MacLife July 2015 USA

New MacBook tested: Network secrets Attack of the clones: in-depth review & revealed: get super- battling the App 2 benchmarks p6 fast Wi-Fi p Store fakers p1z Mac! Lifes® JULY 2015 NO.104 WWW.MACLIFE.COM WAAC AMAZING @ WATCH TIPS Personalize your Watch with its powerful hidden features p22 Speed up OS X with OnyX Customize the Finder sidebar Stay safe with Gatekeeper Easily publish online from iPad id of head-turning ; The No. 4313 itched beefy aged hide, eight hours of artisanship, Rapper rivets and four Lea buckles comprise the last bag you'll ever own. Guaranteed for life. The acme of grassroots American made custom leather goods for the le € vintage-minded in the digital age. P> ———— », | x ei owe M2 | “a dy~ . | | > mA ‘ [ | \ as ' X} | we _. a & ' | if | COLSENKEANE LEATHER * 704.750.9887 — G COLSENKEANE www.ColsenKeane.com Mac!Lifes* JULY 2015 NO.104 WWW.MACLIFE.COM CONTENTS SS ee Cis 64 80 Apple Watch tips Networking secrets revealed New MacBook review As we all know, this is no ordinary We take you behind the scenes of home Apple's latest notebook design is its timepiece. Get to know the Apple Watch networking... check out different options, thinnest and lightest ever - but it loses a and find out just how much it's capable find out how to speed things up, analyze few features to get there. Is it the perfect of doing. You may be surpised... for problems and extend your Wi-Fi. lean machine, or a compromise too far? Find out all you need to know to make the most of Apple's new wearable tech JUL 2015) 3 Chasms Caves Does this i a START 06 DigitalLife Head over to maclife.com. 08 Consider Editor-in-chief Chris Slate looks at the Watch's future. 10 Share Email: letters@maclife.com. 12 Start The App Store fakers. 14 Early Access Pre-release games, plus water off a Watch's back. 15 The Shift David Chartier on smart technology security issues. 16 Six high-end watches Timepieces that cost more than the Watch Edition. 17 Game Loop Brianna Wu takes on early Apple Watch games. 18 Crave The gear we're lusting after. 20 $50 iTunes card What would you buy...? 19 Tesla Powerwall 4 | JUL 2015| maclife.com venture hit pa’ APP LIFE 48 49 49 49 50 51 51 52 53 53 54 55 Ruri Astropad FreakyAlarm SubscriptMe PhotoSync 3.0 Sago Mini Toolbox Air Display 3 Legend of Grimrock Caves n’ Chasms Jelly Reef Trulon The six best apps to learn programming Acer S277HK Avery smart 4K display REVIEWS 56 Apple Watch: long-term review 57 Apple MacBook Early 2015 70 PowerPhotos 71 SmartDown 71 PageMeUp 72 Lightroom 6 74 Acer S277HK 75 Paste 75 ActionAlly 76 Pagico7 77 Seagate Backup Plus 8TB Desktop Drive 77 Tough Drive Mini SSD 256GB 78 Curvature 80 Parrot Bebop 81 Microsoft Universal Mobile Keyboard 81 Drop Kitchen Connected Scale 82 Never Alone 83 Kerbal Space Program CREATE 84 Ask Our Apple experts answer your burning hardware and software questions. 88 Customize the Finder sidebar 90 Maintain your Mac with OnyX 92 Beam Keynote to Apple TV 94 Publish blogs with Blogsy 96 Get to know Gatekeeper 98 Random Apple Memory We look back at the PowerBook 5300 - the laptop that saved the world (when it didn’t catch fire), a Seagate Backup Plus 8TB Desktop Drive =| + fe cmd oS It's cloud storage made simple. ¥Y 100% Automated Y Sync Multiple Computers v Access Files Anywhere Vv 256 Bit Secure Encryption mga Dy Ziocloud twit Fre! | www.zipcloud.com/maclife Visit MacLife.com The march of technology never hot (and what's not) on iTunes and stops, so neither do we. Get the whether you agree with our pick of latest Mac and iOS news on our the best new iOS games. We'll also website at www.maclife.com. alert you to the best Apple deals Check out our new App of the Day _plus keep you informed and and easy Mac hacks. See what's entertained until the next issue. Read more news, reviews, and tutorials at maclife.com Mac| Life % Tips & Tricks 37 Excellent Apple Watch Tips & Tricks New App Recap 05/25/15: Memorial Day Edition FACEBOOK: facebook.com/maclife (ey Tole twitter: twitter.com/maciite MACILIFE DIGITAL MACILIFE OUR APPS EDITION FOR IPAD FOR IPHONE bit.ly/ML_iphone_app Apple Newsstand 6 JUL 2015| maclife.com Mac]|Lifes* DmroRIAL TORE hee tate uci EOTOR Chis Homan EOUTOR Matt tton OPERATIONS EDITORS Jo Membery a Ricketts CONTRIBUTORS Desice Athow, Adam Banks, Gareth Beavis, doe Casels, David Chartier, Emma Davies, Matt Genel Craig Gran Nate Gray, Christian Hal Lucy Hattersley, Rsie Hattersley, Kenny Hemphill Holin Jones, Clif Joseph, Rod Lawton, Sarah LeBoeuf, Christopher Phin, Nic Rawinsor James Robinson James Rogerson, Alan Stonebridge, ‘ex Thomas, Amy Worrall Brianna Wu ant ARTONRECTOR Paul lacford DEPUTY ART ETOR Mat Gartside {CONTRIBUTORS Appl, Joe Branston, Stan it thanks othe Society Café, Bath, UK 5 Matin, Thinkstock Business DIRECTOR OF SALES Stacy Gaines, gainesutuceus. cm cE PRESIDEN STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Isaac Ugay s2acupay@ turn com EGIONAL SALES WANAGER Michael Plamp, mplun2tueus. com EGIONAL SALES WANAGER Tad Pres tpete2tutueuscom REGIONAL SALES MANAGER Austin Park, parkutureus.com EGIL SALESWANAGER Jessie Reinert, einertotutureuscom aNAGEMENT CONTENTS MARKETING DRECTOR Wil Ferguson END OF CONTENT WARKETING,ECANOLOGY Mik Mesitt {ROUPEOTOR-N-CHEF Paul Newman {ROUPARTDRECTOR Steve Gotobed PRoDUcTION PRODUCTION MANAGER Mark Constance aoQUCTION CONTROLLER Frances Twentyman PROJECT MANAGER Cte Seatt PRODUCTION ASISTANT Emity Wood Fatwa 3 an awwswnving etematoral made ) owe and lacieny gta buses We seach more Fnze cic pubic Chiat enseutve 28a yng Maciek company ‘en on Pe Londen (Chet Francia offieme "o--03 Moy ferns POT 44 (O}07 042 4000 (London) Voto (i225 482 2a (Ba) FUTURE US, Ne 4000 Shoreline Cur, Suite 40, South an Fran, ca94080 Tekes0-8724642 wwsftureus.com SOR VICE PRESIDENT Charlie Speight VCE PRESIDENT. MARKETING & OPERATIONS Rhode Bueno DIRECTOR HUMAN RESOURCES Erie Baska rurure tc (ay Hose The Ambury, ath. At, AIT, Unie Kingdom Te 440122542244 Balt Te +4 (0)2070 424000 (Londen) Volume 9, Issue 8 age 95 psd ety ae 0S Cot ued Satan ‘unt sed aCe Cony Be plan aes ss S25, Cline 25 en 9. US pris ny Ca psi a CS RRO, PosTaASTER: ees eo 2 82 aa, WSS ener ese ME et iP 252 ade GC Cana uae a es tame Manus CO hs Mau, nd Pane UnSnIEnCUSTOER SERVE i sone. P SH, an, SOUS Eloe hae 2 ue Fs 17227 Haste we eon ‘80 NO, A WOR FO OUR LAWYERS. i295 AB cen cet aie Miao neath bone teed maa ce ae THE <i 1) GREAT Y Courses’ Gear Covnses t The Everyday Gourmer Rediscoveri ing the Lost Art of Cooking (Chet Bat Betay Master the Art of Cooking with The Culinary Institute of America Have you ever wished you could skip the restaurant and make your favorite gourmet dishes at home? You can—regardless of your level of expertise. All it takes is a clear understanding of the fundamentals and the right teacher to show you how. The Everyday Gourmet: Rediscovering the Lost Art of Cooking offers you both with 24 methodical, hands-on lessons delivered by a chef- instructor at the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America. A veteran of professional kitchens, Chef Bill Briwa has devoted his career to educating audiences around the globe about the craft of cooking, gastronomy, and flavor dynamics. In this course, he reveals the culinary secrets of CIA-trained chefs and arms you with the major techniques all good cooks must know. It’s a must-have for anyone who loves to cook—or eat. THEGREATCOURSES.COM/6MAC 1-800-832-2412 The Everyday Gourmet: Rediscovering the Lost Art of Cooking Taught by Chef-Instructor Bill Briwa THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA LECTURE TITLES 1. Cooking—ingredients, Technique, and Flavor Your Most Essential Tool—Knives More Essential Tools—From Pots to Shears Sauté—Dry-Heat Cooking with Fat Roasting—Dry-Heat Cooking without Fat Frying—Dry-Heat Cooking with Fat From Poach to Steam—Moist-Heat Cooking Braising and Stewing—Combination Cooking Grilling and Broiling—Dry-Heat Cooking without Fat Stocks and Broths—The Foundation The Stir-Fry Dance—Dry-Heat Cooking with Fat Herbs and Spices—Flavor on Demand Sauces—From Beurre Blanc to Béchamel Grains and Legumes—Cooking for Great Flavor Salads from the Cold Kitchen Eggs—From the Classic to the Contemporary Soups from around the World From Fettuccine to Orecchiette— Fresh and Dry Pastas Meat—From Spatchcocked Chicken to Brined Pork Chops . Seafood—From Market to Plate |. Vegetables in Glorious Variety . A Few Great Desserts for Grown-Ups . Thirst—The New Frontier of Flavor . Crafting a Meal, Engaging the Senses The Everyday Gourmet: Rediscovering the Lost Art of Cooking Course no. 9231 | 24 lectures (30 minutes/lecture) DVD $269-95 NOW $79.95 +$10 Shipping, Pr Priority Code: 110213 9, and Lifetime tion Guarantee This course and others now available on For 25 years, The Great Courses has brought the world’s foremost educators to millions who want to go deeper into the subjects that matter most. No ms. No homework. Just a world of knowledge available anytime, anywhere. Download or stream to your laptop or PC, or use our free mobile apps for iPad, iPhone, or Android. Over 500 courses available at wwwTheGreatCourses.com. WATCHING THE WATCH THE APPLE WATCH has been out for a couple months now, and so far, it’s a success. But what happens when supply catches up to demand? Will Apple be able to build momentum behind the device? It could be an uphill battle. Ilike the Apple Watch. I’ve worn one since launch and have made good use of notifications and health-tracking. I don’t value it as much as my other Apple devices, but I’ll keep wearing it, and I hope it continues to succeed and improve. I’m not yet convinced of its long-term success, though. I go into specifics in my review (see page 56), but ina nutshell, the watch suffers from the lack of a clear identity; a single, defining function. The commercials are a blur of features that come with any mobile device; there isn’t the sense that it’s the perfect solution for a need that hasn’t been adequately met before. It’s troubling to me that Ican still question the validity of the core concept, even after fully integrating the Apple Watch into my daily life. It’s understandable that the folks at Apple might need more time to wrap their heads around such a different kind of product. While the iPhone and iPad were built on the breadth of things they could do, the size and wrist placement of the watch seriously limits the tasks it can perform well. Any app that demands more than a glance and a tap or two will be forgotten in favor of its fuller iPhone version. So far the Watch has sold mostly on Apple’s reputation and people’s eagerness to get in on another transformative tech moment, but a year from now the device will really have to earn its keep. By then, will software or hardware updates have polished the initial concept into something more defined and compelling? Or maybe the Watch will mirror the low-key success of the Apple TV with steady support from a small but significant user base. Would that be enough? Will the Watch be crushed under its own hype if it fails to succeed at the level of a Next Big Thing? I look forward to seeing it all unfold... CHRIS SLATE, Editor-in-Chief Twitter: @ChrisSlate 8 | JUL 2015) maclife.com >>>THE TEAM Matt Bolton Editor Matt’s af Intellic a Smart kK ame Mat Gartside Art Editor Mat's let about who he 1- his dream gadget is a digital lock for his Jo Membery Operations Editor AMD¢@1 PRESENTS GORENG POWERED BY PCGAMER Tuesday, June16th 5pm - 8pm IT’S HAPPENING Now, for the first time, the PC platform will have its own event during E3, where the community will be able to celebrate this era with some of the biggest names in PC gaming and see the innovations that lie ahead. Hosted by Sean ‘Day[9]’ Plott, the PC Gaming Show will take place at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 16, 2015. In partnership with Twitch, the PC Gaming Show will be streamed live, and feature new game reveals, updates on beloved series, and perspectives from key PC developers. www.pcgamingshow.com SPONSORED BY AMD<¢1 Dpohemia prs twitch) $ DIGITALSTORM TRIPWIRE © our opinions, rants & r LETTER OF THE MONTH if I’m not sure that the answer to the letter “Temperamental printing” 2 (Mac\Life #101, page 84) was fully 4 Oe correct. I had an identical problem with two printers on my network suddenly not working, but after some troubleshooting, I got everything back to normal. The problems started about the time of the upgrade to OS X 10.10.2. One night while trying (and failing) to print some documents for my wife, in frustration I got out her MacBook Pro, opened the documents from Dropbox, and started printing with no problems. The MacBook Pro was connected to the network via Wi-Fi, so I connected the iMac to the network via Wi-Fi and had no more problems. I changed out the Ethernet cable from the iMac to the Time Capsule with no joy. I tried another cable and the problem seemed to be solved, but that was also the day I did the update to 10.10.3. I checked the printer files, and it shows the drivers for both printers were updated with the update to 10.10.3, so it looks like Apple may have fixed the problem with the update. LONNIE SCHMITT Thanks for sharing, Lonnie! Hopefully this will help anyone who’s still stuck with what seems to be a fairly common problem. 