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Tag: Mac

  • Microsoft Outlook for Mac Is Now Free for All

    Microsoft Outlook for Mac Is Now Free for All

    Microsoft has surprised Mac users by making its Outlook email and calendar app free, with no license or Microsoft 365 requirement.

    Microsoft’s Jeremy Perdue made the announcement in a company blog post:

    Now consumers can use Outlook for free on macOS, no Microsoft 365 subscription or license necessary.

    Whether at home, work or school, Mac users everywhere can easily add Outlook.com, Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo! or IMAP accounts in Outlook and experience the best mail and calendar app on macOS. The Outlook for Mac app complements Outlook for iOS – giving people a consistent, reliable, and powerful experience that brings the best-in-class experience of Outlook into the Apple ecosystem that so many love.

    There’s no denying that Outlook is the leading email client, especially in the business world. Mac users have long enjoyed using the app on their platform of choice, but it has always required purchasing a license or a Microsoft 365 subscription.

    Perdue teases upcoming new features in a future release:

    There is more to do and many more features we are excited to bring to the Outlook Mac experience. We are rebuilding Outlook for Mac from the ground up to be faster, more reliable, and to be an Outlook for everyone.

    It’s interesting that Perdue mentions “rebuilding Outlook.” Microsoft revealed at the beginning of 2021 that it was rebuilding Outlook to be a web-based universal version that would work across both Windows and Mac. It’s certainly likely the upcoming rebuild is a reference to the web-based version. If so, it makes sense that the company would be willing to make its legacy version free.

  • Apple’s New M2 Pro Mini May Have Serious Ethernet Issues

    Apple’s New M2 Pro Mini May Have Serious Ethernet Issues

    Apple’s M2 Pro Mini is gaining attention for the wrong reasons, with users reporting serious ethernet issues.

    A forum thread has popped up on MacRumors where a number of users have detailed issues with their ethernet connections on the new machines. Some users have even resorted to wiping and reinstalling macOS to no avail.

    Some users, such as “purplefuku,” reported success stabilizing the ethernet connection after multiple reinstalls:

    +1 for me, too! Base model M2 Pro Mac mini. Shipped with 13.0, oddly enough. It took me THREE complete clean installs from a Ventura USB installer before the laggy networking has finally seemed to stabilize…

    At this point, it is unclear if it is a software or hardware issue, although the fact that reinstalling can fix it would seem to indicate a software problem. Hopefully, Apple will be able to release a patch soon that will resolve the issue.

  • Get Ready for More Ads on Your iPhone and Mac

    Get Ready for More Ads on Your iPhone and Mac

    In a move that is sure to upset users, Apple may be preparing to bring far more ads to its iPhone and Mac platforms.

    Apple has positioned itself as a champion of privacy, going so far as to thwart the efforts of other advertising platforms to track its users. Despite that, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the company “is going to, over time, significantly expand its own advertising business,” bringing more ads to users’ iPhones and Macs.

    Apple already displays ads in some of its products, such as News, Stocks, and the App Store. Unfortunately, for users, Gurman believes Apple plans on bringing ads to its Apple Books, Apple Podcasts, and Maps platforms.

    “I believe that the iPhone maker will eventually expand search ads to Maps,” Gurman writes. “It also will likely add them to digital storefronts like Apple Books and Apple Podcasts. And TV+ could generate more advertising with multiple tiers (just as Netflix Inc., Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. are doing with their streaming services).”

    On the plus side, Gurman doesn’t believe Apple will try to revive its iAd business and embed ads in third-party apps.

    Even so, the expansion of ads within Apple’s products is sure to ruffle features, and rightfully so. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: While ads are an expected trade-off for a free service, there’s no excuse for users being subjected to ads when they’re already paying for a premium product or service.

    The issue is even worse when looking at Apple’s financials. In its most recent earnings report, the company generated $83.0 billion in revenue, a record for a June quarter. It’s truly hard to fathom how the company can justify trying to make even more money off of its customers. It’s going to be even harder for the company to justify crippling competitors’ ads, only to then ramp up its own.

  • PSA: Update Your Apple Devices Immediately

    PSA: Update Your Apple Devices Immediately

    Apple has released patches to fix a major zero-day exploit impacting iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, an exploit that may already be in use.

