Joe Kissell
TidBITS
San Diego, CA, United States
Contact Joe
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Past articles by Joe:
Nisus Writer Pro 3.0 Hits New Levels of Word-Processing Power
The just-released Nisus Writer Pro 3.0 brings over 300 changes to the legendary word processor, including Split View, greatly improved comments, user interface enhancements, and many bug fixes. → Read More
Inside iOS 12: Use Third-Party Password Managers to Simplify Logins
Among the password-related changes in iOS 12 is the much-anticipated support for integrating third-party password managers with Safari and other apps, almost—but not quite—as a peer to iCloud Keychain. → Read More
Panorama X Brings the Legendary Mac Database Back to the Future
After six years of development, ProVUE software has released Panorama X for macOS — a completely rewritten and modernized version of the powerful relational database that was one of the first Mac apps. Joe Kissell explores its capabilities, old and new, and muses on who would benefit from this tool. → Read More
The Best Online Cloud Backup Service
Backblaze is the best online backup service for most people thanks to fast, reliable performance, plus simple setup, useful features, and an attractive price. → Read More
CrashPlan Discontinues Consumer Backups
Code42 Software has announced it’s discontinuing the CrashPlan for Home backup service, and will focus exclusively on the business and education markets in the future. Joe Kissell explains why he’s angry about this news and now hesitates to recommend CrashPlan even to businesses. → Read More
FlippedBITS: Misconceptions about Changing Email Addresses
Are you still using an AOL address, or one provided by your ISP? Do you share an email address with your spouse? Have you ever wished you could have a professional-looking email address in your own domain? In this installment of FlippedBITS, Joe Kissell looks at some common ways of using email accounts that are, shall we say, less than optimal, and explains how to improve your email image. → Read More
Aunt Agatha Ponders Her Digital Legacy
Joe Kissell invites his imaginary aunt to a private ask-me-anything about his new book, “Take Control of Your Digital Legacy,” in which he discusses the challenges and rewards of preserving your data for future generations. → Read More
The Best Password Managers
1Password is our favorite password manager out of the dozens we considered. → Read More
How to Migrate to a New Mac
Moving your data from an old Mac (or a PC) to a new one can be a complex undertaking. Joe Kissell provides a detailed walkthrough of the process for each of several common scenarios. → Read More
New Parallels Desktop 12 Improves Speed, Gains Take Control Book
A major upgrade to Parallels Desktop brings improved performance and new features, plus a brand-new Take Control book. → Read More
Why Your Bits Might Be Flipped (and What to Do about It)
We all experience misunderstandings about technology from time to time. Joe Kissell explains why it’s not your fault, and how he approaches the subject of tech misconceptions in his new book, “Are Your Bits Flipped?”. → Read More
FlippedBITS: 1Password Versus iCloud Keychain
Recent versions of OS X and iOS have a built-in password manager called iCloud Keychain, which generates random passwords for you and syncs across devices automatically. So why would anyone need 1Password (or another third-party password manager)? Joe Kissell shares a long list of reasons, making a strong case for going beyond Apple’s free tool. → Read More
Catch Up with the Latest Dropbox Features
If you thought Dropbox was just for syncing and sharing files, think again! In the course of writing the second edition of “Take Control of Dropbox,” Joe Kissell discovered numerous useful Dropbox capabilities that even loyal, long-time users may have missed. → Read More
Do Cool Things on the Command Line with Six Quick Recipes
Why would a modern Mac user want to go back to a command-line interface? There are lots of reasons, and Joe Kissell provides six of them here. These quick recipes, which require no prior knowledge of the command line, enable you to do useful things that Apple doesn’t provide a way to accomplish in OS X’s graphical interface. → Read More
1Password 6 for Mac Adds Teams, Expands Sync Options
AgileBits has released version 6 of 1Password for Mac with a number of major new features, including support for sharing passwords among a group, a unified view of all your password vaults, an improved password generator, and iCloud syncing for more people. Joe Kissell covers what has changed and introduces the all-new, second edition of âTake Control of 1Password.â → Read More
Backups for the creative pro
What to think about when you need to back up vast amounts of data. → Read More
The Best Online Backup Service
Everyone who uses a computer needs a dependable way to back up their data. After carefully comparing 20 services and testing six, we believe that CrashPlan ($60 per year for individuals; $150 per y... → Read More
Keynote for Mac 6.5.3 review: Gradual improvements make it more competitive with PowerPoint
Whether you should use version 6.5 over PowerPoint 2016 or Keynote 5.3 depends on what features you need. → Read More
PowerPoint 2016 for Mac review: New interface and features make PowerPoint pleasant
Is it enough to overtake Keynote? That depends on your needs. → Read More
Why I prefer CrashPlan for online backups
Joe Kissell has tried them all: MozyHome, Backblaze, Carbonite, and Dolly Drive. But he keeps coming back to CrashPlan, Java app and all. → Read More