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Glenn Fleishman

Glenn Fleishman

Glenn Fleishman writes about the past, present, and future. He’s been a technology journalist since the 1990s, contributing to TidBITS since 1993, and to publications like the Economist, Fast Company, the New York Times, Fortune, and many others (many of them long out of business). He’s also a printing historian, specializing in processes used between original artwork and typeset material and the final printed page, concluding flong. Glenn writes the Mac 911 column for Macworld, was the editor and publisher of The Magazine, and regularly appears on technology and nerd-culture podcasts.

Glenn Fleishman 77 comments

Tune Find My for Travel Tracking to Avoid Annoying AirTag and Apple Device Alerts

Apple’s AirTag and other Find My trackers—along with Find My-tracked Apple devices—may be too aggressive about telling you where they are—or aren’t. They can be useful for tracking luggage and other valuables while traveling, particularly with others, but you will likely need to tune your settings to reduce notifications.

Glenn Fleishman 5 comments

Apple Adds Lockdown Mode to Protect Activists and Government Targets

Apple announced it will add an enhanced security mode to this year’s planned operating system updates to deter government-level spyware.

Glenn Fleishman 29 comments

Apple Brings Mail Merge Back to Pages

Years after removing the feature in a major rewrite, Apple has returned mail merge to Pages so you can use data from Contacts or a spreadsheet to customize letters, envelopes, or cards.

Glenn Fleishman 59 comments

Why Passkeys Will Be Simpler and More Secure Than Passwords

Passkeys are a new way to log into websites and apps that replaces passwords. The industry-standard passkey technology is simpler and more secure than passwords (even with two-factor authentication), resists phishing, and is built to be compatible across browsers and platforms.

Glenn Fleishman 47 comments

Understand Cryptocurrency, but Don’t Invest in It

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.

Glenn Fleishman 5 comments

Audio Hijack 4 Brings Interface Improvements and Recording Upgrades

The latest version of Rogue Amoeba’s Mac app for grabbing, mixing, and manipulating audio from apps and sound inputs makes it easier to design and improve workflows. It also offers new and improved audio recording and processing features.

Glenn Fleishman 54 comments

Never Change Your Password

Many websites advise you to change your password routinely. That advice is nearly universally wrong: you should only update a password when there’s a weakness. Why does it persist?

Glenn Fleishman 21 comments

Roku Express 4K+ Provides an Affordable Alternative to the Apple TV

The compact, inexpensive Roku Express 4K+ could give you everything you want from a streaming media player for your TV, including AirPlay 2 support. It’s a fraction the cost of an Apple TV 4K and nearly as well designed.

Glenn Fleishman 4 comments

New Apple Guide Offers Personal Safety Advice

Apple has consolidated advice shared across many of its support documents and user manuals into one relatively concise guide. While welcome, it has room to improve.

Glenn Fleishman 90 comments

AirTags: Hidden Stalking Menace or Latest Overblown Urban Myth?

Mainstream and technology media report that stalkers and criminals use AirTags to track unsuspecting people and aid in car theft. Do a handful of anecdotes truly reveal a broader pattern?

Glenn Fleishman 83 comments

USBefuddled: Untangling the Rat’s Nest of USB-C Standards and Cables

USB-C was supposed to make connectivity easier. Instead, it has acquired a profusion of footnotes, exceptions, and labeling that can leave average users frustrated—and with the wrong cable. USB 4 and Thunderbolt 4 are our last best hope.

Glenn Fleishman 23 comments

Apple Lawsuit Goes After Spyware Firm NSO Group

Apple has sued the notorious NSO Group and will be funding two prominent research groups that specialize in discovering and describing cyber surveillance attacks. These moves appear to be the first step in a new strategy against companies that weaponize operating system flaws to profit off surveillance.

Glenn Fleishman 19 comments

Add Two-Factor Codes to Password Entries in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and Safari 15

With iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and Safari 15 for macOS, you can add two-factor authentication codes directly to password entries. When you log into a website or app later, the token auto-fills, saving fuss.

Glenn Fleishman 44 comments

How You Can Lose a File Despite Three Layers of Backup (and How To Avoid It)

You’d think that three separate continuous file-archiving systems would have been enough to protect Glenn Fleishman from his own mistake after modifying a file whose original he wanted to see. Unfortunately, circumstances conspired. His cautionary tale offers a lesson.

Glenn Fleishman 165 comments

How I Learned To Love Quicken Deluxe and Give Up on the Past

Glenn Fleishman’s 14-year relationship with Quicken 2007 finally ended this year. But it took a dead motherboard, an old Mac mini, and a conveniently timed tip for him to break with his accounting software past.