This issue of TidBITS brings you a unique mix. In a helpful article that hearkens back to content we published 25 years ago, Adam Engst explains how you can use Apple’s new-in-Monterey networkQuality tool to get a more accurate picture of your Internet connection’s responsiveness, which is essential for video calls and gaming. For those who enjoy Wordle, Adam also explores numerous Wordle-inspired games, including multidimensional, adversarial, multiplayer, and non-linguistic variants. Finally, Glenn Fleishman delves into the thorny details of cryptocurrency to explain why it’s worth understanding the basics even though you shouldn’t invest in it. Our only notable Mac app release this week is Typinator 8.12.1.
Apple’s networkQuality command-line tool in Monterey provides a new metric—“responsiveness”—that measures latency in a more realistic manner to better reflect your real-world experience with interactive Internet services like videoconference and gaming.
For many people, the word-guessing game Wordle has become a small daily treat. But it has also inspired numerous other games that tweak Wordle’s dictionary, gameplay, or overall concept. Adam Engst started out thinking he could put together a complete collection but eventually stumbled on a site that caused his head to explode.
Cryptocurrency is volatile, expensive to trade, illiquid, and rife with scams and account hijacking. Yet it contains kernels of technology and principles that likely will dominate financial markets in the future.
Watchlist
Adds full support and compatibility with macOS 12 Monterey and M1-based Macs. (€24.99 new, free update, 10.4 MB, macOS 10.10+)
