Archive for May 18, 2023

Thursday, May 18, 2023

macOS 13.4

Juli Clover (release notes, security, enterprise, developer, full installer, IPSW):

There are several bug fixes in the update, with Apple addressing problems with Auto Unlock with Apple Watch, Bluetooth keyboards, Screen Time, and VoiceOver. The update also adds a Sports feed in the sidebar of the Apple News app, and it introduces the simplified beta installation method that was first introduced in iOS 16.4.

See also: Howard Oakley and Mr. Macintosh.

Nathaniel Strauss:

Starting in macOS 13.4, there is no longer a way for Mac admins to programmatically manage beta program enrollments. During the 13.4 beta cycle it was announced seedutil is deprecated, to be removed entirely in a future release, and the only path forward to enroll in beta programs being Apple IDs. Apple has taken away a long used utility relied upon by Mac admins and not given much back in return.

Jeff Johnson:

So, uh, Apple credited me (and others) with a security bug, but… they didn’t actually fix the bug.

The description of the bug seems wrongish too.

Previously:

Update (2023-05-23): Howard Oakley:

Significant version changes seen among bundled apps include[…]

Howard Oakley:

There are several factors that could be responsible for Ventura’s updates being so relatively small.

[…]

Apple has also been steadily improving the engineering of macOS updates since the heady days of Big Sur. The minimum size of a Big Sur update was 2.3 GB for Intel and 3.3 GB for Apple silicon, which has reduced in Ventura to 0.5 GB and 1.9 GB respectively. On some older Intel Macs, these new more compact updates do take longer to prepare, but are normally far more rapid on Apple silicon Macs.

Big Sur seems to have marked the high tide for macOS update size. With improved engineering, falling overhead from firmware updates, and RSRs, macOS updates should be even lighter in their burden.

Howard Oakley:

The best solution is to enable network diagnostic logging, but as of macOS Ventura 13.4 that has changed and become more inaccessible, as it requires that SIP is disabled.

Previously:

Update (2023-05-30): Jeff Geerling:

Something’s seriously broken with monitor support in macOS Ventura 13.4

Now both computers I updated go into this endless monitor sleep/wake loop if I have the display off without sleep. […]

Happening on two different model LG 4K displays, one on MacBook Air M2, one on Mac Studio M1 Max.

If I put the Mac to sleep, the monitor powers off and stays off.

In both cases, this has never been an issue until updating to 13.4.

See also: Reddit and the Apple Developer Forums.

Update (2023-06-01): Dave Wood:

Holy. I updated to macOS 13.4 today, figuring it couldn’t get any worse than 13.2 that I was on. Boy was I wrong.

I use hot corners to put my displays to sleep. I just triggered the corner, and the machine rebooted.

This just happened to me this morning when I accidentally moved the mouse into the corner.

Update (2023-06-13): Dave Wood:

The machine has still spontaneously rebooted about 10 times since updating (a day ago), but, the displays have come back in the same, correct arrangement each time. Could that finally be fixed?

[…]

They’ve obviously done something on displays, because sometimes the screensaver only shows up on 2 of the 3 (no idea how that becomes a new bug, but whatever, I’ll take it).

iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5

Juli Clover (release notes, security):

In iOS 16.5, Apple is adding a new Pride wallpaper, a Sports tab in Apple News, and fixes for issues with Spotlight and Screen Time.

Previously:

Update (2023-05-23): Juli Clover:

This guide highlights all of the new features in the iOS 16.5 update.

Joe Rossignol:

Apple’s Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter does not work with iPhones and iPads that have been updated to iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5, according to several users across the MacRumors Forums, Apple Support Community, and Reddit.

Update (2023-05-26): Contacts syncing is broken in macOS 13.4/iOS 16.5 (FB12205324). Editing a related name deletes all related names from the card on other devices. And then if you try to edit them there it deletes them from the original device. They also don’t export to .vcf.

Update (2023-07-27): Jonathan Wight:

Contacts apps on latest beta seems to have lost all relationship info. So I can no longer use Siri text “my wife”.

