Software : Updated: How to get Apple Music on iPhone, Apple Watch and more |
- Updated: How to get Apple Music on iPhone, Apple Watch and more
- Updated: Apple Music: release date, price and features
- Updated: Best antivirus: 10 antivirus packages reviewed and rated
- 20 best image-editing apps for Mac and iOS: top image apps revealed
- Spotify, forget about Dr. Dre. The Chronic is an Apple Music exclusive
- Mac Tips: How to reset the Mac Dock to default settings
- iOS 8.4 release slated for Tuesday, Apple Music coming with it
| Updated: How to get Apple Music on iPhone, Apple Watch and more Posted:  Apple Music is upon us! Coming fresh from its announcement earlier this month to its less glamorous kerfuffle over artists' royalties, Apple's foray into music streaming has transitioned from making headlines to making its way into homes, starting today with the arrival of iOS 8.4. What is Apple Music?Unveiled at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple Music is an alternative service to the iTunes Music Store that offers unlimited music streaming, akin to competitor Spotify. In addition to music on demand, Apple Music also includes saving music for offline listening, specialty playlists curated by experts, Beats 1 online radio and Siri integration, allowing the digital assistant to take requests through voice commands. A subscription to Apple Music costs $9.99/month. There is also a family membership for $14.99/month that includes up to six concurrent members. Apple is currently offering a lengthy three-month free trial for new subscribers, beneficial for anyone on the fence about giving the service a try. I want Apple Music! What do I need?
What devices work with Apple Music?Apple Music is will work on a number of devices, namely the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, PC and even the Apple Watch. Android users, unfortunately, will have to wait until the service reaches their platform this fall. You will have to update your iTunes and/or iOS version to access Apple Music. Not sure how that works? We've got you covered: Updating your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch1. Plug in your device to a power supply so the battery doesn't die mid-update. 2. Go to the Settings app and the tap General > Software Update 3. Tap "Download and Install." After agreeing to the Terms & Conditions, and download will begin immediately. 4. Press "Install" after the update is fully downloaded to apply the update and you're set! Apple Music will be incorporated into the Music app, so just head there to enjoy Apple Music's new features. Updating your iOS device through iTunes1. Open iTunes 2. Plug in your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple Watch 3. Click on the device tab in the left-hand corner of the window (for this example, we are using an iPhone) 4. While on the device window, click the "Check for Update" button, under the Summary tab. 5. Choose "Download and Update," instead of "Download Only." This way, the update will be downloaded to your computer and then applied to your device in a single step. Updating iTunes on your computer1. Open iTunes 2. If you aren't immediately prompted for an update upon opening, highlight "Help" from the toolbar and select "Check for Updates." 3. Update iTunes, which may take a while depending on your internet connection speed. For best results, restart your computer after downloading the update. Don't have iTunes? Download it for free from Apple's website. I'm all updated! Now what?That's it! Once your machine is running the latest version of iOS or iTunes, simply start up Apple Music, select either the Individual or Family plan, and then sign in using your Apple ID to link your account to a payment method. (You can turn off automatic renewal within the app, meaning you can choose to not be charged for any additional months after the trial period ends.) Until the three-month period expires, enjoy unlimited music streaming, curated playlists and albums from Dr. Dre, Taylor Swift, and more. Still have some lingering questions about Apple Music? Our extensive Apple Music hub should help. |
| Updated: Apple Music: release date, price and features Posted:  Apple music streaming serviceUpdate: Apple Music has arrived! You'll need to download iOS 8.4 on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to access it, or update iTunes. If you're unsure how to get Apple Music on your devices, read our handy how-to guide! We'll have our early thoughts and impressions soon, once we've crossed the streams, listen to as much of Zane Lowe as we can cope with and had The Chronic on repeat. Update #2: A Sonos spokesperson has told Business Insider that while Sonos systems won't be compatible with Apple Music at launch, the companies are currently working together towards a solution that will arrive "before the end of the year." Original article follows... Apple Music, the name of Apple's long-awaited replacement for Beats Audio and iTunes Radio, is official. And while it may sound like a copycat, Apple's controversial approach will sing a different tune from Spotify and other music streaming services. Announced at WWDC 2015, the service looks to integrate on-demand music streaming, a 24/7 radio station called Beats1 and a social network that will help fans connect with artists "on the deepest level, building relationships that last a lifetime." Some of these features will be free. Some of them won't. A lot of it will look like Spotify and Rdio, but Apple has a few tricks up its sleeve to separate itself from the pack. For one thing, the Cupertino company's bold new venture into streaming isn't all about songs – it's about community and uniting music fans the world over. Services like Beats1 will have a revolving set of DJs based in London, Los Angeles