WWDC23, Troubleshooting Demonstration

WWDC23, Troubleshooting Demonstration
A Swift logo is used to promote Apple's World Wide Development Conference, starting at 10 a.m. PT on June 5, 2023.

Apple is using a Swift logo (Swift is a language developed by Apple) to promote their World Wide Developer Conference 2023, better known as WWDC23.. While it is aimed at programmers and software designers (and the Swift logo is a strong suggestion that development will be the main focus), Apple has traditionally highlighted a consumer-friendly introduction to new products, operating systems, and other goodies in the opening keynote of the conference. This year, the conference will be both in-person and streamed online.

The keynote — and everyone is encouraged to stream it, since it is free — starts Monday at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, June 5, 2023. More details are available on Apple’s site. You can stream it on an iPad, Macintosh, or Apple TV — pretty much anything that can stream video from the Internet.

Then on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at 1 p.m., SMUG will have an in-person demonstration of Computer Troubleshooting for Non-Techies, covering both Windows and Macintosh computers, at Trinity United Methodist Church in Sequim. Check this website for more details, plus a poster for the event, plus three odd troubleshooting guides.

Woman computer techie and her faithful dragon busy troubleshooting four computers.

May 2023 Apple Security Updates

Apple issued a large number of security updates on May 18, plus an unusual one earlier in the month for the AirPods and Beats headphones and earpods. The updates in many case also have performance updates (such as a bug that sometimes resulted in a long pause before a wireless Bluetooth keyboard synced with a Mac at startup, for example). And there is a hint that the updates are also laying the groundwork for Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC23), which begins June 5.

An overview of the updates:

AirPods Firmware Update 5E133, AirPods 2nd gen. and AirPods Pro, AirPods Max

Issued April 11, 2023

Applied automatically when your AirPods are charging and your iPhone is within range of the charger.

Security update.

Beats Firmware Update 5B66, PowerBeats Pro, Beats Fit Pro

Issued May 2, 2023

Automatically updated when in Bluetooth range of paired Mac, iPhone, or iPad.

Security update.

iOS 16.5, iPadOS 16.5

Issued May 18, 2023

For iPhone 8 and later, IPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 3rd gen. and later, iPad 5th gen. and later, iPad mini 5th gen. and later

Many, many security and performance updates.

iOS 15.7.6 and iPad 15.7.6

Issued May 18, 2023

For iPhones and iPads not capable of running iOS 16 or iPadOS 16

Many, many security updates.

macOS Ventura 13.4

Issued May 18, 2023

For all Macs that can run macOS Ventura

Many, many security and performance updates.

macOS Monterey 12.6.6

Issued May 18, 2023

For all Macs that can run Monterey but not run Ventura

Many, many security and performance updates.

macOS Big Sur 11.7.7

Issued May 18, 2023

For all Macs that can run Big Sur but cannot run Monterey or Ventura

Many, many security updates.

tvOS 16.5

For all Apple TV devices that can run tvOS 16

Issued May 18, 2023

Many, many security and performance updates.

watchOS 9.5

Issued May 18, 2023

For Aople Watch Series 4 and later

Many, many security and performance updates.

Safari 16.5

Issued May 18, 2023

The Safari update is included with the Big Sur, Monterey, and Ventura updates.

Several security updates.

You can sign up to get Apple’s security announcements by going to:

https://lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/security-announce

and filling in the relevant information. A typical message from the list will look like this. Yes, it is somewhat cryptic and technical, but the important thing is: it tells you there is a security update.

Hash: SHA256

APPLE-SA-2023-05-18-3 macOS Ventura 13.4

macOS Ventura 13.4 addresses the following issues.
Information about the security content is also available at
https://support.apple.com/HT213758.

Apple maintains a Security Updates page at
https://support.apple.com/HT201222 which lists recent
software updates with security advisories.

