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Category: Mac & macOS

Adam Engst 6 comments

macOS 14.4.1 Sonoma and macOS 13.6.6 Ventura Fix Bugs and Vulnerabilities

Apple doesn’t say what has changed for macOS 13.6.6 Ventura, but the bugs fixed in macOS 14.4.1 Sonoma have bedeviled users for the last two weeks.

Adam Engst 40 comments

Follow These Steps to Clear Space on Your Mac

Apple no longer makes it easy to tell precisely how much free space is available on your Mac, but you know when you don’t have enough. Adam Engst offers (and explains) 21 simple steps to clear space quickly.

Adam Engst 6 comments

Walmart Sells M1 MacBook Air for $699

The M1 MacBook Air is back! After seemingly being dropped by Apple after the launch of the M3 MacBook Air, Walmart has picked up the base model of the M1 MacBook Air to sell at a low price.

Adam Engst 1 comment

Federico Viticci’s Hacked-Together Mac-iPad Convertible

In a stunning feat of hackery, Federico Viticci of MacStories removed the screen from a MacBook Air and replaced it with a detachable iPad for the best of both worlds… and a better Mac Virtual Display for the Vision Pro.

Adam Engst 43 comments

Apple Releases macOS 14.4, watchOS 10.4, tvOS 17.4, HomePod Software 17.4, and visionOS 1.1

After the release of iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4 earlier in the week, there was little question that Apple would soon push out updates to the rest of its operating systems. That has now happened, and we recommend updating quickly to protect against several zero-day vulnerabilities.

Adam Engst 45 comments

New M3 MacBook Air Models Can Drive Two Displays

Apple has introduced M3 versions of the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air, increasing performance, enabling them to drive two external displays, and updating them to more modern wireless networking standards.

Adam Engst 6 comments

Do You Use It? How TidBITS Readers Install macOS Updates

The results of our poll asking how TidBITS readers engage with macOS updates reveal that most people stick with Apple’s default settings and follow our advice about how quickly to install. That’s good!

Adam Engst 22 comments

macOS 14.3.1, iOS 17.3.1, iPadOS 17.3.1, and Safari 17.3.1 Fix WebKit Text Bug

Apple has released a set of updates that address the maddening WebKit text bug that caused lines of text to duplicate or overlap while typing. 

Adam Engst 9 comments

macOS 14.3 Sonoma Text Display Bug to Be Fixed Soon

If you’ve noticed weird text display problems in macOS 14.3 Sonoma, you’re not alone. The bug has been fixed in WebKit and should appear in a new version of macOS soon.

Adam Engst 32 comments

Celebrating the Mac’s 40th Anniversary across the Web

Numerous publications have posted articles surrounding the 40th anniversary of the Mac, and we’ve collected a bunch of the best ones.

Adam Engst 24 comments

iOS 17.3 Stands Out from Other OS Updates with Stolen Device Protection

Apple has released a large set of operating system updates, including iOS 17.3, iPadOS 17.3, macOS 14.3 Sonoma, watchOS 10.3, tvOS 17.3, HomePod Software 17.3, macOS 13.6.4 Ventura, macOS 12.7.3 Monterey, iOS 16.7.5 and iPadOS 16.7.5, and iOS 15.8.1 and iPadOS 15.8.1. New features include Stolen Device Protection in iOS 17.3 and Apple Music collaborative playlists.

Adam Engst 28 comments

Ventura and Monterey Users: Beware Unwanted Sonoma Upgrades

Some macOS 13 Ventura and macOS 12 Monterey users are being upgraded to macOS 14 Sonoma after dismissing notifications that encourage an upgrade. It’s a nasty bug, but the TidBITS Talk community has some advice on how to avoid the forced upgrade.

Adam Engst 22 comments

Do You Use It? Widgets See Middling Adoption

The results of our poll asking how frequently you use widgets show that roughly 50% of users never use widgets at all, with 25% to 50% of people using them slightly or heavily. But those numbers are complicated by the availability of three types of widgets on the iPhone and iPad, two on the Mac, and one on the Apple Watch.

Adam Engst 7 comments

Apple Releases macOS 14.2.1, iOS 17.2.1, iOS 16.74, and iPadOS 16.7.4

A handful of iOS and iPadOS updates address unspecified bugs, and the update to macOS 14.2.1 Sonoma fixes a bug that could share random windows via Screen Sharing.

Adam Engst 4 comments

Apple Self Service Repair Adds Remote Diagnostics and Supports New Devices

Although the addition of the iPhone 15 lineup and Macs using the M2 family of chips to Self Service Repair is welcome, the release of the remote Apple Diagnostics for Self Service Repair troubleshooting tool is more interesting.