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Can't you just right click?

lapcatsoftware.com

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Re: Can't you just right click?

#111

This feature is at about the right spot for me. It is still convenient enough for me to run software I want that isn't signed, but sufficiently obtuse that neither of my parents have figured it out. Given they are both prone to running any executable that any website tells them to download and run, this feature has probably save me several dozen hours of fixing their computers.

Don't they need admin privileges to install? Why give them admin ?

Re: Can't you just right click?

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My answer to that was chromebooks.

To be honest, I hoped microsoft and their windows rt experiment would be the 'alternative' to that so you have three choices for the end-user (get chromeOS, iPadOS or Window RT). To get 'stuff done' a user really has no business having access to the system or circumventing controls. Currently most desktop management structures try to do it backwards by taking an OS, i.e. macOS or Windows, and then trying to glue rest…

What about Windows "S Mode"? That's sort of the latest iteration on the Windows RT experiment, but you can turn it on/off on any Windows PC now.

I know the complaints remain that not enough apps are in the Microsoft Store, especially compared to iPadOS and Chrome OS if you include Android apps, but it is comparable to Chrome OS without Android support and still seems like an "alright, not terrible" third choice.

Re: Can't you just right click?

#113
post #80

This feature is at about the right spot for me. It is still convenient enough for me to run software I want that isn't signed, but sufficiently obtuse that neither of my parents have figured it out. Given they are both prone to running any executable that any website tells them to download and run, this feature has probably save me several dozen hours of fixing their computers.

Apple has been making things more and more restrictive over a decade now. New versions of mac os introducing new restrictions. Doesn't take a genius to see that their end goal is to make mac os as restrictive as ios. When that happens, will it still be the right spot for you?

As long as there's software there will be devs who need machines with which they can build it. Those machines will always need mechanisms for circumventing safety constraints, almost by definition. I guess it's possible Apple could decide, one day, "macOS isn't for developers anymore, it's just like iOS, devs will just have to go elsewhere". But that seems like it would be a profoundly stupid thing to do.

I do wish they would just bundle up all of the safety-guards under a single toggle - put it in the recovery UI for maximum obscurity - to make this stuff as convenient for developers as possible. But I take the fact that they don't to be a shortcoming of product development, not malice.

Re: Can't you just right click?

#114

On a related note, the macOS 11 Beta 5 released today reveals that Apple silicon Macs will require all ARM executables to be signed: https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/08/19/apple-silicon-macs-to-req... , https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-note...

I know exactly why this requirement exists (parts of the OS have entirely different code paths depending on whether a binary is signed or not) but it is still annoying to have to ad-hoc sign everything.

Judging from Apple's past behavior, I have no doubt this feature will also be used to "enhance the user experience".

Re: Can't you just right click?

#115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be clear, this just means all binaries need codesign --sign - run on them before they will run. You don't need to pay to do this, so it's a minor annoyance rather than Apple centralizing control of app distribution.

Yes, which is why i wrote "you cannot run unsigned software" and the part about slippery slope.

That's exactly what I'm confused about, where is the slippery slope? It's an extra step in your build process–an annoyance, not a slope. It's like if there was a requirement that macOS would not run binaries unless you stuck "APPLEISCOOL" at the front of all your binaries.

Re: Can't you just right click?

#116
post #80

This feature is at about the right spot for me. It is still convenient enough for me to run software I want that isn't signed, but sufficiently obtuse that neither of my parents have figured it out. Given they are both prone to running any executable that any website tells them to download and run, this feature has probably save me several dozen hours of fixing their computers.

Apple has been making things more and more restrictive over a decade now. New versions of mac os introducing new restrictions. Doesn't take a genius to see that their end goal is to make mac os as restrictive as ios. When that happens, will it still be the right spot for you?

To be fair, the world itself has changed a lot in a decade. Risks are much higher now than before, as malicious actors have become much more sophisticated, and we're running much more of our lives through software. The downside of insecure systems is orders of magnitude greater - life savings wiped, every personal detail leaked, etc.

Re: Can't you just right click?

#117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, yes, until you get to the point where (as the article shows) you cannot run unsigned applications on Apple Silicon. How much more slippery does this slope needs to get?

To be clear, this just means all binaries need codesign --sign - run on them before they will run. You don't need to pay to do this, so it's a minor annoyance rather than Apple centralizing control of app distribution.

Does it tie them to your Apple ID, or is it a key you can keep totally private from Apple?

Re: Can't you just right click?

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spent years homeless. There are sometimes homeless developers in the US. You don't have to actually go asking snarky questions about wage rates in other countries to make the point that, for some people, that's a meaningful barrier, even for the software industry. If that's the point you want to make, there are much better ways to make it.

I can't speak for @aaomidi who made the original comment. I can tell you that my own reply wasn't snarky. I simply pointed out that Iran isn't the only country in the world where the value of $100 is much different from its value in the United States. It seemed counterproductive to the discussion to get hung up on Iran's special status, so I mentioned a country I happen to know quite well. I don't think there's anyth…

[deleted]

Re: Can't you just right click?

#119
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple has been making things more and more restrictive over a decade now. New versions of mac os introducing new restrictions. Doesn't take a genius to see that their end goal is to make mac os as restrictive as ios. When that happens, will it still be the right spot for you?

As long as there's software there will be devs who need machines with which they can build it. Those machines will always need mechanisms for circumventing safety constraints, almost by definition. I guess it's possible Apple could decide, one day, "macOS isn't for developers anymore, it's just like iOS, devs will just have to go elsewhere". But that seems like it would be a profoundly stupid thing to do. I do wish t…

Look at iOS, you need to pay for a developer account and the signed applications can't be distributed (otherwise they'll revoke your account) and have short-lived certs.

Re: Can't you just right click?

#120
post #2

This makes me wonder how open source is supposed to work on macOS. People seem to become more and more aware of it and even enterprises that insisted on support contracts can see that they can't get around open source completely anymore. Meanwhile Apple is removing the ability for me to have a pet project without paying an Apple tax. If the message were completely transparent, something like "The developer didn't pay…

>I also can't imagine $100 is easy to come up with in countries below level 4[1].

While money for a Mac is?

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