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Warning: iPhoto Won't Know If You Change A Password In OS X

Rob Pegoraro, USA Today

Will Apple fix this issue? Apple PR couldn't say Wednesday, citing the company being closed for Thanksgiving week. But the slow pace of iPhoto updates and Apple's own product plans suggest it won't.

How To Manage Your iCloud Security And Apple Pay Settings From The Web

Stephen Robles, AppleInsider

The Post-PC CEO: No Desk, No Desktop

Steven Norton, Wall Street Journal

Mr. van Paasschen, 53 years old, is among a growing number of professionals to enter the post-PC world, ditching the desktop and turning to smartphones and tablets as primary work tools. The former Coors Brewing Co. chief relies on his Apple Inc. iPhone and iPad for work at home and the office.

He admits that the transition was easier for him than for the average employee, since he spends the bulk of his time traveling, attending meetings, or reviewing documents others have created. But he is an early adopter, not a fluke.

Apple And The Crisis Of Disruption

Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune

He may have been right about disk drives, mechanical excavators and steel mills. But Clayton Christensen, whose theory of disruptive innovation underpins much of current business management thought, was wrong about Apple.

Cashless Society? It’s Already Coming

Damon Darlin, New York Times

If I were to make a bet, I’d say that 10 years from now the most popular answer from young shoppers about how they make small payments would be: thumbprint. And you’ll get a dull shrug when you ask what a wallet is.

Dwelp Is A New Dot-connecting Puzzle Game Unlike Any Other

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

You Should Play: TwoDots Brings A Much-needed Twist To The Match-three Genre

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal, Macworld

Some Notes On Twitter’s App Download Tracking

Nik Fletcher

Bring iPhone Slo-Mo Videos Back Up To Speed

Jeff Carlson, TidBITS

If you’ve inadvertently switched to Slo-Mo mode when you meant to use Video mode, or if you shot some slow motion video that you want to convert to real time, here’s a workaround.

How To Fix A Broken Home Button In The iPhone 5C

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

ScreenFlow 5 Review: The Mac's Best Screencasting App Gets Better With iOS Capture

Christopher Breen, Macworld

iWork ’14 Review: Still Waiting For That Great Leap Forward

Iljitsch Van Beijnum, Ars Technica

Apple did bring back some features that were excised from the initial iWork '13 release over the course of the year, but it doesn't look like it's full steam ahead on that revisionary front. For Keynote and Numbers that's fine: Keynote remains best in its class while Numbers has no such pretensions but serves users with modest needs well. Pages, on the other hand, leaves too wide a gap between vision and execution.

Apple's Black Friday Offer: iTunes Store Gift Cards With Purchase, To Benefit (RED)

Susie Ochs, Macworld

Apple’s one-day-only deals don’t save you any cash, but you do get a PRODUCT(RED) iTunes gift card with purchase, and Apple makes a donation too.

How To Delete A Third Party Keyboard In iOS

OS X Daily

RunKeeper Update Brings Indoor Tracking Improvement, Health Integration And More

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

How Apple Keeps AirDrop Files Private And Secure

Rene Ritchie, iMore

Olloclip For iPhone 6 And iPhone 6 Plus Review

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

The 6 Mobile Games That Will Help Get You Through Thanksgiving

Andrew Webster, The Verge

Mobile games are a great way to kill time, and no matter if you only have a few minutes or a few hours, there's something out there to keep you occupied. Here are six ways to make your Thanksgiving a little more awesome.

Identity Wars: Why Apple Pay Is About More Than Payments

Patrick Salyer, TechCrunch

Now, with the release of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple finally has the pieces together by combining NFC, seamless authentication and relationships with leading financial institutions. With this combination, it seems Apple has set its sights on ensuring that Apple ID is the identity of choice – not just for payments but for everything.

Steve Jobs Lives On At The Patent Office

Antonio Regalado, Technology Review

What is Steve Jobs’s legacy? Here’s one measure: since his death in 2011 from pancreatic cancer, the former Apple CEO has won 141 patents. That’s more than most inventors win during their lifetimes.

And a patent just filed in March 2014 listed Steve Jobs as the lead inventor.

How To Protect Your Mac's Most Secret Stuff With An Encrypted Disk Image

Macworld

Apple Watch Landing Page Updated With More Detailed Feature Sections

Dan Thorp-Lancaster, iMore

While the arrival date of the Apple Watch is still very much a mystery, it looks like Apple is at least willing to give us a few more peeks at the device. The company quietly updated the Apple Watch landing page today, and it now goes more in-depth on the various features of the device.

Apple Touts iOS 8 Voice Messaging In New iPhone 6 Ad

Mikey Campbell, AppleInsider

Fallon, calling the feature "voice text," says the iPhone 6 powered by iOS 8 puts a new spin on traditional text messaging and confers innuendo normally lost in translation, like sarcasm.

How To De-authorize Devices Linked To Your iTunes Account

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

Screeny Makes Deleting iPhone Screenshots Easier Than Ever

Joseph Keller, iMore

Screeny is a new app that lets you easily delete screenshots from your photo library. It automatically detects screenshots, and lets you mark them for deletion with just a tap.

Apple Adds New LG 31-Inch 4K Monitor To List Of Supported Mac Displays

Jordan Kahn, 9 To 5 Mac

Apple Ad Makes Gaming Seem (Shock!) Geeky, Angering Gamer Geeks

Eric Johnson, Re/code

About a quarter of the viewers of the YouTube version of the ad have given it a thumbs-down, far more than the generally positive response to other ads on the same official Apple channel.

PopChar X 7.0

Agen G. N. Schmitz, TidBITS

Simply draw the approximate shape of a character to display all characters that resemble that shape, helping you find characters easily when you don’t have the Unicode name at your fingertips.

Union Pushes For Better Conditions For Security Guards On Apple Campus

Julia Love, San Jose Mercury News

As organized labor expands its efforts in Silicon Valley, a local union and civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson are pushing for better working conditions for the security guards who work at Apple's campus.

Unread For iPad Relaunches As Free App By Castro Developer Supertop

Joseph Keller, iMore

Mac Gems: Calcbot Syncs Your Calculation History Between Mac And iOS

Derek Walter, Macworld

Where Calcbot trumps the stock Calculator app is that it makes these features easier to discover, instead of putting them all in the OS X menu bar.

Twitterrific 5 For Mac May Become The First Casualty In Twitter’s War On Developers, But It Won’t Be The Last

Mike Beasley, 9 To 5 Mac

As you may have already guessed, Gedeon Maheux of the Iconfactory has confirmed that Twitter’s limit on API tokens for third parties is a big part of the reason Twitterrific hasn’t been updated yet—and why it may never be.

Apple Debuts Two New iPhone 6 Adverts Featuring Gaming And Continuity

Graham Spencer, MacStories

Overnight Apple released two new adverts for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. One, called 'Gamers', features the new iOS game Vain Glory and the other, 'Reservations', demoes the ability to make and receive phone calls on an iPhone, iPad or Mac with Continuity's Phone Relay feature.

Apple Updates GarageBand For iOS With Exclusive RED Loop Pack, Available For Limited Time

AppleInsider

How To Use Spotlight As More Than A Simple Calculator

Topher Kessler, MacIssues

Now you might be inclined to just use Spotlight for a quick addition or multiplication, but you can also use it for anything from trigonometric functions (sin, cos, tan, etc.), to calculating roots, rounding in various ways, among other useful features. To help with this, here is the list of supported functions you can use in Spotlight.