[…]

Also all contact relationship fields are just gone. poof.

I can no longer set any relationships at all in Contacts across any OS.

Update (2023-07-31): Cédric Luthi:

iOS 16.5 also broke CarPlay for many people!

Update (2024-01-09): Editing related names with iOS 17.2.1 no longer deletes them, but changes to them on my Mac no longer sync to my phone.

macOS 12.6.6 and macOS 11.7.7

Apple (full installer):

This document describes the security content of macOS Monterey 12.6.6.

Apple (full installer):

This document describes the security content of macOS Big Sur 11.7.7.

See also: Howard Oakley.

Previously:

Photomator for Mac

Tim Hardwick:

Photomator 3.0 today got its official release on macOS, bringing Pixelmator’s iPhone and iPad photo-editing app to MacBooks and Mac desktops for the first time.

With an interface that will be familiar to users of Photomator on iOS and iPadOS, the Mac app includes a fully fledged photo browser with native Photos app integration, allowing users to organize, duplicate, share, and favorite images, as well as sync edits between Photomator and the Photos Library.

I guess this is the new name for Pixelmator Photo. It’s $29.99/year or $99.99 lifetime, up from $23.99 and $54.99 when it was iOS-only.

It’s really cool how multiple apps can plug into the system photo library, but it has practical as well as hard limits, and it’s just not what I want to use to consolidate all of my photos and videos or use for long-term storage.

Previously:

Update (2023-05-24): Nick Heer:

But, as these are merely suggestions, it makes for an effectively no-lose situation: if the automatic repair or cropping works perfectly, it means less work; if neither are effective, you have wasted only a few seconds before proceeding manually.

The Photos integration is fantastic. If you have ever used a mixed Lightroom and iCloud Photos environment, the simplified workflow is a dream come true. Photomator is also a damn good RAW photo editor. While Photos has some editing tools built in, they are cumbersome for experienced users — there are three modes for white balance editing in Photos, but you cannot select Temperature/Tint as the default, for example. Photomator feels like it has been designed by people who edit photos for people who edit photos.

Update (2024-11-26): Jeff Carlson (post):

In spirit and practice, Photomator, from the Pixelmator Team, is both a worthy successor to Apple Aperture and an inexpensive editing alternative to Adobe Lightroom on the Mac (there is no Windows version). Although Photomator still leans on the Apple Photos app for managing your library, its editing tools (many based on machine learning technologies) and overall approach as a dedicated photo editor make it an appealing choice.

For me, the fact that it relies on the system photo library is a dealbreaker.

Previously:

FTC Says Facebook Violated 2020 Consent Decree

FTC:

The Federal Trade Commission proposed changes to the agency’s 2020 privacy order with Facebook after alleging that the company has failed to fully comply with the order, misled parents about their ability to control with whom their children communicated through its Messenger Kids app, and misrepresented the access it provided some app developers to private user data.

[…]

This is the third time the FTC has taken action against Facebook for allegedly failing to protect users’ privacy.

Via Matt Stoller:

So the FTC will ban targeted ads to children, to stop the incentive to engage in surveillance.

[…]

Facebook is extremely mad and calls it a ‘political stunt,’ saying the FTC should focus on TikTok.

[…]

The order has some other requirements, like forcing a privacy assessment before launching new products.

[…]

What happens now? There will be a hearing where Facebook will make its case that they didn’t in fact violate the consent decree or laws against deception and tracking children online.

Nick Heer:

Strange how Meta, previously Facebook, keeps having problems with its video and advertising products in ways which benefit the company. It should really look into why that is so often the case.

Previously:

Facebook owner Meta has been fined a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for transferring EU user data to the United States in breach of a previous court ruling, Ireland’s regulator announced on Monday.

Meta seems to be right in pleading scapegoat for a technique used by plenty of other businesses. However, few can claim the scope and scale of Meta’s violations, and especially its frequency. Companies owned by Meta represent seven of the ten greatest penalties issued under GDPR rules.

Copyright © 2000–2024 Michael Tsai.