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Apple explains why it hasn’t released a touchscreen Mac (yet?)

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The first iPad Pro reviews are here, and as we rounded up earlier today, they focus a lot on the new OLED displays, the M4 chip, and the limitations of iPadOS as a platform. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Apple marketing executive Tom Boger explained how the iPad compares to the Mac, and touched on whether Apple might ever release a touchscreen Mac.

Boger, who serves as Apple’s vice president of Mac and iPad product marketing, explained to Joanna Stern that Apple doesn’t see the two devices as competitors. Instead, the idea is that the Mac and iPad are complementary. The iPad serves as a “touch-first device” while the Mac is for “indirect manipulation.”

“We don’t see them as competing devices. We see them as complementary devices,” Tom Boger, Apple’s vice president of iPad and Mac product marketing, told me in an interview. The iPad, he said, “has always been a touch-first device” while the Mac is for “indirect manipulation”—aka using a keyboard, mouse and/or trackpad.

This naturally brings up the question: will Apple ever release a touchscreen Mac? Joanna tried to get an answer – even a hint – from Boger multiple times:

He remained firm: iPads are for touch, Macs are not. “MacOS is for a very different paradigm of computing,” he said. He explained that many customers have both types of devices and think of the iPad as a way to “extend” work from a Mac. Apple’s Continuity easily allows you to work across devices, he said.

I did ask Boger if Apple would ever change its mind on the touch-screen situation.

“Oh, I can’t say we never change our mind,” he said.

You can read Joanna’s full review over at The Wall Street Journal.

Touchscreen Mac: What do the rumours say?

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported that Apple is actively developing touchscreen Macs. The company is reportedly targeting a release date for a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen in 2025.

The MacBook Pro revamp being tested inside Apple retains a “traditional laptop design” that includes a standard trackpad and keyboard. The difference, of course, is that the screen would “support touch input and gestures – just like an iPhone and iPad,” Gurman has reported.

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Sourced from 9to5Mac

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The 4 Best Mac and Windows Browsers With a Built-in VPN

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Security is vital online, so a VPN is a useful tool. If you’re not sure how to set one up, here are the four best browsers with one built-in.

When you’re browsing the internet, you may encounter geo-locked content. If you need to access it, you have no choice but to fire up a VPN and spoof your location to where the content is allowed.

However, you don’t have to use a third-party VPN just to see the content. Several browsers out there have built-in VPN services, allowing you to visit websites without downloading another app. Browser VPNs also improve your privacy and protection, especially if you’re accessing a page with questionable security.

So, here’s our list of the four best browsers with a built-in VPN.

1. Opera Browser

This browser is the oldest option in this list, established in 1994 and made publicly available in 1996. It first received the built-in VPN feature in 2016, included in Opera 38.

Although the VPN is turned off by default, you can easily activate it via the Quick Settings Menu. Once you’ve activated it, you’ll see the VPN icon on the address bar. If it’s turned off, you’ll see VPN outlined by a box, but if it’s switched on, you should see a blue box with VPN written on it.

You can turn on the VPN by default for instant secure browsing. You can even instruct Opera to bypass the VPN when using default search engines or accessing intranet sites. It allows you to assign additional VPN bypass rules, so you don’t have to turn it off when you want to access trusted pages that won’t work with the VPN turned on.

You also don’t need to create an account to use the VPN, thus improving your privacy. Beyond that, it has other nifty features, including a built-in ad blocker and a tracker blocker. But best of all, Opera’s service is free and unlimited.

Opera Browser has one significant disadvantage, though: you can’t set a specific country for the VPN. You can only pick between three general areas—Americas, Asia, or Europe.

Download: Opera Browser (Free)

2. epic privacy browser

epic is a Chromium-based browser made by Hidden Reflex that uses the same DNA as Google’s browser. This makes it an excellent Chrome alternative, allowing you to switch browsers easily while keeping the same feel and functionality.

Although its source code isn’t open-source, despite being based on the open-source chromium platform, Hidden Reflex claims that anyone can request for and audit it.

