Juli Clover (release notes, security, developer, full installer, IPSW):
According to Apple’s release notes, macOS Sonoma 14.2.1 includes bug fixes and a security update. macOS 14.2.1 fixes a screen sharing vulnerability that could cause a user to unintentionally share the incorrect content.
See also: Mr. Macintosh and Howard Oakley.
Previously:
Update (2023-12-21): Howard Oakley (tweet):
If you run macOS virtual machines (VMs) on Apple silicon Macs using lightweight virtualisation, you may wish to avoid updating those VMs to macOS Sonoma 14.2 or 14.2.1 for the moment. If you do, then they will lose any shared folders they have previously used in 14.1.2 and earlier.
[…]
This also affects new VMs built using IPSW image files for 14.2 and 14.2.1: even though your virtualiser may configure shared folders without error, they aren’t made available when running that VM.
The other bug that I’ve seen reported, and reproduced on my Mac, is that pressing the Pause button in the Console app crashes it.
Update (2023-12-22): Howard Oakley:
Not all virtualisers automount shares in this way: VirtualBuddy is an exception, which still uses a single manually mounted share mounted using a script inside the VM. However, both Parallels Desktop and my apps (Viable and Vimy) rely on automounting, thus they lose their shares in 14.2 and 14.2.1.
[…]
I’m extremely grateful to Dan for providing the workaround to manually mount the share. Unfortunately, you need to do this every time that VM is started up, as there’s no straightforward way to make this persist between boots.
[…]
This bug is fixed in the current beta of Sonoma 14.3, although that will most probably only re-enable shared folders in 14.3 and later, and might be unable to fix them in 14.2 or 14.2.1.
Update (2023-12-28): Martin Wierschin:
InfoClick initially had issues on macOS Sonoma; crashes during system text decoding could be triggered by certain email content. We don’t know exactly what content caused crashes, but Apple appears to have fixed it.
Craig Hockenberry (via Mr. Macintosh):
Don’t use Screen Sharing in macOS Sonoma 14.2.
It shares random windows in other Spaces with whoever is on the other end of the line. If you think your desktop is completely empty, it isn’t.
As you can see below, this could range from embarrassment to leaking private data.
I reported this about a month ago (FB13398611) and can’t believed it shipped. Same with the window manager bug in 14.1. I liked macOS better when point releases weren’t full of breaking changes without workarounds.
I ran this by Apple Security Research and their response was: “We’re unable to identify a security issue in your report.”
After macOS Sonoma 14.2 went out and I tooted about the Screen Sharing vulnerability, Apple folks quickly understood what I was trying to tell them with the FB and OE.
Good that Apple fixed it, but they should give him a bounty and investigate why the security team again blew off a real issue.
Apple Security Bounty Bug Console Mac macOS 14 Sonoma macOS Release Privacy Screen Sharing Security Virtualization
Juli Clover (release notes TBA, security TBA, developer):
The iOS 17.2.1 update includes unspecified bug fixes, according to Apple's release notes for the update.
Previously:
Update (2024-01-09): iulianOnofrei (via Peter Steinberger):
PSA: There’s a bug in iOS 17.2 where the notes associated to a saved account (Settings app > Passwords) get completely lost, but I don’t know the reproduction steps.
I use the notes to save the 2FA recovery codes, so I risked getting locked out of my account.
Apple Password Manager Bug Datacide iOS iOS 17 iOS Release
Juli Clover:
Unfortunately, Apple’s move to consolidate purchasing and viewing in the Apple TV app has done away with wishlists, and customers who used the feature got no warning about their elimination.
On Reddit, Twitter, the MacRumors forums, and the Apple Support Community, customers are complaining about the change.
[…]
The wishlists did not transfer over to the Apple TV app with these updates, so some customers who had compiled long watch lists are unable to access those curated lists or copy them over to a new location. Some users are able to open up the iTunes Store app on iOS devices and tap on the hamburger button in the upper right corner to see their wishlists, but this does not appear to be working for everyone. Those who compiled lists on the Apple TV appear to have no way to access them.
The Apple TV auto-updates, and customers lose their data without even being warned. We were not using the wishlists because there was no export feature, and I don’t trust Apple to preserve this sort of data. But we did run into other signs of lack of care.
