Michael Tsai - Blog
SmallCubed: 🎉 MailMaven Version 1.0 Official Release! 🎉 Joe Kissell’s Take Control of MailMaven is now available as a free download. Previously: MailMaven Public Beta
Juli Clover: Even though we’re at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we’ll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. Juli Clover (Hacker News): With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS […]
Lawrence Abrams: Microsoft Threat Intelligence reports that a new variant of the XCSSET macOS malware has been detected in limited attacks, incorporating several new features, including enhanced browser targeting, clipboard hijacking, and improved persistence mechanisms.XCSSET is a modular macOS malware that acts as an infostealer and cryptocurrency stealer, stealing Notes, cryptocurrency wallets, and browser data […]
Amazon (Reddit, Hacker News, 2, 3): We are investigating increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS services in the US-EAST-1 Region. I like how, unlike Apple’s status page, you can see a history of outages and updates. Jess Weatherbed: A major Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage took down multiple online services for several hours […]
Norbert Heger: Back in our pilot Deletion Impossible, you learned about a bug in macOS 15.3 where dragging an app to the Trash did not reliably uninstall its system extension. Despite macOS promising to “remove the associated system extension,” the extension often stayed behind. With macOS 26 Tahoe, this problem has reappeared. Once again, moving […]
Michael Simon (via Ric Ford): If you use Firefox on a Mac or PC, Apple offers a handy browser extension that puts your iCloud passwords right at your fingertips without needing to open a separate app. However, a new warning might make you think twice before you use it next time.As reported by The Hacker […]
Ben Lovejoy: A former Meta product manager has claimed that the social network circumvented Apple’s privacy protections, as well as cheating advertisers, and fired him when he repeatedly raised the issue internally.[…]It was quickly alleged that Meta was using workarounds to continue to track users who had denied permission, alongside other privacy violations. A class […]
Johannes Weiss and Mitchell Allison (forum): Swift Profile Recorder, an in-process sampling profiler for Swift services, is now available as an open source project.[…]Swift Profile Recorder enables you to:Adopt profiling without extra privileges or system dependencies, allowing you to add profiling across a variety of compute environments with constrained permissions.Collect samples using curl, allowing you […]
SE-0491 (via Becca Royal-Gordon): We propose that Swift’s grammar be extended so that, wherever an identifier is written in source code to reference a declaration, it can be prefixed by ModuleName:: to disambiguate which module the declaration is expected to come from. This syntax will provide a way to resolve several types of name ambiguities […]
Fight to Repair: A coalition of businesses, nonprofits, and elected officials (including Fight To Repair’s parent organization, the Secure Resilient Future Foundation) has formally petitioned Microsoft to extend Windows 10 support, which is currently slated to end on October 14th. With more than a billion Windows 10 devices operating globally, it is estimated that hundreds […]
Adam Engst (Hacker News): Apple’s new Liquid Glass interface design brings transparency and blur effects to all Apple operating systems, but many users find it distracting or difficult to read. Here’s how to control its effects and make your interface more usable. Although the relevant Accessibility settings are quite similar across macOS, iOS, watchOS, and […]
Raluca Budiu (Hacker News): One of the oldest findings in usability is that anything placed on top of something else becomes harder to see. Yet here we are, in 2025, with Apple proudly obscuring text, icons, and controls by making them transparent and placing them on top of busy backgrounds.[…]And then comes Apple’s boldest (or […]
Adam Engst: Here’s where I take exception to Liquid Glass, and to Apple’s positioning of content as the most important aspect of our digital devices, and thus of our digital lives. Yes, many people are largely passive consumers of content, whether we’re talking about Web pages, podcasts, or streaming videos. For those people, there is […]
Mario Guzmán: I can’t stop laughing at how comically large the corner radii are on #macOSTahoe windows. Clownish. Dominik Wagner: Preview? These are white, A4 PDF pages, they don’t have round corners. We are not on battlestar galactica. I need my pdf preview to show me my paper as it is, not with different rounded […]
Nick Heer (Mastodon): I do not think all these effects necessarily help legibility, which is as poor as it has ever been in translucent areas. The degree to which this is noticeable is dependent on the platform. In iOS 26, I find it less distracting, I think largely because it exists in the context of […]
Jason Kottke: I’m usually pretty go-with-the-flow as far as OS updates go, but iOS 26 / Liquid Glass is terrible: incoherent, ugly, and difficult to use. Obviously a massive design effort, but they missed the mark IMO. Juli Clover: It’s been two days since iOS 26 was released, and Apple’s new Liquid Glass design is […]
Apple (Hacker News, MacRumors, Slashdot): With M5, the 14-inch MacBook Pro gets even faster, more capable, and delivers a huge leap in AI performance. […] Additionally, it offers phenomenal battery life of up to 24 hours, so users can take their pro workflows anywhere. With the latest storage technology, the new 14-inch MacBook Pro with […]