7 SHARE WITH US! 10 | JUL 2015) maclifecom Your reaction to the Apple Watch The release of the Apple Watch was a major milestone - Apple's first wholly new product since the original iPad five years ago - and many of you had lots to say on the subject. We found your comments fascinating, so this month, the floor is yours! The Watch is personal in the sense that each person will use the subset of features that benefits them. In three weeks of wearing mine, I've learned one or more new valuable features, or applications of features, each day. The result has been an increase in productivity and convenience, as the Watch has handled well over 50% of what | previously used my iPhone for. APPLEIT The Watch is really great for e-mail You get the little preview, then you can decide if the message is important enough to get out the phone. It saves me time! TRICIA LOUIS It's excellent. Apple Pay is great to use at the store, and Siri seems more responsive and precise than on the iPhone. The Watch needs more faces, though. I've only had mine for a few days so I'm still fine- tuning everything. LARRY DEMASI | would be happy to tell you what | think if Apple would finally send me EMAIL: letters@maclife.com FACEBOOK: facebook.com/maclife TWITTER: twitter.com/maclife the damn thing! | ordered one the moment the Apple store made it available, and still nothing... TOM BARCLAY I don't think I'll be getting rid of my Swiss watch anytime soon! SHAKSHI GOPAL It takes a while to learn everything; I'm still figuring out something new each day. CASSANDRA RASHAD | love mine! It really comes in handy; it's like a remote for your phone. It also makes you more aware of your notifications without being invasive or annoying. NADINE CORELLA I'm excited about the Apple Watch but | might wait for the next version, when new battery technology and after-market products from the likes of LunaTik may make it a more viable proposition. ANDRE BROOK I love mine; | use it all day, every day. If you say you have no use for it, you have no use for a cell phone either, and should just go back to your typewriter. CLARK CROSS Mac|Lifes* techradar -74 NEW TECH TECHNOLOGY, TESTED "CHANNEL! The best just got better! — | ——_- —— Acer Toveata B18 review toe a MacBook m- Ee — Oo age Still showcasing the best news, reviews and features but now optimised for every screen and your satisfaction. L« tech? Then visit... www.techradar.com ¥) twittercom/techradar (£) facebook.com/techradar Hl Lurking in the App Store are countless apps comprising stolen assets, trying to trick users into buying them IN RECENT YEARS, corners of the App Store have become shady... Rather than striving for innovation and quality, certain developers resort to trickery, stealing icons, names, artwork, descriptions and even the codebase of entire apps or games, and then try to make a fast buck. A common tactic is to essentially rip off a popular app or game, and use a similar name, with examples over the years including Tiny Birds, Numbers With 42 | JUL 2015 | macifecom Friends, and Temple Jump. More cunning developers simply add “+,” “Plus,” or “Pro” toa popular name. The most brazen fakers go further, literally stealing content. Game creator Frank Condello (chaoticbox.com) recalls he’d had music stolen in the past, but when SHREDD (then called dEXTRIS) hit the App Store top 10, all bets were off: “Clones stole artwork, music, sound effects, and even my app’s name and description. I fully expected this in a post-Flappy Bird App Store, but that didn’t make it any less frustrating.” You can even find people using existing apps to set up cloning factory lines of sorts. “After I released Shoot The Moon, I stumbled on a YouTube video promoting the sale of source code fora similar game,” says Shaun Coleman (pipsqueakgames.com). “They openly presented it as such, showing my game’s App Store listing, commenting on the high user ratings.” UNSURPRISINGLY, DEVELOPERS are frustrated, on behalf of consumers and their community. “There’s confusion for sure, especially when a cloner sticks a “2” or “pro” on the end of your app’s name and rips off your art,” says Condello. “I’ve even had hilariously angry emails about my “rubbish Android port,” despite never making an Android app.” The impact is palpable in other areas, too. “Clones and fakes don’t heavily impact our business, but are an encouragement to the dev community to steal,” suggests Remzi Senel, “chaos monkey” at Gram Games (gram.gs), adding that copies are usually poorly made, without the awareness of crucial design decisions. Screeny developer Sonaal Bangera (screenyapp.com) says his team works “really hard to stand out from the crowd” and so when someone comes in and “uses your design style, name and even App Store description to make a quick buck, it’s disheartening.” Avenues do exist for responding to fake apps, but whether it’s worth going after fakers isn’t totally clear. “Tf they’re using your assets, lodge aclaim for copyright infringement. Otherwise, you’re better off putting your time and energy into your next thing,” says Coleman. THIS LINE BETWEEN inspiration and rip-off is something several devs seem keen to explore. “We actually love it when we see our games inspiring other developers to create twists on their gameplay or art style. It’s only obvious clones that might push us towards legal action,” says Semyon Voinov, creative director at Cut The Rope developer ZeptoLab (zeptolab.com), adding that all developers learn from each other, and therefore “being overprotective can actually harm the community — and your reputation”. Canabalt creator Adam Saltsman (adamatomic.com) recalls incidents with his game that sit on each side of the line: “Robot Unicorn Attack was clearly inspired by Canabalt, but the creator emailed me and asked if it was cool to riff on my game. I thought the end result was great. But I also had my supposed Android/PSP porting partner release I Must Run, which remains the only part of Canabalt’s legacy that still sometimes makes my skin itch.” Kurt Bieg’s take is rather more philosophical: he believes people should stop fretting about any kind of copying. The Simple Machine (simplemachine.co) founder argues “the idea of possessing an object doesn’t translate to the digital world,” and that on releasing a creation, you’re “agreeing to an implicit cultural rule: that it now belongs to the internet”. 1S a Some developers simply append a number to an app name to more obviously ride on the original's coat-tails ts He also thinks terminology has become hypocritical, used to garner “victim” attention, but only when convenient. He reasons recent indie smash Crossy Road isn’t considered a Frogger clone because the dev team “changed it enough”, but 2048 was slammed for cloning Threes!, despite the fact players will “tell you they’re fundamentally different.” For this reason, after releasing word-game LEX, which Bieg believes was “ripe for cloning,” Simple Machine took a different approach, open- sourcing aspects, to “support the idea of opening creativity and inspiring others.” He adds: “If someone takes our products and makes them better, then that makes us better,” which is preferable from when the company more fully believed in the idea of ownership and “felt like we were waiting for someone to do us wrong.” Given such diverse opinions, it’s no surprise developers are split on whether Apple should do more to help. “Apple doesn’t research whether an app isa clone, and that’s not its duty anyway — it’s up to developers to monitor the App Store and protect our properties,” argues Voinov. Senel largely agrees: “The issue of fakery and cloning is tricky, especially when the lines are so blurry. Given the circumstances, I think Apple’s doing the best it can for all parties.” Others disagree. Saltsman believes developers who’ve had apps repeatedly cloned should “not be shuffled off to the same, largely ineffective copyright report system,” and suggests an expedited process for clearly blatant infringement. Condollo goes further, complaining that Apple’s takedown process is a “horrid mess,” which takes weeks to merely get an email from Apple to developer and infringer alike, “asking them to work it out.” Occasionally, this scares an infringer into compliance, but “most know exactly what they’re doing and ignore the emails.” He adds that a SHREDD clone that ripped off his game’s audio and music remained on sale for seven months, in part because the infringer remained silent. However, Coleman offers a final word ~ and warning - for anyone hoping Apple goes further in reining in rip-offs: “Beyond copyright infringement claims is a gray area, and if Apple rejected apps based on the similarity of ideas alone, that would be chilling and detrimental. Still, if Apple does start to reject more egregious fakery cases, I won’t be complaining. Who would, apart from the cloners?” maclife.com | JUL 2015 | 13 Pea ielaM Feed your mind Pre-release games and software available now MARCH OF WAR: FACE OFF FREE This is a card battle game, a little like Hearthstone, but where positioning is everything. Each turn, you can either add new units to a grid, or move your current ee The surprisingly water- them. You damage your opponent justbygeting your vous aru resistant Apple Watch the field. It’s buggy, but very clever, with big potential. Apple's wearable proves to be more waterproof VERSION TESTED: 2.36971.LMS ; than expected in tests BY JAMES ROGERSON & MATT BOLTON - WITH A WATERPROOF | waterproofing rating That's not to say you rating of IPX7, the Apple | suggests, the constant should start using the Watch can definitely movement of lane Watch as a swimming survive a splash or two, | swimming does make aid, though - both its but Apple has warned it a tough test. He also heart rate and motion against considering it took the Watch for a tracking don’t work well fully waterproof (the couple of high dives, in the water, and we IPX7 rating means it's which it also survived. don't know that every ROBOCRAFT FREE: safe up to a meter The really interesting | Watch model will Build a vehicle out of blocks, add in depth for up to 30 test was when he placed | necessarily be exactly weapons and extra gadgets, then minutes). However, it in a waterproofing as waterproof as take it into a battle arena and sports and adventure test chamber, which can | Maker's. But it does shoot the hell out of other blogger Ray Maker simulate the pressure of | confirm that you really people’s creations! Extra options (derainmaker.com) water at much deeper don't need to worry can be bought.as you progress, decided to put his Watch | levels. He tested the about those times when enabling crazier machines. Sport to the test and Watch Sport down to40 you absent-mindedly Vehicles blast into (ett take it for a1,000m meters... and it survived | reach into the bath with component pieces satisfyingly swim over the course of | without any obvious it on, or even if you ~ it’s good, destructive fun. about 20 minutes, and it | issues. That's a big were to drop it in the VERSION:TESTED!0.9.1021 survived no problem improvement over what | sink. Hey, it might even - though that's roughly | its rating, and Apple's survive a round in your ee inline with what its advice, suggests. washing machine, 14 | JUL 2015) maclife.com >THE SHIFT The internet of things is growing rapidly around the iPhone, but DAVID CHARTIER worries that security is being forgotten in the rush EMEMBER WHAT YOUR gadget life was like before