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Category: Networking

Adam Engst 16 comments

Arc Gains Instant Links, Tab Grouping, and Arc Search iPhone App

The Browser Company has been busy with its Arc Web browser, adding features to speed up searching, organize tab clutter, and more. Also new is an Arc Search app for the iPhone.

Glenn Fleishman 37 comments

Reconnect a HomeKit Accessory over a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi Network

After a network hiccup caused his HomeKit-enabled smart thermostat to lose its network connection, Glenn Fleishman had to do tweaky network reconfiguration to get it to rejoin his Home setup.

Adam Engst 15 comments

Do You Use It? Apple Services See Widely Varying Popularity

The results of our poll asking which Apple services TidBITS readers use are in, with iCloud+ proving the most popular by far, followed by a surprisingly strong showing from Apple TV+. Apple Arcade and Apple Fitness+ brought up the rear, but remember, TidBITS readers aren’t representative of the overall Apple audience.

Adam Engst 31 comments

Apple to Support RCS in Messages Next Year

In an announcement that the tech press likely cares about more than everyday users, Apple said Messages will support the RCS messaging standard alongside SMS and MMS sometime next year.

Adam Engst 5 comments

LittleBITS: Email Delivery Problem and Blocking Spambot Accounts

We’ve been dealing with some server-side issues of late, and Adam Engst takes you behind the curtains to apologize for an email delivery failure and explain how we blocked an onslaught of spambot-created accounts.

Glenn Fleishman 4 comments

Upcoming Contact Key Verification Feature Promises Secure Identity Verification for iMessage

Apple has released details about Contact Key Verification, an upcoming option in Messages that lets you manually verify an iMessage correspondent’s identity without relying on encryption data managed centrally by Apple. The feature also watches for anomalies, warning you when changes prevent it from guaranteeing a conversation is with the same person.

Julio Ojeda-Zapata 22 comments

AT&T Joins T-Mobile, Verizon in Deploying 5G Home Internet

AT&T has joined T-Mobile and Verizon in offering wireless home Internet service. Julio Ojeda-Zapata tested AT&T Internet Air and found it a good value—but not good enough to replace his Xfinity wired broadband. He thinks wireless home broadband is a great fit for many, though.

Adam Engst 13 comments

Do You Use It? Safari Ranks as Top Mac Web Browser

Which Web browsers do TidBITS readers use on their Macs? Safari, of course, but Firefox proved surprisingly popular, and an emphasis on privacy may account for several other unexpected deviations from global browser share numbers.

Adam Engst 4 comments

Arc Web Browser Introduces Focused AI Features

The Browser Company of New York has unveiled Arc Max, a collection of five experimental AI tools. From Ask on Page to Tidy Downloads, we explore how Arc Max enhances browsing. But are these AI tools genuinely useful? Learn how The Browser Company approaches AI and follow along to see which features survive the trial period.

Adam Engst 87 comments

Five Unexpected Announcements from Apple’s Wonderlust Event

Sure, Apple announced the iPhone 15, Apple Watch Series 9, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 at its Wonderlust event on 12 September 2023. But we weren’t expecting these additional announcements.

Adam Engst 7 comments

Arc 1.5 Brings Back Today Tab Syncing

Regular unpinned “Today” tabs once again sync between windows and devices in the recently released Arc Web browser. The Browser Company explains why Today tab syncing was removed and then restored a few months later. 

Adam Engst 30 comments

Innovative Web Browser Arc Reaches 1.0 Release

The new Web browser Arc has left its beta releases and waitlist behind. If you’re unhappy with your browser or perform significant work in a collection of websites every day, Adam Engst recommends you try Arc. 

Adam Engst 8 comments

How to Identify and Eliminate Abusive Web Notifications

There’s nothing new about notification adware, system-level alerts from malicious websites that try to lure you into sharing login credentials, credit card info, or other personal information. A recent uptick in reports caused Adam Engst to explore the topic more deeply to help readers learn to identify and eliminate abusive notifications.

Adam Engst 10 comments

Google’s .zip Provides Another Reason to Beware of Wacky Top-Level Domains

Google's new .zip top-level domain has raised concerns from the security community due to the ease with which it enables ambiguous URLs that could be used in phishing attacks.

Adam Engst 25 comments

Why I Use Mimestream for Gmail

The Gmail-specific email app Mimestream has emerged from a multi-year public beta with a 1.0 version that’s familiar, fast, and fluid. Adam Engst explains why he has chosen Mimestream as his preferred email client.