Happy New Year! We’re back from break and ready to explore whatever 2022 has in store for us. For Adam Engst, that’s filtered through recommendations that inform his New Year’s resolution, shared in this week’s LittleBITS column along with a macOS upgrade fix and how to enable ad hoc Wi-Fi networks in Big Sur and later. For Josh Centers, that involves sharing a quick how-to for Wordle, a fast and fun word guessing game that’s all the rage. Apple laptops all look very similar and have for years. If you have several in your house, how do you tell them apart? Adam Engst discovered that there are inexpensive vinyl skins that fit MacBooks perfectly, making them easier to differentiate and hold. Interested in saving some money on Apple Music? Julio Ojeda-Zapata reviews the Apple Music Voice Plan, an inexpensive Apple Music tier aimed at HomePod owners with an unusual limitation: you can initiate music playback only through Siri. Notable Mac app releases for the new year include Pixelmator Pro 2.3.4, Quicken 6.5.1, CleanMyMac X 4.10, Zoom 5.9.1, and GraphicConverter 11.5.5.
Feeling overwhelmed by negativity? Adam Engst shares some 2021 wrap-up posts showing that even in a pandemic-ridden year, a lot of good stuff happened that didn’t make the headlines. He also looks at the solution to a macOS upgrade problem and explains how to bring back the menu command for creating an ad hoc Wi-Fi network.
What is Wordle? It’s the Internet’s latest word-game craze, and it’s quick and easy to play. We show you how.
Annoyed by constantly picking up his wife’s MacBook Pro instead of his MacBook Air, Adam Engst decided to decorate the laptops with inexpensive full-color vinyl skins. It worked like a charm, and the skins also make the laptops more secure to carry and offer protection against scuffs and scratches.
The new Apple Music Voice Plan is a bargain at $4.99 per month, but it mostly limits you to using Apple’s Siri voice assistant for searches and playback. The Voice Plan has been met with some skepticism, but Julio Ojeda-Zapata thinks it’s a good option for casual music listeners.
Watchlist
Updates the Swiss Army knife of graphics programs with improvements and bug fixes. ($39.95 new, free update, 270 MB, macOS 10.9+)
Brings various new and enhanced features and bug fixes to the video conferencing app. (Free, 25.8 MB, macOS 10.9+)
Introduces a a redesigned Assistant with extended statistics and more timely recommendations. ($89.95 new, free update, 82.2 MB, macOS 10.10+)
Brings a variety of enhancements, including a new investment dashboard toolbar, account sidebar indicators, auto-reconcile, and bill pay. ($35.99/51.99/77.99 annual subscription, free update, 110 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Adds support for exporting to Motion format and improves support for SVG files. ($39.99 new, free update, 433.1 MB, macOS 10.15+)
