The 1999 movie “Pirates of Silicon Valley” offers a fun dramatization of the rivalry between Apple and Microsoft, from their origin stories at the beginning of the Personal Computing era, through their different philosophies and products. And the best part is, even though it’s Hollywood, it’s actually reasonably accurate!

Pirates of Silicon Valley is loosely based on the book “Fire in the Valley” about the birth of the PC industry, and even if the movie is nearly 25 years old, it’s still entertaining. It is also fun to consider if a movie like this were to be remade for the current era, since both Apple and Microsoft are in very different positions now compared to in 1999.

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Ever thought about converting that dusty old original Macintosh in your garage into a modern Mac? Probably not, but this person did, and they have documented the entire project of converting an original 1984 Macintosh into a modern Mac capable of running a much more modern operating system of Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Of course if someone were to repeat this project today, they could aim to be running MacOS Sonoma (and have a better fitting screen).

The project may be over a decade old, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still intriguing and fun, or it could even be used as a blueprint for a modern rendition of this project.

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WhatsApp may be one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, but a curious aspect of WhatsApp is that for a long time it has compressed images and photos, shrinking their size considerably and reducing their quality. That is changing, however, and WhatsApp now allows you to select an optional HD quality photo option, allowing you and your friends to send and receive HD high quality and high definition photos back and forth.

The ability to send HD high resolution photos on WhatsApp is available at any time when you’re sending a photo through the WhatsApp messenger, whether you’re on iPhone or Android. Let’s check out how this feature works so you can utilize it yourself when sharing images.

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As you may already know, Apple announced a special event for September 12 which is widely expected to be the iPhone 15 debut.

On Apple’s special event page, they have a neat little graphic of what looks like colorful sand blowing around titanium in the shape of the Apple logo , and I copied that image, upscaled it, and turned it into a 4k resolution wallpaper for your devices, so if you feel like sprucing up your wallpaper, give it a go.

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More and more people are concerned with Air Quality Index scores of locations, whether it is their own city, or a destination they intend to travel to. Given that bad AQI scores can directly negatively impact life and quality of life, it is reasonable to want to see what the AQI is for various locations, and going further, to even see air quality at a map level, overlayed on a location or entire region.

Let’s walk through how you can see the Air Quality Index and an AQI map right on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

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MacOS Sonoma beta 7 has been released for Mac users participating in the developer beta testing program for macOS system software. The latest Sonoma beta continues to refine the upcoming Mac operating system, and includes over 100 new screen savers that can transition into wallpapers.

The developer beta build arrived first, and was soon followed by the same build being offered to public beta testers. MacOS Sonoma beta 7 carries the build of 23A5337a, which matches the build of just released Sonoma public beta 5.

Though beta system software is intended for advanced users and developers, any user who is interested in doing so can install MacOS Sonoma beta onto any MacOS Sonoma compatible Mac by participating in the beta testing program.

Additionally, Apple has released iOS 17 beta 8, iPadOS 17 beta 8, watchOS 10 beta 8, and tvOS 17 beta 8, along with the accompanying public betas for those system software versions.

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Apple has released iOS 17 public beta 6 for iPhone and iPadOS 17 public beta 6 for iPad. The 6th public betas match the same build number as the concomitant iOS 17 beta 8 released for developers, both carrying build 21A5326a.

Additionally, new public betas are available for watchOS and tvOS 17, but MacOS Sonoma has not yet received a beta update.

Though beta system software is aimed at advanced users, installing iOS 17 public beta is possible for any iOS 17 compatible iPhone. Likewise, installing iPadOS 17 public beta is possible by any user with a compatible iPad.

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Apple has released iOS 17 beta 8 for iPhone, and iPadOS 17 beta 8 for iPad, for users who are engaged in the developer beta testing program.

Typically a developer beta comes out first, and is soon followed by the same build matched as a public beta release. iOS 17 beta 8 carries a build of 21A5326a.

Beta system software is intended for developers and advanced users, but any user can install iOS 17 beta on any compatible iPhone, or iPadOS 17 beta onto iPad on any compatible iPad.

Additionally, Apple has released new betas for tvOS 17, watchOS 10, while a new beta for macOS Sonoma beta is not yet available.

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Apple has announced a special event to be held on Tuesday, September 12, at 10 AM PDT. The event will be held at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus, in Cupertino California, and will be live-streamed for all curious.

While Apple hasn’t declared the purpose of the event, it’s widely speculated and assumed that the September 12 event will be where the iPhone 15 series launches, and we’ll likely also get a final specific release date for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, MacOS Sonoma, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17. There’s also speculation that the September event will feature the launch of updated Apple Watch models too.

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CopyClip is a free and simple clipboard manager for Mac that lives in your menu bar, storing all of the content or items that you have copied or cut into your clipboard, which you can then quickly recall and paste wherever is needed.

If you’re unfamiliar with clipboard managers, they can significantly improve your Mac productivity by storing a history of all copied content, including text, URLs/links, and even files. Unlike the default macOS clipboard, which only retains the most recent item copied or cut, a clipboard manager allows you to access many copied items and things that you have copied historically. You can then seamlessly switch between items in your clipboard for whatever task you’re doing, whether you’re writing, doing research, coding, or general computing, and extend the copy and paste feature far beyond it’s default simplicity. CopyClip is one such clipboard manager tool, which is what we’re discussing here.

