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News

Apple named most valuable brand 4th year running

Image 02/25/2014 Macmint Leave a comment

According to this year’s Brand Finance Global 500 report, Apple remains the world’s most valuable brand. Apple is joined in the top five by Samsung, Google, Microsoft, and Verizon. According to the report, they hold a significant lead over second place Samsung. Brand Finance’s CEO writes:

“What sets [Apple] apart is its ability to monetize [its] brand. For example, though tablets were in use before the iPad, it was the application of the Apple brand to the concept that captured the public imagination and allowed it to take off as a commercial reality.”

Brand Finance, which ran the study, valued Apple at $104.7 billion, which is up 20% over 2013. Samsung, who is number two, is valued at $78.75 billion, which is up 34% on 2013. So while Apple is still number one, Samsung is growing faster. Another year or two like this past one, and Samsung will overtake Apple for the number one spot.

Clouds on the Horizon

We all know about the “Apple is Doomed” narrative that continuously fascinates the press. Despite this endless news cycle of doom and gloom, Apple continues to deliver amazing quarterly results. Wall Street doesn’t seem to care, all they seem to worry about is what’s next, and they don’t think Apple has that answer.

Of course that outlook completely ignores the way Apple does things. There was a huge chunk of time between the Macintosh and the iPod; another chunk between the iPod and the iPhone, and another between the iPhone and the iPad. These revolutionary and “magical” products don’t just appear overnight. Whether the next one is an iWatch or an Apple TV set, or perhaps an iCar, who knows. What’s almost for sure is that Apple isn’t standing still, even though many pundits think they are.

Samsung is facing the same issues as Apple; a maturing smartphone market, and very few ways to innovate on smartphones. Samsung of course has other businesses that it can fall back on, like building refrigerators and ships. Apple doesn’t have that backup market, which is what crazy investors are worried about.

The real question isn’t whether or not Apple will come out with something new (since the answer is of course they will), but rather when and will it be enough? The “Apple is Doomed” industry is a big market for a lot of websites and a lot of analysts. Even after Apple wows us with their next great disruptive product, they will likely go right back to naysaying and predicting the end of Apple.

Bottom Line

Apple is number one, and will continue to do well over the next few years; very well, in fact, with billions of dollars in the bank. Apple will continue to plug along, introducing amazing products and iterating on existing product lines. Likewise the Doomsday group will continue to foresee cloudy skies. It seems that’s just the way of the world.

News

Updates few and far between for the Mac Mini

Image 02/23/2014 Macmint Leave a comment

Over the last year, Apple has updated every single Mac in its lineup except the Mac Mini. The Mini is the cheapest Mac that Apple makes; yet it hasn’t received an update since fall 2012. Where is the next Mac Mini, and when it does come, what can we expect?
Why Hasn’t Apple Updated the Mac Mini?

This is the question a lot of Mac Mini aficionados have been asking since all the other Macs were updated in late 2013. There is obviously some reason why Apple has chosen to leave the Mac Mini out of all the fun. Here are several reasons we’ve come up with:

They just haven’t had time – Apple has a lot going on, even in the Mac department. They’re dealing with Mac Pro delays and Mavericks issues, as well as updates to OS X. That doesn’t even mention what’s happening in other parts of the company. Perhaps they just haven’t gotten around to it.
They aren’t planning on updating it again – This is a possibility. As we said the Mac Mini is the cheapest of the Macs, hence also the one with the lowest margins. Perhaps Apple has chosen to focus on the higher end Macs. Unlikely, but possible.
They are redesigning it – Redesigns take longer. If they are going with the new Intel chips, they’ll need a new interior architecture, so that could take time, even if they leave the outside the same.
Supply Constrictions – There’s a chance that there just aren’t enough processors or memory available for Apple to dedicate to the Mac Mini at this time.

No matter the reason, there haven’t been many rumors about a new Mac Mini, so an update could still be months away.

What We Expect of a New Mac Mini

The most obvious improvement for the Mac Mini is the inclusion of Haswell processors. This would also mean the addition of USB 3.0, and possibly the first computer outside of the Mac Pro with Thunderbolt 2.0. Other improvements, however, are also likely yet harder to predict. As we said above, in order to use the new Haswell processors, Apple will need to tweak the internal layout of the Mac Mini. This could lead to a complete redesign of the computer or it could just be an internal redesign.