    The updates to Apple’s operating systems (OS) address issues with the kernel and the WebKit rendering engine that powers Safari. In the case of the kernel, Apple says “an application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.” This would apply to all three platforms.

    In regard to the WebKit issue, Apple says “processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution.” Again, this impacts all three platforms.

    In both cases, Apple says it is aware of reports that these bugs have been exploited in the wild, making it even more important to update as soon as possible.

    Once the update is complete, the patched version of your OS should iOS 15.6.1, iPadOS 15.6.1, and macOS Monterey 12.5.1.

    Here’s the full release notes for iOS and iPadOS, as well as for macOS.

  • Asahi Linux Closing In On ‘A Polished Linux Experience’ On M1 Macs

    Asahi Linux Closing In On ‘A Polished Linux Experience’ On M1 Macs

    Apple’s M1 Macs may not fully support Linux just yet, but that’s on the verge of changing. 

    Apple’s M1 processors power its next-generation Macs. Based on the same designs the company has been using in its iPhones and iPads for years, the M1 has received accolades for its performance and battery life. While most users are perfectly content with Apple’s macOS, some would prefer to run Linux.

    Linux on the Mac has a long and healthy history. Many individuals prefer running Apple’s hardware, thanks to its leading-industry design and features, but want the freedom Linux provides. Unfortunately, because Apple just started using the M1 in its Macs, developers have to start from scratch, reverse engineering the hardware and drivers.

    Asahi Linux is one of the leading efforts at getting “a polished Linux® experience on Apple Silicon Macs.” Alyssa Rosenzweig, one of the graphics developers working on the Asahi project, shared an update via Twitter.

    https://twitter.com/alyssarzg/status/1432927311058194436?s=20

    Bryan Lunduke, former Deputy Editor of Linux Journal and a former technology journalists at Network World, is a Linux user who is in the target audience for the Asahi project. He breaks down exactly what Rosenzweig’s announcement means:

    So. What can we glean from all of this?

    • The Asahi Linux team has Linux (Debian, in this case) booting and usable with network support.
    • They now have (very early) display drivers which “take full advantage of the display hardware.”
    • They have at least two base distributions — both Arch and Debian — working and functional (to some extent).

    Rosenzweig’s announcement is good news for users looking forward to running Linux on the M1. Linux already has a well-deserved reputation for breathing new life into older hardware, thanks to its slim system requirements. It will be interesting to see what it can do with M1-level performance at its disposal.

  • Macs Could Gain Face ID in a ‘Couple of Years’

    Macs Could Gain Face ID in a ‘Couple of Years’

    A new report says Apple’s Mac computers could gain Face ID “within a couple of years.”

    Apple’s Mac lineup currently uses the older Touch ID biometric security. While still offering a high degree of security, Touch ID is not as secure as the Face ID technology currently used in high-end iPhones and iPads.

    According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, via Apple Insider, Apple is preparing to bring the newer tech to the Mac lineup as well. Gurman believes the more expensive Mac models may even move the camera underneath the display, eliminating a notch or dedicated place in the display’s frame.

    Gurman has a well-earned reputation for being one of the more accurate Apple prognosticators. Should his latest information be correct, the Macs will finally gain one of their most requested features.

  • Backblaze Computer Backup 8.0 Offers Greatly Increased Performance

    Backblaze Computer Backup 8.0 Offers Greatly Increased Performance

    Backblaze has announced version 8.0 of its Backblaze Computer Backup app, significantly increasing the performance over previous versions.

    Backblaze is a popular backup option for both Mac and PC computers. The latest version brings major speed boosts across the board, thanks to increased threading and better throttling.

    Modern computer systems use concurrent threads to divide up tasks and complete them faster. Previous version of Backblaze only used a maximum of 30 concurrent threads. In contrast, version 8.0 can use up to 100 threads simultaneously.

    The company has also improved its auto throttle technology to better utilize network bandwidth and system resources, while at the same time reducing load on hard drives and SSDs by 80%. The new version also updates progress information better, rather than appearing to hang when uploading large files.

    Sometime application updates don’t really seem to offer enough features to justify the upgrade price. With Backblaze Computer Backup 8.0, however, it seems the performance alone will be a welcome improvement for most users.

  • Qualcomm Wants to Take on Apple’s M1

    Qualcomm Wants to Take on Apple’s M1

    Qualcomm has its sights set on Apple, with plans to take on the company’s M1 processor.