Pair Solitaire Is A Challenging And Addictive New Take On Solitaire

Christine Chan, AppAdvice

Apple Details Special (RED) Shopping Day Gift Card Amounts For Black Friday

Kelly Hodgkins, MacRumors

Chase Launches Apple Pay Ad Campaign Featuring Jack Antonoff's Bleachers And Small Businesses

Eric Slivka, MacRumors

HandBrake Open Source Video Transcoder V0.10 Released With Hundreds Of New Features Including H.265 And VP8 Encoding

Seth Weintraub, 9 To 5 Mac

The developers of Handbrake just announced the 0.10 update to their extremely popular and useful Open Source video transcoding product. Originally focused on ripping DVDs, the product now can be used for transcribing many different types of files/codecs to almost any other.

‘Serial,’ Podcasting’s First Breakout Hit, Sets Stage For More

David Carr, New York Times

Podcasting used to be a novel way of distributing audio programming over the Internet, but it is up 25 percent year-over-year and almost 40 million people listen to some form of podcast. It gained traction with the introduction of the iPod, hence the name. “Serial” is arguably the medium’s first breakout hit.

Hey, Parents. What Minecraft Is Doing To Your Kids Is Kind Of Surprising.

Margaret Rock, 2Machines

The mystery of Minecraft’s near-hypnotic effect boils down its flexibility, engagement and community. Like most things, it can be taken to extremes. But overall, kids strategize, plan and connect with one another, learning how to set goals and work together to complete a task. Not that they would say so in those words, though.

Apple's Latest (RED) Campaign Pushes To End Age Of AIDS

Marco della Cava, USA Today

While Apple's connection to (RED) isn't new, the scale and scope of this two-week effort represents a far more visible effort to link the company to good causes.

How iPads Are Making Airports Less Terrible

Josh Dzieza, The Verge

Beneath the glitzy new hardware, OTG is using iOS to automate its restaurants’ workflows. When you buy something, OTG’s software, called Flo, sends the order directly to an iPad in the kitchen. You pay either with frequent flier miles or with a credit card, swiped at a reader on the table. When the order is up, the kitchen notifies a server through an iPod touch each employee carries. If an order doesn’t get picked up in a timely manner, the system pings the entire staff. "We have accountability every step of the way to make this a much more efficient process," Lee says.

Mr. iPhone, Meet Mr. Coffee

Steven Sande, TUAW

If you just want to make a pot of coffee, there's a button you can push and you'll have your steaming brew about 8 minutes later. The app comes in when you decide you want to set up a schedule.

How To Share Photo Streams With People Who Don't Use iPhones, iPads, Or Macs

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

iCloud Photo Sharing not only lets you share Photo Streams with other iPhone and iPad owners, but also gives you a way to share a batch of photos with virtually anyone through iCloud.com. Once you choose to share your photos on iCloud, you'll be given a link, send it on to whomever you like, and they can view them with any browser on any computer they like.

Review: BrydgeAir Keyboard Makes Your iPad Air Feel Like A 'MacBook Mini'

Neil Hughes, AppleInsider

iPad Air 1 & 2 owners looking for a quick and easy way to turn their tablet into a MacBook-style, lap-friendly portable computer need look no further than the new backlit BrydgeAir keyboard — a well-built, well-designed productivity accessory.

Popular Numbers-tracking App Numerous Updated With Universal Support For iPad

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

AirParrot 2 Launches: Introduces Chromecast Support And Bluetooth Discovery

Erica Sadun, TUAW

How To Batch Rename Files In OS X 10.10 Yosemite

Josh Centers, TidBITS

This isn’t the sort of feature that most of us will need every day, but it’s important to remember that it exists for those times when you want to avoid the tedious task of renaming a slew of files according to a simple pattern.

Call Recorder For FaceTime Also Records Handoff Relay Calls

Cuong H Nguyen, iMore

Ecamm's Call Recorder for FaceTime is a Mac app that does what its name implies. The Mac OS X application records both sides of your FaceTime video calls so you can preserve your FaceTime memories. An added benefit with Call Recorder for FaceTime is that it can also handle recording for phone relay calls.

The iPhone 6'S A8 Chip Can Play 4K Video

John-Michael Bond, TUAW

Access The Two Different Mini-Players In iTunes 12

OS X Daily

If you’d rather your iTunes player take up less screen real estate, iTunes has two alternative player appearance options available, the album cover player, and the popular mini player.

Apple $450 Million E-book Settlement Gets Final Court Approval

Nate Raymond, Reuters

During a hearing in Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote approved what she called a "highly unusual" accord. It calls for Apple to pay $400 million to as many as 23 million consumers if the company is unsuccessful in appealing a ruling that found it liable for antitrust violations.

While the deal was unusual, Cote said she understood why the plaintiffs decided to go with it, given delay tactics by Apple.

iPad Apps For Editing Your Photos Like A Pro

Jason Parker, CNET

After reviewing Pixelmator for iPad, I wanted to see how it stacked up against its biggest competitors in the photo-editing category.

iWork For iCloud Updated With Eight New Languages, Easier Document Renaming And More

Ben Lovejoy, 9 To 5 Mac

Apple has updated its iWork for iCloud web-based productivity suite with eight new languages, the ability to rename documents in the editor and a few minor additional enhancements.

Ask The iTunes Guy: Missing Artwork, Shuffling iTunes 12, And Gifting Movies

Kirk McElhearn, Macworld

It’s time for a grab-bag column. Some of this week’s questions deal with iTunes 12: What do you do when album art disappears? How do you mark TV shows as watched? And how do you play music in shuffle mode in iTunes 12? I also look at a question about gifting a movie you’ve purchased from the iTunes store, and an app-updating problem with iOS 8.

Bugs And Fixes: What's With Yosemite Renaming Shared Computers?

Ted Landau, Macworld

You can, of course, reset the name of your computer in the Sharing System Preferences pane. But this is not a cure. The renaming will soon begin again.

Various work-arounds can potentially put a permanent stop to the matter. The one that most people report as successful is to disable “Wake for Wi-Fi network access” (called “Wake for network access” on some Macs) in the Energy Saver System Preferences pane.

Professional Coders Step In To Teach School Kids To Program The Future

Jewel Topsfield, The Sydney Morning Herald

Facebook Groups (For iPhone)

Michael Muchmore, PC Magazine

The Facebook Groups app for iPhone offers a convenient way to discover, create, and interact with organizations and interest groups on Facebook from a mobile device. Moreover, its design is familiar, clean, and intuitive, while still adding some new-style gestures. But I'm disappointed that it's missing some capabilities already found in the standard Facebook app and the desktop version of the social network.

Apple Ends Patent War On Android, Deal Suggests

Jeff John Roberts, GigaOM

Apple Is Coming To The Aid Of Small Retailers

Viktor Marohnić, TechCrunch

Apple Pay, iBeacon and local app discovery functions make it possible to create an app that will be much more useful for customers and will drive engagement that both users and business owners can benefit from.

How I Track My Expenses: Next For iPhone And iPad

Federico Viticci, MacStories

Next is a fantastic example of how iOS apps should be designed to take advantage of the platform they're made for. I'm pretty good at managing my expenses now, and I owe that to Next.

