Macworld November 2020

Whether you’re looking for a cheap companion or just don’t want to pay sky-high prices for a new Apple laptop right now, a Chromebook is an excellent option. With a speedy, touch-friendly UI and a breezy, get-things-done attitude, a Chromebook is an excellent addition to any Apple fan’s gear bag, whether it’s their primary device or not. The only problem: Chromebooks are much closer to a Windows PC than a Mac. From the experience to the interface, Chrome OS is clearly inspired by Windows but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Google offers plenty of customization options to rid your Chromebook of all of its Windows influences. EMBRACE THE SHELF One of the main things that separates macOS from Windows OS is the Dock. But Chromebooks have something similar…

Hey, you Mac old timers (like me). How many times have you said to yourself, “Man, I could use a round of Duke Nukem 3D right now!” or wished you could go back to a version of Adobe Photoshop that didn’t have all the tools you need? (Okay, never, but play along with me here.) Well, now you can go back to the old days of the Mac with a Mac OS 8 emulator, written by Felix Rieseberg. He created a JavaScript app that includes a virtual machine that emulates a Macintosh Quadra 900 running Mac OS 8.1. The 261MB compressed download expands into an app that runs that system in a window on your modern Mac. The emulator also includes a few apps, such as Adobe Photoshop 3.0.5, Adobe…

Apple recently announced a major change to its gift card offerings. Instead of separate cards for iTunes and Apple Store purchases, Apple is now selling a single card for “everything Apple” that can be used online and in stores to purchase “products, accessories, apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, iCloud, and more.” While the new cards will make it easier to buy things, they could also mean the end of the standard iTunes gift card deals that regularly pop up. Best Buy, PayPal, and others often offer 15 or 20 percent off $50 or $100 cards, but those deals rarely surface for Apple Store cards. It’s unclear when or if these new cards will make their way to retailers. Now that the two stores are merged, however, that could mean…

It’s impressive how much ExpressVPN packs into its service. In addition to supporting the usual VPN connections across nearly 100 countries, ExpressVPN supports Smart DNS on consoles and set-top boxes—a great feature for Americans working abroad. It has a built-in speed test to help you make better decisions about which connections to use, if speed is your priority. It also works with Netflix in the U.S.—though you may need to try a few servers before it’ll take. The company is also working on trust with diskless servers, and it underwent a security audit from PwC. ExpressVPN is moving in the right direction, but how does it measure up overall? SECURITY, SOFTWARE, SERVERS, AND SPEED ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands. The company says it’s doing this to remain…

The macOS menu bar is convenient for quickly accessing favorite widgets, but it doesn’t take long for this real estate to become overcrowded. That’s why I love apps that perform multiple tasks while consuming a minimal amount of precious space along the top of my screen. iClock is an alternative to the standard macOS menu-bar clock, offering separate date and time menus that display the current day and hour in any custom format, font, and color you can conjure up, all from one of the most configurable preferences windows I’ve ever seen. The time menu drop-down offers an exhaustive list of related data and productivity shortcuts including favorite international locations, so you’ll always know the current local time at a glance. World clocks can also be opened anywhere on the screen…

AURA CARVER A smart, elegant digital photo frame that you can set up and enjoy within minutes, the Aura Carver makes for an easy and handsome way to show off your snapshots, provided you have a steady Wi-Fi connection, you’re comfortable with cloud storage, and you’re okay with its landscape-only position. The 10.1-inch IPS display has a 1920 x 1200 resolution, with colors looked vivid yet natural, and viewing angles were excellent. You can copy over photo albums from your phone or Mac, or sync albums in your iCloud Photo Library or Google Photos account. —BEN PATTERSON CUBO AI PLUS Featuring safety detection alerts that notify parents of a covered face, stomach sleeping, and other sleep risks the Cubo AI Plus is also chock full of the wish-list items…