Blog - Archived Entries - November 2020

November 27, 2020:
We are releasing Battery Monitor version 3.9 through the Mac App Store:

Added support for the new battery management of the 10th generation MacBook Air and the 17th generation MacBook Pro. Capacity values and battery unit serial numbers will now be shown correctly for these models.
Added a workaround for situations where the operating system provides contradicting battery health information.
Fixed a problem for Macs with Apple Silicon where the system installation date may have been shown instead of the manufacturing week.

Battery Monitor is a powerful App to display the charge state of portable Macs in the Dock, to display internal battery information, to capture charge and discharge curves, to keep logs of the aging process of the battery, and to add notifications via Notification Center or speech output.

November 20, 2020:
We are releasing TinkerTool System 7 version 7.01:

Added support for future versions of macOS.
Fixes a problem for Macs with Apple Silicon where the system installation date was shown instead of the manufacturing week.
Fixes a possible layout problem in the table of IPv6 addresses of the Network info pane where parts of the addresses could be clipped depending on the widths of other values.
Fixes a problem where the application may have linked to the home page of version 6 instead of 7.

TinkerTool System 7 is a collection of system utility features helping you in performing advanced administration tasks on Apple Macintosh computers.

November 19, 2020:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 as update for older operating systems (Update Product ID: 001-83532)
Safari Technology Preview version 116 (Update Product IDs: 001-69967, 001-82545)

The re-release of macOS Big Sur appears to prevent that version 11.0.1 is installed on MacBook Pro 13-inch series Late-2013 and Mid-2014 with model code “MacBookPro11,1”. The update could otherwise make these computers unusable.

Safari Technology Preview allows users to get a sneak peek at upcoming web technologies in macOS and experiment with these technologies in websites and extensions.

November 19, 2020:
We are releasing Backup Server Control version 2.51:

Added support for future versions of macOS.

Backup Server Control provides a graphical user interface to setup and administer a server for network-based Time Machine® backups with a few mouse clicks on a Macintosh®. Other Macs running macOS Sierra or later can perform backups on the Time Machine server. The current status of network backups can be reviewed any time.

November 18, 2020:
We are releasing TinkerTool version 8.1:

Added support for future operating system versions.
The list of sound effects for the Mail application is now shown in the user's preferred language.
The design of the help window was updated.
Fixed a problem where the Apps pane was mistakenly accepted for integration by TinkerTool System 6.

TinkerTool is an application that gives you access to additional preference settings Apple has built into macOS. This allows to activate hidden features in the operating system and in some of the applications delivered with the system.

November 18, 2020:
We are releasing NFS Manager version 5.1:

Added support for future versions of macOS.
Added new user guidance for cases where a remote NFS server check cannot run successfully because the client Mac prefers IPv6 instead of IPv4 to contact the server.
The user guidance for cases where Apple’s NFS server rejects a share for privacy reasons has been redesigned.

NFS Manager is an application to control the NFS features built into macOS via a comfortable graphical user interface. The application uses Apple’s technologies like Bonjour or Open Directory to make management as easy as possible. When using directory services, NFS Manager can configure NFS features not only for a single computer but for a whole network of thousands of Macintosh systems, with a few mouse clicks only.

November 17, 2020:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

BridgeOS Customer Update 11.1 (Update Product ID: 001-82555)

BridgeOS is the operating system running on the auxiliary processor of Macs with an additional Apple T1 or Apple T2 security processor. This update is necessary to support future versions of macOS 11 Big Sur.

November 13, 2020:
The Mac App Store currently suffers a major configuration problem which can ruin the user experience for some customers: Apps that have been updated to a new “Big Sur-only” version are mistakenly offered by the App Store to customers who run incompatible operating systems, such as macOS Catalina. Our application System Monitor is unfortunately affected by this App Store failure. Apple's own applications, like GarageBand, for example, are affected as well. This means you will receive incorrect update notifications, and the App Store might even delete your working apps in case automatic App updates are enabled.

As a side effect, this error may also prevent that you can re-download deleted apps: For example, if you have erased the Catalina version of an app, and you don't like to, or simply cannot upgrade to macOS 11, you won't be able to re-download a compatible version of the app any longer, because the App Store will always offer you the wrong version. Developers have no chance to correct this or to offer any “side loads” of their apps. Please contact Apple support if you are affected by this problem.

