----- Original Message -----

From: Duke

To: main@TechTalk.groups.io

Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2016 7:32 AM

Subject: Re: [TechTalk] Windows 7 to Windows 10

Thank you Carlos. So if I run this utility, it wouldn't harm my system, right?

Douk

----- Original Message -----

From: Carlos

To: main@TechTalk.groups.io

Sent: Saturday, October 29, 2016 2:00 PM

Subject: Re: [TechTalk] Windows 7 to Windows 10

On Sat, Oct 29, 2016 at 06:31 am, Duke wrote:

My question about upgrading to win 10. Does it matter of how old is the
computer? I mean for compatibility?

Welcome to the list.  Yes, if the machine is too old, it may not be compatible.  The Windows 10 Update Assistant
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3159635
should tell you if the machine can be upgraded.

----- Original Message -----

From: Carlos

To: main@TechTalk.groups.io

Sent: Saturday, October 29, 2016 2:00 PM

Subject: Re: [TechTalk] Windows 7 to Windows 10

On Sat, Oct 29, 2016 at 06:31 am, Duke wrote:

My question about upgrading to win 10. Does it matter of how old is the
computer? I mean for compatibility?

Welcome to the list.  Yes, if the machine is too old, it may not be compatible.  The Windows 10 Update Assistant
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3159635
should tell you if the machine can be upgraded.

----- Original Message -----

From: Carlos

To: Tech Talk

Sent: Friday, May 27, 2016 6:26 AM

Subject: Minor updates to list of resources and freeware

1. Added WebVisum

http://www.webvisum.com/

and the updated signed version

http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=15142

to the list of freeware.

 

2. Added my CDex

http://cdex.mu/

written tutorial to the Tech Talk Wiki

https://techtalk.groups.io/g/main/wiki/CDex-Tutorial

and files

https://techtalk.groups.io/g/main/files

section.  The link has also been updated in the list of resources and freeware to point to the Wiki.  It was previously pointing to my Dropbox which has not been working for quite some time.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: main@TechTalk.groups.io [mailto:main@TechTalk.groups.io] On Behalf
Of Thom Spittle
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2016 12:29 PM
To: main@TechTalk.groups.io
Subject: Re: [TechTalk] latest itunes and jaws 17

Once you are playing the podcast. Tab to the progress indicator and when

down arrow, it will back up a little bit. If you want to skip ahead, use

arrow.
If you hold the arrow down longer, it will move faster.


Thom


-----Original Message-----
From: main@TechTalk.groups.io [mailto:main@TechTalk.groups.io] On Behalf
Of Kimsan
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2016 12:58 PM
To: main@TechTalk.groups.io
Subject: [TechTalk] latest itunes and jaws 17

Hi,
Using latest jaws 17, and Itunes. Is it possible to skip a few seconds

listening to a podcast?
Thanks.

-----Original Message-----
From: main@TechTalk.groups.io [mailto:main@TechTalk.groups.io] On Behalf
Of Thom Spittle
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2016 12:29 PM
To: main@TechTalk.groups.io
Subject: Re: [TechTalk] latest itunes and jaws 17

Once you are playing the podcast. Tab to the progress indicator and when you
down arrow, it will back up a little bit. If you want to skip ahead, use the up
arrow.
If you hold the arrow down longer, it will move faster.


Thom


-----Original Message-----
From: main@TechTalk.groups.io [mailto:main@TechTalk.groups.io] On Behalf
Of Kimsan
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2016 12:58 PM
To: main@TechTalk.groups.io
Subject: [TechTalk] latest itunes and jaws 17

Hi,
Using latest jaws 17, and Itunes. Is it possible to skip a few seconds while
listening to a podcast?
Thanks.

Joe,

Just in case you don't have the link to the 'free' download for Windows 10
upgrade for users of assistive technology:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/accessibility/windows10upgrade

Hope this helps.

John.

-----Original Message-----
From: John Gregory [mailto:john.gm.gregory@gmail.com]
Sent: 28 October 2016 23:08
To: 'main@TechTalk.groups.io'
Subject: RE: [TechTalk] Windows 7 to Windows 10

Hi Joe,

Know where you are coming from, I resisted the temptation of moving from Win
7 to Win 10, but have recently taken the plunge. It takes a little bit of
getting used to and an awful lot of reconfiguring to get it to stop nagging
about apps you really don't want, but overall it isn't that bad really.
However, one small piece of advice I would pass on is that even if you don't
like it and continue with Win 7, it is worthwhile initially upgrading so
that you can take advantage of the 'free' option should you want to move
over later. Just upgrade and your PC will be registered and then you can
'roll back' to Win 7 within the 10 day grace period from the upgrade (used
to be 31 days, but this appears to have been reduced to 10).

John.


-----Original Message-----
From: main@TechTalk.groups.io [mailto:main@TechTalk.groups.io] On Behalf Of
Joe
Sent: 28 October 2016 22:58
To: main@TechTalk.groups.io
Subject: [TechTalk] Windows 7 to Windows 10

Now, more than a year later, are people still inclined to recommend Windows
10 over Windows 7? My main machine has 7, and while I have no desire to
move, I wonder if I could be allowing my fear of change to keep me from
enjoying potential useful features. Thoughts?

Joe

--
Musings of a Work in Progress:
www.JoeOrozco.com/

Twitter: @ScribblingJoe

It's kind of hard to say. I really think it depends on how happy you are with 7 and weather or not you want to continue with some of the issues that people have had there, issues with windows update and alike.

I used windows7 for a number of years and really grew to love it and have really thought about restoring my image, but windows10 really isn't all that bad either. I do really like a number of things about 10, things that are made much easier, such as the windows registration process, hardware detection and pulling down the necessary drivers, native support for bluetooth, etc. I'd note though that most of my experience with 10, the applications I use and how I use them, makes things really similar to how things worked for me in 7, so it hasn't been a major change really. For those who play around with the built in applications and some of the new features of 10, things may be different.

I'm not sure what the status is on getting 10 for free, but if you can still download and install it, I'd at least recommend playing around with it to see if you like it. It's easy enough to make an image of both 7 and 10 and change back, if you don't care for it. Dong so leaves you with the ability to change back to 10 at a later date and it'd still be registered, if I understand things correctly.

Hope this helps.

Take care.


On 10/28/2016 4:57 PM, Joe wrote:

Now, more than a year later, are people still inclined to recommend Windows
10 over Windows 7? My main machine has 7, and while I have no desire to
move, I wonder if I could be allowing my fear of change to keep me from
enjoying potential useful features. Thoughts?

Joe

--
Musings of a Work in Progress:
www.JoeOrozco.com/

Twitter: @ScribblingJoe

----- Original Message -----

From: Norman

To: main@TechTalk.groups.io

Sent: Saturday, October 29, 2016 4:36 AM

Subject: Re: [TechTalk] What We Got from Apple's October 2016 Event | AppleVis

Hi.
That is true but the point I was making is that u do need an adapter.

USB isn't yet that out of date that you should need one or three of those.

