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The last two weeks provided a bit of the expected summer lull. We got the sixth and seventh round of betas for the .0 releases of macOS 15 and iOS 18, as well as a second beta for the .1 releases and Xcode 16 beta 6.
The second week of September is a likely date for an Apple event and the new iOS versions usually release a week later. That means there is less than a month to get your testing in before users will be upgrading. Maybe a bit more for macOS, but not much.
As mentioned before, this is the last summer camp issue on a two-weekly basis. Regular weekly issues will resume on September 6!
📸 Focus
Creativity is made, not generated
Generative AI is ripping the humanity out of things. Built on a foundation of theft, the technology is steering us toward a barren future. We think machine learning is a compelling technology with a lot of merit, but the path generative AI is on is wrong for us.
See also, John Voorhees, MacStories
📰 News and Opinion
Thoughts on the M4 Mac mini rumors
I’m looking forward to seeing the M4 Mac mini. I hope it continues to be relevant in the enterprise, the datacenter, and the classroom.
Some really interesting speculation on a new Mac mini form factor. The idea that a new Mac mini could be powered over USB PD, i.e. that a single cable from a display or dock could provide power and data is really intriguing and opens some new deployment possibilities.
Apple splits App Store team in two, introduces new leadership
Apple is comprehensively restructuring its long-standing App Store team, splitting the team into two separate divisions as the executive who has run it for more than a decade says goodbye to the company.
See also: Michael Tsai
Is this the slow decline of the Apple “cult”?
No single action makes them the bad guy, but put together, they certainly aren’t acting like a company that is trying to make their enthusiast fans happy. In fact, it seems Apple is testing them to see how much they can get away with.
Disenshittify or Die
It used to be that if you enshittified your product, bad things happened to your company. Now, there are no consequences for enshittification, so everyone’s doing it.
Forbidden Fruit
They could reduce their App Store cut to just 5% across the board. They’d still make a nice profit from developers, because developers aren’t just spending money on the developer program or Apple’s share of their revenue. Developers also buy a ton of devices (not just iPhones, but iPads, Apple Watches, etc). And they spend their entire professional lives dedicated to making apps for Apple devices
⚙️ Apple Updates
Apple Podcasts can now be heard on the web
Apple has made its whole podcast library available online, where it can be heard in Safari or other browsers, instead of the Apple Podcasts app.
Upcoming changes to the browser choice screen, default apps, and app deletion for EU users
By the end of this year, we’ll make changes to the browser choice screen, default apps, and app deletion for iOS and iPadOS for users in the EU. These updates come from our ongoing and continuing dialogue with the European Commission about compliance with the Digital Market Act’s requirements in these areas.
Also, news to me: iOS will have (has?) call spam filters!
See also, MacStories
- iOS and iPadOS 17.6.1 were re-released with new build numbers, but no new information in the the About pages or Security notes. This might be because Apple identified and fixed problems in the upgrade process
- watchOS 10.6.1: About, Developer Release Notes, no security entries
- tvOS 17.6.1: About, Developer Release Notes, no security entries
- Final Cut Pro: Mac 10.8.1, iPad 2.0.1
🔐 Security and Privacy
Beyond the wail: deconstructing the BANSHEE infostealer
As macOS increasingly becomes a prime target for cybercriminals, BANSHEE Stealer underscores the rising observance of macOS-specific malware. This analysis explores the technical details of BANSHEE Stealer, aiming to help the community understand its impact and stay informed about emerging threats.
TodoSwift Disguises Malware Download Behind Bitcoin PDF
we wanted to focus particularly on the malware’s dropper, a GUI application that’s written in Swift/SwiftUI.
🔨 Support and Tutorials
How to configure Platform Single Sign-on
Platform SSO makes managing the Apple Hardware > Microsoft Software crossover much easier.
Why launch constraints can crash apps
Some apps may crash when launched because there’s something wrong in the app. In Ventura and later, that might occur because macOS is refusing to run them because of security rules, specifically launch constraints.
create installer from an App
There are times when you need a quick installer for an app, whether it’s for deployment or testing purposes.
Great idea! cough…
Sidenote: it amuses me that you can date posts, tutorials and presentations on packaging by the version of the software being re-packaged
Advanced URLTextSearcher
A couple of recent discussions in the #autopkg channel of the Mac Admins Slack included knowledge about URLTextSearcher that veteran AutoPkg recipe authors generally know but are not front-and-centre in the documentation.
How to tell if an app is notarized
Given the importance of executable code being signed, and increasing requirements for apps to be notarized as well, it has long puzzled me that macOS is so reluctant to inform us whether an app is notarized, signed, or sandboxed.
🤖 Scripting and Automation
MDM migration with macOS Sonoma at MacDevOps:YVR
I got lots of requests to share the python script we deployed to the Macs. While the exact python script isn’t available, I wrote an example script in bash to share.
Setting up Postman with the Jamf Pro API (Part 1)
With Postman, macadmins can manage collections of API requests, organise these requests into folders, and automate their testing workflows with Jamf Pro.
Setting custom variables in AutoPkg using the VariablePlaceholder processor
To provide a completely safe way to set custom variables in an AutoPkg recipe, I decided to write a VariablePlaceholder AutoPkg processor which truly does absolutely nothing except serve as a convenient way to set custom variables.
Swift Command Line Tools and Argument Parser — Part 1
When building tools in Swift, I usually start with a command line tool. This allows me to ignore the complexity of creating a user interface while figuring out the underlying APIs and data models.
Munki Promoter 2.0
munki-promoter is a command-line utility for (automatically) promoting items between catalogs within a Munki repository.
Using Installomator with a Pinned Application Version
Installomator is flexible enough to handle these situations [version pinning], but it does require a bit of planning.
♻️ Updates and Releases
Conditional Access workflows evolve with Shared Device Mode
The end-of-support date for the Conditional Access integration (Partner Device Management API) has now been extended to January 31, 2025
🎧 Listen
Mission Critical: The Power Struggle
the team discusses ongoing technical challenges involving network equipment and power management
Rebecca Latimer on Getting Folks to use Stuff
Rebecca Latimer join us to tell us everything she’s been up to since Episode 197! We’ll be talking about managing users’ expectations, as well as how they participate in your company’s IT ecosystem. Also how managing coworkers isn’t quite like managing goats.
Snerdware still exists
we’re kicking off a 3-part series on identity management with Apple in the enterprise, featuring Tom Bridge, JumpCloud’s Director of Product Management.
Family Device Control with Collin Elliott
Joining us this week is Collin Elliott to talk about how to manage your kids’ devices, and handling co-parenting, as well as all sorts of ways to keep your devices in line.
AI girlfriends want to know all about you. So might ChatGPT
Somewhere out there is a romantic AI chatbot that wants to know everything about you. But in a revealing overlap, other AI tools—which are developed and popularized by far larger companies in technology—could crave the very same thing.
🎈Just for Fun
OS X Server 2.2 in August 2012
There has been recent interest here in Mac OS X Server, its capabilities and interface. This is an extended tutorial-review that I wrote for MacUser magazine (the UK original) in 2012-13.