November 13, 2020:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

Apple XProtect Configuration Data version 2135 (Update Product ID: 001-66966)
Apple XProtect Configuration Data for OS X El Capitan or later, version 2135 (Update Product ID: 001-66963)
Apple Malware Removal Tool (MRT) version 1.72 (Update Product ID: 001-66966)
Apple Malware Removal Tool (MRT), for OS X El Capitan or later, version 1.72 (Update Product ID: 001-77517)
Safari version 14.0.1 for Catalina (Update Product ID: 001-82587)
Safari version 14.0.1 for Mojave (Update Product ID: 001-43723)

XProtect and MRT are part of the built-in antivirus software of macOS. The packages do not appear in the Software Update section of System Preferences (or App Store in older versions of the operating system). macOS is updating the software automatically in the background if you have granted the system permission to download system data files and security-related files.

Safari 14.0.1 contains bug fixes and other improvements.

November 12, 2020:
Since 08:00 p.m. UTC, Apple has experienced major technical problems which cause a complete failure of many of their Internet-based services, like Apple Card, Apple Pay or iMessage.

Because Apple is basically monitoring the start of every third-party program on Macs via Internet, a side effect of this failure is that launching applications on the operating systems

macOS 10.14 Mojave,
macOS 10.15 Catalina, or
macOS 11.0 Big Sur

may currently take several minutes because these macOS versions cannot communicate correctly with Apple notarization services at the moment. Apple's own applications are not affected.

As a workaround, temporarily disconnect from Internet before launching third-party macOS applications. Customers can watch the item Developer ID Notary Service on the web page Apple Developer System Status to check whether the application launch problems have been resolved.

November 12, 2020:
We are releasing TinkerTool System 7 version 7.0:

Added full support for macOS 11.0 Big Sur. macOS 11 is the minimum OS version for using TinkerTool System 7.
Added new feature to remove invalid keychain entries of type “accountsKeychainExport” created by Xcode.
Added new feature to show the Apple order number and enclosure type number for Macs with Apple processors.
The Network Utility which was discontinued in Big Sur is reinstated by a new pane in TinkerTool System and supports modernized features:

Added new feature to show network interfaces, addresses and statistics.
Added new feature to show the routing table, protocol statistics, multicast information, and socket connections.
Added new feature for ping diagnostics over IPv4 and IPv6.
Added new feature to determine addresses or host names for IPv4 and IPv6.
Added new feature to trace network packet routes.
Added new feature to query whois databases.
Added new feature to query the “finger” information service for network users (RFC 1288).
Added new feature to scan open IPv4 ports.

VoiceOver is now fully supported in the ttsfrm emergency tool.
Indicating the S.M.A.R.T. status in ttsfrm is now additionally supported for SSDs with NVMe interfaces.
When testing fans, the fan speeds are now always indicated with rounded numbers, even when using Mac models where Apple is measuring rotational speeds with decimal places.
Hundreds of other small changes and adjustments for macOS 11.
The following features have been removed because they are no longer part of macOS Big Sur, no longer make sense, or have been superseded by new macOS features: repeating system optimization, deactivation of caches while the system is running, rebuilding the driver cache, rebuilding the XPC cache, resizing DMG image files, showing the list of blocked kernel drivers, automatically suggesting components when removing software, disabling automounting of disks outside a login session, control of the option to support captive networks, additional display of HiDPI resolutions, disabling the option-ROM security feature for the Startup Manager, disabling 32-bit software, screen saver control for the login screen.

TinkerTool System 7 is a collection of system utility features helping you in performing advanced administration tasks on Apple Macintosh computers.

November 12, 2020:
We are releasing TinkerTool version 8.0:

Added full support for macOS 11.0 Big Sur.

TinkerTool is an application that gives you access to additional preference settings Apple has built into macOS. This allows to activate hidden features in the operating system and in some of the applications delivered with the system.

November 12, 2020:
We are releasing TinkerTool System 6 version 6.94:

This version is aware of TinkerTool System 7 and the release of macOS 11.0 Big Sur.

TinkerTool System 6 is a collection of system utility features helping you in performing advanced administration tasks on Apple Macintosh computers.

November 12, 2020:
We are releasing NFS Manager version 5.0:

Added full support for macOS 11.0 Big Sur.

NFS Manager is an application to control the NFS features built into macOS via a comfortable graphical user interface. The application uses Apple’s technologies like Bonjour or Open Directory to make management as easy as possible. When using directory services, NFS Manager can configure NFS features not only for a single computer but for a whole network of thousands of Macintosh systems, with a few mouse clicks only.

November 12, 2020:
We are releasing Backup Server Control version 2.5:

This versions adds full support for macOS 11 Big Sur.
The timeout to compute the size of a backup set was increased to 30 seconds.
Parts of the user interface for product activation and registration management have been redesigned.

Backup Server Control provides a graphical user interface to setup and administer a server for network-based Time Machine® backups with a few mouse clicks on a Macintosh®. Other Macs running macOS Sierra or later can perform backups on the Time Machine server. The current status of network backups can be reviewed any time.