Jmt

On October 29, 2016 2:08:25 AM EDT, Carlos <carlos1106@...> wrote:

I can agree with some of the opinions in the previous message, but it should
be noted that while USB-C connectors are not compatible with standard USB
Type-A connectors, the protocols being used in USB-C are compatible so all
you would need are Type-A to Type-C adapters.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lenron" <lenron93@...>
To: <main@TechTalk.groups.io>
Sent: Saturday, October 29, 2016 1:51 AM
Subject: Re: [TechTalk] What We Got from Apple's October 2016 Event |
AppleVis


They seem to love making these stupid choices. One of my major reasons
why if I ever need to buy a Mac I will get one a few years old. Like
you said the only thing really nice about the new Mac Book Pro is the
finger print reader.

On 10/28/16, Norman <lists@...> wrote:
 Hello.

 Looks like it's rant time! Note, if you don't like rants, then don't
 read this.

 I like to think of myself as pretty open minded when it comes to tech, I
 own at least one device from the 4 major operating systems in the world
 today, windows, android, ios, and mac.

 Granted, my main computer runs windows and my usual smartphone is an
 android device but that's mostly for functionality and familiarity
 reasons, not accessibility.'

 Now with all that out of the way, let's get to the big news from apple
 this week. I've been hereing a lot of rumors of the new macbooks, and
 this had me curious to do some research into what apple would come up
 with when announcement day rolled around. In full disclosure, i did not
 watch the event and only read most of what i know about it afterwards.
 My reaction to this is what in the world was apple thinking?

 The one new feature in the new macbooks i actually like is touch ID. I
 will admit to wanting that. However, with all the tradeoffs i would have
 to make to get it? there is no way i will do it. Let's summerize, yes,
 you get a faster computer, but speed is subjective once computers become
 this fast. I'm pretty sure that most users will not actually see a 50%
 speed increase in day to day use. With that being said, the internals
 upgrade to the 2 high end macs do make sense. What makes much less sense
 is the outside redesign. Here again there are things i'm fine with, the
 bigger track pad for example. However, now we come to my real issues
 with the new computers. First the touch bar.

 Why, o why, do we need this? I would much rather have a full keyboard
 with a touch screen for secondary input. Let's think about this for a
 second in a real world use case. I'm going through my email as i
 normally do in
the morning and come accross a message i want to reply
 to. Which do you think would be the faster way to click the reply
 button? By going up to the touch bar, finding reply and double tapping?
 or by hitting the reply keyboard shortcut?

 My second reason for not liking this is because i run windows in
 bootcamp on my macbook pro 2015. The touch bar on windows is an aweful
 idea!
 I could probably overlook the touch bar, but that's not even the worse
 thing to come with the new macbooks. That has to be the lack of ports.
 There is something to be said for simplicity, but apple may well have
 taken it to far this time. Let's review. On the new macbooks you get 2
 or 4 usb c/thunderbolt 3 ports, a headphone jack simply because apple
 couldn't find a good way of spinning that, and, o yes, i forgot, that's
 it. No standard USB, no card reader, no HDMI, WTF????
 In a single day apple has forced me to think about
upgrading almost
 every periferal i own.
 To put this in perspective, i now need to buy a $50 adapter from apple
 just to get the ability to plug in my IPhone 5s, For those people that
 say all apple things work together so well, think about that for a minute.
 I'd much rather see a macbook with at least one standard USB port and
 When have SD cards and USB hard drives become out of date?
 To add insult to injury, apple also decided to raise it's price a couple
 hundred. I could live with that if they had left a good alternative at
 the old price point, but no, they just had to insult us by making us pay
 $1400 for an even less appealing option than the macbook pro 2015. How
 is this an upgrade?
 Looking back the $1250 i paid for my 2015 macbook is looking like a
 better and better deal. I have a very nice computer that's 6 months old
 and works almost as fast as what is now current, and o buy the way? i

have all my old USB ports, sd card readers and standard keyboard!
 Just to put the financial part into perspective, i paid $1250 for my
 2015 mac, about $150 off of the apple store price from amazon. If i had
 to get something compareable now i'd have to pay $1800 plus any adapters
 that i need and don't want just to have a functional computer.

 Anyway, this is the end of my rant for now, i'm just very put off by
 apples design decissions. If they want USB C so badly then put it on, i
 don't mind, Just don't dump everything else that has worked for years
 just like that.


 JMT.









 On 10/28/2016 3:01 AM, Christopher Hallsworth wrote:


 http://www.applevis.com/blog/apple-apple-tv-news/what-we-got-apples-october-2016-event#comment-form


   What We Got from Apple's October 2016 Event

 Submitted by mehgcap on 27 October, 2016 - 16:28 and last modified on
 27 October, 2016 - 19:18

 Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
 <http://www.applevis.com/applevis-editorial-team>


       Hello Again

 Today, Apple held a press event it called "Hello Again". The company
 announced a new accessibility website, a new Apple TV feature, and a
 long-awaited update to its MacBook computers. It may have missed the
 back-to-school shoppers, but today's announcements arrive just in
 time for the holiday shopping frenzy. There are some major
changes to
 the MacBook line-up on the way, and while much of what you're about
 to read is awesome, you may not like all of it. But there's a great
 deal to like about the latest offerings from Apple, and I yell at
 articles to quit rambling in their intros and get on with it just as
 much as you do, so let's get on with it!


       Accessibility Kick-Off

 To my surprise, Apple started the presentation with a video
 highlighting accessibility features of its products. This led to Tim
 Cook's announcing a "whole new website" focused on Apple's
 accessibility efforts. As of the time of this writing, we haven't had
 a chance to fully explore this new website
 <http://www.apple.com/accessibility>, but it's always great to see
 the spotlight shown on all the work Apple does to make their devices
 as usable, to as many people, as they can. It’s
also great to see
 that the AppleVis Community is featured on Apple’s new Accessibility
 Portal as somewhere people should go to obtain more information and
 support. Thank you, Apple!


       Get Entertained on Apple TV

 No, there's not a new Apple TV coming out, but there is a new way to
 find something to watch on the box you already have. It's a new app
 from Apple, called--appropriately enough--TV. Yep, just those two
 letters. Interestingly, Apple offers this app on not just Apple TV,
 but your iOS devices as well, letting you browse and play content on
 any of your devices. But what, exactly, does the app do?

 TV pulls together any shows or movies you're already watching on your
 video apps, as well as offering the next or newest episodes in TV
 series. This isn't just iTunes, either; it can work with ShowTime,
 CBS, HBO Now, and others, which makes it simple to keep up with any
 entertainment you're watching. The app also shows you your iTunes
 purchases or new video apps. It can even play content without you
 needing to know which app the content is in; tell Siri to play a
 particular show or game and that's all you need. But don't get too
 excited, because while the app is free, it won't be here until the
 end of the year.


       Prose about the Pro

 The MacBook Pro was the star of the show today. It got a major
 makeover--the first since the 2013 model dropped the disk drive--and
 there's a lot of great stuff on and inside it. Yet, there's also a
 change you may not like.


