Apple has announced that you’ll soon be able to listen to Apple Music in lossless quality, with many tracks featuring spatial audio and Dolby Atmos surround sound. Some users have been caught in a reboot loop when trying to install Catalina security updates, and Adam Engst explains how you can fix the problem by clearing up disk space. Concerned about the cost of Internet access? New programs from the FCC and New York State promise to help struggling families afford broadband. Finally, if you’ve been having trouble wrapping your head around all the ways AirTags can be used and abused, Glenn Fleishman invents a slew of scenarios that illustrate some of the nuances. Notable Mac app releases this week include Microsoft Office for Mac 16.49, 1Password 7.8.2, Cyberduck 7.9, URL Manager Pro 5.8.1, and DEVONthink 3.7.2.
Apple Music will provide free upgrades to lossless audio, Dolby Atmos, and Spatial Audio starting next month.
After being flummoxed by updates to Security Update 2021-002 for macOS 10.15 Catalina and Safari 14.1 that required a restart but never installed, Adam Engst discovered that Apple’s installer will fail silently if there isn’t enough free space.
The FCC has launched a new program to help struggling families pay for broadband. Meanwhile, New York is setting strict limits on basic broadband costs.
Apple’s new tracking devices have a lot of potential uses: some good and some not so good. We look at a number of likely scenarios and how they could play out.
Watchlist
Brings a refreshed look to the office suite, plus improvements to Outlook and Teams. ($149.99 new for one-time purchase, $99.99/$69.99 annual subscription options, free update, macOS 10.14+)
Maintenance release with bug fixes and browser filling improvements for the password manager. ($64.99 new, free update, 71.9 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Introduces a new icon styled for macOS 11 Big Sur to the open-source file transfer app. (Free, 119 MB, macOS 10.9+)
Introduces an iOS edition of the bookmark manager included with the macOS edition. ($29.99 new, free update, 20.6 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Resolves an issue with smart rule actions incorrectly running twice and improves installation of the Mail plug-in. ($99 new, free update, 132 MB, macOS 10.11.5+)