Mint Adds Touch ID Support, New Way To Give You The Latest On Your Money

Joseph Keller, iMore

The Updates view gives you quick access to the latest activity from your account. Mint has also increased app security, adding support for Touch ID.

Google, Rockstar Agree To Settle Patent Litigation: Filing

Andrew Chung and Dan Levine, Reuters

Apple Pay Integration Arrives On Disney Store App

Chuong H Nguyen, iMore

No, You Can’t Manufacture That Like Apple Does

Ben Einstein, Medium

If you see a feature on an Apple device you want to copy, try to find it on another company’s product. If you do, it’s probably okay to design into your product. Otherwise, lower your expectations. I assure you it’ll be better for your startup.

Evernote Launches Yosemite Redesign

Federico Viticci, MacStories

Version 6.0 also bring desktop support for Work Chat, a communication feature launched last month. Work Chat lets you discuss notes and exchange messages with other Evernote users you collaborate with, and it's available on iOS devices as well.

Microsoft OneNote For iPhone And iPad Will Finally Sync In The Background

Richard Devine, iMore

iPhone 6 Plus Pixel Peeping

Ole Begemann

As developers, the best way to deal with the situation is probably to ignore it. Just do what Apple recommends and treat the iPhone 6 Plus as a 414×736@3× device and you’re gonna be fine in all but the most extreme corner cases.

The Mac’s Second Act: From Obscurity To Ubiquity

Walt Mossberg, Re/code

I attribute the rebirth of the Mac to three main factors: Steve Jobs, the Internet, and blunders by Microsoft.

Things For iPhone And iPad Is Available For Free From The App Store Until November 28

Harish Jonnalagadda, iMore

Things for Mac is also getting a price reduction, and is now available for $34.99, down from its usual price of $49.99.

There’s No Such Thing As A Get Lunch (Or App)

Jason Snell, Six Colors

Apple today has apparently done a giant search-and-replace on the App Store to replace the word FREE with the word GET. This is apparently related to an EU ruling that it’s misleading to call apps with in-app purchases “free”.

Adobe Launches Lightroom 5.7 With Built-In Migration Tool For Aperture And iPhoto

Richard Padilla, MacRumors

11 Things We Just Learned About How The Apple Watch Works

Ross Miller, The Verge

Apple Cracks Down On Notification Center Widgets, Says 'Neato' Must Remove Note Taking Feature

Juli Clover, MacRumors

Apple is cracking down on Notification Center widgets in iOS once again, this time telling Neato that its note taking widget is unacceptable and will need to be removed due to the fact that it includes a keyboard.

What You Need To Know About WatchKit

Serenity Caldwell, iMore

The Apple Watch Screens Have A Resolution Of 390X312 And 340X272

Derek Kessler, iMore

Apple Seeds iOS 8.2 With WatchKit SDK For Apple Watch Apps To Developers

Juli Clover, MacRumors

Apple today announced that its set of WatchKit development tools are now available for developers, allowing them to begin creating apps and software for the company's upcoming Apple Watch.

WatchKit is being released as part of the iOS 8.2 and Xcode 6.2 beta, both of which have been made available to developers today.

Review: Vellum 1.2 Brings Ebook Creation Into The 21St Century

Serenity Caldwell, iMore

Vellum 1.2 takes every single one of these headaches and tranquilizes them out of existence.

Apple Will Soon Let Third-party Products Use Its Lightning Port, Opening Up New Possibilities For Accessories

Jordan Kahn, 9 To 5 Mac

Last week at Apple’s yearly briefing for accessory makers in its Made-for-iPhone/iPad (MFi) licensing program, the company unveiled new Lightning connectors and specs for Lightning receptacles that will soon be available for implementation in MFi accessories. The new Lightning receptacle, scheduled to start shipping next year, will allow accessory makers to build new types of accessories that include a port for Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector previously reserved for its own iOS devices.

A Power User’s Guide To OS X Server, Yosemite Edition

Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica

OS X Server is in maintenance mode. That much was clear when Mavericks Server came out a year ago with just a handful of welcome-but-minor tweaks and improvements. The software hasn’t grown stagnant, really—certainly not to the extent of something like Apple Remote Desktop, which only gets updated when it’s time to support a new OS X version. But now OS X Server is changing very little from version to version, and since the untimely death of the Mac Mini Server, Apple isn't even selling any kind of server-oriented hardware.

Still, the Yosemite version of OS X Server changes enough to be worth revisiting. As with our pieces on Mavericks and Mountain Lion, this article should be thought of as less of a review and more of a guided tour through everything you can do with OS X Server. We’ll pay the most attention to the new stuff, but we’ll also detail each and every one of OS X Server’s services, explaining what it does, how to use it, and where to find more information about it. In cases where nothing has changed, we have re-used portions of last year's review with updated screenshots and links.

OS X Yosemite Update Fails To Solve Mac Wi-Fi Mess

Gregg Keizer, Computerworld

Early indications from the most active support discussion thread was that the 10.10.1 update did nothing to help.

iOS 8.1.1 Brings Fixes For Share Sheet Extension Reordering, iCloud Crashes

Federico Viticci, MacStories

What Apple doesn't specifically address in their release notes are two welcome fixes that people who use iOS devices extensively will likely notice: the order of action and share extensions in the system share sheet now sticks across apps and app relaunches; and, the iCloud hanging/crashing bug appears to be gone.

Apple Releases OS X 10.10.1 With Wi-Fi Reliability Fixes And More

Joseph Keller, iMore

This update fixes Wi-Fi issues with Yosemite, as well as connections with Microsoft Exchange servers.

Apple Now Accepting UnionPay As Payment Option For App Store Customers In China

Richard Padilla, MacRumors

Established in 2002, UnionPay is the most popular payment card company in China with over 4.5 billion cards issued. With today's announcement, users can simply link their UnionPay debit or credit card for easy purchases.

Mac Gems: Package-tracking App Deliveries Breaks Free Of The Dashboard

Jason Cipriani, Macworld

The additional methods for adding packages to your Deliveries account, combined with the Today widget for quick access has made Deliveries an invaluable app to me. I send and receive countless packages on a weekly basis, and to be honest, it’d drive me mad if I had to manually keep track of each one using the UPS or FedEx site.

Apple Informing Some Retina iMac Orders Of ‘Unexpected Delays’, Shipments Pushed Back Ahead Of Holidays

Jordan Kahn, 9 To 5 Mac

New orders for Apple’s recently launched 27-inch Retina iMac aren’t the only ones seeing delayed shipment times as Apple has just started informing some customers of unexpected delays for orders placed as long ago as last month.

How To Create And Use Multiple iTunes Libraries On A Single Computer

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

Just because you share a Mac at home doesn't mean you want to share an iTunes library. Maybe you and your significant other don't have the same taste in music, TV, or movies. Maybe you want to keep all the kids' stuff out of your carefully curated classics. Sure, you can create different logins for your Mac, but if all you want is separate iTunes libraries, it's easy to do, and easy to switch between them any time you want. Here's how!

Why Podcasts Are Suddenly “Back”

Marco Arment

The money and raw numbers have finally gotten investors to pay attention, and investors have a lot of press influence. But podcasts have never exploded and have never died. The truth is that they’ve grown boringly and steadily for almost a decade, and will likely continue to do so. And that’s great!

Heyday Automatic Journal

Shawn King, The Loop

Hands On: Microsoft Sway Tells Your Story Without The Hassle

Owen Williams, The Next Web

Microsoft has done a great job with Sway, making story telling accessible and easy, without the need to have a blog or to know how to publish online.

