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Thursday, May 28, 2020
APFS Bug in macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Impacts the Creation of Bootable Backups
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An Apple File System bug has been discovered in macOS Catalina 10.15.5 that can prevent users from making a bootable clone of their system drive, according to the creator of Carbon Copy Cloner.
In a blog post on Wednesday, software developer Mike Bombich explained that the CCC team had uncovered the issue in the Apple File System, or APFS, when attempting to create a bootable backup in a beta version of macOS 10.15.5.
According to Bombich, the bug prevents CCC from using its own file copier to establish an initial bootable backup of a macOS Catalina System volume. In technical terms:
Any CCC users who established their backup on a previous version of Catalina already has functional firmlinks on their bootable volume and CCC will continue to update that volume just fine. Meanwhile, users wanting to create a new backup of a 10.15.5 volume to an empty disk should replace their copy of CCC with the CCC 5.1.18 beta, then follow these steps on launching the app.
Bombich has notified Apple of the bug, but he ends his blog post by entertaining the possibility that it is a security fix to prevent third-parties from creating firmlinks. If so, he argues, "this is far worse than a bug," since the system currently reports a success when it should report a failure, not to mention that Apple's lack of documentation on the change is hostile to third-party developers who rely on documented functionality.
This article, "APFS Bug in macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Impacts the Creation of Bootable Backups" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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An Apple File System bug has been discovered in macOS Catalina 10.15.5 that can prevent users from making a bootable clone of their system drive, according to the creator of Carbon Copy Cloner.
In a blog post on Wednesday, software developer Mike Bombich explained that the CCC team had uncovered the issue in the Apple File System, or APFS, when attempting to create a bootable backup in a beta version of macOS 10.15.5.
According to Bombich, the bug prevents CCC from using its own file copier to establish an initial bootable backup of a macOS Catalina System volume. In technical terms:
The chflags() system call can no longer set the SF_FIRMLINK flag on a folder on an APFS volume. Rather than fail with an error code that we would have detected, it fails silently – it exits with a **success** exit status, but silently fails to set the special flag. That's a bug in the APFS filesystem implementation of chflags – if a system call doesn't do what you ask it to do, it's supposed to return an error code, not success.On a positive note, existing backups created in macOS 10.15.4 and earlier are unaffected, the bug has no effect on CCC's ability to preserve data, nor does it affect the integrity of the filesystems on a startup disk or a backup disk. In short, the impact of this bug is limited to the initial creation of a bootable backup.
We don't need to set many of these flags, nor set them frequently – just on the first backup of the macOS system volume. It happens to be essential to the functionality of an APFS volume group, though, so the failure to set these flags means that new full-system backups created on 10.15.5 and later won't be bootable, and it will _appear_ as if none of your data is on the destination (to be clear, though, all of the data is backed up). Kind of the opposite of what we're trying to do here. It's hard to find kind words to express my feelings towards Apple right now.
Suffice it to say, though, I'm extremely disappointed that Apple would introduce this kind of bug in a dot-release OS update. We've seen 5 major updates to Catalina now, we should expect to see higher quality than this from an operating system.
Any CCC users who established their backup on a previous version of Catalina already has functional firmlinks on their bootable volume and CCC will continue to update that volume just fine. Meanwhile, users wanting to create a new backup of a 10.15.5 volume to an empty disk should replace their copy of CCC with the CCC 5.1.18 beta, then follow these steps on launching the app.
- Click the X button in the Destination selector box to clear the destination selection.
- Click on the Destination selector and reselect the destination volume.
Bombich has notified Apple of the bug, but he ends his blog post by entertaining the possibility that it is a security fix to prevent third-parties from creating firmlinks. If so, he argues, "this is far worse than a bug," since the system currently reports a success when it should report a failure, not to mention that Apple's lack of documentation on the change is hostile to third-party developers who rely on documented functionality.
Related Roundup: macOS Catalina
Tag: Carbon Copy Cloner
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Heart Analyzer App Gains New Dashboard, Revamped Interface, Dark Mode, and More
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Version 8 of Heart Analyzer has been released, bringing a new dashboard, a revamped interface, a dark mode, and more data to iOS users.
Following version 7's big update last year, the developer has spent seven months rewriting much of the app using Apple's SwiftUI framework, and it now has new interfaces throughout, including a refined Apple Watch experience with more precise Infograph complications and better performance.
The redesigned Dashboard offers a clearer summary of each day when you open the app, including new charts showing average heart rates, trends, and more. Meanwhile the Apple Watch experience has been refined to provide better heart rate charts on complications, including metrics for the week, LiveHR, and workout readouts.
The app never transmits any data from the users iPhone, and there are no third party analytics and no ads. Heart Analyzer is a free download for iPhone on the App Store, and users who wish to support development can unlock small options via in-app purchases. [Direct Link]
This article, "Heart Analyzer App Gains New Dashboard, Revamped Interface, Dark Mode, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Version 8 of Heart Analyzer has been released, bringing a new dashboard, a revamped interface, a dark mode, and more data to iOS users.