We were in the middle of watching a movie, purchased from the iTunes Store, when the Apple TV updated overnight. When we went to resume, we clicked the thumbnail at the top of the screen, and it showed an alert saying not to use the Movies app—a strange message if you don’t know the backstory because we had not tried to open the app. Even being aware of the transition, I had assumed that the thumbnail was like a bookmark to open the movie; I didn’t realize that it was tied to a particular app. In any case, why couldn’t Apple redirect the link to the new app? They control both apps as well as the purchased content. If this had been a Web video and I changed my default browser the link would have still worked.
After manually opening the TV app, it was easy to find the movie, but the thumbnail was blank. When we came back the next night to finish the movie the thumbnail was still blank.
Mike Rockwell:
I’ve also noticed that there is no option to view a preview of TV show episodes in the TV app either, which was available in the dedicated iTunes TV Shows app.
A warning on this would have been nice, but I hate that they’re doing it regardless. If I want to browse TV shows or movies to purchase on my Apple TV, all the iTunes Store content is commingled with media that’s only available on streaming.
Benjamin Mayo:
With Movies and TV Shows now purged, what is the solution for the Music tab in terms of retiring the iTunes Store app altogether? Are they planning to add the store to Music app soon?
Previously:
Datacide iTunes Store TV.app tvOS tvOS 17
Paul Kunert (Hacker News):
Adobe’s $20 billion buy of web-first design collaboration start-up Figma will harm software developers if it goes ahead as proposed, according to a provisional ruling on the merger by Britain’s competition regulator.
[…]
The CMA adds in its report: “The inquiry group also provisionally concluded that Adobe abandoned development of new product design software which could have competed even more closely with Figma and, given the timing of the decision, did this as a consequence of the merger.
[…]
The EC has a new February deadline to conclude its own probe. And of course the Dept of Justice’s anti-trust team is also taking a keen interest in the $20 billion sale, which would be the most expensive for a private company in enterprise software history.
Dylan Field (Hacker News, Slashdot):
Figma and Adobe have reached a joint decision to end our pending acquisition. It’s not the outcome we had hoped for, but despite thousands of hours spent with regulators around the world detailing differences between our businesses, our products, and the markets we serve, we no longer see a path toward regulatory approval of the deal.
We entered into this agreement 15 months ago with the goal of accelerating what both Adobe and Figma could do for our respective communities. While we leave that future behind and continue on as an independent company, we are excited to find ways to partner for our users.
Jess Weatherbed:
“Adobe and Figma strongly disagree with the recent regulatory findings, but we believe it is in our respective best interests to move forward independently,” said Adobe chair and CEO Shantanu Narayen in a statement.
[…]
In a letter dated December 14th, Adobe rejected remedies suggested by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to approve the merger following an in-depth antitrust probe. The authority wanted Adobe to make a significant divestment of assets, source code, and engineers to “restore the conditions of competition.”
Thomas Claburn:
European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, who oversees competition policy, said in a statement, “By combining these two companies, the proposed acquisition would have terminated all current and prevented all future competition between them. Our in-depth investigation showed that this would lead to higher prices, reduced quality or less choice for customers.”
Om Malik:
The writing has been on the wall for sometime — the regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have been hemming and hawing about not only this specific transaction, but also about any “mergers” or “acquisitions” in the technology sector.
[…]
The implications of the failure of the Adobe-Figma deal are pretty clear for the startup ecosystem. If “big tech” and the next layer of technology companies (such as Adobe) can’t buy “startups,” the liquidity environment is going to change for the startup founders, and of course, the venture investors. Deals, especially mid-sized deals, are part of the equation. The innovation ecosystem depends on sustained outcomes — a positive outcome of even one in a hundred startups keeps the innovation engine chugging along.
Large technology companies will be forced to do what they can with their resources — get bigger. By using their mountains of cash, they can enter new markets, and even if they can’t make an impact — they can muddy the waters. Of course, they can do what Microsoft has done with OpenAI — own 49 percent of OpenAI, and get all the benefits without the regulatory headaches.
What about the startups? Well, if the outcomes are going to become scarce, then investor dollars are going to be focused on likely winners — ones that can probably go public.
Nick Heer:
It seems unwise to treat this as a case of a smaller company not being allowed to grow up because of big government regulators. Adobe was clearly trying to buy its first major competitor since Macromedia — which it also acquired. Technology companies, even very big ones like Adobe, will certainly be allowed to merge and acquire, but it is right for competition authorities to ask questions about what impact it will have for individuals.
John Gruber:
Adobe owes Figma a $1 billion termination fee, but it’s unclear to me whether Figma was adequately prepared to go it alone as an independent company. Who else could and would acquire them for a similar price?
Previously:
Acquisition Adobe Antitrust Business Figma Mac United Kingdom Web