you had an iPhone? You probably had a (digital) camera, maybe a portable music player, and possibly even a GPS. Today, you have a singular iPhone and I bet you can’t imagine going back... The iPhone saved us quite a bit of gadget room in our pockets and bags, yet now it has spawned entire industries that are gadget-izing everything you could imagine. The only catch is, we would all be better off if many of these companies looked back once in a while. You can now buy “smart” door locks that tie into your home network and automatically unlock once you get close enough (well, once your iPhone gets close enough). You can even unlock them from thousands of miles away over the internet, if you need to. Of course, you’ve probably seen all the drones by now; small, inexpensive, iPhone-controlled flying gadgets with cameras that capture footage you probably never The iPhone is the Big Bang that gave “smart tech” the platform to exist could otherwise. Then there are smart refrigerators that alert you when the milk is low or automatically order more. And how about new platforms like Arduino and Rasberry Pi- smart, modular electronics that allow anyone to prototype and build just about anything. WE IMAGINED ALL these things long before the smartphones that inspired the iPhone were even an idea, but the iPhone is the Big Bang that gave them a place and the platform to exist. Who was going to carry around 15 different remotes, one for their drone, their smart door lock, their refrigerator, and connected, multi-colored living room light bulbs? The iPhone naturally became the universal interface and cornerstone for interacting with our new “Internet of Things.” But as the tech industry rushes into this “smart” frontier, it isn’t making these devices smart enough about security. According to an FTC report earlier this year, over 70 percent of these internet of things devices have “serious security vulnerabilities.” A core concern is that not nearly enough companies consider security from the start, opting instead to bolt it on later in the process or even after they ship and get that first burst of attention. This thinking has always plagued the tech industry, and we still don’t have acure. Early computers didn’t secure our data very well, and early internet services sent our credentials and other sensitive data in plain text for far too long. Smartphones had their own glaring security stumbles too, but now as the cycle repeats itself, it means someone could unlock our homes or “brainwash” our cars with a cheap hacking tool and malicious software. I don’t bring up these cautionary tales to scare you away from the internet of things, as I am writing them under dimmed Hue smart bulbs and I have a Safari tab open to shopping for a smart door lock. But as we build the internet of things, these companies need to account for the security of things. >>> David Chartier is a content strategist and writer with vast experience analyzing the tech world. He runs the website Finer Things in Tech (finerthings.in) and hosts its podcast, The Finer Things In. maclife.com | JUL 2015 | 15 6 Watches That Cost More Than Apple Watch Edition $10,000 is nothing - these are the watches that really set you back BY MATT BOLTON of an hour hand, 4 liquid flows flows in Rolex Submariner a circle through the Date White Gold watch's numbers. A classic for over It's a striking 60 years, wornby —design - as you'd James Bond, the want for $129,000. Submariner is... well, “timeless” is maybe a poor 6 choice of word, but Romain-Jerome you get the idea. Moon Orbiter This version in Speed Metal white gold is a With an unusal mere $20,000. rectangular shape, made with parts of Apollo 1!'s space — - siieithie Sandevertes . 7 5 craft, and with a in etal. flow of time with HYT's H2 Titanium w. dial that contains HYTH2 Titanium —_ actual moon dust, Black DLC this is nothing if MADE IN HIGH-QUALITY gold and rose that, you get the HYT launched the not a conversation gold, the Watch Edition models are 1 longest chime world’s first hydro- _ starter. This piece Apple’s first foray into real luxury Cabestan Winch sequence of any mechanical watch, _of space history fashion goods. The price is enough Tourbillon Vertical watch that chimes. _—_ and the H2 is its costs $133,000 - if to make you spit your coffee all over This amazing piece —_ So that's cool. successor. Instead you can find one. whoever just told you about it for is designed to let most of us, but for hardcore watch you see all of its aficionados, it’s nothing special. mechanical finery S They’re more concerned about its lack —_by arranging its Hublot Classic of hand-crafted pieces for that price parts vertically Fusion Tourbillon compared to other watches, rather instead of flat. It Vitrait than the simple number of dollars. costs $275,000. Inspired by the Once you get into watches with colors and spindly hundreds of tiny mechanical nature of stained- components, made of materials 2 glass window that put mere gold to shame, you find Jaeger-LeCoultre designs, this piece that $10,000 is just the start. Here are Hybris Mechanica uses precisely cut six of these that caught the eyeofusat 4 Grande Sonnerie advanced glass MaclLife, from the standard but finely This is one of the to offer a unique finished to the beautiful and bizarre. most complex splash of color watches ever made, across its face for st595 S14m.For your $109,000. 16 | JUL 2015) maclife.com >GAME LOOP Watch out... Despite the buzz, BRIANNA WU says the first wave of Apple Watch games will only give you a disappointing time UDGING THE WAVE of Apple Watch games, they have a long way to go before they’re fun — or even worthy of a passing grade. I know it’s a critical statement, but it’s true one. There’s a central question any Apple Watch game needs to solve: why is this a better experience than my iPhone, which I already have with me? Unfortunately, none of the games I’ve seen so far has an answer. Runeblade, a painfully generic RPG that was featured by Apple, is a fantastic example of the biggest problem facing most Apple Watch games ~ there simply aren’t meaningful game mechanics. In Runeblade, the gameplay has been simplified to the point of requiring no real strategy. Push a button, fight creatures, level your weapons, repeat, beat a boss. IF THAT DOESN'T SOUND fun, it’s because it’s not. But I don’t blame the designers for this ultra-simplistic gameplay - because I don’t see how you could input something more strategic. So far, Apple hasn’t really given developers access to the Digital Crown in WatchKit. That leaves a tiny touchscreen for input. It’s notable that most games so far only have two to three buttons and some scrolling. Universally, the games on Apple Watch are very slow. They’re slow to launch, they’re slow to load between sections. Now that experienced iOS developers have their hands on the hardware, they’re learning that many routine actions require several seconds to communicate with your iPhone. It’s brutal, and it breaks immersion. YOU CAN TELL there are creative professionals out there doing their best with imperfect tools. But, it turns out, with limited input, graphics, sound, and game Imagine trying to read a book that slams shut every minute ¥) “y mechanics, there’s actually not much for a game developer to work with. The best Apple Watch game so far is Lifeline, a story-based game where you are trying to rescue an astronaut trapped in space. The gameplay works well in this format. The Digital Crown lets you scroll through text, and the gameplay is limited to tapping dialogue choices. But the experience of playing on Apple Watch is annoying at best. Lengthy scrolling on Apple Watch is uncomfortable while lying or sitting. But the real problem is the display constantly shutting off to save battery. Imagine trying to read a book, and it slamming itself shut every minute or two. Nihilistically, installing the game on Apple Watch makes it accessible on your iPhone, which isa prettier, more immersive experience. I kept asking myself why I was bothering to play it on my watch? APPLE WATCH is an amazing device for a lot of things. It’s the best fitness gadget I’ve ever owned. It helps me be more present in the moment, confidently leaving my phone in my bag. It’s a device that is worthy of Apple’s name, but the limitations that make it good at everything else make it a bad device for gaming. Sorry, but the princess is in another castle. >» Brianna Wu is the head of development at Giant Spacekat, developer of Revolution 60 on iPhone and iPad, and is a regular speaker at industry events, as well as host on the podcasts Isometric and Rocket. maclife.com| JUL 2015 | 17 ly 1 $999 >>» Lily is one of those “Okay, now we're living in the future” moments. It's a quadrocopter drone with a 1080p camera that follows you, filming. You just throw it (literally) in the air, it rights itself, then floats along videoing you. It's partly following a tracking device that you wear, but it also has some visual recognition capabilities. It has different filming “modes,” such as purely following, or things like circling around you, and is even waterproof. We've seen some amazing footage of it following snowboarders and mountain bikers, though the 20-minute battery life is a bit of a shame. 8 | JUL 2015. maclife.com ye Nonda Hub+ >>> This Kickstarter was funded within nine hours of its launch, and it’s easy to see why. It's a multi-port hub that’s perfect for the new MacBook, offering two USB-C ports, an SDXC card reader, a mini DisplayPort video out (capable of 4K) and three standard USB-A ports. It's also tiny, comes in three aluminum finishes to match the MacBook's color ways, and has a built-in battery, so you can charge an iPhone from it in emergencies. It’s due at the end of summer (which is why it didn’t make it into our MacBook accessories round-up on page 69). ie: Tesla Powerwall eslamotors.com From $3,000 Se >>> Tesla brings its famous battery technology from TSsla cars to the home. These hefty lithium ion batteries are designed to make you less reliant on peak-hours grid electricity, especially if you have solar panels. Most energy use is in the morning or evenings, but most solar energy is gained during the day. The Powerwall can store it in the daytime, then let you use it in the evening. Or you can even just use it to store electricity from the grid at night, when it's cheaper, and use it at peak. There are two models: one for daily use, and another that acts as a backup in case of power outages. lifeproof.com A LifeProof FRE Power $130 >>> This might be the ideal iPhone 6 case for your vacation. Lifeproof's cases are just about as rugged as they come, keeping out snow, dust and dirt, and totally waterproof down to two meters for an hour. It can survive a drop of two meters, too. But this is what Lifeproof's cases have always done - what's new is that it also has a built-in battery, capable of doubling the iPhone's battery life, making it great for long trips when you'll be using GPS a lot - or just for emergencies. maclife.com | JUL 2015| 19 $50 iTunes Card How would you blow 50 bucks on music, movies, books, TV shows, and apps? BY MATT BOLTON 1 KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE Colin Firth, Samuel L Jackson, Taron Egerton $14.99 Director Matthew Vaughn's aim with this suave spy film was to emulate the likes of The Prisoner or the Roger Moore-era Bonds - a time of gentlemanly espionage, where a villain’s demise arrived in an immaculate suit armed with improbable gadgets. Vaughn's take is more bloody than the films and shows it’s inspired by, but is lots of fun, and filled with cool performances. Newcomer Egerton is great as a rough recruit learning to be a gentleman, while Colin Firth’s role smartly plays on the actor's meek, calm image before letting him loose in brutal, spectacular fights. 