Apple – Blu-ray is no longer in demand on Macs

In a move that underscores the evolving landscape of media consumption, Apple has announced that Blu-ray support will no longer be available on Mac computers. This decision marks a significant shift in strategy for the tech giant and reflects broader trends in how consumers access and consume media content.

Blu-ray technology, once hailed as the pinnacle of high-definition optical media, has seen a gradual decline in relevance in recent years. With the rise of digital streaming services, cloud-based storage, and the ubiquity of high-speed internet connections, physical media formats like Blu-ray have become less essential for many consumers.

Apple's decision to phase out Blu-ray support on Macs aligns with the company's broader vision of embracing digital distribution and cloud-based services. By focusing on digital content delivery platforms such as iTunes, Apple Music, and Apple TV+, Apple aims to provide users with convenient access to a wide range of entertainment options while streamlining its product offerings.

There are several factors driving the decline of Blu-ray on Macs:

1. Streaming Dominance: The proliferation of streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ has fundamentally altered the way people consume movies and TV shows. With instant access to a vast library of content at their fingertips, many consumers prefer the convenience of streaming over purchasing physical media.

2. Digital Downloads: In addition to streaming, digital downloads have become increasingly popular among consumers who prefer to own their content digitally rather than on physical discs. Platforms like iTunes and Google Play offer a wide selection of movies, TV shows, and music that can be purchased and downloaded directly to devices for offline viewing.

3. Shift to Cloud Storage: The trend towards cloud-based storage and streaming further diminishes the need for physical media formats like Blu-ray. With cloud services such as iCloud and Google Drive, users can store, access, and stream their digital content across multiple devices seamlessly, eliminating the need for physical discs and optical drives.

4. Rise of Ultra HD Streaming: The emergence of 4K Ultra HD streaming has raised the bar for video quality, providing consumers with an alternative to Blu-ray for high-definition content. Streaming services now offer a growing selection of 4K HDR content, delivering stunning visuals and immersive audio without the need for physical discs.

While the phasing out of Blu-ray support on Macs may disappoint some users who still rely on physical media, it reflects Apple's commitment to embracing emerging technologies and evolving consumer preferences. As the digital revolution reshapes the entertainment landscape, Apple remains at the forefront, adapting its products and services to meet the changing needs of consumers in an increasingly digital world.

Apple’s Phil Schiller has said that Mac users are no longer questioning why the company’s computers don’t use Blu-ray. The comments come after Apple this week unveiled its new razor-thin iMac, a machine which doesn’t pack an optical drive at all.

Speaking to Time, Schiller said, “Blu-ray has come with issues unrelated to the actual quality of the movie that make [it] a complex and not-great technology…So for a whole plethora of reasons, it makes a lot of sense to get rid of optical discs in desktops and notebooks."

When asked whether customers had stopped asking about when Blu-ray was coming to Macs, Schiller simply replied, “Correct.” 

It’s perhaps no surprise that Apple has given Blu-ray a wide berth. Steve Jobs dubbed the Sony-led technology a “bag of hurt” in 2008 and the shift to HD rentals and downloads on iTunes means Apple is in a strong position when it comes to non-physical formats.

Via Time

Facebook passes 1bn users

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed the social network now attracted ovcer one billion active users per month

There are now more than 1 billion monthly users on Facebook, according to its founder, Mark Zuckerberg. The Facebook CEO posted the information in his FB profile this week, saying " This morning, there are more than 1bn people using Facebook actively each month."

“If you're reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honor of serving you. Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life. I am committed to working every day to make Facebook better for you, and hopefully together one day we will be able to connect the rest of the world too.”

Facebook released a series of statistics to conincide with the announcement, showwing that 600 million users access Facebook via smartphones and tablets device - up 48 million from 552 million in June this year. Since its creation,more than 140.3 billion 'Friend' connections have been made.

Source : rss[dot]feedsportal[dot]com

The Effects of Malware on Computer Users and What To Do To Prevent Malware Infections

Malware has become a serious issue over the last few years, infecting more computer systems on multiple platforms (Microsoft and Apple), As of yet there is no 100 percent effective way to stop all of these programs. This article will cover some basics of the effects of malware on computer users, warning signs and preventative measures.

