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Weekly Issues

Adam Engst

#1651: Dealing with leading zeroes in spreadsheet data, removing ad tracking from ckbk

After having a holiday card returned as undeliverable due to an inadvertently truncated ZIP code, Adam Engst investigates the knotty problem of how spreadsheets handle data with leading zeroes. He also shares the story of…

Adam Engst

#1650: Cloud storage changes for Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive; quirky printing problem

Cloud storage services like Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive have either switched to or are in the process of switching to Apple’s File Provider extension. The new approach is more coherent but requires…

Adam Engst

#1649: More LastPass breach details and 1Password switch, macOS screen saver problem, tvOS 16.3.3 fixes Siri Remote bug

If you have experienced problems with your Siri Remote on a third-generation Apple TV 4K, update to the just-released tvOS 16.3.3. Password management service LastPass has released significantly more information about its 2022 data breaches,…

Adam Engst

#1648: iPhone passcode thefts, Center Cam improves webcam eye contact, APFS Uncertainty Principle

After the Wall Street Journal’s chilling account of how iPhone thieves obtain users’ passcodes and proceed to take over their digital lives, Adam Engst offers guidance on protecting yourself from such attacks. He also reviews…

Adam Engst

1647: Focus-caused notification issues, site-specific browser examples, virtualizing Windows on M-series Macs

Is Messages telling your friends that your notifications are silenced when they shouldn’t be? Adam Engst ran into this recently and tracked it down to a shared Focus getting stuck on a device that wasn’t…

Adam Engst

1646: Security-focused OS updates, Photos Workbench review, Mastodon client wishlist, Apple-related conferences

Another week, another set of OS updates to plug a serious WebKit vulnerability that is being actively exploited in the wild—update soon! We also announce a new community-built list of Apple-related conferences. Intrigued by the…

Adam Engst

#1645: AirPlay iPhone to Mac for remote video, Siri learns to restart iPhones, Apple’s Q1 2023 financials

This week’s issue leads off with Adam Engst’s Christmas story of how he used thousands of dollars of Apple technology to locate a dead mouse. Not a computer mouse, but a flesh-and-blood mouse that had…

Adam Engst

#1644: Explaining Mastodon and the Fediverse, HomePod Software 16.3 and tvOS 16.3, GoTo breach

With Twitter awash in controversy surrounding pretty much everything Elon Musk does, millions of people are decamping to Mastodon. But, as Glenn Fleishman explains in a pair of in-depth articles, Mastodon is only superficially a…

Adam Engst

#1643: New Mac mini and MacBook Pro models, new second-gen HomePod, security-focused OS updates, industry layoffs

It has been a week of unexpected Apple releases, and we have lots of details for you. First, the company announced new M2 models of the Mac mini and the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro,…

Adam Engst

#1642: How to identify phishing attacks, new iPhone and iPad passcode requirements

We have two in-depth articles for you this week. First, we examine why iPhones and iPads now require a passcode on every attempt to back up or sync to a Mac. (Hint, it’s related to…

Adam Engst

#1641: LastPass breached, Live Text aids recipe input, fix for failed MobileDeviceUpdater installs

Welcome to 2023! Our first issue of the year focuses on the serious security breach suffered by password management service LastPass, explaining what happened and how users should react. Adam Engst passes on a TidBITS…

Adam Engst

#1640: Notable OS updates, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.2 security fix, Contacts phone number quirk, email from Ukraine, TidBITS Talk emoji responses, holiday hiatus

The holidays are upon us, and we’re taking a two-week break from email issues—see you next on 9 January 2023! This week’s big news is Apple’s release of iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, macOS 13.1 Ventura,…

Adam Engst

#1639: ChatGPT implications, iCloud Advanced Data Protection, Office updates drop Catalina, iOS 16.1.2 improves Crash Detection

You may have heard about the new kid on the AI block: the engagingly conversational chatbot ChatGPT. Former Apple developer David Shayer explores just what ChatGPT is and, more importantly, what it’s not. Apple quietly…

Adam Engst

#1638: Eliminate Apple Pay and Google Hangouts annoyances, give Affinity V2 a try, join TidBITS!

We’re looking forward to new publishing initiatives in 2023—will you join over 3600 other TidBITS members in helping us develop new approaches to sharing practical Apple content? Are you irritated by the badge left on…

Josh Centers

#1637: Testing Emergency SOS and Find My via satellite, Ventura free space issues, Lock Screen Photo Shuffle joy, Thanksgiving hiatus

We’re taking some time off for the Thanksgiving holiday in the US this week, so the next TidBITS email issue will appear on 5 December 2022. Until then, look for new articles on our website…