I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 338. Here are my solutions to them.

1: The first macOS from the mountains around Tahoe.

Click for a solution

Sierra

The first macOS (10.12 Sierra was the first of the new rebranding) from the mountains (named after the Sierra Nevada) around Tahoe (the mountains around Lake Tahoe).

2: The eighth came from the App Store with Mission Control and a mane.

Click for a solution

Lion

The eighth (MacOS X 10.7 was the eighth major version) came from the App Store (it was originally intended to be available only from the App Store) with Mission Control (introduced in 10.7) and a mane (distinctive of a lion).

3: The sixth came with a time machine and spots.

Click for a solution

Leopard

The sixth (Mac OS X 10.5 was the sixth major version) came with a time machine (it introduced Time Machine) and spots (distinctive of a leopard).

The common factor

Click for a solution

Following each of these came a version with the same name qualified: High Sierra, Mountain Lion and Snow Leopard.

I look forward to your putting alternative cases.

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.

1: The first macOS from the mountains around Tahoe.

2: The eighth came from the App Store with Mission Control and a mane.

3: The sixth came with a time machine and spots.

To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.

I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.

Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 337. Here are my solutions to them.

1: Passing time at the far right.

Click for a solution

Clock

Passing time (what a clock does) at the far right (it’s the item at the far right of the menu bar).

2: Winks at you when toggling extensions.

Click for a solution

Spotlight

Winks at you when toggling extensions (switch show filename extensions off or on in the Finder, and this icon disappears briefly, then returns).

3: A pair of contradictory toggles for more settings.

Click for a solution

Control Centre

A pair of contradictory toggles (its icon shows two toggle switches, one on and the other off) for more settings (it displays the Control Centre).

The common factor

Click for a solution

They are all shown in the right side of the menu bar.

I look forward to your putting alternative cases.

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.

1: Passing time at the far right.

2: Winks at you when toggling extensions.

3: A pair of contradictory toggles for more settings.

To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.

I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.

Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 336. Here are my solutions to them.

1: Interchange of wealthy words but not plain.

Click for a solution

rich text

Interchange (the format was intended for interchange of documents) of wealthy (rich) words (text) but not plain (not plain text).

2: Microsoft’s proprietary medical practitioner from 1983 until 2007.

Click for a solution

doc

Microsoft’s proprietary (although it has been reversed, it remains proprietary) medical practitioner (a doc) from 1983 until 2007 (although it has changed substantially over that period, it came with Word for MS-DOS in 1983, and was replaced by docx in Word 2007).

3: 2003-2007 = 1,050 afterword.

Click for a solution

WordML

2003-2007 (it was introduced in Microsoft Word 2003, and superseded by Office Open XML in Microsoft Word 2007) = 1,050 (ML in Roman numerals) afterword (after ‘Word’).

The common factor

Click for a solution

They are all text formats supported by textutil.

I look forward to your putting alternative cases.

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.

1: Interchange of wealthy words but not plain.

2: Microsoft’s proprietary medical practitioner from 1983 until 2007.

3: 2003-2007 = 1,050 afterword.

To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.

I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.

Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.

在 2025.9.9 发布的新版国际统一字符编码 Unicode 17.0 里，新增了 4803 个字符，出现了汉字的「㐅也」和「男也」，这下人称代词齐了~

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追踪这两个新字被提交到 Unicode 的过程。这一批新字，在 2024.6.26 被正式提交（Proposal on new CJK Unified Ideographs Extension for IRG WS2021），而早在 2021 年，就已经出现在表意文字研究小组（Ideographic Research Group，IRG）的讨论区 WS2021 里。从上面的 Proposal 可以直接点击进入每个字的讨论页面。

	提案序号	UK 编号	Unicode 编号
㐅也	00029	UK-20538	U+323BF
男也	02584	UK-20227	U+32C3C

从讨论过程和提交的字源证据中，可以看出，提交「㐅也」和「男也」的，大概不是同一批学者。「男也」是对新文化运动中涌现出的文字的拾遗补缺；而「㐅也」则是专门为了非二元性别而造出来的。