20 JUL 2015) maclife.com DARTH VADER Kieron Gillen, Salvador Larocca $4.99 for issue #1 Available as an In-App Purchase through the Marvel Comics app, this comic series tells the story of Darth Vader between the original Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. Vader finds himself under closer scrutiny in the Empire after his failure to protect the Death Star, but at the same time intends to secretly investigate who the mysterious Force-strong pilot he encountered there really is. Following Vader as he brandishes his own special brand of subtle investigations (read: much slicing and choking) across the galaxy is great, as are the supporting cast, including a murderous mirror of R2-D2 and C-3PO. LAPD '53 James Ellroy & Los Angeles Police Museum $11.99 This fascinating non-fiction book lets Ellroy, the old- school LAPD's biggest fan and writer of L.A. Confidential and The Black Dahlia, dive into crime scene and investigation photos taken from '53 and weave narratives to illuminate what was the most famous police department in the world, thanks to its ties with Hollywood. The book collects over 80 amazing photos of police working in the city - it's easy to forget you're not looking at the modern recreations we're so used to. Some might find the crime scene images uncomfortable or upsetting, but they make for an incredible collection. WHY MAKE SENSE? Hot Chip $11.99 The new album from this Grammy-winning electronic music group is ideal funky background to fun summer evenings and long drives with the windows open. It's maybe slightly lacking in big stand- out tracks (with the possible exception of future chill-out favorite Need You Now), but the mix of chunky beats and warm electronica tones are great for just throwing on when you've got a few people round. gamesradar+ One-stop destination for games, movies, TV, and more! New Channels: Movies, TV and Cool Stuff! >>> Feature The ultimate guide J to getting more - LUZ from your Watch ia ss iiT\S » SS its launch - you can see our in-depth, long-term verdict from our time with it on page 56 — and we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the depth of functionality packed into it. For the way we use it most of the time, everything’s suitably simple, but there’s a lot sitting just beneath the surface. The Watch is full of extra features that help it fit into your life better, though in some cases, these are hidden behind obtuse gestures and hard-to-discover settings. We've analyzed every aspect of the Apple Watch and pored over its options to bring you this guide, which shows you the best way to get started with a new Watch before diving down into its hidden secrets. Whether you’re looking to get more from your new Watch, or thinking of getting one and want to see what it can do beyond just the most-discussed marketing points, here’s everything you need to know about getting the most out of the Apple Watch. maclife.com| JUL 2015 | 23 >>> Feature Setting up the Apple Watch small indents next to the straps. These are the Band Release buttons: press and hold one and slide the band out sideways to remove it. If you’ve bought a model with a Sport Band, check in your box and you'll find another band. Try both and see which fits best. Now lay your Apple Watch on a flat surface; this makes the iPhone sync easier. Press the side button on the Apple Watch (not the Digital Crown) to power it up and tap Start Pairing on both the Apple Watch and Apple Watch app on your iPhone. During setup you’ll be asked to set a preferred wrist for the Apple Watch. This doesn’t affect the orientation of the Watch, which is set separately. Don’t worry if you’re unsure at this point — all these settings can be adjusted later using the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. Fes THE APPLE Watch over and spot the two For security reasons, enter a passcode. The Apple Watch uses its sensors to determine when you’ve taken the Watch off, and only requests the passcode when it’s been removed, so it doesn’t really inconvenience you, plus it will stop a lost device from being used. You can also select a feature that unlocks the Apple Watch when you unlock your iPhone with Touch ID (as long as you are wearing the Apple Watch), avoiding the need to enter the passcode entirely. The default Passcode is just four digits, but tapping Enter Long Passcode enables you to enter a 10-digit number instead if you want. In the app setup step, we think that selecting Choose Later on the app installation screen is the best choice. The setup process is quicker, and installing every supported app you own makes the Apple Watch screen extremely busy ~ it’s best to pick and choose. The Apple Watch will sync with your iPhone and you can start using it as soon as the sync is complete. Strap it on, press the side button and enter your passcode. Now when you raise up the Apple Watch, the screen will spring to life and show you a watch face. Next, you’!l want to use the Apple Watch app on your iPhone to add and organize your apps - see below. This makes the Watch much easier to use. You’re now ready to start using your Apple Watch! Setting up the Home screen >>> OPEN THE APPLE Watch app on your iPhone and scroll down to find two blocks of apps. The top section represents Apple's apps, while the lower block is packed with apps from developers. Apple Watch apps from third-party developers are part of their respective iPhone apps, rather than downloaded separately. >>> TAP AN APP in the Apple Watch app and turn on “Show On Apple Watch” to install it. While you're here, set “Show in Glances" to On if you want to add the app to your Glances (mini app previews that appear when you slide a finger up from the bottom 24 JUL 2015| maclife.com of the watch face). You can have up to 20 apps in Glances. >>> APPS ARE RE-ARRANGED (or removed) directly from the Home screen of the Apple Watch in the same way as on the iPhone. Tap and hold a third-party app icon and the apps will start jiggling. Tap and hold an app icon to grab it, and move it to anew position (it has to swap with another icon). To delete an app, tap its icon swiftly and tap Delete App. >>> IT'S A LOT EASIER to arrange the apps using the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, though. Tap App Layout and drag app icons around to re-arrange them (the Watch's Home screen layout refreshes as soon as the Apple Watch sleeps and wakes up). Tap “My Watch" when done. HOME Int ti nteracting - a. a wit h t he Watch button when you press it in. It wakes up the Apple Watch; if you're looking at the watch face, it takes you directly to the Home screen All the gestures and buttons with its display of apps. If you're on the Home you need to know screen, pressing the Digital Crown takes you back to the watch face. ROTATION NOTIFICATIONS — Rotating the Digital wiping down from Crown zooms in and out any watch face screen of the Home screen or brings up Notifications. things like photos, in a Swipe a notification to similar manner to a pinch the left to see a Clear gesture on an iPhone. In icon; tap it to remove other apps such as Mail, the notification Messages and Twitter, rotating moves up and down messages and lists (replicating the up and down swipe gestures). SIRI DEEP PRESS — Push and hold the Digital The most exciting Crown to activate Siri, gesture uses Apple's then say your command. new Force Touch Siri doesn't speak back technology. Essentially on the Apple Watch, and it's a much firmer press ; will quickly vanish when on the Apple Watch — 4 you finish speaking. Press screen than a normal the Digital Crown again to tap, and Apple calls it cancel Siri. You can also a “deep press.” This just say “Hey Siri” and brings up different , say your command when options in each app. = on the watch face screen. GLANCES FRIENDS Swiping up from the bottom of a watch face brings up Glances: brief previews of information. You can swipe left and right to move between the different Glances screens. Pressing the side button brings up your Friends list. This is a wheel of 12 contacts that you add using the Apple Watch. Rotate the Digital Crown to select a person and tap their face to choose them. maclife.com| JUL 2015| 25 >>> Feature General tips NO iPHONE? NO PROBLEM... KIND OF Even if you're completely out of range of your iPhone, you can still play music synced to your Watch (which is done using the Apple Watch iPhone app), use the watch, alarms, timers and stopwatch, track activity and workouts, display synced photos and use Apple Pay. If you're in range of a Wi-Fi network you've already joined on your iPhone (but out of Bluetooth range of your iPhone, or if it's switched off, say), you can still send and receive Messages and Digital Touches, and use Siri. SET REMINDERS - EVEN GEOFENCED ONES You can't view a list of Reminders on the REMINDER Watch, but you can set them using Siri - even optionally using the iPhone's ability to trigger reminders at certain locations. For example, you might raise your wrist and say “Hey Siri, remind me to talk to Brian when I get to work," and so long as you have your work address defined in your Me card in Contacts, that’s all you need to do STRESSED? LOOK AT TAKE A SCREENSHOT SOME PICTURES OF To save a picture of AUTO-ADD APPS THE SETTINGS Tap My Watch >General © GLANCE FLUFFY KITTENS You might not realize that Siri on your Watch can search for images online using your whatever's on the Apple Watch screen, hold both the Digital Crown and side button simultaneously; you'll > Automatic Download and set “Automatically Download Apps" to On. Now when you install anew app with Apple Watch support, it'll automatically appear on your Home screen This is like a mini Control Center. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open Glances. Now swipe left-to-right until you see icons for Do Not Disturb and more. default search engine. see the screen flash Raise your wrist, say and get a tap of “Hey Siri, find photos of feedback. The image fluffy kittens” - and, is saved to the Camera aww, isn't that better? Roll of the connected For more stuff like this, phone, from where it ask Siri “What kinds of can be shared like any things can | ask you?" other photo. CHANGE THE WEATHER If you perform a deep press in the Weather app on your Watch, you can pick between three different kinds of forecast - but it’s quicker just to tap the screen to cycle through them. Scroll with the Digital Crown to see a 10-day forecast. DON'T FORGET ABOUT HANDOFF! Handoff is available when using the Watch. If you get notified of an incoming email, say, and realize you need to reply to it, you might be tempted to switch your Watch back to the watch face, then pick up your iPhone, unlock it, tap on Mail, find the email and then tap to start composing your reply. It’s all a bit cumbersome to say the least. You can make this process simpler, though; look for the Mail symbol at the bottom left of the iPhone's Lock screen, and swipe it up to go straight to that email. Handoff works with Mail, Maps, Messages, Phone, Reminders, and Calendar, as well as Siri 26 JUL 2015) maclife.com FIND YOUR PHONE You might find that you sometimes misplace your iPhone. Usefully, you can ping it easily from the Settings glance, and it will make a noise even if it's muted. If you long- press (not deep press ~ just tap and keep your finger there) the button to find your iPhone, it will make the iPhone's flash light up too, CHECK FOR UPDATES One important feature found in the Apple Watch app that isn’t featured on the device itself is the option for updating the software. Open the Apple Watch app and choose My Watch > General > Software Update. It'll check for new versions of the software, and automatically install any that are available. ENABLE AIRPLANE MODE If you're flying, you may have to shut down the wireless chips in the Watch. The easiest way to do this is from the Settings glance (swipe up from the bottom of the screen from your watch face), but you can also go into the Settings app on your Watch or tell Siri to “Turn on Airplane Mode." Better still, toggling “Mirror iPhone" to On in the Airplane Mode section of the Apple Watch app on your iPhone means that if you turn on Airplane Mode on the Watch, it will also turn on in your connected iPhone. REBOOT THE WATCH You can restart the Apple Watch by using the shut-down method to the right, then pressing the side button again to turn it on. If it crashes and you need to brute-force a reboot, press and hold both the Digital Crown and the side button for 10 seconds. TURN OFF THE WATCH! We know that sounds pretty basic, but it might not be obvious how to actually turn the Watch off. Press and hold the side button (the one under the Digital Crown) to display sliders to turn it off, lock it, or enable Power Reserve - which switches off all functions except timekeeping, to extend the life of the battery. Cancel POWER OFF POWER RESERVE LOCK DEVICE SHARE YOUR HEART BEAT Tap