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Category: Networking

Adam Engst 10 comments

Apple Takes Over iCloud Passwords Add-On for Firefox

Although there are no details about the transition, Apple has taken over the previously independent iCloud Passwords add-on for Firefox. The move enhances the company’s password management services for users outside its ecosystem.

Glenn Fleishman 6 comments

Find My Will Let You Share Lost Item Locations with Anyone—Including Airlines

The upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 Sequoia releases, now in public beta, let you securely share a link to a lost AirTag or other Find My item with anyone. You’ll also soon have a special way to share tracking links directly with airlines when your luggage is missing or delayed.

Adam Engst 2 comments

LittleBITS: TidBITS Website and App Connectivity Issues Resolved

Our server move to Cloudways is complete, but it hasn’t been entirely smooth. Various security-related changes at Cloudways caused access errors that proved difficult to troubleshoot.

Glenn Fleishman 36 comments

Thunderbolt 5: Only Necessary for the Most Demanding Uses

With the introduction of the first Macs that support Thunderbolt 5, you might wonder what has changed from Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4. The answer? Not much—it’s a case of evolution, not revolution. However, Thunderbolt 5 will make a difference for those with video-intensive or high-performance data transfer needs.

Adam Engst 57 comments

Postbox Acquired by eM Client, Ends Development

eM Client has acquired the longtime email app Postbox and discontinued sales and development. While Postbox users can still use the app and receive support for several months, it’s time to start looking for a replacement.

Adam Engst 30 comments

AppBITS: Online Check Reports Internet Outages

This Mac utility can monitor your Internet connection’s stability with minimal resource use, helping you track and respond to outages.

Adam Engst 17 comments

How Gmail Users Can Configure an Email Alias in iPhone Mail

Frustrated by having to reveal his backend Gmail address, Adam Engst figures out how to configure Mail on the iPhone to use a Gmail alias.

Adam Engst 4 comments

LittleBITS: Main TidBITS Server Moving This Week

We plan to move the main TidBITS website on Tuesday night, so let us know in TidBITS Talk if you notice any problems.

Adam Engst 29 comments

AppBITS: Use Blip to Send Large Files Directly

Do you regularly need to send large files to someone else? Blip makes it easy to send files of any size to any Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Android user directly over your network or the Internet. 

Adam Engst 35 comments

Help Build a Tool To Track Apple Support Page Changes

It’s possible to write software that can traverse the entire universe of Apple support pages. Wouldn’t it be helpful if there were a tool that would tell you which pages were new or had changed? 

Adam Engst No comments

Talking about Troubleshooting on the Chit Chat Across the Pond Podcast

In which Adam Engst and Allison Sheridan talk through Adam’s solar inverter connectivity problem as an example of how small assumptions can prevent successful troubleshooting.

Adam Engst 27 comments

DEVONtechnologies Resurrects Network Utility

Apple deprecated Network Utility in macOS 11 Big Sur, but DEVONtechnologies has now released the free Neo Network Utility, a near-clone of Apple’s obsolete utility.

Adam Engst 14 comments

How to Turn Off iCloud Private Relay to Work Around Outages

Apple’s iCloud Private Relay traffic anonymization service went down last week for some users, causing various connectivity problems in Safari and other apps. If you experiencing connectivity problems, try turning off iCloud Private Relay temporarily.

Adam Engst 21 comments

Solar Inverter Connectivity Problem Reveals Weak Troubleshooting

After failing to reestablish Internet connectivity for his solar panel inverters following a spate of power outages, Adam Engst finally figured out the problem with the help of a support tech who made him break it down into its constituent parts. Read on to learn from his mistakes.

Adam Engst 12 comments

Apple Maps on the Web Appears in Beta

We may soon get better sharing of Apple Maps location links with Windows users thanks to the beta of Maps on the Web.