After having a holiday card returned as undeliverable due to an inadvertently truncated ZIP code, Adam Engst investigates the knotty problem of how spreadsheets handle data with leading zeroes. He also shares the story of how a conversation with a TidBITS-reading developer led to the company removing ad tracking from its iOS app. Notable Mac app releases this week include Carbon Copy Cloner 6.1.5, Cardhop 2.2.6, Agenda 17, Camo Studio 2.0.1, Tinderbox 9.5.2, and Lunar 6.0.
It pays to speak up. After being introduced to the ckbk cookbook service, Adam Engst expressed his disappointment in the app asking to track and was rewarded a few weeks later with an update that resolved the issue.
After receiving an “undeliverable” holiday card back, Adam and Tonya Engst discovered that their approach to extracting data from Contacts to print labels inadvertently deleted leading zeroes in ZIP codes. Can they ever send snail mail to New England? Here’s what happened—and how to avoid similar errors.
Watchlist
Brings multi-window capabilities to the date-focused note-taking app plus a new purchasing model. (Free with a $34.99 Premium subscription or $119.99 one-time Premium purchase, free update for subscribers, 71.7 MB, macOS 10.14+)
Brings improvements and bug fixes to the drive cloning and backup utility. ($39.99 new, free update, 22.3 MB, macOS 10.15+)
Updates the contact management app with a handful of improvements and bug fixes. ($56.99 annual subscription, free update, 31.4 MB, macOS 11+)
Major upgrade for the virtual-camera system that now supports any webcam, connected pro camera, Continuity Camera device, and more. ($39.99 annual subscription, free update, 42.1 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Maintenance update with a lengthy list of improvements and bug fixes for the note-taking assistant. ($249 new, free update, 35.7 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Brings several new features to the display brightness control utility. ($23 new, free update, 20.7 MB, macOS 11+)
