This week in TidBITS, we celebrate the Mac’s 30th anniversary! Adam Engst previews the Mac 30th event, which brought together many of the folks behind the original Macintosh, and examines Apple’s gorgeous and interactive Mac 30 Web site. More telling about where Apple is today, however, is Apple’s update to the iWork suite, which now runs not just on the Mac, but also on iOS and iCloud. Continuing the focus on productivity, Steve McCabe reviews all three versions of the recently released FileMaker 13 database software, with an examination of the new features and pricing structure. Moving on to entertainment in the Apple world, we’re pleased to bring TidBITS members the final chapter of Josh Centers’s “Take Control of Apple TV,” which looks at advanced topics like using Plex Media Server with the Apple TV, working around regional restrictions, and using an Elgato EyeTV HD to record live TV. The final ebook will be available for purchase shortly. Finally, Josh wraps up the issue with his latest FunBITS column featuring the iOS game République, a stealth-action title that raises the bar for mobile gaming. Notable software releases this week include Simon 3.6, Pixelmator 3.1, DEVONthink and DEVONnote 2.7.3, Default Folder X 4.6.3, Intermission 1.0.3, PDFpen and PDFpen Pro 6.1.3, iTunes 11.1.4, BBEdit 10.5.8 and TextWrangler 4.5.6, and iMovie 10.0.2.
Apple has updated its iWork productivity suite for Mac, iOS, and iCloud, restoring some missing features and letting users password-protect documents shared via iCloud.
The 30th anniversary of the Macintosh is 24 January 2014, and if you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, there’s a wonderful Mac 30th event you could attend. For the rest of us, we have some links to accompany you on a walk down memory lane.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of the Macintosh, Apple has created a tremendously attractive Web site that connects the creative people who used the Macintosh to the different models that have appeared over the past 30 years. It’s worth spending some time browsing through the timeline.
For the most part, what you can do with the Apple TV is what Apple intended to let you do. But what if you want more? What if you want to serve all your video from a Mac or NAS and view it on the Apple TV, without involving iTunes? What if you want to record live TV and watch it on your Apple TV? In this final chapter of “Take Control of Apple TV,” Josh Centers turns you on to the Plex media management system and how to use an Elgato EyeTV HD to send recorded TV to your Apple TV.
The latest upgrade of the database stalwart is intriguing — particularly the new WebDirect feature for publishing databases on the Web — but expensive. A new subscription-based pricing plan may make the cost more palatable for those who want to take advantage of the new features.
République is a stealth-action game, with controls so simple that it’s accessible to even casual gamers. Its graphics, controls, and setting set a whole new bar for mobile gaming.
Notable software releases this week include Simon 3.6.1, Pixelmator 3.1, DEVONthink and DEVONnote 2.7.3, Default Folder X 4.6.3, Intermission 1.0.3, PDFpen and PDFpen Pro 6.1.3, iTunes 11.1.4, BBEdit 10.5.8 and TextWrangler 4.5.6, and iMovie 10.0.2.
In this week’s ExtraBITS, Adam Engst discussed the Mac’s 30th anniversary with Gene Steinberg on the Tech Night Owl Live podcast, and Matt Neuburg talked iOS programming with Chuck Joiner on MacVoices. LogMeIn announced the end of its free service tier, PCWorld explained mechanical keyboards in detail, and Backblaze released another fascinating hard drive reliability study. Finally, in a disturbing turn of events, the FBI was called to interrogate a man who wore Google Glass to a movie theater.