Technology

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A new study by Kyndryl has claimed the vast majority (90%) of leaders are confident that their firm’s IT infrastructure is ‘best in class’ - but that's just about the only thing they are confident in.

When pushed further by researchers, executives began to falter in their certainty. Despite the confidence, only 39% believe their tech is ‘future ready’, and 64% of CEOs are concerned their IT is either outdated, or end-of-life, which sounds less than ideal.

The faith in IT systems also falters when it comes to dealing with threats, as 65% are concerned about cyberattacks, and cybersecurity ranks as a ‘very significant challenge’ for 56% of firms.

A race to modernization

In a similarly paradoxical finding by researchers, 86% of respondents claim their AI implementation is again best-in-class, but yet only 29% believe their AI tools are ready to manage future risks. So, presumably there’s going to be a huge day of reckoning some time soon where millions of perfectly healthy IT systems become obsolete.

“Forty-four percent of the inventory Kyndryl holds for its customers consists of end-of life or end-of-service technology – making it more vulnerable to cyber-attacks, as well as at higher risk for prolonged outages,” the company noted.

“In practical terms, that means almost half of the world’s most critical infrastructure is not resilient and has to be upgraded.”

Studies have shown outdated tech not only leaves organizations vulnerable to attacks, but also costs them to maintain, so it’s a good idea to review and update systems where possible.

Whilst simultaneously end-of-life and best-in-class, respondents say tech is outpacing the training that IT professionals are receiving, as 40% of leaders report a skills gap that is impeding the modernization process.

The take-away from the report is there probably needs to be a deeper understanding from executives about their systems and how they can be modernized.

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Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 18

The M1 MacBook Air gets a TK and a TK.

AI is the latest technology monster scaring people about the future. Legitimate concerns around things like ethical training, environmental impact, and scams using AI morph into nightmares of Skynet and the Matrix all too easily. The prospect of AI becoming sentient and overthrowing humanity is frequently raised, but, as Meta's AI chief Yann LeCun told The Wall Street Journal, the idea is "complete B.S." LeCun described AI as less intelligent than a cat and incapable of plotting or even desiring anything at all, let alone the downfall of our species.

LeCun is right that AI is not going to scheme its way into murdering humanity, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to be worried about. I'm much more worried about people relying on AI to be smarter than it is. AI is just another technology, meaning it's not good or evil. But the law of unintended consequences suggests relying on AI for important, life-altering decisions isn't a good idea.

Think of the disasters and near disasters caused by trusting technology over human decision-making. The rapid-fire trading of stocks using machines far faster than humans has caused more than one near meltdown of part of the economy. A much more literal meltdown almost occurred when a Soviet missile detection system glitched and claimed nuclear warheads were inbound. In that case, only a brave human at the controls prevented global armageddon.

Now imagine AI as we know it today continues to trade on the stock market because humans gave it more comprehensive control. Then imagine AI accepting the faulty missile alert and being allowed to activate missiles without human input.

AI Apocalpse Averted

Yes, it sounds far-fetched that people would trust a technology famous for hallucinating facts to be in charge of nuclear weapons, but it's not that much of a stretch from some of what already occurs. The AI voice on the phone from customer service might have decided if you get a refund before you ever get a chance to explain why you deserve one, and there's no human listening and able to change their mind.

AI will only do what we train it to do, and it uses human-provided data to do so. That means it reflects both our best and worst qualities. Which facet comes through depends on the circumstances. However, handing over too much decision-making to AI is a mistake at any level. AI can be a big help, but it shouldn't decide whether someone gets hired or whether an insurance policy pays for an operation. We should worry that humans will misuse AI, accidentally or otherwise, replacing human judgment.

Microsoft's branding of AI assistants as Copilots is great because it evokes someone there to help you achieve your goals but who doesn't set them or take any more initiative than you allow. LeCun is correct that AI isn't any smarter than a cat, but a cat with the ability to push you, or all of humanity, off of a metaphorical counter is not something we should encourage.

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Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections No. 495 for Oct. 18.

Here are some hints, and the answers, for the Oct. 18 Strands puzzle, No. 229.

Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections: Sports Edition No. 25 for Oct. 18.

Here are some hints and the answer for Wordle No. 1,217 for Oct. 18.

The new FTC rule will make it easier to cancel subscriptions without the hassle.

Apple’s celebrating ten years of Apple Pay today, and it’s clear that the Cupertino-based giant is pretty pleased with its payment offerings. I’ll be the first to admit that Apple Pay is still handy and convenient ten years down the road; most of the time, rather than reaching for a physical card, I simply double-tap the power button on my iPhone and pay.

