Parallels Desktop 16.5

Brings full native support for Mac computers with the Apple M1 chip. ($79.99 annual subscription for standard edition or $99.99 perpetual license, 1.4 MB, macOS 10.13.6+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

31 Years of TidBITS Keeping It Real

Has it really been a year since we marked our 30th anniversary? It was hard to stay positive in 2020, but just as science and technology have given the world a way out of the pandemic, we’re going to focus more on the positive ways Apple-related technology can improve our lives. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Beware the Mac Chimes of Death

Stephen Hackett of 512 Pixels has gathered together sound clips of the chimes of death played by various classic Mac models when they couldn’t boot. They’re fascinating, but if you experienced these a lot back in the day, beware of flashbacks! | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Refresh Your Old AirPods with a Podswap

If the batteries in your first- or second-generation AirPods are suffering from massively reduced battery life, you don’t have to pay full price for a new set (and throw away the old ones). For half the cost, Podswap will exchange your expired ones for a set of refurbished, genui … | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Apple Fitness+ Adds Workouts for Older Adults and Pregnant Women

Apple Fitness+ is getting new workouts for beginners, older adults, and pregnant women, as well as a new trainer and an Earth Day-themed episode of Time to Walk with Jane Fonda. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

T-Mobile Offers Unlimited 5G Home Broadband Service

T-Mobile has furthered its reputation as the most competitive of the big three cellular companies in the United States by rolling out an unlimited usage broadband service that relies on the company’s 4G and 5G networks. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Apple Opens “Find My” Crowdsourcing to Third-Party Accessories (For Real This Time!)

Apple has officially opened up Find My to third-party devices, including Vanmoof e-bikes, Belkin earbuds, and Chipolo item trackers. Could this presage the long-rumored release of Apple’s AirTags? | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Kara Swisher Interviews Tim Cook about Privacy, App Store Policies, and His Future at Apple

In one of his most substantial interviews in years, Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down with veteran tech journalist Kara Swisher to discuss everything Apple. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Over 500 Million Facebook Accounts Compromised

A 2019 data breach exposed the personal information of 533 million Facebook users. Here are a couple of tools you can use to see if you’ve been compromised. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Apple Expands Arcade with Classic Games

The Apple Arcade subscription game service is struggling to catch on, so Apple is adding a slew of classic board games and App Store hits to lure in subscribers. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Stanford Research Explains and Helps Prevent Zoom Fatigue

Do you find it tiring to spend a lot of time on video calls? You’re not alone—pretty much everyone does. A Stanford University researcher has now figured out exactly why… and what you can do about it. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Luminar 4.3.3

Adds support for new cameras as well as lossy compressed CR3 and RAF files. ($89 new, free update, 18.8 MB, macOS 10.12.6+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

TripMode 3.0.3

Now available in the Mac App Store thanks to using Big Sur's Network Extensions framework. ($15 new, free update, 16.9 MB, macOS 11+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

NetNewsWire 6.0

Major new release for the Mac edition of the RSS reader with support for M1-based Macs, macOS 11 Big Sur, and many syncing services. (Free, 10 MB, macOS 10.15+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Rogue Amoeba Sponsoring TidBITS

Please welcome our latest long-term TidBITS sponsor, Rogue Amoeba, makers of a slate of power, easy-to-use audio apps. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Some Fancy E-Bikes Have Their Own Apps. We Tried Two

Electric bicycles have become popular for their motor-assisted, eco-friendly locomotion, and some even have companion apps. Julio Ojeda-Zapata took a break from his traditional road bike to test two such high-tech e-bikes and found that their iPhone-based connectivity adds consid … | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Apple’s Second Virtual WWDC Set for June 7–11

Apple has announced the dates of its next Worldwide Developers Conference, which will once again be held entirely online. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Zoom 5.6.1

Enhances the three-way calling feature and improves chat searches for @me mentions. (Free, 24 MB, macOS 10.9+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Evernote 10.10.5

Maintenance release for the information management app with a variety of improvements. (Free, 147 MB, macOS 10.10+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Firefox 87

Adds full support for VoiceOver, the macOS screen reader. (Free, 126 MB, macOS 10.12+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Ulysses 22

Expands and improves the writing app’s blog publishing capabilities. ($49.99 annual subscription, free update, 31 MB MB, macOS 10.14.4+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Fetch 5.8.2

The venerable file transfer client adds support for M1-based Macs. ($29 new, free update, 9.8 MB, macOS 10.13+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Default Folder X 5.5.7

Enhances cooperation with the Path Finder file browser app. ($34.95 new, free update, 15.4 MB, macOS 10.10+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

BBEdit 13.5.5

Maintenance update for the long-standing text editor focused on bug fixes. ($49.99 new, free update, 18.7 MB, macOS 10.14.2+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Pages 11.0, Numbers 11.0, and Keynote 11.0

Introduces a new media browser with enhanced search options and new content categories to the three iWork apps. (Free, various sizes) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

iOS 14.4.2, iPadOS 14.4.2, and watchOS 7.3.3 Address Serious WebKit Issue

Facing yet another nasty WebKit vulnerability, Apple has updated iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and even iOS 12 to block it. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Mac OS X at 20: The OS That Changed Everything

Mac OS X is now 20 years old, and the operating system that once seemed like it was from 20 years in the future is more relevant now than ever before. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Remembering Dantz Development’s “Drink Different” Posters

Remember Apple’s “Think different” ad campaign and its striking posters of historical figures? What you probably don’t remember is that backup company Dantz Development parodied the posters for decorations at its late-1990s Macworld Expo parties. Here they all are. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

A Pair of Books for Learning the Mac Command Line

If you’d like to enhance your command-line skills—either for your personal edification or to support your career as a Mac admin—you won’t go wrong by picking one of two books: the recently updated "Take Control of the Mac Command Line with Terminal" or the new "macOS Terminal and … | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Be Careful When Deleting Conversations in Messages

There are reports of iMessage access being restricted on some accounts after messages from them were inadvertently reported as spam. Always read Apple’s prompts carefully, and let us know if this has happened to you. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Class-Action Lawsuit: Apple Knew Butterfly Keyboards Were Faulty

A seven-state class-action lawsuit against Apple over faulty butterfly keyboards cites an unnamed executive who likened the keyboard revisions to putting lipstick on a pig. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

1Password 7.8

Password manager now runs natively on M1-based Macs. ($64.99 new, free update, 71.1 MB, macOS 10.13+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Microsoft Office for Mac 16.47

Monthly update brings a smattering of improvements to Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. ($149.99 new for one-time purchase, $99.99/$69.99 annual subscription options, free update) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Apple Maps Now Lists COVID-19 Vaccination Sites

Apple Maps now lists COVID-19 vaccination sites, but it’s currently of questionable utility since you must be both eligible and have an appointment anyway. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Rumpus 9.0

Major upgrade to the file transfer server with updated security and cryptographic libraries and protocols. ($295 new, free update, 27 MB, macOS 10.6+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Acorn 7.0

Major upgrade to the powerful image editor with an updated user interface and native support for M1-based Macs. ($39.99 new, 19.5 MB, macOS 10.14+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Apple Publishes Collection of Privacy Labels for Its Apps

Apple has mandated App Store privacy labels for all apps, but the company is going a step further with its own apps by publishing the complete collection of those labels on the Web to make them easy to scan. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Lightroom Classic 10.2

Maintenance update with performance improvements for the desktop-focused photo cataloging and editing app. ($9.99/$19.99/$52.99 monthly Creative Cloud subscription, free update for subscribers, macOS 10.14+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Typinator 8.7

Brings user interface improvements and enhanced compatibility with macOS 11 Big Sur to the text expansion utility. (€24.99 new, free update, 8.7 MB, macOS 10.10+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

In Praise of the Knock-Off Nylon Sport Loop

Adam Engst dips his toes into the sketchy world of knock-off Apple Watch bands but finds that Apple is charging ten times as much for seemingly identical nylon Sport Loop bands. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Caller ID Authentication May Tame the Scourge of Spam Calls

Two interlocking technologies that phone carriers began rolling out a couple of years ago are helping dramatically reduce unwanted calls from spammers and fraudsters, while giving law enforcement better tools to track those that remain. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Apple Discontinues Original HomePod, Focuses on HomePod mini

Apple has announced that it is discontinuing the original HomePod to focus on the HomePod mini. The company will continue to service and support the HomePod, and it will remain available while supplies last. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

SoundSource 5.3.2

Updates the Audio Capture Engine to version 11.7 to improve drift correction and upgrade the sample rate converter. ($39 new, free update, 25.4 MB, macOS 10.13+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

CorelDRAW 2021

Major upgrade for the vector illustration app with new collaboration features and a more flexible design space. ($499 new, 2 MB, macOS 10.15+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Apple’s AirPods Max Headphones Are Pricey but Good

You would pay dearly for Apple’s AirPods Max headphones, which at $549 exceed the cost of rival products by $200 or more. But Julio Ojeda-Zapata came away impressed with their stylishness, ruggedness, audio quality, active noise cancellation, design flourishes, and integration wi … | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Bookends 13.5.2

Updates the reference management tool with modernized and streamlined code. ($59.99 new, free update, 95.1 MB, macOS 10.13+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Photoshop 22.3

Adds a speedier native version for M1-based Macs. ($20.99 monthly Creative Cloud subscription, free update for subscribers, macOS 10.15+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Apple Now Lets You Transfer iCloud Photos to Google Photos

Have you been using iCloud Photos but wish you could switch to Google Photos? Apple has now made it possible to transfer photos and videos from iCloud to Google Photos, but not vice-versa. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago