Category Archives: MACC
All the Stock Mac Apps That Apple Quietly Made Useful
Apple has always packed a lot of decent software into OS X, but long time users may remember when the built-in options sucked so bad you had to install basic alternatives, like a PDF reader or image viewer, just to get something that worked well. Times have changed, and if you haven’t looked lately, it’s time to try a few of those built-in productivity tools again.
Source: All the Stock Mac Apps That Apple Quietly Made Useful
FileMaker teaches custom app design 2.0 – BIT
The second in FileMaker’s series of ebooks about custom application development for small businesses has arrived.
Mossberg: The Cloud Loophole
Your iPhone may be nearly impermeable, but its online backup isn’t.
Source: Mossberg: The Cloud Loophole
Apple has drawn a line in the sand over keeping its customers’ iPhones encrypted and secure. It’s fighting the FBI in a California court over the Bureau’s demand that it create a special, weaker version of iOS that would make it easier for government computers to crack the passcode on a phone and thus reveal its contents. This week, the company won a big victory when a federal judge in New York strongly upheld its objections in a similar case. But the battle is far from over and is likely to be settled in either the Supreme Court or Congress.
The special software sought by the FBI — which Apple, with its marketing flair, is calling “GovtOS” — is, in essence, a back door to the encrypted phone, because the passcode is the user’s encryption key, and Apple has deliberately designed the iPhone so the company itself lacks any other key to decrypt it.
Even before the court order in California ignited the current fight, I opposed the idea of any encryption back door on grounds that it could also help criminals and repressive foreign governments. And I stand with Apple in its dispute with the FBI over the demand for special passcode-cracking software, for the same reasons.
Filemaker Pro Continues To Lead The Way In Software Design
Versatile and flexible, FileMaker Pro continues to set the standard for custom-configured software for business applications.
With 30 years of experience behind it, FileMaker Pro continues to set the standard as a platform to make custom business software solutions.
“In the early days of business computing, most people didn’t know what a program really was, much less a database. But Apple knew they needed a way for people to do unique things with their computers, and FileMaker Pro soon filled that role,” said Bob Shockey, president at Alchemy Group, a company that builds apps for for business based on FileMaker Pro. “Little did we know how far this program would go in changing businesses for the better.”
Mr. Shockey pointed out that FileMaker Pro 14, like its predecessors, incorporates many high-value features, including WebDirect, which can publish databases to the web using HTML5 and advanced CSS, and FileMaker Go, which makes mobile apps for iOS possible.
“A crucial decision was made early in its lifetime for FileMaker Pro to be cross-platform compatible. For the first time, you could purchase software off-the-shelf, and it would function on a Mac or Windows computer without complicated programming. Some people who only know FileMaker Pro on Windows are surprised to find that it is made by Apple.”
Mr. Shockey praised FileMaker for continuing to innovate while remaining easy to use.
“With each version, Apple improves the speed and functionality. It always remains fast and easy to build powerful apps. Nothing else compares.”
Source: Filemaker Pro Continues To Lead The Way In Software Design
