trigger:
- develop

pool:
  vmImage: 'macos-14'

jobs:
- job: iOS
  steps:
  - task: PowerShell@2
    displayName: Select Xcode Version
    inputs:
      targetType: 'inline'
      script: |
         echo Mac OS version:
         sw_vers -productVersion
         echo Installed Xcode versions:
         ls /Applications | grep 'Xcode'
         echo currently selected xcode:
         xcrun xcode-select --print-path
         echo selecting latest xcode...
         sudo xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode_16.app
         xcrun xcode-select --print-path
         xcodebuild -version

Michael Tsai – Blog – The “everything” NPM Package:

Ironically, this policy trapped PatrickJS in his own web. Upon realizing the impact of his prank, he attempted to remove the everything package but was unable to do so.

The ruble plunged by about 25% on Monday, and is now worth about one US cent. It has lost about half its value since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, annexing Crimea and triggering much more limited sanctions. Russia’s stock market hasn’t opened for trade this week, but shares in Russian companies listed overseas have crashed.

How can we take advantage of that?  Should I buy 50k ruples and hold onto them?

Apple is exploring the possibility of integrating a fully functioning Mac within a keyboard, reminiscent of home computers of the 80s, such as the Commodore 64 and Sinclair ZX Spectrum.

I owned a Timex Sinclair, loved that little guy!  I got my first tv (old B&W) in my room as a display.  I think this is a super idea. Maybe allow it to also use an iPad for a display!

Michael Tsai – Blog – Court Documents About Epic v. Google and App Store:

Users that agree to the updated terms will have their WhatsApp account registration and phone number, transaction data, service-related information, interaction information, mobile device information, IP address, and “other information identified… or obtained upon notice to you or based on your consent,” shared with Facebook.

When explaining how Facebook will use this information, the policy states that shared data is used for “understanding how our services or theirs are used,” “improving their services,” “making suggestions for you,” “personalizing features and content,” and “showing relevant offers and ads across the Facebook Company Products.”

It never ends.

A group of Google engineers and other workers announced Monday they have formed a union, creating a rare foothold for the labor movement in the tech industry.

About 225 employees at Google and its parent company Alphabet are the first dues-paying members of the Alphabet Workers Union. They represent a fraction of Alphabet’s workforce, far short of the threshold needed to get formal recognition as a collective bargaining group in the U.S.

It will be interesting to see if anything comes of this.  Usually unions in tech don’t last long.

In the settlement, Ticketmaster admitted that an employee who used to work for a rival company emailed the login credentials for multiple accounts the rival used to manage presale ticket sales. At a San Francisco meeting attended by at least 14 employees of Ticketmaster or its prent company Live Nation, the employee used one set of credentials to log in to an account to demonstrate how it worked.

This firm should be shut down and the leaders thrown in jail.  

The issue for WhatsApp is that when you claim security and privacy is in your DNA, you open yourself up to a heightened level of scrutiny. Suddenly, those concerns around WhatsApp metadata collection became more real. Now we could easily see that WhatsApp collects the contacts in your phone, commercial data where you use Facebook services, device-based identifiers, your IP address which provides your location unless you’re using a VPN, and your usage logs. All linked to you.

Very informative article from Zak Doffman regarding the new security labels and how damning it is for WhatsApp and FB.

 

IBM Fellow Fran Allen spent her career advancing the field of computing and inspired generations of technologists.

Remembering Frances E. Allen | IBM Research Blog:

The big Facebook crash of 2020 and the problem of third-party SDK creep | Rambo Codes:

 

Cool, there’s a Facebook SDK issue crashing several high-profile apps right now. Great idea adding that social login, huh?

— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) May 6, 2020

Nasty macOS flaw is bricking MacBooks: Don’t install this update | Tom’s Guide:

“This bricked my 2019 MBP. Not providing power to devices either. Needs an SMC reset but won’t accept it,” posted a third. “Be afraid, be very afraid. Timing couldn’t be more brutal.”

After much research I realized it wasn’t the SMC that needed resetting it was the firmware on the T2 chip. The following link worked for me to get the T2 firmware updated and then I was able to let the 34 hour wireless restore from time machine backup complete  and I’m back in business!

https://help.apple.com/configurator/mac/2.7.1/#/apd0020c3dc2

Until fixed, VPN users can connect to a VPN server, turn on Airplane Mode and then turn off Airplane Mode to kill all existing connections. The mitigation isn’t entirely reliable, however, so iPhone and iPad owners who rely on VPNs should be careful until Apple puts out a fix.

Pomerleau estimates the earliest those payments will go out is 3 to 4 weeks after the package is approved.

304 MONTHS.  Sheesh

Sonos Backtracks on Recycle Mode That Bricked Devices:

“Guardian,” “vanguard,” “sentinel” already “floating around,” according to Space Force email.

Spacey McSpaceface: Space Force tries crowdsourcing term for members | Ars Technica:

I vote for ‘Explorer’ or ‘Searcher’

Winning an Academy Award makes you feel like you’re ruler of the world, at least for the rest of Oscar night. Taika Waititi, winning a gong for best adapted screenplay, started issuing demands of his favorite technology company shortly after leaving the stage. When asked by reporters about the forthcoming Writers’ Guild of America negotiations, the director focused his ire on Apple. Specifically, its keyboards, which the director says are “impossible to write on.”

Oscar-winning screenwriter Taika Waititi dunks on Apple’s keyboards | Engadget:

Spot on!

"The Electronic Frontier Foundation found the Ring app was "packed" with third-party tracking, sending out customers' personally identifiable information.

Five companies were receiving a range of information, including names, IP addresses and mobile networks, it said."

The five companies identified as receiving information were:

Facebook, via its Graph API - each user's time zone, device model and screen resolution and a unique identifier
Branch, which describes itself as a deep-linking platform - a number of unique identifiers, as well as each user's IP address, device model and screen resolution
AppsFlyer, a big data company - a range of information, including sensor data related to the magnetometer, gyroscope and accelerometer on users' phones
MixPanel - the most information, including users' full names, email addresses, device information and app settings
Google-owned Crashalytics - an amount of customer data "yet to be determined"

BBC.com

This is a great intro to follow if you’re interested.

How to Create a Safari Content Blocker Extension in Swift – iOS-Blog: