Table of contents for May 2017 in Macworld

Night Shift was first introduced in iOS 9.3. It’s a setting that adjusts your display’s colors when it’s nighttime. When the sun sets, your Mac’s display will use less blue light, creating a picture that’s “warmer.” You’ll notice a yellowish cast on the screen. Night Shift is the major new feature in macOS Sierra 10.12.4. Let’s take a look at what Night Shift does, and how you can adjust it to best suit your Mac habits.  Apple says many studies show that the blue light usually used by displays can affect your circadian rhythms and your sleep pattern. When you use Night Shift, the warmer colors aren’t as harsh on your eyes and better for your circadian rhythms. Whether this holds true for you or not, you now have the option…

Living on the road, like I do, isn’t for everyone. It requires a lot of sacrifices and the willingness to accept near-constant change. When my partner and I moved into our RV, it was easy to rid ourselves of unneeded clothing and furniture, but we couldn’t leave behind the computer gear we need to do our jobs. And suddenly I was on the market for a really small printer. After using the Canon Pixma iP110 portable inkjet printer for a few months, I feel comfortable recommending it to anyone who needs a portable printer. It doesn’t have a scanner, which is fine since I can use my iPhone camera and apps like Scanner Pro, but it’s more than capable of handling the documents, photos, and envelopes I need to print from…

It’s been almost seven years since Macworld last reviewed iScrapbook, a full-featured Mac digital scrapbooking Mac app that Katherine Murray called “a good investment if you love great design, have an eye for color and texture, and have some good stories to share.” The same is still true today, thanks to the continued efforts of developer Chronos to introduce new features with each subsequent version, such as the ability to add movies or audio files to scrapbook pages, 3D headlines, texture overlays, and oneclick photo frames, all while remaining intuitive and easy to use. Compatibility updates aside, could there be any newer features worth adding? COLOR WHEEL Judging from iScrapbook 7 ($50 single user; $90 family pack) the answer is yes, as this impressive update arrives with a singular focus on…

When I decided to buy an Apple Watch Series 2, I knew exactly which model I wanted: rose gold with the pink and midnight woven nylon band. It was a combination Apple highlighted on its website, but I wasn’t sure how many the store would keep in stock. Luckily, I snagged one of the few remaining at the SoHo Apple Store and wear it almost every day. Unfortunately, Apple has decided to stop making its watches so customizable in the box. The rose gold Apple Watch Series 2 with pink and midnight woven nylon band is no longer a combination you can buy on Apple.com. In fact, you can’t choose a nylon band alongside your aluminum or stainless steel watch at all anymore. Your choices are a Sport band, a…

The new Overcast 3 podcast app for iOS (free on the iTunes Store) provides a crisp overhaul to many of the weakest interface elements and interactions of version 2.5, while preserving its core strength of user-customized playlists. Because so much remains the same, you should read our complete Overcast 2.5 review  for the fundamentals. The app’s improvements and significant changes are called out in this review. Fortunately, nothing has gotten worse. Here’s what Overcast 3 does better or differently than version 2.5. Queuing. One of the biggest gaps between Overcast and its non-Apple competitors was the lack of an on-the-fly way to add podcasts to a queue. Version 3 creates a special kind of static playlist, the Main Queue, to which episodes can be added in any view in which…

Amazon sells a Kids Edition of its Fire tablet, which is the exact same tablet they sell for adults, but in a kid-friendly case, with a year’s worth of the FreeTime Unlimited service for kids apps and content. Apple does not do this. But at $329 for 32GB of storage, the new iPad is pretty close. This is a great iPad at its most family-friendly price, and certainly a better buy for kids than the $599 iPad Pro. Now, obviously you won’t get all the same features or technology that’s in the more expensive iPad Pro. The new 2017 iPad is more or less a mashup of parts we’ve seen before: the same A9 chip that powers the iPhone 6s, the same size and weight as the first iPad Air…

If you know anything about NAS (Network Attached Storage), you know that it’s a great centralized backup receptacle for your PCs. If you didn’t know, we just told you. Actually, the name is bit of a giveaway: NAS is storage that you attach via ethernet or Wi-Fi and access across the network. What that doesn’t tell you is that most NAS boxes have the smarts of a PC, with a full-blown app environment that includes extensive backup abilities. But there are two things that even NAS aware users might not realize: First, many NAS boxes are perfectly capable of backing up data from PCs running any type of operating system (e.g., Windows, OS X, or Linux) from anywhere, using nothing more than their integrated utilities. All you need to do…