the Digital Touch display with two fingers to share your heartbeat with another person. They will see a pulsating heart graphic and get haptic feedback in time with your heart. CHECK THE USAGE Your Apple Watch only sports 8GB of onboard storage, and that might fill up quickly. You can see what is eating up all the space by tapping My Watch > General > Usage TOGGLE BETWEEN APPS Double-press the Digital Crown to bounce between your last-used app and the current app - such as the watch app itself. maclife.com | JUL 2015| 27 >>> Feature JUL 2015) may Prominent Haptic ® ADJUSTING HAPTICS Open Settings and tap Sound & Haptics to reveal Ringer and Alert Haptics. Tap the large and small icons to adjust the intensity of the haptic nudge effect to your liking. Detault City THE PROMINENT HAPTIC For extra emphasis, open the Sounds & Haptics section and set “Prominent Haptic” to On. This is a more intense tap prior to an alert arriving. MAKE SWITCHES CLEARER The On/Off Labels and Grayscale options in Brightness & Text Size both change the way that On/Off switches look throughout the Apple Watch. CHANGING BRIGHTNESS Tap Settings > Brightness & Text Size on your Apple Watch or in the Apple Watch App. Now use the Brightness slider to adjust the vibrancy of the display. USING ACCESSIBILITY TO ZOOM Open Settings > General > Accessibility and turn on Zoom. Double-tap the screen with two fingers to zoom in to the text. CHANGE THE DEFAULT CITY FOR WEATHER Some watch faces let you show the current temperature, and by default it’s set to show the temperature wherever you are. If you'd rather always have it set to a specific location - say, where you live rather than where you work - you can change it in the Weather section of the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. (In addition, you can define the list of cities you pick from using the Weather app on your iPhone.) PERSONALIZE CITY ABBREVIATIONS The Watch picks up cities worldwide for different time zones from your Clock app on the iPhone. If, for example, you have a friend who lives in a town not officially listed as an option for its time zone, you can pick the nearest one then change the abbreviation for it when it’s viewed on compatible watch faces. For example, if you have a friend in Mashpee, MA, you could pick Boston as the time zone, but change how it’s displayed on your watch to “MSH” - do this in the Clock section of the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. SET YOUR WATCH FAST ON PURPOSE If you're in the habit of purposely setting your watch fast so you're not late for meetings, you can do the same by going to Settings » Time on your Watch and then applying whatever manual adjustment you like. Alerts and notifications still come in at the correct time, though; all you're doing is changing the time that’s displayed on the watch face. 80 amazing Apple Watch tips WRIST RAISE ADJUST TEXT SIZE FUNCTION Open Settings > Tap My Watch >General Brightness & Text Size > Activate on Wrist and use the Text Size Raise and choose slider to adjust the text between “Show Watch size setting. It works in Face" or “Resume some apps such as Mail Previous Activity” to and Twitter, but sadly change this behavior. not in all of them. ADD A MONOGRAM USING BOLD TEXT You can add any initials Below Text Size is a to the Apple Watch Bold Text option. You face. Open the Apple need to restart the Watch app, select “My Apple Watch to activate Watch” and then this. Turn on the option “Clock.” Change the and tap Continue to — default initials by restart the Apple Watch tapping the monogram with bolder text - you option and typing. might prefer the look. MICKEY PICK YOUR OWN COLOR FOR SKETCHES Tapping the colored dot at the top right of the screen when sending sketches using Digital Touch opens up a palette of seven colors for you to choose from, but you're not limited to just those colors. Pressing firmly brings up a color wheel from which you can pick your own! ADJUST THE 2 yy EO ate Sounds &H... 11 Open Settings > Sounds ALERT VOLUME & Haptics. Use the Ringer and Alert Sounds to adjust the 4 —_— volume on your Apple DELETE WATCH FACES Watch, or set Mute to Too classy for Mickey? Swipe him up in the watch On to put the phone in Mute €« face-picking menu and you can banish him. Just tap quiet mode. (Unlike Do the + button at the end to bring him back, though. Not Disturb, you still ill not silence (You can also use that + button to add as many get a haptic buzz for alarms and timers whi custom variants as you like, even of the same face.) notifications.) maclife.com| JUL 2015 29 >>> Feature CLEAR ALL NOTIFICATIONS When viewing your notifications (by swiping down from the watch face), you can clear them all at once by doing a deep press on the screen then tapping Clear All. You can clear individual ones by swiping right-to- left on them. GET MORE PRIVACY While the Apple Watch screen is fairly private, security-conscious people might want to remove any actual text from alerts. Turn on Notification Privacy and you see only the type of alert and the person it's from; when you tap it you'll see the details. CUSTOM NOTIFICATION SETTINGS Tap Custom to set specific notification settings for each app. Three options are available: Show Alerts, Sound and Haptic (the buzz effect). Settings “Show Alerts” to Off turns off alerts for that app, while turning off Sound or Haptic prevents that style of alert. Some apps have more complex Notifications, such as Activity, which presents separate notifications for Stand, Progress, Goal, Achievements and Summary. If you get sick of your Apple Watch telling you to stand up and move around, you can turn that off. EASILY MUTE NOTIFICATIONS Notifications You can mute notifications using Do Not Disturb or by tapping mute in Settings or in the Settings glance. But if, for example, you've GET A TAP FOR NOTIFICATIONS It's not entirely obvious, but the thing that governs whether a notification you've configured to appear on your Watch actually does the “tap on the wrist” thing or not is whether you've allowed its parent app to use the Sounds notification type in the main Settings app on your phone. You can, optionally, globally turn off sounds on your Watch (just relying on haptic feedback), and even if you allow Sounds in the iPhone's Settings, you won't hear anything if you're wearing your Watch - unless you're also actively using the iPhone. <Nouin Tweetbot Alow Nobicabers Show in Nobficabon Center Sounds Badge App icon Show on Lock Screen A ARA forgotten to silence your Watch and are somewhere such as a meeting or cinema when an incoming call or other notification is inconvenient, simply cover the Watch's screen with your palm for at least three seconds. You'll feel a tap to confirm that it's now muted. You can unmute from the Settings glance. NOTIFICATION CONTROL Having all of your notifications coming through to the Watch can be too much. You can calm things down using the Apple Watch iPhone app. Tap Notifications to view the settings for each app. Each is different, but most include two options: Mirror my iPhone (the default) and Custom. If you select Mirror my iPhone the options from the iPhone appear below, and are adjusted using Settings on your iPhone (Settings > Notifications) GET RID OF THE RED DOT If you miss a notification, a red dot appears at the top of the Apple Watch screen, which stays there until you view the notifications by swiping down from the top of the screen. Set Notifications Indicator to Off in Settings if you find this feature annoying. 30 JUL 2015) maclife.com We've upgraded NEW ~~ SITE LIVE NOW v Designed to suit every screen v Complete round-the-clock news v The best PC reviews and features v In-depth hardware coverage PC GAMER COM: THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES >>> Feature Directions & travel USE YOUR iPHONE TO SEARCH When you search for an address on your iPhone it is added to the Recents list, which can be viewed on the Apple Watch. Search for a location on your iPhone and switch to Maps on the Apple Watch. Perform a deep press and tap Search, then scroll down to TRAVEL THE WORLD - OR EVEN THE WHOLE SOLAR SYSTEM - FROM YOUR WRIST If you've chosen the Astronomy face, spin the Digital Crown to whirl the sun around the Earth (well, obviously it's the other way round, but you get the idea), showing day and night moving across the Earth's face. You can also drag the globe around to explore it. Now try the same thing with the moon and the more zoomed-out map of the find the Recents list. solar system SIRI GO HOME Make sure Siri knows your work and home addresses. Open Contacts on your iPhone and check that the Home and Work address fields are filled out. Now tap Settings > General > Siri > My Info and choose your card from Contacts. DROPPING PINS You can drop a pin at any point on the map and get directions to that area Tap and hold the screen to drop the pin (don't hold too hard or you'll perform a deep press instead). Tap the pin to select it, and scroll down to find the Directions button. START GOING THE RIGHT WAY When you use the Maps app to get directions it can be tricky to set off in the right direction. Slide to the left before starting to view the map overview; the arrow will show the direction in which you are heading. GET THERE WITH SIRI The fastest way to get somewhere is to ask Siri for directions. You can ask Siri for directions to contacts, local businesses or you can speak out an address. As long as Siri can find it in the Maps database, it'll get you there. SHOW YOUR TICKETS Don't forget to add any tickets you've bought to Passbook. These then appear on your Apple Watch. Open a Passbook and scroll down to reveal the information and the barcode the company will need to scan. CONFIGURE YOUR OWN PRESET REPLIES In replying to messages, you can pick from a list of canned replies set by Apple, but you can also swap Apple's suggestions for your own. Yes, there's something a bit psychopathic and robotic about typing “Okay; I'll come and pick you up!" into a list and then tapping it when your child texts to say they're done at basketballl practice, say, but if you do this often, it's undeniably handy. Define your Default Replies in the Messages section of the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. START A CALL Set up your Friends list in the Apple Watch iPhone app; you can then press the side button, pick a friend, then tap the phone icon. To answer a call press the green icon when the call arrives. MORE DETAILS Use a deep press and tap Details to view information about the person who you are messaging. Tap the phone icon to quickly switch to a phone call, or scroll down to find address information. SEE WHEN MESSAGES WERE SENT When viewing a Messages thread on your Watch, swipe in from the right-hand edge of the screen to see when each message was sent, CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE ANIMATED EMOJI HEARTS AND FACES As well as seeing your most frequently used emoji from your iPhone, in replying to messages on your Watch you can pick from a selection of animated faces, hearts and hands. Deep press on the screen on the face and it changes from yellow to red (and back again with another deep press). Deep press on a heart to cycle colors. THE PHONE'S RINGING! QUICK! If your Watch buzzes to let you know someone's calling but you don’t know where your phone is or if it's buried at the bottom of your purse, don’t panic. Swipe up (or use the Digital Crown) and you'll see an Answer on iPhone option. If you tap this, the call will be “answered” for you on the iPhone, but it will just play a repeated sound to your caller until you find it and pick up the calll properly. Calls and messages CAN'T TALK RIGHT NOW? If your phone rings and you get notified on your Watch, turn the Digital Crown to reveal more options, one of which is to Send a Message to the caller. Tap it and the call will be declined, plus an SMS from a preset list will be sent. ALWAYS SEND AS TEXT (OR AUDIO) When you dictate in reply to a message, you have the option of sending it as an audio clip or as text. If you only ever do one or the other, pick Always Dictation or Always Audio from the Messages section of the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. Cancel Hey! Do you want to grab some pizza tonight — say, around seven? PUNCTUATE PROPERLY USING TEXT DICTATION FEATURES If you're