Apple Pay Gives Glimpse Of Mainstream Appeal For Mobile Payments

Brian X. Chen, New York Times

In the three weeks since the company released Apple Pay, its first stab at a mobile wallet, some major retailers are seeing a wave of consumers eager to check out at the register with their iPhones.

And even some of Apple’s competitors, like Google and Softcard, say Apple has helped create general awareness of mobile payments, including for their services.

iOS 8 How-to: Remotely Remove Your Credit Cards From Apple Pay

Sarah Guarino, 9 To 5 Mac

Instantly Share Your Current Location From Messages On iPhone

OS X Daily

Yosemite Kills Third-party SSD Support

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, ZDNet

Apple has, without warning, removed support for third-party SSDs in OS X 10.10 Yosemite, leaving anyone who uses one as a boot drive and has TRIM enabled with a Mac that won't boot.

While this is unlikely to be a problem for the average Mac user, for high-end Mac users such as filmmakers and videographers running customized systems it's a serious problem.

Review: Space Age Is Pixel-perfect Nostalgia

Serenity Caldwell, iMore

I love the story. I love the music. The design, the atmosphere, the characters, the dialogue. It's hard to find anything about this game I actively dislike. Even its replay value is pretty great — Space Age offers special achievements at each stage for finding bonus objects, or completing a puzzle in a certain way, each carefully hinted at in their titles.

One Week With My Retina iMac

Jason Snell, Six Colors

The long and short of it: Yep, it’s faster. In many cases, quite a bit faster. It’s not as fast as an eight-core Mac Pro when it comes to multi-core tests, but that 4GHz clock speed means this thing cooks at single-core tasks.

Dash API Docs Is The Reference Every iOS App Developer Needs

Derek Kessler, iMore

Six Useful Text Management Panels In OS X

Topher Kessler, MacIssues

When typing out documents in OS X you might resort to the services offered by Microsoft Word and or Apple’s Pages, as these have convenient tools for adjusting the type face, accessing special characters, and otherwise manipulating your text; however, in addition there are a number of built-in panels in OS X that can give you similar access to features like special characters, word suggestions, and dictionary lookup of word selections. Being built-in, these can work even in programs that do not have their own obvious text manipulation controls.

Apple’s iOS Apps Are Bloated; And How Many Gigs Do You Get On A 16 GB iOS Device?

Kirk McElhearn, Kirkville

VSCO Cam For IOS Update Brings iPad Support, Access To 'Journal' Publishing Platform

Ryan Simmons, AppleInsider

Popular iOS photography app VSCO Cam received an extensive update on Thursday, bringing a newly built native iPad version, access to "Journal" publishing, filter comparisons and cloud syncing across devices.

Review: Monument Valley's Forgotten Shores Expansion Is A Triumph

Serenity Caldwell, iMore

Apple Downplays Masque Threat, 'Not Aware' Of Any Users Affected

Jeremy C. Owens, San Jose Mercury News

In Apple's first statement since a vulnerability in its popular mobile devices was described by security specialists, the company said Thursday that it was unaware of any user actually being hacked through the "Masque Attack" technique.

You will need to intentionally bypass a lot of Apple's security to be hacked.

U.S. FTC Asking Apple About Health Data Protection

Christina Farr and Diane Bartz, Reuters

The two people, both familiar with the FTC's thinking, said Apple representatives have met on multiple occasions with agency officials in recent months, to stress that it will not sell its users' health data to third-party entities such as marketers or allow third-party developers to do so.

Apple Releases Thunderbolt Display Firmware Update 1.2

Juli Clover, MacRumors

According to the release notes, the update improves reliability when connecting devices to the Apple Thunderbolt Display and addresses a rare issue that may cause the display to go black.

Let The Right One In: Apple Uses Two Doors To Manage Malware

Glenn Fleishman, Macworld

Apple’s unlikely to give up its rigid iOS control, but it’s ironic that malware revealed how well OS X manages integrity, and how easily iOS could be extended to benefit users and developers alike.

Sunrise Calendar Is Now Optimized For The iPhone 6 And iPhone 6 Plus

Brent Dirks, AppAdvice

Space Age Is An Enticing Adventure On Any Planet

George Tinari, TUAW

It's an adventure where the characters are tiny and pixelated and the writing exudes a compelling sense of humor. Yes, occasionally (mainly later in the game) you must confront aliens and battle it out, but that doesn't seem to be what the developers are focusing most on.

Get Notifications For Specific Email Threads In iOS Mail App

OS X Daily

The Getty Images Stream Photo App Is Now Available For OS X Yosemite

John Callaham, iMore

Like the iOS app, the OS X Yosemite version of Getty Images Stream allows users to browse and view through the company's massive archive of photos, plus images taken as part of recent news stories.

Google Updates YouTube For iOS With New Music Section

Federico Viticci, MacStories

Following the announcement of YouTube Music Key earlier today, Google updated its official YouTube app for iOS with a new Music tab in preparation for the service's beta rollout next week.

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: One Star Reviews Flood 'Monument Valley' Following Paid Expansion Release

Eli Hodapp, Touch Arcade

It seems like the hive mind of the App Store is continually pushing developers in to this unrealistic corner of demanding absolutely everything but not being willing to pay anything.

If you enjoyed the game and the expansion pack, go and leave a 5-star review.

Microsoft Open Sources .NET, Takes It To Linux And OS X

Peter Bright, Ars Technica

With this release, Microsoft wants to make sure that the .NET stack is fully functional and production quality on both Linux and OS X. The company is working with the Mono community to make sure that this platform is "enterprise-ready."

Edit Autofill Information In Safari For Mac OS X

OS X Daily

Monument Valley's First New Levels Arrive With Latest Update

Joseph Keller, iMore

The eight new levels, referred to in-game as Appendices, can be added to the game with an in-app purchase of $1.99.

Review: iPad Air 2 Is The Best Tablet Ever (Until Next Year)

Susie Ochs, Macworld

What's Eating Up Your Hard Drive? These 5 Utilities Tell All

Michael Simon, Macworld

From clearing caches to deleting old mail attachments and forgotten files, a little diligence can go a long way toward keeping that precious space clear. But if you don’t have the time or patience to run maintenance scripts and root out browser caches, there are more than a few willing hands to help you out in the Mac App Store. A quick scan of the Utilities section will reveal an abundance of disk cleaners and inspectors that all promise to seek out the cruft that might be taking up necessary room and help you reclaim some of the space you’ve lost. Finding the right one for your needs can be arduous work, but to get you started, I took a look at five of them.

Box For iOS Updated With Touch ID Support, Today Widget, Favorites Feature And More

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

One of the most notable new features brought by the app’s latest update is support for unlocking Box using Touch ID as an alternative to passcode protection in iOS 8.

AOL's MapQuest Now Offers Roadside Assistance Powered By Urgent.ly

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

Slow Fast Slow Goes Free In Huge Update; Brings Support For iOS 8, iPhone 6 And 6 Plus

Dan Thorp-Lancaster, iMore

Slow Fast Slow, an app for manipulating the speed of iPhone videos, has received a huge update today. The app, now in version 2.0, follows other apps in bringing support for iOS 8 as well as the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Introduction To The Swift REPL

Swift Blog, Apple

Xcode 6.1 introduces yet another way to experiment with Swift in the form of an interactive Read Eval Print Loop, or REPL. Developers familiar with interpreted languages will feel comfortable in this command-line environment, and even experienced developers will find a few unique features.

