Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nothing like a cross-platform app for that real smooth user experience.
It's not like java gtk or qt were a thing.
It’s not like they weren’t fucking awful either.
Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros
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Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros
#452> “Another is security, but I don’t see a security model that doesn’t trust the owner of the device making much sense.” Apologies for the cynism, but isn't this pretty much the mainstream security model since at least the advent of smartphones?
It is mainstream, but I'd say the author has it subtly wrong. The model distrusts the user, not the owner. It just happens that we are no longer the owners of the devices we use.
Depends on your definition of "owner".
Legally, you're still absolutely the owner of the device. You're perfectly allowed to smash your iPhone into tiny pieces and make an art piece out of them. You're also liable for damages caused by the iPhone.
It's just that the device is constructed such that your choices of use are restricted to "use exactly as permitted by Apple at any given moment" or "don't use it at all". This is enforced by technical means, by reliance on components you do not own (e.g. cloud services or the OS software) and by other laws (e.g. copyright). But it isn't enforced by ownership.
Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros
#453Earlier quoted context omitted.
We mitigate this risk by just having a spare device or spare laptop on premises. It works and it's cheap. We use tons of Macs in a business setting, and we're definitely not going back to PC's. The PC's were a nightmare (not in terms of the hardware, but because of the sofware) from a management and administration perspective. Primarily because of Windows. Using Macs running macOS has really been a gamechanger.
In what world is OS X more manageable on a large scale than Windows, that's the reason it's used in every large business to start with.
It's not large scale though. But if you have 50-100 fairly clued up users, macOS is better by an order of magnitude in terms of internal computer support tickets. The last people we had using Windows were struggling with all kinds of Windows-related issues and also the fact that Windows has bizarrely become terribly user-hostile. The UI is absolutely atrocious, in my opinion.
Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros
#454Can the T2 chip be accessed via a publicly accessible API? Or would some reverse engineering be required? Since the third party check is software based, it's theoretically possible to write a piece of software that could either overwrite the flag on the T2 chip or man-in-the-middle spoof the return value to relevant applications. EDIT: I'm also curious to find out whether it's the OS or EFI that's performing the chec…
The check in question is likely happening on the T2 itself; it's a small ARM processor (derived from the ones used in iOS devices) running its own OS (a variant of watchOS, which is itself ultimately a derivative of macOS). Among other things, it's responsible for the early boot process; it performs firmware and OS verification and can stop the boot process if it thinks things don't look right.
> it performs firmware and OS verification and can stop the boot process if it thinks things don't look right
Well crap. There goes my ideas.
Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros
#455When I upgraded my MacBook Air, I decided to try switching away from Apple. Primarily because the new MBP’s & Air’s were expensive, and all the new feature which made them expensive were things I didn’t want or need. I also wanted to give Linux another shot. I went for a Dell XPS, and while there are things I don’t like (primarily keyboard & trackpad) I’ve got used to them. (Keyboard still shits me). But, when the mo…
That option for on-site tech support is pretty good, but very very expensive.
Back in 2014 when I got it for 3 years, it was at around the same price as AppleCare at the time for an equivalent device. I don't remember the exact price, but I do remember thinking that the price was about the same as AppleCare.