MacRumors suggests that we’ll see a bigger hard drive and the inclusion of more RAM. This seems highly unlikely, since all of Apple’s other desktop and laptop computers are abandoning traditional storage for PCI flash-based storage. Even the Mac Pro has gone this direction. There is no reason to suspect that Apple will abandon that direction now and keep a mechanical hard drive in the new Mac Mini.

According to the only Mac Mini rumor we could find, Apple is planning on bringing the Mac Mini to market by the end of February. If that’s the case they had better get a move on as there are only a few days left. More likely we’ll see something at WWDC or perhaps at the annual fall event.

How-To

How to disable Magic Mouse scrolling

Image 01/16/2014 Macmint 10 Comments

With its wireless and multi-touch capabilities, the Apple Magic Mouse is quite magical indeed. That is until you dive deep into multi-page PDFs, large spreadsheets and other documents that require extra fine mouse control. The Magic Mouse can be sensitive and easily cause you to lose your place with the slightest movement. This can only lead to anger, frustration and lost time. Lets disable Magic Mouse scrolling once and for all.

1. Go to your System Preferences and select Accessibility.

2. Now under Accessibility, scroll down the left menu and select Mouse & Trackpad. Then in the lower right select Mouse Options.

3. You have a few options now to fine tune your scrolling. To completely disable scrolling, uncheck the scrolling checkbox. You can also leave it checked and modify your scrolling by either adjusting the scroll speed from slow to fast or changing the drop down menu from with inertia to without inertia. To finalize your changes click done.

Now you know how to disable Magic Mouse scrolling completely. However some people may want to disable only the horizontal scrolling and leave the vertical scrolling on. To do this you will have to use the Terminal. The Terminal application is located in your Applications/Utilities folder. Although not difficult to complete we would recommend for advanced users only.

To disable horizontal scrolling paste the following command in Terminal, and hit Return:

defaults write com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.mouse MouseHorizontalScroll -bool NO

To re-enable horizontal scrolling paste the following command in Terminal, and hit Return:

defaults write com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.mouse MouseHorizontalScroll -bool YES

For these Terminal commands to take effect you will have to do one of two things. On the bottom of the Magic Mouse turn the power button to off, then back on to reconnect via bluetooth. Your second option would be to restart the computer. After that your changes should take effect.

iPad

The latest and greatest must have iPad accessories

Image 01/14/2014 Macmint Leave a comment

Whether you spoiling someone with a new iPad for the holidays or you just can’t resist doing a little shopping for yourself, there is a wide range of must have iPad accessories on the market right now. Both incredibly practical and fun to use, these items are great additions for any iPad owner.

Twelve South’s “BookBook Travel Journal” – $100

This new take on the previous, and popular, Book Book cases isn’t necessarily for those who prefer their gadgets and accessories be sleek and streamlined. It is, however, very useful and well made. Designed to look like a big, old book it disguises its true contents ingeniously. Zip it open and you’ll find secure storage for your iPad and any related “bits and bobs” such as headphones, chargers and camera kits. The Book Book Travel Journal is ideal to take on an airplane, as it sits nicely and opens easily on the folding tray table. Have everything you need easily accessible, without worrying about smaller items falling on the floor and rolling into the aisles.

Logitech’s new Ultrathin cases for the iPad Air – $50 to $150

Logitech offers four different new cases designed specifically for the iPad Air, but they all have one thing in common. They’re fantastic. Three of them include keyboards, while one does not. The FabricSkin Keyboard Folio is the priciest investment, at $150. It is incredibly thin, water-repellent and features a built-in fabric keyboard. The Ultrathin Keyboard Cover, at $100, is also sleek. It’s comprised of an aluminum screen cover and built-in Bluetooth keyboard. The Ultrathin Keyboard Folio, also $100, is similar. However, it features a full folio case. And for just $50, the Folio Protective Case offers the same stylish protection for the iPad Air, sans-keyboard. Each of the keyboard-equipped cases charges via micro USB and is available to order in a variety of colours.

Adonit Jot Pro Fine Point Stylus for iPad – $75

If you’re similar to many iPad owners, you’d quite like to write on your tablet with a stylus but just haven’t found one that can truly duplicate the ease and comfort of traditional pen and paper. Wait no longer. This comfortable, streamlined stylus features a 1.9 mm tip. Writing with it mimics using a top-quality pen in the way no other stylus has been able to. The Adonit Jot Pro Fine Point Stylus is powered by AAA batteries and syncs with your tablet via Bluetooth 4.0.