Apple (Hacker News, MacRumors, MacStories): M5 unlocks the most advanced iPad experience ever, packing an incredible amount of power and AI performance into the ultraportable design of iPad Pro. […] N1, the new Apple-designed wireless networking chip, enables the latest generation of wireless technologies with support for Wi-Fi 7 on iPad Pro. The C1X modem […]
Apple (Hacker News, MacStories): Apple today introduced Apple Vision Pro with the powerful M5 chip that delivers a leap forward in performance, improved display rendering, faster AI-powered workflows, and extended battery life. The upgraded Vision Pro also comes with the soft, cushioned Dual Knit Band to help users achieve an even more comfortable fit, and […]
Apple (Hacker News, MacRumors): Built using third-generation 3-nanometer technology, M5 introduces a next-generation 10-core GPU architecture with a Neural Accelerator in each core, enabling GPU-based AI workloads to run dramatically faster, with over 4x the peak GPU compute performance compared to M4. The GPU also offers enhanced graphics capabilities and third-generation ray tracing that combined […]
Eric Böhnisch-Volkmann: Here’s Neo Network Utility 2.0 with a refreshed yet familiar design for macOS Tahoe, including menu icons, pill-shaped buttons, and a modern tab view. It actually looks good in Liquid Glass.Of course we didn’t just touch it up a bit. The new version lets you open multiple windows and run commands in all […]
Ric Ford (PDF): Researchers at Graz University of Technology discovered severe, unpatched vulnerabilities in iPhones, Android phones and other devices that facilitate attacks and data theft via malicious USB chargers. Previously known and addressed as “juice jacking,” the effective new technique has been titled “ChoiceJacking.” Adam Engst: This vulnerability exists because USB ports can simultaneously […]
Eric Slivka: Buried in its announcement about “F1: The Movie” making its streaming debut on December 12, Apple has also announced that Apple TV+ is being rebranded as simply Apple TV.[…]Apple of course offers its set-top box hardware under the Apple TV name while also offering the Apple TV app across various platforms as a […]
Max Seelemann (on his new blog): So how do you tell if a task supports cancellation? That’s tricky to answer per-se because cancellation is voluntary behavior and needs to be represented in the task’s value or error type. If you’re lucky, cancellation support (or lack thereof) is documented.[…]The designated way to check for cancellation is […]
Eric Slivka: Apple has essentially discontinued Clips, its video-editing app designed to allow users to combine video clips, images, and photos with voice-based titles, music, filters, and graphics to create enhanced videos that can be shared on social media sites.The app has been removed from the App Store, and a support document on Apple’s site […]
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai (via Hacker News): NSO spokesperson Oded Hershowitz told TechCrunch on Friday that “an American investment group has invested tens of millions of dollars in the company and has acquired controlling ownership.” Confirmation of the deal came soon after Israeli tech news website Calcalist reported Friday that a group led by Hollywood producer Robert […]
Juli Clover: Google today said that Gemini AI is being integrated into the Chrome browser for the Mac and PC. Chrome users in the U.S. will get the functionality first, with Gemini able to clarify complex information on any webpage. There will be a small Gemini symbol in the upper right side of the browser […]
Kaushik Gopal (via Hacker News): You have a drawer full of USB cables. Half are junk that barely charge your phone. The other half transfer data at full speed. But which is which? […] The script parses macOS’s system_profiler SPUSBHostDataType command, which produces a dense, hard-to-scan raw output[…] […] The first version was a bash […]
Apple (Wired, MacRumors): We’re doubling our top award to $2 million for exploit chains that can achieve similar goals as sophisticated mercenary spyware attacks. This is an unprecedented amount in the industry and the largest payout offered by any bounty program we’re aware of — and our bonus system, providing additional rewards for Lockdown Mode […]
Pablo Manríquez: Apple has quietly removed DeICER, a civic-reporting app used to log immigration enforcement activity, from its App Store after a law enforcement complaint — invoking a rule normally reserved for protecting marginalized groups from hate speech. […] Apple told developer Rafael Concepcion that the app violated Guideline 1.1.1, which prohibits “defamatory, discriminatory, or […]
Qualcomm (Hacker News): Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced its agreement to acquire Arduino, a premier open-source hardware and software company. The transaction accelerates Qualcomm Technologies’ strategy to empower developers by facilitating access to its unmatched portfolio of edge technologies and products.[…]By combining Qualcomm Technologies’ leading‑edge processing, graphics, computer vision, and AI with Arduino’s simplicity, affordability, […]
Hilbert Hagedoorn (via Hacker News): Synology has backtracked on one of its most unpopular decisions in years. After seeing NAS sales plummet in 2025, the company has decided to lift restrictions that forced users to buy its own Synology hard drives. The policy, introduced earlier this year, made third-party HDDs from brands like Seagate and […]
Joseph Cox (Bluesky, Reddit): Apple removed an app for preserving TikToks, Instagram reels, news reports, and videos documenting abuses by ICE, 404 Media has learned. The app, called Eyes Up, differs from other banned apps such as ICEBlock which were designed to report sightings of ICE officials in real-time to warn local communities. Eyes Up, […]
