iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10 and tvOS 17 are out and ready for install on your devices. Arstechnica has a handy article detailing which devices support the updates. macOS 14 comes out next week.
We have some fresh info on yet another federal cybersecurity strategy. Unleashed by the Home Affairs minister yesterday, the policy will consist of "six cyber shields", which are kinda like mission statements for what they want to achieve. Stuff like "safe technology", "strong citizens and business that understand that they actually do have the power to protect themselves" and "world-class threat sharing and threat blocking". The minister didn't actually describe all six shields, I assume they're still searching their arses for catchphrases to pull out. The minister's full speech is available on their website. The actual cybersecurity strategy should be released in "before the end of the year".
We are also getting a new voluntary industry code of practice (aren't we lucky?). This one is a result of the National Roundtable on Online Dating Safety and is at the behest of the the government, who want to see "commitments to improving engagement with law enforcement, supporting at-risk users, improving safety policies and practices, and greater transparency about harms" for dating apps. Just like eSafety and their drawn out Online Safety Codes, "the Government has flagged to industry that if the code does not sufficiently improve safety for users of online dating services, legislative options will be pursued". Why not make the laws now? You obviously know what you want, you know voluntary codes have failed in the past, so just make a law and enforce it. Why do they keep doing this mind reading guessing game bullshit?
A few people sent me this article by Derek Sivers, who gives practical advice on how to claim "tech independence", which they describe as "not depending on any particular company or software" by leveraging "free public-domain tools that are not owned by anyone, and can run on any computer". By learning these basic Linux/BSD tools, "you can run your own private server on any computer forever, for the rest of your life. Host your own website and email. Keep your own contacts and calendars synced with your phone. Back up and sync your photos, movies, and music to your own private storage. No more subscriptions needed". It does suck that one of the only things you can't really be free of a corporation for is email. If you wanna try this but want someone to ask questions to or help if you get stuck, I'm happy to assist!
iss069e086332 (Aug. 31, 2023) --- The Moon's image is refracted due to Earth's atmosphere in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above the Pacific Ocean south of Alaska's Aleutian islands. (NASA Johnson / Flickr)
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