Netflix Updated For iOS 8, Adds 1080P Video Playback For iPhone 6 Plus

Zac Hall, 9 To 5 Mac

Apple Must Face U.S. Lawsuit Over Vanishing iPhone Text Messages

Jonathan Stempel, Reuters

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California said Apple must face plaintiff Adrienne Moore's claim that the message blocking interfered with her contract with Verizon Wireless for wireless service, which she kept after switching in April to a Samsung Galaxy S5 from an iPhone 4.

Moore, who seeks class-action status and unspecified damages, claimed that Apple failed to disclose how its iOS 5 software operating system would obstruct the delivery of "countless" messages from other Apple device users if iPhone users switched to non-Apple devices.

Assassin's Creed Unity Gets An iPhone And iPad Companion App

John Callaham, iMore

Horror Vacui

Lukas Mathis, Ignore The Code

Empty space is not useless.

Cloud Storage In iOS 8.1 Doesn't Work As You Expect

Galen Gruman, InfoWorld

Box, Dropbox, and Google Drive all support Apple's cloud storage APIs, but only Box works with direct open and save for files.

Brookstone Perfect Bake

Alex Colon, PC Magazine

The Perfect Bake kit works with your tablet to tell you how to make hundreds of baked goods, and guides you through the process, measuring ingredients as you add them to a connected scale and automatically compensating for over-pouring.

OpenTable (For iPhone)

Jill Duffy, PC Magazine

No website or mobile app for making restaurant reservations is as widely used by both customers and businesses as OpenTable. For years, the service has taken phone calls out of the booking equation, providing easy-to-use tools for anyone with an Internet connection. Finding a restaurant with availability and making a reservation, whether in your hometown or while traveling, has never been so convenient. Even paying at the end of the meal is easier with OpenTable. It's by far the best service and the mobile app for making and managing restaurant reservations.

Tim Cook On Apple Watch, Payments And Getting TV Right

Wall Street Journal

Mr. Cook said Apple can’t just make a bunch of “geeky” watches and expect to succeed. Apple had to get into the fashion business. That is “totally new for us,” he said.

How To View Your Recent Transactions With Apple Pay

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

Apple Pay doesn't just make it easy to purchase items in-store and online, but also to keep track of your purchases. You can view recent transactions in Passbook, and, depending on whether or not your credit card and bank support it, a longer transactional history in Settings. Here's how!

How To Use Continuity For iPhone, iPad, And Mac: The Ultimate Guide

Rene Ritchie, iMore

Although these features are all grouped under the same name, they all have different requirements and all work in different ways. Luckily, they're also easy to set up and easy to use once you know how!

Apple's Enterprise Assault Gets Into Higher Gear

Christina Farr and Bill Rigby, Reuters

Apple Inc is embarking on its most aggressive expansion yet onto corporate turf, hiring a dedicated sales force to talk with potential clients like Citigroup Inc and working in concert with a dozen or so developers, two sources familiar with its plans say.

Apple Quietly Hires UK Team From Map App Pin Drop Amid Rumors Of A Cambridge Office

Ingrid Lunden, TechCrunch

Apple has been building up its regional presence outside of Cupertino, and the United Kingdom appears to be one of its latest targets. The company is reportedly “weeks” away from opening a new office in the university town of Cambridge, UK — news that comes on the heels of Apple quietly hiring five employees from the defunct London-based mapping app Pin Drop.

WireLurker, Masque Attack Malware Only A Threat For Users Who Disable Apple's iOS, OS X Security

Daniel Eran Dilger, AppleInsider

Mac and iOS users are protected from viruses and malware by default unless the user bypasses their security systems, by jailbreaking an iOS device; by disabling the protections of Mac OS X's GateKeeper; or by choosing to "Trust" app installs that iOS identifies as being from an "Untrusted App Developer." Here's how those systems work, and how users can avoid being tricked into turning off their own security.

iPad Is Apple's Unanswered Revolution

Vlad Savov, The Verge

As a device, the iPad is vulnerable to the caprices of an evolving and increasingly saturated market. As a platform for a new type of mobile computing, however, it now appears unassailable.

How To Protect Yourself From ‘Masque Attacks’ That Replace iOS Apps With Malware

Topher Kessler, MacIssues

This vulnerability uses the same enterprise provisioning routines that are used by WireLurker, but the approach that WireLurker uses is a limited form of a wider problem with iOS that allows an app to be replaced by another one using the same app bundle identifier.

Do not jailbreak. Do not install apps from anywhere except Apple's App Store.

Instagram Makes Discovery Easier, Adds Caption Editing

Joseph Keller, iMore

iThoughtsX And Marked 2, Together At Last

Brett Terpstra

iThoughtsX is currently my favorite mind mapping tool on OS X. Marked 2 is, obviously, my favorite way to preview Markdown. Now they work together. You can simply drag an iThoughtsX map file to Marked, and it will start previewing an outline of your map as you work.

Microsoft’s Nadella Talks About The Future Of Office

Nick Wingfield, New York Times

Even if Microsoft is still struggling to establish its credibility in mobile, Mr. Nadella insists no other company is as preoccupied with productivity applications.

“Who else will care as much about the craftsmanship of these tools and obsess about it to give it to everybody on the planet so that they can get stuff done?” he asked.

Trying–and Failing Miserably–to Love The iPhone 6 Plus

Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle

The iPhone 6 Plus is, technically, an excellent phone, and in a couple of ways is superior to the standard 6. But the overall size proved to be increasingly annoying to me. Instead of getting used to it, I grew to dread having to pull it out of my pocket to use it. Once I realized I wasn’t going to come around, I went back to my own phone.

Apple iPod Antitrust Trial: Consumers Say iTunes Was Monopoly

Howard Mintz, San Jose Mercury News

In a federal court trial beginning Wednesday with jury selection, Apple will try to fend off allegations that it violated antitrust laws through tech maneuvers that once restricted music downloads for iPods to its iTunes store.

Chasing Relevancy At Any Cost, Even Free

David Carr, New York Times

In truth, U2 is on a dead run to remain relevant and avoid turning into a nostalgia act that makes buckets of money on tour but produces records people no longer care about — the Rolling Stones come to mind. Bono will tell anyone who will listen that the new album, which is written as a kind of origin story for U2, reflects the band at its best and most personal. He did not want a project that took five years to finish to then be missed by indifferent, busy ears. Thus the iTunes gambit.

3 Key Things To Know About Yosemite And Security

Chuck La Tournous, Macworld

Notability Updated With iOS 8 Compatibility, iPhone 6 Support And More

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

New Apple iMessage De-registration Tool Lets You Switch To Android, Reclaim Your SMS

Cuong H Nguyen, iMore

The web-based tool allows you to enter your phone number into the system to de-regsiter it. Once entered, Apple will send you a confirmation code via SMS. Type the code into the browser and your de-registration will be complete.

The release of the tool follows years of complaints about missing SMS/MMS messages from people switching away from iPhone. Although it's unclear how discoverable the new tool will be, it should at least make the process faster once it is discovered.

