Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Five Mac Apps Worth Checking Out - September 2019

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Apps designed for the Mac don't often receive as much attention as apps made for iPhones and iPads, so we have a series here at MacRumors designed to highlight useful and interesting Mac apps worth checking out.

This month's picks include apps for revamping your dock, discovering new music, making GIFs, annotating and managing screenshots, and more.

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  • Plug (Free) - Plug is a macOS player for The Hype Machine, a website that's designed to help you discover interesting new music. The Hype Machine curates content from up and coming artists highlighted by various websites on the internet, which can result in a nice mix of fresh music. You can choose to see what's popular, view remixes, see what friends are listening to, and more.


  • Active Dock ($19.99) - Active Dock is a dock replacement app for the Mac that offers features you don't get with the standard dock. You can group documents and apps together for quicker switching between what's open, and you can hover over an app on the dock to see all of the open windows. You can get to options like system preferences and frequently accessed documents, plus there are tons of customization options to work with for changing the look of the dock, icons, and more. Active Dock costs $19.99, but there's a free trial.


  • GIFSKI (Free) - GIFSKI is a fun little app that's designed to allow you to create custom GIFs from video clips. Just drag and drop a video file into the app, adjust the start and end points, and you have a GIF. The app supports multiple video formats, it has a clean interface, and it's simple to use.


  • In Your Face ($1.99) - In Your Face is a notification app that takes over the entire screen, so if there's something that you really need to remember to do, this is the app to use. The app is located in the menu bar and it interrupts whatever you're doing when it's time for something like an important meeting. It's a good idea if you typically dismiss reminders and calendar events without paying attention, because it's impossible to miss the In Your Face popups.


  • Xnip (Free) - Xnip is a screenshot and annotation app that adds a few capabilities not possible with Apple's built-in screenshotting tools. You can capture a full-page screenshot in an app like Safari where all of the content might not be visible, and you can capture multiple windows together. A color picker tool lets you pick a color of a pixel to make a capture, there's an option to measure objects on the screen, and there are other tools like blur and step annotation. Removing watermarks from screenshots requires a $4.99 per year subscription.


If you have a favorite must-have Mac app that we haven't highlighted yet, let us know in the comments, and we might feature it in a future video. For more of our Mac app picks, make sure to check out our Mac app archives.


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IFA 2019: Four new or updated Acer Chromebooks debut, starting at $250


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Hundreds of Millions of Phone Numbers From Facebook Accounts Leaked Online

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An exposed server with more than 419 million records from Facebook users has been discovered online, reports TechCrunch.

The server was not protected with a password and was accessible to anyone. It featured 133 million records from U.S.-based Facebook users, 18 million records from users in the UK, and 50 million records on users in Vietnam.


The records contained each person's unique Facebook ID along with the phone number listed on the account. Facebook IDs are unique numbers that can be associated with an account to discover a person's username.

Facebook restricted access to phone numbers more than a year ago, so the database that was found is older than that. A Facebook spokesperson said that the data had been scraped prior to when Facebook cut off access to phone numbers, calling the dataset "old."
"This dataset is old and appears to have information obtained before we made changes last year to remove people's ability to find others using their phone numbers," the spokesperson said. "The dataset has been taken down and we have seen no evidence that Facebook accounts were compromised."
TechCrunch was able to verify multiple records in the database by matching a known Facebook user's phone number against a listed Facebook ID. Other records were verified by matching phone numbers with Facebook's password reset feature, which can be used to partially reveal a phone number linked to an account. Records primarily had phone numbers, but in some cases, also had usernames, genders, and country location.

Image via TechCrunch

Phone number security has become increasingly important over the course of the last few years due to SIM-hacking, which involves calling a phone carrier and asking for a SIM transfer for a specific number, thereby giving access to anything linked to that phone number, such as two-factor verification, password reset info, and more.

SIM-hacking requires little more than a phone number and social engineering skills, and it has been devastating for people who have been impacted. Leaked phone numbers also expose Facebook users to spam calls, which have also become more and more prevalent over the last several years.

The database was originally found by security researcher Sanyam Jain, who said that he was able to locate phone numbers associated with several celebrities. It's not clear who owned the database nor where it originated from, but it was taken offline after TechCrunch contacted the web host. There is no word on why the data was scraped from Facebook or what it was used for.