dictating text to the Apple Watch (or to your iPhone), you don't have to send badly punctuated lower-case streams of consciousness; if you want to add punctuation, just say it. If you say “Hey exclamation mark do you want to grab some pizza tonight dash say comma around seven question mark” then you'll get “Hey! Do you want to grab some pizza tonight - say, around seven?” Note that Siri will capitalize sentences automatically, and even capitalize common names and place names, but you can also manually capitalize letters or whole words. For example “Sure semi-colon | all caps love pizza exclamation mark maybe we could try cap north cap beach cap pizza question mark” will give you “Sure; | LOVE pizza! Maybe we could try North Beach Pizza?” There's more too. Apple, strangely, doesn’t seem to list all the options itself officially, at but the folks at Siri User Guide have collected a huge range of tips maclife.com JUL 2015| 33 >>> Featur Health & fitness CHECKING PACE AND HEART RATE In the Workout app, while doing a running workout, slide to the left to switch to calories burned and heart rate; slide to the right to see your pace, elapsed time, and End/Pause options. FIND YOUR HEART RATE Open Glances and swipe right (by default) to find the heart-rate monitor. This enables you to quickly measure your heartbeat even if you aren't in the middle of exercising. You can adjust your daily Move goal below 550 ADJUSTING MOVE GOALS _ performing a deep press. The medium amount is 550 ‘Tap Change Move Goal and calories. You can adjust it use the plus and minus icons by opening Activity and to adjust the value. UNDERSTANDING ACTIVITY RINGS Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open Glances, and swipe to view the Activity rings. There are three rings, colored red, green and blue. Red shows how many calories you've burned towards your daily total, green shows brisk activity, while blue tracks when you stand up. ADD AN ACTIVITY ACTIVITY COMPLICATION IN DETAIL You can add an Open the Activity app Activity complication _and you can view (an icon, basically) to —_each of the three most Apple Watch fitness areas in detail faces. This small - one screen per area. graphic displays how There's information well you are doing on exactly what, towards your daily you've done so far, goals every time you —_and you can swipe glance at the watch. down on any section Allthree rings are the _to view a graph same color, though, displaying how much so you'll have to you did in each hour remember which of the day towards is which. your particular total. 34 JUL 2015) maclife.com 80 amazing Apple Watch tips APPLE TV REMOTE The Remote app can be used to connect to an Apple TV. This enables you to play, pause and skip tracks. However, you can also use Remote control the Remote app to control the Apple TV cursor. Swipe up, down, left and right on the Remote app to control the Apple TV and use the Menu and Play/Pause icons SWIPE to control playback. U Lal USE THE SIDE BUTTON AS YOUR SHUTTER You don't even have to look at the Watch's screen when you're using it as a remote shutter for your camera. Pressing the side button takes the shot for you, so you could, for example, hold it in your pocket and snap a casual selfie, or hold it behind someone's back in a group photo so you can easily trigger the camera surreptitiously. iTUNES CONTROL You can control iTunes on your Apple Mac directly from the Apple Watch. Open iTunes on your Mac and choose File » Home Sharing > Turn On Home Sharing. You'll need to enter the same Apple ID and Password that you are using on USE THE CAMERA REMOTE FOR MORE THAN SELFIES You can use your iPhone and Watch together like a high-tech periscope! Trying to read a serial number in an awkward place? Launch the Camera Remote app on your Watch and point the iPhone's camera where you need to see. your Apple Watch. Tap Remote on your Apple Watch and the iTunes Library should appear. If not, tap Add Library and enter the digits displayed on the Apple Watch into iTunes on your Mac. You can now play, pause and skip iTunes tracks from your Apple Watch. YOU CAN CHOOSE WHAT TO FOCUS ON IN THE CAMERA REMOTE APP It's obvious once you know it, but you might not realize you can tap on the little live preview of your iPhone camera's view in the Camera Remote app on your Watch to define what in the frame it should focus on and expose for, just as you would on the iPhone. maclife.com JUL 2015| 35 >>> Feature . PROTECT THE ecurl y DATA ON THE APPLE WATCH Though it’s usually attached to you, Passcode there's still a chance of losing or forgetting REMOVE YOUR APPLE PAY your Watch. If you're CARDS IF YOU HAPPEN TO particularly LOSE YOUR WATCH concerned about As an extra precaution, if you have protecting the Apple Pay enabled on your Watch data that's on it - and you lose it or it's stolen, sign especially your Apple into iCloud.com, go to Settings > Pay cards if you've My Devices, pick the Watch and enabled that feature click Remove All. - make sure you add a passcode at setup, which Apple suggests making different to the one on your WIPING YOUR WATCH iPhone. Also enable If you decide to sell or pass on your the option in the Watch, you'll want to wipe all its Apple Watch app on data. Before you do, make sure you your iPhone that will tap Unpair in the Apple Watch app, erase the contents which will ensure you have an up- of your Watch if the to-date backup of the Watch stored wrong passcode is on your phone, then open the entered 10 times. Settings app on your Watch, then navigate to General > Reset and tap Erase All Content and Settings. BACKING UP 10:40 We're all familiar with how to back up our iPhones to iTunes or, more commonly these days, to iCloud Erase All Content - but what about the Watch? If, and Settings heaven forbid, you lose your Watch, have you lost all your settings? No; turns out, your Watch is constantly backing up to your iPhone, so if you do lose it, then you should be prompted to restore from that backup during the pairing process for a new Watch (These backups on your phone are themselves backed up as usual to. iCloud or iTunes whenever your iPhone backs up.) 36 | JUL 2015) maclife.com >>> Feature 38 | JUL 2015) maclife.com Whether you’re streaming music from Spotify, listening to the radio online, or watching movies on Netflix, we rely on having a speedy and stable connection to the internet. Most of the time we don’t even think about it - online content has become as easily accessible as that stored locally. Until, that is, things go wrong. If your Wi-Fi network stumbles and fails, it’s a frustrating and, if you rely on it for work, potentially costly experience. The good news is that there’s a lot you can do to improve the performance of your Wi-Fi network, and mitigate the risk of things going down. One step you can take which could significantly improve your network is to upgrade your router, particularly if it’s a few years old. Recent developments, such as dual-band models using the 5GHz spectrum and 802.11ac technology mean that modern routers have a number of weapons at their disposal when it comes to squeezing as much data as possible, as fast as possible, between your internet connection and the device you’re using. Over the following pages we’Il explain exactly how you can make the biggest improvements to your Wi-Fi Networking secrets revealed network, and we’ll show you exactly what to look for if you decide to upgrade your router. We’ll cover all those new technologies in detail and explain which ones matter and which you don’t need to worry too much about. And, of course, we’ll help you troubleshoot the network problems we all encounter from time to time. If even an upgraded router won’t give you the wireless range you need, we’ll show you how to extend your network, or help it reach the parts Wi-Fi can’t, using the cables that carry electrical power around your home or office. Welcome to the total home networking guide! maclife.com | JUL 2015| 39 ROAMING NETWORKS POWERLINE BRIDGED NETWORKS Most of us never think about what goes on behind the scenes when we log on 40 | JUL 2015) maclife.com | a website, your Mac, iPhone, or iPad sends the request in the form of a web address to a Domain Name Server (DNS), which then translates the “http://xxxxxxx” into an IP address and forwards it to the relevant server. The server then displays the page you’ve requested in your browser. Domain Name Servers are specified by your ISP during setup, but you can bypass them and use any DNS you want, such as Google’s name servers or those operated by OpenDNS. In order for any of that to happen, however, data has to be transmitted between your device, your ISP, and the wider internet. The data sent between your router/modem and your ISP travels on either copper wire also used for the telephone system, optical cable or (more likely) both over the course of its journey. On both copper and optical connections, transmission relies on the detection of changes in energy. On a copper ROUTER OPTIONS CONNECTION TIPS IP CAMERAS connection, that energy is in the form of an electromagnetic wave traveling along the wire. In an optical cable, the energy is sent as pulses of light; one pulse is one bit, no pulse is zero. Fiber optic cables have a much higher bandwidth than copper, and therefore are able to carry data at much higher speeds — hence the difference in the rate of transmission between fiber optic broadband speeds and those of a copper broadband connection. maclife.com JUL 2015| 41 >>> Feature Which wireless router is right for your setup? HE FIRST PORT of call for many Mac users when choosing a wireless router is Apple’s AirPort Extreme. And with very good reason: it’s an excellent router. It supports the latest 802.11ac wireless protocol, with its theoretical maximum. throughput of 1300Mbps, and it has beamforming technology, which focuses the signal from the router to your device, meaning you should always get the strongest possible signal. The other reason you should consider an AirPort Extreme, or a Time Capsule, is that you can be confident of compatibility with all your Apple devices. While that should be the case with other routers too, WDS (wireless distribution system) implementation varies between vendors, and having your router and devices from a single vendor is likely to be the best bet for total stability. If your budget won’t stretch to AirPort Extreme and you don’t need the additional Ethernet ports, consider AirPort Express. You can plug its WAN port into an Ethernet port on your ISP’s modem and use it to create a wireless network. Be aware, though that it’s a slower wireless technology than the AirPort Extreme ~ 802.11n instead of 802.11ac. If you need additional Ethernet ports, or just don’t want an Apple router, there are plenty of other choices. Those with external antennae are generally more able to maintain a strong signal than those which keep them inside the case, but they’re unsightly, so you might not want one in the living room. Other features to look for include WPS (wireless protected setup), which allows you to connect devices like printers at the press of a button; the ability to connect a hard drive and make it available on the network; the ability to create a guest network; and, most importantly of all, support for WPA2 security. 