We’re taking the week off for the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US, so look for your next email issue on 9 December 2024. Apple has released a handful of operating system updates to block two zero-day security vulnerabilities—upgrade soon. Glenn Fleishman previews a new Find My feature coming in a few weeks: the capability to share a Find My item’s location with anyone so they can help locate it. Finally, Adam Engst delves into a new app, Modern CSV, that makes working with CSV files far easier than importing them into a spreadsheet. Notable Mac app releases this week include BusyCal 2024.4.2 and BusyContacts 2024.4.1, Carbon Copy Cloner 7.0.4, Default Folder X 6.1.2, EagleFiler 1.9.16, Fantastical 4.0.1, Little Snitch 6.1.3, Mimestream 1.5, and SpamSieve 3.1.
We’re taking the next email issue of TidBITS off to celebrate Thanksgiving, although we’ll continue to publish articles on our website. You can look forward to the next email issue on 9 December 2024.
Apple has released updates for its primary operating systems—including the previous versions of iOS and iPadOS and two previous versions of macOS—to address a pair of critical security vulnerabilities that have been exploited in the wild. Update soon.
The upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 Sequoia releases, now in public beta, let you securely share a link to a lost AirTag or other Find My item with anyone. You’ll also soon have a special way to share tracking links directly with airlines when your luggage is missing or delayed.
If you regularly work with CSV files, you should investigate Modern CSV, a cross-platform app that allows direct manipulation of data using menu commands, avoiding the trouble of importing them into a spreadsheet and writing formulas. While Modern CSV is powerful, it lacks a Mac-like interface, and the current version can’t print.
Watchlist
Improves BusyCal syncing for new accounts, Smart Filters, and Calendar Sets. ($49.99 new for each, free update, various sizes, macOS 10.15+)
Adds a workaround for Apple's restriction on access to the current Wi-Fi network name in macOS 15 Sequoia. ($49.99 new, free update, 24.3 MB, macOS 13+)
Addresses problems with macOS 15 Sequoia, as well as improves Quick Search and Finder label support. ($39.95 new, free update, 17.6 MB, macOS 10.13+)
improves the formatting of community notes and quote tweets when importing from X/Twitter. ($49.99 new, free update, 34.4 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Maintenance update for the calendar app with a modicum of improvements and bug fixes. ($56.99 annual subscription, free update, 67.3 MB, macOS 12+)
Improves DNS encryption with password authentication support to DoH servers. ($59 new, free update, 40.7 MB, macOS 14+)
Adds support for Apple Intelligence's Writing Tools. ($49.99 annual subscription, free update, 11.6 MB, macOS 12+)
Improves the spam-filtering utility's accuracy and fixes some bugs. ($39.99 new, free update, 50.9 MB, macOS 10.13+)