November 12, 2020:
We are releasing PrefEdit version 4.5:

Added full support for macOS 11.0 Big Sur.
The application now accepts that the user provides a custom icon.
The feature for automatic notification of updates no longer relies on Notification Center.
Parts of the user interface for product activation and registration management have been redesigned.

PrefEdit is an application to manage nearly all aspects of the preference system contained in every macOS installation. The program consists of two components which are tightly integrated with each other: (1) An entry point to the preferences database of macOS, with access to all settings which are effective for your user account, (2) a browser and editor for macOS property list files (plists).

November 12, 2020:
We are releasing Sync Checker version 3.6:

This version adds full support for macOS 11.0 Big Sur.

Sync Checker is a diagnostic application which can check if two folders or disks are perfectly synchronized, i.e. if they have exactly the same contents. When creating backup copies of valuable files, or when making sure that two computers or mobile devices work on the same set of data, the status of being “in perfect sync” can be very important. In order to be safe and to prevent loss of data, you can let Sync Checker verify whether a pair of file collections are matching exactly or not.

November 12, 2020:
We are releasing Bresink Software Updater, version 1.3:

Added full support for macOS 11 Big Sur.
Added feature to normalize the ownership of an updated application under specific circumstances.
Added internal policy never to consider applications on file servers or inactive Time Machine volumes for automatic update.
The application now accepts that the user provides a custom icon.

If you use many of our software products on your Mac, it can become tedious to keep all of them up-to-date. Bresink Software Updater facilitates the maintenance of our applications considerably. At a glance you can see if all programs are at their latest versions. You will be notified about available updates and can decide to either trigger the update procedure for a single product or for all of them automatically.

November 12, 2020:
We are releasing SystemLoad version 4.2:

Added full support for macOS 11.0 Big Sur.

SystemLoad is a diagnostic application assisting you in the detection of cooling or power supply problems with Apple Macintosh computers. The tool can put a user-definable load onto one or more processors.

November 12, 2020:
We are releasing System Monitor version 3.0 through the Mac App Store:

Added official support for macOS 11 Big Sur.
Legacy technology has been removed from the App. The minimum required operating system version is now macOS 11.

System Monitor is an application for the menu bar of macOS, designed to inform you unobtrusively about the activity of your computer.

November 12, 2020:
We are releasing Battery Monitor version 3.8 through the Mac App Store:

Added official support for macOS 11 Big Sur.
Legacy technology has been removed from the App. The minimum required OS version is now macOS 10.12.
The conditions for merging two long-term battery capacity logs have been relaxed. This makes it easier to resolve an unintentional split of the database after using beta operating system versions.

Battery Monitor is a powerful App to display the charge state of portable Macs in the Dock, to display internal battery information, to capture charge and discharge curves, to keep logs of the aging process of the battery, and to add notifications via Notification Center or speech output.

November 12, 2020:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

macOS 11.0.1 update for OS X El Capitan or later (Update Product ID: 001-79699)
macOS Supplemental Update (Update Product ID: 001-67044)
BridgeOS Customer Update 10.5.7 (Update Product ID: 001-73002)
BridgeOS Customer Update 11.0.1 (Update Product ID: 001-79709)
Security Update 2020-006 for macOS High Sierra (Update Product ID: 001-72525)
Security Update 2020-006 for macOS Mojave (Update Product ID: 001-72538)
Command Line Tools for Xcode 12.2 (Update Product ID: 001-75138, 001-77532)
Mobile Device Update (Update Product ID: 001-61376)
Pro Video Formats version 2.2.0 (Update Product IDs: 001-07992)
Final Cut Pro X Supplemental Content (Update Product ID: 001-62840)
Motion Supplemental Content (Update Product ID: 001-62842)

November 11, 2020:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

macOS 10.15.7 Catalina Update for OS X El Capitan and later (Update Product ID: 001-68446)

The new version provides important security updates and bug fixes. It also ensures compatibility with future macOS versions.

November 5, 2020:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

macOS 10.15.7 Catalina Update (Update Product ID: 001-57230)
macOS 10.15.7 Catalina Supplemental Update (Update Product ID: 001-73001)
BridgeOS Customer Update 10.5.7 (Update Product ID: 001-73002)
Allow List for Macintosh firmware security checks (“EFI Check”), version 97 (Update Product ID: 001-65337)

The new versions provide important security updates and bug fixes. They also ensure compatibility with future macOS versions.

November 4, 2020:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

Apple SafeView version 8.3.0 (Update Product ID: 001-39295)

SafeView is an internal utility that macOS customers can use to share their screens via Internet with service representatives from Apple or AppleCare. It allows remote access for support purposes. This software is not available to the general public.