男也：

众所周知，（女也，她）是刘半农大力推出来的。早在 1918 年，周作人就在《新青年》上聊过，刘半农想要造一个「她」来翻译 she。1920 年，刘半农发表了《“她”字问题》，和脍炙人口的《教我如何不想她》，代表着女性代词「她」被广泛接受。

这场关于女性代词的讨论，在当时影响很大。不难想象，有了「女也」之后，就有人想要有「男也」，而且，是打着「专门提升女性地位，是对男性不公平」的旗号。提交的最早的关于「男也」的字源证据，是 1922.9.14 《现代妇女》的稿件。文章里主要谈的是：有了专门的女校之后，很多男人觉得不公平，认为被女性抢占了教育资源。然后顺便提到：

某报上有位先生，做了篇文章，中间用了许多『男也』字，累铸字房的工人忙得汗如雨下。——据说是替『她』字复仇的。

后来也有一些看起来没那么男权味道的讨论，在区分「女也、男也」的同时，还有「子也、牛也」……甚至出现在 1935 年的《初中精讀國文範程》（潘尊行編著）。但后来为什么只有「女他」成为了常用字，就不得而知了。

㐅也：

「㐅也」的提交者是英国汉学家 Andrew C. West（魏安）（1960-2025），今年 7 月刚刚去世。最早关于「㐅也」的字源证据，是 2019.2 香港的《性别空间 2018 年度报告》。

「㐅也」并不是从久远的文献中翻出来的，而是根据现代需要造出来的全新的字，这在 Unicode 的编码中很少见。在提交页面上，也有过一些讨论，譬如这个字是应用于跨性别群体、还是更广泛的非二元性别群体；以及「㐅」会不会让人感觉到「非人」的贬义。但都没有太大的阻碍。反对者王谢杨在 2011 年刚出草案时，就在知乎上吐槽过这是否算政治正确需要再缓一缓，但正式页面的讨论直到 2023 年才出现。

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那么，如何输入这些新字呢？从字形被加入 Unicode 编码，到这个编码出现在各种常用字体字库，乃至出现在常用的中文输入法里，用纯文本发出去直接被对方看到，中间还有很长的过程。

想要尝新的话，「字雲 Jigmo」和「全宋體」都已经做好了 Unicode 17 新增的这些汉字（后者似乎有一些版权问题）。 下载安装字体后，就可以在各种文本或图片编辑器里使用、打印或者截屏输出了。

如何输入 Unicode 字符？在微软 Office 里，可以输入 Unicode 编码（譬如 32c3c）然后在末尾按下（Alt + x）；也可以直接复制下面的乱码文字。

「男也」=「𲰼」
「㐅也」=「𲎿」

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 335. Here are my solutions to them.

1: Xeon and the first T2 made this the most costly of its line.

Click for a solution

iMac Pro

Xeon (it has an Intel Xeon W processor) and the first T2 (it was the first model to include the T2 chip) made this the most costly of its line (it remains the most expensive iMac).

2: The first laptop with Intel, M1 and M5, it has never quite reached 18 inches.

Click for a solution

MacBook Pro

The first laptop with Intel (Core Duo, 2006), M1 (2020, alongside MacBook Air) and M5 (2025), it has never quite reached 18 inches (the largest has been 17 inches).

3: Last incision went from KeyGrip to Women of Wrestling.

Click for a solution

Final Cut Pro

Last (final) incision (cut) went from KeyGrip (its original name, before it was bought by Apple from Macromedia) to Women of Wrestling (the first full broadcast quality widely distributed TV show produced using FCP, in 2000).

The common factor

Click for a solution

They are all deemed by Apple to be ‘pro’.

I look forward to your putting alternative cases.

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.

1: Xeon and the first T2 made this the most costly of its line.

2: The first laptop with Intel, M1 and M5, it has never quite reached 18 inches.

3: Last incision went from KeyGrip to Women of Wrestling.

To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.

I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.

Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 334. Here are my solutions to them.

1: First fruit at the top left since 1984.

Click for a solution

 Apple menu

First (it’s the first item in the menu bar) fruit (an apple) at the top left (where it is) since 1984 (it has been there since the first Mac).

2: Line of people uppermost for new documents and saving.

Click for a solution

File menu

Line of people (a file) uppermost (it’s in the menu bar) for new documents and saving (it contains the New and Save commands).