    Apple rocked the computing industry last year when it announced it was transitioning its Mac platform to its own custom silicon, the M1. The company previously relied on Intel to power its computers, but the M1 offered major advantages.

    Apple’s custom silicon is based on designs from Arm Holdings. As one of the original founders of Arm, however, Apple has the broadest license available, giving the company freedom to create truly custom chips. An evolution of the processors Apple has used in the iPhone and iPad for years, the M1 has unrivaled energy use, combined with stellar performance that rivals and exceeds Intel’s best offerings.

    The move has put tremendous pressure on PC makers to deliver a competitive product. Similarly, Microsoft has been migrating Windows to Arm processors to help pave the way for adoption by the PC industry.

    Qualcomm’s new CEO believes his company may have the answer to Apple. The company already creates Arm-based chips, much like Apple does, but Cristiano Amon told Reuters he believes the company needs its own line of custom silicon to help his customers better compete with Cupertino.

    Amon’s efforts are aided by a number of former Apple engineers, including ones who worked on Apple’s chip, that now work for Qualcomm. The engineers came onboard when Qualcomm purchased chip startup Nuvia, a company that was founded by ex-Apple employees.

    If Qualcomm is able to deliver on Amon’s vision, it could find itself in a strong position in the PC industry, building on its already enviable position in the smartphone market.

  • Oracle Offering Arm-Based Cloud Computing

    Oracle Offering Arm-Based Cloud Computing

    Oracle has announced it is offering Arm-based cloud computing, using processors from Ampere Computing.

    Arm Holdings designs semiconductors and licenses those designs to other companies. The processors offer a combination of power and efficiency that make them ideally suited for use in compact spaces, making them the preferred chips for smartphones and tablets. Those same qualities also make them ideal for data center operations, where cooling and power requirements are at a premium.

    Oracle now joins Amazon as one of the companies offering Arm-based cloud computing services, powered by Ampere A1 Compute chips. Oracle is touting its cost, a mere one cent per core hour, as the industry’s lowest cost per core.

    “We see increasing demand for server-side Arm computing and adding Arm-based compute instances to our extensive portfolio of offerings enables customers to pick and choose the right processors for their workloads,” said Clay Magouyrk, executive vice president, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. “Now customers who need an Arm platform for development can get the flexibility, scalability, and price-performance they need. We’re also making it really easy for developers to move their apps and develop new ones on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.”

    “Ampere instances on OCI is a breakthrough for developers. Oracle’s Free Tier is a great offering that allows them to test the OCI Ampere A1 compute platform and experience the first-cloud native processor that delivers predictable performance, scalability and power needed,” said Renee James, founder, chairman and CEO, Ampere Computing. “The Oracle Cloud has all the tools developers need to try new technology, get excited about new platforms and develop new applications.”

    Arm semiconductor adoption in the data center is another increasingly worrying sign for Intel. While Arm has dominated the mobile market, Intel was the king of traditional computers and the data center. Last year, however, Apple announced it was switching its Mac platform to its own custom silicon, based on Arm designs. Microsoft has started following suit, pushing Windows on Arm.

    With Amazon and Oracle both supporting Arm-based cloud computing, Intel’s last stronghold is now under full assault.

  • Apple Reports Record March Quarter

    Apple Reports Record March Quarter

    Apple has reported its quarterly results, delivering an astounding 54% year-over-year revenue growth.

    The March quarter is not traditionally one of Apple’s strongest. This year, however, the company had a number of factors in its favor. The iPhone 12, with 5G support, was expected to cause a “super cycle” upgrade as individuals traded in older phones for the revolutionary new feature the 12 offered. Similarly, Apple’s move to its own custom silicon for its Mac line of computers have led to renewed demand.

    The company also benefited from the transition to remote work, as Macs, iPhones and iPads saw increased demand among remote employees and students.

    These factors resulted in a quarter that exceeded analysts expectations across the board, and accounted for revenue of $89.6 billion. The iPhone accounted for $47.9 billion, a 66% increase. The Mac saw a 70% increase, coming in at $9.1 billion. The iPad accounted for $7.8 billion, or a 35% increase.