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Some Mac users who also work with Windows, or who have drives, network shares, or other volumes that are from the Windows world, may occasionally come across LNK files with a .lnk file extension.

If you’re wondering what these files are and how you can open them on the Mac, you should continue reading so that you better understand what an LNK file is, and it’s relevance to the Mac.

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Your iPad can serve as a handy fitness accessory, despite not being intended for that purpose at all, at least in the same way something like Apple Watch was made. But thanks to Stage Manager, you can easily multitask on the iPad by having multiple apps open on screen at the same time. Now, if you choose apps for Stage Manager that help your workout or fitness routine, you’ve got a handy little console for exercising and working out, and it’s actually pretty great!

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As you may have noticed by now, Apple Music on iPhone defaults to autoplaying music of similar songs and plays them when a particular song, track listing, or playlist has finished. With Autoplay, the music just continues playing onward infinitely from your iPhone. Great, right? Well, not always.

Not every user is a fan of the autoplaying music feature on iPhone Music app however, so if you want to turn this off you can do so with a settings adjustment.

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Perhaps you’ve come across a situation where you have an audio file, YouTube link, or video that you would like to transcribe the audio of that file into text, right on your Mac. That’s exactly what MacWhisper does, a free app which makes easy work of transcribing audio files into text using technology from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.

With MacWhisper, you can transcribe audio files or video files into text transcripts easily with just a drag and drop. Whether you have a podcast file, a YouTube video link or URL, a captured video of a lecture, a recording of a meeting from Zoom, or even a voicemail or song, you can quickly and accurately transcribe that audio into text, right on the Mac.

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Amazon is back to offering the 15″ M2 MacBook Air at a great discount, knocking $200 off the retail price on both the base 256GB model for just $1099 and the upgraded 512GB storage model for just $1299. The deal is available in all colors, including Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray, and Silver.

The base model MacBook Air 15″ features the excellent M2 chip, 15.3″ Liquid Retina display, 1080p camera, MagSafe Charger, two USB-C / Thunderbolt ports, Touch ID, backlit keyboard, and fantastic battery life.

M2 MacBook Air 15″ base model with 256 GB storage and 8 GB RAM:

• 15″ MacBook Air M2 – 256GB – Starlight – $1099 (from $1299)
• 15″ MacBook Air M2 – 256GB – Midnight – $1099 (from $1299)
• 15″ MacBook Air M2 – 256GB – Space Gray – $1099 (from $1299)
• 15″ MacBook Air M2 – 256GB – Silver – $1099 (Reduced from $1299)

M2 MacBook Air 15″ upgraded model with 512 GB storage and 8 GB RAM is available for $200 off in select colors:

• 15″ MacBook Air M2 – 512GB – Midnight – $1299 (from $1499)
• 15″ MacBook Air M2 – 512GB – Starlight – $1299 (from $1499)
• 15″ MacBook Air M2 – 512GB – Space Grey – $1299 (from $1499)
• 15″ MacBook Air M2 – 512GB – Silver – $1299 (from $1499)

Stock changes quickly at Amazon, so if you’re looking to enjoy the discounted price on any of the 15″ MacBook Air models, shop quickly.

If the M2 MacBook Air 15″ isn’t what you’re looking for, Amazon continues to offer the M1 MacBook Air 13″ for just $749.99:

• M1 MacBook Air 13″ – 8GB RAM / 256GB SSD for $749.99 (from $999)/li>

The M1 MacBook Air features the speedy and energy efficient M1 chip, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, 13″ LCD screen, Backlit Keyboard, FaceTime HD Camera, and Touch ID, and is available in three color options of silver, space gray, and rose gold.

FTC: OSXDaily is an affiliate partner with Amazon, meaning if you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment which goes towards keeping the site running.

An unusual and rare Mac error may come across for some MacOS users when using BBEdit, or perhaps even other apps, that says “The application appears to have been tampered with.” This appears to be some variation of the “app is damaged and can’t be opened” error message that some Mac users may occasionally see.

If you experience this error message, or one like it, you can usually fix the problem relatively easily.

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Amazon continues to offer one of the best deals out there for new Macs, with an enormous 25% discount on the M1 MacBook Air bringing the price down to $749.99, knocking $250 off the base price of $999.

The M1 MacBook Air features a 13″ Retina Display, M1 chip, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, FaceTime HD Camera, and Touch ID, and is available in silver, space gray, and rose gold.

• M1 MacBook Air 13″ – 8GB RAM / 256GB SSD for $749.99 (from $999)

Why pay the full price of $999 from Apple when you can get the exact same MacBook Air for $249 off the retail price? This is a no brainer for anyone shopping for an M1 MacBook Air.

OSXDaily is an affiliate partner with Amazon, meaning if you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment which goes towards keeping the site running.

Apple has released the 5th public beta versions of iOS 17, macOS Sonoma, and iPadOS 17, to users who are involved in the public beta testing program for Apple system software.

The fifth public beta of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 carries the build of 21A5319a, which matches the 7th developer beta of the same system software. Additionally, the 5th public beta of macOS Sonoma has the build of 23A5328b, which matches the 6th developer beta release too.

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