Accessibility
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to bypass Privacy preferences
Description: A privacy issue was addressed with improved private data
redaction for log entries.
CVE-2023-32388: Kirin (@Pwnrin)

Accessibility
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: Entitlements and privacy permissions granted to this app may be
used by a malicious app
Description: This issue was addressed with improved checks.
CVE-2023-32400: Mickey Jin (@patch1t)

AppleMobileFileIntegrity
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to bypass Privacy preferences
Description: This issue was addressed with improved entitlements.
CVE-2023-32411: Mickey Jin (@patch1t)

Associated Domains
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to break out of its sandbox
Description: The issue was addressed with improved checks.
CVE-2023-32371: James Duffy (mangoSecure)

Contacts
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to observe unprotected user data
Description: A privacy issue was addressed with improved handling of
temporary files.
CVE-2023-32386: Kirin (@Pwnrin)

Core Location
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to read sensitive location information
Description: The issue was addressed with improved handling of caches.
CVE-2023-32399: an anonymous researcher

CoreServices
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to bypass Privacy preferences
Description: This issue was addressed with improved redaction of
sensitive information.
CVE-2023-28191: Mickey Jin (@patch1t)

CUPS
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An unauthenticated user may be able to access recently printed
documents
Description: An authentication issue was addressed with improved state
management.
CVE-2023-32360: Gerhard Muth

dcerpc
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: A remote attacker may be able to cause unexpected app
termination or arbitrary code execution
Description: A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory
management.
CVE-2023-32387: Dimitrios Tatsis of Cisco Talos

DesktopServices
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to break out of its sandbox
Description: The issue was addressed with improved checks.
CVE-2023-32414: Mickey Jin (@patch1t)

GeoServices
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to read sensitive location information
Description: A privacy issue was addressed with improved private data
redaction for log entries.
CVE-2023-32392: an anonymous researcher

ImageIO
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: Processing an image may result in disclosure of process memory
Description: An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input
validation.
CVE-2023-32372: Meysam Firouzi of @R00tkitSMM Mbition mercedes-benz
innovation lab working with Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative

ImageIO
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: Processing an image may lead to arbitrary code execution
Description: A buffer overflow was addressed with improved bounds
checking.
CVE-2023-32384: Meysam Firouzi @R00tkitsmm working with Trend Micro Zero
Day Initiative

IOSurface
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to leak sensitive kernel state
Description: An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input
validation.
CVE-2023-32410: hou xuewei (@p1ay8y3ar) vmk msu

IOSurfaceAccelerator
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination or
read kernel memory
Description: An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input
validation.
CVE-2023-32420: Linus Henze of Pinauten GmbH (pinauten.de)

Kernel
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel
privileges
Description: A type confusion issue was addressed with improved checks.
CVE-2023-27930: 08Tc3wBB of Jamf

Kernel
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: A sandboxed app may be able to observe system-wide network
connections
Description: The issue was addressed with additional permissions checks.
CVE-2023-27940: James Duffy (mangoSecure)

Kernel
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel
privileges
Description: A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory
management.
CVE-2023-32398: Adam Doupé of ASU SEFCOM

Kernel
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to gain root privileges
Description: A race condition was addressed with improved state
handling.
CVE-2023-32413: Eloi Benoist-Vanderbeken (@elvanderb) from Synacktiv
(@Synacktiv) working with Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative

LaunchServices
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may bypass Gatekeeper checks
Description: A logic issue was addressed with improved checks.
CVE-2023-32352: Wojciech Reguła (@_r3ggi) of SecuRing
(wojciechregula.blog)

libxpc
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system
Description: A logic issue was addressed with improved state management.
CVE-2023-32369: Jonathan Bar Or of Microsoft, Anurag Bohra of Microsoft,
and Michael Pearse of Microsoft

libxpc
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to gain root privileges
Description: A logic issue was addressed with improved checks.
CVE-2023-32405: Thijs Alkemade (@xnyhps) from Computest Sector 7

