12-20-25 -

Quicken Classic 8.4
Updates the financial management app with a sackful of handy improvements and bug fixes. ($71.88/$95.88/$131.88 annual subscription, free update, 3.2 MB, macOS 12+)

12-20-25 -

Parallels Desktop 26.2
Maintenance update for the virtualization software focused primarily on bug fixes. ($99.99 Standard Edition, free update, 5.4 MB, macOS 13+)

12-18-25 -

Compromised Apple Gift Card Saga Ends Well, but Risks Remain
Paris Buttfield-Addison has regained access to his Apple Account after a tainted gift card locked him out. But his saga highlights serious risks associated with Apple Gift Cards that should make everyone think twice before giving or redeeming them.

12-17-25 -

Jeff Carlson Reveals How Cell Carriers Handle Disasters and Mega-Events
From the Las Vegas F1 race to the Pacific Northwest's devastating floods, Jeff Carlson's CNET articles reveal the trucks, trailers, drones, and dedicated spectrum that keep first responders connected when it matters most.Read original article

12-17-25 -

1Password App Zeroed Out by Failed Update
A failed update left 1Password’s app package empty on multiple Macs, rendering it non-functional. The good news: reinstalling 1Password resolved the issue with no data loss.

12-17-25 -

Compromised Apple Gift Card Leads to Apple Account Lockout
After trying to redeem an Apple Gift Card, Apple developer and author Paris Buttfield-Addison was locked out of his Apple Account with no explanation. Despite extensive media coverage and contact from Apple’s Executive Relations, his account rem...

12-15-25 -

TidBITS 2025 Holiday HiatusSee You in 2026!
We will be taking a few weeks off to spend time with family and friends over the holidays. You can expect the next email issue of TidBITS on 5 January 2026. Thank you for reading TidBITS, and we hope our articles have enriched your year!

12-15-25 -

How the Music Apps Skip When Shuffling Option Can Help (or Hinder) Holiday Pl...
After 30 frustrating minutes trying to fix a broken holiday playlist, Adam Engst finally found the culprit: a “Skip when shuffling” option he had enabled last year and forgotten about. Is there a better way to silence seasonal music when the h...

12-15-25 -

TunnelBear 5.8
Subscription-based VPN app for the Mac makes changes for its free user tier (Free with subscription options for unlimited data, 51.1 MB, macOS 11+)

12-15-25 -

Mimestream 1.9.3
Adds adaptive cache eviction to reduce disk space utilization. ($49.99 annual subscription, free update, 12.2 MB, macOS 12+)

12-15-25 -

Carbon Copy Cloner 7.1.4
Maintenance update with improvements and bug fixes for the drive cloning and backup utility. ($49.99 new, free update, 27.8 MB, macOS 13+)

12-15-25 -

Bookends 15.2.3
Reference management tool adds Apple Intelligence capabilities to the PDF Autocomplete feature. ($74.99 new, free update, 125.9 MB, macOS 10.13+)

12-15-25 -

Alfred 5.7.2
Overhauls the keyboard-driven launcher's File Search fallback ranking. (£34 new, free update, 5.7 MB, macOS 10.14+)

12-15-25 -

Acorn 8.3.3
Brings enhancements and bug fixes to the image editor. ($29.99 new, free update, 87 MB, macOS 14+)

12-12-25 -

OS 26.2 Adds Reminder Alarms, Edge Light, Podcast Chapters, and Enhanced Safe...
Adam Engst walks you through Apple’s OS 26.2 updates, highlighting new alarms in Reminders, auto-generated chapters in Podcasts, Enhanced Safety Alerts, and Edge Light for Mac video calls—along with urgent fixes for two actively exploited W...

12-12-25 -

A Suspicious Encounter Abroad Highlights iPhone Security Features
Was it a sophisticated iPhone hack, a pickpocketing distraction, or just a weird coincidence? After a TidBITS reader’s suspicious encounter with a lost tourist, we examine the security of modern iPhones and offer practical tips for travelers who...

12-08-25 -

Remembering David Lerner of Tekserve
David Lerner, remembered by many for his “May You have 1000 Backups and Never Need One” email signature, has died at 72. Read Sam Roberts’s obituary in the New York Times; we revisit his and Tekserve’s appearances in TidBITS.

12-08-25 -

TidBITS Needs Your Support in 2026
We don’t peddle your personal information to advertisers or rely on deep-pocketed corporate backers, so would you contribute to keep TidBITS vibrant in the next year?

12-07-25 -

Find My Saves Dave Barrys iPadTwice
Apparently, humor columnist Dave Barry’s brain is full, causing him to leave his iPad in public places—well, one public place—but Find My helped him recover it not just once, but twice. It’s a good reminder to turn on Find My and use Apple...

12-07-25 -

Hidden Setting Controls What Happens When You Tap a Call in the Phone App
In iOS 26’s Phone app, Unified view lets you tap a call to show contact info instead of initiating a callback. A hidden setting lets you switch that tap-a-call behavior back to a callback—but it appears only when in Unified view and isn’t av...

12-05-25 -

Apple Executive Departures Could Signal Welcome Changes
Apple’s hectic week of executive transitions could have more profound impacts than just reshuffling the org chart. With John Giannandrea retiring and Alan Dye departing, Apple has an opportunity to fix Siri and refine Liquid Glass.

12-05-25 -

SoundSource 6.0
Major upgrade for the audio control utility brings grouped output devices and integrated AirPlay streaming. ($49 new, $25 upgrade, 51.6 MB, macOS 15+)

12-05-25 -

Default Folder X 6.2.3
Adds open Finder windows to the Open/Save dialog utility's Quick Search results. ($39.95 new, free update, 28.6 MB, macOS 10.13+)

12-05-25 -

Fantastical 4.1.5 and Cardhop 2.4.3
Adds Control Center controls for both the calendar and contact apps. ($56.99 annual subscription new, free update, various sizes, macOS 12+)

12-05-25 -

Cocktail 19.3
General-purpose maintenance utility updated with support for macOS 26 Tahoe. ($29 new, free update, 2.1 MB, macOS 26+)

12-04-25 -

Retrobatch 2.3.1
Updates the re-encoding behavior of the Delete Metadata node. ($29.99/$49.99 new, free update, 58.7 MB, macOS 12+)

12-03-25 -

BusyCal 2025.4.2 and BusyContacts 2025.4.3
Updates the calendar and contact apps with improvements and bug fixes. ($49.99 new for each, free update, various sizes, macOS 11.5+)

12-02-25 -

Mellel 6.5.5
Collects controls to adjust the user interface appearance and customize colors in a new Appearance tab in Settings. ($69.99 new, free update, 107.6 MB, macOS 10.13+)

11-30-25 -

SoundSource 5.8.11
Updates the audio handling ARK plugin to address a rare crash. ($45 new, free update, 38.8 MB, macOS 14.5+)

11-24-25 -

No TidBITS Issue on 1 December 2025
We’re taking the next email issue of TidBITS off to celebrate Thanksgiving, although we’ll continue to publish articles on our website. You can look forward to the next email issue on 8 December 2025.

11-24-25 -

Do You Use It? Contact Posters Remain a Niche Feature
Two years after Apple introduced contact posters in iOS 17, our Do You Use It? poll shows that over half of respondents haven’t created a single one. The feature’s limited visibility and fussy creation process may explain the lackluster adoption.