Apple’s Camera Connection Kit – $30

While it’s not new to the market, it’s still as useful and popular as it was when it first came out. This handy kit comes with 2 dongles that connect to the dock connector port on your iPad. One allows you to upload photos via USB and the other by SD Card Reader. An ingenious idea for anyone who takes a lot of photos on holiday yet doesn’t want to store them all in their camera or pack along cables and a laptop for uploading.

Bose Soundlink Mini Bluetooth Speaker – $199

Don’t mistake “small” for “weak.” This little speaker certainly proves otherwise! At a mere 2.3 x 7.1 x 2 inches, it’s incredibly portable, yet delivers the rich, high-quality audio that Bose is famous for. It also packs up to seven hours of battery life, making it perfect for moving around the house or popping in your bad for impromptu dance parties wherever you may be.

iPad Mini Retina Smart Case – $79 and Cover $39

The greatest feature of the iPad Mini has to be its size. Large enough to read and type on with ease, yet small enough to fit in a handbag, it’s both extremely useful and popular. And because it is, by nature, so sleek, it would be a shame to add unnecessary bulk in the form of a chunky case. The smart case is thin and attaches to the front of the Mini with a magnetic hinge, offering sleek screen protection. In addition, the case has a leather outer shell with micro fibre lining that keeps the front and back safe.

How-To

How to setup parental controls in OS X

Image 01/08/2014 Macmint Leave a comment

Any parent should be concerned with how to put Parental Controls on their Mac device. Whether on a shared desktop computer or the child’s own laptop, setting up Parental Controls is always a pressing need. Luckily for you, Apple has made it quite easy to set up Parental Controls and apply them to specific accounts easily. To learn how, just follow the simple guide below:

1. Click on the Apple menu and select System Preferences

mac-parental-controls-1 — Step 1 of Mac Parental Controls

2. Select Parental Controls

mac-parental-controls-2 — Step 2 of Mac Parental Controls

3. Click on the lock to make changes

mac-parental-controls-3 — Step 3 of Mac Parental Controls

4. Enter your administrator password

5. Select the account, to which you would like to add parental controls

mac-parental-controls-4 — Steps 4 & 5 of Mac Parental Controls

6. Navigate between the tabs (Apps, Web, People, Time Limits & Other) located at the top to change parental control specifics

7. Apps Tab

You can change three settings in the Apps Tab. First, if your child is very young you may want to chose to use the simple finder, this will make the computer desktop easier to use but for most children this is not needed. Second you can limit applications, one of the core features to parental controls. Simply check the limit applications box and select which applications you want to prevent your child from using. Lastly you can prevent the dock from being modified (recommended).

mac-parental-controls-5 — Steps 6 & 7 of Mac Parental Controls

8. Web Tab

This is the most visited tab by parents. You have three options but the most popular are to either limit adult sites only or to allow access to websites you specify. Additionally you can click the logs button and view a history of the websites visited by the user.

mac-parental-controls-6 — Step 8 of Mac Parental Controls

9. People Tab

With the People Tab you are allowed to set limits for games, email and messaging through iChat.

mac-parental-controls-7 — Step 9 of Mac Parental Controls

10. Time Limits Tab

This is an important tab that is underutilized by parents. The Time Limits Tab allows parents to select specific times a user is allowed to gain access to the computer. If you don’t want to be so selective, simply put limits on how many hours daily you would want your child to be on the computer. The tab has both weekday and weekend settings. It’s a great way to limit usage and push your children to be more active and social.

mac-parental-controls-8 — Step 10 of Mac Parental Controls

11. Other Tab

Anything that didn’t fit into the other tabs got thrown into the Other Tab. Here you can control access to the built-in camera, dictation, dictionary, printer administration (recommended), password changes (recommended) and finally cd/dvd burning.

mac-parental-controls-9 — Step 11 of Mac Parental Controls

Setting up Parental Controls is easy and can be completed in a just a few minutes. Most parents spend most of their time adjusting limits in both the Web and People Tabs, adjusting website access and blocking the ability to chat with strangers. Apple has some additional parental control resources in their knowledge base.

Tip: When you’re finished don’t forget to click the lock to prevent further changes.

Tip: Clicking the logs button at the bottom of each tab will give you access to the user’s websites visited, websites blocked but attempted to access, applications used and chat messages.