MyAppleMenu

The Qualified-And-Validated Edition Thursday, March 31, 2016

Apple Rolls Out New WebKit Features With Safari Technology Preview, by Jason Snell, Six Colors

Previously, developers were able to download “nightly builds” of WebKit, the open-source technology that powers Safari. With this new program, Apple will be providing a qualified and validated set of releases every two weeks to anyone who downloads the Safari Technology Preview. (The updates will be delivered by the familiar Mac App Store software update mechanism.)

Security Matters

Make Sure You’re Getting OS X Security Data, by Adam C. Engst, TidBITS

Why had I avoided such an important-sounding checkbox? Because Apple messed up the interface here in a big way.

New SideStepper Attack Targets Corporate iOS Device Managers, by Ashley Carman, The Verge

Apple’s security concessions in corporate devices may have created a loophole in an otherwise secure system, according to new research from Check Point Software Technologies, a company that sells internet security hardware and software. When successful, this "SideStepper" attack gives perpetrators access to victims’ devices, including their data, as well as the power to install malicious apps. The new attack takes advantage of less rigorous software controls for corporate device users, particularly those who use Mobile Device Management solutions (or MDMs) to get apps delivered to their phones.

Stuff

AnyList Review: Grocery App Crosses Off Nearly Everything On Our Shopping List, by J.R. Bookwalter, Macworld

AnyList is a full-featured grocery shopping list and recipe organizer with lightning-fast cloud sync and cross-platform support.

Develop

Google Releases New Cardboard SDK + VR View For iOS & Web Developers, by Greg Barbosa, 9to5Mac

The SDK allows iOS developers to embed virtual reality content within their own apps to then be viewed using a viewer like Google’s own Cardboard.

Notes

Apple Issues 2016 Supplier Responsibility Report, by Dan Moren, Six Colors

Apple chief operating officer Jeff Williams notes that 97 percent of the company’s suppliers are now in compliance with Apple’s 60-hour maximum work week, more than 3.8 billion gallons of fresh water has been saved, and more than 2400 Environment, Health, and Safety projects have been launched since 2013.

Apple Should Set A Better Example With Its Supplier Report, Greenpeace Says, by Agam Saha, IDG News Service

The environmental group acknowledged that policing supply chains is a “major challenge” for large manufacturers like Apple, but it called on the company to provide more clarity about how its suppliers are performing.

Apple & Google Have Faced 63 All Writs Act-related Orders To Access Devices, ACLU Says, by Roger Fingas, AppleInsider

Most of the cases appear to involve drug-related crimes, the ACLU noted. The number of unlock-related orders may theoretically be higher, but in some instances the government did not publicly specify what kind of help it was seeking.

Why Microsoft Making Linux Apps Run On Windows Isn’t Crazy, by Klint Finley, Wired

Soon you’ll be able to run Linux apps on Windows thanks to a partnership between Microsoft and Canonical, the company behind the popular Ubuntu version of Linux.

This summer, Microsoft will release Ubuntu for Windows, the company announced at its annual Build conference today. This marriage of former foes will not only bring a set of key Linux tools to the Windows desktop but make it easy to install other Linux programs without the need for those programs to be rewritten to work on the Windows OS.

Bottom of the Page

Remember to check out Apple's home page tomorrow...

~

Thanks for reading.