         Inevitable Updates

 First, the fun part: the updates we all expected, and that Apple
 almost /had/ to make. The Pro is now slightly lighter and thinner,
 while the battery life remains at ten hours; no surprise there. It's
 also adopted the USB-C ports we first saw
in the Retina MacBook last
 year. The new Pro includes four of them, and any of them can be used
 to charge the machine, which is a great touch if your outlet is
 opposite the power jack of your Mac. The audio jack, fortunately,
 hasn't gone anywhere, so there's no need to worry about getting USB
 sound cards or mics plus a bunch of adaptors. Those four USB-C (also
 called Thunderbolt 3--same thing) are all the ports you get, though.
 No standard USB, no Mini Display, no card reader, and, sadly, no more
 MagSafe.

 Speaking of audio, the speakers are louder and, Apple claims, sound
 better than ever. Oh, and the storage is twice as fast as before,
 while the ram has gotten faster, too. Overall, the new Pros are
 anywhere from half again to more than twice as fast as the models
 they replace, depending on the category (gaming, graphics, or
 storage) you're interested in. Between the faster storage and ram,
 the better CPUs, and the improved graphics cards, these machines are
 powerhouses that manage to be smaller than any Pro to date.

 One unexpected bit of news: the trackpad on the Pro is now twice as
 large as in previous models, and, of course, uses Taptic feedback to
 simulate a click. This lets you click it anywhere, not just on the
 bottom, and provides a much better experience with its larger surface
 area that can still click when pushed.

 Not at all unexpected is the screen. It is 67% brighter, can show
 much better color, and draws even less power than the 2015 MacBook
 Pro screen. Yet it is as thin as that of the Retina MacBook, Apple's
 smallest computer ever.

 Finally, in keeping with the storage trend it started with the iPhone
 7, Apple is upping the base storage for all its Macs. 256GB is now
 the minimum for all MacBook models, which is where the Retina
 MacBooks have always
been. The amount of ram across the line has not
 changed, to my knowledge.


         New Magic

 Aside from the new ports and altered dimensions, the major new
 feature on the Pro models is the removal of the entire top line of
 keys. Escape, F1 through F12, and Eject are all gone, replaced by
 what amounts to a touch screen. This "Touchbar", as Apple is calling
 it, is a multi-touch, retina-quality screen that runs in a strip
 along the top of the Mac's keyboard. The Bar offers context-sensitive
 controls and suggestions, plus emulates function keys when necessary.

 Why do this? Apple's reasoning is rather compelling, when you think
 about it objectively. What is the top row of keys for most users?
 Keys used mostly for media or brightness control. When you aren't
 doing those things, those keys are wasted space. Instead of simply
 taking them out, Apple has decided to update them. Now, they
can be
 your media controls in iTunes like normal, but they can also be the
 buttons or tools you need at any given moment, in any given
 application. In Mail, you have favorite mailboxes, message controls,
 and quick actions all available at the top of your keyboard. In
 Safari, you have tabs, favorite websites, and more. While typing, you
 have QuickType suggestions, just like in iOS. Best of all, you can
 customize the bar to show the controls you want, and touch one key to
 quickly bring up your standard function keys at any time. Plus, being
 a touch-sensitive display, you can perform gestures on the TouchBar.
 It wasn't clear what gestures are supported, but we know for sure
 that up to ten simultaneous touches will be recognized. That means
 dragging, pinching, swiping, and more, all with one or more fingers.

 The TouchBar is Apple's first attempt to marry a touch-enabled
 display with the keyboard-
and mouse-driven world of macOS. No, it
 won't be perfect right away, but it speaks of exciting things to
 come. Even in this first iteration, I have to admit I'm eager to try
 it out for myself. It's not the access to functions for which hotkeys
 already exist that I like, but rather the customization possibilities
 I can envision. Combined with gesture input, the TouchBar could
 significantly raise the bar on computer interfaces. I apologize for
 any mental injury caused by such a terrible pun.

 Of course, this means that VoiceOver users lose the hardware keys we
 use all the time--escape, f1, f2, and f5 come to mind immediately as
 keys I use many times a day for various VO commands. The big
 question, then, is how to perform these commands if all the virtual
 keys on the TouchBar have configured themselves for the currently
 open application? I wish I had the answer, but all I can say is that
 we at
AppleVis have reached out to Apple about this issue. Thus far,
 we haven't heard, but we will let you know when and if we get a
 response. Still, with the Apple TV, Apple Watch, boot sequence with
 File Vault enabled, and even complete macOS re-installs all offering
 VoiceOver support, I have no doubt that the new TouchBar won't be a
 problem. Who knows; there may even be a whole new commander to play
 with.


         A Touchy Addition

 Ever since the iPhone 5s in 2013, TouchID has been a staple of iOS
 devices. If you bought an iPhone or iPad, you knew you'd get the
 ability to unlock it, or authorize payments/purchases/apps, with your
 fingerprint. However, no Mac has ever had this hugely convenient
 ability. Apple partly addressed this shortcoming in macOS Sierra,
 allowing users to perform authentication on their Macs through
 iPhones or Apple Watches.

 Now, though, the MacBook Pro
can do it all; the power button is also
 a TouchID sensor. Logging into your Mac, entering your admin
 password, using Apple Pay, and other security-centric tasks just got
 a lot more convenient. Simply place a finger on the power button, and
 that's it. Just like on iOS devices, the Mac reads your print,
 authenticates you, and you're all set. If you share a Mac with
 someone else, you can even use TouchID to immediately switch to your
 own user account, simply by touching the reader.


         Getting Butterflies Over the New Keyboard

 Now I have to give you the bad news. When the Retina MacBook came
 out, it included a keyboard that Apple naturally called
 "revolutionary". The keyboard took up less space, and gave a whole
 new feel to typing due to its "butterfly" switches. Apple may love
 the new design, but many reviewers found it odd and not as nice as
 the old keyboards.

 When I
went down to a local outlet store and tried the keyboard
 myself, I had to agree; the key travel was less, and--more
 importantly--the space between the keys was almost non-existent. This
 made it very hard for me to feel where the keys were. I imagine this
 would have gotten better with time, so I'm not willing to condemn the
 keyboard based only on that first impression.

 I say all that to say this: a new version of that new keyboard is now
 standard on all MacBooks. The good news is that Apple specifically
 mentioned key travel as an area of improvement in this new generation
 keyboard, so I'm happy to try out the latest model and be proven
 wrong. I do recommend getting over to an Apple Store or other shop
 where a demo MacBook is displayed so you can get your hands on the
 new keyboard before you make any purchase, if possible. However, the
 mention of an updated design gives me hope that Apple may have
gotten
 it right this time. Only time and experience will tell.


       The New Line-Up (Or: Bye-Bye to the MacBook Air )

 For years, the choice of Macs has been simple: an eleven- or
 thirteen-inch Air, or a thirteen- or fifteen-inch Pro. In 2015, Apple
 shook things up with the introduction of a twelve-inch MacBook with a
 retina display, dubbed the Retina MacBook or, confusingly, simply the
 MacBook. Despite its larger screen, this device was about the size of
 the eleven-inch Air, and rumors swirled that Apple would drop the
 smallest Air from the line- up. As the Retina version lacked more
 than one USB port and used a less powerful processor, though, there
 was still a valid use case for the Air.

 Despite all that, the Air is no more. It has been replaced with the
 twelve-inch Retina model for those wanting the smallest computer, and
 a basic version of the 13-inch Pro for those
wanting a little more.
 Again, though, both devices are about the same size, so you don't
 have to worry about getting a physically larger machine. In fact, the
 13-inch Pro is twelve percent thinner and thirteen percent smaller in
 overall volume than the 13-inch Air. Note that, at least for the
 moment, the 13-inch Air remains available, while the 11-inch Air has
 been pulled. No one knows how long this will last, though, just as
 there's no telling for how much longer the 13-inch Pro from 2015 will
 continue to be sold.

 The Airs are all but gone, and in their place are the 12-inch MacBook
 we already know, and a 13-inch Pro to take the place of the 13-inch
 Air, While it so far has no official name, this Pro lacks the
 TouchBar and TouchID of its more expensive sibling, and includes two
 USB-C ports to the four that come on the "real" Pros. If you're
 looking for a new Mac, here are your options. All of
these come with
 256GB of storage and 8GB of ram, except the 15-inch Pro which has
 16GB of ram:

   * 12-inch MacBook: one USB-C port, fanless design, smallest and
     least powerful MacBook available. $1,299, 2 pounds.
   * 13-inch "basic" Pro: two USB-C ports, no TouchBar, no TouchID,
     2GhZ dual core Core I5 processor. Identical to base model 13-inch
     Pro in all other ways. $1,499, 3 pounds.
   * 13-inch Pro: four USB-C ports, 2.9GhZ dual core Core I5
     processor, includes TouchBar. $1,799, 3 pounds.
   * 15-inch Pro: four USB-C ports, 2.6GhZ quad core Core I7, includes
     TouchBar. Again, starts with 16GB of ram to the others' 8GB.
     $2,399, 4 pounds.


       Until Next Year

 That's it. Apple isn't expected to release anything new until
 sometime next year, so go forth and shop with confidence that you're
 getting the newest machines for months to come. Or, wait
for deals on
 the "old" models, which are still extremely powerful and capable
 computers. Whatever you decide, today's announcements gave you a
 /lot/ to choose from.

 As of today (the day of the event), pre-orders are open for all
 models, though some won't ship for a few weeks while others will go
 out today. Please don't rely on this article for final prices,
 specifications, and upgrade options. Use Apple's website, or the
 Apple Store app, for that. I'm just giving you the basics, as given
 out at the presentation.

 Let me know what you're thinking. Is the incredible reduction in
 size, and increase in power, enough to make you want a new Pro? Will
 you snatch up an Air while you can (no one knows if they're
 officially being discontinued)? Are you intrigued by the TouchBar, or
 do you want to stay far away from it? If I had the money, I'd get the
 13-inch Pro with TouchBar in a heartbeat.
The possibilities of a
 second touch/display surface are exciting, and I use peripherals
 rarely enough that going all USB-C wouldn't bother me. My only
 concern is the keyboard, but I have yet to see this new generation in
 person. Let me know what you think!


     Blog Tags:

   * Apple <x-msg://36/blog/tags/apple>
   * Apple TV <x-msg://36/applevis-blog/apple-tv>
   * News <x-msg://36/blog/tags/news>





--
Lenron Brown
Cell: 985-271-2832
Skype: ron.brown762

--
Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

Hello.

Looks like it's rant time! Note, if you don't like rants, then don't
read this.

I like to think of myself as pretty open minded when it comes to tech, I
own at least one device from the 4 major operating systems in the world
today, windows, android, ios, and mac.

Granted, my main computer runs windows and my usual smartphone is an
android device but that's mostly for functionality and familiarity
reasons, not accessibility.'

Now with all that out of the way, let's get to the big news from apple
this week. I've been hereing a lot of rumors of the new macbooks, and
this had me curious to do some research into what apple would come up
with when announcement day rolled around. In full disclosure, i did not
watch the event and only read most of what i know about it afterwards.
My reaction to this is what in the world was apple thinking?

The one new feature in the new macbooks i actually like is touch ID. I
will admit to wanting that. However, with all the tradeoffs i would have
to make to get it? there is no way i will do it. Let's summerize, yes,
you get a faster computer, but speed is subjective once computers become
this fast. I'm pretty sure that most users will not actually see a 50%
speed increase in day to day use. With that being said, the internals
upgrade to the 2 high end macs do make sense. What makes much less sense
is the outside redesign. Here again there are things i'm fine with, the
bigger track pad for example. However, now we come to my real issues
with the new computers. First the touch bar.

Why, o why, do we need this? I would much rather have a full keyboard
with a touch screen for secondary input. Let's think about this for a
second in a real world use case. I'm going through my email as i
normally do in the morning and come accross a message i want to reply
to. Which do you think would be the faster way to click the reply
button? By going up to the touch bar, finding reply and double tapping?
or by hitting the reply keyboard shortcut?

My second reason for not liking this is because i run windows in
bootcamp on my macbook pro 2015. The touch bar on windows is an aweful
idea!
I could probably overlook the touch bar, but that's not even the worse
thing to come with the new macbooks. That has to be the lack of ports.
There is something to be said for simplicity, but apple may well have
taken it to far this time. Let's review. On the new macbooks you get 2
or 4 usb c/thunderbolt 3 ports, a headphone jack simply because apple
couldn't find a good way of spinning that, and, o yes, i forgot, that's
it. No standard USB, no card reader, no HDMI, WTF????
In a single day apple has forced me to think about upgrading almost
every periferal i own.
To put this in perspective, i now need to buy a $50 adapter from apple
just to get the ability to plug in my IPhone 5s, For those people that
say all apple things work together so well, think about that for a minute.
I'd much rather see a macbook with at least one standard USB port and
When have SD cards and USB hard drives become out of date?
To add insult to injury, apple also decided to raise it's price a couple
hundred. I could live with that if they had left a good alternative at
the old price point, but no, they just had to insult us by making us pay
$1400 for an even less appealing option than the macbook pro 2015. How
is this an upgrade?
Looking back the $1250 i paid for my 2015 macbook is looking like a
better and better deal. I have a very nice computer that's 6 months old
and works almost as fast as what is now current, and o buy the way? i
have all my old USB ports, sd card readers and standard keyboard!
Just to put the financial part into perspective, i paid $1250 for my
2015 mac, about $150 off of the apple store price from amazon. If i had
to get something compareable now i'd have to pay $1800 plus any adapters
that i need and don't want just to have a functional computer.

Anyway, this is the end of my rant for now, i'm just very put off by
apples design decissions. If they want USB C so badly then put it on, i
don't mind, Just don't dump everything else that has worked for years
just like that.


JMT.









On 10/28/2016 3:01 AM, Christopher Hallsworth wrote:

http://www.applevis.com/blog/apple-apple-tv-news/what-we-got-apples-october-2016-event#comment-form


What We Got from Apple's October 2016 Event

Submitted by mehgcap on 27 October, 2016 - 16:28 and last modified on
27 October, 2016 - 19:18

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
<http://www.applevis.com/applevis-editorial-team>;


Hello Again

Today, Apple held a press event it called "Hello Again". The company
announced a new accessibility website, a new Apple TV feature, and a
long-awaited update to its MacBook computers. It may have missed the
back-to-school shoppers, but today's announcements arrive just in
time for the holiday shopping frenzy. There are some major changes to
the MacBook line-up on the way, and while much of what you're about
to read is awesome, you may not like all of it. But there's a great
deal to like about the latest offerings from Apple, and I yell at
articles to quit rambling in their intros and get on with it just as
much as you do, so let's get on with it!


Accessibility Kick-Off

To my surprise, Apple started the presentation with a video
highlighting accessibility features of its products. This led to Tim
Cook's announcing a "whole new website" focused on Apple's
accessibility efforts. As of the time of this writing, we haven't had
a chance to fully explore this new website
<http://www.apple.com/accessibility>;, but it's always great to see
the spotlight shown on all the work Apple does to make their devices
as usable, to as many people, as they can. It’s also great to see
that the AppleVis Community is featured on Apple’s new Accessibility
Portal as somewhere people should go to obtain more information and
support. Thank you, Apple!


Get Entertained on Apple TV

No, there's not a new Apple TV coming out, but there is a new way to
find something to watch on the box you already have. It's a new app
from Apple, called--appropriately enough--TV. Yep, just those two
letters. Interestingly, Apple offers this app on not just Apple TV,
but your iOS devices as well, letting you browse and play content on
any of your devices. But what, exactly, does the app do?

TV pulls together any shows or movies you're already watching on your
video apps, as well as offering the next or newest episodes in TV
series. This isn't just iTunes, either; it can work with ShowTime,
CBS, HBO Now, and others, which makes it simple to keep up with any
entertainment you're watching. The app also shows you your iTunes
purchases or new video apps. It can even play content without you
needing to know which app the content is in; tell Siri to play a
particular show or game and that's all you need. But don't get too
excited, because while the app is free, it won't be here until the
end of the year.


Prose about the Pro

The MacBook Pro was the star of the show today. It got a major
makeover--the first since the 2013 model dropped the disk drive--and
there's a lot of great stuff on and inside it. Yet, there's also a
change you may not like.


Inevitable Updates

First, the fun part: the updates we all expected, and that Apple
almost /had/ to make. The Pro is now slightly lighter and thinner,
while the battery life remains at ten hours; no surprise there. It's
also adopted the USB-C ports we first saw in the Retina MacBook last
year. The new Pro includes four of them, and any of them can be used
to charge the machine, which is a great touch if your outlet is
opposite the power jack of your Mac. The audio jack, fortunately,
hasn't gone anywhere, so there's no need to worry about getting USB
sound cards or mics plus a bunch of adaptors. Those four USB-C (also
called Thunderbolt 3--same thing) are all the ports you get, though.
No standard USB, no Mini Display, no card reader, and, sadly, no more
MagSafe.

Speaking of audio, the speakers are louder and, Apple claims, sound
better than ever. Oh, and the storage is twice as fast as before,
while the ram has gotten faster, too. Overall, the new Pros are
anywhere from half again to more than twice as fast as the models
they replace, depending on the category (gaming, graphics, or
storage) you're interested in. Between the faster storage and ram,
the better CPUs, and the improved graphics cards, these machines are
powerhouses that manage to be smaller than any Pro to date.

One unexpected bit of news: the trackpad on the Pro is now twice as
large as in previous models, and, of course, uses Taptic feedback to
simulate a click. This lets you click it anywhere, not just on the
bottom, and provides a much better experience with its larger surface
area that can still click when pushed.

Not at all unexpected is the screen. It is 67% brighter, can show
much better color, and draws even less power than the 2015 MacBook
Pro screen. Yet it is as thin as that of the Retina MacBook, Apple's
smallest computer ever.

Finally, in keeping with the storage trend it started with the iPhone
7, Apple is upping the base storage for all its Macs. 256GB is now
the minimum for all MacBook models, which is where the Retina
MacBooks have always been. The amount of ram across the line has not
changed, to my knowledge.


New Magic

Aside from the new ports and altered dimensions, the major new
feature on the Pro models is the removal of the entire top line of
keys. Escape, F1 through F12, and Eject are all gone, replaced by
what amounts to a touch screen. This "Touchbar", as Apple is calling
it, is a multi-touch, retina-quality screen that runs in a strip
along the top of the Mac's keyboard. The Bar offers context-sensitive
controls and suggestions, plus emulates function keys when necessary.

Why do this? Apple's reasoning is rather compelling, when you think
about it objectively. What is the top row of keys for most users?
Keys used mostly for media or brightness control. When you aren't
doing those things, those keys are wasted space. Instead of simply
taking them out, Apple has decided to update them. Now, they can be
your media controls in iTunes like normal, but they can also be the
buttons or tools you need at any given moment, in any given
application. In Mail, you have favorite mailboxes, message controls,
and quick actions all available at the top of your keyboard. In
Safari, you have tabs, favorite websites, and more. While typing, you
have QuickType suggestions, just like in iOS. Best of all, you can
customize the bar to show the controls you want, and touch one key to
quickly bring up your standard function keys at any time. Plus, being
a touch-sensitive display, you can perform gestures on the TouchBar.
It wasn't clear what gestures are supported, but we know for sure
that up to ten simultaneous touches will be recognized. That means
dragging, pinching, swiping, and more, all with one or more fingers.

The TouchBar is Apple's first attempt to marry a touch-enabled
display with the keyboard- and mouse-driven world of macOS. No, it
won't be perfect right away, but it speaks of exciting things to
come. Even in this first iteration, I have to admit I'm eager to try
it out for myself. It's not the access to functions for which hotkeys
already exist that I like, but rather the customization possibilities
I can envision. Combined with gesture input, the TouchBar could
significantly raise the bar on computer interfaces. I apologize for
any mental injury caused by such a terrible pun.

Of course, this means that VoiceOver users lose the hardware keys we
use all the time--escape, f1, f2, and f5 come to mind immediately as
keys I use many times a day for various VO commands. The big
question, then, is how to perform these commands if all the virtual
keys on the TouchBar have configured themselves for the currently
open application? I wish I had the answer, but all I can say is that
we at AppleVis have reached out to Apple about this issue. Thus far,
we haven't heard, but we will let you know when and if we get a
response. Still, with the Apple TV, Apple Watch, boot sequence with
File Vault enabled, and even complete macOS re-installs all offering
VoiceOver support, I have no doubt that the new TouchBar won't be a
problem. Who knows; there may even be a whole new commander to play
with.


A Touchy Addition

Ever since the iPhone 5s in 2013, TouchID has been a staple of iOS
devices. If you bought an iPhone or iPad, you knew you'd get the
ability to unlock it, or authorize payments/purchases/apps, with your
fingerprint. However, no Mac has ever had this hugely convenient
ability. Apple partly addressed this shortcoming in macOS Sierra,
allowing users to perform authentication on their Macs through
iPhones or Apple Watches.