Plenty more card partners have arrived in the years since the original launch, and more retailers have been adopting the standard. While new ways to pay, including rewards, were teased at WWDC 2024, we're now seeing these arrive with iOS 18 and even more partners being announced. All in all, it's freshening the ways you can pay with Apple Pay.

You’ll now be able to check out with Apple Pay and redeem rewards from eligible cards - like miles or points from Discover credit cards in the US - as well as access installment loans from Affirm in the US and Monzo Flex in the UK, and flexible payment options from Klarna in the US and UK.

Pay with rewards or two new payment options

(Image credit: Apple)

Available now with iOS 18 for folks in the United States on an iPhone or iPad, you’ll now be able to select rewards like points (think cashback) or miles from eligible Discover Cards to pay for the whole amount or a portion at checkout. Apple’s integrated this option directly on the checkout screen – which takes up a portion of the bottom of your device – and it feels pretty intuitive. It will, by default, show you the maximum amount you can redeem, and by tapping on it, you can adjust the amount.

Even neater, though, and solving just a sliver of the puzzle that is airline mile worth, it will even give you the conversion of what one mile equals to dollars. That’s pretty handy. This experience of using card rewards at checkout in Apple Pay is just starting with select Discover cards now, but more partners will roll out in the future. Apple confirmed that select Synchrony, Fiserv, and FIS cards in the United States and DBS in Singapore will let you use rewards.

Beyond rewards, though, Apple is adding two new payment options and the first of which can be seen as the partner successor to Apple’s since closed down Apple Pay Later. First, Klarna’s flexible payment options are now available for folks checking out on Apple Pay — with iPhone and iPad, online and in app - in the United States and the United Kingdom. Allowing you to select the service as a payment option, get approved, and pick a plan for splitting the payment. It’s worth noting you won’t see the charges hit weekly or bi-weekly (each payment option differs), and you’ll need to visit the Klarna app for those.

(Image credit: Apple)

Second, installment loan payment options are arriving with iOS 18 as well. In the United States, these are done through Affirm, while in the United Kingdom, these are done through Monzo. With these you’ll get approved for the loan, can pick terms – and see which have interest associated – and then complete the checkout process. This is a pretty big step and a direct replacement for Apple’s own “Apple Pay Later” installment plans. It will also be expanding at some point in the future to several other countries, including ANZ in Australia and CaixaBank in Spain.

As a whole these new ways to pay, and fresh partners, reinvigorate the Apple Pay experience a bit. It’s also key that it doesn’t change the ease of use that makes Apple Pay a stellar service and function of Apple’s myriad devices. I think the addition of rewards – for points and miles – in the Apple Pay checkout process will be very handy and will let many make better use of points, similar to how you can check out with points on Amazon. However, they might drain faster.

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At an event in San Francisco, World debuts an all-new version of its eye-scanning Orb that makes it possible to verify human identity without needing to collect any other information.

The new rules will go into effect after a transition period, and also require that phones meet volume-control benchmarks.

Intel has updated its AI Playground app, initially launched in July 2024, to showcase the capabilities of running AI tasks on its latest Intel Core Ultra 200V (Lunar Lake) series processors.

Designed to run AI entirely on compatible systems, the app harnesses the chip maker's built-in AI accelerators and Arc GPUs.

Available as a free download, AI Playground is optimized for Intel Core Ultra PCs with integrated Intel Arc GPUs or discrete Intel Arc Graphics cards featuring 8GB of memory. The latest version includes installers for the Intel Core Ultra 200V (1.21b) and Ultra-H series (1.01b), as well as Intel Arc dGPUs.

New features

For many Windows 11 users, Microsoft Copilot will be their primary - maybe only - AI experience, but privacy concerns have emerged over its controversial Recall feature and potential data sharing.

AI Playground keeps all processing on the device itself, offering a more private and secure alternative for users wary of cloud-based AI.

The app is designed to help users explore and understand the benefits of AI and Tom’s Hardware likens it to how Microsoft added Solitaire to early versions of Windows to help users get accustomed to the mouse. Whether there's a need for such an app boils down to whether Intel can demonstrate real-world value beyond just showcasing its technology and the jury is out on that at the moment.

The app’s primary modes - Create, Enhance, and Answer - offer a number of tools. Create mode generates images from text prompts using SD1.5 or SDXL models, while Enhance mode supports upscaling, inpainting, and outpainting for complex image edits. Answer mode functions as a local chatbot that can process documents and answer queries, all while keeping data private by operating entirely on the user’s device.