and New York that keep new music, interviews and news running around the clock. Meanwhile, a new integrated social network called Connect will try to erase our memories of Apple's misguided Ping service. Cut to the chase But for every move Apple's made to shake, shake, shake up the industry, it's been met with consternation and apprehension, most notably from megastar Taylor Swift. But before we go too far down the MP4 rabbit hole, let's talk about how big of a hole Apple Music will leave in your wallet every month. Pricing and release dateThere's good news and bad news. The bad news is that Apple doesn't believe in giving away a free meal. Apple's service has a price tag: $9.99/£9.99 (about AU$13) per month or $14.99/£14.99 (around AU$20) for families of up to six individuals. The good news is exactly what you'll get for that asking price. By subscribing to the service, you'll be able to play and locally save any number of tunes from iTunes's 25-million song catalog without any stipulations. That's 5 million more songs than Spotify has which, for fans of the indie genre, makes all the difference in the world. Plus, for fans of Tidal, you'll also be able to access "high-quality curated playlists" and get "expert music recommendations," if that's more your speed. Apple will offer a free version of the service, too, to everyone with an Apple ID, but all it includes are the ability to listen to the new global radio station and use Apple's social media service. Comparatively, Spotify and Rdio offer unlimited streaming with ads to its members without a monthly fee, though many similar features, like saving local music, are set behind a paywall. Apple Music's free version is intentionally limited, clearly, to see users jump into Apple's paid ecosystem. The silver lining is that the monthly service is lessened by a three-month free trial offer that Apple is extending to new users. Apple Music will be released on June 30 alongside Apple iOS 8.4, with PC and Macs to receive a new version of iTunes around the same time, and an Android version will be made available in the fall. Music curationWhen Apple started hiring ex-music journalists shortly after the purchase of Beats, we knew something was up. What they were doing, apparently, was putting together a comprehensive way to sort and recommend music, using not only the algorithms from the now-defunct Beats service but human curation to present "great music people want to hear." In theory, this will look a lot like Tidal's curated playlists, jam-packed full of information on artists, studios and producers, combined with Pandora's ability to match you with the most popular songs in your preferred genre. Realistically, Apple Music has the advantage here by having your entire iTunes library at its fingertips that it can use as a reference point for the bands and artists you listen to the most. Beats 1 global radioWhen Apple said it was going to revolutionize the way we listened to music with a new radio station, it was hard not to laugh. Beats1 will be a 24/7 music station, like SiriusXM here in the US, and hosted by renowned DJs like Zane Lowe, Blame Ebro and Julie Adenuga from Los Angeles, New York and London. It will be the first in its class that will offer news, interviews and new music from artists around the clock. A recent report from The New York Times says that we can expect Elton John, Drake and Pharrell to host their own shows, with Pharrell calling "dibs" on the first Apple Music debut of an upcoming song. The report also revealed that the first guest on Zane Lowe's show will be renowned rapper Eminem. Apple Connect social networkPing, Apple's first attempt at connecting fans with artists via Facebook-like social media, was a complete failure. It launched in 2010 and was shuttered by the end of 2012 after limited engagement, and what seemed like artist apathy. Apple Connect, we hope, will be different. Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue took the audience through a live demo of the service that promises to integrate the on-demand streaming from services like Rdio and Spotify with social media services like the revamped Myspace. In Cue's demo, he showed a behind-the-scenes video of Bastille composing music for their new album, as well as Alabama Shakes's lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard in the recording studio. It's content that will drive Connect. Without it, Apple should consider pulling the curtain early and saving the world a small headache down the road. Controversy about paying artistsApple Music's three-month free trial was its ace-up-its-sleeve. To promise every iTunes account holder three months of unlimited streaming sounded too good to be true. It turns out it was. Just not for the content creators. After its WWDC 2015 unveiling, Apple announced that it wouldn't pay artists a cent for music streamed during a user's three-month trial, and then it would switch to a 70/30 payment system then-after. As you can well imagine, this didn't sit well with artists - particularly, Taylor Swift. "We don't ask you for free iPhones. Please don't ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation," Swift wrote on her Tumblr blog. Talk about "bad blood." Indie artists and megastars alike asked Apple to pay up or ship out, and Apple being Apple, decided to do the latter. Apple refused to negotiate with indie artists, giving them an ultimatum to either stream their catalog for free for the first three months or remove their music from the storefront. It took a threat from Taylor to withhold her latest album "1989" before Apple caved in to demands. Apple has since back-pedaled on its original stance and will now pay out artists during users' free trials, and in return have the exclusive streaming rights to Swift's set of tracks.
