News

For latest news of the Apple-sphere, look back here. Recent Articles, information, my Apple thoughts and more…..

(Some articles and information may link to other websites not associated with MacWizardry)

With October underway, and it’s already starting to get warm.

The new iPhone 15 is starting to ship a bit more, and a lot more people are getting deliveries of their new phone.

We also see the release of macOS 14 Sonoma, the next upgrade for the Mac operating system,

A few rumours around we “may” see another computer update this month - but nothing confirmed as yet. So we’ll be looking out to see what that may be.

Also, getting closer to some of the “cut off dates” for iinet/Westnet/TPG emails to be turned off. So if you haven’t already clicked to transfer it to TMC (The Messaging Company) in the short term - best to do that now. If you fully aware of this, I have some information on last months newsletter about that. (Which can be accessed on the Archives page).

And it won’t be long until it’s the end of the month and “pumpkin day”.

Apple end of month event - “Scary Fast”

Apple finished off the month with one last Apple Event, titled “Scary Fast”.

They announced the M3 chip which has been upgraded in the iMac and the MacBook Pro 14” and MacBook Pro 16”. The MacBook Pro also now comes in Space Black or Silver.

You can read more about the iMac here, and more about the MacBook Pro 14” and 16” here.

Was just a short event at 30mins, so if you want to watch here, you can see it here.

Looking to buy a second hand iPhone? Apple have a handy support article to help….

If you’ve ever thought about buying a second hand or reconditioned iPhone, this support article from Apple may be useful. It covers quite a few things to check.

Though some may be obvious, it gives steps for others that may not.
This way you can at least do a few checks before deciding to purchase or not.
Quite a useful article to keep around - just incase. You can access it here.

Also bearing in mind, Apple do still keep the iPhone SE around as a cheaper option for an iPhone as well. So depending on price, the SE model can be a worth while replacement for some people as well.

Use Apple Pencil with your Mac

Have you ever wanted to use your Apple Pencil with your Mac, or your iPad as a “drawing tablet” for the Mac as well?

Well, now you can with a new App called AstroPad Slate.

With it, you can use the Apple Pencil to control the cursor and certain “clicks”, have handwritten text turn into typed text and draw on the iPad and have it come up on screen.

For more information have a look here or direct on their site here.

Apple release macOS 14 “Sonoma”

We just saw recently Apple release the next upgrade for the Mac Operating System - macOS 14 called “Sonoma”. Some cool new features such as new Screen Savers, adding Widgets to your Desktop, Video Conferencing, updates to Safari and Passwords and more.

You can read about some of the new features here.

To install the Upgrade you can check in System Preferences/System Settings from the  menu then go to Software Update.

(You can also access it through the App Store here)

Also a good list of some of the new features can be also found here.

As with any major upgrade, it’s always a good idea to ensure you have a complete backup before you start and that all the programs and hardware you use will run on the latest version. It’s also sometimes worth just waiting a month or so for a few updates to come out to get rid of any bugs, or to ensure everything works correctly.

** BEWARE ** “MacStealer malware has been identified

A security research firm have identified a new piece of Apple malware dubbed “MacStealer”. It has the ability to grab iCloud passwords, files and credit card details stored in browsers.

Thankfully, it’s something you have to download first. So as long as you’re cautious where (and what) you download off the internet and be aware of any installer asking for your computer password, then hopefully you should be alright. As it has to have actions from the user to install it. So if you’re vigilant in reading installers, checking what things are installing and just being aware - then you shouldn’t fall for activating it.

You can read more about it here and here

If you don’t have it already then MalwareBytes for Mac is well worth grabbing (Even just the free version is fine), as they regularly update it with new things out there.

You can download it from here.

And as long as you’re cautious and vigilant and keep regular backups, plus the above checker, all should be okay.

Apple also have a background checker for a lot of things called XProtect, so hopefully we’ll see that get updated in the next few days as well. (Though as this can be run as a standard download with user input - it may be harder to check for. I’m sure Apple will release some info over the next few days on this also).

Have you considered if your computer stops working or could be down for quite a while?

If your computer crashes or is down for a long period time, or even if it’s going to be away for service work for a while, have you considered the down time this could cause to yourself, your work and/or business?

There is a way that an external drive can be set up beforehand where in these sort of circumstances you can still be up and running relatively easy - even if your computer has to go away for days to be repaired.

It’s a relatively cheap and easy process. 

If you would like to find out more about how this can be set up for yourself or your business please feel free to drop me an email or call to discuss.

Be aware of “Fake webpages” advising you need to update.

So there is a bit of a rise on the number of webpages or fake links that will try to trick you into calling a number or clicking a link to “update” some piece of software.

I’ve written a page with a bit more info on it here