Kernel extensions, called kext for short, are modules of code that are loaded directly into the kernel space of Mac OS X, able to run at a low-level to perform a variety of tasks. Most kexts are part of the core Mac OS X system software, typically hardware device drivers, but some third party apps will install a kext as well.

Sometimes, advanced Mac users and systems administrators may need to manually load or unload a kernel extension. Because kernel extensions are often critical components of MacOS, this is only appropriate for users who have a specific reason to be modifying whether a kext is loaded or unloaded into the MacOS X kernel space. Inappropriate modification of kext behavior can render Mac hardware useless or inaccessible, and can also prevent Mac OS X from functioning at all, so do not attempt to change any kernel extension without a compelling reason and understanding of what it’s usage is.

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One of the more interesting health features on Apple Watch is the ability to measure the wearers pulse as a heart rate in beats per minute, which you can see directly on the Watch itself, and also graphed over time on the iPhone through Health app. Monitoring heart rate is a pretty neat feature for fitness buffs obviously, but it’s valuable for really anyone who is health conscious too. You’ll also discover that measuring heart rate can offer some insights into how your lifestyle, diet, and behavior impacts your body in ways you may not have known before.

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Apple has released the second developer beta version of OS X El Capitan 10.11 to Mac users who are part of the registered Apple Developer program.

The updated build arrives as 15A204h and is officially labeled as OS X El Captain Developer Beta 2 1.0, separately, a second beta version of OS X Server 5.0 is also available.
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A group of Chinese developers known as “TaiG” has released a jailbreak for iOS 8.3. The jailbreak is untethered, meaning it can boot and reboot freely without the assistance of a computer, and installs on any iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad which is running iOS 8.3.

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Apple has released the second beta version of iOS 9 for compatible iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices. The new beta build is 13A4280e and can be downloaded as firmware through the Apple Developer Center, or as an over-the-air update on a device currently running the prior iOS 9 beta through Settings > Software Update.

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Windows 10 is able to run on all modern Mac hardware in a dual boot environment thanks to Boot Camp. If you’re aiming to run Windows alongside Mac OS X on the same Mac, you’ll want to create a bootable Windows 10 installer drive out of a USB drive, which can be done quickly from Mac OS X and the Boot Camp Assistant tool.

For the less familiar, using Boot Camp essentially means Windows 10 will run directly on the hardware as if the Mac were a PC, rather than in a virtual machine which runs Windows atop OS X, that translates to much better performance and a completely native experience – you boot the Mac, and you can choose to start Windows, or to start Mac OS X.

Here, we’re going to focus on making a bootable USB installer drive using a Windows 10 ISO from a Mac.

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If you have an Xbox One gaming console in the household, you may be pleased to discover that it’s really quite easy to stream video and audio from a local Mac or Windows PC to play directly on the Xbox One. This offers a nice wireless method to play movies from any Mac or PC onto a TV without having to use an HDMI connection, and the Xbox One Media Player app supports a huge range of popular file types, so you’ll be able to play just about any mp4, mov, avi, divx, mkv, wmv, mp4, m4a, or nearly any other popular movie or audio file. Yes, you can stream your iTunes Library to the Xbox this way. Setup is easy and there’s very little configuration required, we’ll run through the whole process from start to finish and you’ll be ready to go in just a few minutes.

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This weeks featured Mac workstation is the snazzy custom setup of Axel D., who has a swivel-arm mounted iMac and some great audio gear to round out a beautiful and clean desk. Let’s jump right in to learn more:

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iCloud Drive supports direct file transfers from the Mac, meaning you can take just about any file, folder, document, or item stored in Mac OS X, and copy it over to iCloud Drive, where it will be stored and accessible by your other Macs and iOS devices using the same Apple ID. Using iCloud Drive this way is kind of similar to how many users store files on other services like DropBox, OneDrive, and Google Drive, except it has the distinct advantage of being built directly into modern versions of Mac OS X and not requiring any third party downloads or logins.