Page 2 - Leading up to WWDC 2015What follows is our take of the service before Apple's World Wide Developer Conference... Following months of reports, Apple is expected to unveil its own on-demand music streaming service at its annual developer conference. While the tech giant has yet to detail its intentions in full, sources paint a fairly clear picture of a paid subscription model in the vein of Spotify and the fresh-faced Tidal. There are also talks of Apple overclocking its current iTunes Radio platform with technology from its acquisition of Beats Electronics. Has Apple finally lined up its successor to iTunes, or will this be too little, too late? It's too soon to make the call, but we've managed to collect as much information as possible in the days leading up to Apple's big developer conference. What is Apple's new music service?Apple's new service will allow users to stream unlimited music for a monthly fee, according to a recent report by The New York Times. This service may well be a revamped version of iTunes Radio, its current horse in the race against online radio services such as Pandora. The streaming service is projected to borrow heavily from Beats Music, following the acquisition of the Beats Electronics brand by Apple last year for a cool $3 billion (about £1.9 billion/AU$3.9 billion). This would likely result in an emphasis on expert-crafted playlists, and using both music downloaded by the user as well as music curation algorithms to create custom, personalized soundtracks. Integrations with social networks such as Facebook or Twitter could also be expected. There have also been talks of upgrading the iTunes Radio to feature virtual DJs to create a living radio atmosphere and prepare specialized music rotations, with artists such as Pharrell and Drake rumored to take part in the lineup. How will I get it, and how much will I have to pay?The app's launch is expected to play out as an update to iTunes and the iOS Music app featured on iPhones, iPads, and iPods, so says USA Today. This method ensures all up-to-date iOS and iTunes users have access to Apple's new music service, which could turn out to be a huge boon for the company as they play catchup to the long-established Spotify. Considering the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus alone managed to sell over 10 million units the weekend they were released, shattering pre-order records for the company, smartphone users on iOS could become a massive install base once the revamped music service reaches their device. Payment and account information would most likely be tied to a user's Apple Pay and Apple ID information, as well as be part of the Music app currently pre-installed on all iOS products. This means Apple could get first dibs on a ton a potential customers new to streaming, as well as simplify the onboarding and payment process for established fans of on-demand music. The most recent report, courtesy of The Wall Street Journal, has an Apple musc subscription costing $10 per month, a rate similar to the rest of the competition, excluding Tidal's HiFi offering for $20/£20 a month. There will also likely be free trials available, but curiously enough Apple hasn't offered a "free" tier similar in other online services, suggesting that the new Apple Music will only be available to paying customers. Given the streaming side of the service might be premium-only, it is likely that any advertising content will be reserved for its internet radio service, where the DJ-run channels may still be available to listen to for free. Why now?Apple is no stranger to spotting trends. Remember, iTunes revolutionized purchasing and playing music in the digital space over a decade ago. Music streaming has rapidly become more popular over the traditional model, with music download sales dropping 8% in 2014 while subscription sales climbed nearly 40%, according to market research by the IFPI music market research firm. This isn't Apple's first foray in online music listening, either. iTunes Radio made its debut in 2013 as a response to Pandora and other online music services. As more on-demand services gain traction, offering instant access to millions of songs, it would make sense for Apple to make its next step, especially given that the extensive iTunes library already grants it a head-start in music selection. When is Apple's new service coming out?Apple's upcoming WWDC 2015 conference begins June 8 and runs through June 12, and it's here Apple is expected to make an official announcement. While the service could very well be set to launch as early as that week, there have been reports of license negotiations with major record labels going at a sluggish clip. We'll just have to see if Apple can get its music service off the ground for a June release. Until then, there's still many questions left unanswered. How will prior iTunes purchases factor in? What regions will it be available in? Will there be an offline mode? With luck, these questions and more will be resolved as we provide updated coverage in the coming week.
