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Apple’s M1 silicon is all about platform control

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Re: Apple’s M1 silicon is all about platform control

#311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first example I could think of actually counters the OP: when the iPhone launched and developers were told their only option on the platform would be via Web-apps. Of course Apple did a 180 soon after and introduced the iOS SDK. Not so sure if that was flipping the script when they were ready or that Apple had hoped to not have to open the OS but bent to the developer outcry (or saw that there might be some merit…

Not sure if OP means me, but if so there is a big difference. Going from web app only to a full SDK is opening up the platform, and a big step forward. Going from macOS today, to only allowing apps installed from the app store would be closing the platform and stepping backwards in a huge way.

> Going from web app only to a full SDK is opening up the platform

How is that so? The initial promise with "web apps only" was that they would add the necessary APIs for people to develop web-apps that could do almost anything.

Nowadays Apple (intentionally or not) is crippling the entire web-app ecosystem by not supporting the APIs that everyone else does (no notifications, non-standard manifest, etc.).

Re: Apple’s M1 silicon is all about platform control

#312
post #25

Never owned an Apple product and generally don't have too great of an opinion of this ecosystem. But the M1 MacBook Air is perhaps the first Apple product that really caught my attention. A fan-less (without overheating issues) ultrabook with crazy batter life outperforming every comparable offering out there for $1,000. Pretty much the best deal on the market, unless you have specific issues with it. Which in my cas…

> generally don't have too great of an opinion of this ecosystem. +1. > Pretty much the best deal on the market, unless you have specific issues with it. For example, if you try Linux or BSD, and you'll find none of the peripherals works, and the community reverse engineering efforts will take years before getting basic functionality, and even then, the battery will only last for 2 hours and nobody besides Apple know…

AMD was originally going to release a desktop ARM CPU along with the x86 ryzen. The crazy part was they were meant to be pin compatible. AMD abandoned the idea due to complications and to focus on ryzen instead. We were so close to ARM desktops, probably wont see one for another 8 years.

https://www.extremetech.com/computing/181867-amds-project-sk...

Re: Apple’s M1 silicon is all about platform control

#313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Apple could be lying, but they (top executives) have stated multiple times that the mac is not an iDevice. They have also stated they have no plans to only allow installs from app store, and they understand the value of tools like brew etc...They are what makes the mac popular with developers. This could all change, but until it does articles like this feel a lot like FUD. Additionally, completely dismissing…

> Additionally, completely dismissing the M1 as a 'marginal improvement' shows a level of anti-Apple that is clearly clouding the authors judgement. Is there somewhere I can find some evidence that it isn't a marginal improvement? Apple timed the release perfectly to create the impression that it was more, because its obvious competition will be Zen 3 laptops, which are right around the corner but not actually out ye…

It's not marginal at all at the same price point:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxSI45eeAts

Not to mention the ergonomic factor of being cooler and quieter.

Re: Apple’s M1 silicon is all about platform control

#314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an apples to oranges comparison (pun intended). If I forget passcode my device, why I shouldn't be allowed to reset and configure it from scratch if I am willing to lose my data? There can be numerous situations in which this can happen like a child trying passcode repeated. You will be happy if apple bricks your M1 laptop if you forgot the password due to any reason. What happened to spirit of HN culture?

You were not clear, and your implication was that Apple would not help you unlock a locked phone. Not that you had a bricked phone because of activation lock. It is somewhat difficult to lock your own device so that you cannot factory reset it. You wouldn't just have to lose the passcode, you would also need to lose the credentials to your iCloud account as well as your purchase receipt for the phone. Then you become…

> It is somewhat difficult to lock your own device so that you cannot factory reset it....

Well this can happen to non tech savvy users like my wife who configured their device once and then just used it for couple of years until the day of the incident.

> I am okay with Apple's choice on this, as I prefer the security and the theft deterrence. I keep several methods for recovering my iCloud account, and I keep the receipt for my expensive devices.

This would mean market for stolen iDevices should not exist?

> Does activation lock even apply to Macbooks?

Not yet but it might once M1 becomes ubiquitous.

Re: Apple’s M1 silicon is all about platform control

#315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the government should be curbed by protests, voting, and so on. The apps not talking to the vendor is just a band-aid This is a big false dichotomy. It's difficult to find an aspect of modern society that is not influenced by a complex combination of social, ethical and legal norms plus science, technology, economy, education and so on.