Metal
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to bypass Privacy preferences
Description: A logic issue was addressed with improved state management.
CVE-2023-32407: Gergely Kalman (@gergely_kalman)

Model I/O
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: Processing a 3D model may result in disclosure of process memory
Description: An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input
validation.
CVE-2023-32368: Mickey Jin (@patch1t)
CVE-2023-32375: Michael DePlante (@izobashi) of Trend Micro Zero Day
Initiative
CVE-2023-32382: Mickey Jin (@patch1t)

Model I/O
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: Processing a 3D model may lead to arbitrary code execution
Description: An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved
bounds checking.
CVE-2023-32380: Mickey Jin (@patch1t)

NetworkExtension
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to read sensitive location information
Description: This  issue was addressed with improved redaction of
sensitive information.
CVE-2023-32403: an anonymous researcher

PackageKit
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system
Description: A logic issue was addressed with improved state management.
CVE-2023-32355: Mickey Jin (@patch1t)

PDFKit
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: Opening a PDF file may lead to unexpected app termination
Description: A denial-of-service issue was addressed with improved
memory handling.
CVE-2023-32385: Jonathan Fritz

Perl
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system
Description: A logic issue was addressed with improved state management.
CVE-2023-32395: Arsenii Kostromin (0x3c3e)

Photos
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: Photos belonging to the Hidden Photos Album could be viewed
without authentication through Visual Lookup
Description: The issue was addressed with improved checks.
CVE-2023-32390: Julian Szulc

Sandbox
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to retain access to system configuration
files even after its permission is revoked
Description: An authorization issue was addressed with improved state
management.
CVE-2023-32357: Yiğit Can YILMAZ (@yilmazcanyigit), Koh M. Nakagawa of
FFRI Security, Inc., Kirin (@Pwnrin), Jeff Johnson (underpassapp.com),
and Csaba Fitzl (@theevilbit) of Offensive Security

Screen Saver
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to bypass Privacy preferences
Description: A permissions issue was addressed by removing vulnerable
code and adding additional checks.
CVE-2023-32363: Mickey Jin (@patch1t)

Security
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to access user-sensitive data
Description: This issue was addressed with improved entitlements.
CVE-2023-32367: James Duffy (mangoSecure)

Shell
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system
Description: A logic issue was addressed with improved state management.
CVE-2023-32397: Arsenii Kostromin (0x3c3e)

Shortcuts
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: A shortcut may be able to use sensitive data with certain
actions without prompting the user
Description: The issue was addressed with improved checks.
CVE-2023-32391: Wenchao Li and Xiaolong Bai of Alibaba Group

Shortcuts
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to bypass Privacy preferences
Description: This issue was addressed with improved entitlements.
CVE-2023-32404: Mickey Jin (@patch1t), Zhipeng Huo (@R3dF09) of Tencent
Security Xuanwu Lab (xlab.tencent.com), and an anonymous researcher

Siri
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: A person with physical access to a device may be able to view
contact information from the lock screen
Description: The issue was addressed with improved checks.
CVE-2023-32394: Khiem Tran

SQLite
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to access data from other apps by enabling
additional SQLite logging
Description: This issue was addressed by adding additional SQLite
logging restrictions.
CVE-2023-32422: Gergely Kalman (@gergely_kalman)

StorageKit
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system
Description: This issue was addressed with improved entitlements.
CVE-2023-32376: Yiğit Can YILMAZ (@yilmazcanyigit)

System Settings
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app firewall setting may not take effect after exiting the
Settings app
Description: This issue was addressed with improved state management.
CVE-2023-28202: Satish Panduranga and an anonymous researcher

Telephony
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: A remote attacker may be able to cause unexpected app
termination or arbitrary code execution
Description: A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory
management.
CVE-2023-32412: Ivan Fratric of Google Project Zero

TV App
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to read sensitive location information
Description: The issue was addressed with improved handling of caches.
CVE-2023-32408: Adam M.

