Faced with recurrent kernel panics and an inexplicable problem on the first boot after installing a minor macOS update, Adam Engst opts for a Level 2 clean install when upgrading to macOS 13 Ventura. What’s a Level 2 clean install? And did it work?
It’s update day at Apple again, with updates to all the company’s operating systems. A few changes may be particularly welcome, including Voice Isolation for cellular calls, duplicate handling in an iCloud Shared Photo Library, and Web app notifications.
After receiving an “undeliverable” holiday card back, Adam and Tonya Engst discovered that their approach to extracting data from Contacts to print labels inadvertently deleted leading zeroes in ZIP codes. Can they ever send snail mail to New England? Here’s what happened—and how to avoid similar errors.
Prompted by a question from a reader about why images didn’t appear in printed copies of the TidBITS email issue, we look under the hood in WordPress to find the culprit.
As cloud storage services like Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive move from deprecated kernel extensions to Apple’s File Provider extension, Mac users face interface and workflow changes.
If you've been having connectivity problems between the USB-C Siri Remote and the third-generation Apple TV 4K, the latest update for tvOS promises to help.
macOS has a long-standing bug that causes screen savers to fail to show edited or rotated images from Photos—only the original versions. Ventura still suffers from this problem, and although Adam Engst shares some workarounds, you’re not going to like them.
Faced with an ever-worsening stench in his laundry room at Christmas. Adam Engst brings thousands of dollars of Apple gear and recent technologies into play to avoid ripping the entire room apart.
Ever wondered what format to use when creating a disk image in Disk Utility? After comparing the three main types on space efficiency, performance, and convenience, Howard Oakley came up with a clear winner.
People who use their Macs to back up or sync their iPhones and iPads have discovered they must enter their device passcode for every connection. What’s up with that?!? Adam Engst explains: it’s Apple’s ham-handed response to a security vulnerability.
Mac users sometimes see the prompt “A software update is required to connect to your iPhone/iPad” when connecting one of those devices. What should you do if the installation fails?
It turns out that Contacts on the Mac stores extra invisible characters with every phone number, which can cause trouble when copying and pasting them into some online forms. Here’s what’s going on and how to work around the problem.
Apple has updated all of its operating systems, adding the Freeform digital whiteboard app, support for Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, Apple Music Sing, Stage Manager on external displays, and various smaller improvements. A fix for a serious security vulnerability encourages updating soon.
The October 2022 update to Microsoft’s Office apps was the last one for users running macOS 10.15 Catalina. Upgrade to at least macOS 11 Big Sur to continue receiving enhancements, bug fixes, and security updates to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.
If you’re among those who dislike having notification badges permanently affixed to iOS apps, you may be frustrated by the badge on the Settings app that nags you to set up Apple Pay. Here’s how to get rid of it without enabling Apple Pay.