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Samsung Launches 5G-integrated 8nm Exynos 980 Processor for Mobile Phones


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Deals: Save on Anker and Aukey's Best Accessories, Including Aukey's New USB-C Hub + Wireless Charger

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Popular Apple accessory makers Anker and Aukey have a new set of discounts on Amazon this week, with notable savings on everything from USB-C cables to portable battery packs and Bluetooth speakers. Some of the sales have had their discounts automatically applied, while others do still require a discount code, all of which you can find below.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

As a note, in this week's sales Aukey is debuting its new combination USB-C Hub with Wireless Charger, which can wirelessly charge an iPhone while providing access to four other ports including USB-A and USB-C ports. The accessory can also connect directly to new USB-C enabled MacBook Pro models, and with pass-through USB-C charging you can charge the laptop while using the mat's other functions.

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Head to our full Deals Roundup for a deeper look at all of the best Apple-related sales going on this week.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
Tags: Anker, Aukey

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Apple Seeds Ninth Beta of Upcoming tvOS 13 Update to Developers

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Apple today seeded ninth beta of an upcoming tvOS 13 update to developers, one week after seeding the eighth beta and more than two months after unveiling the tvOS 13 software at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 13 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode.


tvOS 13 introduces an updated Home screen aimed at making it easier to discover new content. Apps are now able to play full-screen video previews on the Home screen, similar to Netflix.

Multi-user support is available for the first time, letting more than one profile exist on the Apple TV so each family member can have their own customized Apple TV interface with separate recommendations, music playlists, and Watch Now lists.

Switching between profiles can be done with the new Control Center, which offers up profiles, the time and date, search, a Now Playing widget, AirPlay controls, and a sleep option.

tvOS 13 gets the Apple TV ready for Apple Arcade, Apple's new gaming service that's coming to the Apple TV, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS later this year. Apple Arcade will offer unlimited access to more than 100 new and exclusive games, for one subscription fee.

As part of the Apple Arcade preparations, Apple has implemented support for the Xbox Wireless Bluetooth Controller and the PlayStation DualShock 4 Controller, both of which can be connected to an Apple TV over Bluetooth.

There are new under the sea themed screensavers created in partnership with the BBC Natural History Unit, which also created "Blue Planet." There's also a new Picture-in-Picture feature. Picture-in-Picture lets you continue to watch TV shows or movies while using a different app, adjusting settings, or otherwise navigating through the tvOS 13 operating system.


tvOS 13 is available to registered developers and public beta testers at this time and will see an official public launch this fall alongside iOS 13, iPadOS, macOS Catalina, and watchOS 6.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 12, tvOS 13
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

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Apple Seeds Second Betas of iOS 13.1 and iPadOS 13.1 to Developers

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Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iPadOS and iOS 13.1 update to developers, one week after seeding the first beta and ahead of the actual launch of iOS 13 and iPadOS.

iOS 13.1 and iPadOS 13.1 can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center or over-the-air after the proper profiles have been installed.


Apple in late August released the first iOS 13.1 beta, which came as a surprise because Apple has never released a point update for software that's not out yet. Apple is likely aiming to make iOS 13.1 ready for download shortly after iOS 13 becomes available and new iPhones launch, as the iOS 13 update may have already been finalized for installation on new devices.

The iOS 13.1 update includes several features that were announced at WWDC but were ultimately removed from iOS 13 over the beta testing period. Shortcuts Automations, for example, is back in iOS 13.1. Shortcuts Automations allows Shortcuts users to create personal and home automations from the Shortcuts app to have actions performed automatically when specific conditions occur.

Share ETA, a major maps feature, is also available in iOS 13.1. With Share ETA, you can share your estimated time of arrival to a location with a friend or family member.

Other new features include new icons on the volume indicator when headphones or speakers are connected (with icons for AirPods, Beats headphones, and HomePod), more detailed HomeKit icons in the Home app, and updates to Dynamic Wallpapers.

Mouse support, an accessibility option in iOS 13, has been improved in iOS 13.1 allowing a long press or 3D Touch to be mapped to the right click function of the mouse. Reading goals now include PDFs, Nike+ is now just Nike, and iOS 13.1 supports HEVC video encoding with alpha channels.

There are some other smaller changes in iOS 13.1, which are outlined in our first iOS 13.1 article. If we find new features in iOS 13.1 beta 2, we'll update this post.

Related Roundups: iOS 13, iPadOS

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