676: OS 27 Support, Siri AI, and the New Backup Reality

The hosts discuss early impressions of iOS 27 on an iPhone 15 Pro Max and interest in Siri AI on newer iPhone hardware, plus Apple’s macOS 27 compatibility list ending Intel support while continuing support for 2020 M1 Macs, which they estimate could extend security updates to roughly 2029. They debate device lifespans for home and business, note iOS 27 supports iPhone 11, and consider how Siri AI’s on-device, voice-first, screen-aware approach could change form factors and competition. A cautionary story highlights lost Quicken 2016 data due to missing backups and limitations of iCloud Drive and Backblaze, including Backblaze’s cloud-sync folder controversy and retention/restore issues, while Carbon Copy Cloner’s option to temporarily download cloud-only files is raised. They recount multiple Migration Assistant failures resolved by re-wiping and redoing the migration, identify a client complaint as Stage Manager, and briefly cover testing the UniFi 5G Max cellular backup with AT&T and a low-income T-Mobile-based SIM option.

00:00 OS 27 First Impressions

01:13 macOS 27 Compatibility Shift

02:34 M1 Macs Longevity

05:34 Upgrade Cycles and Siri AI

08:30 Siri AI and Voice Future

10:50 AI Hardware Beyond Phones

13:05 Quicken File Lost

15:09 Backblaze Cloud Sync Fallout

23:24 Carbon Copy Cloner Workaround

26:54 Backup Strategy for Workstations

28:20 Migration Assistant Stalls

29:24 Migration Keeps Dropping

30:36 iCloud Backup Wish

31:25 Thunderbolt Reset Fix

32:55 Fallback Migration Options

33:59 Why Did It Fail

34:59 Sam’s Reboot Mystery

36:56 Backups and Backblaze Rant

40:21 Stage Manager Diagnosis

42:48 Settings Menu Weirdness

46:26 UniFi 5G Max Testing

50:18 Wrap Up and Goodbye

Best Of CCP - 034: Interview with Ben Greiner, Inventor of Robot Cloud and President of Forget Computers

673: AI for IT Workflows, Solutions and Apple’s Slow Siri Rollout

In this episode of Command Control Power, the hosts discuss practical IT uses of AI, including improving client communications, speeding email migration due diligence via AI-generated PowerShell reporting (mailbox size, forwarding rules, aliases, naming pitfalls, licensing limits), and reducing billing friction by summarizing recorded RingCentral calls in Claude to log hours and generate detailed invoices, including for Ubiquiti camera projects. They debate risks such as blindly running AI-suggested commands, clients acting on AI advice, and data leakage when employees paste company information into public AI tools, emphasizing guardrails, policies, and potential local/private AI setups (e.g., Mac mini with Ollama). The conversation broadens to AI’s impact on IT business models, automation in ticketing, and Apple’s lackluster AI progress, delayed Siri features, privacy positioning, and reliance on partners like Google/Gemini.

