensions.


And I sure there is many, many more things that the iPad can't do, that you can do on a Desktop or Notebook computer. Let us know in the comments what you do on a Computer that you can't do on a iPad!

All The New Emoji's Added in iOS 9.1 & OS X 10.11.1

Apple released iOS 9.1 for iPhone and iPad and OS X 10.11.1 for Mac, yesterday. Included in the updates were over 150 new emoji characters! 

The new emoji's included: one of the most requested 'middle finger', a Slightly Smiling Face, Nerd Face, Face With Thermometer, Writing Hand, Robot Face, Unicorn Face, weather characters, Snowman, Popcorn, Champagne, Hot Dog, and many many more...  

All the new emoji's can be seen in the video above, by Emojipedia. 

Apple Releases iOS 9.1 & OS X 10.11.1 Updates For iPhone, iPad's & Mac's

Apple today has released new updates today: iOS 9.1 for iPhone's and iPad's and OS X 10.11.1 for Mac's.

The iOS 9.1 update includes 150 new emoji characters including the most requested 'middle finger' emoji and some other ones like; a champagne bottle, unicorn head, champagne, robot head, thinking emoji, popcorn, hotdog, and more...

You can install the update by going to Settings > General > Software Update on your iPhone or iPad. Remember to have a backup first!  

On the Mac side, OS X El Capitan 10.11.1 features improvements for: installer reliability, compatibility with Microsoft Office 2016, VoiceOver reliability, support for 150 new emoji's and more...

You can update your system from the Mac App Store. Remember to backup your system first!  

How To Record Your iPhone or iPad Screen - iOS 9 / OS X Tip

If you have a Mac, Apple's program Quicktime makes it easy for you to record your iPhone or iPad's screen. The recorded file will be a MOV file with the resolution of your iPhone / iPad's screen and in the rotating that you recorded in.

1. To record your iPhone or iPad's screen, connect your device via the lightning cable to your Mac computer.

2. Open the app, Quicktime on the Mac.

3. On the Mac menu bar for Quicktime, click; 'File' then 'New Movie Recording'.

4. Next to the record button, click the downwards arrow.

5. Select under heading 'Camera' your connected iPhone or iPad device.

6. You cannot record sound directly from your iOS device, however, you can choose to record sound using your iOS device or your Mac under the 'Microphone' heading.

7. Press the record button when you are ready to begin, and then then stop when you want to stop recording. You can then save your recording by clicking 'File' then 'Save'.

How To Hide 'Frequently Visited Sites' In Safari on OS X El Capitan

Safari 9.0 has added a way to hide those frequently visited sites on the Favorites page.

The favorites page in Safari displays your favorite bookmarks with big icons. After surfing the web for a while, frequent sites that you have visited will also be listed.

To hide frequently visited sites in Safari 9.0, right click on the Favorites page, then unselect "Show Frequently Visited Sites".

How To Use Split View in OS X El Capitan on Mac

New in OS X 10.11 is feature Split View, which allows you to focus on two apps on your screen, side-by-side in full screen mode. 

To activate Split View mode in OS X El Capitan, press and hold the Green traffic light button on the Apps windows, wait a second, then drag the window to the side of the screen you want the app be on. You can then choose which other app you want on the other side of the screen. 

In Split View, you can drag the middle line to give more space to the left or right app. To exit Split View mode, press the Green button again.

Auto Hide & Show Mac Menu Bar in OS X 10.11 El Capitan

A new feature added in OS X 10.11 El Capitan is the ability to auto hide and show the Mac Menu bar. Hiding the Menu bar will give you more vertical space and a more minimal look on your desktop. If you rarely use the menu bar, you should consider hiding it. Although, it in my opinion, if you've used mac for some time, it looks weird without the menu bar. 

To hide the Mac's Menu Bar in OS X 10.11 El Capitan:

1. Open System Preferences. 

2. Click General. 

3. Under Appearance, check on "Automatically hide and show the menu bar". 

How To Enable 'Three Finger Application Drag' in OS X 10.11 El Capitan

An easy way to drag applications around without clicking down on the trackpad is to enable "Three Finger Drag". The option for this setting has changed location in OS X 10.11 El Capitan. In OS X 10.10 Yosemite, this option was in "Trackpad", but now it's under "Accessibility". 