11-23-25 -

Unite 6.5
Adds full native support for macOS 26 Tahoe to the site-specific Web browser app. ($29.99 new, free update, 28.8 MB, macOS 12+)

11-23-25 -

SuperDuper 3.11
Adds initial support for macOS 26 Tahoe to the backup app and fixes some security vulnerabilities. ($27.95 new, free update, 9.2 MB, macOS 10.13+)

11-23-25 -

Camo Studio 2.5
Adds a Screen Capture feature to the virtual camera system. ($49.99 annual subscription, free update, 81.6 MB, macOS 12.3+)

11-23-25 -

Timing 2025.9
Adds the ability to round time entry durations in reports for cleaner timesheets. ($108/$132/$192 annual subscriptions, free update, 31.9 MB, macOS 11+)

11-23-25 -

Scrivener 3.5.1
Long-form writing tool fixes bugs and updates app icon that to be more Liquid Glass-friendly. ($59.99 new, free update, 116.2 MB, macOS 11+)

11-23-25 -

ChatGPT Atlas Digitized Book Tables That Stymied Other OCR Tools
What started as a simple need—digitizing training pace tables for a workout app—became a test of OCR tools. ChatGPT Atlas won where others failed, autonomously processing five photos into perfect CSV data despite page curl and dense columns.

11-21-25 -

Inside Apples 3DPrinted Titanium Apple Watch Cases
Apple explains how it 3D‑prints Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3 cases using recycled titanium powder and multi‑laser systems, saying it uses 50% less raw material and will save more than 400 metric tons of titanium in 2025.Read original article

11-20-25 -

TidBITS Memberships Now Support PayPal
Thanks to a reader request, PayPal is now available for TidBITS memberships. It’s a convenient alternative to using a credit card for renewals or new sign-ups. Stripe keeps things simpler for our administrative operations, but if you prefer PayP...

11-19-25 -

BBEdit 15.5.4
Improves the app icon appearance when running macOS 26 Tahoe. ($59.99 new, free update, 28 MB, macOS 12+)

11-19-25 -

Ulysses 39
Major upgrade for the writing app fully embraces Apple's Liquid Glass design language. ($5.99/$39.99 monthly/yearly subscription, free update, 59.99 MB, macOS 14+)

11-19-25 -

SpamSieve 3.2.2
Maintenance update with bug fixes and improvements for the spam-filtering utility. ($39.99 new, free update, 60.8 MB, macOS 10.13+)

11-19-25 -

Apples N1 Chip Improves Wi-Fi Performance
Apple’s new N1 wireless chip in the iPhone 17 family boosts Wi‑Fi speeds by up to 40% over the Broadcom‑based Wi-Fi radio used in the iPhone 16 lineup—especially in poor conditions.Read original article

11-18-25 -

Apple Hit with $634 Million Verdict as Blood Oxygen Battle Drags On
The Apple–Masimo fight over watch‑based blood‑oxygen monitoring has escalated with a $634 million jury award and a fresh ITC review of Apple’s workaround.

11-18-25 -

Cloudflare Outage Takes Down Large Swaths of the Internet
This morning’s Cloudflare outage impacted millions of websites worldwide, exposing a troubling truth about modern Internet infrastructure: a handful of companies now control critical chokepoints that can take down significant portions of the Web.

11-17-25 -

ChronoSync 12 and ChronoAgent 12
Upgraded synchronization and backup tools bring full compatibility with macOS 26 Tahoe and added features. ($49.99 new for ChronoSync, $19.99 new for ChronoAgent, free updates for previous licenses, various sizes, macOS 10.14+)

11-17-25 -

Firefox 145
Updates the venerable Web browser with several handy improvements. (Free, 143.2 MB, macOS 10.15+)

11-17-25 -

SoundSource 5.8.10
Brings full macOS 26 Tahoe support to the audio control utility. ($45 new, free update, 38.7 MB, macOS 14.5+)

11-17-25 -

Benefits of the AI Bubble
The dot-com bubble left us fiber and a Web‑savvy workforce; the AI bubble will leave behind chip fabs and power generation. Ben Thompson argues that bursting bubbles build foundations on which the next wave of technology can grow.Read original a...

11-17-25 -

How to Set Contact Avatars and Posters on the iPhone
Want to make your iPhone’s Phone app and contact cards more visually appealing? Adam Engst walks you through the often frustrating process of customizing contact avatars and posters.