The big news this week is the long-awaited release of an update to Apple’s desktop workhorse, the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display—we dive into the changes. Apple’s executive team is remarkably stable, but the company has now named Phil Schiller to be an Apple Fellow, promoting Greg “Joz” Joswiak to replace him as senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. Adam Engst shares anecdotes from working with both men. Former Apple engineer David Shayer rejoins us to shed light on how internal Apple iPhones work and what that suggests about the company’s new Security Research Devices. Finally, Adam recommends an email newsletter that collects positive news about how the world is improving—a nice change from the negative norm. Notable Mac app releases this week include SoundSource 5.0, Keyboard Maestro 9.0.6, Timing 2020.9, and Bookends 13.4.4.
Tired of the nonstop drumbeat of negative news? Science, technology, and even governments are doing amazing things that are actually improving the world in significant ways. To give your brain a break, Adam Engst recommends the Future Crunch newsletter’s weekly roundup of positive news stories.
Apple has announced that it has made its longtime marketing head, Phil Schiller, an Apple Fellow and promoted Greg “Joz” Joswiak to senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. TidBITS publisher Adam Engst shares stories from his history with both men.
At long last, Apple has updated the workhorse of its desktop Mac line, the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display. The new iMac features faster Intel processors, a higher RAM ceiling, next-generation graphics chips, more storage, and Apple’s T2 security chip. Also welcome will be a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, an option for nano-texture glass, and better speakers and mics.
Apple’s new Security Research Device Program provides security researchers with special iPhones to help them find vulnerabilities in iOS for Apple. Former Apple engineer David Shayer examines how Apple might be tweaking iPhone hardware to make this work.
Watchlist
Major new release of audio control utility brings a dramatically overhauled interface, automatic application management, and more. ($39 new, free update, 13.9 MB)
Maintenance update for the automation and clipboard utility with several improvements and bug fixes. ($36 new, free update, 26 MB)
The time and productivity tracking app adds the capability to track time on YouTube.com, improves performance, and reduces memory usage. ($42 annual subscription, free update, 21.1 MB)
Adds a new widescreen view and a Speech toolbar icon. ($59.99 new, free update, 71.6 MB)