The new update introduces features tailored for Ultra 200V processors, such as an exclusive theme and an improved LLM Picker preloaded with models like Phi3, Qwen2, and Mistral.

Users can install their own native PyTorch LLMs too, so long as they are compatible with Transformer version 4.39. The new version also includes a Conversation Manager for saving chat sessions, a font size adjustment tool, and a preset aspect ratio picker to streamline image creation.

To find out more about the AI Playground project you can go to its page on GitHub, or join the Intel Insiders Discord.

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Just one day after Shrinking season 2 was released on Apple TV Plus, the critically acclaimed comedy has been renewed for a third season. It's the perfect distraction while I wait for a possible Ted Lasso season 4 renewal.

The news was announced at New York Comic Con on Thursday (October 17), where creators Jason Segel and Brett Goldstein, along with other members of the Shrinking cast, appeared for a special discussion around the new season.

One of the best Apple TV Plus shows Shrinking is another creation from the mind of Ted Lasso co-creators Bill Lawrence and Goldstein. It stars Segel as grieving therapist Jimmy, who abandons his training and ethics and finds himself making huge, chaotic changes to his patients lives as well as his own.

Lawrence said in a statement to Variety: “I’m so lucky to work on Shrinking with actors, writers and a crew so talented that they all elevate the material. I’m even luckier that they are people I’d want to spend time with anyway. Huge thanks to to Apple TV+ and Warner Bros. for the amazing partnership and support. So grateful we get to keep making this show. Onward!”

What is Shrinking season 2 about?

One of the best parts of Shrinking is Harrison Ford as Jimmy's fellow colleague and gruff emotional confidant Dr. Paul Rhoades. Both of them try to help their clients deal with love and loss, all while battling their own personal struggles. As Jimmy continues to try and navigate the immense grief of losing his wife in Shrinking season 2, Paul faces his own hardships as he tries to accept his Parkinson's diagnosis and what this means for the future of his practice.

Shrinking also stars Christa Miller, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell and Ted McGinley. Meanwhile, season two also features a guest appearance by Goldstein after his star turn as Roy Kent in Ted Lasso.

Despite sounding all doom and gloom, Shrinking is actually a light-hearted watch, handling poignant moments with a lot of humor and heart. The exciting announcement of a season 3 renewal is another reminder that I need to start watching Shrinking season 2 as soon as I get home.

The first two episodes of the latest season are now available to watch on one of the best streaming services, and new episodes premiere every Wednesday until December 25, so that's Christmas sorted then! In the meantime, check out these 4 similar comedy dramas with over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #495) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• FLOP
• CHARGE
• PLASTIC
• TURN
• TIME
• RIVER
• CHANCE
• CARD
• MISS
• PRIME
• BUST
• SHOT
• RAINFOREST
• CREDIT
• DUD
• KINDLE

NYT Connections today (game #495) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• Yellow: This is bad
• Green: This could be great
• Blue: No coins required
• Purple: Is there an Echo here?

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #495) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: CLUNKER
• GREEN: OPPORTUNITY
• BLUE: NON-CASH WAY TO PAY
• PURPLE: AMAZON ___

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #495) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #495, are…

• YELLOW: CLUNKER BUST, DUD, FLOP, MISS
• GREEN: OPPORTUNITY CHANCE, SHOT, TIME, TURN
• BLUE: NON-CASH WAY TO PAY CARD, CHARGE, CREDIT, PLASTIC
• PURPLE: AMAZON ___ KINDLE, PRIME, RAINFOREST, RIVER

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I did it! Yes, I managed the 'Reverse rainbow' as the NYT refers to it, by which I solved the puzzles in order from hardest (purple) to easiest (yellow). What's more, it was a perfect reverse rainbow, without any mistakes.

What does this mean? Well, it means this was an easy Connections game, because trust me, I'm no genius. For instance, AMAZON ___, featuring KINDLE, PRIME, RAINFOREST and RIVER, was one of the easiest purples we've ever had, I think. Or maybe it's only easy for me, coming off the back of two days last week writing about Amazon Big Deal Days. Maybe, but the other three were all pretty straightforward too, and I solved this in about five minutes flat.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, 17 October, game #494)

• YELLOW: GRASSY AREA GREEN, LAWN, PARK, YARD
• GREEN: DEAL WITH ADDRESS, ANSWER, FIELD, HANDLE
• BLUE: MOVIES WITH “S” REMOVED CAR, GOODFELLA, JAW, SWINGER
• PURPLE: ___ LAW CRIMINAL, HARVARD, LEMON, NATURAL

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now nearly 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #997) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #998) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 3.

