The original Twitter client for the Mac is back. This version is all-new, thanks to a Kickstarter project that raised funds for its development. While the Mac app isn’t as full-featured as its iOS counterpart, all the basics are here in a clean looking, fast app.
Category: Apps
Apple Ships iTunes 12.6.3, Restoring iOS App Store ⇢
Apple has released iTunes 12.6.3, an update to application for those customers who still want or need access to iOS App Store:
Apple offers Volume Purchase Programs and Apple Configurator on Mac to help enterprise environments manage and mass-deploy apps on iOS devices. But certain business partners might still need to use iTunes to install apps.
If you don’t need this, iTunes 12.7 is still the version you want. Apple notes that it will not provide technical support for this version of the app, which I find kind of funny.
The End of AIM ⇢
Michael Albers, VP of Communications Product at Oath, the company that now owns AOL, Yahoo and every other dead Internet brand you can think of is here with some sad news:
AIM tapped into new digital technologies and ignited a cultural shift, but the way in which we communicate with each other has profoundly changed. As a result we’ve made the decision that we will be discontinuing AIM effective December 15, 2017.
LG UltraFine Manager Updated for High Sierra ⇢
If you own one of these 4K or 5K displays, this seems like a nice update to the software that makes it integrate with the Mac so well.
What is Needed for a Standalone watchOS Podcast Client ⇢
Marco Arment, creator of Overcast:
The Apple Watch desperately needs standalone podcast playback, especially with the LTE-equipped Series 3, which was designed specifically for exercising without an iPhone.
Believe me, I’ve tried. But limitations in watchOS 4 make it impossible to deliver standalone podcast playback with the basic functionality and quality that people expect.
He goes on to outline what APIs Apple would need to improve or implement to make building a podcast client up to his (and Apple’s, he argues) standards.
The MacStories iOS 11 Review ⇢
Federico Vitcci has done it again:
With iOS 11, Apple’s iPad vision feels resolute again. Multitasking is blending with multitouch, giving drag and drop a new purpose; the Mac’s best features – from file management to the dock – have been rethought, simplified, and extended specifically for iOS. The iPad’s mission is to reimagine the very concept of a portable computer by empowering a new generation of users to do their best work wherever they are, whenever they want.
iTunes Slims Down with Version 12.7 ⇢
In an update rolling out now, Apple has removed several sections of functionality, including the iOS App Store, managing ringtones and Books in iTunes for Windows.
Thankfully custom ringtones can still be manually added to an iPhone over USB.
Omni Group Turns 25 ⇢
The Omni Group is legendary in the Apple ecosystem, and praise for this anniversary is well-deserved.
Weather Atlas ⇢
Weather Atlas is a new iOS weather app from Contrast. On the surface, it may seem like the group’s previous offering, Perfect Weather, but that would do this new app an injustice.
Designed for a world of big phones, all the controls are at the bottom, not unlike Apple’s Maps app. The card interface floats above the radar, but can be flicked down, out of the way with a swipe. Beyond the radar, it includes hourly and 10-day forecasts, a set of Notification Center widgets and a customizable design that includes alternative app icons and in-app icons.
Learn Ulysses ⇢
Over on The Sweet Setup, Shawn Blanc has launched a video series about Ulysses, the text editor for macOS and iOS. I’ve been able to check out a bunch of the videos in advance, and the series really is good. Ulysses is a great app, but can be a little intimidating at first, and the series does a good job at breaking it all down.
Why are there so Many Knobs in Garageband? ⇢
John Lagomarsino at The Outline:
Skeuomorphic design, where user interfaces emulate the appearance of physical objects, has been popular for pretty much the history of personal computing. The ideas of “files,” “folders,” and the “recycle bin” in Windows could be considered skeuomorphs, intended to help transition early computer users from analog to digital, as could the idea of an “inbox” and “outbox” in email and the paperclip that symbolizes attachments. More recently, a lot of early iOS apps were famous for their heavy-handed skeuomorphic elements, with felt textures and chunky drop shadows.
Carbon Copy Cloner 5 ⇢
My favorite utility for making bootable backups for my Macs just got a big update. Version 5 brings a more helpful restore process, better task scheduling, a menu bar app, corruption checks on backup volumes and APFS support.