Thanks to a flotilla of family visiting, it was a busy week here at TidBITS HQ, but we found time to write up Apple’s release of macOS 14.6 Sonoma and its sibling operating systems. Then Michael Cohen joined us to cover Apple’s Q3 2024 financial report, in which the company posted earnings of $21.45 billion on revenues of $85.8 billion, a Q3 record. But we’re suffering a crisis of confidence surrounding our business reporting, given that we’re Apple geeks, not finance geeks, so we’re polling the TidBITS readership to see if we add enough value to these quarterly financial roundups to make them worthwhile. Notable Mac app releases this week include BusyCal 2024.3.3, DEVONthink 3.9.7, Little Snitch 6.0.4, Safari 17.6, and TextExpander 7.8.
Apple has released updates to all its operating systems, saying only that they provide “important bug fixes and security updates” for everything other than macOS 14.6 Sonoma, which enables the M3 model of the 14-inch MacBook Pro to drive two external displays when the lid is closed.
We always cover Apple’s quarterly financial reports, but they’re pretty repetitive. Adam Engst asks if you find them sufficiently relevant or interesting for us to continue.
Although the iPhone and Wearables segments were down slightly and the Mac up only slightly, Apple posted record third-quarter revenues thanks to yet another strong Services showing and pent-up demand for new iPads.
Watchlist
Brings new edit options for repeating events and more improvements for the calendar app. ($49.99 new, free update, 65 MB, macOS 10.15+)
Adds application scripts for Google Chrome and a new script for adding a Safari tab to the DEVONthink Reading List. ($99 new, free update, 125.9 MB, macOS 11+)
Fixes a bug that prevented existing rules and settings from being preserved when upgrading from version 5. ($59 new, free update, 36.4 MB, macOS 14+)
Patches security vulnerabilities in Ventura and Monterey. (Free, various sizes, macOS 12+)
Improves discoverability of the New Snippet button. ($40 annual subscription, free update, 29 MB, macOS 11.1+)