A Week With The Retina iMac: Closing Thoughts On Apple’s Newest Desktop

Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica

Yes, it's expensive, but it has no major dealbreakers and you get a lot for what you pay, and even the base configuration is going to get you a fast CPU and GPU, a decent amount of RAM with two slots free for easy upgrades, and a Fusion Drive (I've been using one for two years in my 2012 iMac and only rarely run into situations where it feels much slower than a "pure" SSD).

Cultural Adventures In Payment Systems – Part I

Jean-Louis Gassée, Monday Note

Perhaps this was the heart of the “Trust Gap” between Europe and the US: Europeans have no problem trusting electronic commerce as long as it doesn’t involve people; Americans trust people, not machines.

This Is Qualcomm’s World And We’re All Just Living In It

Vlad Savov, The Verge

Qualcomm is the mobile industry’s equivalent of a god: omnipotent and omnipresent, yet invisible to the naked eye. The company that was founded on the premise of building "Quality Communications" can now be found inside every major smartphone in the US. Even the fiercely independent Apple, which designs its own mobile processors, has no choice but to use Qualcomm’s LTE modems.

The Apple iPad Air 2 Review

Joshua Ho, AnandTech

Overall, the iPad Air 2 is likely to be one of the only tablets worth buying on the market today. While iOS isn’t perfect, it’s definitely delivering the best tablet experience as its app support is second to none. While other OEMs may have more features, iOS manages to hold on by virtue of its superior polish and integration with Apple hardware.

How To Migrate Your Dropbox Files To iCloud Drive, And Why You May Want To Wait

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

Whether you use Dropbox for your primary cloud storage or another service such as Google Drive or Box, it's important to understand that there isn't currently an iCloud Drive app available on iOS like there is for all the others. This means that the only way to access all the files you just copied into iCloud Drive on your Mac is through iOS apps.

Paper By FiftyThree Updated With Adobe Creative Cloud Integration, Push Notifications And Other Improvements

Joe Rossignol, 9 To 5 Mac

Adobe Creative Cloud integration is singlehandedly the biggest part of this update to Paper, enabling users to use the share menu to export drawings to Adobe Creative Cloud storage and send Paper sketches directly to Photoshop and Illustrator. Meanwhile, push notifications and new sharing functionality will help improve the Mix community.

Office 365 Subscribers On iPad Can Now Claim A Refund As Mobile Editing Goes Free

Harish Jonnalagadda, iMore

If you bought an Office 365 Personal or Home subscription just to be able to edit documents on your iPad, you are now eligible to receive a refund from Microsoft.

Getting that refund is that a simple and fast process though.

Apple Integrates Genius Bar Reservations To Online Support Options

AppleInsider

With the new structure, customers are able to sign up for Genius Bar appointments directly through Apple's Support webpage, a change from the previous reservations system.

Hash Tries To Reinvent Twitter For Folks Who Don’t Want To Tweet

Janko Roettgers, GigaOM

Many people simply don’t get Twitter. Hash wants to be the Twitter app for folks who don’t want to interact on the service.

Microsoft Band: Killer On The Inside, 'Meh' On The Outside

Smaantha Murphy Kelly, Mashable

Microsoft's first jump into wearables is a good one: it has the software down, but the hardware has room for improvement, especially when it comes to size, style and display.

How To Recover Deleted Photos & Video From iPhone & iPad The Easy Way

OS X Daily

Unsealed GT Advanced Court Documents Give Insight Into Apple's Business Practices

Juli Clover, MacRumors

Also:

• Apple Accused of ‘Bait and Switch’ (Daisuke Wakabayashi and Peg Brickley, Wall Street Journal)

iCloud Drive Stumbles

David Sparks, MacSparky

I am under no illusions that Apple can magically become the masters of cloud sync overnight, especially when they’ve been behind competitors like Google for so long. I was prepared for a few rough patches as the software released but I was not prepared for the problems I faced when Yosemite finally hit the streets and iCloud Drive was a real thing and no longer a beta thing.

How To Encrypt Your Time Machine Backups

Topher Kessler, MacIssues

If your backup drive is not encrypted, then this makes it far easier for a thief to simply steal the drive and have all of your data. Therefore, if you use Time Machine, then unless your backup drive is in a locked and secure location (e.g., a Time Capsule locked in a closet), be sure to encrypt your backups.

Fitbit Fitness Tracking Lineup Dropped From Apple Online Store

Zac Hall, 9 To 5 Mac

While the Bose move is highly suspected to be related to Apple’s purchase of Beats Electronics earlier this year, Apple could have dropped Fitbit for any number of reasons including lack of support for iOS 8’s HealthKit feature and direct competition from Apple’s upcoming Watch which includes fitness and health tracking features.

How To Make Copies Of All Your Old Camera's Pictures

Christpher Breen, Macworld

Pocket Casts 5 Gets A New Player Design, Interactive Notifications, And More

Joseph Keller, iMore

Bigger controls dominate the lower part of the screen, with a large Play/Pause button, along with new skip buttons. The buttons to skip forward and back now show you the amount of time they will skip, which can be adjusted in the apps settings. Additionally, you no longer access Up Next and episode information by pressing buttons, instead swiping back and forth on the podcast artwork.

Ask The iTunes Guy: Demystifying Artwork, Wish Lists, And Alerts In iTunes 12

Kirk McElhearn, Macworld

iCloud Drive Is Not A Dropbox Replacement

Michael E. Cohen, TidBITS

Tweetbot Developer Tapbots Releases Calcbot Calculator And Converter App For Mac

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

Apple Blocks Infected WireLurker Apps From Running

Jeremy Kirk, Macworld

Mark Zuckerberg Finally Explains Why He Forced You To Download The Standalone Messenger App

Ellis Hamburger, The Verge

"Having to go into an app and take a bunch of steps to get to messaging is a lot of friction."

Apple Is Working On A Fix For Rootpipe, But Here's Why Most Of Us Aren't At Risk Anyway

Rene Ritchie, iMore

Rootpipe is a legitimate security vulnerability and Apple is already working to fix it. That said, we have yet to see an exploit in the wild or any other indication that average users have any reason to worry. While the media may have worked themselves into a frenzy over Rootpipe — and WireLurker — it's important to remember the current hype once again seems highly disproportionate to the actual danger posed to Mac users at this time.

CBS Radio News Update Adds CarPlay Support With Streaming News, Local Weather, And Bug Fixes

Mike Beasley, 9 To 5 Mac

'Swype' Keyboard For iOS Named Apple's App Of The Week, Available For Free

Juli Clover, MacRumors

Hands-on With The New, Free-to-use Office For iPhone Apps

Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica

Though true Office power users will still be well-served by an Office 365 subscription, most of the best stuff is free (if you attempt to use a "premium" feature without a subscription, a pop-up will prompt you to buy one). You get cloud syncing and collaborative editing and all the basic stuff that you'll need to throw together documents and slideshows and spreadsheets that are more than competitive with Google's iOS productivity apps.

How To Return An Apple Pay Purchase In-store

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

Expectations For WatchKit

David Smith

It will only be later next year that full apps will be possible. It is not a stretch to think that later next year is code for WWDC next June. Likely along with WatchOS (or whatever they call it) version 2.0. There is a delightful symmetry with the history of iPhone OS, where we didn’t get a full SDK until 2.0 (though I’m sure people will similarly jailbreak to get a head-start).

