TidBITS

Apple’s HomePod smart speaker is headed to Japan, indicating that Apple is far from giving up on it, despite its small market share.Read original article

After nearly four years, it’s time once again for a reader survey to make sure we’re producing the kind of content you want to read. We’d appreciate it immensely if you would take a few minutes to give us feedback on our articles, Web site, and more.

Addresses issues with Insider Preview beta releases of Windows 10 and Office for Windows. ($79.99 anual subscription for standard edition, $99.99 annual subscription for Pro and Business Editions, 204 MB)

Monthly maintenance release brings new features to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. ($149.99 new for one-time purchase, $99.99/$69.99 annual subscription options, free update)

Apple is slowly rolling out its new Apple Card across the United States. If you’re an early adopter, here’s how to maximize your cashback benefits.

Can you imagine what life would be like if Apple locked you out of your Apple ID? Unfortunately, it can happen through no fault of your own and may not be easy to fix.Read original article

Adds accelerated image editing with GPU support for smoother performance. ($9.99/19.99 monthly Creative Cloud subscription, free update)

Major new release for the Swiss Army knife of graphics programs adds macros and improves RAW image editing. ($39.95 new, free update, 151 MB)

You may have trouble flying with a recalled 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro due to its potential fire hazard. It remains to be seen how airline and airport staff will distinguish between affected and unaffected units and those whose batteries have been replaced.Read…

Brings compatibility with the macOS 10.15 Catalina public beta, plus adds support for the Simplify Gmail extension and the DEVONthink 3 public beta. ($29.95 new, free update, 68.8 MB)

Major update for the automation and clipboard utility adds Dark Mode support, OCR for text in images, and JSON. ($36 new, $25 upgrade, 25.8 MB)

Apple took well-deserved flak in the press for having contractors listen to Siri conversations—and inadvertent initiations where people didn’t know they were being recorded. But Adam Engst suggests that we users should instead teach Siri about its mistakes.

Roaming CES reporter Jeff Porten reviews three products he picked up at 2019’s CES: a battery that can charge an iPhone or MacBook, an audio equalizer app for the Mac, and a cheaper alternative to Apple’s AirPods.

If you’re looking forward to USB drive and mouse support for your iPhone and iPad in Apple’s upcoming iOS 13, make sure you get the right Lightning adapter. You want the bigger one.

Sixth public beta with another round of extensive improvements and fixes for the information management app. ($99/$149/$499 new, free update, 90.5 MB)

Maintenance release focused on improving the password manager's stability. ($64.99 new, free update, 51.3 MB)

Maintenance release for the synchronization and backup app with a smattering of bug fixes and improvements. ($49.99 new, free update, 66.8 MB)

Adds the capability to display an attached graphic on all days of a multi-day event in Day view. ($49.99 new, free update, 22.2 MB)

If you dislike being in the Netflix Apple TV app because of the autoplay previews or just because it’s constantly pushing new shows on you that you don’t want to watch, Apple TV apps from Reelgood and WatchAid provide a front end to your queue. Neither is…

Apple has opened up its Apple Music for Artists program for all musicians who have music on Apple Music and iTunes.Read original article

Apple has made it so that if the batteries in the latest iPhones are replaced by their owners or independent repair shops, iOS displays an ominous message questioning the battery’s authenticity, even if it’s a genuine Apple battery.Read original article

Disney says it will bundle Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for the same price as Netflix’s standard streaming plan. Is this essentially just an introductory rate to be followed by a price hike or is Disney setting a new low mark that competitors will have to…

FileMaker Inc. has announced that it will once again be known as Claris, indicating a larger vision for the Apple subsidiary.Read original article

What if there was a single place to pick, store, and organize colors on your Mac that also made it simple to use those colors in design apps, for development, or however you want? Sip is a menu bar app that does just that.

It turns out that so many people signed up to receive $125 cash instead of credit monitoring in the Equifax breach settlement that no one will receive much money. There’s nothing we can do about it, and that has many of us fuming.

iOS 13’s Health app not only gathers more of our scattered health information but also helps us understand and use it in practical and potentially profound ways. Here’s what you can look forward to in a few months.

Adds basic support for C++ raw strings and changing the alert behavior when searching for text and no appropriate match is found. ($49.99 new, free update, 13.7 MB)

Twitter’s Web redesign isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but at least it now lets you easily switch between accounts.

Apple has temporarily suspended its Siri “response grading” program that had contractors listen in on Siri recordings. That’s good, but it’s unfortunate that it took media coverage to push the company to change its practices.Read original article

Addresses an issue that could prevent certain Macs from waking from sleep properly. (Free, 954.8 MB)