Friday, October 11, 2019

Google Maps Gains Detailed Voice Guidance for Visually Impaired Users

https://ift.tt/2M3LMxj

Google Maps has gained a new detailed voice guidance feature to help users with impaired vision get where they're going to on foot.

With a launch timed to honor World Sight Day, the feature continually reminds the user that they're on the correct route, the distance until their next turn and the direction they're walking in.

Detailed voice guidance also provides the user with warnings when approaching large intersections, and lets them know if they've accidentally left their route by offering a spoken notification that they're being re-routed.

The new accessibility feature will be a welcome addition for users who are blind or who have moderate-to-severe vision impairments, but the reminders could be handy for people with normal eyesight, too. As Google notes in a blog post:
While this new feature can be enormously helpful to people with visual impairments, it can also help someone who wants a more screen-free experience on their next walking trip. Similar to the announcements you might hear at crosswalks or on a bus, everyone can benefit from it. Not everyone will need this level of assistance, but it’s great to know it’s available and only a tap away.

To enable the accessibility feature in Google Maps, go to the Settings section of the app and tap Navigation. At the bottom of the list, beneath the "Walking options" heading, is an option to turn on Detailed voice guidance.

Detailed voice guidance for walking navigation is rolling out now on Android and iOS, and is initially available in English in the United States and Japanese in Japan, with support for additional languages and countries on the way.

Google Maps can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]


This article, "Google Maps Gains Detailed Voice Guidance for Visually Impaired Users" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums



from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/30ZxDpe

Breaking: Feast your eyes on the Pixelbook Go [VIDEO]


via Chrome Unboxed – The Latest Chrome OS News https://ift.tt/2B4d4xa

Thursday, October 10, 2019

How to Perform a Clean Installation of macOS 10.15 Catalina

https://ift.tt/2pdVOTO

This article guides you through the process of performing a clean installation of macOS 10.15 Catalina using the bootable USB drive method, rather than upgrading your Mac using Apple's standard installation package, which retains existing user data and any user-installed apps.


Creating a bootable USB drive provides you with a convenient way to install a fresh copy of macOS Catalina on multiple Macs. Performing a clean install can also remove annoying quirks and strange behaviors that your Mac may have inherited over time, and often helps to reclaim disk space caused by junk files left by third-party apps.

To follow the steps in this article, you'll need an empty 16GB or larger USB thumb drive (USB-C or USB-A, depending on your Mac) and an hour or two of downtime while the installation procedure completes.

Also, be sure to perform a full backup of your Mac beforehand using Time Machine, so that you can restore your original system from the Recovery partition if something goes wrong.

Compatibility Check


‌macOS Catalina‌ is a major update that introduces a range of new features and changes including cross-platform app support for third-party apps, no more iTunes, iPad as a second screen functionality, Screen Time, and more.

Every Mac that can run macOS Mojave will run ‌macOS Catalina‌, with the exception of the mid-2010 and mid-2012 Mac Pro models. The full list of compatible Mac models is as follows: To check if your Mac is compatible, open the Apple () menu in the upper left corner of your Mac's screen and select About This Mac. Look just below the OS X version number in the Overview tab – if the Mac model name is the same or a later model year than the one shown in the compatibility list above, your Mac is compatible with ‌macOS Catalina‌.

How to Perform a Clean Install of ‌macOS Catalina‌


  1. Download ‌macOS Catalina‌ from the Mac App Store [Direct Link].
    Mac App Store
  2. Once the download is complete, close the installer window by selecting the Quit Install macOS option in the menu bar or using the keyboard shortcut Command (⌘) + Q.
  3. Launch the Terminal app (found in Applications/Utilities/Terminal).
  4. At the Terminal command prompt, type sudo followed by a space.

  5. Next, open a Finder window, navigate to your Applications folder, right-click (or Ctrl-click) on the macOS 10.14 installer, and select Show Package Contents from the contextual dropdown menu.
  6. Navigate to Contents -> Resources within the installer package.
  7. Drag the createinstallmedia file into the Terminal window.

  8. Still in the Terminal window, type --volume /Volumes/XXXXX --/Applications/Install\ macOS\ Catalina.app but replace XXXXX with the name of the USB drive you intend to use as a bootable installer.
    terminal
  9. Once you've replaced XXXXX in the last step with the name of the USB drive, press the Enter key on your keyboard to run the completed Terminal command.
  10. Enter your administrator password when prompted.
  11. Type Y and press Enter when prompted, and the command will create your bootable Catalina installer on the USB drive. This will take a few minutes to complete, so leave it running until you see the message "Install media now available." Note that if you're asked whether you want to install Xcode during the process, you can safely click Not Now and the process will complete successfully regardless.

