Reviews, tutorials and news (previously: IT Enquirer)
Path Finder 8 is the new version of the Finder replacement Cocoatech first released many, many years ago. The major big new thing in version 8 is modules and the way they are organised and used. Everything else in this release is related to modules. Doesn’t that sound disappointing? Well, it did to me and if it did to you as well, read on, because it really doesn’t.
The sensitive information manager 1Password has been given an important upgrade. 1Password 7 now has even more powerful security features and together with an even more user-friendly interface, the app is nothing short of a winner. It’s one of only a very few must-have apps.
Sometimes you come across a product that you didn’t know you needed until you see it, try it and are amazed you never thought of it before. ScreenFloat is such a utility, available for macOS only. It’s compatible with High Sierra and you get a 15-day trial period without the watermark nonsense some other vendors insist on.
Quark only just announced the upcoming availability of QuarkXPress 2018, the next new full version of Quark’s graphic design and page layout software. Coming on 16 May 2018, QuarkXPress 2018 will bring creative professionals new typography, and print and digital publishing features necessary to meet daily creative and productivity demands. The new features and functionality …
All-in-one computers like the iMac – even the iMac Pro – rarely have enough ports to satisfy our needs. CalDigit’s small-footprint, cast-aluminium Thunderbolt Station 3 Plus is – what we usually call – a dock that adds a whopping 15 ports to any Thunderbolt 3 machine. The options go beyond the conventional, expanding connectivity as well as charge laptops.
NaNoWriMo is an excellent opportunity for aspiring novelists to turn their dreams into reality. The developers of Ulysses for Mac, iPhone and iPad believe it's also a great opportunity to get a discounted subscription to their brilliant writing app.
With its new storage product range, CalDigit takes a completely different approach from its competitors. The company seems to realise more than any other supplier that Apple’s portable solutions are poor in legacy connection capabilities. Hence, the upcoming T4 RAID system and the recently released AV Pro 2 single-disk solution will charge your laptop and adds a USB 3.0 hub to get more connectivity without adding extra devices.
Bombich Software recently released an upgrade to its backup and disk cloning application, Carbon Copy Cloner. Carbon Copy Cloner 5 offers complex task filtering, coaching tips, smarter pruning, task grouping and scheduling and more. It still allows you to create exact — bootable — clones of a startup disk and enables you to check if a backup or clone hasn’t been corrupted due to bit rot or other errors. And while I was at it, I had a short talk with Mike Bombich, the developer and publisher of Carbon Copy Cloner, on backing up, offloading and securing your backups.
Thunderbolt 3 docks are being released at a fast pace. The CalDigit TS3 Thunderbolt Station has been around for a month now and it has an edge. Not only does it provide 85W charging power on one of its ports to Apple's Thunderbolt 3 MacBook, but it's also tiny compared to others. And it can be positioned upright, saving space on your desk.
I tested a 480GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD with an Atomos Shogun Flame as well as with an iMac. The Mercury Extreme Pro 6G has been certified for use in Blackmagic Design equipment and has a maximum read speed of 559MB/s and write speed of 527MB/s. My own tests revealed slightly lower, although pretty impressive figures.
