I was talking to a friend who probably needs a new PC for creative work on a budget, so I suggested that she think about a Mac mini. Just to check that my thinking about the price was correct, I visited the Apple site. I got the pricing right, but then noticed that delivery would […]

ON SECURITY By Susan Bradley Normally, I like to give actionable information. This article won’t do that. Sure, I’ll give you a few tips here and there, but for the vast majority of this week’s column, I’ll be pointing out instances of vendor arrogance. I’m going to begin with Microsoft (of course, and deservedly so), […]

On June 1, 2026, Apple released Updates for MacOS Tahoe 26.5.1 and iOS 26.5.1. Apple’s “What’s New” notes for macOS Tahoe 26.5.1 state:“This update addresses an issue for enterprise users where Mac computers with an M5 chip could unexpectedly shut down when using certain content-filtering network extensions.” macOS 26.5.1 is available for M1 – M5 […]

I posted yesterday how to block AI in Chrome by adding a Registry key.  Remember: it’s at an elevated command prompt (Start, cmd, run as admin). Enter the following command: reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome" /v "GenAILocalFoundationalModelSettings" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f Want to block AI in Microsoft Edge? Once again, use the following command at an elevated […]

APPLE By Will Fastie Nineteen years after the introduction of the iPhone, I succumbed. It was an emergency purchase; I had not planned to do so for a few more months. But my Samsung Galaxy A53 5G received a One UI update, and performance crashed. Action was needed. The battery was bad, too. Having done […]

As PK noted on the bottom of her Apple post, Apple released Safari 26.5 for Sonoma and Sequoia. It appears we may be seeing some impact from AI bug finders, as this is finding a ton of WebKit bugs. One group in particular, DarkNavy, is advertising its use of AI in finding and targeting various […]

Apple released Updates on May 11, 2026 for current versions of their Operating System software, as well as for a number of older versions of macOS and iOS/iPadOS. The updates include more than 50 fixes for security issues including Kernel, WebKit, and Network vulnerabilities. Some new features have also been added. As an example, Apple […]

I saw headlines yesterday, such as “Apple Removes $599 Mac mini, Raises Starting Price to $799.” The knee-jerk reaction to a headline like that is that Apple raised prices. It’s not true. There is a readjustment. True, a Mac mini priced at $599 is no longer available. The lowest-priced mini is now $200 more, at […]

Apple released Updates for iOS 26.4.2/iPadOS 26.4. and iOS 18.7.8/iPadOS 18.7.8 on April 22, 2026.  The updates address CVE-2026-28950, a bug in the Notification Services. Updates that Apple released today address a security vulnerability that the FBI recently used to extract Signal message previews from an iPhone even after the app was deleted. Apple claims the […]

PATCH WATCH By Susan Bradley One of my complaints on behalf of consumers is that information about the new security certificates for Secure Boot has been vague — nearly hidden. Unless you are an AskWoody reader, you might not even be aware that there is an issue with Secure Boot certificates — not to mention […]

Apple has released Updates iOS 26.4.1 and iPadOS 26.4.1, on April 8, 2026, as well as macOS Tahoe 26.4.1 on April 9, 2026.  The updates address bug fixes in v.26.4 involving first and third-party apps that use CloudKit, preventing the devices from receiving notifications that iCloud data had changed. This prevented data from syncing between […]

Apple garnered a huge amount of publicity with the MacBook Neo, which is still exploding on YouTube and other social media. I don’t think the Neo is selling at a loss, but if it were it would probably be worth the “Hey, look at me!” moment. I’m starting to think this is an opening salvo […]

Apple has released Security Updates on April 1, 2026, to address multiple CVEs associated with the DarkSword exploit, thus making iOS/iPadOS 18.7.7 available to more devices that have not updated to v.26.x. Although the updates contain numerous security vulnerability fixes, caution should be taken if updating immediately after the updates are released and unintended consequences […]

For the fourth time this month Apple updates were released on March 24, 2026. These security updates address multiple CVEs related to, among other things, WebKit, Kernel and 802.1X networking, as well as bug fixes and new features. Also included are updates for older versions of watchOS that provide enhancements and have no published CVE […]

With any new security features you might have to first make sure that everything you are expecting to work, still works. PK posted about Apple’s new “a” release that includes “Background Security Improvements “.  It’s an acknowledgement (in my opinion) that Apple is becoming a bigger target. As noted, Background Security Improvements deliver lightweight security […]

Apple released Background Security Improvements on March 17, 2026, for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. Apple provides Information on the Security content of the updates for CVE-2026-20643: Thomas Espach that affects Webkit and Safari. Background Security Improvements deliver additional security protections between software updates. How to check if you have received these Background Security Improvements: On […]

HARDWARE By Lance Whitney I’m not a big fan of today’s Windows laptops, so trying to buy the right one was challenging. Here’s why — and which one I finally picked. Finding the right Windows laptop has become an increasingly difficult chore for me. Why, you ask? Well, I focus on two specific features above […]

One of the concerns I’ve seen reported about the new Apple Neo is that it only ships with 8 gigs of ram. While you can go from a 256 Gig SSD to a 512 one, there is no larger RAM model for the new kid on the block. As you can see from the screen […]

More Apple updates were released on March 11, 2026, this time to fix security vulnerabilities for older iOS and iPadOS devices that cannot update to the latest iOS and iPadOS versions. iOS/iPadOS 16.7.15 addresses WebKit bug fixes associated with the Coruna exploit that may lead to memory corruption (CVE-2023-43010: Apple). iOS/iPadOS 15.8.7, available for even […]