Restart and Install


You can install Catalina on your Mac as soon as the USB installer has been created. To do so, restart your Mac and hold down the Option (⌥) key as soon as you hear the reboot tone. Then follow these steps:

  1. Use the mouse pointer or the arrow keys on your keyboard to select the disk called Install ‌macOS Catalina‌ in the drive list that appears on the screen.

  2. Once the USB drive has booted, select Disk Utility from the Utilities window, choose your Mac's startup drive from the list, and click Erase.

  3. When your Mac's startup disk is formatted, return to the Utilities window and select Install macOS, choose your freshly erased startup drive when asked where to install the OS, and follow the onscreen prompts to complete the installation.
To install Catalina on another Mac, first make sure it's powered off, then simply plug in the USB installer you created and turn the Mac on. When you hear the boot tone, hold down the Option (⌥) key and follow the three steps above.

Related Roundup: macOS Catalina

This article, "How to Perform a Clean Installation of macOS 10.15 Catalina" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums



from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/33jG3ct

Twitter for Mac Now Available From Mac App Store

https://ift.tt/2VyklyS

When Apple announced macOS Catalina at the Worldwide Developers Conference and unveiled its new Catalyst feature that would allow iPad apps to be easily ported over to the Mac, Twitter was one of the upcoming apps shown off.

‌macOS Catalina‌ launched on Monday, and as of today, the Twitter for Mac app is now available. ‌macOS Catalina‌ is required to download and use the new app, as it is built using Catalina technologies.


Twitter discontinued its prior Twitter for Mac client more than a year ago, which wasn't a popular decision with Twitter users. At the time, Twitter said that it was ending support for the app to focus on a Twitter experience consistent across platforms, and recommended Mac users use Twitter on the web.

Because Apple's Catalyst initiative makes it easier for apps designed for iOS to be brought to the Mac, Twitter has decided to reintroduce its Mac app, which shares similarities with the Twitter for ‌iPad‌ app.

Design wise, it's in line with the iPhone and ‌iPad‌ apps, but Twitter in June said that it has all of the features that users expect from a Mac app such as multiple windows, window resizing, drag and drop, dark mode, keyboard shortcuts, notifications, and more.

Twitter for Mac can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: Twitter

This article, "Twitter for Mac Now Available From Mac App Store" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums



from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/324uhT3

OnePlus 7T Pro, 7T Pro Mclaren Edition launched in India with Snapdragon 855+ SoC, Android 10: Price, Specifications


via News – MySmartPrice https://ift.tt/2p5wYoV

OPPO K5 with Snapdragon 730G SoC, 64MP Quad-camera Setup Launched: Price, Features


via News – MySmartPrice https://ift.tt/2MzbpFe

Clive Owen Joins Upcoming Apple TV+ Series 'Lisey's Story' With Julianne Moore

https://ift.tt/2ODGNVM

Clive Owen has signed on to star in upcoming Apple TV+ series "Lisey's Story" alongside Julianne Moore, reports Variety.

Apple gave a straight to series order for "Lisey's Story" earlier this year. The show is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, with Stephen King writing all eight episodes in addition to executive producing.

Image Credit: Jo Davidson/SHM/REX/Shutterstock /center>
"Lisey's Story" is a psychological horror with romance elements. It's split between Lisey's life in the present time and her dead husband's life (who was a famous novelist) as she remembers it.

Lisey begans to remember things about her husband that she had suppressed while being terrorized in the present by a former fan of her husband's. Owen will play Lisey's husband, Scott Landon.

Clive Owen is known for movies like "Children of Men," "Inside Man," "Closer," "Sin City," and "Hemingway & Gellhorn." Along with King, Moore, and Owen the series also boasts J.J. Abrams and Ben Stephenson of Bad Robot Productions as executive producers.

"Lisey's Story" is one of many TV shows that will be offered on ‌Apple TV‌+, Apple's upcoming television streaming service that will launch on November 1.

‌Apple TV‌+ will be priced at $4.99 per month when it launches, with a family of up to six people able to watch for that price. Apple is offering a free one-year ‌Apple TV‌+ subscription with the purchase of an iPhone, ‌Apple TV‌, Mac, or iPad.


This article, "Clive Owen Joins Upcoming Apple TV+ Series 'Lisey's Story' With Julianne Moore" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums



from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/2B2gAZ6