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The future of the iPad

Now that the iPad line has split into two families, the Mini and the Retina, it might make you wonder where the iPad, as a product, is heading. I've wondered it, too, even going back to the days before the Mini. The third-gen Retina Display iPad was such a complete product that it made me curious: where could iPads go next?

As the days go on since reviewing the iPad Mini, I look back and forth between both the "large iPad" and the Mini. I carry both around (I don't normally travel with two iPads -- they're review samples, I own a third-gen). I use them around my home and outside. They're awfully similar in experience, different in size and speed. But I think there's something else going on. I think iPads, to some degree, are entering a transition.… Read more

Microsoft upgrades Windows Phone sync app for Mac users

Mac owners who use a Windows Phone device now have a new and improved app for syncing their information.

Released yesterday in the Mac App store, the Windows Phone 3.0 app lets users sync movies, videos, documents, and other files between their Macs and Windows Phone handsets. The latest version now supports Windows Phone 8.

Users can drag and drop files between their Windows Phone 8 devices and the Mac desktop or the Finder file manager. They can see the state of the phone's battery charge and take advantage of better support for ringtones. The new app also … Read more

Open it all with Nexus Dock

Nexus is Latin for both a group of things bound together and the act of binding them. That makes it the perfect name for Winstep's free Nexus Dock utility. Like other desktop docks, it has time and weather widgets, a screenshot tool, and quick access to Windows features like e-mail and the Start menu. But that's just the beginning of what this versatile app can do. It brings just about anything in your PC together on the desktop for instant access -- programs, utilities, files, folders, properties information, and so on -- and displays them in an interactive, … Read more

New OSX/Crisis malware found for OS X 10.6 and 10.7

A new script-based malware threat for OS X has been uncovered by security company Intego. The malware, called OSX/Crisis, has so far not been found "in the wild," but it has the potential to do harm.

Apparently the threat only runs on OS X 10.6 and 10.7 machines, and while it does not require a password to install, if a password is provided then the mode of infection changes. Most of the installed files are randomly named, though in all cases the malware appears to install a file called "appleHID" in the /Library/… Read more

Apple pushes out OS X 10.7.4 with new Safari in tow

Apple today released 10.7.4, the fourth minor update to Lion, and one that squashes a number of bugs and patches a security hole.

Among the fixes is one for Apple's FileVault data encryption technology, which cropped up in an earlier update. That issue kept user passwords in a log file that was stored in plain text if a user had upgraded from past versions of OS X.

Other notable changes include a new version of Safari (version 5.1.6), which Apple says is more stable. Once users install the OS X update, they can get Safari … Read more

Security experts: Apple did Mac OS X Gatekeeper right

Many people complain about Apple controlling what apps can run on the iPhone, but with Mac OS X Mountain Lion, the company has struck the right balance between security and freedom, experts say.

"Users can opt to turn this off and allow any software to be installed with the click of a button," said Dino Dai Zovi, chief technology officer at security firm Trail of Bits. "There'll be no need to jailbreak your Mac."

Apple unveiled details today about Mac OS X v.10.8, the latest version of its Macintosh operating system which is … Read more

Why my iPad can't replace my laptop: It's the trackpad

I'll let you in on a little secret: I haven't been thrilled with any iPad keyboard case solution, despite testing and reviewing about half a dozen of them.

Sure, some of them are excellent products. Still, I don't find them essential. This is why I don't use my iPad during mission-critical trips to trade shows and live-blogged events. This is why I don't use my iPad as a laptop replacement. Not entirely. Not yet.

I agree with a lot of what Harry McCracken refers to in his experience with his iPad and the ZaggFolio keyboard case. Ideally, having such an ultraportable, flexible device with a long battery life would be a perfect travel tool. For me, however, that perfect tool hasn't materialized yet.

I'd love to have some sort of evolved hybrid of an iPad and a MacBook Air. I've been dreaming of it for a while, actually. Apple's clearly leaning toward a fusion of sorts between iOS and Mac OS X. Lion was the first step. iOS gets a bit more advanced every year, taking baby steps toward being a true operating system for hard-core computing tasks.

There are several reasons it won't work right now, and the biggest by far is the good old-fashioned trackpad--or lack of it.… Read more

Apple OS woes: The Lion ate my laptop

When a new Apple OS locks up the laptop of a CNET writer, it's in the United Nations charter that he or she must document the problem and relay the story.

Last week, the new Apple OS X Lion stopped my Macbook Pro in its formerly reliable tracks, so it was time to do a bit of first-person reporting.

I turned to Lion in my 2009 Macbook Pro exactly one week ago and experienced no complications during the download and install process. I was a few days into learning the ins and outs of the new OS when I … Read more

Digital City 135: Diving into the new MacBooks

This week: there's plenty to see as we talk about getting hands-on with the latest MacBook Air laptops and Mac Mini desktop. Following a quick tutorial on fixing some of the gestural quirks in OS X Lion, the gang gets quizzed on the most popular Web sites of 1996 and wins a few prizes for the chatroom audience (reminder: hop into the live chatroom every week for a chance to win rare video game promo items and other cool stuff).

Bonus: Download the show's jaunty theme song as a free MP3 here.

How to fix the single most annoying thing in OSX Lion: Bring back tap-to-drag

The new gesture controls in Apple's OS X Lion operating system update can take a little getting used to on a MacBook (such as the new 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Airs). The reverse "natural" scrolling, for example, has its fans and detractors, and we've previously shown you how to roll back that particular change.

Potentially more annoying is the change from the tap-to-drag trackpad gesture to a new three-finger-drag gesture. In fact, it's probably the single most annoying Lion feature we've found so far.

Traditionally, one could could do a double tap, then hold … Read more