Like many people, we spent much of last week watching the news of the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and the increase in cases of COVID-19. TidBITS coverage largely followed suit, with a general article about COVID-19, an article about Apple’s response to the pandemic, and news of how Apple is transforming WWDC into an online event. Plus, for those working from home unexpectedly, Take Control Books published the free Take Control of Working from Home Temporarily. If you’re looking for something more fun to while away the hours, new contributor Connie Laubenthal joins us with a review of the Black Ink crossword app for the Mac. Finally, Julio Ojeda-Zapata looks at ways of automating window positioning using built-in macOS features and various third-party utilities. Notable Mac app releases this week include Tinderbox 8.6, CorelDRAW 2020, SoundSource 4.2.2, and VMware Fusion 11.5.2.
In an effort to help those who have suddenly been told to work from home, Take Control Books is giving away the new 55-page book, “Take Control of Working from Home Temporarily.” If you or anyone you know falls into that category, download a copy!
Like other big tech companies, Apple has canceled the in-person part of its developer conference. However, in a textbook case of putting the best face on a bad situation, Apple has cast the change as a new online format that will let many more developers participate.
We’re having trouble paying attention to anything outside the COVID-19 news, so here’s what we think we can contribute at the moment. Let us know what else you might like to hear from TidBITS on this topic.
Apple has issued a statement outlining its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the most notable new addition being the closure of all Apple retail stores outside of China.
Black Ink from Red Sweater Software is an easy and intuitive way to play crossword puzzles from the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and other sources.
Don’t waste precious time manually repositioning and resizing macOS windows. You can automate that task to a large extent using native macOS controls, and third-party utilities give you even more power. Julio Ojeda-Zapata looks at two of the top window-wrangling apps.
Watchlist
Brings several linking enhancements to the note-taking assistant and information manager. ($249 new, free update, 35.6 MB)
Major upgrade for the vector illustration app with new AI-powered tools and enhanced collaboration features. ($249.99 annual subscription, 2 MB)
Updates the built-in Lagutin Equalizer to tweak its animation and improve how it saves and edits user presets. ($29 new, free update, 13.9 MB)
Brings bug fixes and important security patches to the standard and Pro editions of the virtualization package. ($79.99/$159.99 new, free update, 519 MB)