The most common means of a malware program is no longer to steal information in the traditional virus sense (via keyloggers, monitoring web access, ect.) but is now primarily focused on voluntary submission of personal bank information for monetary gains. These programs use the annoyance factor and scare tactics to attempt to fool the common computer user into volunteering bank or credit card information to resolve the issues on their system, all while maintaing the appearance that this could possibly be a legitimate program.

How do you know whether you are infected or not? The most common is an unfamiliar program will suddenly appear claiming there is an issue with your computer system. Commonly malware disguised as a fake program utilizes several means of appearing legitimate, such as using logos or names of software or hardware components. Examples of this are XP Antivirus, Vista Anti-spyware, Hard Drive Diagnostics, and many variations. No legitimate program names its software like this because of copyright infringements and standard business practices. Even Microsoft, creators of the Windows platform, use their brand in their security software name (Microsoft Security Essentials) as do major third party antivirus providers.

Successful ways to prevent infection of this software is to become familiar with your protection software so that you know when it is updated and should a malware program trigger you can recognize it as such. You may use the hotkey Alt+F4 to shut the malware program down should it bypass your virus protection, hopefully preventing infection. There are also companies that sell Malware Protection and do a better job at stopping these programs than an anti-virus provider.

The most notable effect of malware is lost time and productivity, since they will attempt to halt all work being performed on the system, some even prevent their removal. If the program is successful at obtaining your bank information there could be monetary effects to the infection as well. Overall the most important thing to do if you are unsure is to call your local computer store and inquire about it. You will find that in most cases they are happy to give you some advice to prevent further system damage and if it turns out you need repairs done they will be able to assist you with that as well.

I hope this article has assisted in your search on malware. Thank you for reading!

Steve Baker
Business Owner and Computer Technician with over a decade of experience.
Expert PC
http://www.expertpcnc.com/

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Best DVD Ripping Software for Mac Users

DVDs are the optical disks that are used to carry astronomical data files. Mostly these disks are used by the video publishers. They can publish their videos to travel more. To spread these videos publishers always desire to publish DVDs. These DVDs are one of the most compatible portable storage media. You may contain a large collection of DVDs that may contain the movies and your favorite video contents like TV shows, National Geographic and Animal Planets documentaries or may these DVDs contain your favorite singer's live concert's videos. These disks are capable of storing data files with size of gigabytes. These are the blessings of technology that has facilitated us timely with storage media of such type when we have no other resources.

Even today these DVDs are still used for multiple purposes these are used for carrying data that comes from the other publisher and may also contain the home made videos. These disks are the essentials for carrying our precious data to utilize anywhere on any of the computers you want to play such DVDs. These also make easy to play your favorite videos on the large screen LCD TV that you may have to your TV room. These videos are nicely preferred to be saved on the optical disks so because these disks are supported by the DVD player that you have attached with your LCD.

Along with the benefits there are some limitations too that such DVDs encompass. These DVDs are the plastic made disks that can be damage or scratched on playing again, and again on the DVD ROMs. In such a situation, the data that are available on the disks cannot be accessed, and our videos cannot be played, or documents cannot be edited.

Today, micro technology has facilitated us with massive storage capacity so that we can manage our hundreds of gigabyte data on the hard disks.

Today we are capable of managing our data on the hard disk of the computer. We can easily extract the contents that are on available on the disks to our computer hard disks. This is called DVD ripping. Doing all this work manually will need much time and much of the user involvement that can be resolved via using an appropriate DVD ripper software application. This application wills DVD contents on the hard disk of the computer via limited involvement of the user.

You can use this application for your ease and can perform an automated extraction of the videos from the DVD. If you are a Mac user, you can use ISKYSOFT DVD ripper for Mac. It is a professional application that will make you free your data from the optical disks in a short time with remarkably less involvement from your side. It is capable of extracting data from the DVDs especially when you have high definition videos on the disks. DVD ripper Mac provides an easy to use interface makes exceedingly easy for you to manage your DVD ripping task effectively and quickly. Now you can play your Kung fu Panda high definition movie on your Mac device.

Alice wang is a experienced writer in areas of software, such as dvd ripper for mac and dvd ripper mac and so on. If you want to know more details about this kind of software, please contact with me.

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