Quordle today (game #998) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #998) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #998) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• P

• M

• E

• N

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #998) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #998, are…

• PUPIL
• MOCHA
• EGRET
• NATAL

Didn't we have EGRET only a few days ago? Why yes – it was an answer last Saturday, making it a surprising inclusion again so soon afterwards. It certainly impacted my game today, because I figured it wouldn't be an answer again and went with GREET instead, thus losing one guess. There's no reason why it shouldn't be an answer twice in quick succession, though – so I shall remember this for next time.

EGRET was one of four tricky words today, with MOCHA, NATAL and PUPIL all having either repeated letters or uncommon spellings, or both. I solved it, but it was hard work.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Daily Sequence today (game #998) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #998, are…

• AZURE
• CLOUT
• ABHOR
• DRIER

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #997, Thursday 17 October: BUILD, BIRTH, LURCH, SASSY
• Quordle #996, Wednesday 16 October: EERIE, SMIRK, HUNCH, EMBED
• Quordle #995, Tuesday 15 October: UMBRA, BRIEF, GRAVY, TORUS
• Quordle #994, Monday 14 October: ROGUE, STORY, EMCEE, AUNTY
• Quordle #993, Sunday 13 October: UNFIT, NYMPH, THUMB, PUREE
• Quordle #992, Saturday 12 October: SAUCY, UNDUE, EGRET, HELLO
• Quordle #991, Friday 11 October: RINSE, ANIME, PUSHY, ZEBRA
• Quordle #990, Thursday 10 October: UNTIL, MARSH, METAL, WINDY
• Quordle #989, Wednesday 9 October: TRIAL, HUSKY, DOWNY, TRADE
• Quordle #988, Tuesday 8 October: TROUT, HATER, BARGE, DOZEN
• Quordle #987, Monday 7 October: CAULK, HALVE, APING, HEATH
• Quordle #986, Sunday 6 October: FUDGE, TENOR, BEGAT, ROUSE
• Quordle #985, Saturday 5 October: ELECT, CROAK, FRISK, JAUNT
• Quordle #984, Friday 4 October: ELFIN, GRAIL, PATIO, RECAP
• Quordle #983, Thursday 3 October: TENTH, REMIT, CURVE, TOAST
• Quordle #982, Wednesday 2 October: ARGUE, CRANE, TOKEN, PRINT
• Quordle #981, Tuesday 1 October: FRILL, MADLY, GRANT, NYLON
• Quordle #980, Monday 30 September: CRUSH, TARDY, TEACH, STUMP
• Quordle #979, Sunday 29 September: SERIF, BORNE, WRITE, SLEEK
• Quordle #978, Saturday 28 September: BUSHY, CIVIC, SNOUT, EQUIP

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #229) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… All wrapped up

NYT Strands today (game #229) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• VIPER
• SING
• PLING
• SLOG
• MAST
• PAST

NYT Strands today (game #229) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Filler upper

NYT Strands today (game #229) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First: right, 4th row

Last: left, 5th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #229) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #229, are…

• GYOZA
• SAMOSA
• WONTON
• PIEROGI
• EMPANADA
• SPANGRAM: DUMPLINGS

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 3 hints

These are all things that I like to eat, so you'd have thought that I'd have flown through today's Strands – but no, I needed three hints to complete it. The shame!

In my defense, the first one was required because the theme clue of 'All wrapped up' wasn't so obvious that I knew what was needed. It gave me GYOZA, at which point I was away and was able to get SAMOSA too. But there I stalled. I couldn't think of any other 'wrapped foods', so needed one hint for WONTON and one for PIEROGI. I got EMPANADA, but only after about 20 minutes of trying to make the letters assemble into an actual word. Not my finest hour.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, 17 October, game #228)

• DRAFT
• WAIVERS
• ROSTER
• MATCHUPS
• STANDINGS
• SPANGRAM: FANTASYLEAGUE

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

As if four new Kindles weren’t enough for the Amazon devices team to unveil this week, a new Fire TV Stick has landed. It’s twofold in that we have a new streaming stick from Amazon, but it also streamlines the lineup a bit.

The all-new Fire TV Stick HD is replacing both the Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick Lite as the entry point priced at $34.99 / £39.99 / AU$69, and it’s up for order right now. We’ve asked Amazon for availability and pricing for the United Kingdom and Australia, and we’ll update you once we hear back.

