Adam Engst
Adam C. Engst is the publisher of TidBITS. He has written numerous books, including the best-selling Internet Starter Kit series, and many magazine articles thanks to Contributing Editor positions at MacUser, MacWEEK, and now Macworld. His innovations include the creation of the first advertising program to support an Internet publication in 1992, the first flat-rate accounts for graphical Internet access in 1993, and the Take Control electronic book series now owned and operated by alt concepts. His awards include the MDJ Power 25 ranking as the most influential person in the Macintosh industry outside of Apple every year since 2000, inclusion on the MacTech 25 list of influential people in the Macintosh technical community, and being named one of MacDirectory's top ten visionaries. And yes, he has been turned into an action figure.
macOS 11 Big Sur has thrown a cryptographically signed monkey wrench into the inner workings of backup apps that make bootable duplicates. There are now workarounds, and Apple promises to fix the necessary underlying tool, but Adam Engst suggests that we need to rethink the role bootable duplicates play in a modern backup strategy.
Wouldn’t it be nice to make videos with a camera that records both you and everything around you and allows you to edit all the footage together after the fact? That’s what the Insta360 ONE X2 steady cam enables, thanks to 360º filming and a powerful editing app.
If you initiate an upgrade to Big Sur from a previous version of macOS but don’t have sufficient free space—at least 35.5 GB—you could end up in a Boot Recovery Assistant loop that can be exceedingly difficult to escape. Never update macOS without enough space or a current backup!
Apple has updated macOS 11 Big Sur to fix a single bug and block three security vulnerabilities. It’s not an urgent install for most people.
A class-action lawsuit filed by the same law firm that kicked off the eventual antitrust lawsuit against Apple and major publishers alleges something that was long suspected back then—that Amazon also engaged in collusion with publishers to restrain price competition.
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has announced that he’ll be transitioning away from the CEO role to that of Executive Chair of the Amazon Board, with Amazon Web Services head Andy Jassy taking over as CEO.
Since the iPhone 12 or any other consumer electronics device with strong magnets can interfere with implanted medical devices like pacemakers and defibrillators, Apple has issued more specific safety guidance.
We’re drowning in data about COVID-19—infection rates, hospitalizations, and fatalities. But none of that data can answer the question of what your personal risk of infection is. With the NOVID app—and sufficient uptake in your community—you can know just how close infections are to you.
In which Adam Engst finally hops on the HomeKit bandwagon for real and gets totally sucked in, installing smart outlets, controlling motorized shades, and adding some Flic buttons.Â
Over at Wired, Lily Hay Newman focuses on the potentially massive harm done to US cybersecurity by the mob of rioters who stormed and then occupied the US Capitol.
Do you find yourself having to go back and forth when trying to identify a compatible meeting time with a group of people? Doodle has long been a good solution for this problem, but the When2Meet service is faster, easier, and free.
In keeping with our tradition, we’re going to take off the last few weeks of 2020, which this year means staying safe with our immediate households and scheduling virtual gatherings with our extended families. You can expect the next email issue of TidBITS on 11 January 2021. Thanks for reading TidBITS, and we hope you’ve found our content useful, accurate, and enjoyable!
Just because you once shared access to your Apple devices or accounts doesn’t mean you necessarily want to keep on sharing, especially if a relationship change means that you no longer feel safe with that person. Apple has published clear, sensible instructions for reviewing and revoking shared data and device access.
In yet another feature-focused update to Apple’s entire stable of operating systems, the company introduced support for various new products and promised technologies, including Apple Fitness+, the AirPods Max, the Apple ProRAW image format, and more.
Apple has announced that its Apple Fitness+ service will launch on December 14th. Apple Watch owners can try it for a month for free, and those who buy a new Apple Watch get three free months. After that, it’s $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year.