04-18-24 -

AirPlay Now Available in 60+ IHG Hotels in North America
If you stay in one of the 60+ appropriately equipped hotels on your next trip, you may be able to use AirPlay from your iPhone or iPad to share content with the big-screen TV in your room.Read original article

04-17-24 -

Google Raises Privacy Bar with Its Crowdsourced Tracking Service
Google’s new Find My Device network works nearly identically to Apple’s Find My network with a few exceptions: Google’s design offers more anti-stalking and privacy features than Apple.

04-17-24 -

The Ineffable Importance of Undersea Cable Maintenance
This must-read from The Verge weaves background about the undersea fiber optic connections that make the modern Internet possible with the story of what one maintenance ship went through repairing cables in the aftermath of the 2011 undersea earth...

04-16-24 -

Apple to Allow Used Parts in Some iPhone Repairs Later This Year
Apple has announced that, later this year, it will become possible to repair select iPhones with used parts harvested from other devices. But the changes don’t go far enough for many in the Right to Repair movement.Read original article

04-15-24 -

Bookends 15.0.1
Maintenance release for the recently upgraded reference management tool. ($74.99 new, $49.99 upgrade, free update for version 15 users, 113.5 MB, macOS 10.13+)

04-15-24 -

Listen Later Adds Features Requested by TidBITS Readers
The Listen Later text-to-podcast service now features outro music after each podcast episode and provides a Chrome extension for easier submission. Also, if a paywall is blocking you from converting an article to a podcast, TidBITS readers have de...

04-15-24 -

34 Years of TidBITS and New Mac App Discounts for Members
It’s our 34th anniversary today, and Adam Engst marks the occasion by sharing some thoughts and stats about where TidBITS is now, along with new discounts on apps from the Ukrainian companies Belight Software and MacPaw.

04-13-24 -

OmniFocus 4.2
Introduces new custom perspective rules for Pro edition users. ($74.99 new, free update, 31.6 MB, macOS 13+)

04-13-24 -

Pages 14, Numbers 14, and Keynote 14
Adds support for selecting multiple noncontiguous portions of text to all three iWork apps. (Free, various sizes, macOS 13+)

04-13-24 -

Pixelmator Pro 3.5.8
Improves support for vector PDFs, including those created using Apple apps like Safari, Keynote, and Pages. ($49.99 new, free update, 644.3 MB, macOS 12+)

04-13-24 -

Solve Credit Cards Not Appearing in 1Password 8 Autofill Pop-Up
Annoyed by several of his credit cards not showing up in 1Password’s autofill pop-up, Adam Engst spelunked through the card metadata and found the offending field.

04-11-24 -

Apple Plugs Apple Watch Ultra 2 Usage in Long-Distance Relay Race
Apple has posted an account of a team using the Apple Watch Ultra 2 (and iPhone 15 Pro Max) during The Speed Project, an unofficial, unsanctioned relay race from Santa Monica to Las Vegas. Adam Engst wonders how well the technology really worked.

04-09-24 -

Audio Hijack 4.4
Audio-recording workflow app brings a new audio capture backend and various improvements. ($64 new, free update, 37.1 MB, macOS 14+)

04-01-24 -

No TidBITS Issue on 8 April 2024 for the Solar Eclipse
We’re taking the next email issue of TidBITS off to view the total solar eclipse, although we’ll continue to publish articles on our website. You can look forward to the next email issue on 15 April 2024.

04-01-24 -

Do You Use It? Versions
This week's Do You Use It? poll asks how often you use the macOS versioning feature, which was in the news recently due to a bug in macOS 14.4 Sonoma.Read original article

04-01-24 -

Canva Acquires the Affinity Suite of Professional Design Apps
Canva specializes in easy-to-use online design tools with collaborative features, whereas the Affinity apps offer a powerful but inexpensive alternative to Adobe’s Creative Cloud. The acquisition could bring more collaborative capabilities to th...

