We have a wide-ranging issue for you this week! Josh Centers kicks things off with an announcement of a new personal site containing Apple buying advice, followed by a look at how to reduce the sleep-disrupting effects of blue light from screens—what if you need to go beyond Night Shift? Want an indoor exercise bike but experiencing Peloton sticker shock? Julio Ojeda-Zapata offers a review of the Bluetooth-connected Bowflex C6 Bike as a cheaper option with a greater variety of workout apps. Finally, Adam Engst takes you on a journey through Internet mapping services that provide an assortment of capabilities, with side trips to talk about ways of annotating maps and correcting any mistakes you find. Notable Mac app releases this week include BBEdit 14.1, Mellel 5.1, DEVONthink 3.8.2, Bookends 14.0.5, KeyCue 10.0, and GraphicConverter 11.6.
Do you or a loved one need a quick recommendation about which Apple products and accessories are best? TidBITS Managing Editor Josh Centers has launched a personal side project that can help.
Blue light emitted from screens has been linked to a number of health issues. Here are a couple of ways you can reduce or block it on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
Peloton exercise bikes are expensive and lock users into the company’s exercise service. Julio Ojeda-Zapata tried a less expensive alternative, Bowflex’s C6 bike. It gives users the flexibility to use a range of fitness services with an iPhone or iPad, an Apple TV, or a Mac.
Internet mapping services have democratized cartography and brought it to the masses. Adam Engst has been working with maps of late and shares the most effective services, techniques, and tips that he’s found.
Watchlist
Adds support for multiple notebooks and Shortcuts in macOS 12 Monterey, plus the capability to display images. ($49.99 new, free update, 22.4 MB, macOS 10.14.2+)
Overhauls the Auto-title functionality with configurable hierarchy chains, an updated user interface, and a new style category. ($49 new, free update, 101 MB, macOS 10.9+)
Maintenance release for the document and information manager blends a few new features with improvements and bug fixes. ($99 new, free update, 136 MB, macOS 10.11.5+)
Enables you to share synced libraries with either read/write or read-only access. ($59.99 new, free update, 100 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Major new release for the keyboard shortcut and emoji cheat sheet enables you to assign keyboard shortcuts on the fly. (€19.99 new, €9.99 upgrade, 5.4 MB, macOS 10.10+)
Brings new effects and filters plus bug fixes to the Swiss Army knife of graphics programs. ($39.95 new, free update, 270 MB, macOS 10.9+)