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| Updated: Best antivirus: 10 antivirus packages reviewed and rated Posted:  IntroductionIt's a dangerous world, and every PC needs antivirus software to keep threats at bay: it's an absolute essential. Don't assume that Microsoft's free tools are enough, either. Microsoft Security Essentials (or Windows Defender with Windows 8) is compact and easy to use, but independent testing labs such as AV-Comparatives report that Microsoft's protection is very poor. This doesn't have to be a problem if you're short of cash. Opting for a free solution doesn't have to mean compromising your security – there are some great freebie tools around.
Don't automatically rule out paid products, though. Independent testing reveals that commercial packages will often (although not always) deliver the best protection, as well as offering extra functionality. If you're looking for the maximum security then you should at least consider a paid package. Here we've found 10 of the best home antivirus tools available for you to buy, listed in alphabetical order. Avira Free AntivirusPrice: Free At first glance, Avira Free Antivirus doesn't look like the best security choice. The interface is dated and relatively complex, there's a distinct shortage of extras, and even basic web protection requires installing a separate browser add-on. The package scores where it matters, though, with all the big testing labs – AV-Comparatives, AV-Test and Virus Bulletin – giving it stellar ratings, comparable to Bitdefender and Kaspersky. Avira Free is easier to use than it looks, too. The program can take care of most threats all on its own, and if you do need any assistance then a capable local help file explains everything you need to know. There are also a few small bonus features thrown in. By default the program blocks autorun, reducing the risk from infected USB keys, while Windows hosts file protection keeps you safe from malicious redirects (both options may be disabled if they get in your way). If you're looking to avoid the annual subscription then we'd also consider Panda for its great web filtering, but for pure desktop protection Avira Free Antivirus is hard to beat. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015Price: £29.95 (1 PC, 1 year) In a world packed with free security software, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015's annual £29.95 may look eye-wateringly expensive. And that's because it is, but don't move on just yet: you get a lot for your money. Bitdefender's engine is one of the most accurate and reliable around, for instance, and loved by all the big independent testers: AV-Comparatives, AV-Test and Virus Bulletin. An excellent antiphishing module alerts you to malicious links in your search engine results, and blocks access to dangerous sites. Some very worthwhile extras include a secure browser to keep your financial transactions safe, and a password manager which can also auto-complete credit card details in web forms. There are a few less impressive areas – an average vulnerability scanner, basic PC tune-up tools – but Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015 is still a likeable package which offers great detection rates, minimum false positives, and more than enough bonus features to justify its premium price. eScan Anti-VirusPrice: £17 (1 PC, 1 year) eScan Anti-Virus stands out immediately for its great value. Not only is it one of the cheapest of the commercial tools, but it also includes a firewall, browsing protection and spam filter, just about enough to qualify it as a budget security suite. And support for Windows 2000+ means it runs on even the most ancient of PCs. It's the protection you get that really matters, of course, and the results from the testing labs aren't entirely consistent. AV-Test most recently gave it a distinctly average rating, but Virus Bulletin was much more impressed, and AV-Comparatives regularly place it in their top 10. Odd interface design makes the program a little awkward to use. It's more cluttered than most of the competition, a little dated, with lots of text prompts and generally too many clicks required to carry out any particular action. Still, once the package is set up you generally won't have to tinker with it anymore, and advanced users will find some useful configuration options here. When setting up eScan's updates, for instance, you're able to select update mode (http, ftp, network), set a proxy, define when to check, schedule a download, run a defined program afterwards, even send an email notification so you know all is well. Overall, while it doesn't give you the best antivirus protection, eScan Anti-Virus deserves a top 10 place, and the capable firewall and anti-phishing filter (though not the weak antispam) will be a welcome bonus for some. F-Secure Anti-VirusPrice: £19.95 (1 PC, 1 year) If you're tired of the junk that weighs down some antivirus tools, F-Secure Anti-Virus will make a refreshing change. There are no unnecessary extras here, no bonus features you'll never use: you just get straightforward real-time browsing and antivirus protection. Keeping things simple doesn't mean compromising your safety. The package typically receives maximum marks for protection from AV-Test, and generally scores highly with AV-Comparatives, too. It does reportedly generate a vast number of false positives – almost as many as the rest of the top 10 put together – but how that affects you will vary depending on how you use your computer. The interface is a major plus. It's extremely easy to use, lightweight, and