Following a few days after iOS 11.4, macOS 10.13.5 High Sierra brings the Messages in iCloud feature to the Mac.
If you make your living in the Apple world as a consultant, developer, designer, or tech, there are a wide variety of conferences you can attend to hone your skills, learn new topics, network with your fellow wizards, and open your mind to new ways of thinking. Here’s our list for 2018. Be sure to let us know if you run across any others.
Last year at WWDC, Apple said that High Sierra would be the last version of macOS to run 32-bit apps “without compromise.” The recently released macOS 10.13.4 takes the next step in that direction by alerting users the first time they launch a 32-bit app. Here’s what we know.
A year after Apple admitted to missteps with the Mac Pro in a meeting with prominent industry journalists, Matthew Panzarino of TechCrunch has returned to Apple to follow up on the company’s progress.
AgileBits has introduced 1Password Business, which extends the subscription-based password-management service to large organizations. New features include finely grained access control, custom roles, activity logs, and usage reporting.
In a move that has surprised few, Apple has announced via a support note that it will be deprecating nearly all the remaining services in macOS Server. In the future, macOS Server will “focus on management of computers, devices, and storage on your network.” Time to start looking for alternatives for everything else macOS Server does for you.
The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced WPA3, a replacement for its current local network encryption options. WPA3 both fixes an exploit and increases security for those using open networks, all while reducing the burden on users. But don’t expect it to take over from WPA2 soon.
After last week’s emergency software updates, Apple has released macOS 10.13.2, which we hope will be unremarkable. But you still might want to hold off for a few days, since the fixes are minor.
All the emphasis in the Apple world these days seems to focus on individual users with their own devices. But it’s worth keeping in mind that Apple devices of all stripes are being used in huge quantities by large organizations. Adam Engst attended the recent Jamf Nation User Conference in Minneapolis and shares his takeaway.
A security researcher found a fundamental flaw in the WPA2 security specification that underlies all Wi-Fi implementations. It lets an attacker decipher encrypted data between a device and a base station. However, the opportunity to exploit this flaw is limited and closing fast for hardware that can be updated.
Those who support Mac users should know about a variety of changes coming in High Sierra that have implications for how you install, deployments that use imaging solutions, dealing with APFS-formatted volumes, installing kernel extensions, and caching content.
Code42 Software has announced it’s discontinuing the CrashPlan for Home backup service, and will focus exclusively on the business and education markets in the future. Joe Kissell explains why he’s angry about this news and now hesitates to recommend CrashPlan even to businesses.
Apple has released bug and security updates for all of its operating systems.
Google Glass, the tech giant’s augmented reality eyewear that flopped in consumer usage due to buggy behavior and privacy concerns, may have found its niche. Companies like agricultural equipment manufacturer AGCO and shipment company DHL have discovered that an upgraded version of Glass radically improves productivity for workers who need product assembly instructions or are picking items in a warehouse. The Wired article’s money quote: “In the enterprise world, Glass is not an outgrowth of the intrusive and distracting smart phone, but a tool for getting work done and nothing else.” We may see more movement toward eyewear from Apple if the company’s new augmented reality ARKit technology takes off because it’s a lot easier to see digital data overlaid on the real world through glasses than on an iPhone.
Please welcome our latest TidBITS sponsor, Jamf Now, the cloud-based mobile device management solution for Apple devices in small- to medium-sized organizations.