TidBITS

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By Adam Engst

Robocall
Robocall Blockers Caught Sending User Information to Third Parties
tidbits.com
It’s no secret that robocalls—fraudulent calls made by automated systems—are out of control in the United States, which is why many iPhone users …
Bluetooth
Apple Blocks KNOB Attack on Bluetooth
tidbits.com
Researchers have discovered a serious security vulnerability that afflicts all Bluetooth devices. Dubbed the Key Negotiation of Bluetooth (KNOB) …
Mozilla
Apple, Google, and Mozilla Team Up to Block Kazakhstani Surveillance
tidbits.com
Last month, the government of Kazakhstan started intercepting all encrypted HTTPS Internet traffic by mandating the use of a government-issued …
Apple Card
Apple Card Now Available to All US iPhone Users
tidbits.com
The Apple Card is now available to every iPhone user in the United States. The company said nothing about when it might become available in other …
Apple Maps
Real-World Observations about Mapping Apps
tidbits.com
Last month, Tonya and I spent two weeks in Switzerland, where the public transit system is, at least to us Americans, utterly amazing. It seems that …
HomePod
The HomePod Is Slated to Debut in Japan
tidbits.com
It’s official: after appearing in stores in Canada, France, and Germany in June 2018, the HomePod is slated to debut in Japan on 23 August 2019 (via …
Google News
Please Vote in the TidBITS 2019 Reader Survey!
tidbits.com
Our last reader survey ran in late 2015, when we were starting on the major site redesign and Internet infrastructure transition that finally came to …
Parallels Desktop 15.0
tidbits.com - Agen Schmitz
Addresses issues with Insider Preview beta releases of Windows 10 and Office for Windows. ($79.99 anual subscription for standard edition, $99.99 …
Microsoft
Microsoft Office for Mac 16.28
tidbits.com - Agen Schmitz
Monthly maintenance release brings new features to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. ($149.99 new for one-time purchase, $99.99/$69.99 annual …
Apple Card
How to Get the Most from Your Apple Card Benefits
tidbits.com - Josh Centers
Apple is slowly rolling out its new Apple Card across the United States. If you’re an early adopter, here’s how to maximize your cashback benefits.
Apple Music
What It’s Like to Be Banished from Apple’s Garden
tidbits.com
When Luke Kurtis, the IT manager for the online publication Quartz, bought an iTunes gift card from discount site MassGenie, he didn’t know that it …
Lightroom
Lightroom Classic CC 8.4
tidbits.com - Agen Schmitz
Adds accelerated image editing with GPU support for smoother performance. ($9.99/19.99 monthly Creative Cloud subscription, free update)
Mac App Store
GraphicConverter 11.0.1
tidbits.com - Agen Schmitz
Major new release for the Swiss Army knife of graphics programs adds macros and improves RAW image editing. ($39.95 new, free update, 151 MB)
MacBook
FAA Warns Airlines about 2015 15-inch MacBook Pros
tidbits.com
Lithium batteries recalled by the manufacturer/vendor must not be carried aboard aircraft or packed in baggage. Battery-powered devices recalled …
Startups
Mailplane 4.1.4
tidbits.com - Agen Schmitz
Brings compatibility with the macOS 10.15 Catalina public beta, plus adds support for the Simplify Gmail extension and the DEVONthink 3 public beta. …
OCR
Keyboard Maestro 9.0
tidbits.com - Agen Schmitz
Major update for the automation and clipboard utility adds Dark mode support, OCR for text in images, and JSON. ($36 new, $25 upgrade, 25.8 MB)
Siri
Why Can’t Users Teach Siri about Its Mistakes?
tidbits.com
With the recent fuss about Apple contractors listening to some of our Siri conversations (see “Apple Suspends Siri’s “Response Grading” …
Earbuds
CES 2019 Reviews: iPhone/MacBook Battery, Mac Equalizer App, and AirPods Alternatives
tidbits.com
Mid-year greetings from TidBITS’s intrepid Consumer Electronics Show reporter (see “CES 2019: CES Unveiled Kicks Off the Annual Gadget-fest,” 8 …
USB 2.0
Buy the Best Lightning to USB Adapter for iOS 13
tidbits.com
While at an Apple Store recently, I decided on a whim to grab a Lightning to USB Camera Adapter. Testing iOS 13 gives me a couple of excellent …
OCR
DEVONthink 3.0 Public Beta 6
tidbits.com - Agen Schmitz
Sixth public beta with another round of extensive improvements and fixes for the information management app. ($99/$149/$499 new, free update, 90.5 MB)
Mac App Store
1Password 7.3.2
tidbits.com - Agen Schmitz
Maintenance release focused on improving the password manager's stability. ($64.99 new, free update, 51.3 MB)
Unique
ChronoSync 4.9.4
tidbits.com - Agen Schmitz
Maintenance release for the synchronization and backup app with a smattering of bug fixes and improvements. ($49.99 new, free update, 66.8 MB)
Mac App Store
BusyCal 3.6.9
tidbits.com - Agen Schmitz
Adds the capability to display an attached graphic on all days of a multi-day event in Day view. ($49.99 new, free update, 22.2 MB)
Netflix
Avoid Netflix AutoPlay Previews on the Apple TV with Reelgood and WatchAid
tidbits.com
After Josh Centers looked into the Reelgood and JustWatch video discovery services (see “A Million Streams and Nothing to Watch? Reelgood and …
Apple Music
Apple Music for Artists Opens to All Artists
tidbits.com
Apple has opened up its Apple Music for Artists program for all musicians who have music on Apple Music and iTunes.
Batteries
Apple Starts Locking iPhone Batteries to Thwart Independent Repair
tidbits.com
iFixit has discovered that Apple has locked the batteries in the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max, so that if anyone other than Apple or an Apple Authorized …
Hulu
Disney Will Bundle Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for $12.99 Per Month
tidbits.com
Disney CEO Bob Iger has announced that the company will bundle its three streaming services—Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+—for $12.99 per month, on par …
FileMaker Retakes the Claris Name after 21 Years
tidbits.com
FileMaker Inc. has announced that it will once again be known as Claris, indicating a larger vision for the Apple subsidiary.
Color Management
Sip: Smart Color Management for Your Mac
tidbits.com - Timothy Buck
What if there was a single place to pick, store, and organize colors on your Mac that also made it simple to use those colors in design apps, for …