All Things Apple Posts

Macworld TL;DR: Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus for Windows runs inside Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, or Boot Camp on a Mac without a second Microsoft 365 subscription, and a lifetime license is on sale for $54.99 (reg. $249.99). There’s a cheap way to get Microsoft Office running on the Windows side of a Mac, and it doesn’t involve paying for a second Microsoft 365 subscription on top of whatever the Mac already runs. Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus for Windows installs once inside Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, or a Boot Camp partition, and a lifetime license for one PC, virtual or physical, is on sale for $54.99 (reg. $249.99). Running Windows through Parallels or Boot Camp already means keeping two operating systems working side by side, and adding a subscription-based Office on top of that turns one Mac into two ongoing software bills. A one-time license keeps the cost fixed no matter how long the Windows partition stays in use, which matters for anyone who only opens Windows a few times a month for a specific app or workflow. What’s included with the Windows license Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and Access all activate with the license and run natively within the Windows installation, just as they would on a Windows-native machine. Dark mode carries over from the subscription version of Office. Excel and Access include the same data analysis and database management tools found in Microsoft 365, useful for budgets or spreadsheets built on the Windows side of the Mac. Licensing is tied to the Windows PC or VM itself rather than to a Microsoft account, so the license stays in place after a macOS update, a Parallels upgrade, or a fresh Boot Camp partition. Redemption happens within 7 days of purchase, with the license key and download link arriving by email. Security patches continue for as long as Microsoft supports the release. Get Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus for Windows on sale for $54.99. Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus for Windows: Lifetime LicenseSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change.

A new post on Apple’s Security Research blog details the fascinating tech, architecture, and thinking behind the iPhone 18 Pro’s new Reference Image camera mode. Here are the details more…

The wait is over. Apple TV subscribers can now stream the first episode of Slow Horses’ new season, just hours after the platform announced the show has been confirmed for two more seasons. Watch the trailer for the new season below. more…

India’s Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has reportedly escalated its probe into whether Apple should be held responsible for an iOS 18 update that allegedly caused display and microphone issues on some iPhones. Here are the details. more…

The iPhone 18 Pro models support Apple Reference Image, a way to verify that a photo was taken with an iPhone and hasn't been edited. Apple says it's a method to prove that something actually happened and wasn't AI-generated, likening the feature to a digital film negative. Apple Reference Image offers a trustworthy, scalable guarantee that a reference image is what it claims to be: a real photograph, captured by a real sensor in an iPhone camera, at a specific time. It sets a new standard for verifiable digital photography. Apple introduced Apple Reference Image when debuting the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ and Pro Max, and today the company shared more information on how the feature works on its Security Research blog. Apple Reference Image boots the camera sensor into a specialized reference mode. The mode instructs the sensor to cryptographically sign pixel data immediately after capture, and the sensor firmware is prevented from modifying the data. Other authentication systems don't sign images until the end of the software processing pipeline, which Apple says leaves images vulnerable to tampering attacks. Apple Reference Image creates a "secure digital negative" protected from software compromise alongside a standard editable photo. The negative is stored on-device and includes pixel data, sensor metadata, and cryptographic timestamps with lower and upper bounds. When a user decides to "develop" the negative for verification, it is sent unprocessed to Private Cloud Compute. Private Cloud Compute runs the steps needed to render the image in a secure, private, and verifiable environment. Apple says the feature resists data injection attacks, compromised operating systems, hardware attacks, and cryptographic attacks. Apple believes Apple Reference Image is the only image provenance system with quantum-secure defenses. In case the system is breached, there is a revocation option. Private Cloud Compute calculates a confidence score for each image, and Apple can revoke individual photos or an entire sensor if fraud is detected. To safeguard photographers, Apple Reference Image avoids using an explicit, public credential for photographers, and it prevents public association between different photos taken by the same sensor. The confidentiality of the image is protected, including from Apple. Apple Reference Image is opt-in and is limited to the Main camera sensor. More information on the ins and outs of Apple Reference Image can be found in Apple's full blog post.This article, "Apple Details How Reference Image Proves a Photo is Real" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums