macOS is Apple’s operating system for the Mac. It has been around quite a long time, but in its current form it really started in 2001 with Mac OS X 10.1. It’s built on top of a UNIX core, which makes it very stable, versatile, and great for developers. It’s popular with creators too, as a good platform for video editing and photography. More recently, Apple has begun working to bring iOS apps to the Mac, which could change how MacBooks, iMacs, Mac Pros, and Mac Minis work for everybody.
Windows is still the vast majority of gaming PCs — over 96 percent — but the Steam Deck has thrust Linux into second-place, according to Valve’s latest hardware survey.
A full 42 percent of those Linux gamers are on SteamOS Holo specifically, which (for now) only officially ships on the Steam Deck. Is it time for Apple to finally get gamers in gear?
[GamingOnLinux]
If you’re a Safari user, Tab Groups can help. You can use these to separate your mountain of tabs into organized batches based on their purposes and use cases, which you can then open and close with a single click. Here’s your guide to creating and using Tab Groups on macOS and iOS.
Apple just released iOS 16.6 with “important bug fixes and security updates,” so go get your iPhones and such up to date. iPadOS 16.6, tvOS 16.6, macOS Ventura 13.5, and watchOS 9.6 are also available.
No specific features are mentioned in the release notes. You can update most Apple devices by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
If you’ve taken the leap and installed the macOS Sonoma public beta on your computer, I encourage you to tinker around with the Widgets feature. You — yes, you — can put a number of dynamic little squares on your desktop with just a few clicks. Here’s how.
Apple dropped new Rapid Security Response updates — the aptly-named updates that let it quickly address security issues — today that address potentially-active exploits:
Impact: Processing web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.
The new versions are iOS 16.5.1 (a), iPadOS 16.5.1 (a), and macOS Ventura 13.4.1 (a). Apple’s first such update went out in May.
[Apple Support]
In the release notes of Firefox 115, developers note that Windows 7 and Windows 8, as well as macOS 10.12, 10.13, and 10.14, are all being moved to an extended support release version so they can continue to receive security updates.
To update to 116 when it’s released, you’ll need a PC running Windows 10, macOS Catalina 10.15, or something newer.
Google Chrome dropped support for Windows 7/8 in February.
The 2022 13-inch MacBook Air launched with Bluetooth 5.0, but the tech specs page for the laptop now says it has version 5.3, as reported by MacRumors.
It doesn’t look like this is a quiet mid-cycle hardware swap, as the 2022 model’s Broadcom 4387 now supports Bluetooth 5.3.
So if your 2nd-gen AirPods Pro have been working a little better with your laptop lately, that might be why!
Update July 3rd, 3:24PM ET: Added a link to the last Internet Archive snapshot of the 2022 MacBook Air.
Apple recently announced a lot of nifty new hardware, and if you’re preparing to update your equipment, you may want to make room by trading-in your old Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Watch. We have a guide for how to wipe your device, and where you can trade it in for credit or cash.
Apple’s latest Mac Pro targets professionals with highly demanding computing workloads. But we talked to those professionals, and they don’t want it — because Apple’s other computers are just too good.
ThisDoesNotCompute has a fun video on running Mac OS System 7 on a PocketChip, a handheld computer from 2016 that was powered by a board similar to a Raspberry Pi. Bonus: the video includes a bit of history about the PocketChip and the board inside of it, including the downfall of the company that made it.
Last week, Apple gave fans of its famous thin-and-light laptop line the option they’d been missing with its new 15-incher, and now it’s available to buy.
Monica’s review called it exactly what was asked for:
This device doesn’t manufacture a need; it found a need, and it’s filling it. We don’t need to be convinced that we want the Air 15. We’ve been waiting for it.
The new Mac Studio and Mac Pro models are also officially available to buy.
Apple’s first big-screened MacBook Air addresses a long-standing need in the company’s laptop lineup. And it comes with zero surprises and no sticker shock.
There are a lot of familiar faces in Lawley’s video if you like Apple-focused tech podcasts like many of those hosted by RelayFM.
Apple has completed the Mac’s move away from Intel. Now it needs to prove Mac Pro upgrades can keep up with pro users.
Apple’s new Proton-like Game Porting Toolkit for macOS has already allowed people, like this Redditor, to get Windows PC-only DirectX 12 games running on Apple Silicon, including Cyberpunk 2077 and Diablo IV.
Did it get them running smoothly? Not so much (although I wonder what it would look like on a Mac Studio or Mac Pro), but to be fair, it’s already ahead of how the game ran at launch on a base PS4 or Xbox One.
And it’s probably intentional: the XP wallpaper photo was taken in Sonoma, California. The new MacOS name? MacOS Sonoma.
