How macOS tracks file metadata on non-Mac storage

This article is based on a discussion thread on TidBITS Talk: Finding Type/Creator Tags in Old Mac Document Files.

In this thread, one reader asked how Macintosh file metadata (e.g. a file's type and creator codes) are preserved when a file is copied to non-Macintosh storage (e.g. a Windows file server or a FAT formatted hard drive). He observed that he can copy a file to a Windows server, then copy/move the file to several different locations from Windows, and then copy the file back to a Mac and the metadata is preserved.

Here is the result of my analysis.

Linkiest: 5 Classic Songs That were Ment to Be Jokes

5 Classic Songs That were Ment to Be Jokes
By Don McMullen

Certain songs over the years were written to be joke but not exactly a novelty either. However too many people can’t see the jokes or the satire in those songs either because the audience eats it up and is into what the artists are mocking or even getting back at someone else or mocking a certain product or whatever. Regardless here a short list of classic songs that were meant to be jokes but were taken seriously enough to be hits in their own right.

A fun read. And you'll never hear these songs in the same way again.

h/t The Bongino Report

Don't believe the news

Mallard Fillmore comic: March 23, 2022

Transcript (in case the image goes off-line in the future):

Mallard is watching TV, which is saying:

Coming up... We'll consult our panel of experts who've been proven dead wrong about every international conflict for the past two decades but are definitely NOT wrong about this one.

Healthline: Why Ditching Daylight Saving Time Would Be Healthier for Everyone

Why Ditching Daylight Saving Time Would Be Healthier for Everyone
Written by Nancy Schimelpfening, MS on March 14, 2022. Fact checked by Jennifer Chesak

• Each spring, people in the U.S. shift their clocks forward by 1 hour for daylight saving time.
• Scientists say this long-standing practice may actually be detrimental to our health and safety.
• Daylight saving time can disrupt our circadian rhythms, making us less alert and prone to illness or accident.
• Many sleep experts are calling for it to be abolished.
• In the meantime, a gradual shift in sleep schedule leading up to the time change may help minimize the effects.

I have been complaining about Daylight Saving time for as long as I can remember. It's good to learn that there is actually some science to back up my annual rants.

Comic and a bit of philosophy

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal for Friday, February 25, 2022

• How do you stop being jealous of other people?
• The key is to always do what is true to you. Find your highest ideal and pursue it.
  Then, when other people have more success, you can recast your failure as a heroic struggle for purity or beauty or whatever.

This comic, which portrays a very cynical view of the world (a common feature of comics by its author), calls to mind a very famous quote from the Talmud (Pirkei Avot, aka "Ethics of the Fathers", Chapter 4, mishna 1):

Computer Weekly: Backups ‘no longer effective’ for stopping ransomware attacks

Backups ‘no longer effective’ for stopping ransomware attacks
By Alex Scroxton. 23 Feb 2022 14:00

...
Data collated from Venafi’s worldwide survey of IT and security decision-makers reveal that 83% of successful ransomware attacks now involve alternative extortion methods – for example, using stolen data to extort customers (38%), leaking data to the dark web (35%), and informing customers that their data has been compromised (32%). A mere 17% of attacks merely ask for money for a decryption key.
...
Venafi also found that cyber criminals are increasingly following through on their threats whether or not they get paid. Indeed, 18% of victims had their data leaked despite paying, while more than the 16% who refused outright to pay anything and had their data leaked. Some 8% refused outright, but then had their customers extorted; and 35% paid, but were left hanging, unable to retrieve their data.

In other words, if you are victim of a ransomware attack, you're screwed no matter what you do. Even if you pay up, there's a good chance you won't get your data back and your confidential data may still be published.

So, (desptie the article's headline), the best you can hope for is to get yourself operational by restoring from a backup (be sure to retain several, in case your most recent one was corrupted by the attack), and don't pay the ransom.