Month: April 2016

Apple on Tuesday unveiled an updated MacBook – its “next generation” laptop which first saw the light of day in 2015. Is the new Mac right for you?

First, a quick refresher on the MacBook: Apple’s newest laptop design debuted a year ago. The MacBook is a very different creature than its Air and Pro counterparts. It’s Apple’s thinnest, lightest laptop, barely heavier than a 10-inch iPad. Equipped with a Retina display, “Force Touch” trackpad and single USB-C interface, used both for power and data transfer.

It’s also Apple’s first laptop to come in different colored cases – since the MacBook, that is. Wait, what?

What’s the difference between this MacBook and the other MacBooks?

Background on the MacBook: This name has appeared before.

Apple first used the MacBook moniker after making the Intel transition in 2006. The MacBook was the Intel-based successor to the venerable PowerPC-based iBook line. The MacBook  was positioned as Apple’s consumer laptop model, alongside the MacBook Pro. They’d be joined by the MacBook Air. In 2010 Apple discontinued the MacBook as consumer tastes, improved manufacturing efficiencies and Apple’s marketing efforts pushed the MacBook Air into the consumer market. Since then, Apple’s most affordable laptop has been the MacBook Air.

When Apple reintroduced the MacBook in 2015, they took a very different approach. They bill it as “the future of the notebook.” Instead of a durable system built for use in schoolrooms, they’ve reimagined the MacBook as a thin, elegant, stylish lifestyle computer. Starting with the case, which shows a lot more bling than the rest of the Mac line. So, just like Apple’s other consumer products, the MacBook comes in Space Gray, Silver and Gold, and there’s now a new Rose Gold finish.

The biggest changes are under the hood: The company has replaced the slow 1.1 GHz Intel Core M processor with a 1.2 GHz model built around the sixth generation of Intel’s Core processor architecture (known by its code-name Skylake). It’s also managed to squeeze another hour of battery life, so you can surf the web for about 10 hours without needing to recharge. The new MacBook retains its previous price starting at $1,299.

Apple estimates that graphics performance is up to 25 percent better on this model than last year’s, and the system has faster memory and faster PCIe-based storage, as well. Apple repeatedly emphasized the improved performance of the new MacBook, which is telling: The original didn’t exactly set the world on fire with its extraordinary performance.

Nor, quite frankly, will this model. The MacBook is purpose-designed and it’s not a laptop that should be used by someone who’s really demanding on their hardware. Having said that, this is certainly movement in the right direction, and the MacBook’s raw performance should be more appealing to more users than anyone before.

What’s wrong with the MacBook?

My top advice is to go to an Apple Store and play with the MacBook to see if you like it. The screen resolution is excellent but at 12 inches it’s physically small. If your vision is corrected or if you just don’t like to look at small images and type, you may find the screen’s too small for your needs.

The MacBook keyboard feels different, because Apple uses a different kind of switching mechanism under the key cap itself. I like it more myself, but people generally don’t like disruptions to their sense of touch, so there can be a transitionary period while you adjust to the new keyboard. And if you already have an iPhone 6S or 6S Plus, you’re already familiar with the mechanism of Force Touch, which Apple markets as 3D Touch on those devices – the bottom line is that the trackpad supports more delicate and intricate gestures using force feedback than the multi-touch trackpad on other older Apple laptops.

Besides performance, the biggest overall complaint about the first generation MacBook was its single USB-C port, and this has not changed. Apple’s vision for this computer is as a completely wireless device – connecting to the Internet via 802.11ac Wi-Fi predominantly, but also able to be tethered to an iPhone via Apple’s Handoff technology so you can stay connected anywhere.

The single USB-C port does provide ample bandwidth to connect an external display, external storage devices, exotic networking interfaces and more, but it will require you to invest in bulky, inelegant and ugly cables that will clutter your bag or desk, really disrupting the core design concept of the MacBook, which is as an elegant, diminutive but complete portable workstation.

One passing note: Despite the Skylake underpinnings under the hood, Thunderbolt 3 has not been included in the MacBook: That USB-C port is USB 3.1 only.

Quite frankly, I can’t think of a single practical reason why Thunderbolt 3 needs to be on the MacBook. Apple hasn’t released a single computer with Thunderbolt 3, though PCs began shipping with it months ago. Thunderbolt 3 is great, just not something this particular Mac model needs to be a fully functional system.

This isn’t a review of the new MacBook – I haven’t gotten my hands on one. My top advice to you is to get to an Apple Store and check it out. Decide for yourself if it’s the right machine for you, and don’t worry too much about specs. Figure out if it’s fast enough to do what you need it to, and let that be the basis for your decision.

When you install a new Mac app, you find it “chattier” than you’d prefer. Maybe it’s popping up notifications on your screen or polluting your Mac’s notification center with lots of messages. Maybe the red badge on the app icon in your Dock is making your OCD twitch. Or maybe it’s making noise, as I discovered TextExpander 6 did when I installed it last week.