    “This quarter reflects both the enduring ways our products have helped our users meet this moment in their own lives, as well as the optimism consumers seem to feel about better days ahead for all of us,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Apple is in a period of sweeping innovation across our product lineup, and we’re keeping focus on how we can help our teams and the communities where we work emerge from this pandemic into a better world. That certainly begins with products like the all-new iMac and iPad Pro, but it extends to efforts like the 8 gigawatts of new clean energy we’ll help bring onto the grid and our $430 billion investment in the United States over the next 5 years.”

    “We are proud of our March quarter performance, which included revenue records in each of our geographic segments and strong double-digit growth in each of our product categories, driving our installed base of active devices to an all-time high,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “These results allowed us to generate operating cash flow of $24 billion and return nearly $23 billion to shareholders during the quarter. We are confident in our future and continue to make significant investments to support our long-term plans and enrich our customers’ lives.”

  • Parallels Desktop 16.5 Runs Arm Windows 10 on M1 Mac 30% Faster

    Parallels Desktop 16.5 Runs Arm Windows 10 on M1 Mac 30% Faster

    Parallels has released the latest version of Parallels Desktop, boasting up to 30% faster performance running Arm Windows 10 on M1 Macs.

    Parallels is one of the premier virtualization programs for the Mac. It has been a mainstay for Mac users looking to run Windows on Intel-based Macs for years. With Apple’s transition to its custom silicon, virtualization was one of the few types of software that didn’t automatically work in Rosetta 2, Apple’s translation layer that allows Intel-based software to run on the new machines.

    Fortunately, Parallels has updated its software to fully support the M1, as well as the older Intel machines. When running Windows 10 on Intel machines, Parallels offers native speeds, comparable to what would be achieved on a dedicated Wintel machine.

    When running on the M1 Macs, however, Parallels achieves significantly better performance. Running on the M1 requires a copy of Windows 10 on Arm Insider Preview. However, when paired with Parallels Desktop 16.5, users can see performance “up to 30 percent better than a Windows 10 VM running on Intel-based MacBook Pro with Intel Core i9 processor.”

    Licensed users of parallels 16 can update to the new version at no cost.

  • Apple Opens Find My to Third Parties

    Apple Opens Find My to Third Parties

    Apple has opened its Find My service to third parties, making it possible to track third-party devices via the app.

    Until now, Apple’s Find My app has allowed a user to find their Macs, iPads, iPhones and AirPods. With Apple rumored to be working on AirTags, small devices that can be affixed to other items for tracking, AirTags will also likely be accessible via Find My.

    In the meantime, new products from Belkin, Chipolo, and VanMoof will be available for tracking beginning next week.

    “For more than a decade, our customers have relied on Find My to locate their missing or stolen Apple devices, all while protecting their privacy,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Now we’re bringing the powerful finding capabilities of Find My, one of our most popular services, to more people with the Find My network accessory program. We’re thrilled to see how Belkin, Chipolo, and VanMoof are utilizing this technology, and can’t wait to see what other partners create.”

    As one of Apple’s more useful, everyday services, it’s good to see the company opening Find My to other companies and products.

  • Intel CEO Wants Apple Back As a Customer

    Intel CEO Wants Apple Back As a Customer

    Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has his sights set on regaining Apple as a customer, thanks to Intel’s planned factories in Arizona.

    Apple made headlines when it announced it would be transitioning its Mac platform to its own custom silicon, based on Arm designs. Previously, Apple used its own custom silicon in iPhone and iPads, but relied on Intel’s chips for its Mac computers.

    Unfortunately for Intel, the company was no longer able to meet Apple’s needs. Intel’s chips increasingly started falling behind rival AMD’s semiconductors, and failed to keep up with the power savings and performance Apple was able to achieve with its custom silicon.

    To make matters worse, Intel had some high-profile issues with quality control. In fact, according to former Intel engineer François Piednoël, at one point Apple was finding almost as many bugs in Intel’s chips as Intel’s own team — not a good way to convince a company to stay with your products.

    “The quality assurance of Skylake was more than a problem … It was abnormally bad,” said Piednoël. “We were getting way too much citing for little things inside Skylake. Basically our buddies at Apple became the number one filer of problems in the architecture. And that went really, really bad. When your customer starts finding almost as much bugs as you found yourself, you’re not leading into the right place.”

    Despite losing Apple, Gelsinger is intent on getting them back, if not as a customer of Intel’s in-house chips, then as a manufacturing customer.