Following version 7's big update last year, the developer has spent seven months rewriting much of the app using Apple's SwiftUI framework, and it now has new interfaces throughout, including a refined Apple Watch experience with more precise Infograph complications and better performance.
The redesigned Dashboard offers a clearer summary of each day when you open the app, including new charts showing average heart rates, trends, and more. Meanwhile the Apple Watch experience has been refined to provide better heart rate charts on complications, including metrics for the week, LiveHR, and workout readouts.
The app never transmits any data from the users iPhone, and there are no third party analytics and no ads. Heart Analyzer is a free download for iPhone on the App Store, and users who wish to support development can unlock small options via in-app purchases. [Direct Link]
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New Google Chromebook (Trogdor) Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 7C CPU Spotted on Geekbench
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Apple Acquires Machine Learning Startup Inductiv to Improve Siri
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Apple has bought Inductiv Inc., a Canada-based machine learning startup, to work on Siri, machine learning and data science, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Apple has previously hired knowledgeable people in the field, including dozens of engineers from consulting firm Silicon Valley Data Science in 2018. Apple is understood to be upgrading the technology that powers Siri and other AI-related products and services.
As Gurman notes, Apple has acquired several other AI and data companies in recent years, including, Tuplejump, Laserlike, Turi and Perceptio. Just this year the company bought Voysis to improve Siri's speech recognition, virtual reality startup NextVR, and popular weather app Dark Sky.
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Apple has bought Inductiv Inc., a Canada-based machine learning startup, to work on Siri, machine learning and data science, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The engineering team from Waterloo, Ontario-based Inductiv joined Apple in recent weeks to work on Siri, machine learning and data science. Apple confirmed the deal, saying it "buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."Besides staff LinkedIn profiles, the startup doesn't have an online presence, but according to the report, the outfit has developed technologoy that uses AI to identify and correct errors in data, which is important for machine learning and belongs to the field of data science.
Apple has previously hired knowledgeable people in the field, including dozens of engineers from consulting firm Silicon Valley Data Science in 2018. Apple is understood to be upgrading the technology that powers Siri and other AI-related products and services.
As Gurman notes, Apple has acquired several other AI and data companies in recent years, including, Tuplejump, Laserlike, Turi and Perceptio. Just this year the company bought Voysis to improve Siri's speech recognition, virtual reality startup NextVR, and popular weather app Dark Sky.
Tags: Siri, Apple acquisition
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Upcoming Samsung Phone (SM-A013) Battery with 3000mAh Capacity Spotted on Korean Certification Website
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Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box Gains HDR10+ and Dolby Vision Support, Plus Siri Voice Control
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The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box is receiving a major update today, introducing much-desired features like HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support.
Designed by Signify as part of the Philip Hue line of lights and accessories, the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box is designed to let Hue users sync their lights to their home entertainment systems.
One of the major complaints about the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box when it launched in September was its lack of support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+. With the Sync Box, Hue users were able to watch HDR10+ and Dolby Vision content thanks to passthrough support, but there was no way for it to detect content to create lighting effects.
That's changed in the new update, and with compatible televisions, the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box now works with both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.
Today's update also brings Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri voice control, allowing Hue Sync owners to use voice-based commands to power the Sync Box on or off, start or stop light syncing, switch from audio to gaming or video mode, and switch HDMI channels.
For those who prefer to use infrared TV remote controls or the Harmony universal remote, the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box can now be configured to work with these devices. It can be set to respond to any button on the remote using the Hue Sync mobile app.
Updating the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box requires opening up the Hue Sync app, going to the Settings section, and selecting the install software update option.
The Hue Play HDMI Sync Box can be purchased from the Philips Hue website for $230.
This article, "Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box Gains HDR10+ and Dolby Vision Support, Plus Siri Voice Control" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/36DXpUA
The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box is receiving a major update today, introducing much-desired features like HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support.
Designed by Signify as part of the Philip Hue line of lights and accessories, the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box is designed to let Hue users sync their lights to their home entertainment systems.
One of the major complaints about the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box when it launched in September was its lack of support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+. With the Sync Box, Hue users were able to watch HDR10+ and Dolby Vision content thanks to passthrough support, but there was no way for it to detect content to create lighting effects.
That's changed in the new update, and with compatible televisions, the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box now works with both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.
Today's update also brings Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri voice control, allowing Hue Sync owners to use voice-based commands to power the Sync Box on or off, start or stop light syncing, switch from audio to gaming or video mode, and switch HDMI channels.
For those who prefer to use infrared TV remote controls or the Harmony universal remote, the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box can now be configured to work with these devices. It can be set to respond to any button on the remote using the Hue Sync mobile app.
Updating the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box requires opening up the Hue Sync app, going to the Settings section, and selecting the install software update option.
The Hue Play HDMI Sync Box can be purchased from the Philips Hue website for $230.
Tag: Philips Hue
This article, "Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box Gains HDR10+ and Dolby Vision Support, Plus Siri Voice Control" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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