for the most part you can just leave it alone to look after your PC. The program has minimal effect on your system performance, and if you do need to intervene then you can generally solve any issues in a couple of clicks. Competitors like Bitdefender and Kaspersky offer better protection and more features, but F-Secure Anti-Virus remains a likeable package, fast, lightweight, and able to run alongside many other security tools without conflict. It's one of the better value commercial products, too – you can protect three systems for only £29.95. Fortinet FortiClient 5.2Price: Free FortiClient is designed to be an enterprise tool, integrating with Fortinet's FortiGate security appliance to ensure your network's security. But you don't need a FortiGate to install the program – or even a network – and the package is a capable free antivirus package for home users, too. Installation took a tediously long time for us, but once it's complete there's little else to do – you can leave FortiClient running in the background and it'll detect and block most threats entirely on its own. Independent testing shows reasonable accuracy. AV-Comparatives typically rates FortiClient amongst the top 10 in its Real World Tests, with relatively few false positives, and Virus Bulletin has scored it as having excellent detection rates. Bonus features include a simple VPN client, and the web security module has a little more depth than the competition, too. As well as automatically blocking malicious sites, there are parental controls-type options to limit web access by site category, enable Safe Search, log attempts to visit forbidden sites or record all web activity. Fortinet FortiClient isn't going to be anyone's first antivirus choice – it's closer to the bottom of our group than the top – but it's a decent free package, and if you'll use its extras then the program could be a sensible choice. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2015Price: £29.99 (1 PC, 1 year) Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2015 is a very thorough security package which offers multiple layers of protection to keep you safe from harm. Cloud-based technologies warn you about dangerous links or downloads, while an accurate antivirus engine detects and removes known threats as they appear. And if anything does manage to bypass your defences, Kaspersky's System Watcher detects dubious behaviour and can reverse many malicious actions. A "set and forget" design means this is all very easy to manage. Anti-Virus 2015 can handle most situations all on its own, but if you do need to take charge then the clean and clear interface keeps any hassles to a minimum. We've found Kaspersky products to be exceptionally accurate in recent years, and the independent testing labs mostly say the same. AV-Test has been awarding them maximum marks recently, AV-Comparatives something similar, and only Virus Bulletin seems to be a little less impressed. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2015 still has plenty of competition. Bitdefender offers very similar protection, and more features, for around the same price; Panda and Avira will keep you just about as safe for nothing at all. But it remains an impressive package, and on balance we think Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2015 is well worth its asking price. Norton SecurityPrice: £29.99 (1 PC, 1 year) Norton Security is more of a mini-security suite than an ordinary antivirus tool, combining antivirus, firewall, browsing protection, a password manager, identity theft and online browsing protection, and more. Assessing its reliability isn't easy because the package isn't extensively tested by the major labs, but AV-Test has recently given it a maximum score for protection, and our own smaller scale checks typically show good results. One of Norton's strongest areas is in preventing you getting infected in the first place. An excellent URL blocker does a good job of keeping you away from malicious websites, and the program won't allow you to run files it doesn't trust. This can be infuriating if you're always downloading and trying out the latest freeware, as it'll always be raising alerts, but if you're trying to protect a largely stable system – your kids' school laptop, say – then it can be very effective. If, somehow, you get infected anyway, the company offers unlimited phone or online access to a Norton technician, and if they can't help you remove the infection then the company's "100% virus protection promise" means you'll get your money back. That won't help much if the malware has caused a lot of damage, but it's still good to know there's support available if you need it. For pure protection we'd still prefer something like Bitdefender or Kaspersky, but Norton Security's file blocking abilities and ample feature set could make it a good choice for some. Panda Free AntivirusPrice: Free Every free antivirus engine claims it's just as good as the paid products, but Panda Free Antivirus is one of the few with real supporting evidence. It's regularly top or near the top of AV-Comparatives' Real World tests, and also highly rated for protection at AV-Test, with only the occasional false positive to spoil its record. If you're wondering why such a good product is given away, it doesn't take long to find out. The installer will by default change your browser home and search pages, although you can avoid this if you're paying attention. You must then register with your email address, and Panda is presumably hoping you'll eventually upgrade to one of the paid packages, with their various extras (firewall, Wi-Fi protection, parental controls, password manager and so on). That's no different to most free antivirus packages, though, and Panda Free Antivirus has plenty of compensations. The attractive Windows 8-style interface looks good, is configurable and easy to use. Also, detection rates are high, plus URL and web filtering does a good job of blocking malicious websites, while the Rescue Kit builds a bootable recovery environment to help remove stubborn threats. Put it all together and Panda Free Antivirus offers strong all-round protection, some genuinely useful extras, and along with Avira is our pick of the free crop. Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security 2015Price: £19.95 (1 PC, 1 year) Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security can take a while to set up. You're forced to remove "incompatible software" before it does anything at all, then we had to restart Firefox three times to install all the new extensions. Once it's up and running, though, life gets much easier. The interface is clean and straightforward, the core antivirus engine doesn't slow you down, and it does a great job of detecting threats, regularly receiving top ratings at independent testing labs. There are some above average extras, too. Browsing protection watches the links you click, blocking access to most malicious sites, while the spam filter is surprisingly good by security suite standards, keeping your inbox largely junk-free. If there's a problem here, it's that the Trend Micro engine can raise more false positives than almost anyone else. AV-Comparatives' Real-World Protection Tests have highlighted this recently, and we've seen this issue too, though not to the same degree. We'd recommending running the trial for its full 30 days before you buy, then, to see if this might be a problem. But if you're unaffected, its high levels of detection and excellent bonus features make Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security 2015 a good choice. Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirusPrice: £29.99 (1 PC, 1 year) Plenty of security tools claim to be "lightweight", but Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus is one of the few that actually delivers. Its few core files are installed in a fraction of a second, and it doesn't waste time or bandwidth on bulky signature updates, instead using behaviour monitoring and its cloud service to detect even the very latest threats. This doesn't mean the program is short on features. Along with the core antivirus protection, there's accurate real-time antiphishing, a firewall and network connection monitor, a configurable sandbox for testing suspect programs, and assorted other interesting extras. A single example: the "Execution History" log shows you all the processes your system has launched recently, and how long they were active. Even if your system is entirely malware-free, seeing that kind of detail on your background processes is very helpful for optimising your PC's performance. How effective is all this? That's the only complication. Our own small-scale tests suggest it works very well, but we'd like some confirmation from the big independent testing labs, and right now they rarely, if ever, assess Webroot products. Still, there's a lot to like about SecureAnywhere AntiVirus, and Webroot's 70-day 100% money-back guarantee suggests it's confident in the product, too. If you're tired of bloated antivirus engines then this must be on your shortlist. |
| 20 best image-editing apps for Mac and iOS: top image apps revealed Posted:  IntroductionThere are more great image-editing tools than ever before, and they aren't limited to the desktop. We've curated a collection of the best Mac and iOS apps for tweaking, filtering, improving, painting, or just plain editing your favorite photos, no matter where you happen to be. Best of all, most of this software is extremely affordable (or even free), so dive in and find an app that's a good fit for your personal workflow. 1. PhotosOut with the old, in with the new: iPhoto and Aperture exist only in our memories now, but they've been replaced with a capable new option already on our Macs (the ones with OS X Yosemite, anyway). Coupled with iCloud Photo Library, Photos (free, Mac) keeps all our high-resolution images (and videos, should you want them) in the cloud, available at all times from OS X and iOS devices. Although it may not be as powerful as Aperture, Photos is a great deal faster and more capable than iPhoto. The only thing missing is support for plug-ins or extensions, but Apple announced that's on the way with OS X El Capitan this fall. For many readers, Photos will be all you'll ever need. 2. iPhotoIf you don't need the complete control (and occasional complexity) of Aperture, iPhoto (free, Mac) gets the job done quite well in just a few clicks of the mouse. Although it will soon be replaced by an all-new Photos app, iPhoto's auto-enhance tool makes any photo look great in a single click, and the unified library means you can jump into Aperture to make pro corrections, then right back into iPhoto. There's also rich Facebook integration and iCloud Photo Sharing available, but those who prefer print can create some pretty awesome photo books and letterpress cards as well. And did we mention it's absolutely free? 3. