Mac os x Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

A reasonable response to Java security problems (Updated)

by TJ Luoma (Jan 11th, 2013)

Update: According to The Mac Observer, Apple has acted proactively to block the Java browser plug-in on Mac machines with OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or higher. If you are running an earlier version of OS X, then you should disable Java as noted below. Update 2: In a remarkably speedy turnaround, ...

Testing for OS X vs iOS

by Erica Sadun (Dec 26th, 2012)

Yesterday, I was messing around building shared NSLayoutConstraint code to be used across iOS and OS X. I put in a few #if TARGET_OS_MAC directives, assuming they'd just work. They didn't. Turns out that you should always check for TARGET_OS_IPHONE first, before TARGET_OS_MAC because the ...

TUAW Bookshelf: Mac Kung Fu by Keir Thomas

by Erica Sadun (Dec 19th, 2012)

Mac Kung Fu by Keir Thomas, a collection of OS X tips and tricks, has entered its second edition. From Pragmatic Programmers, the new edition contains over a hundred more tips than the original version. Packed with fun customization tips, Mac Kung Fu shows you how to tweak your system to get ...

Unclutter offers digital pockets for your OS X miscellany

by Erica Sadun (Dec 17th, 2012)

I have really mixed feelings about Unclutter for OS X (US$2.99). On the one hand, it's a pretty cool idea. The app offers a pull-out "drawer" on your desktop that lets you store files, make notes, and view your clipboard. On the other, parts of the app are unintuitive to use and could stand some ...

Where's my convertible Mac?

by Erica Sadun (Dec 14th, 2012)

Here at TUAW, we just received our 5 billionth review request for a new iPad keyboard system. More and more, makeshift solutions attempting to turn iPads into laptops is a "been there done that" for me. Is it "too Microsoft" to ask Apple to come out with a proper convertible notebook/tablet, a ...

Build a photo calendar with Automator

by Ben Waldie (Nov 13th, 2012)

You've seen it in your Launchpad. You've seen it in your Applications folder. It's Automator. It sounds cool. It looks cool. It's got a cool robot icon. But, what can it really do, and why should you care about it? Well, Automator can do lots of things to improve and streamline your OS X ...

OS X's MIA features: Out of style or out of time?

by Erica Sadun (Nov 12th, 2012)

One of the things that typifies Mountain Lion is Apple's insistence on removing existing features that users know and love. I suspect some just weren't finished in time, but others seem to simplify interfaces at the cost of user frustration. Here at TUAW Central, we receive regular emails from ...

iBook lessons: Mac clients and built-in updates

by Erica Sadun (Oct 24th, 2012)

iBook Lessons is a continuing series about e-book writing and publishing. Since yesterday's announcement, I've been having a series of conversations -- in email, on the phone, on Twitter -- regarding iBooks, the iBookstore, and why iBooks for Mac remains missing in action. Many in the book ...

Mountain Lion 101: Multi-volume Time Machine

by Michael Rose (Jul 25th, 2012)

It's the little things. Since the introduction of Time Machine in OS X Leopard, Apple's built-in backup utility has provided a safety net for millions of Mac users by delivering effective, dead-simple data protection. Every hour, the latest versions of our files are neatly copied to external ...

OS X Mountain Lion: The TUAW review

by Richard Gaywood (Jul 25th, 2012)

It's here! Following a surprise announcement in February, OS X Mountain Lion has arrived (to use its full and formal title, sans the 10.8 version number). Barely a year after the release of Lion, this new OS nevertheless boasts an impressive list of new features. The overriding theme is ...

Getting Ready for Mountain Lion: Dictation

by Erica Sadun (Jun 25th, 2012)

Mountain Lion is about to debut one of my favorite features ever: Dictation. With built-in support for speech-to-text, OS X Mountain Lion allows you to talk instead of type in nearly every app on the system. You'll be able to access dictation using a simple keyboard shortcut, a double click ...

Mountain Lion update includes automatic Mac app downloads

by Michael Grothaus (May 21st, 2012)

Apple is set to bring automatic app downloads to OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion when it debuts later this summer. As noted by 9to5Mac, the latest build of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion only has a partially working Automatic Downloads feature, but users can expect to see a finalized working version when OS X ...

DevJuice: Injection for Xcode

by Erica Sadun (May 10th, 2012)

Are you one of the many devs who miss Xcode's "Fix and Continue" feature? Apple removed "Fix and Continue" in Xcode 4. This option allowed you to patch your binary with updated code, as you ran and debugged it. Well, there's good news. Developer John Holdsworth has released Injection for Xcode. ...

The road to OS Xi: Where iOS and OS X suffer a teleporter accident and merge

by Erica Sadun (Apr 29th, 2012)

Remember The Fly? That's the one where Jeff Goldblum tries to teleport but instead gets his genes all mixed up with a fly. "[T]he Telepod computer, confused by the presence of two separate life-forms in the sending pod, merged him with the fly at the molecular-genetic level." Look at ...

How to find/remove the Flashback trojan

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 5th, 2012)

According to Russian antivirus firm Dr. Web, over 600,000 Macs worldwide are infected with the Mac flashback trojan. The trojan can be installed if you visit a malicious website, and it will attempt to connect your Mac to a botnet. Fifty-seven percent of infected machines are located in the ...