Weather
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to read sensitive location information
Description: This  issue was addressed with improved redaction of
sensitive information.
CVE-2023-32415: Wojciech Regula of SecuRing (wojciechregula.blog), and
an anonymous researcher

WebKit
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: Processing web content may disclose sensitive information
Description: An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input
validation.
WebKit Bugzilla: 255075
CVE-2023-32402: an anonymous researcher

WebKit
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: Processing web content may disclose sensitive information
Description: A buffer overflow issue was addressed with improved memory
handling.
WebKit Bugzilla: 254781
CVE-2023-32423: Ignacio Sanmillan (@ulexec)

WebKit
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: A remote attacker may be able to break out of Web Content
sandbox. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been
actively exploited.
Description: The issue was addressed with improved bounds checks.
WebKit Bugzilla: 255350
CVE-2023-32409: Clément Lecigne of Google's Threat Analysis Group and
Donncha Ó Cearbhaill of Amnesty International’s Security Lab

WebKit
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: Processing web content may disclose sensitive information. Apple
is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.
Description: An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input
validation.
WebKit Bugzilla: 254930
CVE-2023-28204: an anonymous researcher
This issue was first addressed in Rapid Security Response macOS 13.3.1
(a).

WebKit
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary
code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been
actively exploited.
Description: A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory
management.
WebKit Bugzilla: 254840
CVE-2023-32373: an anonymous researcher
This issue was first addressed in Rapid Security Response macOS 13.3.1
(a).

Wi-Fi
Available for: macOS Ventura
Impact: An app may be able to disclose kernel memory
Description: This  issue was addressed with improved redaction of
sensitive information.
CVE-2023-32389: Pan ZhenPeng (@Peterpan0927) of STAR Labs SG Pte. Ltd.

Additional recognition

Accounts
We would like to acknowledge Sergii Kryvoblotskyi of MacPaw Inc. for
their assistance.

CloudKit
We would like to acknowledge Iconic for their assistance.

libxml2
We would like to acknowledge OSS-Fuzz, Ned Williamson of Google Project
Zero for their assistance.

Reminders
We would like to acknowledge Kirin (@Pwnrin) for their assistance.

Rosetta
We would like to acknowledge Koh M. Nakagawa of FFRI Security, Inc. for
their assistance.

Safari
We would like to acknowledge Khiem Tran for their assistance.

Security
We would like to acknowledge Brandon Toms for their assistance.

Share Sheet
We would like to acknowledge Kirin (@Pwnrin) for their assistance.

Wallet
We would like to acknowledge James Duffy (mangoSecure) for their
assistance.

Wi-Fi
We would like to acknowledge an anonymous researcher for their
assistance.

macOS Ventura 13.4 may be obtained from the Mac App Store or Apple's
Software Downloads web site: https://support.apple.com/downloads/
All information is also posted on the Apple Security Updates
web site: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222.

This message is signed with Apple's Product Security PGP key,
and details are available at:
https://www.apple.com/support/security/pgp/

It is highly recommended that you install security updates immediately. While it is very easy to find people on the Internet recommending that you wait, it is very hard to find competent people recommending that you wait.

Apple iOS 16.4.1 and macOS Ventura 13.3.1

On April 7, Apple issued several security updates:

  • macOS Ventura 13.3.1 corrects a security vulnerability that could allow applications to change their security privileges; this was patched. Also patched was a vulnerability in WebKit (used by Safari, Photos, Reminders, and hundreds of other applications) that could be exploited by malicious software.
    • Also patched: some users (chiefly those in large corporations or other institutions) had problems with home directories located on external drives or servers; this was corrected. Other users had problems with the Quick Look function (that allows you to peek at files without opening them); this was corrected. Others had problems getting Universal Control and Handoff to work when using the Mac with other devices and iCloud; this was corrected.
  • iOS 16.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1 corrected an application security vulnerability similar to that in macOS Ventura, as well as a similar WebKit vulnerability.
    • Also patched were issues some people were having with the Weather app, some anecdotal issues with battery drain, and issues with the Home app (used for controlling smart home devices).