Now, though, the MacBook Pro can do it all; the power button is also
a TouchID sensor. Logging into your Mac, entering your admin
password, using Apple Pay, and other security-centric tasks just got
a lot more convenient. Simply place a finger on the power button, and
that's it. Just like on iOS devices, the Mac reads your print,
authenticates you, and you're all set. If you share a Mac with
someone else, you can even use TouchID to immediately switch to your
own user account, simply by touching the reader.


Getting Butterflies Over the New Keyboard

Now I have to give you the bad news. When the Retina MacBook came
out, it included a keyboard that Apple naturally called
"revolutionary". The keyboard took up less space, and gave a whole
new feel to typing due to its "butterfly" switches. Apple may love
the new design, but many reviewers found it odd and not as nice as
the old keyboards.

When I went down to a local outlet store and tried the keyboard
myself, I had to agree; the key travel was less, and--more
importantly--the space between the keys was almost non-existent. This
made it very hard for me to feel where the keys were. I imagine this
would have gotten better with time, so I'm not willing to condemn the
keyboard based only on that first impression.

I say all that to say this: a new version of that new keyboard is now
standard on all MacBooks. The good news is that Apple specifically
mentioned key travel as an area of improvement in this new generation
keyboard, so I'm happy to try out the latest model and be proven
wrong. I do recommend getting over to an Apple Store or other shop
where a demo MacBook is displayed so you can get your hands on the
new keyboard before you make any purchase, if possible. However, the
mention of an updated design gives me hope that Apple may have gotten
it right this time. Only time and experience will tell.


The New Line-Up (Or: Bye-Bye to the MacBook Air )

For years, the choice of Macs has been simple: an eleven- or
thirteen-inch Air, or a thirteen- or fifteen-inch Pro. In 2015, Apple
shook things up with the introduction of a twelve-inch MacBook with a
retina display, dubbed the Retina MacBook or, confusingly, simply the
MacBook. Despite its larger screen, this device was about the size of
the eleven-inch Air, and rumors swirled that Apple would drop the
smallest Air from the line- up. As the Retina version lacked more
than one USB port and used a less powerful processor, though, there
was still a valid use case for the Air.

Despite all that, the Air is no more. It has been replaced with the
twelve-inch Retina model for those wanting the smallest computer, and
a basic version of the 13-inch Pro for those wanting a little more.
Again, though, both devices are about the same size, so you don't
have to worry about getting a physically larger machine. In fact, the
13-inch Pro is twelve percent thinner and thirteen percent smaller in
overall volume than the 13-inch Air. Note that, at least for the
moment, the 13-inch Air remains available, while the 11-inch Air has
been pulled. No one knows how long this will last, though, just as
there's no telling for how much longer the 13-inch Pro from 2015 will
continue to be sold.

The Airs are all but gone, and in their place are the 12-inch MacBook
we already know, and a 13-inch Pro to take the place of the 13-inch
Air, While it so far has no official name, this Pro lacks the
TouchBar and TouchID of its more expensive sibling, and includes two
USB-C ports to the four that come on the "real" Pros. If you're
looking for a new Mac, here are your options. All of these come with
256GB of storage and 8GB of ram, except the 15-inch Pro which has
16GB of ram:

* 12-inch MacBook: one USB-C port, fanless design, smallest and
least powerful MacBook available. $1,299, 2 pounds.
* 13-inch "basic" Pro: two USB-C ports, no TouchBar, no TouchID,
2GhZ dual core Core I5 processor. Identical to base model 13-inch
Pro in all other ways. $1,499, 3 pounds.
* 13-inch Pro: four USB-C ports, 2.9GhZ dual core Core I5
processor, includes TouchBar. $1,799, 3 pounds.
* 15-inch Pro: four USB-C ports, 2.6GhZ quad core Core I7, includes
TouchBar. Again, starts with 16GB of ram to the others' 8GB.
$2,399, 4 pounds.


Until Next Year

That's it. Apple isn't expected to release anything new until
sometime next year, so go forth and shop with confidence that you're
getting the newest machines for months to come. Or, wait for deals on
the "old" models, which are still extremely powerful and capable
computers. Whatever you decide, today's announcements gave you a
/lot/ to choose from.

As of today (the day of the event), pre-orders are open for all
models, though some won't ship for a few weeks while others will go
out today. Please don't rely on this article for final prices,
specifications, and upgrade options. Use Apple's website, or the
Apple Store app, for that. I'm just giving you the basics, as given
out at the presentation.

Let me know what you're thinking. Is the incredible reduction in
size, and increase in power, enough to make you want a new Pro? Will
you snatch up an Air while you can (no one knows if they're
officially being discontinued)? Are you intrigued by the TouchBar, or
do you want to stay far away from it? If I had the money, I'd get the
13-inch Pro with TouchBar in a heartbeat. The possibilities of a
second touch/display surface are exciting, and I use peripherals
rarely enough that going all USB-C wouldn't bother me. My only
concern is the keyboard, but I have yet to see this new generation in
person. Let me know what you think!


Blog Tags:

* Apple <x-msg://36/blog/tags/apple>
* Apple TV <x-msg://36/applevis-blog/apple-tv>
* News <x-msg://36/blog/tags/news>

Hello.

Looks like it's rant time! Note, if you don't like rants, then don't
read this.

I like to think of myself as pretty open minded when it comes to tech, I
own at least one device from the 4 major operating systems in the world
today, windows, android, ios, and mac.

Granted, my main computer runs windows and my usual smartphone is an
android device but that's mostly for functionality and familiarity
reasons, not accessibility.'

Now with all that out of the way, let's get to the big news from apple
this week. I've been hereing a lot of rumors of the new macbooks, and
this had me curious to do some research into what apple would come up
with when announcement day rolled around. In full disclosure, i did not
watch the event and only read most of what i know about it afterwards.
My reaction to this is what in the world was apple thinking?

The one new feature in the new macbooks i actually like is touch ID. I
will admit to wanting that. However, with all the tradeoffs i would have
to make to get it? there is no way i will do it. Let's summerize, yes,
you get a faster computer, but speed is subjective once computers become
this fast. I'm pretty sure that most users will not actually see a 50%
speed increase in day to day use. With that being said, the internals
upgrade to the 2 high end macs do make sense. What makes much less sense
is the outside redesign. Here again there are things i'm fine with, the
bigger track pad for example. However, now we come to my real issues
with the new computers. First the touch bar.

Why, o why, do we need this? I would much rather have a full keyboard
with a touch screen for secondary input. Let's think about this for a
second in a real world use case. I'm going through my email as i
normally do in the morning and come accross a message i want to reply
to. Which do you think would be the faster way to click the reply
button? By going up to the touch bar, finding reply and double tapping?
or by hitting the reply keyboard shortcut?

