In this issue of TidBITS, we’re happy to announce “one more thing” — Joe Kissell’s latest book, “Take Control of Keynote,” which walks you through planning, creating, and delivering a killer presentation. Strong iPhone sales helped Apple break financial records in Q3 2015 again, despite iPad sales volume continuing to decline. Moving on from the news, Josh Centers takes a look at BeardedSpice, which lets you control Web media players with your Mac’s media keys, and shows you how to replace an iPhone 5c screen with the Screasy repair kit. Adam Engst reviews TripMode, which helps prevent data overages when tethering your Mac to your iPhone, and in FunBITS, Michael Cohen takes you on a trip though time, space, and music with Lightyear.fm. Notable software releases this week include Mellel 3.4.2, Microsoft Office 2011 14.5.3, MacBook Pro Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0, Default Folder X 4.7.3, and TextExpander 5.1.
Our latest Take Control book, Joe Kissell’s “Take Control of Keynote” provides comprehensive help not just with Apple’s Keynote presentation app, but with all aspects of giving a good talk. It joins “Take Control of Pages” and “Take Control of Numbers” to round out our coverage of Apple’s iWork productivity suite.
Although the iPad is still slumping, and Apple Watch sales remain a closely guarded secret, iPhone and Mac sales hit record highs, leading to yet another strong showing for Apple’s bottom line.
Josh Centers explains how BeardedSpice solves two Mac media key problems: controlling Web-based players and keeping native apps from fighting for control.
If you use your Mac with the Personal Hotspot feature of iOS, or with other mobile hotspots, allowing some apps to transfer data unchecked can result in expensive overage charges. The new TripMode utility lets you allow only specified apps to access the Internet, blocking bandwidth-hungry software like Dropbox that might chew data in the background.
With his wife’s iPhone 5c suffering from a broken screen, Josh Centers had the perfect opportunity to test out the Screasy iPhone Screen Repair Kit.
A clever Web site takes you on a space-time journey to sample popular music from bygone decades.
Notable software releases this week include Mellel 3.4.2, Microsoft Office 2011 14.5.3, MacBook Pro Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0, Default Folder X 4.7.3, and TextExpander 5.1.
This week’s ExtraBITS roundup features Josh Centers and the Tech Night Owl discussing Apple financials, Flickr bringing back Pro accounts, Jim Dalrymple losing and then recovering much of his music because of Apple Music confusions, and United Airlines’ push to install DRM on your computer.