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#1540: Apple’s first M1 Macs, delay Big Sur upgrades, Apple snafu temporarily broke Macs, new TidBITS translators needed

Last week was huge for the Mac, with the release of macOS 11 Big Sur and the first wave of Macs based on Apple silicon: the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the Mac mini, all powered by Apple’s new M1 chip. But not all the Mac news was good—a network failure on Apple’s end on the day of Big Sur’s release rendered millions of Macs nigh-unusable, with odd behavior and app launch failures. Adam Engst explores how it happened, what it means for Mac privacy and security, and how Apple responded. Finally, TidBITS is looking for new volunteer translators for our Dutch and Japanese editions—help us bring TidBITS to a worldwide audience! We have so many notable Mac app releases this week that our email template couldn’t hold them all. They’re all on our site, and this issue includes Timing 2020.10, ChronoSync 4.9.12, Audio Hijack 3.7.7, Piezo 1.6.10, and Airfoil 5.9.5, SoundSource 5.1.2, GraphicConverter 11.3.1, BBEdit 13.5.2, GarageBand 10.4.1, Pages 10.3.5, Numbers 10.3.5, and Keynote 10.3.5, Logic Pro X 10.6, Final Cut Pro X 10.5, Compressor 4.5, and Motion 5.5, OmniFocus 3.10, OmniOutliner Essentials and Pro 5.8, Fantastical 3.3, Merlin Project 7.0, and Microsoft Office for Mac 16.43.

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Timing 2020.10 Agen Schmitz No comments

Timing 2020.10

Adds full compatibility with macOS 11 Big Sur and updates the user interface for Apple's new operating system. ($42 annual subscription, free update, 22.3 MB, macOS 10.13+)

ChronoSync 4.9.12 Agen Schmitz No comments

ChronoSync 4.9.12

Synchronization and backup tool brings numerous tweaks and additions to ensure support for macOS 11 Big Sur. ($49.99 new, free update, 67.3 MB, macOS 10.11+)

GarageBand 10.4.1 Agen Schmitz 10 comments

GarageBand 10.4.1

Introduces a new user interface for macOS 11 Big Sur and improves performance and efficiency on Macs with Apple's M1 chip. (Free, 797.5 MB, macOS 10.13.6+)

Logic Pro 10.6 Agen Schmitz 2 comments

Logic Pro 10.6

Wide-ranging maintenance release with a voluminous number of improvements and bug fixes. ($199.99 new, free update, 1.1 GB, macOS 10.15+)

Fantastical 3.3 Agen Schmitz No comments

Fantastical 3.3

Adds support for macOS 11 Big Sur widgets in Notification Center and Macs running on Apple's M1 chip. ($39.99 new, free update, 40.4 MB, macOS 10.13.2+)

Merlin Project 7.0 Agen Schmitz 4 comments

Merlin Project 7.0

Major upgrade for the project management app brings new collaboration features and support for macOS 11 Big Sur. ($149 annual subscription, free update for subscribers, 28.6 MB, macOS 10.13+)

Microsoft Office for Mac 16.43 Agen Schmitz No comments

Microsoft Office for Mac 16.43

Monthly maintenance update for the productivity suite, with details on the October update's release of the refreshed Outlook app. ($149.99 new for one-time purchase, $99.99/$69.99 annual subscription options, free update)