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The Well-Secured Edition Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Moving From 1Password To KeePas, by Josh Centers, TidBITS

If all this sounds like I left a smooth and perfectly functional app for a hodgepodge of cobbled-together solutions, it’s because I did. But now that I’ve hashed out the kinks, it works pretty well. I’ve created and changed several passwords on both my Mac and iPhone since switching from 1Password, and I have experienced no data corruption or loss.

The upside of doing all of this is that I now have total control over my password database. It’s stored in Synology Drive, which keeps revisions and syncs a local copy to my Mac, where Time Machine also stores revisions. Plus, my Synology NAS backs up remotely to IDrive (unrelated to Apple’s old cloud storage offering) and locally to a 14 TB external drive, and they also keep revisions, so my password database is well secured.

Stuff

Our First Look At Bento, A New Task Managing App, by Matt Birchler, The Sweet Setup

Bento is technically a task manager, but it’s not exactly a replacement for any of the apps listed above. Instead, Bento wants you to think about what you must do today, add those things to a list, and use the Bento app to focus on getting them done today.

FlipKit Brings Flipbook Creation To Your iPhone, by Oliver Haslam, iMore

The big new FlipKit 2.0 update is now in the App Store and it brings with it a new user interface and design that should give existing users something new to enjoy. But it's the addition of an iPhone app that really changes the game, allowing people to create and edit their flipbooks from anywhere, anytime.

Clever Stabilized Web Browser Makes Reading On iPad Easier For Users Dealing With Hand Tremors, by Andrew Liszewski, Gizmodo

The app was developed by Havas New York and Havas Germany who spent two years working with the German Parkinson’s Association and Parkinson’s patients in Germany and the US to test and optimize the app. At its core, it relies on an iPad’s accelerometer to detect the subtle movements of hand tremors and then move an on-screen web browser window in the opposite direction to cancel out those movements providing the user with a stabilized and steady view of a web page while holding a mobile device.

New Square Stand Combines iPad With Built-In Apple Pay And Credit Card Reader, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

The second-generation Square Stand combines an iPad, the Square POS app, and built-in payment readers for contactless payments like Apple Pay and chip-enabled credit and debit cards. The original Square Stand required separate payment readers.

Notes

Thousands Of Apple AirPods Returned Through Walmart And Other Retailers Are Being Stockpiled Due To An Apparent Security Issue, by Caroline Haskins, Business Insider

Malka said he told Apple about the problem by emailing customer support but got no response. He noted that Apple is notoriously uncommunicative and unfriendly toward recyclers and refurbishers.

Patrick Wardle, an independent Mac OS security researcher, told Insider the issue may actually be something set up by Apple on purpose. Without this hurdle, a set of stolen AirPods could be factory reset to make make them immediately usable by the thief, or at least untraceable by the victim, he explained.

Shanghai, Kunshan Lockdowns Hit iPhone, Mac And iPad Makers, by Lauly Li, Nikkei Asia

Three key Apple suppliers have suspended production in and near Shanghai as strict COVID-19 lockdown measures show signs of affecting the U.S. tech giant's supply chain in China.

Email Is Slow And Creates Distance. That’s Why It’s Great., by Jay Caspian Kang, New York Times

Perhaps email will never again be the preferred form of digital communication, but much like vinyl records, it may be able to provide a pleasant ritual that slows down the flood of notifications, if only for a moment.

Bottom of the Page

Just when I finally have some semblance of taking control of my email inbox, along came these strange times and everyone is using text messages and video chats for work.

Sigh.

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Thanks for reading.