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đ¸ Focus
Apple in 2023: The Six Colors report card
As is now a yearly tradition Jason Snell has polled many Apple pundits and experts to get an impression of the feelings towards the various Apple technologies. This is the "normal" Six Colors report card, not the Enterprise one. (That should come later in the year.) Still quite interesting for Apple admins.
đ° News and Opinion
Apple confirms iOS 17.4 removes Home Screen web apps in the EU, hereâs why
Apple has now offered an explanation for this decision, confirming that the omission was not a bug.
Welcome to Weird
Web apps arenât going anywhere, and choosing to eliminate PWAs from Safari instead of doing the work to extend them to all browsers runs counter to the open web and the momentum of history. I hope Apple reconsiders its decision.
1Password Acquires Kolide
The reality is that access isnât secure if the device doing the access isnât secure. This is part of the complexity of the modern way we work. Every device, regardless of location, must be secure â just as every log-in, regardless of location, employee, or type of device used, must be secure.
See also: summary by Michael Tsai
đ Security and Privacy
iMessage with PQ3: The new state of the art in quantum-secure messaging at scale
the most significant cryptographic security upgrade in iMessage history with the introduction of PQ3, a groundbreaking post-quantum cryptographic protocol that advances the state of the art of end-to-end secure messaging.
đ¨ Support and Tutorials
Packaging Mac software for distribution
Xcode handles many common scenarios for Mac software distribution, such as uploading your app to the Mac App Store. Some products that you build with Xcode or with third-party developer tools require other steps for distribution.
(via Quinn)
I am happy Apple is creating some developer documentation for creating packages. But even so, this only covers the most basic of form of packaging tasks. It basically says, when you want anything more complex than just an app, read the man pages for pkgbuild and productbuild. And while those man pages are fairly detailed, they, as is often the case with Apple's documentation, mostly describe the "how" (i.e. what the options do) rather than "whyâ or "when do I even need this."
If you are a developer and need more information about building (slightly) more complex installer packages from an Xcode workflow, I have some posts that might be interesting on my blog:
How to distribute macOS packages via MDM
Got more packages than Amazon on Christmas but wondering how you should deploy them?
Managing iCloud Access: What You Can (and Can't) Do
Apple has given IT teams several tools for controlling end-user access to iCloud-reliant services. The degree of control you have, and the tools you use to exert it, depend entirely on how your users are accessing iCloudâmore specifically, the kind of Apple IDs theyâre using.
Shopping for a faster external SSD
By now, we should all be thoroughly confused with USB 3.1 Gen 2, 3.2 Gen 2Ă2, USB4, Thunderbolt 3 and 4. The fact that they can all be connected using a Thunderbolt 4 cable to a USB-C port on your Mac is of absolutely no help either.
A Troubleshooting Guide For Apple's Vision Pro
ultimately, as with the iOS variants, there arenât a ton of things that can be done to troubleshoot, but letâs look at whatâs possible!
đ¤ Scripting and Automation
New Teams custom backgrounds
Custom backgrounds in Teams offer an excellent opportunity to enhance company branding or promote internal initiatives. However, the recent update to Teams on macOS has altered the deployment process, particularly concerning the location of these backgrounds. In response to requests for background deployment
âťď¸ Updates and Releases
đ§ Listen
Identity Market Updates: Platform SSO vs Good Old SSO We All Know
how SSO and Platform SSO have some similarities as well as core differences for admins to understand as they support identity as well as which IDPs have previews available.
Intro to declarative device management and Apple devices
Alcyr Araujo about the why and how of declarative device management for Apple devices.
MacAD for 2024
MacAD returns to Brighton in May of 2024! Weâre excited to welcome members of the organizing committee, Maxine & Liam join the podcast to talk about this yearâs conference, what attendees can expect, and why you should be booking your trip.
đJust for Fun
Better Sonoma
I didnât care for Appleâs abstract take on the rolling hills of Sonoma, so I made my own. Introducing Better Sonoma.
Death, Lonely Death
Not really "fun" but this is the section for off-topic posts. I assume there is a lot of overlap to space related enthusiasm here. The Voyager 1 space probe, launched in 1977, has communication issues. This beautiful eulogy by David Muir is worth reading.