Well, this problem is easy to fix. All you have to do is open up the Notifications system preference and adjust the app’s behavior. Here’s how

How to shut up Mac app notifications

1. Click the  menu.
2. Click System Preferences.
3. Click Notifications.
4. Scroll through the list of apps until you find the chatty one you’d like to shut up.
5. Adjust the settings accordingly, then close the notification window.

And that’s it! You’re done!

Apple’s penchant for minimalist design has some practical downsides. One of those downsides is that sometimes the kit can be a bit more delicate than it probably should be, and I can’t think of a single place this is more true than when it comes to Apple laptop power connectors. Apple’s redesigned the power connectors its laptops use twice and they still haven’t gotten it right. They still fray and get damaged easily because they flex so much, because they’re designed so darned thin.

What’s worse, Apple power supplies are expensive – about $80 a pop, full retail. You can usually shave a few bucks buying online, but the only way people save any big money is to buy a cheap third-party adapter, and those are, quite frankly, utter garbage.

If you have a frayed Apple power cord, you may be nervous to use it, because of the risk of electrical fires, overloaded circuitry and so on – and that’s smart. Bundling it up with electrical tape is an ugly solution at best, but there’s another option in the form of a moldable craft material called Sugru and a couple of plastic twist ties. It’s a technique perfected by Adi “The PC Doc” Kingsley-Hughes, who outlines his process in a new piece he’s posted on ZDNet. Definitely worth checking out. 

You can order Sugru online through Amazon.com and direct from the manufacturer. If you’re really hooked on the DIY aspect, you can make a Sugru analog yourself – there are a few web sites with Sugru-like recipes, too.

People love Macs, but sometimes don’t love the price tags that come with them. We can debate the price of the Mac compared with a PC, compare total cost of ownership, the value of the software Apple bundles with the computer and more to judge whether that price is fair, but the bottom line is that a lot of people are looking for a deal. The good news is that there are deals to be had – straight from Apple.

Apple sells refurbished Macs (and other Apple gear) directly from their online store, and the savings can be dramatic. Most of the gear they sell is either current-model or previous-model systems, and the availability is catch as catch can. You don’t have the same configure-to-order flexibility that you do buying a new machine. Savings typically run 15 to 30 percent, but you can find some spectacular deals if you look.

 

 

I see other companies like Other World Computing selling used Mac gear online for less – so why bother buying from Apple at all when you can get a cheaper system used? There’s a difference between refurbished and used – Apple’s refurbed gear has been returned in a fairly short period of time from when it was purchased, and it’s thoroughly gone over to make sure it’s in good shape. You’ll get the hardware delivered in a plain cardboard box instead of Apple’s usual packaging, but it’s indistinguishable from new. I’ve bought two computers and a few accessories from Apple as refurbished, and years later they still work great.

Another big advantage buying refurbed from Apple is that the gear is eligible for coverage under AppleCare, Apple’s extended service plan. Especially if you’re planning on getting a Mac laptop or other mobile device, I think AppleCare is money well spent: it triples the duration of the warranty from one to three years from the date of purchase, and if you do need to use it, you’ll likely make your money back (plus more) after the first repair – parts aren’t cheap, and Apple-certified labor isn’t, either.

For almost as long as there’s been a Mac, Pangea Software has been making games and other software for Apple devices. Today Brian Greenstone, Pangea’s founder, announced in an email that he’s retiring from game development and plans to sell the business. It’s the end of an era, especially for old-school Mac gamers like me.

Pangea got started in 1987, originally as an Apple II developer, but Greenstone found his most solid footing as the developer of Mac games. From the mid 90s to the mid-oughts, every consumer Mac shipped from Apple came with a Pangea game. The company successfully transitioned to iOS after Apple released programming tools for developers. All told, Pangea shipped more than a dozen games for the Mac and close to a dozen and a half for iOS, along with some utility software too.

Greenstone is in no hurry to sell Pangea and says he’ll only do it if he can find a buyer who promises to carry on the company’s legacy. “Pangea still has a decent revenue stream, and lots of IP assets, not to mention a contact network that many developers would cut off their right leg to get,” said Greenstone. So the games won’t disappear tomorrow, nor will they stop working – he plans to continue to support and update his existing library, he just won’t do any new development.

My first experience with Pangea was with a Centipede clone called Firefall, circa 1993. I loved classic arcade games and I loved gaming on the Mac, so Firefall was like catnip for me.

Pangea followed with a string of hits like Power Pete, published by MacPlay and later resurrected as Mighty Mike. More hits followed: the flying game Nanosaur, the racing game Cro-Mag Rally, a hilarious send-up of 50s B-movie Sci Fi called Otto Matic, the colorful, fun action game Bugdom, and the challenging physics puzzler Enigmo, along with a string of sequels. Most of these ultimately found their way to iOS, which helped a new generation of gamers become familiar with Greenstone’s work.

Greenstone, for his part, has found new professional and personal satisfaction in something about as far away from software development as you can imagine: Mineral and fossil sales. I wish him the best of luck in his new endeavor. I only hope he can find a new owner for Pangea who can carry the legacy forward for a new generation of Mac and iOS gamers.