If you have a Mac capable of running macOS 13.3.1 Ventura, you are highly encouraged to install this operating system, and keep it up to date.

Similarly, if you have an iPhone or iPad capable of running iOS 16.4.1 or iPadOS 16.4.1, you are encouraged to update them, and keep them current.

If you absolutely, positively have a good reason to run an older Macintosh operating system, please consider getting a second Mac, and not allowing that Mac to touch the Internet. While Apple has a stellar reputation for creating secure devices, the security of your computer and portable electronics is closely tied to user behavior, and you are ultimately responsible for your own privacy and security.

If you have an iPhone that can’t run iOS 16, replace it. There is no other safe option.

February 21, 2023: Apple and Accessibility

February 21, 2023: Apple and Accessibility

In February, we looked at accessibility, something of a companion topic to January’s focus on health.

Accessibility is usually associated with individuals who have handicaps: vision problems, hearing problems, and mobility issues. But hearing, vision, and mobility problems are things everyone encounters, and your Macintosh, Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad have technologies that help you deal with temporary as well as more permanent afflictions.

One of the most basic is changing the size of items displayed on your Mac, iPhone, Watch, or iPad.

You can, for example, vary the size of text,

from small, in instances where you want a lot of stuff on the screen at once, to

normal, for comfortable reading

to large, for reading at a distance

to extra large, for posters or shouting.

You can also change other attributes how information is displayed, depending on the program and context

Somethimes, you can change the background color on the screen,

or tint the screen and text to get rid of blue colors late at night, to help you sleep.

Your iPhone, iPad, and Mac can also speak to you, and you can speak to them.

Unfortunately, Zoom seems to have disabled many of these features, partly because the changes are intended for the user sitting at their own computer, and not for the screens of viewers. Additionally, the demo computer’s screen was being mirrored on a TV, and some of the accessibility features were not available, as the TV was a remote device, not subject to the whims of the computer.

What could not be shown: changing the resolution of the screen. While this was a Macintosh screen, you can do similar things on an iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

This was a screen on the computer. The Displays pane (System Settings > Displays in Ventura) is set at Larger Text,

macOS Ventura System Settings > Displayed set at Larger Text

macOS Ventura System Settings > Displayed set at Larger Text

In this image, the Displays pane (System Settings > Displays in Ventura) is set at the second level, to show more of the screen,

macOS Ventura System Settings > Displayed set to show more screen.

macOS Ventura System Settings > Displays set to show more screen.

In this image, the Displays pane (System Settings > Displays in Ventura) is set at the default level, halfway between Large Text and More Space.

macOS Ventura System Settings > Displays set to the middle, default setting.

macOS Ventura System Settings > Displays set to the middle, default setting.

In this image, the Displays pane (System Settings > Displays in Ventura) is set to show more of the screen.

macOS Ventura System Settings > Displays set to show more of the screen.

macOS Ventura System Settings > Displays set to show more of the screen.

In the final image, the Displays pane (System Settings > Displays in Ventura) is set to show the maximum amount of screen space.

macOS Ventura System Settings > Displays set to show the maximum amount of screen space.

macOS Ventura System Settings > Displays set to show the maximum amount of screen space.

You can easily change the screen resolution at any time. Writing a memo? Set to show larger text. Sorting photos? Set to show more of the screen. You don’t need to strain your eyes to read or write, nor spend endless amounts of time scrolling through lists of photos when it is a simple matter to show more photos at once. Designing a poster? Set to maximum screen size, then set it for larger text to work on fine details.