Apple (MacRumors): Beginning January 1, 2026, a new state law in Texas — SB2420 — introduces age assurance requirements for app marketplaces and developers. While we share the goal of strengthening kids’ online safety, we are concerned that SB2420 impacts the privacy of users by requiring the collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information to download […]
Océane Herrero: The investigation, led by the country’s cybercrime agency OFAC, follows a complaint in February by the French NGO Ligue des droits de l’Homme, based on the testimony of a whistleblower and former employee of an Apple subcontractor Thomas Le Bonniec.As an employee of Globe Technical Services in Ireland in 2019, Le Bonniec analyzed […]
Daniel Jalkut: I’m seeing more of a scam directed at customer support addresses, where the scammer pretends to be a customer who is having trouble with the app, and asks you to look at a screenshot of the problem, which is a link to a page that coaxes you into running a nefarious program on […]
Riley Testut: In April of last year, we launched AltStore PAL in the European Union as one of the first official alternative app marketplaces on iOS thanks to the Digital Markets Act. We launched with just 2 apps — my Nintendo emulator Delta and clipboard manager Clip — yet Apple immediately changed their App Store […]
Wiley Hodges: I used to believe that Apple were unequivocally ‘the good guys.’ I passionately advocated for people to understand Apple as being on the side of its users above all else. I now feel like I must question that. […] The event that represented a turning point for that skeptical view of Apple was […]
ToothFairy 2.8.8 is a maintenance update of my Bluetooth menu bar utility. As annoying as Bluetooth is as a user, it’s even more so as developer. Seemingly straightforward APIs don’t work as advertised. I don’t just mean that they can fail with an error. They can fail but say that they succeeded. They can succeed […]
Juli Clover: With the second beta of iOS 26.1, Apple updated the design of alarms set on the iPhone, making them harder to dismiss than before. Stopping an alarm in iOS 26.1 beta 2 requires a new Slide to Stop gesture rather than a simple tap. You can continue to tap to snooze an alarm, […]
Michael Teo Van Runkle: Connecting to Ultra via Bluetooth takes a minute or two longer than traditional CarPlay and includes more consent screens to cover the additional legal ramifications of the operating system sharing data with the car, and vice versa. […] Once initiated, though, Ultra fired up straightaway every time. Much faster than the […]
Jonathan Reed: Apple brings much more customization to our in-car displays, mainly by letting the much heralded features of CarPlay Ultra trickle down to regular CarPlay. […] CarPlay has taken on the visual qualities of Liquid Glass. Since CarPlay is essentially a mirror for your iPhone, this is to be expected, but it’s been done […]
Epic Games (Tim Sweeney, MacRumors, The Verge, TechCrunch): In response to ongoing Digital Markets Act enforcement, Apple has significantly improved the process for installing alternative app stores from the web in the European Union with iOS 18.6 in July. They’ve reduced the install flow from 15 steps to 6, eliminating their former scare screen and […]
Modum (tweet): The all-in-one iOS and macOS app that enhances App Store Connect, supercharging your app updates, localization, and ASO with AI-powered tools.[…]Using Helm is up to 12x faster than using the App Store Connect website.[…]It’s easier than ever to respond using templates, translations, and AI assistance. Additionally, Helm will automatically translate the review and […]
Applause Group: We’ve re-built Bartender from the ground up to be beautiful, performant, and reliable. Bartender has been a staple of Mac users for years, and that brought with it lots of old hacks & tricks. We’ve modernised everything, from the algorithms used to move your items, through to the design of the entire app.The […]
Juli Clover: Startup accelerator and venture capital firm Y Combinator (YC) today filed an amicus brief supporting Epic Games in Epic’s continued legal fight with Apple. Y Combinator says that Apple’s “anti-steering restraints” have long inhibited the growth and development of technology companies that monetize goods and services through apps.The company calls on the court […]
SpamSieve 3.2.1 is a maintenance release of my Mac e-mail spam filter. This fixes the previously mentioned problem with AppleScript timeouts and POP accounts on macOS Tahoe 26. I found a workaround, but it’s still a mystery exactly what was causing the problem. First, why was AppleScript delaying and then timing out rather than just […]
EagleFiler 1.9.19 is a maintenance release of my Mac digital filing cabinet and e-mail archiving app. Importing from DEVONthink works again. They’ve changed some terminology, but EagleFiler’s import AppleScript didn’t have to change. EagleFiler just didn’t know—until now—how to recognize DEVONthink because its bundle identifier changed. I had thought that macOS Sequoia was when opening […]
Ashley Oliver (Hacker News, MSN, The Verge, 9to5Mac): Apple dropped ICEBlock, a widely used tracking tool, from its App Store Thursday after the Department of Justice raised concerns with the big tech giant that the app put law enforcement officers at risk.[…]Controversy surrounding ICE tracking apps intensified after last month’s deadly shooting at an ICE […]
Jen Simmons et al. (Mastodon): For the last 17 years, if the website had the specific meta tag or Web Application Manifest display value in it’s code, when a user added it to their Home Screen on iOS or iPadOS, tapping its icon opened it as a web app. If the website was not configured […]