TidBITS

If you're trying to decide which large hard drive model to buy, check out Backblaze's drive stats for 2022, which show the reliability of each drive model the company uses in its data centers.Read original article

Maintenance updates for the three Affinity graphic design apps with a bevy of bug fixes. ($69.99 new for each, free updates, various sizes, macOS 10.15+)

Display brightness control utility adds support for the new M2-series MacBook Pro models. ($23 new, free update, 21.7 MB, macOS 11+)

With centralized, ad-driven social networks in disarray and suffering from misinformation, harassment, and declining users, can the long-simmering Mastodon microblogging system offer a distributed future for conversation and community?

A growing set of services let users on independently operated servers interlink with standard, open-source protocols for microblogging, photo sharing, and dozens of other purposes. Could the Fediverse be a solution to the ugliness of commercial service…

The repercussions of the LastPass breach continue to resonate, with parent company GoTo now admitting that data associated with its services Central, Pro, join.me, Hamachi, and RemotelyAnywhere was also stolen. Change your passwords and look for…

Maintenance update for the recently upgraded blogging app. ($59.95 new, free update, 20.2 MB, macOS 10.15.4+)

Brings a few new features, improvements, and bug fixes to the calendar app. ($49.99 new, free update, 60.3 MB, macOS 10.13+)

With the release of HomePod Software 16.3 and tvOS 16.3, Apple has completed its usual cycle of operating system updates. tvOS 16.3 has no changes worth describing, but HomePod Software 16.3 has quite a few improvements.

The latest versions of Apple’s main operating systems add Security Keys for Apple ID, celebrate Black History Month with a new Unity Lock Screen wallpaper and Unity Mosaic Apple Watch face, and fix bugs and security vulnerabilities.

If you’re still using an iPhone or iPad that can’t update to iOS 16, Apple has released security updates for iOS 12 and iOS 15.

Security patches for Monterey and Big Sur. (Free, various sizes, macOS 12 and 11)

Patches security vulnerabilities in Monterey and Big Sur. (Free, various sizes, macOS 11+)

Adjusts the behavior of mouse-wheel and trackpad scrolling while using Control or Command. (Free, 126 MB, macOS 10.12+)

Collects an assortment of improvements and bug fixes for the Gmail-specific email app. (Free during beta, 12 MB, macOS 11+)

Amidst nearly 75,000 tech industry layoffs in the last year, Apple alone has avoided cutting headcount. Why? And what does it mean that the other tech giants all reference AI in their letters to employees?

It's official—Twitter has changed its developer agreement to ban third-party apps like Twitterrific and Tweetbot. Would the last Twitter app out the door please turn off the lights?Read original article

Maintenance release for the long-standing text editor. ($49.99 new, free update, 24.7 MB, macOS 10.15.4+)

Brings a lengthy list of enhancements to the audio-recording workflow app. ($64 new, free update, 36.5 MB, macOS 10.15+)

Addresses several reliability issues in the Open/Save dialog utility. ($34.95 new, free update, 13.7 MB, macOS 10.13+)

Maintenance update for the digital media suite with a handful of bug fixes. ($99.99/$149.99 new, free update, macOS 10.14+)

Maintenance release addresses a performance problem with long transcripts in macOS 13 Ventura. ($29 new, free update, 10 MB, macOS 10.13+)

Adds support for Slack Huddle links and SecureVideo telehealth links. ($56.99 annual subscription, free update, 63 MB, macOS 11+)

Apple has unexpectedly revived the full-size HomePod, releasing a second-generation model that supports spatial audio, includes a temperature/humidity sensor for home automations, and promises a Sound Recognition feature to detect alarms.

Apple has unveiled its latest Apple silicon chips, the M2 Pro and M2 Max, and announced new M2 and M2 Pro models of the Mac mini, plus M2 Pro and M2 Max models of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Phishing is one of the main ways that attackers breach corporate systems and compromise individual accounts. Follow along as Adam Engst walks you through six representative phishing messages and explains what aspects of them should trigger warning bells.

Brings improvements and bug fixes to the password manager. ($35.88 annual subscription new, free update, 2.9 MB, macOS 10.15+)

Maintenance release with several tweaks and improvements for the writing app. ($5.99/$49.99 monthly/yearly subscription, free update, 29.7 MB, macOS 11+)

Maintenance release with improvements and fixes for the spam-filtering utility. ($30 new, free update, 21.3 MB, macOS 10.13+)

What better day than Friday the 13th to check that your backups are actually working by restoring some critical files?