    Intel’s new factories are being built in Arizona with the goal of challenging TSMC, the company Apple currently uses to manufacture its chips, and bring more semiconductor manufacturing to the US. As a result, Intel is positioning itself as an alternative manufacturing partner, giving companies like Apple, Qualcomm, Nokia and Microsoft another option and a way to diversify their supply chain.

    In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Gelsinger laid out his hope.

    Apple is a customer, and I hope to make them a big foundry customer because today they’re wholly dependent on Taiwan Semiconductor. We want to present great options for them to leverage our foundry services, as well, just like we’re working with Qualcomm and Microsoft to leverage our foundry. We’re going to be delivering great technology, some things that can’t be done anywhere else in the world.

    In an interview with BBC News, Gelsinger emphasized it wouldn’t be an easy sell, and Intel would have to demonstrate that it could successfully meet customers’ needs.

    Everybody wants multiple suppliers. So we think there’s very real potential. But I have to earn that business. I have to be able to go to my competitors and be able to say: “I want you to become my customer.”

    And that also includes Nvidia, Qualcomm and Broadcom, in addition to Microsoft and IBM. I want all of them to say: “I need more technology… and I trust that Intel is going to become one of my key suppliers.”

    And that includes Apple as one of the biggest users of advanced semiconductor capabilities.

    Gelsinger certainly doesn’t lack for ambition in his efforts to turn Intel’s fortunes around. It remains to be seen if he and Intel can deliver the goods.

  • Apple Maps Now Showing COVID-19 Vaccination Locations

    Apple Maps Now Showing COVID-19 Vaccination Locations

    Apple Maps has been updated to display COVID-19 vaccination locations, making it that much easier to set up an appointment.

    As the US rolls out COVID-19 vaccines, one of the biggest challenges is finding a location and setting up an appointment. Some have relied on their local pharmacy, or used websites such as those provided by local governments.

    Apple is making it a bit easier, integrating vaccination locations in Apple Maps.

    Apple today updated Apple Maps with COVID-19 vaccination locations from VaccineFinder, a free, online service developed by Boston Children’s Hospital that provides the latest vaccine availability for those eligible at providers and pharmacies throughout the US. Users can find nearby COVID-19 vaccination locations from the Search bar in Apple Maps by selecting COVID-19 Vaccines in the Find Nearby menu or by asking Siri, “Where can I get a COVID vaccination?”

    The placecard will include operating hours, phone number, address and a link to the provider’s website. Although the data is being provided via VaccineFinder, providers and businesses can also submit their information directly to Apple.

    Along with the data provided by VaccineFinder, healthcare providers, labs, or other businesses can submit information on COVID-19 testing or vaccination locations on the Apple Business Register page. Once validated, Apple may display information about the testing or vaccination locations to people using Apple services such as Apple Maps.

    Apple’s move is good news for Mac and iOS users, removing one more hurdle to people accessing the vaccine.

  • Adobe Photoshop Now Available For Apple’s M1 Macs

    Adobe Photoshop Now Available For Apple’s M1 Macs

    Adobe has released the first version of Photoshop for Apple’s new M1 Macs, and the performance gains are impressive.

    Adobe Photoshop is one of the premier applications that has been on the Mac platform for decades. Many Mac professionals have been waiting for Photoshop to make its appearance on the new M1 machines before making the jump.

    The wait is finally over, with Adobe releasing the first version of an M1-compatible Photoshop. Adobe’s Pam Clark announced the news in a company blog post:

    Starting today, Photoshop runs natively on Macs powered by the M1 chip and takes advantage of the performance improvements built into this new architecture. Our internal tests show a wide range of features running an average of 1.5X the speed of similarly configured previous generation systems. Our tests covered a broad scope of activities, including opening and saving files, running filters, and compute-heavy operations like Content-Aware Fill and Select Subject, which all feel noticeably faster. Our early benchmarking also shows that some operations are substantially faster with the new chip.

    The performance boost is sure to be a big draw for graphics pros. The M1, based on the same processor used in the iPhone and iPad, has been winning rave reviews for its performance. Photoshop’s gains running on the new processor are sure to help drive additional Mac sales.

  • Visual Studio Code Updated With M1 Support

    Visual Studio Code Updated With M1 Support

    Microsoft has updated Visual Studio Code, adding support for Apple’s new Macs running on its M1 custom silicon.