It was also difficult to demonstrate many of the things you can do with Siri because the Mac is set up to serve the person at the keyboard, and not people in remote locations. In response to one question concerning dictation of messages and documents on the Mac, please see Apple’s online guidance:

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-dictation-mh40584/mac

A video of the meeting, including the Question and Answer session, is shown below. Closed captioning was not turned on, so there is no transcript.

February 21, 2023: Apple and Accessibility

Revised books on Ventura, iOS 16, and more

This is a short reminder that SMUG members can buy books at a 30% discount using the SMUG discount code, posted on the News discussion board, https://strait-mac.org/discussion-topics/take-control-books-discount-for-smug-members/

I mention this because Take Control Books has just released revised versions of four books,

Apple TV

New version of book on Apple TV.

iOS 16 and iPadOS 16

New version of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 book

macOS 13 Ventura

and a rather complex subject involving many apps across several devices,

macOS Media Apps

If you have purchased an earlier version of any of these books, you can log into the Take Control site and download the update, for free. If you don’t have a previous version, you can go to the site, buy the book or books at a discount, and start reading the books immediately.

A note on format: Take Control offers books in PDF, ePub, and Kindle (Mobi) formats. I recommend ePub, as this is the format used by Apple for iBooks on the Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Recent versions of Amazon Kindle also accept ePub.

Amazon, for reasons unknown to mere mortals, is dropping support for Mobi on Kindle. This is somewhat nuanced and difficult to explain, but generally speaking, ePub seems to be the way to go.

PDF documents are not recommended. They tend to be larger, and have fixed page dimensions, which make them almost impossible to read on an iPhone, and difficult even on an iPad. Stick to ePub.

Questions and Answers

For our October meeting, we had no planned program, but instead an extended Question and Answer (Q&A) session on almost anything concerning Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple TV, etc. And we recorded it:

For a larger view, click on the YouTube logo.

URLs of items mentioned in the meeting:

Take Control Books: https://www.takecontrolbooks.com/

A discount code for Take Control Books is posted on the Discussion Boards.

Google begs Apple to change Messages: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/08/new-google-site-begs-apple-for-mercy-in-messaging-war/

Good luck with that.

Guide to Apple TV+: https://9to5mac.com/2022/10/14/apple-tv-plus-tv-shows-movies-guide/

This is exceptional: short, capsule summaries of the series or movies, complete with a video clip or trailer.

Use your iPhone as a white noise generator: https://www.theverge.com/23131327/how-to-iphone-white-noise-background-sounds-ios-15

Hidden in plain sight.

Notes from the meeting will follow.

Siri and Stuff

On Tuesday, September 20, 2022, we talked about Siri, and also about Stuff (that Apple introduced in a September keynote event).

We recorded the Zoom meeting. Someday, when the lazy webmaster gets around to it, we will also post notes from the meeting.

September 20, 2022: Siri and Stuff. Click on the YouTube logo to get a much larger view.

Generic Apple Event

Apple has announced they are having an Apple Event on September 7, starting at 10 a.m. PT. Unlike previous streamed events, there is no special phrase or graphic to hint at what is to come. Instead, you get this sparkling star cluster,

Apple event star cluster
An apple-shaped star cluster, or possibly a black hole. Hard to tell.

Presumably, the event will be the usual quarterly announcement of Apple iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches. But the lack of graphical and textual hints is something of a mystery. Maybe this is an unreleased photo of some section of the universe, captured with the James Webb space telescope. Maybe it is the patterned formed by throwing darts at an Apple sticker. Maybe it is a time-lapse aerial photo of an autonomously driven Apple car driving around the Cupertino campus.

You can stream the event on September 7 and find out.

Useless clickbait tips

This entry talks about useless clickbait, but there are some useful tips on screenshots at the end. First, the useless clickbait.

While reading news stories on my iPad, I was presented with two different advertisements offering bizarre suggestions for how to block advertisements on my iPad. Yes, advertisements on how to block advertisements.

These useless advertisements had one real purpose: they were designed to make me curious, and click on the advertisement — in order to see more advertisements. I did not click on the ads.

