Don’t worry about Apple making rent — the company last week announced another quarter of record sales and revenues, in spite of flagging iPad and iPod sales. The company also released a slew of updates, including iOS 7.1.1, which includes fixes for Touch ID, Bluetooth keyboards, and a nasty SSL security bug. Also new this week is Joe Kissell’s latest book, “Take Control of the Cloud,” which answers all your questions about the Cloud, including those surrounding security and privacy. Turning away from the news, we share a number of essential tips and techniques for working with external hard drives, which have become necessary now that Macs rely on low-capacity SSDs and lack room for internal storage expansion. In this week’s FunBITS, Josh Centers takes a look at the optically puzzling iOS game Monument Valley. Notable software releases this week include Adobe Flash Player 13.0.0.206; Instacast 1.2; VMware Fusion 6.0.3 and Fusion 6.0.3 Professional; DEVONagent Lite, Express, and Pro 3.8; DEVONthink and DEVONnote 2.7.5; OmniOutliner 4.0.5; 1Password 4.3; AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.7.3; Paprika 2.0.3; and Security Update 2014-002 (Mavericks, Mountain Lion, and Lion).
For its second fiscal quarter of 2014, Apple has once again reported record sales and revenues, beating analyst expectations and thrilling investors with a stock split, bigger dividends, and more stock buybacks.
Apple has released iOS 7.1.1 with a handful of bug and security fixes.
In his latest book, Joe Kissell explains everything you want to know about the Cloud, in approachable, non-technical language. He pins down nebulous cloud concepts, helps you evaluate claims about cloud services, and points out how to enhance your privacy and security in the cloud.
With the rise of fast solid-state storage that doesn’t offer much room for data and Macs that don’t let you swap out their hard drives, external drives have become essential in the Mac world. But are you treating yours well? Josh Centers offers some advice on keeping your hard drive and its data healthy.
Monument Valley is a puzzle game based around optical illusions and beautiful design that is every bit as relaxing as it is confounding.
Notable software releases this week include Adobe Flash Player 13.0.0.206; Instacast 1.2; VMware Fusion 6.0.3 and Fusion 6.0.3 Professional; DEVONagent Lite, Express, and Pro 3.8; DEVONthink and DEVONnote 2.7.5; OmniOutliner 4.0.5; 1Password 4.3; AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.7.3; Paprika 2.0.3; and Security Update 2014-002 (Mavericks, Mountain Lion, and Lion).
In this week’s ExtraBITS, Adam Engst reminiscences about 24 years of TidBITS on the Tech Night Owl podcast, David Sparks shows off Josh Centers’s Home screen, and Macworld puts the Mac Pro’s expandability to the test. Apple stayed busy this week, launching a replacement program for iPhone 5 phones with faulty Sleep/Wake buttons, expanding its trademarks to cover jewelry and watches, and opening Mac OS X beta access to all. Lastly, Wired’s Steven Levy profiles Apple’s vice president for environmental initiatives.