My second reason for not liking this is because i run windows in
bootcamp on my macbook pro 2015. The touch bar on windows is an aweful
idea!
I could probably overlook the touch bar, but that's not even the worse
thing to come with the new macbooks. That has to be the lack of ports.
There is something to be said for simplicity, but apple may well have
taken it to far this time. Let's review. On the new macbooks you get 2
or 4 usb c/thunderbolt 3 ports, a headphone jack simply because apple
couldn't find a good way of spinning that, and, o yes, i forgot, that's
it. No standard USB, no card reader, no HDMI, WTF????
In a single day apple has forced me to think about upgrading almost
every periferal i own.
To put this in perspective, i now need to buy a $50 adapter from apple
just to get the ability to plug in my IPhone 5s, For those people that
say all apple things work together so well, think about that for a minute.
I'd much rather see a macbook with at least one standard USB port and
When have SD cards and USB hard drives become out of date?
To add insult to injury, apple also decided to raise it's price a couple
hundred. I could live with that if they had left a good alternative at
the old price point, but no, they just had to insult us by making us pay
$1400 for an even less appealing option than the macbook pro 2015. How
is this an upgrade?
Looking back the $1250 i paid for my 2015 macbook is looking like a
better and better deal. I have a very nice computer that's 6 months old
and works almost as fast as what is now current, and o buy the way? i
have all my old USB ports, sd card readers and standard keyboard!
Just to put the financial part into perspective, i paid $1250 for my
2015 mac, about $150 off of the apple store price from amazon. If i had
to get something compareable now i'd have to pay $1800 plus any adapters
that i need and don't want just to have a functional computer.

Anyway, this is the end of my rant for now, i'm just very put off by
apples design decissions. If they want USB C so badly then put it on, i
don't mind, Just don't dump everything else that has worked for years
just like that.


JMT.









On 10/28/2016 3:01 AM, Christopher Hallsworth wrote:

http://www.applevis.com/blog/apple-apple-tv-news/what-we-got-apples-october-2016-event#comment-form


What We Got from Apple's October 2016 Event

Submitted by mehgcap on 27 October, 2016 - 16:28 and last modified on
27 October, 2016 - 19:18

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
<http://www.applevis.com/applevis-editorial-team>;


Hello Again

Today, Apple held a press event it called "Hello Again". The company
announced a new accessibility website, a new Apple TV feature, and a
long-awaited update to its MacBook computers. It may have missed the
back-to-school shoppers, but today's announcements arrive just in
time for the holiday shopping frenzy. There are some major changes to
the MacBook line-up on the way, and while much of what you're about
to read is awesome, you may not like all of it. But there's a great
deal to like about the latest offerings from Apple, and I yell at
articles to quit rambling in their intros and get on with it just as
much as you do, so let's get on with it!


Accessibility Kick-Off

To my surprise, Apple started the presentation with a video
highlighting accessibility features of its products. This led to Tim
Cook's announcing a "whole new website" focused on Apple's
accessibility efforts. As of the time of this writing, we haven't had
a chance to fully explore this new website
<http://www.apple.com/accessibility>;, but it's always great to see
the spotlight shown on all the work Apple does to make their devices
as usable, to as many people, as they can. It’s also great to see
that the AppleVis Community is featured on Apple’s new Accessibility
Portal as somewhere people should go to obtain more information and
support. Thank you, Apple!


Get Entertained on Apple TV

No, there's not a new Apple TV coming out, but there is a new way to
find something to watch on the box you already have. It's a new app
from Apple, called--appropriately enough--TV. Yep, just those two
letters. Interestingly, Apple offers this app on not just Apple TV,
but your iOS devices as well, letting you browse and play content on
any of your devices. But what, exactly, does the app do?

TV pulls together any shows or movies you're already watching on your
video apps, as well as offering the next or newest episodes in TV
series. This isn't just iTunes, either; it can work with ShowTime,
CBS, HBO Now, and others, which makes it simple to keep up with any
entertainment you're watching. The app also shows you your iTunes
purchases or new video apps. It can even play content without you
needing to know which app the content is in; tell Siri to play a
particular show or game and that's all you need. But don't get too
excited, because while the app is free, it won't be here until the
end of the year.


Prose about the Pro

The MacBook Pro was the star of the show today. It got a major
makeover--the first since the 2013 model dropped the disk drive--and
there's a lot of great stuff on and inside it. Yet, there's also a
change you may not like.


Inevitable Updates

First, the fun part: the updates we all expected, and that Apple
almost /had/ to make. The Pro is now slightly lighter and thinner,
while the battery life remains at ten hours; no surprise there. It's
also adopted the USB-C ports we first saw in the Retina MacBook last
year. The new Pro includes four of them, and any of them can be used
to charge the machine, which is a great touch if your outlet is
opposite the power jack of your Mac. The audio jack, fortunately,
hasn't gone anywhere, so there's no need to worry about getting USB
sound cards or mics plus a bunch of adaptors. Those four USB-C (also
called Thunderbolt 3--same thing) are all the ports you get, though.
No standard USB, no Mini Display, no card reader, and, sadly, no more
MagSafe.

Speaking of audio, the speakers are louder and, Apple claims, sound
better than ever. Oh, and the storage is twice as fast as before,
while the ram has gotten faster, too. Overall, the new Pros are
anywhere from half again to more than twice as fast as the models
they replace, depending on the category (gaming, graphics, or
storage) you're interested in. Between the faster storage and ram,
the better CPUs, and the improved graphics cards, these machines are
powerhouses that manage to be smaller than any Pro to date.

One unexpected bit of news: the trackpad on the Pro is now twice as
large as in previous models, and, of course, uses Taptic feedback to
simulate a click. This lets you click it anywhere, not just on the
bottom, and provides a much better experience with its larger surface
area that can still click when pushed.

Not at all unexpected is the screen. It is 67% brighter, can show
much better color, and draws even less power than the 2015 MacBook
Pro screen. Yet it is as thin as that of the Retina MacBook, Apple's
smallest computer ever.

Finally, in keeping with the storage trend it started with the iPhone
7, Apple is upping the base storage for all its Macs. 256GB is now
the minimum for all MacBook models, which is where the Retina
MacBooks have always been. The amount of ram across the line has not
changed, to my knowledge.


New Magic

Aside from the new ports and altered dimensions, the major new
feature on the Pro models is the removal of the entire top line of
keys. Escape, F1 through F12, and Eject are all gone, replaced by
what amounts to a touch screen. This "Touchbar", as Apple is calling
it, is a multi-touch, retina-quality screen that runs in a strip
along the top of the Mac's keyboard. The Bar offers context-sensitive
controls and suggestions, plus emulates function keys when necessary.

Why do this? Apple's reasoning is rather compelling, when you think
about it objectively. What is the top row of keys for most users?
Keys used mostly for media or brightness control. When you aren't
doing those things, those keys are wasted space. Instead of simply
taking them out, Apple has decided to update them. Now, they can be
your media controls in iTunes like normal, but they can also be the
buttons or tools you need at any given moment, in any given
application. In Mail, you have favorite mailboxes, message controls,
and quick actions all available at the top of your keyboard. In
Safari, you have tabs, favorite websites, and more. While typing, you
have QuickType suggestions, just like in iOS. Best of all, you can
customize the bar to show the controls you want, and touch one key to
quickly bring up your standard function keys at any time. Plus, being
a touch-sensitive display, you can perform gestures on the TouchBar.
It wasn't clear what gestures are supported, but we know for sure
that up to ten simultaneous touches will be recognized. That means
dragging, pinching, swiping, and more, all with one or more fingers.

