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Executive re-shuffling
Some changes happening on Apple's higher management levels. First we learn that John Giannandrea is stepping down from his role as senior vice president for Machine Learning and AI Strategy and retiring next year. Given how, well... challenged Apple's AI strategy has been, this is not really surprising.
Also, Lisa Jackson (vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives) and Kate Adams (general counsel) will be stepping down next year. Lisa Jackson was most prominent for shaping Apple's environmental strategy, but also internally for the social initiatives team. I hope that Apple will continue on the foundation that Jackson laid.
More surprising is that Alan Dye, vice president of Human Interface Design, and more recently the "face" of Liquid Glass at WWDC this year, is leaving Apple for Meta. This resulted in a quite amazing display of cheers of relief among the Apple blogosphere and social media. Jason Snell's amazing headline and John Gruber's post are worth reading.
There is reason to believe that Dye's successor, Stephen Lemay, understands what used to make Apple's interfaces great, rather than endlessly de-saturating and flattening them. Nevertheless, it will take a while before we see the effects (if any) of this change. I do hope that other Apple management took note of this outcry of relief.
📰 News and Opinion
Find your spark bird
In birding, there’s a concept called a spark bird — the bird that sparked your interest in birding and turned you into a birder. […] Each of these companies had a spark bird for me; a person who made me want to be where they were.
Jamf’s Next Mission: FedRAMP Authorization and the Future of Apple Management in Government
Tony Young:
If you manage Apple devices in a federal environment, now is the time to start preparing. Talk to Jamf. Map your dependencies. Get your migration ducks in a row.
End of Year IT Reflections
I recently came across a list of 40 questions to reflect on, and I found myself wanting a version that was more meaningful to my work. Here’s the list I settled on.
🔐 Security and Privacy
macOS LPE via the .localized directory · theevilbit blog
Csaba Fitzl:
This blog is about a vulnerability on macOS which impacts every third party installer if they try to run a privileged command from within the application bundle.
🔨 Support and Tutorials
What Is Activation Lock? A Guide for IT Admins
we’ll break down what Activation Lock is, how it works, the differences between user-driven and MDM-managed implementations, and what IT teams need to know to manage it effectively across their fleet.
Options for Virtualizing Windows 11 ARM on an Apple Silicon Mac
I was wrong—it’s not too hard to get Windows 11 ARM installed on a VM on your Apple Silicon-based Mac.
The Anatomy of a macOS App
Assembling these into a diagram shows how the anatomy of an app has grown over the last few years.
New application version smart group and advanced computer search criteria available as of Jamf Pro 11.23.0
Rich Trouton:
as of Jamf Pro 11.23 two new reporting fields as well as matching smart group and advanced computer search criteria have been added
Two New Criteria for Application Version Comparison in Jamf Pro Smart Computer Groups
Graham Pugh:
The great news for Jamf recipe writers is that as of version 11.23.0, two new Smart Computer Group version criteria are available
Suppressing the Welcome to macOS Tahoe 26 screen with a configuration profile on macOS Tahoe 26.1.0
Rich Trouton:
it is possible to suppress the Welcome to macOS Tahoe 26 screen on macOS Tahoe 26.1.0 using a configuration profile.
🤖 Scripting and Automation
CiscoRepackager
A macOS utility to repackage Cisco Secure Client DMG files for unattended deployment via Jamf Pro (or any MDM solution).
Taming the Apple - Automating Network Requirements with Heuristics
Robert pointed out a glaring gap in the ecosystem. Apple maintains a massive document Use Apple products on enterprise networks, but there is no proper way to get a diff of what changed. They update the "Published Date," but they don't tell you what line was added.
Uncommitted
Find all directories under your current working directory that have uncommitted changes in git
Carafe is a (fancy) wrapper for Homebrew
It is designed to be run as root; it drops privileges to the currently logged-in user so it can be safely executed by management tools such as Munki or Jamf.
Adding Wallpaper folders to macOS System Settings
Bart Reardon:
When life gives you lemons, write a swift app. Enter WallpaperFolderManager
♻️ Updates and Releases
🎧 Listen
Navigating Tech Updates and Client Communications
the hosts welcome listeners to their December show, tease upcoming Patreon episodes discussing managed service offerings, designing flyers using Canva and ChatGPT, and all-inclusive pricing with Tim Pearson.
The history and present of SOTI
SOTI is one of the Ur-management platforms, being one of the very first Android EMM tools on the market. How Android Management works is a unique experience to the Apple management ecosystem.
What's driving 1Password's $400M ARR momentum?
1Password CEO David Faugno joins the show to discuss the company's growth to $400M ARR, agentic browsers, and more.
Air fryer app caught asking for voice data (re-air)
we revisit a 2024 episode in which host David Ruiz tells three separate stories about consumer devices that somewhat invisibly collected user data and then spread it in unexpected ways.
🎈Just for Fun
Alan.app
I built a tiny Mac app last night that draws a border around the active window. I named it “Alan”.
Flying Toasters Screensaver — Classic After Dark Returns
I generally believe screen savers aren't necessary any more. Screens should turn off, saving energy instead of showing frivolous effects or vanity images and logos.
However, this hits the nostalgia hard.