WWDC 2016 Came and Went

Apple's 2016 World Wide Developer's Conference has come and gone. For those of us who were expecting/hoping for some hardware updates, the reaction was pretty much "meh". Nothing doing.

On the software side, for me the biggest announcement was that Apple's Voice assistant Siri is coming to the Mac. We have been waiting a long time for this. For myself, I foresee using it a lot more on my Mac than I do on the iPad.

This Fall will see the release of macOS Sierra (No more Os X!), watchOS 3, iOS10, and tvOS 10. There have been sightings of the iPhone 7, so that is a given for the Fall. You have to think that more hardware will be released at that time.

Fingers Crossed. Almost all their stuff is getting long in the tooth. 

Gadget Class Wrap Up

On July 21st I held 'Gadget Class' downstairs at the Belding Memorial Library. I covered a range of topics and devices. Not just Macs, but iPhones, cameras, etc. It was a lively group, and there was a good amount of discussion and question/answer. 

I am planning on continuing the class in the Fall. As the time gets closer, I'll let you know time and dates. In the meantime, make note of those burning questions that you might have. 

Many thanks to Martha Cohen and the Belding Library for the space, and to Ashfield Congregational Church for the projector.

Mac Malware Report

There is a report of a new malware that targets Macs called Backdoor.MAC.Elanor. It is installed if you download and install EasyDoc Converter.app. This app purports to convert some obscure files, but it actually a script that installs malicious files that can take over just about any aspect of your computer, including the webcam.

Odds are that you will never come across this malware. In addition, you would have to overrule the built-in Mac Os protections in order to install it. You will not come across it in the Mac App Store. 

If you are concerned, you can run Malwarebytes, anti-malware software.