Is It Safe to Upgrade to macOS 11 Big Sur?

Should you upgrade to macOS 11 Big Sur from a previous version of macOS? Only you can answer that question for sure, but Adam Engst has upgraded his primary Mac with no significant problems. Our recommendation is that it should now be safe to upgrade, though you might want to wai … | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

How to Stop T-Mobile from Selling Your Web Browsing Data

T-Mobile will start selling your usage data to advertisers next month unless you opt out now. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

iOS 14.4.1, iPadOS 14.4.1, macOS 11.2.3 Big Sur, and watchOS 7.3.2 Address WebKit Security Vulnerability

Apple has updated most of its major operating systems to address what would seem to be a severe WebKit vulnerability. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Safari 14.0.3

Updates Apple's Web browser to patch a single security vulnerability. (Free, various sizes, macOS 10.15+ and 10.14+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Apple Discontinues the iMac Pro

Just over three years since its introduction, Apple has quietly discontinued the iMac Pro. You can buy one while supplies last, but the performance of Apple silicon makes that a questionable investment. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Zoom 5.5.5

Introduces a custom gallery view order that can be utilized even when non-video participants are hidden. (Free, 24.2 MB, macOS 10.9+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

DEVONthink 3.6.3

Addresses some throttling-related issues with iCloud (CloudKit) syncing and improves the speed of importing from Evernote. ($99 new, free update, 131 MB, macOS 10.11.5+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Transmit 5.7.2

Adds support for Dropbox Business Team Spaces. ($45 new, free update, 43.1 MB, macOS 10.14+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

BusyCal 3.12.4

Maintenance update brings improvements and bug fixes to the calendar app. ($49.99 new, free update, 32.3 MB, macOS 10.12+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Audio Hijack 3.8.4 and Piezo 1.7.3

Updates the Audio Capture Engine to version 11.7 for both audio recording apps. ($49/$19 new, free updates, various sizes, macOS 10.13+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

iMovie 10.1.23

Maintenance release devoted to fixing bugs related to importing projects from iMovie for iOS. (Free, 2.2 GB, macOS 10.15.6+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Final Cut Pro 10.5.2, Compressor 4.5.2, and Motion 5.5.1

Maintenance updates with a short list of improvements and bug fixes for the professional video editing apps. ($299.99/$49.99/$49.99 new, free updates, macOS 10.15.6+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Fixing PDFs Whose Pages Render as Black Rectangles in Preview (2018)

If Preview is displaying some PDFs as black rectangles instead of pages, even though their thumbnails are correct, you can solve the problem in a non-obvious way: by recalibrating your display. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

The Mystery of Dustin Curtis’s Locked Apple ID

A perfect storm of errors led to Dustin Curtis being locked out of many Apple services, with no easy way to get help from Apple. We try to tease out how this happened. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

NFTs: A Waste of Money or the Future of Art?

Artists are making big money by selling on the blockchain, with some hipsters and hypesters claiming it’s the future of digital art. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Are Cheap MagSafe-Like Adapters for USB-C Worthwhile?

Adam Engst loves his M1-based MacBook Air but is missing the stellar user experience of the old MagSafe charging technology from his old 2012 MacBook Air. He found a cheap magnetic charging solution from various Chinese manufacturers.  | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Can’t Scroll a Message in Mail? Here’s One Reason Why

A report from a reader of the Dutch translation of TidBITS led us to discover both a message viewing bug in Mail and a problem with how we were building those translated issues. Read on to learn what not to do in email and how to work around Mail’s bug. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Brave to Launch Its Own Search Engine

Web browser maker Brave Software has acquired the open-source search engine Tailcat and will soon be spinning it off as a new privacy-focused search engine. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Don’t Go to 11: Insights from the Apple Hearing Study

Apple has shared data from the Apple Hearing Study showing that a troubling percentage of participants are exposed to harmful levels of sound and are suffering hearing loss. Turn down that volume! | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

GraphicConverter 11.4

Brings a variety of improvements and bug features to the Swiss Army knife of graphics programs. ($39.95 new, free update, 249 MB, macOS 10.9+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Downcast 2.9.61

Reduces the occurrence and improves resolution of the "dreaded" inaccessible resource issue. ($4.99 new, free update, 26.1 MB, macOS 10.13.2+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Firefox 86

Introduces Total Cookie Protection to prevent cookies from tracking you from site to site. (Free, 125 MB, macOS 10.12+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Little Snitch 5.1.1

Improves detection of VPNs for Automatic Profile Switching and fixes memory leaks. ($45 new, free update, 30.6 MB, macOS 10.11+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Fantastical 3.3.5

Maintenance release for the calendar app with a variety of improvements and bug fixes. ($39.99 new, free update, 41.8 MB, macOS 10.13.2+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

CleanMyMac X 4.8

Adds native support for M1-based Macs and receives a refreshed user interface. ($89.95 new, free update, 78.2 MB, macOS 10.10+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

macOS 11.2.2 Protects MacBook Pro and MacBook Air from Non-Compliant USB-C Hubs and Docs

Some third-party, non-compliant, powered USB-C hubs and docks are bricking recent MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models. Apple has updated Big Sur to prevent the problem; the question is if Macs running Catalina or Mojave might still be at risk. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Improve Your Seed Starting with HomeKit

If you garden, it’s time to think about starting seedlings indoors in many parts of the world. “Take Control of Apple Home Automation” author Josh Centers shows how you can use HomeKit to help. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

The Role of Bootable Duplicates in a Modern Backup Strategy

macOS 11 Big Sur has thrown a cryptographically signed monkey wrench into the inner workings of backup apps that make bootable duplicates. There are now workarounds, and Apple promises to fix the necessary underlying tool, but Adam Engst suggests that we need to rethink the role … | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

CES 2021: 4K Picture Frames, Another iPad Dock, Talking Dog Collars, and Lots of Smart Glasses

Jeff Porten closes his CES 2021 coverage with a first-ever deep dive into the annual Innovation Awards given out by the Consumer Technology Association. The range is impressive, but which of these products would you actually use? | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Brave 1.20.108

Fixes a DNS leak regression in Tor private browsing windows. (Free, 106 MB, macOS 10.11+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Microsoft Office for Mac 16.46

Monthly maintenance update for the productivity suite, with enables government customers to apply sensitivity labels. ($149.99 new for one-time purchase, $99.99/$69.99 annual subscription options, free update) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

OmniOutliner Essentials and Pro 5.8.2

Brings automation improvements to the pro edition of the outlining and information organization app. ($9.99/59.99 new, free update, 40.5 MB, macOS 10.14+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

OmniFocus 3.11.4

Brings automation improvements to the pro edition of the task management app, plus bug fixes for both standard and pro editions. ($39.99 new, free update, 70.7 MB, macOS 10.14+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

EagleFiler 1.9.3

Improves importing of Web pages from various publications and optimizes performance when importing large numbers of small files at once. ($40 new, free update, 32 MB, macOS 10.12+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Malwarebytes Reports on the State of Mac Malware in 2020

Malwarebytes Labs has published its annual report on the state of malware in the computer industry, with a section focusing on the Mac. The good news is that the number of malware detections is down 38% and very little detected Mac malware is dangerous; the bad news is that Apple … | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Evernote 10.8.6

Returns "toggle view" keyboard shortcuts for quickly cycling through snippets, cards, top list, or side list. (Free, 141 MB, macOS 10.10+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

URL Manager Pro 5.7

Adds the capability to bookmark all tabs from all open windows with one click. ($35 new, free update, 13.0 MB, macOS 10.13+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Why Facebook Blocked Australian News Sites

Mike Masnick of TechDirt explains why everyone is mad at Facebook for cutting off links to Australian news sites, even though Australian publishers accused Facebook of taking advantage of them by linking to them. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

CES 2021: Multi-Port iPad Cases, MacBook Pro SSDs, Videoconferencing Cameras, and a Plane You Can Drive

Jeff Porten hits the startup breakout area of CES and reports back on a nifty IPad case, Mac SSD upgrades, 3-D-printed eyeglasses, immersion blenders for boats, more flying cars, and AR for motorcyclists, among other things. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Ensure Sufficient Free Space before Upgrading to Big Sur

If you initiate an upgrade to Big Sur from a previous version of macOS but don’t have sufficient free space—at least 35.5 GB—you could end up in a Boot Recovery Assistant loop that can be exceedingly difficult to escape. Never update macOS without enough space or a current backup … | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Apple Replacing Some Batteries in 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro Models

If your 2016 or 2017 MacBook Pro won’t charge past 1%, Apple will replace the battery for free, and the company recommends installing macOS 11.2.1 Big Sur or macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Supplemental Update to prevent it from happening to other devices. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

How Tim Cook Steered Apple to New Heights… and Dependence on China

Bloomberg Businessweek has explored Tim Cook’s tenure at Apple, with insights on how he’s made the company more profitable and dominant—but also more reliant on China—than ever. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Adobe Acrobat DC and Reader DC 21.001.20135

Patches “zero-day” vulnerabilities in the PDF creation and reading apps. (Free updates, various sizes, macOS 10.13+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Supplemental Update and Security Update 2021-002 (Mojave)

Patches security vulnerabilities in Catalina and Mojave. (Free, various sizes, macOS 10.15.7 and 10.14.6) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

ChronoSync 4.9.13 and ChronoAgent 1.9.9

Synchronization and backup tool addresses several issues with Big Sur. (49.99 new for ChronoSync, $14.99 new for ChronoAgent; free updates; 67.3 MB, 26.7 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

macOS 11.2.1 Big Sur Fixes MacBook Pro Charging Bug and sudo Vulnerability

Apple has updated macOS 11 Big Sur to fix a single bug and block three security vulnerabilities. It’s not an urgent install for most people. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

How to Manage Breathe Notifications on the Apple Watch

If you wear an Apple Watch, do you notice the Breathe notifications popping up when you want them the least? Thankfully, they’re easy to make less intrusive or turn off entirely. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago

Homebrew 3.0

Command-line package manager adds support for M1-based Macs. (Free, macOS 10.14+) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 3 years ago