Happy New Year! In our first issue of 2026, Adam Engst recounts a 1Password update failure that left the app an empty husk (with a simple fix), offers a cautionary note about Apple Gift Cards, where the downside can be account lockout, and questions whether Apple’s design culture has shifted too far toward a luxury aesthetic. He also shares a look at his screenshot toolkit, which relies on ScreenFloat’s bordered exports and Shot Browser alongside CleanShot X’s image-combining capabilities and the built-in macOS screenshot utility for capturing and compositing shadowed menus. In ExtraBITS, we link to Jeff Carlson’s reporting on emergency network equipment for disasters and to Reuters’s investigation into Meta’s tactics for avoiding scrutiny of scam ads. Notable Mac app releases this week include BusyCal 2025.4.4 and BusyContacts 2025.4.4, DaisyDisk 4.33, Default Folder X 6.2.4, Fission 2.9.3, GrandPerspective 3.6.1, Parallels Desktop 26.2, Quicken Classic 8.4, Scrivener 3.5.2, SoundSource 6.0.2, Ulysses 39.2, and URL Manager Pro 6.4.7.
A failed update left 1Password’s app package empty on multiple Macs, rendering it non-functional. The good news: reinstalling 1Password resolved the issue with no data loss.
Remember when Apple products had personality? Colorful iMacs, handles on iBooks, texture you could feel? Adam Engst argues that Apple’s obsession with luxury aesthetics has led to a decade of cold, sharp-edged uniformity—and it’s time for the company to consider that not everyone shares its minimalist vision.
Paris Buttfield-Addison has regained access to his Apple Account after a tainted gift card locked him out. But his saga highlights serious risks associated with Apple Gift Cards that should make everyone think twice before giving or redeeming them.
For documentation work, one size doesn’t fit all. Adam Engst finds that ScreenFloat’s floating windows, export options with borders, and Shot Browser address editing and reuse challenges, while CleanShot X excels at combining screenshots. And he still falls back on macOS’s built-in screenshot utility for capturing menus with shadows.
Watchlist
Updates the calendar and contact apps with improvements and bug fixes. ($49.99 new for each, free update, various sizes, macOS 11.5+)
Hard drive visualization utility improves support and updates icons for macOS 26 Tahoe. ($9.99 new, free update, 9.0 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Venerable Open/Save dialog utility adds the Fn (Globe) key as a modifier key option in keyboard shortcuts. ($39.95 new, free update, 28.6 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Audio editor corrects a time picker regression from the previous version. ($35 new, free update, 14.8 MB, macOS 11+)
Brings bug fixes and improvements to the graphical disk usage utility. (Free, 2.5 MB, macOS 11+)
Maintenance update for the virtualization software focused primarily on bug fixes. ($99.99 Standard Edition, free update, 5.4 MB, macOS 13+)
Updates the financial management app with a sackful of handy improvements and bug fixes. ($71.88/$95.88/$131.88 annual subscription, free update, 3.2 MB, macOS 12+)
Provides a workaround for incorrectly displayed outline and page view footer bars. ($59.99 new, free update, 116.1 MB, macOS 11+)
Brings "massively faster" device switching to the recently upgraded audio control utility. ($49 new, free update for version 6 licenses, $25 upgrade, 51.8 MB, macOS 15+)
Updates from two maintenance releases since the writing app's recent upgrade. ($5.99/$39.99 monthly/yearly subscription, free update, 120.8 MB, macOS 14+)
Adds support for the Dia and Comet AI-focused Web browsers. ($34.99 new, free update, 25.3 MB, macOS 10.13+)