> This is a big false dichotomy. No, it's an actual distinction. > It's difficult to find an aspect of modern society that is not influenced by a complex combination of social, ethical and legal norms plus science, technology, economy, education and so on. And all of them are influenced by politics.

Please learn the meaning of "false dichotomy".

Re: Apple’s M1 silicon is all about platform control

#316
post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that painting a multi-trillion-dollar corporation as "good" or "bad" is always disingenuous.

Why? Care to explain? Because my answer was to > They're just jealous and need to write 'apple bad' blog to validate to themselves why they are years behind which doesn't even qualify as "bad irony"

Apple is made up of hundreds of thousands of employees. Their goal is to make money, not be "good" or "bad". Their individual decisions might be better or worse for certain groups of people, but Apple as a whole isn't really an entity that you can make a value judgement about.

Re: Apple’s M1 silicon is all about platform control

#317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Apple could be lying, but they (top executives) have stated multiple times that the mac is not an iDevice. They have also stated they have no plans to only allow installs from app store, and they understand the value of tools like brew etc...They are what makes the mac popular with developers. This could all change, but until it does articles like this feel a lot like FUD. Additionally, completely dismissing…

> Additionally, completely dismissing the M1 as a 'marginal improvement' shows a level of anti-Apple that is clearly clouding the authors judgement. Is there somewhere I can find some evidence that it isn't a marginal improvement? Apple timed the release perfectly to create the impression that it was more, because its obvious competition will be Zen 3 laptops, which are right around the corner but not actually out ye…

> Is there somewhere I can find some evidence that it isn't a marginal improvement?

While your story about raw computing performance holds, there are two reasons why apple's M1 release is significant (i.e.: not marginal):

1. This is the first time in decades that we see a serious non-x86 competitor for general purpose consumer-level computing. This is significant in and of itself.

2. Power consumption. These things seem to consume 2/3rds as many watts to offer the same performance levels than their x86 counterparts. This is big in the laptop space.

Re: Apple’s M1 silicon is all about platform control

#318

This article leaves two billion-dollar market opportunities on the table: Online testing and multiplayer gaming^. Apple’s recent announcement of a web authentication API includes if your system is booted in fully secure mode^ an attestation that the OS is in secure mode, crypto-signed by the secure kernel whose own signature is by Apple. This provides something that no desktop/laptop today can provide: certainty that…

What about this scenario?: A gamer wishes to cheat. They run the game on an unmodified, tamperproof, attested computer as per your description. Then they attach the HDMI output to a video capture card on a secondary computer, run some artificial intelligence software, and send back automated commands using a USB mouse and keyboard. Given that this kind of attack/circumvention is possible, are you sure that an attestable computer is a worthwhile goal?

Re: Apple’s M1 silicon is all about platform control

#319
post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Care to explain? Because my answer was to > They're just jealous and need to write 'apple bad' blog to validate to themselves why they are years behind which doesn't even qualify as "bad irony"

Apple is made up of hundreds of thousands of employees. Their goal is to make money, not be "good" or "bad". Their individual decisions might be better or worse for certain groups of people, but Apple as a whole isn't really an entity that you can make a value judgement about.

> Apple is made up of hundreds of thousands of employees

And they can still be bad

I could be fooled by your words when I was kid, unfortunately for me I'm too old to be fooled by rhetoric and propaganda.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Philip_Morris

> Their individual decisions might be better or worse for certain groups of people

And those can be criminal decisions.

More often than not, multi trillion companies act like villains, they lie, deceit, bribe, threaten, they use all the tricks in the book.

And people working there have no decisional power whatsoever, they are just clogs in the machine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron_scandal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_bribery_scandals

Not rarely, their actions lead to innocent people dying

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides

> but Apple as a whole isn't really an entity that you can make a value judgement about.

Then how can you make a judgment about China or USSR or Cuba or Iraq?

There's a billion and a half people in China...

By your logic it's impossible to make a judgment, right?

Re: Apple’s M1 silicon is all about platform control

#320
post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are some relevant, analogous examples from this history?

Not exactly the same, but it reminded me of how they never made FaceTime an open standard after stating they would.

The behind the scenes story there is that Steve Jobs never actually cleared it with anyone when he announced it on stage, but it turns out FaceTime depended on lots of elements that Apple didn't have the rights to and, therefore, couldn't release into the open without the other rights holders' consent.
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