00:00 Show Kickoff

00:02 New Studio Tour

00:31 Flag Outage Story

01:35 AI Migration Prep

03:26 PowerShell Due Diligence

05:36 Call Summaries Invoicing

07:31 Automating Call Logs

09:35 AI As Expert Helper

11:51 Safety With Commands

12:58 Clients Using AI

13:54 Data Privacy Guardrails

17:17 Industry Shift Fears

20:07 Auto Reply Ticketing

24:18 Local AI Knowledge Base

26:02 AI Eats Software

27:35 Future Of IT Services

29:04 AI Automation Ethics

30:06 Market Pressure On IT

31:03 Apple Intelligence Doubts

33:10 Privacy And Gemini

35:06 Apple Strategy And Mindshare

37:43 MDM Guardrails Needed

39:39 First Mover Myth

43:32 Ubiquity And AirPods AI

47:21 Beta Plans And Rollout

48:06 AI Policy And Profiles

51:32 Wrap Up And Outro

672: Apple TV Picks, Disclosure Theories, and Practical macOS Admin Tips

The hosts discuss Apple TV shows they were late to, including The Morning Show and For All Mankind, and talk about Hail Mary Project, comparing the film’s “E.T.-esque” choices to Andy Weir’s book. They segue into UFO/alien “disclosure” chatter, mentioning Spielberg’s upcoming Disclosure Day, the film Age of Disclosure, alleged legacy programs, and the idea that disclosure could distract from other news. The conversation returns to Apple and IT topics: an Apple fix for managed login window settings not resetting, a Family Sharing change allowing adult members to use their own payment methods, and why hidden Wi‑Fi networks trigger Apple security warnings. They share productivity tips, including a Shortcut to sort Contacts by creation date, NFC tag uses, remapping Safari’s Quit shortcut, menu bar icon spacing via defaults write, Finder column auto-sizing, and Boring Notch. Jerry describes building a client podcast studio around the RØDECaster Video S and Rode support, then they explain using Adigy DDM to automate macOS updates and upgrades with policies, scheduling, and monitoring alerts.

00:00 Show Kickoff Banter

00:18 Apple TV Catch Up

02:12 Hail Mary Debate

04:25 Disclosure Day Talk

07:32 Mac Login Banner Bug

09:47 Family Sharing Payments

10:50 Hidden WiFi Warning

13:25 Contacts Sort Shortcut

17:47 NFC Shortcut Ideas

20:38 Safari Quit Remap

24:00 Menu Bar Icon Tools

24:56 Menu Bar App Trust

26:16 Declutter Menu Bar

27:09 Shrink Icon Spacing

29:04 Finder Column Autosize

30:28 Boring Notch Tricks

32:10 Building Podcast Studio

33:17 RodeCaster Video S

39:27 Video Podcasts Debate

41:51 DDM Updates Workflow

49:20 DDM Policies and Alerts

55:32 Wrap Up and Patreon

Best Of CCP - 309: The Tech Power Of Magnets

Sam Valencia, Jerry Zigmont and Joe Saponare discuss working with Apple technology and clients. Drawn from their combined experience of over 20 years in the Apple Consultants Network, thaey discuss technical support issues both with the technology and working with clients.

669: Adam Engst (TidBITS) Slack Impersonation Malware, Anthropic's Mythos, and Why You Need a Personal AI Defender

669: Adam Engst (TidBITS): Slack Impersonation Malware, Anthropic's Mythos, and Why You Need a Personal AI Defender

Adam Engst (TidBITS) discusses a malware incident in a long-running public “Slack Bits” group where a bad actor impersonated Glenn Fleishman via a duplicate Slack display name, tricking him into downloading an info-stealer, prompting Engst to consider shutting down the 1,400-member community. The conversation shifts to Anthropic’s Mythos and Project Glasswing (as covered by TidBITS security editor Rich Mogull), which reportedly found long-standing bugs (including in OpenBSD and FFmpeg), raising concerns about AI-accelerated vulnerability discovery, defender/attacker asymmetries, costs and compute barriers, and impacts on zero-day markets. They also cover Apple’s iOS signing and update/upgrade distinctions, why Apple supports macOS differently than iOS, broader distrust in institutions, social media’s advertising/algorithm problems (including Section 230), bots and AI-driven phishing, and the idea of local, user-controlled AI agents to help protect individuals online.

00:00 Welcome Back Adam Engst

00:20 Slack Impersonation Scare

02:15 Cleaning Up a Public Slack

03:40 Mythos and Glasswing Explained

05:19 AI Bug Hunting Reality Check

08:25 Red Team Blue Team Asymmetry

09:50 Compute Costs and Access Barriers

12:19 Trust Ethics and Regulation

17:50 Personal AI Security Agents

23:34 Zero Day Markets and Exploit Kits

25:40 iOS Signing and Update Windows

27:13 Why Macs Get Longer Support

32:06 Scams Incentives and Pig Butchering

34:02 Life Offline and Misinformation

35:41 Social Media Hot Garbage

36:43 Addiction By Design

37:46 Advertising Model Flaw

38:47 Infinite Scroll Limits

39:39 Dunbar Number Reality

40:54 Platform Power Responsibility

42:46 AI Influencers And Slop

43:37 Bots And Fake Accounts

46:33 AI Phishing And Passkeys

49:21 Closed Communities Trust

53:25 CAPTCHAs And Human Help

56:08 Section 230 And Algorithms

57:46 Chronological Feed Fix

59:35 Two Week News Rule

01:02:41 Ads In Maps Backlash

01:04:10 Wrap Up And Next Part