Apple keeps working towards the “Spring release” of macOS 12.3, iOS 15.4 and siblings with a fourth beta round. Last year’s Big Sur 11.3 “spring release” was in late April while in 2020 Catalina 10.15.4 was released in late March. So, we have one or two months to go.
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As mentioned before (not just by me), the macOS 12.3 update will remove the Python 2 binary. This should not come as a surprise, but apparently there are still some vendors and developers that are not prepared. Test your deployment workflow and all the software on the beta and notify any vendors of failing installations, applications and tools.
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News and Opinion
- PSU MacAdmins 2022 Update (see also my conferences page)
MacAdmins on Twitter
- Scripting OS X: “Apple remains on track to transition all Mac models to Apple silicon. The “two-year” timeline expires either in June (2y after the announcement at WWDC 20) or in November (2y after the first M1 MacBooks) If you require Intel Macs for testing, VMs, or compatibility, buy them now!” (short thread)
Security and Privacy
- NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-219 (Draft), Automated Secure Configuration Guidance from the macOS Security Compliance Project (mSCP)
- Bypassing Apple’s AirTag Security – Bruce Schneier
- T2 Mac security vulnerability means passwords can now be cracked – Ben Lovejoy, 9to5Mac–
Support and HowTos
- Jamf Pro Server software no longer supported on macOS as of Jamf Pro 10.37.0 – Rich Trouton
- Printing 16-bit Colour in Photoshop – Anthony Reimer
- Ensure your VMware Fusion Macs enroll in Jamf as Computers, not Devices – Alan Siu
Scripting and Automation
- ljt 1.0.0, a little JSON tool for your shell script
- Fully Automated Lab iMac Deployment with Jamf Pro & ADE, Part 3: Preparing for Application Deployment – GrayW
- Using custom variables in an AutoPkg recipe to set version information – Rich Trouton
- JamfPatchUploader: Automate Jamf’s Patch Management with AutoPkg – eisenschmiede.com
- Querying Spotlight APIs With JXA – Cedric Owens
- Publishing Python Packages to AWS CodeArtifact Using Github Actions
- Fully Automated Lab iMac Deployment with Jamf Pro & ADE, Part 4: Deploying our Applications – GrayW
Apple Support
- Gathering GitHub Release Versions without Assets with autopkg – Bryson Tyrell, Jamf Engineering Blog
Updates and Releases
To Watch
To Listen
- Alexander Kaltsas – MacAdmins Podcast
- VPN For Clients – Command Control Power
- Prima Virani: Marie Kondo of Code – MacDevOpsYVR
Just for Fun
- Mac Source Ports (via mikeymikey)
Support
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