Just like the two streaming sticks it’s replacing, the Fire TV Stick HD is still a rectangular, black stick that will plug right into the HDMI port on the back of your TV. Out of sight and out of mind, though, it will need power, and Amazon is still opting for a micro USB port. That’s kind of wild in 2024, but Amazon includes a cable and power plug in the box.

(Image credit: Amazon)

Charging ports aside, the Fire TV Stick HD will deliver the classic experience Amazon’s streaming sticks—and boxes, err cubes—have become known for. It will stream content at up to 1080p HD and supports HDR, HDR 10, HDR10+, and HLG. Support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos is missing from that list, but this HDMI port does support Dolby-encoded audio.

It does not have all the bells and whistles for visual or audio standards that you’ll find on the Fire TV Stick 4K or the Fire TV Stick Max, but this should definitely be considered if you have an HD TV. Of course, stick around until we get the chance to review it as well.

Arguably, the more exciting part here is that entry-level Fire TV Stick now comes with an Alexa Voice Remote. That not only includes TV controls for power and volume, but by pressing and holding the blue Alexa button, you can control the Fire TV experience with just your voice and even ask for the content you want to watch. Amazon even includes two AA batteries in the box to power the remote.

Amazon’s platform supports all the major streaming services, including Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+, Max, Paramount+, and Disney+. Of course, you’ll need an account to use them.

The Fire TV Stick HD supports Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth LE, and Bluetooth 5.0 for easy connectivity. Powering the whole experience is a 1.7Ghz Quad-Core processor paired with 1GB of RAM, and considering most of these applications are for streaming, the onboard 8GB of storage should be plenty.

It’s worth noting that beyond just watching movies or TV shows, you can also stream games through Amazon Luna on the Fire TV Stick HD, though we’re eager to see how this performs. Additionally, with Alexa on board, you can ask the assistant to control smart home devices and provide answers to other topical questions.

At just $34.99 / £39.99 / AU$69, the value that Amazon is aiming to bring here cannot be debated. It also cleans up the lineup, so you no longer need to debate between the Fire TV Stick Lite and Fire TV Stick—though if you really want one, these are both available until supply runs out.

If you’re in the market for the best streaming sticks available now, though, check out our full guide here – there are plenty of options from Amazon, Roku, Apple, and Google.

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Apple’s latest OS, macOS Sequoia, has been out for about a month now, and users are already complaining about a certain feature that has become a persistent nuisance for users.

In order to protect users' privacy, the OS has been displaying popups about app permissions. While this is a great way to inform and then remind users of their rights, the problem arises when these popups are constantly and excessively appearing on screen.

There have been complaints concerning this issue, including one from Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch, posted to his X (formerly Twitter) account.

Just ran software update. Got this.Steve would have had an aneurysm. pic.twitter.com/TjXdrVYFQTOctober 16, 2024

There’s also a Reddit thread about the issue with the original post stating: “It's only been a day and I'm feeling completely overloaded by the number of pop-ups in macOS Sequoia. Seriously it's starting to feel like using Windows all over again with the amount of ‘Are you sure you want to allow application access to your local network? It might be dangerous!’”

It seems that Apple is planning on addressing this issue soon with update macOS Sequoia 15.1, using both Apple Intelligence and making the notifications less intrusive by marking apps as ‘trusted.’

However, if you can’t wait for this update and need a fix now, there’s currently another workaround. The recently created app called Amnesia lets you turn off the monthly reminders for Screen Capture Access on an app-by-app basis. And instead of paying a fixed price or subscription, you can simply donate what you want.

macOS Sequoia has plenty of problems

This isn’t the first time users have run into issues with macOS Sequoia either. Just recently, there was a feature-breaking security bug that created trouble with multiple security products including enterprise solutions like CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, and Microsoft Defender. And this issue is still affecting Mac VPNs like ExpressVPN.

Some Sequoia users also experienced USB connectivity issues. When plugging USB sticks or chargers into the Mac’s ports, the system doesn’t detect them right away. Sometimes they’re taking a considerable time to connect, and sometimes the OS isn’t finding them at all. However, the issue doesn’t seem to be too widespread which is most likely why Apple hasn’t commented on the matter as of now.

In fact, we even created a guide on how to fix the most common issues that users have been encountering like installing the OS in the first place, Bluetooth bugs, Touch Bar not working, and buggy browsers.

With the multitude of issues being found in such a short timeframe, it seems that the best option is simply to hold off on installing Sequoia until the issue is addressed. After all, that’s what Windows users have learned to do thanks to the OS suffering similar issues after every new OS version.

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