42 | JUL 2015) maclife.com ‘the: average aoe for: ney: networks. It won’t PEOEECE it from hackers, though. The SSID, while not broadcast, still shows upin- data packets, , probe Tequests and responses. Any hacker who's interested can use specialist software tools to scan for hidden: networks. Guess which networks are more interesting to hackers: those which broadcast their SSID, or those which make a point of keeping it hidden? FILTERING ‘NETWORK ACCESS BY MAC ADDRESS WILL ALSO HELP PROTEC ." AGAINST HACKERS Allowing only devices with MAC addresses you specify will deter only the most casual of hackers. Anyone armed with a network- sniffing tool will be able to see devices connected to your network and their MAC Networking secrets revealed a 4 addresses. From there it’s a very easy job to “spoof” an allowed MAC address and gain entry to the network. — WI-FI SIGNALS CAN CAUSE HEADACHES AND OTHER AILMENTS Several years ago, stories in the national press laimed 2-5% of the population suffered from “electrosensitivity,” and that signals from Wi-Fi networks caused those people to suffer headaches and other symptoms. But there is no medically recognized condition called electrosensit signals operate on a small, very crowded part of the electromagnetic spectrum. In tests, supposed sufferers were unable to identify whether a Wi-Fi device was operating nearby, and could not distinguish between real and fake fields. Signals sent and received by Wi- routers are very low energy, and there is no proof they are capable of producing the kind of biological reaction claimed by some. > Is dual-band necessary? DUAL-BAND ROUTERS are able to operate on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrums. Each has advantages and disadvantages. The 2.4GHz spectrum, which until around five years ago was the only option, is the faster of the two, but also the most congested. Not only do devices on 2.4GHz have to compete for bandwidth with other Wi-Fi gear, but also with Bluetooth and microwave ovens. The SGHz spectrum is less congested, but has a shorter range. If you're having problems maintaining a stable connection to your router, and you've eliminated other obvious causes, such as the position of the router (it should, ideally, be away from walls and other obstructions), congestion could be the problem. Most dual-band routers can be configured in one of two ways. You can either create one network, with one SSID and one password, and allow the router to decide whether your 5GHz- capable device connects at SGHz or 2.4GHz, or you can create a separate network for each frequency and manually connect to whichever you choose. In automatic mode, some routers will always put SGHz- capable devices on the SGHz network, keeping the 2.4GHz network for everything else. That sounds logical, but it means that newer devices, the ones which support SGHz, will always be consigned to the shorter-range network, so if you have lots of them, performance might suffer. maclifecom| JUL 2015| 43 positioning t xternal antenna your router, if aS any, is a simp *y to improve erformanc click Wi-Fi > Advanced, and drag your SSID to the top of the list and “xfinitywifi” (or whatever it’s named) to the bottom. In iOS, tap Settings > Wi-Fi, tap the “i” next to the public network, and slide Auto-Join to off. One simple way to improve the speed and reliability of your wireless network is to change the position of your router. Ideally, it would be floating in the center of the room where you most often connect to it. That’s not possible, obviously, but your aim should be to get it as close to the center as you can, other considerations notwithstanding. So, on a shelf at head height is OK, but in a corner on the floor behind the couch isn’t. Try different positions and use Wireless Diagnostics (see left) to find out what difference it makes. If your router has external antennae, try repositioning those first. If your ISP provided you with a modem router, but placement options are limited by the positioning of your cable socket, consider buying a separate wireless router and connecting it to your modem router with an Ethernet cable or using powerline adapters. You’ll need to set your new router to bridge mode to stop it handing out IP addresses, so that it acts purely as a wireless access point and allows your modem router to handle everything else. CHOOSE A CHANNEL The wireless frequencies used for Wi-Fi are divided up into smaller “channels.” Usually, you should leave the router set to select channels automatically — it will do a pretty good job of keeping | er > Roam if you want to ROAMING NETWORKS contain two or more wireless routers that can set it up so that you have just one network, by giving both able routers the same SSID, or have are connected using a either Cat-5 Ethernet, or powerline two networks, and allow your (see over). That allo nd iOS devices to connect a strong Wi-Fi signal at opposite ends of your house or office. You you to have M automatically to the one with the strongest signal devices apart. If you find that the signal-to-noise ratio is poor, however, and moving the router doesn’t help, consider picking a channel manually in your router’s settings. Don’t just move to the next one, though, because the frequencies of adjacent channels overlap. In addition, your router may use frequencies from at least five channels concurrently - seven if it’s using wide channels ~ so you’ll need to jump at least that many to make a difference. Some users of recent versions of OS X, as well as iOS 8, have reported problems with Wi-Fi signals that were fixed by “forcing” their Mac or iOS device to use their router’s 5GHz network. Obviously your router and your Mac, iPhone or iPad need to support 5GHz. If they do, and you experience connection dropouts or slow Wi-Fi speed, check whether your router allows you to create separate SSIDs for the 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands. Check your router’s documentation to find out how to do it. Once separated, go to your Mac’s Network preferences pane, click Wi-Fi >Advanced and drag the 5GHz network to the top of the list. On an iOS device, tap on Settings > Wi-Fi, tap the “i” next to the 2.4GHz network, and tap Forget This Network. You’ve now told your 5GHz-capable devices to join the 5GHz network, leaving the 2.4GHz network free for everything else. CABLED CONNECTIONS If you are able, using an Ethernet connection to your router will always deliver a faster and more stable connection. This isn’t possible onan iPhone or iPad, of course, but if your Mac has an Ethernet port and it’s close enough to your router, use acable to connect the two. Similarly, if something like a games console has an Ethernet port and is close to the router, use a cable. Powerline is useful here, too. maclife.com|JUL 2015 45 >>> Feature Wi-Fi not getting to the places you need it? Here’s how to make the signal go further here are a number of ways in which you can extend the range of your Wi-Fi network. In addition to using a second router, as described in the sections on roaming and powerline networking, you can improve the performance of your current router. Following our tips on how to speed up your network should also help extend its range, but if that’s not enough, you might want to consider a Wi-Fi repeater or extender. This is a device that sits at the outer edge of the range of your Wi-Fi network and rebroadcasts the signal, thus allowing it to carry further. These devices are relatively inexpensive, usually costing between $40 and $60. They do, however, have a few problems associated with them. The first is that in order to be effective, repeaters should be situated close to your router, which defeats the objective. Secondly, Wi-Fi is omnidirectional, so in addition to extending your network, the repeater broadcasts signals back towards the router, potentially interfering with the signal from the router. The third problem is that half the repeater’s capacity is used to receive the signal it’s rebroadcasting, severely limiting its throughput capacity. UPGRADABLE PARTS Another option, if your router has external antennas, is to upgrade them. Companies such as Edimax, Hawking and D-Link make high-gain antennas which you can swap for the existing aerials very easily. Finally, if you would prefer a DIY solution, try making your own parabolic reflector to bounce the signal from your router in the direction of the devices connected to it. Follow the instructions here: instructables.com/ id/DIY-WIFI-Antenna-Reception-Booster. 46 | JUL 2015 | maciife.com Watch Live Video ®APP LIFE THIS MONTH'S MOST INTERESTING iPHONE & iPAD APPS Ruri relies on its templates for text style and sizing, eat tation. 48 | JUL 2015) maclife.com Ruri Turning presentations into an artform FREE Developer Martians Talk, martianstalk.com Platform iPad Requirements iOS 8 or later Apple’s iPad has become a loyal companion for on-the-go presenters who need to show off slides to an audience in style - but not everyone requires the complexity and features offered by Keynote or PowerPoint. That’s where Ruri comes in. Named after the Japanese word for a semi-precious deep blue stone, this iPad app is an alternative to more popular, feature-rich presentation software favored by business and educational users. The basic premise remains the same: Choose from a number of built-in templates (including six free options like Sakura, Kanji, and Night Café), add a title page, and flesh out the presentation with text, photos, or graphs. Aside from a streamlined user interface, what sets Ruri apart from better-known competitors is the inclusion of animated backgrounds for each theme. For example, the Rain template features the subtle effect of raindrops falling on a darkened window, a nice touch which keeps the focus squarely on the content while making presentations more lively. Ruri’s user interface isn’t quite as feature-rich as rival presentation apps, and the overly simplistic approach leaves little room for fine-tuning the content added by users. Images can be imported from the iPad’s photo library and resized to some degree, but there’s no way to crop pictures within that frame. Font styles are determined by the chosen template, which also dictates type size as well. Likewise, Ruri isn’t a great fit for presenters who prefer flashy transitions — all you’ll get here is a basic slide-in, although pie charts and graphs first appear on screen with a neat little “sprouting” animation. We did find one odd photo quirk: some images looked fine after being imported, but appeared flipped vertically the next time the project was opened. Since Ruri lacks image tools or basic settings, we were forced to replace such images or rotate them the wrong way with another app to get them to appear correctly. If you can live with this basic approach, Ruri does live up to its promise of producing truly beautiful presentations. THE BOTTOM LINE. Viewed as a PowerPoint for beginners, Ruri gets the job done - but the template selection and feature set are just too basic for anything but simple presentations. J.R. BOOKWALTER RURI 1.9.2 Easy-to-use iPad presentation software 1 Includes several template themes with animated backgrounds © Very limited feature set © No manual control over image cropping, transitions, or text size SOLID S88 Astropad New Wacom rival or just a simple gimmick? $24.99 Developer Astropad, astropad.com Platform iPad Requirements iOS 8 or later * Is Wacom looking over its shoulder asking who the new kid right on its heels is? Or is the race over before it has begun? Astropad offers the ability to use your iPad as a graphics tablet, so we wanted to know if it’s as good as it sounds. Before starting, you must ensure you have up-to-date operating systems on both devices. The next important thing to do is ensure your stylus is calibrated with the software. You do this via a rather smart box that prompts you to touch your stylus against the iPad. As you do so, you are told the sync is successful. There is a fair bit of tweaking required by specifying which area of your Mac screen your iPad would use, and we also had to move around a few toolbars to ensure they fitted into the workspace. After playing with Astropad for a while, we were struck by one recurring issue: a worrying lack of accuracy. On a number of occasions we tried to locate the brush selection palette and were met with a red cross telling us Astropad couldn't do what we were asking of it. Another issue was the redraw on the iPad - often newly-selected areas appeared pixelated and difficult to see clearly - a rather important factor when you consider the software's purpose. That said, it does have many endearing features, atings Astropad has a simple pairin f the leading iPad Blu tup for many ty most importantly the portability factor. It's easy to forget you are using your iPad as a graphics tablet and, being gadget lovers, we were really taken with that. THE BOTTOM LINE. Not quite on a par with the Wacom Cintig, but it costs a lot less. Astropad is more suited to amateur artists than pro users. JAMES ROBINSON SOLID See FreakyAlarm $1.99 Developer Enrico Angelini, freakyalarm.com SubscriptMe FREE Developer SubscriptMe, subscript.me Platform iPhone, iPod touch Requirements i0S 7 or later If you treat the Platform iPhone, iPod touch Requirements i0S 7 or later snooze button like a game of © Whac-A-Mole each and every morning, you need FreakyAlarm to jolt your brain out of slumber