Tag: security updates

Uncategorized

A terminal, security updates, a conference, and emoji

by straitmacvp

Early April 2025 Items of Note

Lumon Terminal Pro

I haven’t yet watched Severance on Apple TV, but apparently this “product” was based on the television series. You can read all about it here: https://www.famouscampaigns.com/2025/03/apple-introduces-new-product-lumon-terminal-pro/

It was “available” on Apple’s website on April 1. Then vanished.

Severance is on my list of things to watch, but my list is not short, and I keep getting distracted by books.

Apple Security and Feature Updates

Apple introduced operating system updates to virtually everything they are currently selling, plus a few older operating systems. As I mentioned at the last meeting, you are strongly encouraged to update your Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, etc., to the most current operating system it can use, as updates fix critical security issues, add features, and are — free.

Apple Worldwide Developer Conference 2025 (WWDC25)

Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference is the largest and most elaborate presentation of their hardware and software each year. As the name suggests, it is aimed at hardware and software developers of Apple’s products, but the Keynote Address on the first day, June 9, 2025, also offers a preview of Apple’s forthcoming technology, and frequently new product introductions. The Keynote is usually far less technical and far more consumer-friendly than the technical sessions that dominate the conference.

Apple World Wide Developer Conference 2025 logo

In the past, hundreds of thousands of developers competed for a seat at the conference, but since the pandemic, Apple has streamed the conference sessions live, for free, as well as recorded certain parts (such as the Keynote) to be viewed on demand. You can see the Keynote live using a web browser, or over Apple TV, or view it on demand later. More details: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/03/apples-worldwide-developers-conference-returns-the-week-of-june-9/

New Emoji

Your Apple devices can display hundreds of emoji, and after the latest operating system updates, they can now display eight more:

Shovel (useful in many conversational contexts)

Root vegetable (looks like a radish to me):

Sark (flag of Sark, a tiny British territory):

Splatter (again, useful in many conversational contexts):

Face with bags under eyes (that is the official name for this):

Harp (it is specifically an Irish harp):

Leafless tree:

Fingerprint (great way to illustrate Touch ID):

As we discussed at our March 2025 meeting, the easiest way to find these emoji is with the Emoji Viewer; type “sark” to find the Sark flag, “fingerprint” to find the fingerprint, etc. Example:

I was 🫩 after hiking 🇨🇶 to see the 🪾 even after 🪏 for my lunch and eating my 🫜 because I was 🫟 by a bird while listening to someone play a 🪉 but I was a good tourist and left only 🫆.

Uncategorized

Apple updates, October 24, 2022

by straitmacvp3 Comments on Apple updates, October 24, 2022

Apple issued a huge number of security updates and operating system releases on Monday, October 24. Not only were they big in terms of coverage, they were physically large, too. The updates:

Safari 16.1

You need not worry about this separately; it is usually bundled with the macOS, iOS, and iPadOS updates. What was updated: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213495

tvOS 16.1

Obviously, you don’t need to worry about this unless you have an Apple TV. But given the recent announcements on the new models, you really should think about getting one. What was updated: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213492

watchOS 9.1

This is another thing that most people don’t have but should: an Apple Watch. Costco now has these on display. What was updated: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213491

macOS Big Sur 11.7.1

It is rare for Apple to update an operating system this old. The updates are for vulnerabilities deep in Big Sur. What was updated: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213493

macOS Monterey 12.6.1

This may well be the last update of macOS Monterey. If you can update to macOS Ventura, please do so. What was updated: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213494

iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1

These really are two different operating systems, though closely related. This is also the first release of iPadOS 16, despite the decimal appendage. The list of things updated is long. What was updated: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213489

macOS Ventura 13

This is the crown jewel of today’s releases: macOS Ventura. Along with iPadOS 16.1, these two releases bring the biggest number of changes to the Apple world, including some significant new features. If you can upgrade to Ventura, you are urged to do so, sooner rather than later. The list of updates and security fixes is long. Very long. Like, 19 pages long. What was updated: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213488

We will talk about these at the November SMUG meeting. Just to give you a hint of how different Ventura is, this is a partial screen shot of System Settings in Ventura:

System Settings in macOS Ventura. It is a long, scrolling list, instead of rows of icons.
System Settings in macOS Ventura (partial)
Uncategorized

Apple May 25 security updates

by straitmacvp

On May 25, Apple released a mass of “Product Security Updates.” These cover most of their most commonly used devices and some specific pieces of software.

  • APPLE-SA-2021-05-25-1 iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6. An update to all currently supported iPhones and iPads. There are currently about 1.8 billion iOS and iPadOS devices.
  • APPLE-SA-2021-05-25-2 macOS Big Sur 11.4. This is a comprehensive update to Apple’s current operating system for the Macintosh.
  • APPLE-SA-2021-05-25-3 Security Update 2021-004 Mojave. This is a partial update to macOS Mojave 10.14. Though it doesn’t result in a version number change, the update covers a long list of potential vulnerabilities and stability issues.
  • APPLE-SA-2021-05-25-4 Security Update 2021-003 Catalina. This is a partial update to macOS Catalina 10.15. Like the Mojave update, it doesn’t result in a version number change, but just the index to the update covers several pages.
  • APPLE-SA-2021-05-25-5 Safari 14.1.1. This update specifically brings Safari (and the underlying WebKit infrastructure used by many other pieces of Mac software) up to Safari 14.1.1 on macOS Catalina and macOS Mojave. This update is also bundled into the macOS Big Sur 11.4, iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6 updates mentioned above.
  • APPLE-SA-2021-05-25-6 watchOS 7.5. This is an update to all currently supported Apple Watches.
  • APPLE-SA-2021-05-25-7 tvOS 14.6. This is an update to all currently supported Apple TV 4K and HD devices. Among other things, it offers support for the new Apple TV Remote.
  • APPLE-SA-2021-05-25-8 Boot Camp 6.1.14. Boot Camp is not used by many Macintosh users, but it allows you to partition your boot drive and install Windows on it.

If you have a device that uses any of these operating systems, it is strongly recommended that you update the device immediately.

And — if you have an older device that cannot support these updates, remember that your device is vulnerable to attack.