Here at TidBITS, we’re getting ready for this week’s kickoff to the Apple upgrade season, and now you can too, with Joe Kissell’s “Take Control of Upgrading to El Capitan” and Scholle McFarland’s “El Capitan: A Take Control Crash Course.” Grumpy about the annual upgrade cycle? Adam Engst feels your pain, but explains why you really should keep pace with upgrades. If you’re overwhelmed by unwanted digital chatter, Josh Centers spells out how to clean up your Twitter timeline using the Tweetbot client. Turning to the digital detritus that collects on all our computers, Joe Kissell shows you how use CleanMyMac 3 to freshen up your Mac. Glenn Fleishman takes a look at the early reviews for Google’s OnHub router, and they’re not pretty. Looking for an alternative to a pricey Apple Watch? Julio Ojeda-Zapata joins us to review the affordable Pebble Time smartwatch. Notable software releases this week include TextExpander 5.1.1, Alfred 2.7.2, and Carbon Copy Cloner 4.1.4.
With the official release of OS X 10.11 El Capitan coming ever closer, we have an early-bird version of Joe Kissell’s “Take Control of Upgrading to El Capitan” to help you get ready, along with a pre-order discount on Scholle McFarland’s “El Capitan: A Take Control Crash Course.”
Tired of your Twitter feed being full of junk you don’t care to see? Before you unfollow, read Josh Centers’s guide to muting unwanted topics using the independent Twitter client Tweetbot.
Several news outlets received early review units of Google’s new Wi-Fi router, the OnHub. On the whole, they say that it has inconsistent signal coverage, its touted interference-avoidance feature isn’t reliable, and some hardware elements aren’t yet available.
MacPaw’s CleanMyMac 3 is a multipurpose Mac maintenance tool and uninstaller. Joe Kissell thinks it’s effective, attractive, and easy to use — a worthy addition to any Mac user’s toolbox. But he also points out that it’s not a complete maintenance solution, and that some of its recommendations should be skipped.
There’s an increasing backlash against the constant drumbeat to upgrade to the latest and greatest, and we understand why these nonstop upgrades might make you frustrated or even angry. However, even though many upgrades are a pointless waste of pixels, Adam Engst argues that keeping up is necessary.
Julio Ojeda-Zapata put Pebble’s next-generation watch, the Pebble Time, through its paces. And while it’s clearly no match for the Apple Watch, it’s a decent budget option with a nice design and lots of value for the money.
Notable software releases this week include TextExpander 5.1.1, Alfred 2.7.2, and Carbon Copy Cloner 4.1.4.
In ExtraBITS this week, Hulu is offering a (mostly) commercial-free option, Apple admits that Apple Music needs more work, Amazon Prime Video debuts offline viewing for iOS devices, we give you yet another reason to not jailbreak your iPhone, Apple is reportedly testing a move into video content, and the NFL takes a step closer toward the Apple TV.