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Posts tagged "future"

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Apple, take some notes from this half a MacBook concept for a future Mac mini
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If you browse forums and news sites, you'll most likely come across concept ideas from users who want to give their vision of how a product from Apple or Microsoft could be.

Back when owning an iPhone was a wish for many in the early noughties, you would see concept images of iPod Videos with a 'Phone' menu, but in the same iPod body, or a design that would look similar to the bondi-blue iMac from 1997.

However, one user has gone beyond this concept idea, and removed the display to a MacBook Pro, but left the keyboard part intact.

This not only harks back to the days of the Amiga with its 2-in-1 design, but gives me the idea that this could be perfect as a replacement to the Mac mini.

An Amiga and Apple hybrid?

The Mac mini has been around since 2006, and Apple mentioned at the time that they could only do this thanks to the PowerPC to Intel CPU transition.

But with another transition in progress, Apple has repeated the same mantra, which is why we've seen a redesigned iMac and MacBook Pro so far.

While there's been efforts by others to prove that a smaller Mac mini could work for the Apple Silicon chips, you still need to have a keyboard and trackpad in order to use it.

This is why the below makes sense in the long run, instead of being an effort to go viral for a day.

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This would reshape how a Mac mini could work, especially if this concept could also run on a battery if needed.

You could take this hybrid on a commute to work, and plug in the HDMI or Thunderbolt cable to start your day. This would cut down the setup you would normally have to do for a Mac mini, as the keyboard and trackpad are already there.

But this also harks back to the days of the Amiga, a PC from the eighties that allowed you to do this in a similar design.

Amiga 600 computer

(Image credit: Future)

It's one thing to look at an image, but to see someone use a snapped MacBook as if it's an Amiga 600 in 2022, makes a lot of sense.

The design can work in an age where you can easily find a spare monitor in the office and get going on some work, without also having to find a keyboard and mouse.

If this was to replace how we see the Mac mini in the near future with an M2 chip, it could be the best recommendation from me for family and friends, especially if they're looking for a new device for their bedroom or office.

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Dropbox and Microsoft warn macOS users of issues for future versions of cloud apps
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While Dropbox is finishing up an update to its cloud service app for macOS that brings native Apple Silicon support, it's sent an email to users, warning them about potential issues if they don't update once a future version of macOS Monterey arrives.

But it turns out that it's not an isolated issue, with Microsoft also stating on a support page that not updating OneDrive on the Mac may bring problems in future macOS Monterey versions. As long as users download the rewritten Files-On-Demand app, there'll be no issue.

You've most likely used both apps before, whether that's at College or as a way to quickly download files from someone in a hurry. But this looks as though there's been a background change to macOS by Apple that both cloud apps use.

We've reached out to Apple to confirm what this change is, and why both Dropbox and Microsoft are recommending you about potential issues for future macOS versions.

Analysis: What's changed so drastically?

It's telling that another potential issue from Apple involves the cloud, after developers' ongoing frustrations with the 503 iCloud errors, that's causing failures in syncing content across devices.

In an email to users, Dropbox explained, “Some applications on your Mac may have problems opening Dropbox files while they are online only. You will still be able to open Dropbox files by double-clicking them in Finder”.

While you can download the beta version of Dropbox for Apple Silicon, this still means that you may encounter issues when macOS 12.3 arrives.

macOS 12.2 is currently available for developers and users who are signed up to the beta program, so there may be a forthcoming change in 12.3 that Apple has told both Microsoft and Dropbox, so that the cloud apps can work on another update to make sure that there are no further issues.

For now, we recommend backing up your files if you use one or both of these apps, and to make sure that you have the latest updates to both for when macOS 12.3 does arrive to your Mac.

Via 9To5Mac

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Google wants secure open-source software to be the future
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After attending the recent White House Open Source Software Security Summit, Google is now calling for a public-private partnership to not only fund but also staff essential open-source projects.

In a new blog post, president of global affairs and chief legal officer at both Google and Alphabet, Kent Walker laid out the search giant's plans to better secure the open-source software ecosystem.

For too long, businesses and governments have taken comfort in the assumption that open source software is generally secure due to its transparent nature. While many believe that more eyes watching can help detect and resolve problems in the open source community, some projects actually don't have many eyes on them while others have few or none at all.

To its credit, Google has been working to raise awareness of the state of open source security and the company has invested millions in developing frameworks and new protective tools. However, the Log4j vulnerability and others before it have shown that more work is needed across the ecosystem to develop new models to maintain and secure open source software.

Public-private partnership 

In his blog post, Kent proposes creating a new public-private partnership to identify a list of critical open source projects to help prioritize and allocate resources to ensure their security.

In the long term though, new ways of identifying open source software and components that may pose a system risk need to be implemented so that the level of security required can be anticipated and the appropriate resources can be provided.

At the same time, security, maintenance and testing baselines need to be established across both the public and private sector. This will help ensure that national infrastructure and other important systems can continue to rely on open source projects. These standards also should be developed through a collaborative process according to Kent with an “emphasis on frequent updates, continuous testing and verified integrity”. Fortunately, the software community has already started this work with organizations like OpenSFF working across industry to create these standards.

Now that Google has weighed in on the issue of open source security, expect other tech giants like Microsoft and Apple to propose their own ideas regarding the matter.

We've also rounded up the best open source software and the best business laptops

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Adobe announces Creative Cloud Express, a hint towards its freemium future?
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If you're keen to use Adobe's powerful creative tools, but are less excited about their high prices, the company's new Creative Cloud Express app could be for you. Effectively a lite version of its software suite, the app is free to use on mobile devices or via web browser, with extra features costing $ 9.99 / £10.10 / AU$ 14.29 a month.

Creative Cloud Express is designed for students, small business owners, or for those who want to turn a hobby into a career. Instead of a collection of apps, here you download just one app that gives you features to edit photos, trim videos and create GIFs, while making content that’s relevant to your customers.

It’s the first freemium product from Adobe, and with Christmas fast approaching, it could be a great entry point for those who want to try out Adobe’s products on their new devices.

Who would want this?

Available from today, you can download Creative Cloud Express for free, from the Microsoft store, Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The free plan includes:

  • Create on both web and mobile.
  • Thousands of templates, design assets, and Adobe Fonts.
  • A limited collection of royalty-free Adobe Stock free collection photos.
  • Basic editing and photo effects including removing backgrounds and animations.
  • 2GB of storage.

You only need to sign up and you can use the above features straight away. It’s a new angle that Adobe is offering here, as you would have had to sign up for a free trial for Creative Cloud at least, to see if apps such as Photoshop and Premiere Pro were suited to your needs.

The paid plan includes a 3-month free trial with more images and templates to use, alongside the ability to export a project into PDF and other useful features. You can sign up and get a feel for whether Express or the full Creative Cloud package is best for you.

Its press release also stated that an Enterprise edition of Express is coming in 2022, which would help businesses offer the package to its employees in one go.

Analysis: A hint towards the future? 

So far the new offering from Adobe looks impressive, with its demos showing both tablets and web browsers using Express. With many users going through their favored web browser to use certain web apps, it could show what the future holds for Adobe and Creative Cloud going forward.

Express looks to be the start of this, and if its features expand to those that are inspired by Adobe’s other apps such as Illustrator and XD, this new package is an enticing and exciting start.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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