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 (Mac) has been working overtime in recent months to become a home for orphaned Aperture users, thanks to a built-in migration tool that makes it easy to switch. Smart Previews allow users to edit low-resolution files on the go and have changes automatically applied to original images when an external drive is mounted, along with pro tools like Advanced Healing Brush, Upright, and Radial Gradient borrowed from the more expensive Photoshop. Creative Cloud members ($9.99 per month and up) can also sync Lightroom 5 images with a mobile app, putting the most-used image editing tools in the palm of your hands. 4. Photoshop Elements 13Like iPhoto, Photoshop Elements 13 ($99.99, Mac) is for users who want Aperture or Lightroom-style results in just a few clicks. The latest version makes it easy to create photo remixes or mashups, pick the best composition, and offers more comprehensive selection tools while offering five variants for each effect you want to apply. Facebook junkies will love the app's profile and cover photo creation options, while Guided Edits and Slideshows have been improved and Elements Live delivers creative ideas, tips, tricks, and help without having to leave the software. 5. Pixelmator 3.3Pixelmator 3.3 ($29.99, Mac) delivers Photoshop-class tools in a package only a fraction of the price, including powerful, pixel-accurate selection tools, top-notch painting, drawing, and retouching options, more than 160 effects, and an elegant collection of professional-grade color correction tools. The latest version adds complete support for OS X Yosemite (including Handoff and iCloud Drive), and also works hand-in-hand with Pixelmator for iPad for seamlessly creating and editing images on the go, while retaining the option to further enhance them back on the desktop. Best of all, there's full support for layered Photoshop PSD files, and images can even be imported from iPhoto or Aperture. 6. Snapheal 2.5If your photo editing needs lean more toward restoration or retouching, Snapheal 2.5 (Mac) provides a deliriously simple UI with the ability to remove unwanted objects like magic, or adjust shadows and highlights on dark or overexposed images. With Snapheal Pro ($39.99 or $19.99 upgrade), the application can even be run as a plug-in inside Photoshop, Lightroom, Photoshop Elements, or Aperture, adding improved image editing algorithms and a Blur brush with selective masking. 7. Capture One 7Capture One 7 ($49.50 for Express/$299 for Pro, Mac) is the offering from Phase One, a manufacturer of remarkably expensive medium-format digital cameras. Its software also works with consumer models, though, and Capture One Express is the cheaper option. It claims to have a particularly fast workflow coupled with the best image quality of all editing software, but Aperture and Lightroom don't trail too far behind. 8. DxO Optics ProDxO Optics Pro ($99 for Standard/$199 for Elite, Mac) has a rather scientific approach to image editing, and its selling point is that it claims to correct the flaws introduced to images by camera lenses better than other software. 9. GIMP10. Perfect Presets for Camera Raw11. Tiffen Dfx 4Sometimes, all that's needed to make a good photo great is throwing on a filter or two. Tiffen Dfx 4 simulates the look of more than 2,000 award-winning glass filters, delivering 134 digital equivalents and more presets than you can shake a stick at. The latest version adds borders, cartoon, and colorize gradient options, curves and selective detail adjustments, the ability to add grunge effects like film dirt, hair, stains, and scratches, and subtle new Pearlescent and Satin looks created especially with modern digital camera sensors in mind. Tiffen also offers Dfx in Photo Plug-in ($149.95, for Photoshop, Elements, Lightroom, and Aperture) or Video/Film Plug-in ($499.95, for After Effects, Premiere Pro, Avid, and Final Cut Pro) versions. 12. AnalogAnalog ($9.99, Mac) is a flexible tool for adding borders and effects that make your images look like they were taken with a film camera. 13. Adobe Photoshop MixThe desktop power of Photoshop comes to smartphones and tablets with Adobe Photoshop Mix (free, iOS), a non-destructive photo enhancement app that makes it drop-dead simple to cut objects out of images and combine them with other elements. There are also plenty of great looks on hand which can be applied to selections or entire images, and users can open Photoshop documents, individual PSD layers, or even photos from Lightroom Mobile. A free Creative Cloud membership is required to use Photoshop Mix; the latest 1.4.1 version adds smart auto crop technology for the iPad, as well as iOS 8 Touch Size support for more precise finger selections. 14. Hydra Express 3Hydra Express 3 (Mac) combines images with different exposures for more tonal range, resulting in finer detail and greater impact. 15. Camera+ 6.1Thanks to the arrival of iOS 8 extensions, Camera+ 6.1 (iOS) just became an iPhoneographer's best friend. No longer do users have to open the app and import an image to apply the awesome Clarity filter — once enabled, it's right there in the built-in Photos app, alongside all of the app's other awesome image editing options. Of course, if you don't use Apple's Camera app, this third-party solution offers a host of other improvements, including a front-facing flash mode for better selfies, touch exposure and focus, and sweet shooting modes like Stabilizer, Timer, and Burst. The latest version also delivers a new Pro quality setting, which processes and stores image in TIFF format with lossless compression. 