with a series of logic games and annoying sounds. To make sure you get up and at ‘em, FreakyAlarm can also be configured to “check in" using a barcode or other image. For example, we took a photo of a tube of toothpaste to make sure we had to get up and walk into the bathroom and snap the toothpaste again before the alarm would shut off. You'll need to surrender Do Not Disturb or silent mode, which isn’t so great for those who receive lots of late-night notifications. It's not for everyone and we certainly grumbled a few choice words for the developer as we floundered to solve each morning's challenges, but that’s the whole point. THE BOTTOM LINE. FreakyAlarm is perfect for chronic sleepyheads - just be careful not to take your frustration out on the iPhone. J.R. BOOKWALTER GREAT S888 Like it or not, services are increasingly moving toward subscription-based business models, giving us the burden of juggling all those fees. SubscriptMe offers a heads-up before charges hit your credit card, but the experience remains a work in progress. SubscriptMe scans your iPhone, presenting a list of installed subscription apps. The impulse is to select those you actually pay for with a tap, but here a counter-intuitive swipe to the right is required. Many popular services like iTunes Match and Dreamhost don't make the cut, although they can be added manually. Others like Office 365 are curiously listed by each relevant app. Otherwise, SubscriptMe provides a nice overview of how much you're spending annually, with push notifications up to a week before rebilling in case you decide to cancel. THE BOTTOM LINE. Better in concept than execution, SubscriptMe is worth a look for the convenient reminders before subscriptions next come due. J.R. BOOKWALTER SOLID S88 maclifecom | JUL 2015| 49 | ad = = r - MaclLife 50 JUL 2015| maclfe.com PhotoSync 3.0 $2.99 Developer touchbyte, photosync- ‘app.com Platform Universal Requirements iOS 7 or later AirDrop and iCloud ry Photo Library make <M it easy to wirelessly e move digital photos between Mac and iOS devices, but images need a passport to get to a more diverse range of travel destinations. PhotoSync 3.0 is the absolute best way to shuttle photos and videos between a dizzying array of iOS and Android devices, Mac or PC computers (via the free desktop companion), FTP and WebDAV servers, cloud storage services, and a new generation of wireless storage devices. Rather than rely on multiple client apps for services like Dropbox, Flickr, OneDrive, and Google Drive, PhotoSync can be configured to transfer photos and videos to each with a tap, and be set up to automatically transfer to a preferred service whenever you arrive at a predetermined Wi-Fi location, such as home or office. With this update the list of available targets now includes Amazon Cloud Drive. It’s perfect timing now that Prime members can upload unlimited photos free of charge, although we initially had problems with a mysterious error triggered by a duplicate file check on this particular service. (The developer has a workaround on the way, but deleting empty files from a web browser also does the trick.) In addition to supporting the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus properly, PhotoSync is also now fully compatible with iCloud Photo Library and OS X Photos, allowing users to create subdirectories, access image folders, upload burst mode images, and delete content directly for the first time. PhotoSync also offers the option to transfer original images or those with edits made in the Photos app already applied. This toggle switch is buried in Transfer Settings for each target, but offers an extra level of control you won’t get from native client apps. We'd love to see future support for a number of off-the- beaten path targets, such as cloud photo services like Shutterfly and Adobe Revel, or lesser-known storage options such as Bitcasa or Copy. THE BOTTOM LINE. Expertly and seamlessly transfers photos and videos between devices, computers, and the most important cloud storage services. J.R. BOOKWALTER PHOTOSYNC 3.0 Full support for Cloud Photo Library and 0S X Photos Option to transfer original or edited photos on a per-target basis Less responsive with larger photo libraries Missing some popular cloud services AWESOME Sago Mini Toolbox Imagination not included $2.99 Developer Sago Sago, sagosago.com Platform Universal Requirements iOS 6 or later There are plenty of physical toolbox toys around, so a digital one needs to allow kids to explore and imagine in new and exciting ways. Mini Toolbox does the former, but not the latter, and even then it lacks in staying power. Each project starts the same way: a sad or puzzled animal staring at a pile of raw materials. Burnished with cute animations, these characters have vast appeal. Children warm to their plight instantly, desperate to help. They do so by going through a series of steps where they use tools with simple taps and swipes. The tasks are often unrelated to the end product. The steps Air Display 3 for what turns out to be an ice-cream machine, for instance, include cutting felt with scissors and nailing wood. Using each tool results in orchestral sounds. The hammer chimes like a xylophone with each blow, while sawing wood climbs the scales with a cello. Once complete, you're rewarded with another sweet animation of your digital pal enjoying their new toy. The first few times you do this, it's enchanting. Then you realize there's only eight tools, so repetition is rife across the 15 multi-step projects. When you're done, there's little reason to revisit. Younger children will enjoy the repetition, but there's a disappointing lack Turn your iPad into a second display for your Mac $14.99 Developer Avatron Software, avatron.com Platform Universal Requirements iOS 8 or later, OS X 10.8 or later, Wi-Fi or USB cable Air Display 3 and its free Mac-based host turn your iOS devices into additional screens, expanding your workspace. Installation on the Mac requires a reboot, but connection is simple. The host didn’t see our devices, but typing in an IP address was enough for an iPad to become a second display for our Mac. Attached displays can be zoomed and rotated; we found the latter switched the setup to mirror mode, but this was easily fixed in System Preferences. Usefully, Air Display 3 has Retina and HIDPI options. The former usually makes for small, fiddly interfaces, but the latter = provides a pin-sharp second display. On Wi-Fi, though, responsiveness is poor; menus half-fade and stay put, and graphics “tearing” is commonplace. Therefore, to use the second screen for anything beyond housing static reference, connect via USB. Avatron claims this leads to “no perceptible lag,” though we saw plenty of it in our tests, but the responsiveness was much improved, resulting in a usable set-up. Unfortunately, the custom iOS keyboard “pushes” the screen upwards when activated - it'd be better as an overlay, (The screen behind can be moved with a two-finger drag.) This latest release also adds Air Stylus, which can turn your iPad into a kind of gh testing, trus' | Your kid to keep the need to complete a bi cute little characters happy. of creativity on offer. They just follow the steps to unlock a little mystery: nothing encourages imagination. The presentation itself is magnificent, but nowadays, discerning parents have learned to expect a bit more underneath. THE BOTTOM LINE. Briefly wonderful, but too few projects and tools rapidly lead to boredom. MATT THROWER WEAK && ditional notice: splay 3 offers some nice ures, but we found there graphics tablet so you can draw with a stylus directly into compatible software in mirrored mode. Pressure sensitivity is supported, a boon for artists, but we'd still prefer dedicated kit in a studio set-up. THE BOTTOM LINE. A decent upgrade and worthy of consideration to get more use out of dormant iPads, even if lag remains an issue. CRAIG GRANNELL SOLID #8 maclife.com| JUL 2015) 51 52 | JUL 2015| maciife.com Legend of Gri mrock Developer Almost Human, grimrock.net Platform iPad Requirements iOS 7.1 or later ‘A dungeon crawler built from the oldest of old-school sensibilities, Legend of Grimrock tasks you with working your way through a maze-like dungeon, full of secrets, enemies and a pretty strong chance of untimely death. You play as a team of four prisoners, promised their freedom if they can just make it through the dungeon with their skin still attached. You get a generic group of fantasy adventurers by default, though you can customize your own set of four hapless fools. You explore the dungeon in first-person, using direction buttons in the bottom right to steer yourself through its rigidly square corridors - a nod to the more technically challenged games from the early ’90s that it’s emulating. Everything is rendered in shiny, high- resolution 3D, so the game looks great, but you move through it one step at a time. Move forward, turn right, move forward, turn right, pull lever... It sounds (and often feels) a bit staid and awkward, but it does make things really manageable for playing on the go. You don’t need skilful maneuvering to explore successfully, though you will need to be paying attention. Grimrock’s passages are full of hidden secrets, from small optional areas that offer improved equipment or weapons for your team to puzzles that totally obstruct your progress. This is where the game is at its best - the satisfaction of finding the tiny detail that reveals some fantastic new area or item is hard to beat. And, if your team does die, you know where to look after you load the save. Speaking of death, though, it’s a shame that combat is probably the weakest part of Grimrock’s repertoire. Each of your adventurers can be given an appropriate weapon, visible in the lower-left corner, and you just tap to attack. Which isn’t very interesting. Mage characters are a bit different, since you must memorize sequences of runes to learn new spells, but it feels more like busywork than skill. Your characters will get better at attacking as you find more equipment and level them up over time, so less tapping might be required, but that doesn’t really solve the issue. THE BOTTOM LINE. Grimrock’s puzzling and adventure side is a lot of fun, looks great, and has translated really well to iPad - great for RPG fans. MATT BOLTON LEGEND OF GRIMROCK Looks great and easy to play Loads to find and explore Lovely old-school vibe Combat not that interesting GREAT Caves n’ Chasms Dic esn't quite bring up the treasure $3.99 Developer Chronicle Games, chroniclegames.com Platform Universal Requirements iOS 7 or later This is not a game for the claustrophobic. Plopped into an underground mine, you're armed with a drill, which can tunnel through blocks of dirt and cracked rock, as well as kill monsters, all of which drain your energy meter to varying degrees. Once that valuable power-juice is gone, you're stuck, unable to progress any further than the path you've already cleared. Time to hit restart, while filling in the mental blanks on your slow, despairing death down there in the darkness. It means you're constantly forced to assess your path, making sure you're going for the most efficient route to your goal (there are a Jelly Reef Stress levels will gé yn where it's \ certain number of amulets to be collected per level, and then an exit portal to reach), or at least one that offers minimal resistance, at a stretch. It's a compelling idea, but it's certainly not perfectly implemented. For starters, the touchscreen control - in which you draw your intended path as a line with one finger - feels far clumsier and less precise than it should. You can only draw as far as you can see, too, so there's a frustrating start-stop to your motion, even when there's a clear path ahead of you - it plays far better when you zoom right out to give yourself a wider field of view (not that we saw this option flagged up in-game). Even then, the $1.99 Developer Adriaan de Jongh, gameovenstudios.com Platform Universal Requirements iOS 6 or later 4 The premise here is simple: = there is a smack of baby jellyfish (why, yes, that is one of the correct collective nouns, thanks for asking) and you - taking on the role of a helpful water current - have to guide them to safety. You swipe to create a current in whichever direction; long, slow ones or short, fast, m