3: Formal inspection to customise window from above.

Click for a solution

View menu

Formal inspection (a view) to customise window (what commands in this menu do) from above (it’s also in the menu bar).

The common factor

Click for a solution

They are three of the four standard menus in the Mac since its release in 1984. The fourth is the Edit menu.

I look forward to your putting alternative cases.

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.

1: First fruit at the top left since 1984.

2: Line of people uppermost for new documents and saving.

3: Formal inspection to customise window from above.

To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.

I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.

Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 333. Here are my solutions to them.

1: Black leopard exposé of 2003 could fax.

Click for a solution

Mac OS X 10.3 Panther

Black leopard (a panther) exposé (Exposé was one of its new features) of 2003 (released 24 October 2003) could fax (it was the first Mac OS X to come with integrated support for faxing).

2: Officially a 750, it brought the fastest notebook in the world in 1997.

Click for a solution

G3

Officially a 750 (its proper name is the PowerPC 750), it brought the fastest notebook in the world (the PowerBook G3) in 1997 (first Macs with the G3 came in November 1997).

3: Came with a plus, bulging trash and SCSI.

Click for a solution

System 3

Came with a plus (it shipped with the Mac Plus in January 1986), bulging trash (it was the first version of Mac OS to show the Trash bulging when it had items inside it) and SCSI (it was the first version to support SCSI devices).

The common factor

Click for a solution

The number 3, to celebrate Mac Riddles 333.

I look forward to your putting alternative cases.

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.

1: Black leopard exposé of 2003 could fax.

2: Officially a 750, it brought the fastest notebook in the world in 1997.

3: Came with a plus, bulging trash and SCSI.

To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.

I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.

Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 332. Here are my solutions to them.

1: I came in 1998, Bondi blue with USB.

Click for a solution

iMac

I (the start of its name) came in 1998 (it was released on 15 August 1998), Bondi blue (the colour of the first model) with USB (it was the first with USB ports).

2: I came a year later, with a PowerBook ID and AirPort.

Click for a solution

iBook

I (the start of its name) came a year later (it was released on 21 July 1999), with a PowerBook ID (its model ID was PowerBook2,1) and AirPort (it was the first with built-in Wi-Fi).

3: I came two more years later, with the smallest hard disk and LCD, and a thousand songs.

Click for a solution

iPod

I (the start of its name) came two more years later (it was released on 23 October 2001), with the smallest hard disk (5 GB) and LCD (2 inch), and a thousand songs (its launch tagline was ‘a thousand songs in your pocket’).

The common factor

Click for a solution

They each start with the letter i, something initially hated by Steve Jobs, and were aimed at the consumer.

I look forward to your putting alternative cases.

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.

1: I came in 1998, Bondi blue with USB.

2: I came a year later, with a PowerBook ID and AirPort.

3: I came two more years later, with the smallest hard disk and LCD, and a thousand songs.

To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.

I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.

Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 331. Here are my solutions to them.

1: A red Canadian named by Jef and after John came in 1984.

Click for a solution

Macintosh

A red (the fruit is also known as the McIntosh Red) Canadian (it’s the national apple of Canada) named by Jef (the Macintosh was named by Jef Raskin after his favourite apple) and after John (the apple is named after John McIntosh, who discovered it in 1811) came in 1984 (when the first Mac was released).

2: A wonder for cooking led by Larry came in 1993.

Click for a solution

Newton

A wonder (the fruit is known as the Newton Wonder) for cooking (it most commonly is, as it’s too sour for eating uncooked) led by Larry (Apple’s Newton development was led by the late Larry Tesler) came in 1993 (Apple’s Newton was released in 1993, and it was abandoned in 1996).

3: This fruit from Newtown flopped between 1996-97.

Click for a solution

Pippin

This fruit (another apple) from Newtown (the apple is the Newtown Pippin) flopped between 1996-97 (Apple’s Pippin was released in 1996, and abandoned the following year).

The common factor

Click for a solution

They are each Apple products named after varieties of apple fruit.

I look forward to your putting alternative cases.

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.

1: A red Canadian named by Jef and after John came in 1984.

2: A wonder for cooking led by Larry came in 1993.

3: This fruit from Newtown flopped between 1996-97.

To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.

