Monthly Archives: November 2024

Offtopic Rant: Clients that ghost you.

Ghost illustrated on black background

A friend referred me to her friend for some WordPress support. While most of the issue was PEBKAC, I learned that there are still dated-looking WordPress sites, that use vulnerable PHP and some wonky CSS custom editing to get solutions. While I was able to hard edit a PHP file and make the client changes, I refused to update the PHP version of her cPanel site because I was not the theme creator and not comfortable making a change that could result in a borked theme or live site used for business income. I left the requested work* resolved and completed, and further changes to the “footer”.
But the client never paid, did not ask for invoice nor had I a chance to bill for the time after cancelling any further support. I’ll chalk it up for no good deed goes unpunished.

The lesson here is not only being leery of unstable business owners that fail to understand, aka ignore, their website underpinnings, but the main problem was actually caused by the website user/owner clicking a feature that resulted in a change to editing the page. Visual is versus Text. So I recommend, take a course in Beginning WordPress content creation. Knowing some HTML is even better. Plus if you fire/cancel your Websupport person, you better realize, they won’t ever help again.

Mac OS 15.1.1 Update

Color rays with Sequoia text

Another update, this time about security and Webkit. As noted, Apple never discloses the changes when its about security.

Released November 19, 2024

JavaScriptCore

Available for: macOS Sequoia

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 on Intel-based Mac systems.

Description: The issue was addressed with improved checks.

WebKit Bugzilla: 283063

CVE-2024-44308: Clément Lecigne and Benoît Sevens of Google’s Threat Analysis Group

WebKit

Available for: macOS Sequoia

Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to a cross site scripting attack. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited on Intel-based Mac systems.

Description: A cookie management issue was addressed with improved state management.

WebKit Bugzilla: 283095

CVE-2024-44309: Clément Lecigne and Benoît Sevens of Google’s Threat Analysis Group

Mac OS 15 Update and Features

Color rays with Sequoia text

Apple released Mac OS 15 back in September and recently updated to 15.1 which fixed some issues…and alot more features but waiting on the Apple Intelligence along with Mac Mini M4, iMac M4 and MacbookPro M4 models.

From Apples press release page on the update to MacOS Sequoia 15.1

This update introduces the first set of features powered by Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that unlocks powerful new ways to communicate, work, and express yourself, all while protecting your data with an extraordinary step forward for privacy in AI. This release also includes drag and drop support for iPhone Mirroring and other features, bug fixes, and security updates for your Mac.
Apple Intelligence (Mac with M1 and later)

Writing Tools

Writing Tools are available nearly everywhere you type, allowing you to rewrite, proofread, and summarize text right in the app you’re working in

Rewrite suggests different versions of your text so you can choose which combination of flow and wording you like best

Proofread lets you view suggested improvements to what you’re writing, like grammar fixes and language refinements

Summarize allows you to select text wherever you’re writing and generate a high-quality summary

Siri

A new look and feel includes a glowing light that wraps around the edge of your screen, animates responsively to the sound of your voice, and lets you keep scrolling or typing while you talk to Siri

Type to Siri when you don’t want to speak a request out loud

Richer language understanding enables Siri to follow along if you stumble over your words or change your mind mid-sentence

Conversational context is maintained over the course of a session, so you can refer more naturally to something you said in a recent request or something Siri mentioned in a recent response

Product knowledge helps you get answers to thousands of questions about the features and settings on your Apple products

Voice enhancements make Siri sound more natural, expressive, and clear

Photos

Memory movies can be created by describing the story you want to see

Photos search lets you find photos and videos simply by describing what you’re looking for

Clean Up removes distractions in your photos

Notifications

Notification summaries make it easy to catch up on your notifications with a glanceable summary of the most important information

Reduce Interruptions is a new Focus that ensures the most urgent notifications get through to you while silencing potential distractions

Additional Features

Smart Reply in Mail and Messages help you quickly respond to messages with suggested responses

Transcription summaries in Notes give you an intelligently created summary of the transcript from your audio recording

iPhone Mirroring

Drag and drop support lets you seamlessly move files, photos, videos, and more between your Mac and iPhone

AirPods

Hearing Protection feature helps users minimize exposure to loud environmental noise across listening modes (available in the United States and Canada)

Features require AirPods Pro 2 with firmware version 7B19 or later. All features may not be available for all countries or regions, for more information visit: https://apple.com/airpods-pro/feature-availability/

This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:

Option to automatically download and install games and apps to an external disk drive

Game Center friend invites can be sent directly from the Contacts app and Friend Suggestions and receivers can see the invites in the inbox in Settings