Apps know all phone secrets
Also: Editing 'Severance' via VPN and Windows hides the login key.

The Universal Employee Roster is Now Available to Everyone

Google, in its infinite wisdom, appears to have deployed a software update intended to limit how much an application can spy on its user's installed software; however, the attempt was what we in IT call a "soft failure." The policy change was meant to restrict how apps could determine the user's entire software portfolio. Apparently, if an Android application simply declares itself a "launcher" using a common internal activity, it can just bypass the whole policy like a contractor walking past a new security turnstile.

This oversight allows apps, including high-profile ones like Swiggy and Zepto, to continue creating massive user profiles by logging every single application installed on the user's device. It turns out your financial apps know about your dating apps, which in turn know about your highly embarrassing mobile game apps. The entire office directory is now being CC'd on all of your HR complaints; it is all one big happy, deeply invasive family. You can read the full breakdown on how every app knows what you're installing if you are comfortable with an ulcer.

The Mac Mini is Just a Very Fancy Terminal

Apple has been caught in a minor public relations oopsie that is, ironically, right on brand for the world of the show it promotes. A behind-the-scenes promotional video for their hit series Severance was released, intending to show how the high-end editing process happens on Macs. The marketing, however, inadvertently revealed that the editor, Geoffrey Richman, was not using the Mac Mini on his desk for the heavy lifting.

The actual work was being performed on a remote machine; the editor was simply using a third-party application, Jump Desktop, to screen share into a more powerful, offsite Mac. This confirms the editing of a major Apple TV+ production works exactly like every IT support technician's remote connection to a broken laptop. It also underscores a wider issue where Apple's professional offerings are not fully adapted to the modern, cloud-first remote editing workflow. The entire multi-billion dollar corporation is basically just doing remote work with a glossy veneer.

Microsoft Now Requires a Loyalty Card to Log In

Microsoft is determined to make sure every new installation of Windows 11 feels like a mandatory enrollment in a corporate wellness program. New builds are reportedly removing the final, sacred escape hatches that allowed system administrators and other sane people to install the operating system without an internet connection or a Microsoft Account.

The previously known Command Prompt workarounds are being systematically patched and closed off, forcing users to either find an ever-evolving, new, obscure terminal command, or simply concede their digital soul to Redmond. It is a high-stakes game of whack-a-mole; the user is constantly trying to sneak in the back door while Microsoft keeps adding more biometric scanners.

Briefs

• Old Media Anomaly: The Guardian is succeeding wildly in the US without forcing you to pay them 15 dollars a month. It is a strange, almost unbelievable anomaly, like finding a functional printer in the server room.
• Postgres Gets a Translator: An Initial Release of a Language Server for PostgreSQL is now available. This is important for people who enjoy writing code that speaks directly to a database, and utterly meaningless to everyone else.
• Physical Hardware is Back: A developer built a Physical Pomodoro Timer using an ESP32 and an e-paper screen. It is a necessary reminder that sometimes the best digital solution is to turn the digital off.