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Microsoft Adds M1 Support to Visual Studio Code

Andrew Orr ·

Microsoft announced on Friday support for M1 Macs for its Visual Studio Code software.

We are happy to announce our first release of stable Apple Silicon builds this iteration. Users on Macs with M1 chips can now use VS Code without emulation with Rosetta, and will notice better performance and longer battery life when running VS Code. Thanks to the community for self-hosting with the Insiders build and reporting issues early in the iteration.

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Jamf Sees Boost From Strong Apple Enterprise Demand

Charlotte Henry ·

Jamf, the Apple-focused device management firm, reported strong revenue for both Q4 2020 and the year as a whole. It follows increasing enterprise demand for Apple products. Furthermore, the company is now manager over 20 million devices, 9to5 Mac reported.

One of the key financial figures Jamf has been reporting is annual recurring revenue (ARR). Jamf’s Q4 recurring revenue grew 40% year-over-year to $70 million; its fiscal year recurring revenue rose 42% to $249.2 million. “We finished 2020 with high growth across every product, geography, and the top 10 industries we serve, demonstrating the strength and diversity of our platform,” said Dean Hager, CEO of Jamf. “As we look to 2021, we’ll continue to expand the breadth and depth of our Apple Enterprise Management platform to enhance our value to customers and accelerate further penetration of Apple in the enterprise.” Jamf had set a goal of managing 20 million Apple devices by the end of 2020 way back in 2015. The company ended the year with 20.4 million Apple devices on its platform with more than 47,000 customers.

Find Where You Can Buy Girl Scout Cookies With This App
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Find Where You Can Buy Girl Scout Cookies With This App

Charlotte Henry ·

It is, (I’m told by U.S. colleagues!) the time of year for Girl Scout Cookies. Obviously, fewer people are out and about to buy them in front of stores and the like this year. However, there is an official iPhone and iPad app to help you find where they are being sold available in the App Store, so you don’t have to miss out.

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Apple TV+ Earns Three Nominations at the Saturn Awards

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple TV+ has picked up three Saturn Awards nominations from The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, AppleInsider reported. This might not be quite up there with the Golden Globes and other awards the stream service’s content has been put forward for, but no doubt every piece of recognition will be welcomed.

“For All Mankind,” is nominated in the Best Fantasy Television Series category. It will compete against shows including “Outlander,” “The Twilight Zone,” and “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.” Similarly, “Amazing Stories” will compete against “The Mandalorian,” “His Dark Materials,” and, perhaps oddly, also “Perry Mason” for Best Television Presentation (Under 10 Episodes). Lastly, “Servant” is nominated in the Best Horror Television Series category, opposite such dramas as “The Walking Dead,” and “Creepshow.”

Satechi Releases USB-C Multi-Port Adapter
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Satechi Releases USB-C Multi-Port Adapter

Andrew Orr ·

Satechi announced on Thursday the launch of a USB-C multi-port dock. It has USB-C PD charging, HDMI and VGA display ports, USB-A data ports, SD card slots, and Gigabit Ethernet, with two detachable USB-C cables – perfect for on-the-go or docked at your desk. Compatible devices include: 2020/2019/2018/2017/2016 MacBook Pro, 2020/2018 MacBook Air, 2020/2018 iPad Pro, 2019/2017 iMac, iMac Pro, 2015/2016/2017 MacBook, Microsoft Surface Laptop 3/Surface Pro 7/Go, Google PixelBook Go, ChromeBook, Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro S, HP Spectre Convertible, Razer Blade, Huawei Matebook and more USB-C devices. It costs US$99.99 but with the code MULTIPORT20 you can get 20% off. Valid until March 15.

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47,000 iOS Apps Have Misconfigured Cloud Servers

Andrew Orr ·

Researchers at Zimperium analyzed 1.3 million Android and iOS apps to detect common cloud misconfigurations. They found that nearly 84,000 Android apps and 47,000 iOS apps have errors.

The researchers found almost 84,000 Android apps and nearly 47,000 iOS apps using public cloud services—like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure—in their backend as opposed to running their own servers. Of those, the researchers found misconfigurations in 14 percent of those totals—11,877 Android apps and 6,608 iOS apps—exposing users’ personal information, passwords, and even medical information.

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Google Reveals Plan to End Third-Party Cookies

Andrew Orr ·

Google wrote a post updating its plans for its Privacy Sandbox project. Its goal is to make third-party cookies obsolete.

we are confident that with continued iteration and feedback, privacy-preserving and open-standard mechanisms like the Privacy Sandbox can sustain a healthy, ad-supported web in a way that will render third-party cookies obsolete.

Once these approaches have addressed the needs of users, publishers, and advertisers, and we have developed the tools to mitigate workarounds, we plan to phase out support for third-party cookies in Chrome.

I don’t know what the new “open standards” will be, but I’m definitely skeptical given the nature of Google’s advertising business. Will there be a new first-party tracking technique? Update: Here’s why the EFF thinks it’s a terrible idea.

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An Inside Look at Apple TV+ Movie 'Cherry'

Charlotte Henry ·

Ahead of its release on Apple TV+ on March 12, there is a new video about Cherry in which the film’s stars provide an inside look. Tom Holland and Ciara Bravo talk about the self-destructive love story their two characters go on. (Cherry is already available in theaters that are open.)