Items tagged with OSX
Swedish hacker Emil Kvarnhammar is reporting that an unpublished OS X API — he dubs it a "backdoor" — can be used by nefarious types to gain root access through local users without Administrator status on Mac computers that have not yet been migrated to the 10.10.3 iteration of OS X, which was released just two days ago. "The admin framework in Apple OS X contains a hidden backdoor API to root privileges [that] can be exploited to escalate privileges to root from any user account in the system," Kvarnhammar says in an advisory. "The intention was probably to serve the System Preferences app and systemsetup command-line tool, but any user process can use the same functionality. This is a local...
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There's a fine line to balance when it comes to providing users with a comprehensive backup service and providing that service in a manner that fundamentally compromises the security of the people it's supposed to be protecting. According to security researcher Jeffrey Paul, iCloud has thoroughly breached that barrier thanks to unwelcome changes baked into OS X 10.10 (Yosemite). Here's the problem: Prior to now, if you were working in an application -- even a basic application like TextEdit (the Mac version of Notepad), and you quit the application, the machine would automatically save your documents and open the application with your previously-entered information when you relaunched it. It...
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Googlers are well-known for using Macs on campus, and Google has a history of dishing out great software to both OS X and iOS. To that end, the company is announcing Mac support for Chrome Apps. Starting today, you'll just need an updated version of the Chrome browser, and then head into the "For your desktop" section of the Chrome Web Store. Chrome Apps work offline, update automatically and sync to any computer where you're signed into Chrome, so you can pick up where you left off. The goal was to make these apps "feel like native software." For example, you can find your Chrome Apps in the Applications folder on the Dock. Search for apps by name in the Spotlight search—just like any...
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History doesn't always repeat itself, particularly when you're trying to juggle supply chains across the globe year in and year out, but it seems that 2013 will mirror 2012 in terms of Apple event launches in the fall. Last year, we saw the new iPhone and iPad launched within weeks of one another. This year, it appears that the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s launch will be followed by a new iPad, a refreshed iPad mini, and perhaps a few other surprises. AllThingsD is reporting that Apple's next iPad will be unveiled at a California event on October 22nd. The focal point will obviously be the iPad, where the larger, full-size iPad is expected to acquire the 64-bit A7 processor housed in the iPhone 5s....
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Apple announced the latest version of its operating system, Mac OS X Mavericks, at WWDC this summer, but we haven’t heard much about it since, and the release date was unknown. Now, a report has emerged that Mavericks will be out as early as this month. 9to5Mac says that several sources have indicated that the AppleCare support staff is now training on Mavericks, learning its new features as well as the installation process and how to handle troubleshooting. The staff will participate in training for six hours for the next few weeks until Mavericks hits the market. It’s possible that Apple will release it shortly after its Q4 earnings call this month. (We wouldn’t mind seeing...
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Apple announced that it will hold it annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 10-14 in San Francisco, and at the event, the company will detail all the latest and greatest concerning iOS and OS X, as well as conduct more than 100 technical sessions for developers. “Our developers have had the most prolific and profitable year ever, and we’re excited to show them the latest advances in software technologies and developer tools to help them create innovative new apps,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing in a news release. “We can’t wait to get new versions of iOS and OS X into their hands at WWDC.” WWDC...
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Five years ago, gaming on a Mac was practically a joke. Very few titles were ever ported over prior to Apple's move to Intel chips, but it's clear that things have changed dramatically since Intel came into the picture. This week, Logitech announced that its new range of "G" accessories will support OS X. The new lineup, which includes six redesigned mice and keyboard favorites and two new headsets, will be available for you to own later this month. Now, Logitech Gaming Software (LGS) has been updated to support OS X. Now Mac gamers can enjoy the same great personalization and customized control our PC customers have come to reply on. You can download the latest version of LGS from the Logitech...
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Got a Mac? Running Mountain Lion? If so, it's time to fire up the Software Update. Apple has just pushed out v10.8.3 to its newest desktop OS, and while there are no major overhauls, patches or fixes, there are quite a few minor things that add up to a fairly significant update. On the quirky side, users can now redeem iTunes gift cards in the Mac App Store using your Mac's built-in camera, but on the more serious side, Apple's Boot Camp software now fully (and officially) supports Windows 8 installations. In other words, the newest Mountain Lion update may help Windows users more than anything else. Boot Camp also plays nice with HDDs larger than 3TB now, and the update has fixed an issue that...