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The iPhone language is set during the initial setup of the device, defaulting to wherever region it was sold. But if you would like to change the language used on iPhone, you can do so at any time without resetting the device back to factory defaults, instead you’ll just need to turn to the settings in iOS.

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The Apple Watch allows users to take a screen shot of what they see on the face of the device by using a similar mechanism to capture screen shots on an iPhone or iPad; you press two buttons at the same time.

For the Apple Watch, the buttons to press to take a screenshot are the two side buttons, the rotating digital crown, and the power button underneath it.

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The Photos app for Mac allows users to quickly see EXIF metadata of any image contained within the applications library. For those who aren’t familiar, EXIF data is raw information about the picture file, containing details about the camera and settings used to take the picture, the aperture, ISO, shutter speed, and you’ll also find the date and time the picture was taken, as well as being able to see the file name, file type, file size, and resolution of a chosen image. For pictures taken with iPhone, you’ll even be able to tell if the image was taken with the iPhones front or back camera. And with pictures that have GPS location access from an iPhone or Android, you may even find the location a photo was taken as well.

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Most new Mac keyboards are fairly simplified when compared to their PC counterparts, and you’ll find that some of the extraneous keys like “Home” and “End” are nowhere to be found on the Mac wireless keyboard or any keyboard included with a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. Longtime Mac users appreciate this simplicity, but newcomers to the Mac platform can be a bit confused or frustrated as they’ve come to rely on the instant-action buttons on PC keyboards, sometimes making the incorrect assumption that similar actions are impossible in Mac OS X.

But even without the dedicated buttons on a Mac keyboard, this does not mean you can’t perform the exact same function in Mac OS as what the Home and End buttons offer in Windows and Linux. Instead of pressing a single key though, on the Mac keyboard you press keyboard shortcut to achieve the same desired effect.

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All modern releases of Mac OS X include a powerful built-in version control system that allows a user to revert to any previously saved version of a file or document, assuming the app supports the version revision feature. This ability is often overlooked by Mac users, but it can be a real lifesaver when you’ve caught yourself having modified a file inadvertently, or discovered that recent changes to a document should be undone. In some sense, you can think of this feature like a file-level “Undo” feature included in OS X, and it works fairly similar to the Time Machine backup browser on the Mac.

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Following up the original seven movies, Apple has picked four new gorgeous videos for their “Shot on iPhone” video campaign, each of which shows off the cameras rather impressive video capture abilities.

A global batch, the videos are shot in Norway, Australia, Netherlands, and the USA, and demonstrate to great effect the fancier effects possible on iPhone camera, ranging from slow-motion to time-lapse, while some are just simply shot in the standard video capture mode. Each is beautiful as usual, with a few being particularly artsy, all dedicating half the screen time to the impressive video and ending with the “Shot on iPhone 6” text and an  Apple logo.

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Apple has released the sixth beta of OS X Yosemite 10.10.4 to Mac users who are participating in the developer and public beta programs.

The new build arrives versioned as 14E36b and is downloadable from the Mac App Store Updates function as usual, assuming the user is opted-in to receive beta software, or is currently running a prior beta version. Developers can also access the download through the Apple Developer Center.

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Mac users who choose to dabble in early releases of OS X El Capitan will find that dual booting the release alongside OS X Yosemite or OS X Mavericks is a better solution than simply updating their primary OS X installation. One easy way to do this is to partition the Macs hard drive and install OS X El Capitan onto that new separate partition, this will insure that OS X El Capitan 10.11 remains away from the stable build of OS X 10.10 or 10.9, and allows the user to boot between the Mac OS releases as they see fit.

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The Mac Calculator app may appear somewhat limited at first glance, but there are actually two other calculator modes contained within the app; a full featured scientific calculator, and a programmer calculator too.

Accessing the alternate calculators in OS X is really easy, but like many of the other interesting Calculator app features, it’s pretty easy to overlook or just not imagine to be there.

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