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Thoughtful, detailed coverage of everything Apple for 34 years
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Weekly Issues

Adam Engst

#1716: CrowdStrike takeaways, OS public betas, Steve Jobs’s 1983 predictions, Backblaze restoration drive price increase

Last week’s big tech news—the worldwide PC outage caused by CrowdStrike—affected Apple users only indirectly, but could it happen to Macs or other Apple devices? Adam Engst ponders what Apple users and the tech world…

Adam Engst

#1715: AI powers TUAW zombie reboot, OS 2024 system requirements, social engineering attacks, the Internet in 1994

Public betas of this year’s crop of Apple operating systems—macOS 15 Sequoia, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, tvOS 18, and visionOS 2—have just dropped. Can your Apple gear upgrade? If it can, will all…

Adam Engst

#1714: Generative AI Web scraping, persistent task reminders with Due, Authy breach

Generative AI features prominently in this issue. First, Adam Engst links to his Command Control Power podcast discussion that segued from Apple Intelligence to deeper questions surrounding AI. Then, to provide an alternative perspective to…

Adam Engst

#1713: Apple Intelligence security and privacy, Slack for iPhone posting problem, In Your Face persistent notifications, Apple longevity white paper

Curious about the security, privacy, and safety issues surrounding Apple Intelligence? TidBITS security editor and cloud computing expert Rich Mogull explains how Apple Intelligence achieves industry-leading security, privacy, and safety for AI. Adam Engst looks…

Adam Engst

#1712: Pirate Ship shipping service, art immersion on the Vision Pro, more WWDC details, no Apple Intelligence in the EU, Slack reduces free team storage period

This week’s issue straddles the virtual and physical worlds. Michael Cohen rejoins us to report on his tour through the Art Authority Museum, an immersive art experience on the Vision Pro. Returning to the real…

Adam Engst

#1711: Apple Intelligence examined, Apple ID to become Apple Account, block SMS text spam, Apple Pay Later discontinued

This week’s feature article examines Apple Intelligence, the collection of AI-based features the company unveiled at WWDC and plans to roll out slowly throughout the next year. We also look at Apple’s quiet announcement that…

Adam Engst

#1710: New OS features for 2024, corporate miscommunications, upcoming TidBITS server changes, texts from an iPhone thief

Apple’s WWDC announcements will dominate this week’s tech news, and with good reason: the company unveiled a slew of new features and Apple Intelligence, a collection of AI-driven capabilities that will appear over the course…

Adam Engst

#1709: Unsolicited 2FA codes, solving “Failed to personalize” update errors, new features for Kini motion detectors, Apple Hearing Study update

Have you ever received a two-factor authentication code in Messages you didn’t request? That’s a red flag because it could indicate that an attacker has partially compromised one of your accounts. Adam Engst explains what…

Adam Engst

#1708: Productive uses for generative AI, how to locate spycams, MagSafe charging pauses during Continuity Camera

For this week’s anchor article, Adam Engst examines productive uses for generative AI chatbots and artbots, providing real-world suggestions and advice on identifying other appropriate uses. Adam also discovers that iPhones being used for Continuity…

Adam Engst

#1707: iOS 17.5.1 fixes reappearing photos bug, Slack AI privacy principles controversy, tech tips for business travel

The Internet was in a twist late last week, first as reports surfaced about iOS 17.5 bringing back deleted photos and then as an awkward opt-out provision of Slack’s AI privacy principles was taken out…

Adam Engst

#1706: New iPad Air and iPad Pro, iOS 17.5 detects cross-platform location trackers, macOS versioning, Apple apologizes for “Crush!” ad

The big news for this issue is Apple’s release of new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air and iPad Pro models, plus the new Apple Pencil Pro and redesigned Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. We have…

Adam Engst

#1705: All about MagSafe for the iPhone, Apple Q2 2024 financials, online messaging history, should we move past “user”?

Apple reported Q2 2024 earnings last week, and while the company still brought in revenues of $90.8 billion and profits of $23.6 billion, those revenues were down 4% compared to last year. Michael Cohen examines…

Adam Engst

#1704: Apple “Let Loose” event, digital legacy planning, Arc Search sidebar syncing, Apple ID accounts locked, LastPass phishing attacks

Get ready for new iPads at Apple’s “Let Loose” event on 7 May 2024—it’s about time. In the wake of the death of Take Control author Charles Edge, Adam Engst offers a brief guide to…

Adam Engst

#1703: Take Control author dies, Google Find My Device raises privacy bar, Helper Helper volunteer management, AirPlay in hotels, Apple to allow used parts, undersea cable maintenance

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Take Control of OS X Server author Charles Edge, who was a well-known member of the Mac admin community. Glenn Fleishman joins us this…

Adam Engst

#1702: TidBITS’s 34th anniversary, Apple Watch Ultra 2 in relay race, 1Password credit card conundrum, Listen Later upgraded

This issue marks TidBITS’s 34th anniversary, so Adam Engst shares some stats and thoughts about where TidBITS is now, along with some additional Mac app discounts for TidBITS members. Apple has finally shown a little…