New MacBooks expected to be revealed at Apple developers conference

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will be seeing more than software announcements as reports have surfaced that new MacBooks will be revealed at the event.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is planning upgrades for the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro product line which would be announced at WWDC, to be held from June 5 to 9 in San Jose, California.

The Pro line is said to be getting a 7th-generation Intel Core (Kaby Lake) processors. On the other hand, the 12-inch MacBook is only hinted at getting a “faster Intel chip.”

Insiders have also claimed that an update to the aging 13-inch MacBook Air is being considered. What the update entails is not clear, but it is likely that U-series Core i5 and i7s can be expected.

Apparently, the updates serve as a response to circulating rumors that Apple has been neglecting development for the Mac. Either way, the speed boost should be a good enough statement that Apple has not forgotten the Mac just yet. Alfred Bayle/JB

source: technology.inquirer.net

New macOS update does away with ‘time remaining’ battery estimate

One of the most difficult things to gauge is the exact estimate of how long the battery life of electronic devices last, and Apple has found an interesting way to deal with this unpredictability.

In its latest update out today, tech giant macOS Sierra10.12.2  has completely eliminated the “time remaining” estimate that shows up in the battery icon near the status bar.

According to a report from The Verge, the move came after many reviews of Apple’s latest laptops found fault with the fluctuating results on its battery meter.

This, along with the modern processor’s erratic ability to ramp power up and down in response to different tasks, made it harder to generate an accurate and steady estimate.

Furthermore, it seems that Apple has also failed on its guarantee of about 10-hour battery ceiling on its new laptops, as even the Verge’s own editor reportedly could not even log six hours of battery life.

As of this writing, Apple has yet to release a statement on its latest update, and it remained unclear if they would offer an alternative.  Khristian Ibarrola

source: technology.inquirer.net

Mac Skype users get web link previews in new update

Users of Skype on Apple Mac computers can now get a preview of web links in the latest version of the popular videoconferencing software.

Skype 7.7 for Mac automatically shows a rich visual preview of the web page if a link is shared, Microsoft's Tom Huang said.

"(W)ith web link previews, you no longer need to type the: 'check out this funny cat video' alongside the actual link to the cat video," Tom Huang said in a blog post.

Huang said this is the latest enhancement to the chat experience, with earlier features including synced chats across devices and bubble-style chat, inline photos and file icons on desktop.

Huang said the latest Skype build also makes it much easier to see what’s been shared.

"Finding a link in your chat history also becomes quicker, saving precious time to let you focus on the conversation," he said.

Skype 7.7 also comes with several bug fixes, but will require OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) or higher.

But enthusiast site 9to5mac.com noted the previews will only show up if a link is the only thing in the message, "so it won’t break up long blocks of text that happen to include a URL (an annoyance with similar web previews in other chat apps)," it said.  — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com