David Dudok de Wit:
Mac users can download macOS Big Sur through the Mac App Store. The download itself is already several gigabytes in size, so many people have had to wait the whole day for the whole system update. Need to re-download a complete macOS Big Sur installer application, from a Mac running macOS Big Sur? If you’ve already installed and updated a Mac to Big Sur, you may find that trying to re-download it from the Mac App Store doesn’t always work, as it sometimes will simply loop you back to System Preferences, or not be available at all.
What you may not know is why TripMode wasn’t available on the Mac App Store. TripMode was released almost 6 years ago, after all. So why are we on the Mac App Store now?
The reason is simple. Before macOS Big Sur came out, Apple didn’t allow network filtering apps on the Mac App Store. Sandboxing rules made it clear that apps like TripMode, that require deep integration with the system to work, were not allowed. This policy has changed since the newest Network Extensions framework was made available in Big Sur. TripMode 3 is entirely based on these Network Extensions. For users, it’s a safer way to filter your network traffic.
TripMode has long been one of my favorite Mac utilities. It lets you control how your Mac uses data, which is vitally important if you use slow or metered networks.
It’s interesting to see how Apple’s changes in Big Sur have enabled the new version of TripMode to use an Apple-blessed extensions framework, rather than the kernel extension previously required. More interesting still is that, now that there’s an Apple-blessed framework, TripMode qualifies for the Mac App Store! It’s quite a change.
On the Mac App Store, TripMode is a $12/year subscription. But you can still buy it directly from the developer for a one-time fee starting at $15, and it’s also available for subscribers to SetApp.
Among Us
—Linked by Jason Snell