    Visual Studio Code is a free, open source programming text editor available for Windows, Mac and Linux. It’s based on Electron and supports a variety of programming languages, including Java, Python, C++, C#, Ruby, Go, Dart, JavaScript and more. In fact, Microsoft says Visual Studio Code supports virtually every major programming language.

    The latest release, version 1.54 adds support for Apple’s new custom silicon.

    We are happy to announce our first release of stable Apple Silicon builds this iteration. Users on Macs with M1 chips can now use VS Code without emulation with Rosetta, and will notice better performance and longer battery life when running VS Code. Thanks to the community for self-hosting with the Insiders build and reporting issues early in the iteration.

    The default download of VS Code for macOS is now a Universal build that runs natively on all Macs. On the Downloads page, you can find more links to architecture-specific builds for Intel or Apple Silicon, which are smaller downloads compared to the Universal package.

    Visual Studio Code is already a popular option for developers. This latest update will will be a welcome improvement for developers running Apple’s newest machines.

  • 2021 iPad Pro Will Rival M1 Mac Performance

    2021 iPad Pro Will Rival M1 Mac Performance

    The 2021 iPad Pro, expected later this month, is rumored to have an upgraded processor that will rival the M1 in Apple’s recent Macs.

    The iPad Pro is the high-end iPad model targeted at professionals and creators. As such, it consistently delivers features and performance that best Apple’s other iPads, and leaves Android tablets in the dust.

    According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, that lead is set to expand in a big way, with the next-generation iPad Pro rivaling the M1. Apple introduced the M1 Macs in November. The M1 is based on the same chips already used in the iPhones and iPads, but boasts significantly better performance, thanks to its 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU.

    In addition to sporting a more powerful chip, the larger iPad Pro will also feature a mini-LED display, offering greater brightness and contrast. The new display will make the tablet slightly thicker, although it will retain the same overall design. Ideally, this should allow the new model to use the existing Magic Keyboard and Smart Keyboard peripherals.

    Gurman rounds out his iPad Pro predictions by saying the new model will also feature better cameras, as well as 5G. Apple is expected to include both the high-band mmWave, as well as low-band support. This would enable it to take advantage of carriers’ nationwide 5G networks, as well as their fastest 5G in cities and urban areas, much like the iPhone 12.

    The combination of 5G and world-class performance should make the iPad Pro an ideal option for professionals, creators, students and remote workers. Notably, Gurman has an excellent track record with his Apple predictions, making it almost certain the iPad Pro released in March will match the specs he’s provided.

  • Homebrew Is Now Available for M1 Macs

    Homebrew Is Now Available for M1 Macs

    Good news for developers: Homebrew 3.0 has been released with support for M1 Macs.

    Homebrew is a popular package manager for macOS that many developers rely on. When Apple switched to its own M1 custom silicon, based on Arm designs, Homebrew was one of the applications that was not compatible with the new architecture. As a result, many developers had to wait to make the jump, or keep an Intel-based Mac around for compatibility.

    According to a blog post, Homebrew 3.0 has been released, and the biggest change is M1 support.

    “Today I’d like to announce Homebrew 3.0.0,” writes Mike McQuaid, Homebrew project leader. “The most significant changes since 2.7.0 are official Apple Silicon support and a new bottle format in formulae.”

    “Homebrew doesn’t (yet) provide bottles for all packages on Apple Silicon that we do on Intel x86_64 but we welcome your help in doing so,” McQuaid adds.

    The announcement is good news for developers and removes another obstacle to M1 adoption.

  • Apple Snags Porsche’s Head of Chassis Development

    Apple Snags Porsche’s Head of Chassis Development

    Amid a slew of new rumors and information about the Apple Car, the company has hired Dr. Manfred Harrer, Porsche’s Vice President of Chassis Development.

    Apple’s plans for a car, code-named “Project Titan,” are coming into clearer focus, thanks to reports, rumors and walked-back statements. Hyundai initially released a statement saying it was in talks with Apple to build a car, before walking that statement back in two subsequent ones.

    Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Project Titan will use Hyundai’s E-GMP battery electric vehicle (BEV) chassis, giving the first glimpse at possible specs for the finished product.

