This is our last issue of 2012, so our holiday gift to you is plenty of reading material to keep you informed and entertained over the next three weeks! For those looking for a last-minute gift for that Mac user who has everything, well, they probably don’t have Mac-compatible versions of the beloved video games brought back to life by GOG.com, as Jeff Porten explains. Also, Josh Centers shows how to redeem iTunes gift cards using your Mac’s camera, and we link to our latest live staff roundtable recording (audio and video) talking about iTunes 11 and antivirus app accuracy. In the iOS world, Adam Engst compares the new Google Maps app with Apple’s Maps app, Glenn Fleishman reviews 1Password 4 for iOS, Josh Centers looks quickly at the new Dropbox iOS app, and Michael Cohen explains how edition updates work in iBooks 3. Notable software releases this week include Dropbox 1.6.5, Lightroom 4.3, iTunes 11.0.1, Sandvox 2.7.3, TextExpander 4.0.4, TinkerTool 4.95, and Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.7.
As is our tradition, we’re taking the last few weeks of the year off to spend time with family and friends, so look for the next email issue of TidBITS on 7 January 2013. But we’ll continue posting new articles to our Web site, and TidBITS Talk will also continue apace.
Apple obsesses over the details, and its iTunes Gift Cards are no exception. Josh Centers details how Apple has made them easier to redeem this holiday season thanks to a new feature in iTunes 11.
Watch (or listen to) the latest TidBITS staff roundtable to get our take on the continuing story of iTunes 11 and the varying levels of accuracy among antivirus apps.
The popular file-syncing app has been redesigned with improved photo management.
Our membership program is a year old now, and while it was a huge help in keeping TidBITS vibrant in 2012, we still need help to defray the costs of writing, editing, development, and hosting going forward. Please join today!
When iBooks 3 was released in October 2012, edition updating was touted as one of its features. Now that it’s finally available, here’s how it works, at least for books in EPUB3 and iBooks Author formats — EPUB2 need not apply.
Do you want newfangled video games to get off your lawn? Join Jeff Porten as he revisits some of the games of yesteryear, now available on the Mac thanks to GOG.com.
The password-management app 1Password has been thoroughly revised for iOS. 1Password 4 sports a new and far better interface and a much-improved way to log in to Web sites within the program. It’s also now a single universal version.
Although the new Google Maps for iOS hasn’t been out long enough to get significant use in the wild, a close examination reveals some pros and cons in comparison with Apple’s new-in-iOS-6 Maps app. Follow along as Adam Engst compares the two.
Notable software releases this week include Dropbox 1.6.5, Lightroom 4.3, iTunes 11.0.1, Sandvox 2.7.3, TextExpander 4.0.4, TinkerTool 4.95, and Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.7.
We focus on past, present, and future with this week’s collection of ExtraBITS links. In the near future, those attending CES can sign up for the MacTech Insight event to get a full day of Apple-related sessions, and Glenn Fleishman writes about how the City of Seattle has partnered with a private firm to provide gigabit Internet. In the present, listen to Adam Engst talking with host Gene Steinberg of the Tech Night Owl Live about Apple’s rumored TV set, and read about how iTunes 11.0.1 solves searching problems in 11.0. And for those who like to reminisce, a clever art project puts an old-style interface on Google — we’re talking punch cards and line printers!