The TouchBar is Apple's first attempt to marry a touch-enabled
display with the keyboard- and mouse-driven world of macOS. No, it
won't be perfect right away, but it speaks of exciting things to
come. Even in this first iteration, I have to admit I'm eager to try
it out for myself. It's not the access to functions for which hotkeys
already exist that I like, but rather the customization possibilities
I can envision. Combined with gesture input, the TouchBar could
significantly raise the bar on computer interfaces. I apologize for
any mental injury caused by such a terrible pun.

Of course, this means that VoiceOver users lose the hardware keys we
use all the time--escape, f1, f2, and f5 come to mind immediately as
keys I use many times a day for various VO commands. The big
question, then, is how to perform these commands if all the virtual
keys on the TouchBar have configured themselves for the currently
open application? I wish I had the answer, but all I can say is that
we at AppleVis have reached out to Apple about this issue. Thus far,
we haven't heard, but we will let you know when and if we get a
response. Still, with the Apple TV, Apple Watch, boot sequence with
File Vault enabled, and even complete macOS re-installs all offering
VoiceOver support, I have no doubt that the new TouchBar won't be a
problem. Who knows; there may even be a whole new commander to play
with.


A Touchy Addition

Ever since the iPhone 5s in 2013, TouchID has been a staple of iOS
devices. If you bought an iPhone or iPad, you knew you'd get the
ability to unlock it, or authorize payments/purchases/apps, with your
fingerprint. However, no Mac has ever had this hugely convenient
ability. Apple partly addressed this shortcoming in macOS Sierra,
allowing users to perform authentication on their Macs through
iPhones or Apple Watches.

Now, though, the MacBook Pro can do it all; the power button is also
a TouchID sensor. Logging into your Mac, entering your admin
password, using Apple Pay, and other security-centric tasks just got
a lot more convenient. Simply place a finger on the power button, and
that's it. Just like on iOS devices, the Mac reads your print,
authenticates you, and you're all set. If you share a Mac with
someone else, you can even use TouchID to immediately switch to your
own user account, simply by touching the reader.


Getting Butterflies Over the New Keyboard

Now I have to give you the bad news. When the Retina MacBook came
out, it included a keyboard that Apple naturally called
"revolutionary". The keyboard took up less space, and gave a whole
new feel to typing due to its "butterfly" switches. Apple may love
the new design, but many reviewers found it odd and not as nice as
the old keyboards.

When I went down to a local outlet store and tried the keyboard
myself, I had to agree; the key travel was less, and--more
importantly--the space between the keys was almost non-existent. This
made it very hard for me to feel where the keys were. I imagine this
would have gotten better with time, so I'm not willing to condemn the
keyboard based only on that first impression.

I say all that to say this: a new version of that new keyboard is now
standard on all MacBooks. The good news is that Apple specifically
mentioned key travel as an area of improvement in this new generation
keyboard, so I'm happy to try out the latest model and be proven
wrong. I do recommend getting over to an Apple Store or other shop
where a demo MacBook is displayed so you can get your hands on the
new keyboard before you make any purchase, if possible. However, the
mention of an updated design gives me hope that Apple may have gotten
it right this time. Only time and experience will tell.


The New Line-Up (Or: Bye-Bye to the MacBook Air )

For years, the choice of Macs has been simple: an eleven- or
thirteen-inch Air, or a thirteen- or fifteen-inch Pro. In 2015, Apple
shook things up with the introduction of a twelve-inch MacBook with a
retina display, dubbed the Retina MacBook or, confusingly, simply the
MacBook. Despite its larger screen, this device was about the size of
the eleven-inch Air, and rumors swirled that Apple would drop the
smallest Air from the line- up. As the Retina version lacked more
than one USB port and used a less powerful processor, though, there
was still a valid use case for the Air.

Despite all that, the Air is no more. It has been replaced with the
twelve-inch Retina model for those wanting the smallest computer, and
a basic version of the 13-inch Pro for those wanting a little more.
Again, though, both devices are about the same size, so you don't
have to worry about getting a physically larger machine. In fact, the
13-inch Pro is twelve percent thinner and thirteen percent smaller in
overall volume than the 13-inch Air. Note that, at least for the
moment, the 13-inch Air remains available, while the 11-inch Air has
been pulled. No one knows how long this will last, though, just as
there's no telling for how much longer the 13-inch Pro from 2015 will
continue to be sold.

The Airs are all but gone, and in their place are the 12-inch MacBook
we already know, and a 13-inch Pro to take the place of the 13-inch
Air, While it so far has no official name, this Pro lacks the
TouchBar and TouchID of its more expensive sibling, and includes two
USB-C ports to the four that come on the "real" Pros. If you're
looking for a new Mac, here are your options. All of these come with
256GB of storage and 8GB of ram, except the 15-inch Pro which has
16GB of ram:

* 12-inch MacBook: one USB-C port, fanless design, smallest and
least powerful MacBook available. $1,299, 2 pounds.
* 13-inch "basic" Pro: two USB-C ports, no TouchBar, no TouchID,
2GhZ dual core Core I5 processor. Identical to base model 13-inch
Pro in all other ways. $1,499, 3 pounds.
* 13-inch Pro: four USB-C ports, 2.9GhZ dual core Core I5
processor, includes TouchBar. $1,799, 3 pounds.
* 15-inch Pro: four USB-C ports, 2.6GhZ quad core Core I7, includes
TouchBar. Again, starts with 16GB of ram to the others' 8GB.
$2,399, 4 pounds.


Until Next Year

That's it. Apple isn't expected to release anything new until
sometime next year, so go forth and shop with confidence that you're
getting the newest machines for months to come. Or, wait for deals on
the "old" models, which are still extremely powerful and capable
computers. Whatever you decide, today's announcements gave you a
/lot/ to choose from.

As of today (the day of the event), pre-orders are open for all
models, though some won't ship for a few weeks while others will go
out today. Please don't rely on this article for final prices,
specifications, and upgrade options. Use Apple's website, or the
Apple Store app, for that. I'm just giving you the basics, as given
out at the presentation.

Let me know what you're thinking. Is the incredible reduction in
size, and increase in power, enough to make you want a new Pro? Will
you snatch up an Air while you can (no one knows if they're
officially being discontinued)? Are you intrigued by the TouchBar, or
do you want to stay far away from it? If I had the money, I'd get the
13-inch Pro with TouchBar in a heartbeat. The possibilities of a
second touch/display surface are exciting, and I use peripherals
rarely enough that going all USB-C wouldn't bother me. My only
concern is the keyboard, but I have yet to see this new generation in
person. Let me know what you think!


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