Not The Upgrade We Were Hoping For: The 2014 Mac Mini Reviewed

Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica

Intel's confusing matrix of CPU options may be partially to blame here, but either way the 2014 Mini can be much slower than the 2012 model was. The Mac Mini may have gotten an update, but unfortunately that isn't the same thing as getting an upgrade.

Apple’s Statement On The WireLurker Malware

Jim Dalrymple, The Loop

FAQ On How To Detect And Remove WireLurker From OS X And iOS

Topher Kessler, MacIssues

Following the recent Wirelurker malware that was discovered yesterday, Apple has taken some rapid steps to fix it, including releasing an XProtect update to detect programs that are run on OS X which may contain the malware, and revoking developer certificates for compromised applications that are being used as vectors to spread the malware. In addition to these steps, if you suspect your Mac or iOS system might have been infected, then there are some steps you can take to detect and remove it from your system.

Office Goes Free On Phones And Tablets: What You Get, And What You Don't

Jared Newman, Macworld

Here's the high-level overview: Phone and tablet users will be able to view, create and edit documents for free, and they'll be able to sync those documents with Dropbox or OneDrive cloud storage. Certain advanced editing features, such as the ability to accept or reject Track Changes in Word, will require an Office 365 subscription. And for commercial use rights, you'll need Office 365 for Business.

iMovie For iOS Updated With Support For iCloud Photo Library

Juli Clover, MacRumors

Mac Mini (Late 2014) Review

Peter Cohen, iMore

CBS News Channel Launches On Apple TV With New Streaming CBSN Network

Sam Oliver, AppleInsider

Review: Adobe Premiere Elements 13 Turns Your Home Videos Into Something Worth Watching

J.R. Bookwalter, Macworld

While it may not be the most feature-rich upgrade in Premiere Elements history, version 13 delivers a one-two punch for videomakers looking for ever-faster ways to spice up home movies with Favorite Moments and Video Story—and it’s refreshing to see Adobe seeding the software with innovative new features while the grass continues to grow around iMovie’s feet.

AppleCare For Enterprise With On-Site Support From IBM Now Live

Juli Clover, MacRumors

IBM and Apple are now moving forward with their partnership, and Apple has recently launched a new AppleCare for Enterprise website, suggesting that its promised enterprise-grade AppleCare plan is now available for IBM's enterprise customers.

5 Cool Widgets For Yosemite's Notification Center

Derek Walter, Macworld

Neato Lets You Take Notes, Send Messages, And More From Your iOS 8 Widgets

John-Michael Bond, TUAW

Neato allows you to write a note and save it to Dropbox or Evernote, send it out as mail, a text, or tweet, without ever opening an app.

Carbon Copy Cloner 4 Brings Increased Usability To Trusted Utility

Rob Griffiths, Macworld

Carbon Copy Cloner 4 is a major upgrade in both usability and feature set over its predecessor. If you’re serious about backing up—and you should be—it’s well worth a look.

How To AirDrop Files Between iPhone And iPad

Allyso Kazmucha, iMore

Popular Text Editor Byword Updated With Support For Handoff, iCloud Drive And More

Brent Dirks, AppAdvice

Yosemite Adds Options To Automatically Install OS X Updates

Topher Kessler, MacIssues

In the past Apple has offered options to download updates in the background, and install important security updates and app updates, but in Yosemite has included new options that encompass all software updates.

Swype iOS 8 Keyboard Now Available In 20+ Languages, Adds New Layouts & Auto Emoji Suggestions

Jordan Kahn, 9 To 5 Mac

How To Make The Best Use Of Mail Drop

Christopher Breen, Macworld

Retina 5K iMac Review

Rene Ritchie and Peter Cohen, iMore

Under the hood, the Retina 5K iMac has the right balance of power and performance for almost anything you can throw at it. Whether it's cutting video in 4K, editing photos of unusual size, working in on documents or the web, or simply playing video games, the Retina 5K iMac is in a league of its own right now.

What "Other Storage" Is, Why It's Taking Up Your iPhone Space, And How To Fix It!

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

"Other storage" and all the space it takes up on your iPhone and iPad is a source of frustration for many people. What is "other storage"? Why does it keep building up? What can be done to clean it out? These are frequent questions, especially for anyone running low on storage. There are a few different explanations, but the most important thing is this — there is a way to fix it!

Security Scorecard Finds Messaging Apps Need More Development

Robert Lemos, Ars Technica

The results of the analysis, published as a scorecard on Tuesday, found that popular messaging apps—such as Facebook Chat, Apple’s FaceTime and iMessage, Microsoft’s Skype, and Yahoo Messenger—failed to meet all seven criteria, such as whether the application implements perfect forward secrecy and whether the source code had been audited for security.

iOS 8, Accessibility, And Third-Party Keyboards

Steven Aquino, MacStories

While I’ve found Fleksy and Keedogo to be fine in terms of accessibility, even in the midst of testing them, I’ve found myself going back to Apple’s stock keyboard. In the end, that I don’t use any third-party keyboard as a replacement for the default one on my iOS devices is no fault of either developer — it’s Apple’s.

Adobe Updates Voice For iPad With New Features And Themes

Mel Martin, TUAW

How To Protect OS X From The “Rootpipe” Vulnerability

Topher Kessler, MacIssues

In addition to running as a standard user, consider enabling FileVault on your Mac. This is another recommendation by Kvarnhammar for preventing the “rootpipe” vulnerability from being used. In general, it is also a good idea, especially for portable systems, to have the entire contents of the drive encrypted. This will prevent a system from being rebooted in alternative modes to bypass the operating system’s security features and access data on the drive.

My Favorite iOS 8 Features, Big And Small

Dan Frakes

Yes, I know that Yosemite is the newer OS, but I feel like I’m just hitting my stride with iOS 8. After a month or so with Apple’s latest mobile OS, I’ve made it past proficiency and I’m embracing the little things—and I’m figuring out which of the hyped features I’m actually using day to day.

Here are some of my favorite iOS 8 features, in no particular order, with an emphasis on things that haven’t been exhaustively covered elsewhere. I hope you discover something new and useful.

Microsoft Adding Dropbox Integration Including Syncing And Sharing To Office For iOS

Zac Hall, 9 To 5 Mac

Microsoft says the integration with Dropbox will be available through its Office apps for iOS and Android “in the next few weeks” followed by availability through the Web beginning in 2015.

Owners Of 128 GB iPhone 6 And 6 Plus Models Reporting Crashing And Boot Loop Issues

Kelly Hodgkins, MacRumors

Web Apps

Lukas Mathis, Ignore The Code

Native apps mainly benefit Apple and Google, not their users. It’s not in anyone’s interest to be locked into a specific platform, except for the platform’s owner.

Review: Apogee Jam 96K Guitar Input For iPhone, iPad And Mac

Kirk Hiner, TechnologyTell

It’s sturdy, it’s compact, and it sounds great, and I recommend it to anyone with a guitar and some music to record.

How To Get An Education Discount From Apple: Students Can Save Money On Macs & iPads

Lou Hattersley, Macworld UK

Anybody who works in an education environment qualifies for a discount on Apple computers. It’s not just limited to students, teachers or lecturers, but also administration and other staff members. Essentially it’s anybody who works for a school, college or university.

Apple To Issue Bonds In Euros

Ben Edwards, Wall Street Journal

Apple, Google Set Disney Video Deal

Ben Fritz, Wall Street Journal

In an unprecedented agreement to share rights to digital content, the two tech giants will allow consumers who buy a Disney movie from either of their online stores to watch it on smartphones, tablets and other digital devices that run their rival’s operating system.

