In this news-packed edition of TidBITS, our FAQ answers many of your iOS 9 questions, and for even more in-depth coverage, we have “iOS 9: A Take Control Crash Course,” by our own Josh Centers. Apple also just released watchOS 2, and we have the high points of this first major update for the Apple Watch. In other news, Apple is reportedly dropping its One to One training program, Amazon has updated its Fire tablet and Fire TV line of hardware, Michael Cohen explains how search works in iOS 9, and Adam Engst and Rich Mogull dig into why the XcodeGhost App Store exploit is interesting. Finally, we explain how to fix garbled text on Apple’s support pages and throw back the curtains on a DealBITS drawing you can enter to win a copy of Swift Publisher 4 from BeLight Software. Notable software releases this week include BusyCal 2.6.7 and BusyContacts 1.0.6, Fission 2.2.5, Boom 2 v1.3, and iTunes 12.3.
If you want to figure out quickly what has changed in iOS 9 — and how to use all the new features — check out our latest title, “iOS 9: A Take Control Crash Course,” written by Managing Editor Josh Centers.
Apple’s One to One training program is reportedly going away at the end of September, though the company will honor year-long memberships purchased alongside a new Mac until then. Don’t worry, though, since if you need that kind of help, there are plenty of other places to get it.
If you’re looking for an easier way to create standard print pieces, check out this week’s DealBITS drawing for a chance to win a copy of BeLight Software’s Swift Publisher 4.
watchOS 2 is the first major update for the Apple Watch, and it brings some massive changes that will be welcomed by users.
Several people in the TidBITS crew had been seeing garbled, overlapping fonts and weirdly rendered pages while browsing Apple support articles. Although only Apple can fix the CSS, solving the rendering problem is easy in Safari and Firefox, and not terribly hard in Chrome.
Amazon has just updated nearly its entire Fire line of tablets and streaming boxes with a host of new features, all while sharply undercutting Apple on price. Maybe the biggest news: you now can buy cheap Fire tablets in six-packs.
Have iOS 9 questions? We’ve got answers! And if you come up with more questions, ask them in the comments, and we’ll do our best to update the article with what you need to know.
XcodeGhost is a new piece of malware that uses modified versions of Xcode to insert malicious code into popular iOS apps. This appears to affect only Chinese apps, because bandwidth limitations in China are what prompted developers to download modified copies of Xcode from unofficial sources, rather than going straight to Apple.
Siri Suggestions add a new dimension to Spotlight searches in iOS 9, but controlling what you get when you search has gotten more complex.
Notable software releases this week include BusyCal 2.6.7 and BusyContacts 1.0.6, Fission 2.2.5, Boom 2 v1.3, and iTunes 12.3.