Road accident deaths drop by 50% in Saudi Arabia    SR 3.95 million fines for 3 employees of a company and 6-month jail for one for violating Capital Market Law    Qassim emir launches 52 health projects costing a total of SR456 million    BD and INS partner to elevate standards of infusion care in MENAT    Dubai Design Week launches its 10th edition, celebrating creativity and innovation    GASTAT: Passengers of public transport bus and train soar 176% and 33% respectively in 2023    Fakeeh Care Group reports 9M-2024 net profit of SR195.3 million, up 49% y-o-y driven by solid revenue growth and robust profitability    Italy's 'Libra' to arrive in Albania with just eight migrants on board    South Africa shuts border crossing with Mozambique over poll unrest    French families sue TikTok over harmful content that allegedly led to suicides    Harris tells supporters 'never give up' and urges peaceful transfer of power    HRT does not impact life expectancy — UK health body    Liam Payne's body to be flown back to the UK    Suspect arrested for banking fraud totaling SR493 million as Nazaha pursues corruption charges    Arab leaders and heads of state congratulate US President-elect Donald Trump    Neymar suffers muscle tear, out for 4-6 weeks    Crown Prince hails Saudi medical team that performed world's first fully robotic heart transplant    Al Nassr secures 5-1 victory over Al Ain to edge closer to knockout stage    Al Ahli extends perfect start with 5-1 victory over Al Shorta    Mitrovic's hat-trick leads Al Hilal to 3-0 victory over Esteghlal    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Muted Eid celebrations for millions of Nigerian Muslims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Apple adds keyboard touch functions to Mac
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 29 - 10 - 2016

end Mac laptops are getting a touch control strip above the keyboard, part of a long-awaited update aimed at reviving interest in a product often overshadowed by newer gadgets like the iPad and iPhone.
The new Touch Bar, which is both a narrow display and a control panel, replaces the old physical function keys on a traditional laptop. It will offer a variety of controls that change according to the app or website that's open. It also has functions that will be familiar to many iPhone users - showing word suggestions as you type, for example, or letting you scroll through a library of emojis.
New features,
higher price
The company unveiled the laptops on Thursday at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, where executives showed how the Touch Bar works with a variety of apps and software — providing playback and editing controls for videos or music, for example, and search functions for Apple's maps and photos apps. Apple is also opening the Touch Bar to work with outside software, including Adobe's Photoshop editing program and Microsoft's Word, PowerPoint and Skype.
Along with faster processors and brighter screens, two of Apple's new laptops will also get a fingerprint sensor, similar to the one on iPhones. The sensor can unlock the device, authorize software installations or recognize a different user and quickly switch to that person's settings. It works with Apple Pay, so users can authorize an electronic payment for online purchases.
At least for now, the new Touch Bar and Touch ID features will be available only on higher-end models — a 13-inch macbook Pro that starts at about $1,800 and a 15-inch macbook Pro at about $2,400. Both ship in a few weeks.
Starting Thursday, Apple started selling a 13-inch macbook Pro without the Touch Bar or Touch ID, but with other improvements, for about $1,500.
Older versions sold for prices starting at about $1,300 for 13 inches and $2,000 for 15 inches. Apple will still sell older macbook Pros at those prices, along with less expensive macbook and macbook Air models. But its cheapest laptop, the 11-inch macbook Air for about $900, will be sold only to education markets.
The company is also replacing some computer ports with new outlets compatible with USB-C standards, which can be used both for charging and transferring data. Connectors with USB-C technology can transmit data faster than older USB jacks. They are also smaller and have a symmetric shape, which means the USB-C jack can be inserted with either side facing up. But older USB printers and other devices will need adapters. The new Macs still have traditional headphone jacks, unlike the latest iPhones.
Laptops vs. tablets
Sales of the Mac have been in a slump this year, after a streak of growth in 2014 and 2015 that seemed to defy global trends. Consumers generally are buying fewer PCs and using smartphones or tablets instead.
Apple itself has promoted its latest iPad tablet, the iPad Pro, as capable of replacing the laptop for many users. And in contrast with the Mac's earlier years - when Apple marketed its computers to people who saw themselves as creative professionals or just independent thinkers - Apple also has begun promoting the Mac as a computer for businesses, which once mostly used competitors' PCs running Microsoft's Windows software.
Microsoft, meanwhile, has begun selling its own line of high-end Surface laptops and this week introduced its first Surface desktop PC. Analysts say the new Surface Studio has a premium price and features that will most likely appeal to visual designers and other creative professionals - an area that has been Apple's strength. Microsoft has boasted about modern controls with touch screens; the Touch Bar is Apple's answer to that, placed near the keyboard where people's fingers are already.
For Apple, the Mac line has been eclipsed financially by other products — first the iPod and now the iPhone — that have made far more money in recent years. But the Mac has been important for Apple since co-founder Steve Jobs introduced the first model in 1984. It commands intense loyalty from fans. "The Mac is more than a product to us. It's a testament to everything we do and everything we create at Apple," CEO Tim Cook said Thursday.
Baby steps in TV
Cook also used the event to promote a newer endeavor, Apple TV, and a new unified menu feature that shows recommendations and new episodes of recently watched shows, so viewers don't have to search through different apps to find them. Amazon's Fire TV is taking a similar approach with a software update, though the unified experience will be part of the home screen, not an app.
Apple's app, though, is short of a full-fledged streaming-TV service, which reports say Apple has been pursuing. Rather, it brings together TV shows and movies viewers already get through individual subscriptions. The TV app, coming in December, will be synced with iPhones and iPads, so viewers can catch the next episode regardless of device. Apple said its Siri voice assistant will also direct viewers to live events, such as streaming sports.
Apple said Apple TV already has 8,000 apps, including more than 2,000 games. The addictive building game "Minecraft" will come later this year.
In a minor setback, meanwhile, Apple said Wednesday that it's delaying shipment of its new wireless earphones, called AirPods, which had been scheduled for late October. In a statement, the company said, "We don't believe in shipping a product before it's ready, and we need a little more time before AirPods are ready for our customers." Apple didn't elaborate. — AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.