How to solve a problem of too many Photos libraries Q: I have been helping my parents migrate all of their files over from a 10-year-old iMac to a new one. They have two iPhoto Libraries that I copied over to the new iMac. Now, on the new iMac, there are three Photos Libraries. I have no idea how the extra libraries came about. Is there a way to merge the iPhoto Libraries and the Photos Libraries so wecan see all of them together in one library in Photos? — Bryan Packer A: This seems to be a multiplication problem. Each iPhoto Library, when opened in Photos, becomes a Photos library. So on launching Photos with the Option key held down, you should see both old iPhoto libraries and both…

Pros have been dissatisfied with Apple of late, and it’s not hard to see why. The so-long-in-thetooth- it-qualifies-as-a-fang Mac Pro hasn’t been updated in more than three years, but still commands a hefty price tag. And last fall’s new MacBook Pro added the splashy new Touch Bar while seeming to skimp on practicalities like RAM and processor power. But all may not be lost! During the recent Apple shareholder meeting, CEO Tim Cook had this cryptic answer to a question about the pro market: “Don’t think something we’ve done or something that we’re doing that isn’t visible yet is a signal that our priorities are elsewhere.” (Or, if I may paraphrase: “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”) In case that wasn’t clear, he also answered more directly, saying,…

I’m not a fan of Apple keyboards. There’s nothing wrong with them technically. I just don’t like the way they feel. But I put up with them and over time, my dislike for them has lessened. For the past few weeks, I’ve (mostly) ditched the Apple keyboard for the new Lofree Mechanical Keyboard. What I found is that my frequent use of the Apple keyboard influenced my experience with the Lofree to mixed results. A DIFFERENT FEEL The Lofree keyboard is being marketed as being “inspired by typewriters.” Instead of square keys (like those found on Apple and other keyboards), the Lofree’s keys are round, like those you’d find on a typewriter. The round keys are also slightly concave, not flat like the Apple keyboard keys, so your fingertips nestle…

APPLE’S NIKE SPORT BAND Apple made several product updates this spring, introducing a slew of new bands for the Apple Watch. We’re really feeling the $49 Nike Sport Band. This perforated band is designed to let maximum air flow reach your wrist, which you might appreciate if you wear your Apple Watch during grueling, sweaty workouts. This band wasn’t sold separately before—you could only get it with the Nike+ edition of the Apple Watch Series 2. Now you can pick one up for any Apple Watch you already own in three official colorways: black/volt (“volt” is a bright neon yellow), platinum/white (platinum is gray), and anthracite/black (all black). —SUSIE OCHS CASETIFY iPHONE 7 CASES AND COVERS You’ve got your gorgeous new red iPhone 7, and you’ve managed to make it this…

With so many kid-friendly games, apps, and programs these days, it can be hard for parents to pry their kids away from the screen—but not all screen time has to be passive. SwapBots is a new line of physical toys that spring to life when paired with a smartphone or tablet, thanks to augmented reality. The toy itself is made up of various blocks that you stack up, three pieces high, to make a character—pick between different feet, torsos, and heads. The blocks are lightweight, and are easier to stack than your standard Lego bricks. Once your bot is ready to roll, the app will walk you through the pairing process, which only takes seconds and involves holding the toy up in front of the camera. Once activated, your character will…

Instant Instant (free; iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch) still lets you track the time you spend on your iPhone, getting in shape, going places, and sleeping. The latest update adds a new visual dashboard with movable cards, and helps you make goals for sleep, phone usage, and steps to make you more productive and healthier. The Tune Zoo The Tune Zoo ($3; iPad) uses animated animals to teach young, budding musicians the essentials of music, including melody and harmony, expression, performance, interaction, collaboration, composition, arrangement, and improvisation. Say the makers: “There are no rules, high scores, time limits or stress—just open-ended creative, constructive play.” Blin.gy…

A recent survey has found that your IT department thinks a Mac is more manageable than a PC or Chromebook. According to a survey of IT professionals, Macs and iOS devices are easier to manage when it comes to security, device configuration, software deployment, and support. Of those surveyed, 62 percent said the Mac is as easy or easier to deploy than a PC, and 93 percent said it’s as easy or easier to deploy an iPhone or iPad over another device. While most IT professionals found Apple’s products easier to manage overall, that was not the case when it comes to Mac integration. Only 36 percent of IT professionals claimed that it was easy or easier to integrate Macs into other environments. The survey is based on responses from…

Apple recently released iTunes 12.6, and it addresses some issues that readers have been writing me about for some time. In this column, I answer a couple of those questions and explain some of the changes in iTunes 12.6. Apple has— finally—brought back the ability to open playlists in their own windows. And the MiniPlayer, that small floating window that lets you control iTunes, has been updated. Read on to find out what’s new in iTunes 12.6. PLAYLIST WINDOWS Q: I remember that, some time ago, I could open playlists in iTunes in their own windows. Will Apple ever bring that feature back? A: I get this question often, and just recently, when Apple updated iTunes to version 12.6, I was surprised to discover that this ability had been restored.…