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According to 9to5Mac’s sources, the version of Mac OS X due next year will likely have Siri and Apple Maps integration. Specifically, the same essential Siri voice command software found in newer iOS devices is present in these early OS builds. If Siri indeed ends up as part of Mac OS X 10.9, it’s unclear whether the functionality could come to all versions of Mountain Lion or not. 9to5Mac says that Apple began working on OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and OS X 10.9 at the same time and planned to include several features of iOS in both. Some items that didn’t make it into 10.8 were slated to come in 10.9. Additionally, although many users probably won’t be as enthused about...
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Looking to run Windows on your Mac? You aren't alone, and if you're a fan of using VMWare to make that magic happen, there's a new build begging for your attention. VMWare Fusion 5 is the latest and greatest, announced this week as an optimized version that caters to the newer technologies found in Mountain Lion, Windows 8 and the newest Mac hardware. In addition, VMware is introducing VMware Fusion 5 Professional with new capabilities designed to dramatically improve the way businesses deliver applications to users on Macs and PCs. Moreover, this build is ready for Windows 8, so keep that in mind if you were considering an OS X / Win8 dual-boot machine in the coming months. Both the standard...
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If you're one of the millions who made the early jump to Mountain Lion just as soon as it became available from Apple's server farm, you've got an update waiting for you. OS X 10.8.1 has just popped out, marking the first released update for the latest build of Apple's desktop OS. The v10.8.1 update resolves an issue that was causing Migration Assistant to quit, and it also improves compatibility when connecting to a Microsoft Exchange server in Mail. Moreover, it addresses a quirk when playing audio through a Thunderbolt display, along with an issue that prevented some iMessages from sending. It also patches up an issue when connection to SMB servers with long names, and if you've found your...
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In this latest episode of HotHardware’s Two and Half Geeks, Iyaz, Dave and Marco chat about AMD’s new FirePro W9000 and W8000 Professional Graphics cards, Corsair’s innovative AX1200i Digital ATX Power Supply, Apple OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, the Windows 8 RTM, and general direction of desktop operating systems, the ASRock Vision 3D 252B Home Theater PC with NVIDIA 3DTV Play and details of our contest going on now where you could win a killer “All Corsair” Powered Gaming PC! Show Notes: 01:18 - AMD FirePro W8000, W9000 Challenge Nvidia's Quadro 08:33 - Corsair AX1200i Digital ATX Power Supply Preview 12:25 - Apple OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) Review 17:20 - Windows 8...
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Apple's Mountain Lion operating system has been a long time coming. Apple first teased the "200 new features" represented in OS X 10.8 back in June, and here we are in August with well over three million copies already downloaded. According to Apple, the launch of Mountain Lion is its most successful OS X launch ever. It's also interesting for another reason: it's the first Mac desktop OS ever to not ship on a disc or USB flash drive from the start. It's only available as a ~4.34GB download, which you could argue alienates OS X users who don't have access to a reliable broadband connection, but that's a discussion for another day. Of course, you could always head to an Apple Store,...
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With Apple rolling in a monumental quarter for Q2 2012, everyone seems to be asking the same question: "what's next?" Somehow, Apple managed to double their Q2 profits in 2011 from $3b (in 2010) to $6b, and now, they just about doubled them again in 2012. How on Earth will they keep things heading to the sky in Q3? WWDC will likely reveal a lot. The company's annual developers conference is bigger than ever this year, with both OS X and iOS in pivotal stages. Falling just a few weeks before Google I/O (unlike last year, where Google's gala went first), the Worldwide Developers Conference will hit San Francisco starting on June 11th at San Francisco’s Moscone West. It's a five-day event,...
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The Mac Security Blog from Intego, a Mac security software developer, has posted a security memo warning users of a new Trojan, dubbed Flashback, that is infecting OSX based systems. The Flashback Trojan masquerades as an Adobe Flash Player installer, and if an unsuspecting user downloads the file package and ultimately installs the Trojan, it will deactivate some security software, delete the installation package itself, install auto-launch code, and place a library in the /Library/Preferences/ folder that’s used to inject code into applications launched by the user. The Trojan then connects to a remote server and sends information about the infected Mac, including the machine’s...