"Three Finger Drag" allows you to move open application windows around by simply hovering the mouse pointer over the top of an apps window, touching three fingers on the trackpad, and then moving around. Removing the need to physically click down on the trackpad. 

To enable "Three Finger Drag" in El Capitan, follow these steps:

1. Open "System Preferences".
2. Click "Accessibility".
3. Click "Mouse & Trackpad".
4. Click "Trackpad Options".
5. Check "Enable dragging", then click the drop down menu.
6. Select "three finger drag".  

How To Move Mac Dock To Side Of Screen - Regaining Vertical Screen Realestate

Vertical screen space can be much more important on a computer than horizontal space. Mac's come installed with the Dock on the bottom of the screen and this does take up a lot of space - specially on small MacBook's. A better place for the Dock is on either the left or right side of the screen. 

You can change the position of the Dock in System Preferences.

1. Open System Preferences. 

2. Click Dock. 

3. On 'Position on Screen' option, choose either; Left, Bottom, or Right.  

There are also other options for the Mac Dock that you can enable in System Preferences, like auto-hide and show - the option that hides your dock, then makes it re-appear when you move your mouse to the edge, where you have positioned the Dock. 

You can also resize the dock to make it smaller to larger. This can be done in System Preferences > Dock or by dragging the divider (line before Downloads folder).  

Malware in App Store Affects Millions of iOS Users

Chinese developers have disclosed that a malware has been found, called XcodeGhost, that has been affecting the App Store and putting millions of iOS users security at risk.

XcodeGhost is a iOS malware hidden inside a hacked version of Apple's free official Xcode program, which is used to create iOS and OS X apps.

XcodeGhost was used by Chinese developers who unknowingly downloaded the malicious program from a Chinese cloud file sharing site, instead of Apple's own App Store - presumably because it gave them quicker download speeds than Apple's severs in China.

The apps created with XcodeGhost made it through Apple's review process and were available on the App Store for millions of iOS users to download.

The apps affected with this malware can collect information about the users iOS device, but more importantly, could: phish users login credentials with fake dialog screens, hijack opening of URL's, read and write into the users clipboard - which means anything copied - like passwords.

U.S. Cyber security firm, Palo Alto Networks, have published details about this XcodeGhost malware, including all the affected apps which include: WeChat, NetEase, CamScanner, OPlayer, WinZip, Musical.ly, PDFReader, MobileTicket, PocketScanner, InstaFollower, WeLoop, SaveSnap, CamCard, and many more.

This malware has potentially affected over 500 million iOS users for all around the world. If you think you have been affected, or have used any of these apps - you should immediately uninstall the apps (see list here) - or update to a patched version. You should also change your iCloud and iTunes account passwords, and any other apps or website passwords that have ever been entered or copied onto your iOS device.

Notes From Apple Event - September 2015 Keynote!

Apple held a media event today (Wednesday September 9th 2015), and got on stage with their keynote presentation, held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, in San Francisco. 

The following is my notes taken during the Apple Event Keynote presentation. For the full info on everything about the new upgrades or products, be sure to check out Apple.com. 

Video of today's Apple Event will also be available on the Apple Events webpage. 

-- 

Apple Watch:

- 97% customer satisfaction.

- WatchOS2

- Facebook Messenger, iTranslate, GoPro & AirStrip (health care) apps coming to Apple Watch. 

- New bands. 

- New Apple Watch models.

- New Gold and Rose Gold Sport Apple Watch models.

- New models shipping today.

- watchOS 2 available September 16th. 

iPad:

- "The biggest news in iPad since the iPad". 

iPad Pro.

-- Larger display. 12.9 inch

-- full-size software keyboard 

-- A9X processor. 64-bit. 

-- Double graphics performance of A8X chip. 

-- 10 hour battery life.

-- Four speakers.

-- 6.9mm thin. (6.1mm iPad Air) 

-- 1.57 lb.

-- New physical Smart Keyboard accessory sold separately. (only for iPad Pro) $169.

-- Apple Pencil! Built in sensors. Charges via lightning plug into iPad Pro.

-- Demos of new apps by Adobe and 3D4Medical were shown.
-- Three color options; silver, gold, and space-gray.
-- 8 megapixel camera.
-- Price: from $799 for 32GB model.
-- iPad Pro Coming in November.
-- Apple Pencil $99, also coming in November. 

iPad Mini 2 now from $269
iPad Mini 4 from $399 (new)
iPad Air from $399
iPad Air 2 from $499
iPad Pro from $799


Apple TV:
- "The future of TV is apps".
- App Store.
- New user interface.
- Powerful hardware.
- Modern OS
- Developer tools.
- New Apple TV.
- Use your voice to search video content with Siri.
- Use Siri for navigation around Apple TV.
- New remote for new Apple TV. Includes touch pad.
- Apple Music also included in Apple TV.
- Check weather.
- Operating system called: tvOS.
- Developers can make apps, including games.
- Some game demos were shown, a shopping app, and a sports app.
- Apple TV specs Ethernet, HDMI, Bluetooth 4.0.
- Price: 32GB $149, 64GB $199.
- tvOS developer beta opens today.
- New Apple TV ships in Late October.


iPhone:
- New iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.
- New Rose Gold color option. Also in gold, silver, and space gray.
- "The only thing that's changed is everything."
- New stronger glass and 7000 series aluminum.
- 3D Touch. New gestures and buttons. Short-cuts.
- Taptic Engine.
- Specs: A9 chip, 64-bit. 70% faster CPU, 90% GPU (than A8).
- Game demo were shown.
- M9 motion co-processor built directly into A9 chip.
- 2nd-Generation Touch ID finger print scanner. 2 times faster.
- 12 megapixel iSight Camera. 50% more pixels than before.
- 4K video recording. 8 million pixels in every frame.
- 5-megapixel front facing FaceTime camera.
- Retina Flash: True Tone flash on screen for front camera.
- 'Live Photos' using 3D Touch. Also can have sound.
- New app makes moving from Android easy.
- Wi-Fi up to 2x faster.
- Comes with iOS 9.
- iPhone 6S from $199. iPhone 6S Plus $299. Same as previous.
- iPhone 6 now $99 and iPhone 6 Plus $199.
- Pre-order Saturday September 12th.
- Available Friday September 25th.
- iOS 9 available Wednesday September 16th.


iCloud Prices:
5GB Free
50GB $0.99
200GB $2.99
1TB $9.99

Mac OS X Tip: Change Default App To Open a File

For many different reasons, you may want to change the default app that opens a certain type of files on your Mac.

For this example, I am going to use a music (m4a) file. This type of file opens by default with iTunes. This may be handy if you have all your songs in iTunes, but it's not always convenient. Plus, also by default, imported files into iTunes make a copy in the iTunes Music folder, doubling up files on your Mac. But that's for another day.

So, instead of opening iTunes when I open a music file of the extension M4A, I want to use the Quicktime player.

To change the default opening app to a different application: 

1. Right click (Control Click) a file of the file type you want to change.

2. Select "Get Info".

3. Under "Open with" heading, click on the default application.

4. Now select the new application you want the file to open with.

5. If you want this file type to always open with the new app you chose, now click the "Change All..." button and confirm.

How To Use A Mac Trackpad Without Having To Press Down - OS X Tip

One thing that I never understood with a Mac laptop is why they still make you (by default) have to physically press down and click on the trackpad. The good news is, if you like, you can set a Mac’s trackpad to tap to click!

Enable Tap To Click on OS X 

1. Open System Preferences.

2. Click Trackpad.

3. On the Point & Click tab, check on the option, Tap to click.

Another option you may want to switch on now, is the ability to drag open windows around, without having to click down on the trackpad. All you’ll have to do is use three fingers to drag.

4. On the same option screen, check on the option Three finger drag.