04-01-24 -

Using Apples iCloud Passwords Outside Safari
Password managers like 1Password have long provided a deep set of features for creating, storing, and entering passwords and other confidential information. The iCloud Passwords extension for Chromium browsers makes Apple’s built-in password man...

03-29-24 -

ChronoSync 11.0.2
Adds workarounds to address changes in macOS 14.4 Sonoma that broke File Provider support. ($49.99 new, free update, 100.1 MB, macOS 10.14+)

03-29-24 -

Hazel 5.3.3
Maintenance release for the file automation and cleanup utility. ($42 new, free update, 22.3 MB, macOS 10.14+)

03-29-24 -

Airfoil 5.12
Wireless audio broadcasting app brings a new audio capture backend and a warning about updating. ($35 new, free update, 39.7 MB, macOS 14.4+)

03-26-24 -

Beware of Attacks Using Password Reset Request Notifications
Brian Krebs covers an attack that exploits a vulnerability in the Apple ID password reset process to deluge users with requests to reset the password. Consider yourself forewarned.Read original article

03-26-24 -

Safari 17.4.1
Patches an image-processing vulnerability in Ventura and Monterey. (Free, various sizes, macOS 12+)

03-26-24 -

WWDC 2024 Scheduled for June 1014
Mark your calendars—Apple has announced that its Worldwide Developer Conference will kick off on 10 June 2024. Will the keynote bring an AI-powered version of Siri?

03-25-24 -

macOS 14.4.1 Sonoma and macOS 13.6.6 Ventura Fix Bugs and Vulnerabilities
Apple doesn’t say what has changed for macOS 13.6.6 Ventura, but the bugs fixed in macOS 14.4.1 Sonoma have bedeviled users for the last two weeks.

03-25-24 -

Do You Use It? TidBITS Readers Prefer Overcast to Apple Podcasts
The results of our poll asking which podcast apps TidBITS readers prefer reveal that Marco Arment’s Overcast is by far the most popular, well ahead of Apple Podcasts. No other podcast app broke double digits.

03-25-24 -

Apple Launches Documentation Site for Manuals, Specs, and Downloads
Apple has unveiled a new Documentation site that lets users browse for information about Apple hardware and (older) software. It’s a big win, especially considering the sorry state of the Apple website’s search engine, but some parts of it sti...

03-22-24 -

Lunar 6.7.3
Provides more accurate nits readings for Apple displays and prepare for the next version of macOS. ($23 new, free update, 22.2 MB, macOS 11+)

03-22-24 -

Fantastical 3.8.13 and Cardhop 2.2.17
Adds a prompt to alert you to a change in a local copy of a calendar event. ($56.99 annual subscription, free update, 66.3/29.9 MB, macOS 11+)

03-22-24 -

Apple Releases iOS and iPadOS 17.4.1 and 16.7.7, and visionOS 1.1.1
Release notes for these updates list “important bug fixes and security updates” or just “important security fixes” so they probably address one or more zero-day security vulnerabilities.

03-22-24 -

US Files Antitrust Lawsuit against Apple, Alleging iPhone Monopoly
The US Justice Department and 16 states have filed an antitrust lawsuit accusing Apple of maintaining an illegal iPhone monopoly based on its practices in super apps, cloud gaming, messaging apps, smartwatches, and digital wallets. The big questio...

