“Strange days have found us,” sang Jim Morrison of the Doors, and we have an issue of TidBITS for you to match. We lead off with the news that Apple has purchased the Dark Sky weather service and app, which will undoubtedly shake up the market for weather apps. Adam Engst shares a link to an essay that asks how social media platforms might be able to use their persuasive powers for good. Julio Ojeda-Zapata digs into the details of how trackpads and mice work with iPads running iPadOS 13.4. Glenn Fleishman rounds out the issue with an overview of videoconferencing options and a (currently) comprehensive list of the privacy and security issues with the massively popular Zoom teleconferencing software. Notable Mac app releases this week include Pixelmator Pro 1.6, Apple Configurator 2.12, Little Snitch 4.5 4/3/20, Pages 10, Numbers 10, and Keynote 10, Carbon Copy Cloner 5.1.16, Fantastical 3.0.9, Banktivity 7.5, and Audio Hijack 3.7.
Apple has acquired the popular hyperlocal weather company Dark Sky, which will probably improve the built-in weather capabilities in iOS in the future but may reduce the number of alternative weather apps.
The tech giants have all donated money and supplies, and worked to disseminate useful information about the COVID-19 pandemic. But could our top tech minds come up with innovative new approaches to dealing with these unprecedented problems?
Baked into iPadOS 13.4 is full-featured support for trackpad and mouse input, with a few twists. Apple has tailored the traditional technology to the iPad with a cursor that looks nothing like you’ve seen on a computer.
We will be spending a lot more time communicating with co-workers, friends, family, therapists, educators, and other people using video than ever before in the digital era. Which solutions best fit your needs?
The videoconferencing service Zoom has seen a 20-fold increase in usage during the coronavirus pandemic. That extra attention has put a spotlight on poor technical and policy decisions that have exposed Zoom’s users to harm and revealed personal data unnecessarily. But hope blooms with the company’s latest comprehensive apology and roadmap.
Watchlist
Introduces an all-new color picker that improves color selection and management. ($39.99 new, free update, 196.6 MB)
Adds support for the 2019 Mac Pro. (Free, 49.1 MB)
Brings a redesigned offline Research Assistant and several improvements to the network traffic management utility. ($45 new, free update, 40.5 MB)
Updates all three iWork apps with new folder sharing capabilities and more. (Free, various sizes)
Brings bug fixes and improvements to the drive-cloning and backup utility. ($39.99 new, free update, 14.5 MB)
Fixes bugs and improves performance when resizing Fantastical's window in month view. ($39.99 annual subscription, free update, 21.9 MB)
Adds the capability to flip the amounts of transactions when importing from CSV. ($69.99 new, free update, 22.3 MB)
Adds the new Live Stream output block for broadcasting audio to services that use Real-Time Messaging Protocol (such as Periscope, Twitch, and YouTube). ($49 new, free update, 16.1 MB)