Safari 18 Adds Highlights, Distraction Control, Redesigned Reader, and Video Viewer

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Macintosh
orange sunset with shadows of a giraffe and tree in the foreground. overlay of a Safari icon and the number 18 in the top left corner.

Alongside this year’s crop of operating systems comes Safari 18, the latest version of Apple’s Web browser. Most of what you do in Safari depends on the websites you use, of course, but Apple has added a handful of features aimed at improving your overall browsing experience, including Highlights, Distraction Control, a redesigned Reader, and Video Viewer. Read More from “Safari 18 Adds Highlights, Distraction Control, Redesigned Reader, and Video Viewer”

Perturbed by Location Tracking Revelations? Here’s How to Protect Yourself

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Security/Privacy
blurred image of a person using a mobile phone. superimposed over it is a curvy line with three location indicators.

Recent news reports have revealed that a little-known company called Babel Street can track iPhone and Android user locations. Babel Street does this by leveraging data from mobile advertising data brokers. Investigators from data removal firm Atlas Privacy discovered they could use Babel Street’s Locate X tool to identify patients at a Florida abortion clinic, jurors in a New Jersey trial, attendees at a Los Angeles synagogue and a Dearborn mosque, and even children in a Philadelphia school. Read More from “Perturbed by Location Tracking Revelations? Here’s How to Protect Yourself”

Apple’s Tips App Provides Extensive User Guides and Helpful How-Tos

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Apple Watch, Macintosh
Mac laptop screen with "Need help? Find answers here" across the top. A search bar and a few possible help topics listed below.

Apple has included the Tips app with the iPhone and iPad since iOS 8 in 2014 and on the Mac since macOS 10.14 Mojave in 2018. Initially, it didn’t contain much useful content, and many longtime users ignored it. However, Apple has significantly increased the amount of information in Tips over time, adding device-specific tips, full device and app user guides, highlights of new features, and more. Read More from “Apple’s Tips App Provides Extensive User Guides and Helpful How-Tos”

Use Guided Access for Securely Allowing Others to Use an App on Your iPhone or iPad

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Security/Privacy
small child pointing her finger on an iPad.

iPhones and iPads are highly personal devices, but you might want to let someone else use a particular app on yours without letting them poke through Messages, Mail, and Photos. For example, a child could play a game, a volunteer could check in attendees, or a friend could take photos. Read More from “Use Guided Access for Securely Allowing Others to Use an App on Your iPhone or iPad”

First Wave of Apple Intelligence Features Appear in macOS 15.1 Sequoia, iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Macintosh
iPhone, iPad, and Mac laptop. Across the top, reads "Apple Intelligence"

Is it time to make your Apple devices smarter? Apple has just released macOS 15.1 Sequoia, iOS 18.1, and iPadOS 18.1 with an initial collection of Apple Intelligence features and a promise of more coming in December. The company is making a big deal about Apple Intelligence, calling it out as a key feature of the recent updates to the iPad mini, iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro. Read More from “First Wave of Apple Intelligence Features Appear in macOS 15.1 Sequoia, iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1”

New Seventh-Generation iPad mini Adds A17 Pro for Apple Intelligence

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics
screenshot of an Apple ad for iPad mini. a hand stretches down from the top left corner holding an iPad mini that says "mini" in orange, pink, and purple. Text above the iPad reads "iPad mini. Hello, Apple Intelligence."

Although the first wave of Apple Intelligence features won’t upend the user experience for most people, Apple is pushing hard to ensure that all its new devices can participate. That’s largely what’s behind the recently released seventh-generation iPad mini. Read More from “New Seventh-Generation iPad mini Adds A17 Pro for Apple Intelligence”

Apple Brings the M4 Chip Family to the iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics
images of new iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pros along the bottom. across the top an Apple M4 chip above all three computers, an Apple M4 Pro chip above the Mac mini and MacBook Pros, and an Apple M4 Max chip on top above only the MacBook Pro.

Apple has concluded a three-day release of the first Macs to use the M4 chip family, which debuted earlier this year with the iPad Pro. The updated iMac and MacBook Pro retain the same industrial designs as in the past, while Apple took a shrink ray to the Mac mini. Read More from “Apple Brings the M4 Chip Family to the iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro”

Beware Fake “Sextortion” Scams

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Security/Privacy
nearly all black image with the silhouette of a person in a hoodie with hands in the direction of a laptop keyboard off to the right. faint binary code across the obscured face of the person.

All those data breaches are coming back to haunt us. Once our phone numbers and addresses began to be leaked, it was only a matter of time before scammers would personalize their attacks to make them seem more real. The latest “sextortion” scams purport to have compromising video of you taken from your computer’s webcam, backing it up with your phone number and a Google Street View-like image that matches your leaked address. They make a lot of claims and dire-sounding threats, but talk is cheap, and there’s nothing behind them. Do not pay the scammers! Read More from “Beware Fake “Sextortion” Scams”

Test the Spammyness of Your Emails

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Email, Services

Do colleagues report that they don’t get emails that you send? Do you use a custom domain for your business, such as soundsupport.biz or yourcompany.com? If so, you should use Mail Tester to help you assess the spammyness of email messages that you send. Previously, I wrote about how you should setup SPF, DKIM and DMARC to reduce the likelihood that your emails will be erroneously marked as spam. Mail Tester helps you assess if you have things setup properly.

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Apple ID Renamed to Apple Account in Latest Operating System Releases

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics
laptop on a wooden desk against a brick wall. mouse on desk to right of the laptop. Safari web page is open on the Mac to Apple's new accounts page.

In macOS 15 Sequoia, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and watchOS 11, Apple has officially renamed Apple ID to Apple Account. The new name is a slightly more sensible term because you can sign in to an Apple Account that holds your information, whereas an Apple ID was primarily an identifier—it’s an email address—that didn’t inherently imply that it stored data. The name change is mostly a distinction without a difference, but you should be aware of it when reading support documentation or tech articles. You’ll see the new term in System Settings on the Mac and Settings on the iPhone and iPad. Read More from “Apple ID Renamed to Apple Account in Latest Operating System Releases”

How to Minimize Downtime and Lost Work from Tech Failures

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Backup, Macintosh
side view of a woman with her palms turned upwards in an expression of frustration. she's sitting at a desk looking at a laptop computer. there's a large bright window in the background.

Macs are much more reliable than in the past, but it remains the case that computers and apps can fail in a wide variety of ways. And they’ve become so integral to daily life that an occasional failure is almost inevitable. Unfortunately, if you aren’t prepared for that eventuality, you may lose work and suffer from unnecessary downtime. Read More from “How to Minimize Downtime and Lost Work from Tech Failures”