    At the same time, Apple’s hardware chief, Dan Riccio, recently was moved to a new project where he will report directly to CEO Tim Cook. For someone of Riccio’s stature within the company to be moved to a new project underscores the importance of that endeavor, as does his reporting directly to Cook, leading some to believe he may be working on Project Titan.

    The latest news from Insider Deutschland, via 9to5Mac, indicates that Apple is moving forward with its hire of Dr. Harrer. Dr. Harrer has spent over a decade at Porsche, and been head of chassis development since 2016. His hiring is particularly interesting, given the rumors that Apple will use Hyundai’s E-GMP platform.

    Apple is well-known for taking a platform and customizing it to meet their specific needs. One has only to look at the iPhone, iPad and Mac to see this in practice. While the processors used in all three devices are loosely based on Arm designs, Apple has a license that allows them to customize them so heavily that it truly has its own, custom silicon.

    One can’t help but wonder if Dr. Harrer was hired with the same goal — to take Hyundai’s E-GMP platform and customize it to better meet Apple’s needs and goals. Just as Apple’s custom silicon consistently out-performs competitors using vanilla Arm designs, a customized E-GMP platform could end up out-performing Hyundai’s standard option.

  • Corellium Successfully Runs Ubuntu Linux on M1 Mac

    Corellium Successfully Runs Ubuntu Linux on M1 Mac

    Corellium has announced it has Ubuntu Linux running on an M1 Mac, in what is described as a “completely usable” experience.

    Mac computers are popular options for Linux users and developers. Many want to combine their operating system (OS) of choice with machines that are widely considered to be among the best industrial designs in the business.

    With Apple moving to its own custom silicon, however, there was doubt about the future of Linux on Macs. Apple’s new M1 chip is an ARM-based designed, similar to what the company has been running in iPhones and iPads for years.

    Even Linus Torvalds has said he would love to run one of the new M1 Macs, but wasn’t optimistic it could run Linux.

    It appears the folks at Corellium have managed to get it done. Corellium specializes in ARM-based virtualization software that runs on iOS, making them the perfect team to get Linux running on the new Macs.

    Chris Wade, Corellium’s CTO made the announcement via Twitter:

    A company blog post provides a detailed explanation of what went into making this happen and is well worth a read. While there’s obviously still work to be done, the future is definitely looking promising.

    After a few days of figuring out the details of USB, we were finally able to connect an external USB hub and connect a keyboard, mouse and a Flash drive, opening the possibility for running a normal desktop Linux distribution.

  • CES 2021: Intel Announces New Processor Families, Takes On Arm

    CES 2021: Intel Announces New Processor Families, Takes On Arm

    Amid its escalating issues, Intel has announced new processor families, including one obviously aimed at Arm designs.

    Intel has been experiencing a slew of problems, from supply issues to security flaws to possibly outsourcing their production to TSMC or Samsung. The company has also faced increased pressure from a resurgent AMD, as well as Arm Holdings, whose designs are used by Apple in iPhones, iPads and now Macs. In spite of that, Intel is working hard to regain its position as the most innovative chipmaker in the industry.

    At CES 2021, Intel announced four new processor families. The vPro platform is the 11th Gen Intel chip aimed at businesses, offering the best performance. The Evo vPro platform is aimed at business laptop users, offering optimizations to improve battery life, responsiveness and instant wake features.

    Intel also teased its 12th generation chip, the Rocket Lake and Alder Lake lines. The Rocket Lake is a series of desktop processors, and will be aimed at gamers, PC enthusiasts and those who require the fastest performance.

    The most interesting addition, however, is the Alder Lake line. Intel describes it as “the next-generation processor that represents a significant breakthrough in x86 architecture and Intel’s most power-scalable system-on-chip. Due in second half of 2021, Alder Lake will combine high-performance cores and high-efficiency cores into a single product. Alder Lake will also be Intel’s first processor built on a new, enhanced version of 10nm SuperFin and will serve as the foundation for leadership desktop and mobile processors that deliver smarter, faster and more efficient real-world computing.”

    If that sounds familiar, it should. The combination of high-performance and high-efficiency cores is the same design principle Apple has touted with its Arm-based custom silicon it uses across its various devices. Apple’s new Arm-based M1 Macs have been met with rave reviews, smashing competitors, in both performance and battery life. It’s little wonder that Intel wants to offer a chip that more directly competes.

    If Intel can pull off its plans, the company could well regain some of the standing it once had.