Technology

Apple said in June it will bar all 32-bit applications from running on up-to-date Macs in little more than a year.

Although the Cupertino, Calif. company has been warning Mac owners when they run 32-bit applications since April and had told customers in June 2017 that the now-current macOS High Sierra would be among the last editions to support 32-bit apps, no banishment date had been set until this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

"This year, we're announcing that macOS Mojave is the last release to support 32-bit, at all," said Sebastien Marineau, vice president of software, during a presentation at WWDC in early June. Mojave, also known as macOS 10.14, will release in the fall, most likely in September or October. Developers and users have been testing beta versions of Mojave since last month.

Microsoft dropped a pretty clear hintabout this big news. After all, the latest addition to the Surface line has been over the past couple of months the subject of everything from early rumors to FCC approval to spec sheet leaks. And for the most part, the rumors were spot-on.

This is the Microsoft Surface Go. It represents the low end of the Surface line. The $399 starting price puts it well below the Surface Pro$799. More to the point, really, it puts the product firmly within spitting distance of the $329 9.7-inch iPad. Surface has long been an entirely different class, focused on creative professionals, with higher-end specs and peripherals, putting it more in line with the iPad Pro, perhaps.

The Surface Go is meant to be a kind of halfway point between the standard tablet and the convertible. Spec sacrifices were made in order to hit that price point, of course — though for most users the size is probably the most notable. That said, the 10-inch display might actually amount to a benefit, depending on what you&re looking for in a device.

When I met with the company, they pulled it out of a purse to make the big reveal. That depends on, among other things, how big your purse is, of course. For those still holding out hope for something akin to a Surface Phone, however, well, keep holding. The 1.15-pound Go may be the thinnest Surface yet, but a phone it ain&t.

As for the target demo, well, Microsoft clearly believes itjust about everyone. For those who are already locked in to the ecosystem, theresomething to be said for getting the full suite of apps on a smaller but still relatively premium piece of hardware that includes 4GB/8GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of storage. There also are some familiar software touches, like Windows Hello facial recognition for log-in.

Like the iPad itself, however, I probably wouldn&t recommend the thing for those looking to do a lot of typing or other office work. There are plenty of cheap Windows laptops that will do the trick. Remember those $189 Chromebook competitors the company announced last year

The combination of the Go keyboard case and the smaller footprint means it won&t be ideal for typing. And while a Microsoft rep attempted to convince me that itpossible to actually use it on onelap, letjust say that itless than ideal. A planeseat-back tray table, on the other hand, is a pretty solid application. And the nine hours of battery life should get you through most flights. Of course, the keyboard case isn&t bundled with the Surface just yet, so that will raise the price another $99.

One of the more interesting tidbits here: The proprietary Surface port is still here. That flies in the face of some of the early rumors and the larger trend toward USB-C-only charging. USB-C can still be used to charge, but the company tells me they wanted to keep the Surface Connect on board for legacy reasons. A lot of people are on their second or third Surface already, and some are apparently doubling up on devices.

The Surface Go arrives August 6, sporting Windows 10 S — a pretty clear indication that the company is also heavily targeting education here. Again, the price point will likely be a deal killer for public schools, though perhaps those who have the funds for an iPad per student will welcome the competition.

For the rest of us who aren&t interested in the limitations of 10 S, users can upgrade to the standard version of the operating with a &one-time switch.&

Itgoing to be an exciting year for photographers — finally — as both Canon and Nikon are reportedly planning full-frame mirrorless cameras for debut before the end of 2018. Itgood news for consumers, because it means that both companies have been investing heavily in the next phase of digital photography, and that competition in the mirrorless world is about to heat up.

Photography is a difficult space right now because smartphones have been eating up the low-end and increasingly the mid-range market. Point-and-shoots are effectively extinct, and DSLRs are reserved for serious shooters — though those occupying the middle ground, such as Fujifilm with its lively X series and Olympus with its PENs and OM-Ds, have been prospering modestly.

Mirrorless cameras, which basically do away with the bulky mechanical bits of a single-lens reflex camera but have virtually no drawbacks from their absence, allow for a more compact camera that still seriously outperforms phones.

They seem quite clearly to be a big part of the future of photography, which is why every company has been investing heavily into the technology. Early results weren&t great, and it was clear that Canon and Nikon in particular have had their priorities divided: DSLR sales have been dropping, but flagship full-frame (that is, with sensors the size of 35mm film) DSLRs still represented the best of the camera world, embraced especially by professionals.

But inroads have been made, especially by Sony and Fujifilm, into even that professional space. The Alpha and X-Pro series have shown that mirrorless cameras can perform at least as well as DSLRs, and boy are they easier to carry around.

So, faced with either innovating and cannibalizing their own sales, or allowing competitors to eat their lunch, Canon and Nikon have chosen to do the former… after a couple of years of the latter, anyway. We&ve seen the early results from Canon in the form of the mid-range M50, but it seems Nikon has kept theirs under wraps.

Canon Rumors and Nikon Rumors report that the companies both plan to sell full-frame mirrorless cameras by the end of the year — in Nikoncase maybe even by the end of the month.

Going full-frame means several things:

• They believe their mirrorless systems are good enough to compete with SLRs at a professional level
• They believe professionals are ready to make the transition to mirrorless
• They are ready to do so themselves, cannibalizing and eventually winding down SLR sales

That last point is likely the scariest for them. These are companies that have been making SLR cameras for the better part of a century — itnot just part of their core competency but key to their identity as camera makers. This is essentially a point of no return for them. Sure, SLRs will stick around for a while longer, but sooner or later the burden of improving and manufacturing them as sales decline and mirrorless systems take over will prove too much.

What about the cameras themselves There are supposedly two from each company. Nikonhave lots of rumored details, the most important of which are that there will be one high and one low megapixel model, in-body stabilization (allows for smaller lenses), a new lens mount and naturally an electronic viewfinder. Less is known (or rumored anyhow) about the Canons, but they will likely share many of these characteristics.

Don&t expect a lower cost to accompany this shift. These cameras will likely cost in the $2,500-$4,000 range, just like the SLRs they&re replacing.

This is also a chance to really go to town on the features and shooting experience; both companies need to make a big impression, not just with the customers they&ve lost to rival systems but to their own loyal shooters. So there may be other major changes, such as to the interface, layout and so on. Expect lots of digital integration like wireless tethering as well — better than the junk they&ve been foisting on us for the last few years.

Will this reverse the tide of smartphones taking over the photography world No, but itheartening to see these rather inertia-bound companies finally embrace the future. I love SLRs, and I plan to shoot on them forever in one way or another, but as an occasional serious photographer I&ll be glad to give these new systems a try.

I&ve asked both companies about the rumors, but I doubt they&ll comment. On the other hand, if the rumors are true, we won&t have long to wait before they turn into facts.