In the past, epic always had its built-in VPN and ad blocker turned on. However, because they need to sustain their operations, these features are now pre-installed as extensions, and users must activate them manually. Nevertheless, they’re easy to switch on once and for good.

One other characteristic of this browser is its default Yahoo! search engine. While some consider this a drawback, others think this is a feature. epic explains the situation when you open a new tab in the browser for the first time:

When you use the default Yahoo-powered search in Epic, you’ll get better search results and support our mission including more frequent releases and hundreds more servers for our encrypted proxy/VPN. All searches sent to Yahoo are encrypted for your privacy and security. According to their requirements, Yahoo search does bypass both our proxy and adblock. Upon ad click in Yahoo search, the proxy and adblock remain disabled for several seconds. Their goal is to insure the integrity of their search ad marketplace. Due to their policies, a few other Yahoo sites including Techcrunch, Engadget, Autoblog, HuffPo and AOL bypass our adblock. No other sites bypass our adblock or proxy so Epic works almost entirely as it always has except in respect to the Yahoo sites.

We believe it is impossible at present to offer honest, free private search. We’ve received many requests to support so-called private search engines such as Startpage, DuckDuckGo and others. To our knowledge there are no exceptions to Google/Bing mandates to share a user’s IP address and or location both to retrieve search ads and upon search ad click. It is misleading to claim to be private if you’re sharing your users’ data with Google/Bing. Despite multiple requests for years, they refuse to explain to us how they work. We can’t legally or ethically work with them without transparency.

epic lets you choose eight countries to connect your VPN: US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, India, and Singapore. If a page you want to load doesn’t work correctly with encrypted VPNs, you can disable the encrypted VPN for that site and add it to your safe list.

If you want the ultimate privacy, you can opt for paid private search via epicsearch.in. You have to pay $2.50 monthly for the service, but epic assures you that your queries will remain private. That’s because they only forward your search to their third-party provider, nothing else.

Download: epic privacy browser (Free)

3. Tor Project

Tor, which stands for The Onion Router, aims to provide anonymous communication via a free global volunteer overlay network. This setup allows users robust privacy, as their data is routed at least thrice to over seven thousand available relays. To use this network, you need to install the Tor Browser.

This browser is one of the most robust options regarding privacy. This is because it uses multilayer encryption to protect its users’ data. Furthermore, it uses random routing, ensuring it’s almost impossible to track data movement within the Tor network.

When you open the Tor browser, you must manually connect to the Tor relay. If you’re in a place where Tor is inaccessible, you can also use Bridges, which allows you to connect to unlisted relays. You can also use your VPN over Tor, although it will require some setup.

The Tor browser is popular with activists, journalists, whistle-blowers, and anyone with serious privacy risks. If you can’t access the Tor Project homepage, you can also find mirrors to other download sites on GitHub.

Download: Tor Browser (Free)

4. Avast Secure Browser PRO

Avast, a popular antivirus provider, launched this Chromium-based browser in 2018. It feels similar to other Chromium-based browsers but adds on several premium features. Avast claims that it can unblock any site and block all ads. You also get unlimited bandwidth, have more than 30 locations to choose from, use the browser on up to 5 devices, and have direct support.

You must download the Avast Secure Basic browser and sign up for the Pro version on the Avast website after installation. Although the VPN service isn’t free, this browser offers the most options in terms of location. It’s also more affordable than getting a standalone VPN service from Avast.

Download: Avast Secure Browser (Free, 30-Day Free Trial for Pro Features)

Enhance Your Access and Privacy With Browser VPNs

VPNs are great tools for privacy and access. And while it’s ideal if you install a dedicated VPN service on your computer, it’s not always practical and may even cost you. So, if you only need a VPN for a short while, consider any of these built-in alternatives instead.

By Jowi Morales

Sourced from MUO

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‘Font isn’t found’ malware for Chrome is easy to fall for, possibly affecting Windows & Mac

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By Justin Duino.

The internet is full of scams and false advertisements that target unsuspecting users and attempt to get them to download malicious software.

Unfortunately, this problem looks like it will only get worse. Now, a new piece of malware is making the rounds and is affecting Chrome users on Windows and potentially macOS…

Found by NeoSmart Technologies, this new “font wasn’t found” malware is taking the form of what looks like a real Chrome pop-up. What is happening is that infected websites show random characters. Then, a pop-up impersonating Chrome will appear asking you to install a missing font so that you load the page correctly.

The pop-up — as seen below — includes a couple of pieces of fake information that try to convince you that it is real. This includes a section that lists a fake “Chrome Font Pack” version as well as the “current” version. Clicking on the Update button will then download an application installer.

It is currently unknown what damage this piece of malware might do to your computer if you happen to install it. What we do know is that Chrome and Windows Defender are currently not viewing it as malicious and that only a handful of other anti-virus programs were able to detect and remove it.

Chrome Virus

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By Justin Duino

Sourced from 9TO5 Google

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Apple’s iconic ‘Get a Mac’ ad campaign

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By Yoni Heisler.

From the very first Mac ad that aired during the 1984 Super Bowl to the memorable “Think Different” ads featuring notable historical figures, Apple has long been a company revered for its advertising efforts.

By the early-to-mid 2000s, Apple took its advertising game to the next level, delivering two iconic ad campaigns that will undoubtedly have a permanent place in the pantheon of great advertisements.

In 2004, just as the iPod was starting to pick up momentum in the marketplace, Apple began rolling out memorable iPod ads featuring dancing silhouettes. Two years later, Apple released its first “Get a Mac” ad, arguably the company’s most successful and impactful series of ads to date.

With the 10th anniversary of the first “Get a Mac” ad upon us, Campaign US decided to bring together and interview some of the creative talent that helped bring those memorable commercials starring Justin Long (as the Mac) and John Hodgman (as the PC) to life.

As to the origins of the campaign, Steve Jobs wanted a shiny new ad campaign to align with Apple’s recent switch over to Intel-based processors. The Mac was once again a force to be reckoned with and he wanted the whole world to know it.

In turn, Jobs gave the creatives at TBWA\Chiat\Day — Apple’s longtime ad agency — a rather hazy directive to come up with something great.

“With Steve, briefs weren’t super formal like a traditional agency, where you have a planner present pages and pages of strategy deck,” executive creative director Eric Grunbaum explained. “The brief was like, ‘You know what? Mac needs a campaign. We want you guys to come up with something.’ It was as simple as that.”

Jobs of course would inevitably make his opinions on how the ad campaign should be structured well known. Specifically, Jobs reportedly “wanted to go hard at the PCs”, with Mike Refuerzo noting that “Steve really wanted to expose them.”

And expose them they did. Over the course of the next few years, following a nearly 9 months development process, Apple released 66 “Get a Mac” ads that made fun of Microsoft and Windows from every which way. At the core, Apple’s “Get a Mac” ads were so brilliant because the characters played by Long and Hodgman — from the way they talked all the way down to how they dressed — perfectly embodied the narrative of the commercials themselves, namely that the Mac was an efficient machine with hip and creative users while PCs were clunky machines that you might want to consider if you were an accountant.

On top of that, the commercials themselves were brilliantly sharp, and more importantly, they were funny.

And through it all, Jobs was extremely involved in the entire process.

“With Apple, there were no budget constraints,” creative director Jason Sperling explained. “We put together tests for just about everything. But Steve demanded perfection. For example, just looking at a reflection on a screen at the 17-second mark, he’d tell the team, ‘Stop, why didn’t you do better with your lighting?’ He was quite punishing if you didn’t do it right.”

In fact, the commercials were so effective that they helped cause a mini-crisis within Microsoft as the company scrambled to come up with a way to respond to Apple’s increasingly popular ads.

That aside, it’s not too often that we’re given a sneak peek behind the creative process of Apple’s commercials, so the oral history put together by Campaign US is well worth checking out in its entirety. Part one can be viewed over here and part two, where the creative team discuss their favorite spots of all-time, can be enjoyed over here.

You can also check out every “Get a Mac” ad ever made via the video below.

By Yoni Heisler

Sourced from BGR

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