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Iomega is getting back into the Mac game with the release of its new Mac-exclusive hard drive today, the creatively-named Mac Companion Hard Drive. The 3.5-inch drive, which is designed to match the current iMac model, comes in 2 or 3TB options and runs at 7,200 RPM. it connects via Firewire 800, Firewire 400-800, and USB 2,0 cables. The outside of the drive has two Firewire 800 ports, one USB 2.0 port and, surprisingly, an integrated two-port USB 2.0 hub, which serves as a 2.1 Amp hookup for charging other Apple devices. The drive also features four indicator lights to give an approximate amount of storage left on the drive, as well as bundled Iomega Protection Suite software, which includes...
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Apple may have a nominal member of the standards group that developed Blu-ray, but the company has shied away from supporting Blu-ray playback for years. Blu-ray disc authoring, in contrast, was added to Final Cut Studio 3 / Final Cut Pro 7 back in 2009. Jobs has previously commented on Apple's decision. In 2008, the CEO told listeners: "Blu-ray is a bag of hurt... I don’t mean from the consumer point of view. It’s great to watch movies, but the licensing is so complex. We’re waiting until things settle down, and waiting until Blu-ray takes off before we burden our customers with the cost of licensing." Apple has never categorically rejected adding Blu-ray support at a future...
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If you're waiting for the next big OS X release, you'll have to wait a little longer. But that doesn't mean that Apple won't be producing any extra updates for their existing desktop operating system. OS X 10.6 saw its latest update this week, with 10.6.8 taking things one step closer to "Lion." According to changelog, this update is intended to fix a number of general OS issues that will enhance stability, compatibility and security. It's also the last major step before Lion; Apple even says that it updates the Mac App Store "to upgrade to OS X Lion." The update also fixes an issue that could cause Preview to quit without cause, and it also improves support for IPv6, VPN connections and the...
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With the early 2011 refresh of the MacBook Pro family, Apple came out with both guns blazing. Not only is the entire lineup now powered by Intel’s second generation Core i5 and i7 mobile processors (commonly known by its codename, Sandy Bridge), but the new MacBook Pros also feature the brand-new Thunderbolt I/O technology (the official name of Intel’s Light Peak technology)--which supports up to 10Gbps bi-directional communications for high-bandwidth external peripherals, such as RAID arrays and HD displays. Add these new features to an outstanding chassis design, a sharp display, great keyboard and trackpad, and superb battery life and the MacBook Pro appears pretty compelling ....
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The Khronos Group that maintains the OpenGL API launched two new flavors of the specification at the Games Developer Conference (GDC) this week. OpenGL 4.0 is designed to update the API to DirectX 11-level functionality, while the 3.3 release is meant to allow previous generations of OGL hardware (presumably 3.x-compliant cards) to take advantage of OpenGL 4.0 functionality. Khronos lists the following features as new in version 4.0: Two new shader stages that enable the GPU to offload geometry tessellation from the CPU;Per-sample fragment shaders and programmable fragment shader input positions for increased rendering quality and anti-aliasing flexibility;Drawing of data generated by OpenGL,...
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One of the bigger headlines this week is that Apple has let fly with their latest revision of OSX 10.6 aka Snow Leopard. Stealing a little limelight from Microsoft's Windows 7 is none too easy we suppose but hey, we're all just PCs inside anyway, when you come to think of it, so can't we all just get along? Of course we can. A true Techie knows design elegance when they see it and for sure Snow Leopard is an OS that dazzles with glitz and glitter and delivers with solid utility and speed. Heck we're even jonesing a little over Quicktime X's screencaster that lets you record your every move with the OS real-time from the comfort of your desktop. It's the little things...
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ZeeVee, the online viewing portal that's giving the likes of Hulu a real run for their money, has just announced compatibility with yet another major platform: OS X. The Massachusetts-based company has just let loose its highly anticipated Mac client of Zinc, which is a GUI of sorts that places a boatload of internet TV channels at your fingertips. Designed to be used in full-screen mode on your computer monitor or even on a living room TV, Zinc Beta 3 for Mac doesn't look any different than the software for PCs. It should be noted, however, that this version is only compatible with OS X 10.5, and thus, Intel-based Mac computers. VeeVee co-founder and CEO Vic Odryna made sure that his appreciation...
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