The Nintendo Switch hit stores last recently, and the gaming world is buzzing about the convertible handheld/home console hybrid—and top launch title, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. While you may never get the chance to play the new Zelda on your computer, there is a surprising connection here: the Joy-Con controllers can pair with your Mac. That’s right: the little control nubs that bookend either side of the Switch’s screen detach from the unit, and since they pair via Bluetooth, you can use them with Mac games. We certainly wouldn’t recommend buying a Switch solely to use the Joy-Cons on your Mac, but if you game across multiple devices and snagged the console, then Mac compatibility is a sweet perk. And the Switch’s beefier Pro Controller works…

There have never been so many options to clone, back up, and archive data from your Mac. And there have never been so few options for local networked backup. With Apple’s Time Machine and Time Capsule eating the heart out of the basic backup market for connected and networked archives, and several competing cloud-hosted services owning flat-rate unlimited storage, it’s hard for any developer to compete. Code42’s CrashPlan and Econ Technologies’ ChronoSync are players in the game. CrashPlan offers a single software client that can copy data to a connected volume, a LAN-hosted volume, a friend’s Internet-reachable drive, or its own for-fee cloud service that has an unlimited storage option. ChronoSync is a ridiculously full-featured clone, mirror, and sync package that works with local and network-mounted drives, including Network Attached…

After recent news that Apple had acquired iOS power user app Workflow, you’d be excused for being a bit confused about the future of automation on Apple’s platform. After all, it was just last November that Sal Soghoian, Apple’s product manager of automation technologies, left the company when his position was eliminated. And yet, Apple snapped up Workflow, an app that many had compared to Apple’s own Automator, which was introduced way back in 2005’s Mac OS X Tiger. So what gives? Is there still some life in automation and scripting features on Apple’s platforms, or is this merely a case of Apple acquiring useful talent? FOLLOW THE SCRIPT Scripting’s been part of the Mac since the earliest days. AppleScript, which grew out of HyperCard’s HyperTalk scripting language, was built…

Do podcasts have a face that only radio can love, as the old joke goes? The Pocket Casts app ($4 in the iTunes Store) puts podcasts’ best face forward, with a default main view that shows large thumbnails of the podcasts to which you’re subscribed ordered by the most recent episodes released. You can opt to have Pocket Casts show per-episode art for podcasts that offer that, too. It’s an attractive and neatly visual way to scan what you have available to listen to. The latest major release of Pocket Casts, version 6, shipped in July 2016, and I reviewed version 6.5, which includes a variety of minor and major updates. Version 6 was the app’s first complete overhaul in its long history providing podcasts to iOS users. The app…

Spring comes with its own rituals. Here at Macworld, we like to throw open the windows, beat the dust out of the rugs, and straighten up our Mac desktops. Don’t stop at cleaning your home this season. Clean up your Mac. If you’re using macOS Sierra, it has a feature that will help tremendously with your Spring cleaning: Optimize Storage. You can use Optimize Storage to activate the Store In iCloud option, remove iTunes videos you’ve watched (they can be re-downloaded), set it to empty the Trash automatically, reduce clutter caused by large files and downloads, and a lot more. Optimize Storage is especially handy if you’re using a Mac laptop with flash storage. You usually don’t get the same amount of space as you would with a hard drive,…

Gordon Potter has considered using iCloud Desktop and Documents, a macOS Sierra feature that both syncs and selectively archives less-used files to free up storage, retrieving them on demand as needed. But, he is concerned that once he create/use this iCloud system, there is no obvious way out. This is a reasonable degree of concern. Gordon wonders in particular: 1. Does it sync across Macs registered to the same iCloud account and, if so, can he select what syncs? 2. How to stop using it and revert to normal? 3. He and his wife have separate Apple IDs and use Family Sharing: does this sync help with exchanging files between them? And the answers: Syncing across Macs. You have an option on every Mac with macOS Sierra installed whether or…

In a recent article, I explained how you can rip DVDs with the free HandBrake. While the solution I describe in that article is easy to use, you might want to consider another way of ripping discs. You can do this using the free MakeMKV, and then using HandBrake. This has several advantages: > There’s no need to install additional tools from the command line, as I explained in the “How to rip DVDs with HandBrake” article. > You can also rip Blu-ray discs with MakeMKV and then convert these files to iTunes-compatible files. > If you don’t want to store your videos in iTunes, you can play them with the free VLC media player, and you can view them in the iOS version of VLC as well. > And if…