Bare Bones Software has released BBEdit 15 with around 200 changes and improvements, including a ChatGPT worksheet, a minimap for fast navigation of long documents, and direct access to document revisions (even those maintained automatically by macOS). Adam Engst examines the results of our Do You Use It? poll about widgets on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, finding that widgets aren’t that widely used. Apple has released a firmware update for the Magic Keyboard that’s interesting mainly for the Hollywood nature of the exploit it enabled—you’ll get the update automatically. Notable Mac app releases this week include Arc 1.25.1, Little Snitch 5.7.3, Logic Pro 10.8.1, Mimestream 1.2.4, OmniFocus 4.0.4, Quicken 7.5, and Timing 2024.1.
Those who use Apple’s Magic Keyboard will automatically receive a firmware update that prevents an attacker with physical access from monitoring Bluetooth traffic. It’s not something to worry about but is an indication of the kind of attacks possible today.
The latest major update to the venerable text editor BBEdit brings connections with ChatGPT, new navigational and reference aids, and a plethora of helpful refinements.
The results of our poll asking how frequently you use widgets show that roughly 50% of users never use widgets at all, with 25% to 50% of people using them slightly or heavily. But those numbers are complicated by the availability of three types of widgets on the iPhone and iPad, two on the Mac, and one on the Apple Watch.
Watchlist
Adds the capability to collapse the pinned tab section of the sidebar to make more space for Today tabs. (Free, 375.2 MB, macOS 12.1+)
Makes rules for operating system processes in Xcode’s Simulator effective for all simulated operating system versions and platforms. ($45 new, free update, 33.6 MB, macOS 11+)
Maintenance update with a number of improvements and bug fixes for the professional audio app. ($199.99 new, free update, 1.2 GB, macOS 13.5+)
Improves autocomplete suggestions for the Gmail-specific email app. ($49.99 annual subscription, free update, 12.1 MB, macOS 12+)
Fixes a bug that blocked setting custom images as custom perspective icons. ($74.99 new, free update, 29.6 MB, macOS 13+)
Brings an updated Tax Schedule report and other improvements to the financial management app. ($59.88/$83.88/$119.88 annual subscription, free update, 3.1 MB, macOS 11+)
Rounds up some new features and important changes for the time and productivity tracking app. ($96 annual subscription, free update, 25.4 MB, macOS 10.15+)