Not only does this put pressure on Ultraviolet, this will also put pressure on Microsoft, as well as any mobile phone makers who are thinking of leaving Android.

Review: 1Password 5 For Mac Offers State-of-the-art Protection For Your Passwords And More

Marco Tabini, Macworld

Confirmed: Apple Opening Seattle Software Office

Brier Dudley, Seattle Times

An Apple spokesman confirmed that the company has indeed opened an engineering office in Seattle, but declined to provide further details. It is the company’s first engineering office in the Northwest and is likely to continue growing.

The nucleus of the Apple office is a group of employees who had worked at Union Bay Networks, a cloud computing startup near Google’s Seattle campus in Fremont. Union Bay’s information email no longer works, and at least five of its employees have changed their LinkedIn profiles to say they began working at Apple in September.

How To Instantly Share Files Between Macs With AirDrop

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

How To Make TV Sports Announcers Shut Up

Jason Snell, Six Colors

Now that you’ve removed the announcers, you can opt to replace them with announcers of your own choice. The problem here is that in many cases, local radio broadcasts are ahead of what you’re seeing on your TV, so if you flip on a radio to watch the game, the announcers may be describing events that haven’t yet happened on screen.

Drummer Is A Beautiful, Minimal Drum Machine For iPhone

Ellis Hamburger, The Verge

D’Silva, an avid musician and artist since childhood, built the app he always wanted to use to capture beats beating in the back of his head. That’s what Drummer is for, he says — to capture a sound in your brain the way you might capture a photo of what you’re seeing.

How To Disable Smart Quotes In OS X

Topher Kessler, MacIssues

RunKeeper Update Makes Tracking Your Exercise Indoors Easy With The Stopwatch Mode

Brent Dirks, AppAdvice

Yes, The 5K Retina iMac’s Screen Runs At 60Hz At 5K Resolution

Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica

Regarding the "how is this possible" question—it’s possible because Apple isn’t constrained by a DisplayPort 1.2-compliant interface and cable inside the guts of its own computer. As iFixit showed when it took a Retina iMac apart, there’s a modified Parade Technologies TCON (timing controller) feeding data over what looks like a modified Embedded DisplayPort (eDP) connector with 60 pins instead of 40.

KBW: Apple Pay Issuer Contract Reveals Pricing And Network Authority

Jayson Derrick, Benzinga

In a note published on Friday, Sakharni stated that Apple Pay terms and conditions were “in-line” with expectations, but several notable points need to be highlighted.

Burger King's New App Will Let You Buy A Whopper With PayPal, Not Apple Pay

John Callaham, iMore

How To AirDrop Files From Your Mac To Your iPhone Or iPad

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

AirDrop is a file transfer protocol that lets you quickly and easily send files, small and large, between compatible iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Have photos on your Mac that you'd like on your iPhone or iPad? Just AirDrop them, no cables required!

Several New Banks Get Apple Pay Support Including USAA, US Bank, Barclaycard, PNC, More

Jordan Kahn, 9 To 5 Mac

Starwood Hotels Begins Rollout Of iPhone/Apple Watch Virtual Room Keys, Hilton To Follow

Ben Lovejoy, 9 To 5 Mac

The service goes live today at three Starwood brands: Aloft, Element and The W.

What To Do When iCloud Keychain Fails To Sync

Christopher Breen, Macworld

CloudPull 2.6.1

Agen G. N. Schmitz, TidBITS

Golden Hill Software has released CloudPull 2.6.1 with a big change — the Google data backup application will no longer be available through the Mac App Store.

Tomb Raider

Ted Bade, Inside Mac Games

iTunes 12 Review: New Interface And Features Tested

Lou Hattersley, Macworld UK

The media management side of iTunes remains as stable as ever, and I like the new interface. It’s a shame that the story about iTunes has become what it’s missing out on, rather than what it features. Music has, for most people, always been a social experience and iTunes is sorely missing out on social interaction aspects of rivals like Spotify. Apple iTunes is a very lonely place to listen to music if you’ve used Spotify for a while.

Rego 2.1 Brings Folders, Smart Collections And More To Popular Location-bookmarking App

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

Apple Retail SVP Angela Ahrendts: Apple Watch Launching In “Spring,” After Chinese New Year

Mark Gurman, 9 To 5 Mac

Ahrendts stated the timeframe to retail employees in a video message, a transcript of which was provided by a source. While explaining that employees need to conserve energy for upcoming shopping seasons, Ahrendts stated, “we’re going into the holidays, we’ll go into Chinese New Year, and then we’ve got a new watch launch coming in the spring:”

The first day of Chinese New Year falls on 19th February, 2015. It's the Year of the Goat.

What’s Behind The Great Podcast Renaissance?

Kevin Roose, New York Magazine

But as I talked to podcasters, they told me that the biggest reason for the podcast renaissance has nothing to do with the podcasts themselves, or the advertisers funding them.

It's actually about cars.

How To Fix A Blown Or Distorted Earpiece In Your iPhone: The Ultimate Guide

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

If you can't hear the caller on the other end of the line when you hold your iPhone to your face, or they sound distorted all the time, it's possible that the earpiece is defective or blown out. Most users that have iPhones with this issue can verify it if speakerphone works just fine. If that sounds like what you're experiencing with your iPhone, an earpiece replacement may be in order. Depending on what model iPhone you have, the difficulty range can vary. One thing is for certain though, performing an iPhone repair on your own is a heck of a lot cheaper than purchasing a new iPhone.

Microsoft Universal Mobile Keyboard Hands-on: Solid, But Not Quite Universal

Mark Hachman, Macworld

Inbox, Paper, And Sway: Why Tech Giants Are Suddenly Reinventing Their Core Apps

Jared Newman, Fast Company

While I hate to pull the old “three is a trend” journalist hat trick, it seems like more than a coincidence when Google, Facebook, and Microsoft reinvent core apps in such close proximity. And when you look closer at the motivations and goals of each project, there's more than just a little overlap.

New Outlook For Mac Shines, But Licensing Confusion Gets In The Way

Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica

Also on the list of improvements is increased performance due to better threading support, better search, faster first-run syncing—and, of course, an updated "flat"-style interface. The interface isn’t quite as stark as the current Windows version of Outlook, looking instead like a blend of Outlook 2011 and Outlook 2013.

Apple’s WWDC App Updated For iPhone 6/Plus & iOS 8

Zac Hall, 9 To 5 Mac

The Retina iMac: It’s All About The Screen

Julio Ojeda-Zapata, TidBITS

If you’re in the market for an iMac and have room in your budget, that astonishing display is worth a look — seriously, go look at it in an Apple store to see what I’m talking about and make sure your eyes agree.

Microsoft Redesigns Outlook For Mac, Says New Office Coming In 2015

Zac Hall, 9 To 5 Mac

Microsoft has today announced an updated version of its Outlook for Mac software with an updated design and performance improvements. The new version of email, calendar, and contacts app from Microsoft is available through the company’s Office 365 subscription service, and Microsoft says it offers a more consistent experience with the iPhone and iPad versions.

Second half of 2015 will be the new Office.

Apple Releases OS X 10.10 Yosemite Open Source Darwin Code

Seth Weintraub, 9 To 5 Mac

How To Get iTunes Radio Working With Your Sonos System Via AirPlay

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore