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TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 16 June 2014

ChronoSync 4.5 — Econ Technologies has released ChronoSync 4.5 with a new Document Organizer workspace that tracks all recently used documents and presents them in a convenient window. The automated synchronization and backup app has been updated with 64-bit support (offering access to more memory and more advanced APIs) and full integration with Notification Center. It also significantly improves synchronizer document loads and saves, updates all icons and artwork for Retina displays, improves error reporting with more specific error source reporting, improves communication settings on the
connection profile editor to control timeouts on a per-connection basis, and enhances communication efficiency between ChronoAgent and InterConneX for iOS targets. See this tech note for a full list of enhancements and fixes. ($40 new with a 25 percent discount for TidBITS members, free update, 39.4 MB, release notes, 10.6+)

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MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.8 — Apple has released MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.8, which follows this week’s earlier update to the system management controller (SMC) for MacBook Air laptops (see “MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update 2.0,” 10 June 2014). For MacBook Air models released in the middle of 2013 and early 2014, this firmware update improves reliability when waking from sleep and when booting while certain USB and Thunderbolt devices are connected, plus fixes a rare memory issue that could cause the system to reboot. It also addresses a complex bug that
prevented the built-in display from sleeping while connected to an external display and running Windows using Boot Camp. As with other firmware updates, it’s best to rely on Software Update to ensure you get the right update for your specific model. Also be careful not to interrupt the update process! (Free, 4.8 MB, 10.8.5+)

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MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update 2.0 — Apple has released MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update 2.0, the second system management controller update to address battery issues (see “SMC Firmware Updates for MacBook Pro, MacBook Pro Retina, and MacBook Air,” 3 October 2013). Directed at MacBook Air models released in the middle of 2013, Update 2.0 fixes a problem that caused the battery to drain more quickly than expected with the lid closed. As always with firmware updates, we recommend relying on Software Update to ensure you get the right update for your particular model. Be
careful not to interrupt the update process! (Free, 804 KB, 10.8.5+)

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PDFpen and PDFpenPro 6.3 — Smile has released version 6.3 of PDFpen and PDFpenPro with added support for text-to-speech and improved support for VoiceOver in several areas (such as for fillable text fields and previously unlabeled interface elements). The all-purpose PDF editing apps also gain support for page-down scrolling/navigation via the Space bar, restore the Command-5 keyboard shortcut for turning on the Text tool, improve performance of the Split PDF script, fix a bug that caused certain multi-page documents to show only one page, improve saving performance
in large or complex PDFs, and fix several instances of crashes and hangs. ($59.95/$99.95 new with a 20 percent discount for TidBITS members, 52.7/53.4 MB, release notes, 10.7+)

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