16. Halftone 2Sequels are rarely as good as the original, but Halftone 2 (iOS) really delivers the WHAM, BAM, POW! of classic comic books on your iPhone or iPad. There's plenty more here than just adding halftone dot patterns to your favorite photos: Creative options include captions, balloons, stamps, photo panels, page options, and even 720p HD movies, with a host of robust output formats including JPEG, PDF, comic-friendly CBZ, and MP4 video. There's even an experimental 3D anaglyph feature to create images from the bygone era of red and cyan glasses! 17. SketchWith complete control over contrast and brightness, and a range of presets to choose from, My Sketch (iOS) will convert your shots into convincing pencil and charcoal drawings, complete with realistic imperfections and scribbled edges. You can crop your images before you start work and export at a range of sizes. 18. Etchings 1.7Restyle images for a unique textured look on your iPhone or iPad with Etchings 1.7 (iOS), which delivers 12 different styles and complete control over line width, color, and styling. With image exports up to 3300 x 3300, users can put the result on a virtual stamp, frame it, or use it elsewhere as a regular drawing. The latest version adds support for iPhone 6, as well as the option to etch images right from the built-in Photos app using iOS 8 extensions. 19. RaysAs with the OS X plug-in, Rays (iOS) makes it easy to cast rays of light, which pass through brighter areas and are blocked by darker detail such as window frames or people. You can change the length, color, and opacity of the rays, and the brightness at which they kick in. 20. PreviewEvery Mac since the dawn of OS X has come with the Preview application. It doesn't get much attention, but it contains image-editing tools that shouldn't be ignored, especially as they come for free. It can import from cameras and scanners directly from its File menu. Its Tools menu can find options to resize your image, rotate and flip it, and even make adjustments to exposure and color. That's just a start, but be sure to investigate Automator, too, which can do great batch-processing. |
| Spotify, forget about Dr. Dre. The Chronic is an Apple Music exclusive Posted:  Apple announced today that Apple Music has exclusive streaming rights to Dr. Dre's 1992 album The Chronic. While Dre's other albums can be found on other streaming services, this is the first time the 23-year-old album will be available for streaming. Ever. The album didn't even have its streaming debut on Dre's (and Jimmy Iovine's) own streaming service Beats Music, even though Dre owns the digital rights to 'The Chronic.' Beats Music is now owned by Apple, and Dre and Iovine were both involved in the development of Apple Music. Apple Music is set to launch tomorrow, bringing The Chronic to the masses as well as other exclusives including Taylor Swift's album 1989 and a song by Pharrell. |
| Mac Tips: How to reset the Mac Dock to default settings Posted:  The Dock in Mac OS X is incredibly convenient for keeping your most-used apps and files a single click away. It starts out clean and fairly small, but after years of use, the Dock expands and changes based on what you put in it. During that time, however, it can become messy, cluttered and unwieldy. In this article, we'll show you how to clean up your Dock and reset it to the default layout without a clean install or creating a new user account. To reset the Dock, open Terminal (located in /Applications/Utilities in the Finder), then type in the following command: defaults delete com.apple.dock; killall Dock With this command entered, press the return key on your keyboard. When you do, the plist file that holds the preferences for the Dock will be removed, and the Dock will spring back to life, completely clean and fresh, just like it was minted from the factory. This will also remove any Dock settings that you have in preferences, such as the icon size, the positioning, and more. If you wish, you can these preferences back through System Preferences > Dock.
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| iOS 8.4 release slated for Tuesday, Apple Music coming with it Posted:  Apple Music is launching tomorrow, but you'll need to download iOS 8.4 first. While the iOS 8.4 update will give us a few bug fixes and some smaller features, the biggest overhaul will occur in the Music app to make way for Apple Music. "Please make a note to upgrade to iOS 8.4 Tuesday, June 30th and listen to our first day of broadcasting," Senior Director for Apple Music (and former Beats CEO) Ian Rogers said in a blog post over the weekend. On Twitter, Rogers revealed iOS 8.4 would be available for download starting from 8am PDT/11am EDT (4pm BST/ 1am AEST), with Beats 1 to begin broadcasting an hour later. The new update to the Music app will include features that let you add custom images and descriptions to playlists, as well as a new MiniPlayer that displays what's playing even as you browse your library. Apple Music for MatchWe also received news for iTunes Match subscribers, who are currently paying $25 per year for the service. Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue explained to users on Twitter that iTunes Match features will be integrated into Apple Music, so you won't need to subscribe to both. He tweeted that at launch, users will be able to upload up to 25,000 of their own songs to Apple's cloud storage system (which is the same at iTunes Match right now), they are currently "working to get to 100k [songs] for iOS 9." It isn't clear yet how iTunes Match subscribers will be transitioned over, or if the separate service will remain (for those who would rather pay $25 for the year for iTunes Match alone, rather than $10 a month). |
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