Everyone was anticipating more details about the Apple Watch at Apple’s “Spring Forward” event today, which ratcheted up the surprise value of the announcement of the new 12-inch MacBook, a fanless, one-port notebook that is Apple’s lightest yet. Of course, we share the details about when the Apple Watch will ship and how much the different models will cost, but get ready for sticker shock — the most expensive version tops out at $17,000. To accompany the Apple Watch, Apple released iOS 8.2, which includes two new apps just for the Apple Watch along with a variety of bug fixes. On top of everything else, Apple slashed the price of the Apple TV and entered an exclusive deal with HBO. Outside of Cupertino, Microsoft released a free preview of Office 2016 for Mac, with new features and a redesigned interface. Finally, Adam Engst explains how to create site-specific browsers in the Mac version of Google Chrome, FunBITS returns with a look at the Saturday Night Live app for the iPhone, and we bring you both a new chapter from Joe Kissell’s “Take Control of Security for Mac Users” and an early release version of Jeff Carlson’s new “Apple Watch: A Take Control Crash Course.”
Apple has updated iOS to version 8.2, which includes a new Apple Watch app for the upcoming wearable.
Apple had no new Apple TV hardware to offer at today’s “Spring Forward” event, but it’s dropping the price of the existing model and partnering with HBO for a new service that will make cord cutters cheer.
In this week’s chapticle of “Take Control of Security for Mac Users,” Joe Kissell explains how to erect barriers against incoming attacks and prevent malicious software from transferring data away from your Mac.
Long-suffering Office for Mac users finally have an updated version of the productivity suite, if only in preview form. Even so, the software achieves visual and functional parity with versions on iOS, Android, and Windows.
Apple revealed more, but not all, about the Apple Watch in its “Spring Forward” event today. Notably, you’ll be able to pre-order an Apple Watch on 10 April 2015, with delivery two weeks later. But you might not like the prices.
With the release of the new 12-inch MacBook, Apple has made the lightest, thinnest notebook Mac ever. The new notebook also features a completely redesigned trackpad and keyboard, Retina display, and a single USB-C port for all your charging and connectivity needs. But it’s more expensive than the MacBook Air and offers significantly less performance than the equivalently priced 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display.
Want to open your favorite Web apps faster? Adam Engst shares the best way to turn a Web app into a native Mac app via a hidden feature in Google Chrome.
The free SNL app brings thousands of sketches from Saturday Night Live’s 40-year history to your iPhone or iPad.
In this week’s collection of links, Apple replaces AT&T in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Oracle’s Java now comes with a nasty surprise in the installer, and it turns out you can proof EPUBs with the iBooks Web Inspector.