03-21-24 -

Unite 5.2
Site-specific browser introduces a revamped App Library. ($29.99 new, free update, 17.9 MB, macOS 12+)

03-21-24 -

Alfred 5.5
Brings new workflow components and improvements to the keyboard-driven launcher. (£34 new, free update, 5.3 MB, macOS 10.14+)

03-21-24 -

BBEdit 15.0.2
Maintenance update for the venerable text editor focused on bug fixes. ($59.99 new, free update, 29.6 MB, macOS 11+)

03-21-24 -

Retrobatch 2.1
Adds new Lookup Table (LUT), Tile Chop, and Camera Capture nodes to the bulk image processing utility. ($29.99 new, free update, 54.8 MB, macOS 12+)

03-18-24 -

Do You Use It? Podcast Apps
This week's Do You Use It? poll asks what podcast app you prefer, Apple’s Podcasts or one from an independent developer. Or do you not listen to podcasts at all?Read original article

03-18-24 -

Follow These Steps to Clear Space on Your Mac
Apple no longer makes it easy to tell precisely how much free space is available on your Mac, but you know when you don’t have enough. Adam Engst offers (and explains) 21 simple steps to clear space quickly.

03-15-24 -

Parallels Desktop 19.3
Fixes a bug that prevented the virtualization software from launching on Macs with Apple silicon. ($99.99 Standard Edition, free update for version 19 licenses, macOS 10.14.6+)

03-15-24 -

Little Snitch 5.7.4
Resolves an issue Automatic Profile Switching problem with macOS 14.4 Sonoma. ($45 new, free update, 32.2 MB, macOS 11+)

03-15-24 -

Audio Hijack 4.3.2
Maintenance update for the audio-recording workflow app. ($64 new, free update, 37.1 MB, macOS 11+)

03-15-24 -

Piezo 1.9
Introduces new, simplified audio capture backend to the audio recording tool. ($19 new, free update, 24.5 MB, macOS 14.4+)

03-15-24 -

Walmart Sells M1 MacBook Air for $699
The M1 MacBook Air is back! After seemingly being dropped by Apple after the launch of the M3 MacBook Air, Walmart has picked up the base model of the M1 MacBook Air to sell at a low price.Read original article

03-14-24 -

Newspaper Cartoonists Rely on Digital Tools, but Not as Youd Expect
You might think that modern cartoonists would create their strips using digital drawing tools, but in fact, many still rely on traditional pens and brushes. Glenn Fleishman explored the surprising way that cartoonists meld the old with the new as ...

03-14-24 -

The Last Man Standing in the Floppy Disk Business
Floppy disks may not be seeing a revival like vinyl records, but they’re still in demand by hobbyists and manufacturers—medical, aviation, embroidery—that created long-lived machines during the heyday of the floppy. Learn more from the man s...

03-13-24 -

Microsoft Office for Mac 16.83
Update focused on improvements and fixes for Outlook. ($149.99 new for one-time purchase, $99.99/$69.99 annual subscription options, free update, macOS 10.15+)

03-13-24 -

GarageBand 10.4.11
Addresses an important security vulnerability. (Free, 855.3 MB, macOS 13.5+)

03-11-24 -

Text-to-Podcast Service Listen Later Sponsoring TidBITS
Please welcome our latest long-term TidBITS sponsor, Listen Later. Email an article URL to this innovative Internet service, and it cleanly converts the article text into a custom podcast episode in your favorite podcast app.

03-11-24 -

Mimestream 1.3
Brings a few handy features and bug fixes to the Gmail-specific email app. ($49.99 new, free update, 12.2 MB, macOS 12+)

03-11-24 -

Federico Viticcis Hacked-Together Mac-iPad Convertible
In a stunning feat of hackery, Federico Viticci of MacStories removed the screen from a MacBook Air and replaced it with a detachable iPad for the best of both worlds… and a better Mac Virtual Display for the Vision Pro.Read original article

03-11-24 -

Vision Pros Single-User Nature Hampers Apples Healthcare Aspirations
Apple is making much of the opportunities for the Vision Pro in healthcare, but it’s hard to see them making a significant impact while the Vision Pro remains a single-user device both digitally and physically.Read original article

03-09-24 -

Quicken 7.6.1
Improves Tags and Categories lists and brings more Home Dashboard card customization. ($59.88/$83.88/$119.88 annual subscription, free update, 3.2 MB, macOS 11+)