Seek and Ye Shall Find Things in the Dark with an iPhone Thermal Camera

If you’ve ever wanted to spot insulation leaks in your home or search for warm-blooded animals in total darkness, there’s finally an affordable thermal imaging camera that plugs right into your iPhone. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Apple Retail Chief Angela Ahrendts Leaving in April

Former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts is leaving Apple after five years of running its retail operations. Did the Apple Store improve or decline under her reign? | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Apple Re-Enables Group FaceTime with iOS 12.1.4 and macOS 10.14.3 Supplemental Update

Apple has released the iOS 12.1.4 and macOS 10.14.3 Supplemental Updates to re-enable Group FaceTime after fixing a nasty bug that enabled eavesdropping on FaceTime calls. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

“Can’t Unsee” Tests Your Eye for iOS Interface Details

It’s obvious when an iOS app gets interface elements glaringly wrong. But can you tell when the errors are more subtle? The Can’t Unsee Web game asks you to choose which of two iOS-style screenshots doesn’t have a mistake. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Highland 2 Helps Screenwriters Balance Genders

As most working actresses know, Hollywood historically has offered more roles—and lines—for men than women, but a simple tool in the Highland 2 screenwriting app can help screenwriters better distribute their characters and dialog among the genders. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Transmit 5.2.3

Improves drag-and-drop compatibility with third-party apps. ($45 new, free update, 68.5 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

#DeathToAutoPlay—No More Audio and Video That Plays Automatically!

It’s time to take a stand. We’re sick and tired of apps (Netflix!) and Web sites (CNN!) assaulting our ears and eyes with audio and video that starts playing on its own, without so much as a by your leave. Let’s fight back. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

EagleFiler 1.8.6

Improves imports from Evernote and support for Dark mode in macOS 10.14 Mojave. ($40 new, free update, 24.3 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

The Top Conferences for Mac and iOS Professionals in 2019

If you make your living in the Apple world as a consultant, developer, designer, or tech, there are a wide variety of conferences you can attend to hone your skills, learn new topics, network with your fellow wizards, and open your mind to new ways of thinking. Here’s our list fo … | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

The Top Conferences for Mac and iOS Professionals in 2019

If you make your living in the Apple world as a consultant, developer, designer, or tech, there are a wide variety of conferences you can attend to hone your skills, learn new topics, network with your fellow wizards, and open your mind to new ways of thinking. Here’s our list fo … | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

The Top Conferences for Mac and iOS Professionals in 2019

If you make your living in the Apple world as a consultant, developer, designer, or tech, there are a wide variety of conferences you can attend to hone your skills, learn new topics, network with your fellow wizards, and open your mind to new ways of thinking. Here’s our list fo … | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

iFlicks 3.0

Major new release for the video encoding and metadata management app with new features and a two-tiered subscription model. ($34.99 new, free update, 19.8 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Twitterrific 5.3.9

Adds new ways to open URLs and ensures the compose window stays open until a tweet is finished posting. ($7.99 new, free update, 14.1 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Things 3.8.1

Brings fixes for Dark mode in macOS 10.14 Mojave. ($49.99 new, free update, 14.8 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Moneydance 2019

Major new release for the personal finance management app with a variety of new features and improvements. ($49.99 new, free update, 119 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Quicken 2018 5.10

Adds a new menu item for accessing Quicken on the Web and fixes bugs. ($34.99/$49.99/$74.99 annual subscription, free update) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Certificate Wars: A Quick Rundown of Apple’s Dustup with Facebook and Google

Apple has spent the past week engaged in a dizzying back-and-forth with Facebook and Google over shady research apps trying to make an end run around App Store rules. Here’s a quick timeline of events and some thoughts on what it all means. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Apple Fixes Group FaceTime Bug; Promises to Improve Bug Reporting Process

On its servers, Apple has fixed a nasty Group FaceTime bug that allowed callers to eavesdrop on fellow Apple users. Next week it will release a software update to re-enable Group FaceTime. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Hollywood Is Abandoning UltraViolet—Here’s How to Save Your Movie Library

Hollywood is giving up on its original digital DRM scheme, UltraViolet, to focus on the Movies Anywhere service. The How-To Geek explains how to save your purchased movies and TV shows. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Apple Shuts Down Facebook’s Internal Apps Due to Flagrant Policy Violations

After TechCrunch revealed that Facebook was flagrantly working around an App Store ban, Apple has taken the unusual step of revoking Facebook’s enterprise development certificates. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Apple’s Q1 2019 Results: iPhone Bad, the Rest Good

Yes, iPhone revenues fell off a small cliff this quarter due to slower sales in China, as Apple had warned that they would, but all of the company’s other products and services posted revenue gains over the year-ago quarter. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Apple Disables Group FaceTime to Block Glaring Privacy Hole

A bug in Group FaceTime has been discovered that enables anyone initiating a FaceTime Video call to hear audio from the other person’s iPhone before they accept or reject the call. Apple has disabled Group FaceTime and promises a fix “later this week.” | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Apple in 2018: The Six Colors Report Card

Jason Snell of Six Colors has published his fourth annual report card on Apple’s performance in the last year, drawing once again on ratings and comments from a large group of industry observers. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Hazel 4.3.4

File cleanup utility adds an Insert Element item to the contextual menu in Pattern fields and fixes bugs. ($32 new, free update, 9.8 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Agenda 4.1

Brings overall speed enhancements and improves undo/redo stability and accuracy. (Free with $24.99 premium purchase option, free update, 31 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

CES 2019: Startup Gadgets at Eureka Park

The CES section for startups shows its usual creativity: portable insulin fridges, a high-efficiency water heater, STEM education for girls, and a giant relaxing egg. Which you sit in, not on. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Apple Pay Adopted by Target, Taco Bell, Speedway, and Others

A bevy of major US retailers, including Jack in the Box, Hy-Vee supermarkets, Speedway convenience stores, Taco Bell, and Target are now supporting Apple Pay, putting a final nail in the coffin of rival digital wallet CurrentC. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

25 Years Ago in TidBITS: RAM Doubler Debuts

Were you at Macworld Expo San Francisco in 1994, when Connectix unveiled the magical utility RAM Doubler, which did exactly as its name promised? Read on for a trip down memory lane, and be sure to share your stories of that time in the comments. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Pixelmator Pro 1.3

Adds color tags for visually organizing layers in advanced illustrations and designs. ($39.99 new, free update, 164 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

CES 2019: Somewhere Between Star Trek and Harry Potter

Itty-bitty MacBook chargers, chocolate-based art, and batteries, backpacks, and toy cars with seemingly magical powers were all found on the main floor at CES. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Spectrum’s Zero Sign-On App Comes to Apple TV

Announced last June at WWDC 2018, the Spectrum TV app, featuring Zero Sign-On, has finally arrived, making the Apple TV into a credible cable box substitute for Spectrum subscribers. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

RapidWeaver 8.1

Maintenance release with a host of bug fixes and improvements for the Web design and publishing software. ($89 new, free update from version 8, 77.9 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Slack for Mac 3.3.7

Introduces a new icon and makes some small improvements to the client app for the group messaging system and collaboration service. (Free, 65.6 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Default Folder X 5.3.3

Adds label names to Default Folder X's toolbar icons. ($34.95 new, free update, 8.6 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

GraphicConverter 10.6.8

Brings a number of improvements to the Swiss Army knife of image editing utilities. ($39.95 new, free update, 189 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Safari 12.0.3

Addresses WebKit and cross-site scripting vulnerabilities for macOS 10.13.6 High Sierra and 10.12.6 Sierra. (Free) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Security Update 2019-001 (High Sierra and Sierra)

Patches security vulnerabilities in Apple’s last two operating systems. (Free, various sizes) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Apple Releases iOS 12.1.3, macOS 10.14.3, watchOS 5.1.3, and tvOS 12.1.2 with Bug Fixes

Apple’s iOS 12.1.3, macOS 10.14.3, watchOS 5.1.3, and tvOS 12.1.2 updates don’t offer many hints about what might have changed apart from a slew of security fixes. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Tim Cook Promotes Privacy in Time Magazine

Apple continues to take the high ground when it comes to user privacy, and CEO Tim Cook has penned an op-ed to encourage comprehensive privacy legislation. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

TidBITS Membership Appeal Successful—Thank You, Members!

In an attempt to recover from the loss of 500 members, we sent an email appeal last week that resulted in over 500 people signing up for the TidBITS membership program and putting us back on firm footing. Thank you! | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Nuance Has Abandoned Mac Speech Recognition. Will Apple Fill the Void?

In the wake of Nuance discontinuing its Dragon Professional Individual speech-to-text software for the Mac, we shine a light on some ways that macOS’s built-in speech recognition needs to improve to provide a viable alternative. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

SEE Finance 2.0.8

Maintenance update brings improved support for Dark mode and compatibility adjustments for macOS 10.14 Mojave. ($39.99 new, free update, 27 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Microsoft Office for Mac 16.21

Adds support to Word for the Continuity Camera feature in macOS 10.14 Mojave. ($149.99 new for one-time purchase, $99.99/$69.99 annual subscription options, free update) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

DEVONagent 3.11.1

Adds support for JSON RSS feeds and improves handling of RSS feeds in general. (Free/$4.95/$49.95, free updates) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

OmniFocus 3.2

Maintenance update to recently upgraded task management app brings improvements to macOS 10.14 Mojave's Dark mode setting. ($39.99 new, free update from version 3, upgrade pricing available, 45.4 MB) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

Backblaze 6.0 Promises “Larger Longer Faster Better” Backups

Backblaze has rolled out a major 6.0 update that improves performance, increases restore drive sizes, and offers options for permanent backup storage, among other things. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon to Stop Selling Location Data

After Motherboard found that a bounty hunter could locate any cell phone for $300, the major US cellular carriers are ending their practice of selling location data. About time. | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago

DEVONthink/DEVONnote 2.11.2

Focuses on improving overall reliability for the information management apps. (All updates are free. DEVONthink Pro Office, $149.95 new; DEVONthink Professional, $79.95 new; DEVONthink Personal, $49.95 new; DEVONnote, $24.95 new) | Continue reading


@tidbits.com | 5 years ago