If you have some time this weekend, maybe open up iTunes and double check your MP3 tags again, just for old-times sake. On Monday Apple's WWDC 2019 event starts with a keynote, and as we've heard before, it could mark a final shift away from the comp...
American companies currently dominate the private spaceflight industry, but that might not be true for much longer. China's OneSpace Technologies launched its first rocket on May 16th, effectively kicking off the era of private space transportation i...
Four years and 90-million Windows users since it has debuted, this Android emulator is finally making its way into Apple territory.
Who would have thought that Apple and Android would someday have a common future? Apple is known to loathe emulators, and the fact that iOS 8.1 blocks them is clear proof of that. However, the Cupertino company may be a bit more permissive when it comes to its desktop OS. The BlueStacks Android emulator has been around for more than 4 years, but thus far it was only offered to Windows users. The company must have thought that it’s about time to expand its horizons to encompass OSX users, as well.
However, the idea of making an OS X version of their software didn’t come out of the blue. A limited alpha was developed back in 2012, and more recently there has been a beta version of the emulator. What we’re witnessing now is just the official launch of the App Player for Mac.
Overall, BlueStacks is a fully-functional emulator, with built-in support for a mouse and keyboard. On top of that, trackpads can be used for pinching and zooming, not to mention that the apps will be scaled properly to the Mac’s Retina display. What that means is that Android games will get to look extremely well on a Mac. Isn’t it ironic?
In the odd (but not entirely impossible) scenario that you’re using an Android smartphone and a Mac as your computer, you can sync files and data between mobile devices, and even get new apps from Google Play straight on your Mac.
As far as Android emulators for Windows go, I’ve grown fond of DuOS, which doesn’t have a subscription plan, like BlueStacks does, but offers unlimited functionality for a one-off payment of just $10. Some of you are probably asking themselves: “Wait, so BlueStacks is not free?” In its free form, it downloads sponsored Android apps (that eventual get to clog your computer) on a regular basis. To get rid of that, you’d have to pay $2 per PC per month. I’m pretty sure that a similar subscription plan will be offered to OSX users, too.
If you want to try the app player on either Windows or OSX, head over to the BlueStacks website and download the software.
Apple was forced to auto update every OS X machine connected to a network after Google researchers found a flaw in the code, ripe for exploitation by hackers.
A group of Google researchers found a flaw in OS X which could allow hackers to execute malicious code remotely in most iMacs. This flaw was a huge deal for Apple, because it could eventually lead to remote DDoS attacks on UNIX-based systems such as Linux, and their very own OS X.
Apple started working on a fix right away, and once it came out asked users to update “as soon as possible” yet after the US government themselves flagged it and deemed it a threat, Apple instead opted for forcing Yosemite, Mountain Lion and Mavericks to update by using a never before seen OS X update system that doesn’t require any user input, and doesn’t even require computers to restart.
Patrick Nielsen of Kaspersky explained at Engadget that this is a very widespread flaw, installed on on “everything from consumer gadgets to critical infrastructure”. Furthermore, firewalls don’t typically block NTP servers attacks, which could be bad news for corporate networks especially. So now you know: update, now.
The latest OS X, Yosemite, is out already and users can download it for free at the Mac store. Join us and learn what’s new.
Apple’s most recent OS X was made available a few hours ago at the Mac App Store for free. It had been announced at WWDC 2014 with a new, improved look and significant upgrades, as well as improved compatibility with iOS, which made it seem like we were in for a real, fantastic upgrade. As nearly a million beta users had been saying for a while, we’re happy to report this is true indeed. Yosemite (the first named after a geographic location instead of a feline) has been brought to the masses so everyone can weigh in on it, and now is here to stay.
Some of our favorite features are the ones that have to do with iOS integration: users are now able to receive phone calls, share files via AirDrop and work seamlessly between their iPhones, iPads and computers. Furthermore, with the upcoming patch scheduled for Monday, users will even be able to send and receive text and multimedia messages via the Messages app.
Yosemite is sort of an all-terrain, as it runs on any iMac released after 2007 to present, which is a pretty huge window that ensures that most of the userbase gets to run it. Have some of you been running it already? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
According to Griffin, its PowerMate knob and button gained a “dedicated user base.” I don’t know whether that’s one thousand or one million users, but apparently that base is dedicated enough that Griffin was compelled to release an update to the PowerMate Bluetooth, which now connects to OS X 10.8+ computers via NFC. Just kidding. It uses Bluetooth. I was testing you. You passed.
Out of the box, you can use the PowerMate Bluetooth to adjust the volume or mute your Mac. It also has preset controls for iMovie and Garageband. But it also comes with a companion software where you can add commands for various programs and manage multiple units. Griffin also gave a few instances where the device was hacked. People used it as a MIDI controller, as a gaming display and an audio visualizer. Mike Flaminio checked out the PowerMate Bluetooth at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES):
The PowerMate Bluetooth will be available this summer for $60 (USD). Honestly I think the Palette will get you more bang for your buck, but if you really want a wireless setup then the PowerMate Bluetooth may be what you’re looking for.
When I first saw OpenEmu, it was already able to play games from different previous gen systems, but it had this experimental streak to it. Four years later, it has put its wild days behind. The new OpenEmu is a suave and streamlined application that looks and behaves like a native OS X program.
OpenEmu uses open source emulators for the Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Game Gear, NeoGeo Pocket, Nintendo DS, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Sega 32X, Sega Master System, TurboGrafx-16 and the Virtual Boy. The beauty of it is that you don’t have to switch between emulators to play digital copies of games that you legally own (henceforth known as DCOGTYLO). Simply load DCOGTYLO into OpenEmu and it will figure out what emulator each one runs on, similar to how your computer automatically opens your other files in their respective programs (well, most of the time anyway).
Another great feature of OpenEmu is that it downloads game covers for your DCOGTYLO over the Internet, then presents it in interfaces that OS X users will be familiar with, such as Cover Flow. Those two features combine to give you an elegant way to organize and view your DCOGTYLO collection.
But OpenEmu really shines if you take the time to get to know its more technical features. For starters, it supports a wide variety of gamepads, from generic USB controllers to the DualShock 4. It also has a variety of video filters that can make you fell like you’re back in third grade, looking up at a 15″ CRT TV, when you’re actually playing a DCOGTYLO on your MacBook Air. At work. Here’s a great preview of OpenEmu by Lon Seidman:
You can download OpenEmu for free. The emulator’s developers also bundled a pack of homebrew games for those that don’t have a DCOGTYLO to play.
Back during CES in January, Sharp unveiled a new 32-inch 4K resolution touchscreen monitor. During the show no word was made of Mac OS X compatibility, but reports now indicate that Sharp is working...
The launch of the Mavericks is supposed to lie nearly two months in the future. Besides this there were according to certain sources, remarks as to the iOS 7 for the iPad being due out this October....
A person working on his Mac will have to shift time after time to his iPhone in order to attend to calls. But what if we were to tell you that from now on you may use your Mac to hear those calls?...
If you have some time this weekend, maybe open up iTunes and double check your MP3 tags again, just for old-times sake. On Monday Apple's WWDC 2019 event starts with a keynote, and as we've heard before, it could mark a final shift away from the comp...
American companies currently dominate the private spaceflight industry, but that might not be true for much longer. China's OneSpace Technologies launched its first rocket on May 16th, effectively kicking off the era of private space transportation i...