I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.

Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 330. Here are my solutions to them.

1: Sounds like forty to a Roman working with tables to be the best.

Click for a solution

Excel

Sounds like forty to a Roman (XL) working with tables (what it’s for) to be the best (to excel).

2: Four hundred spun up for audio or data.

Click for a solution

CD

Four hundred (in Roman numerals CD) spun up for audio or data (what CDs do).

3: Run as a guest, it could be 995.

Click for a solution

VM

3: Run as a guest (what you do with a virtual machine), it could be 995 (Roman numerals VM).

The common factor

Click for a solution

They can each be expressed in Roman numerals.

I look forward to your putting alternative cases.

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.

1: Sounds like forty to a Roman working with tables to be the best.

2: Four hundred spun up for audio or data.

3: Run as a guest, it could be 995.

To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.

I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.

Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 329. Here are my solutions to them.

1: Two credentials or 762 should be superseded by passkeys.

Click for a solution

2FA

Two credentials (two-factor authentication uses two secrets, such as a password and a PIN code sent separately) or 762 (0x2FA in decimal) should be superseded by passkeys (a modern and more secure replacement).

2: Notably from Autodesk but once by Claris, it’s 3,245.

Click for a solution

CAD

Notably from Autodesk (vendors of AutoCAD and other computer-aided design software) but once by Claris (ClarisCAD, 1989-1991), it’s 3,245 (0xCAD in decimal).

3: From the Mac II until replaced by USB, 2,779 was quite enough.

Click for a solution

ADB

From the Mac II (Apple Desktop Bus, introduced as the peripheral interface for Mac II and SE) until replaced by USB (it was, with the iMac), 2,779 (0xADB in decimal) was quite enough (it didn’t support hot-swapping, which could result in electrical damage).

The common factor

Click for a solution

They are all hexadecimal numbers as well as abbreviations.

I look forward to your putting alternative cases.

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.

1: Two credentials or 762 should be superseded by passkeys.

2: Notably from Autodesk but once by Claris, it’s 3,245.

3: From the Mac II until replaced by USB, 2,779 was quite enough.

To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.

I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.

Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 328. Here are my solutions to them.

1:

Click for a solution

Angels

Schwabe’s painting shows a chain of angels emerging from a belfry.

2:

Click for a solution

Daemons

Doré’s engraving shows The Demons Threaten Virgil, from his illustrations to Dante’s Inferno.

3: James Bond, Jason Bourne, George Smiley, Modesty Blaise

Click for a solution

Agents

They are each (secret) agents: James Bond from Ian Fleming, Jason Bourne from Robert Ludlum, George Smiley from John le Carré, and Modesty Blaise from Peter O’Donnell.

The common factor

Click for a solution

They are each run by launchd from property lists in folders titled LaunchAngels (new in Tahoe), LaunchDaemons and LaunchAgents.

I look forward to your putting alternative cases.

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.

1:

2:

3: James Bond, Jason Bourne, George Smiley, Modesty Blaise.

To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.

I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.

Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 327. Here are my solutions to them.

1: Lost rocket platform as an app for your apps.

Click for a solution

Launchpad

Lost (it has been removed from Tahoe) rocket platform (a launchpad) as an app for your apps (what it was, an app for launching other apps).

2: Burning telegraph and lynx now disconnected.

Click for a solution

FireWire

Burning (fire) telegraph (wire) and lynx (Texas Instruments’ name for FireWire, IEEE 1394) now disconnected (support has been dropped from Tahoe, although oddly its kernel extensions are still present).

3: Happy Christmas 2017 is sad September 2025 for the most powerful Mac.

Click for a solution

iMac Pro

Happy Christmas 2017 (although announced the previous June, it shipped in December 2017) is sad September 2025 (it’s one of the T2 models dropped from Tahoe) for the most powerful Mac (when introduced, it was described as “the most powerful Mac ever made”, at least until the Mac Pro 2019).

The common factor

Click for a solution

They have all been dropped from Tahoe.

I look forward to your putting alternative cases.

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.

1: Lost rocket platform as an app for your apps.

2: Burning telegraph and lynx now disconnected.

3: Happy Christmas 2017 is sad September 2025 for the most powerful Mac.

To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.

I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.

Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.