But I did take screenshots, because they were funny. The first ad:

Most iPad users didn't know how to block ads (do it now!).
Ad blocker? Carpet cleaner? Finger exercise pad? We may never know.

Let us give this some thought. This illustration is suggesting you can block ads by:

  • Turning your iPad screen down and pressing it into your carpet. This works: you won’t be able to see the ads! Or anything else, but yes, you won’t be able to see the ads!
  • Or another possibility: this is a still image, but it might require more action. You might want to rub the iPad back and forth across the carpet. If there is any sand or grit on the carpet, it might scratch up the screen, which will make the ads harder to see. This could be considered an ad blocker of sorts. Also: a great way to damage your iPad.
  • Yet another possibility: this could be part of a larger image, and if you were to zoom out, maybe you would see the user crouched down like a sprinter, waiting for the starting gun to fire. The iPad itself is serving as a starting block, or, to stretch a point, an ad blocker.

As it seemed unwise to click on the link (not to mention silly), we may never know exactly what was intended.

The second ad:

Most iPad users didn't know how to block ads (do it now). An even sillier advertisement than the first.
Here’s how to block ads on your iPad! Or is it even an iPad?

The first thing to note is that this is explicitly PAID CONTENT. Some entity paid to insert this advertisement into a news page, and again, is advertising a way to block advertisements. But consider:

  • Is this even an iPad? That looks like a USB-C port in the center, but none of the iPads with USB-C ports have a bottom edge that looks anything like this.
  • Exactly what is the Q-tip doing? Is it removing gunk from the USB-C port? Maybe the USB-C port has ear wax? It isn’t clear how that can block ads.
  • Maybe the Q-tip is inserting ear wax into the USB-C port to block ads? You wouldn’t expect iPads to promulgate ads through a USB-C port, but then you wouldn’t normally stick a Q-tip in them, either.

After giving this photo several days of thought, the ear wax removal explanation seems to work best, even though it makes no sense. Again, it seemed unwise to click on the ad, so the explanation will remain a mystery.

Screenshots? You can take screenshots on an iPad?

One question you might have: how do I take a screenshot on an iPad? Apple has a support document that describes the process (it is easy): https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT210781

Another question many people have: where does the iPad put the screenshots? The support document reveals this tidbit, too, at the bottom of the page.

You can also take screenshots on your iPhone: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT200289

While it is a little trickier (you need to make a change to the Watch settings on your iPhone first), you can even take screenshots on your Apple Watch: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204673

Screenshot of an Apple Watch.
This Apple Watch screenshot shows the current time, including seconds, and (the four corners, top to bottom, left to right) a button for recording voice memos; a weather forecast with temperature range; a button for Strava, an app to record walks, runs, bike rides, etc.; and a button to display Activity (steps, exercise, stands). In the interior, the upper icon in the center will display blood oxygen level, the one on the right displays the current tide at Dungeness Landing, the bottom center shows the time in London, England, and the one on the left triggers the Breath app, which guides you through breathing exercises. There are millions of possible ways to customize the Apple Watch, most of them far less complex.
Apple Watch screenshot showing date, time, outdoor temperature and weather, location, and a view of what the earth would look like at that moment from space.
A more simplified Apple Watch screenshot showing date, time, outdoor temperature and weather, location, and a view of what the earth would look like at that moment from space. The icon at the top is subtly suggesting that the wearer should be in bed.

Apple WWDC22 announced

WWDC is short for World Wide Developer Conference, and the 2022 edition will be virtual, starting with a keynote at 10 a.m. Pacific Time on June 6.

While the Developer Conference is aimed at programmers for the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Macintosh, HomePod, etc., the opening keynote usually generates quite a bit of news with short presentations on where Apple is in the marketplace and some announcements of new and different things. Plus: there are demos of new technologies, with a random game or two thrown in.

It is free: https://developer.apple.com/wwdc22/

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