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macOS Sequoia is available today

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511–520 of 643 posts

Re: macOS Sequoia is available today

#511

Most annoying problems so far.. 1. Screen-recording permission once every week ? 2. No more sudo spctl —master-disable. Alternative way is bit complicated. 2. No more control+ click to bypass gatekeeper. 3. Why tcutil reset Accessibility not working for a specific app? It works for “All” . 4. Script to convert NSURL node ref url to posix url not working. 5. Normal usb Mouse pointer acceleration is not smooth. May be…

macOS is very gradually moving in the wrong direction for me. I never really saw myself considering desktop Linux again but I’m almost starting to get excited by the idea. For now I’ll just hold off on the update as none of it seems particularly compelling, especially as a happy Rectangle user (with all its key bindings nicely isolated from macOS preferences and synced along with the rest of my dotfiles)

The iShittification of the Mac platform continues ... I predicted this a long time ago when Apple released its first Mac mini with soldered SSD. Then the ones with security chip. And now we have soldered RAM + SSD behind a custom SoC that can only run macOS (yes, it is a macOS only system despite the PR of "ARM Linux / xBSD on M1+" because all these are crippled version of OS that cannot fully exploit the hardware because there are no literature on it for system developers, and they have to literally reverse engineer at a slow pace to make the OS run on it).

As the hardware iShittification continued, macOS too was also being slowly stripped of features to ensure Apple controlled your data and what you could run on it. Support for independent Kernel extension (outside of Apple's control) was removed mainly to cripple existing independent Application Firewall and virtualisation software. Apple-made OS APIs for these were integrated to the newer macOS and offered as replacement to ensure Apple controlled how Application Firewalls and Virtualisations should / would work on macOS. (Such restriction on the kernel extensions for independent system developers is also meant to prevent support for other filesystem, like ZFS for example - the OpenZFS project is maturing fast on Linux, Windows and macOS and can be a game changer as its usage has the potential to "free" our data from a closed and controlling ecosystem, to be used on any platform of our choice.

Whether you are a developer or a user, a "consumer relationship" with Apple feels like a relationship with a controlling and abusive spouse who repeatedly gaslights you that you are imagining things and are the one at fault because "you just don't understand them".

Re: macOS Sequoia is available today

#512

Most annoying problems so far.. 1. Screen-recording permission once every week ? 2. No more sudo spctl —master-disable. Alternative way is bit complicated. 2. No more control+ click to bypass gatekeeper. 3. Why tcutil reset Accessibility not working for a specific app? It works for “All” . 4. Script to convert NSURL node ref url to posix url not working. 5. Normal usb Mouse pointer acceleration is not smooth. May be…

This sounds like enshitification and transforming MacOS to its far more useless cousin iOS.

Is the gist of it that it got locked down more?

Re: macOS Sequoia is available today

#513
post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple locking down the OS even more by making Gatekeeper harder to bypass makes me want to skip this version for as long as possible. The screen recording permission thing also doesn't help since I'm using Ice ( https://github.com/jordanbaird/Ice ) because somehow Apple still can't Sherlock this feature.

The way it's even implemented now is like the nightmare realized from everything Richard Stallman warned about for decades. Especially for non-technical users, they've practically implemented a system where Apple decides what software you are and aren't allowed to run on your own computer. They can muddy the issue by claiming it's for safety/security but I don't buy it. They could have made the override still clear b…

Jobs too for that matter. Seems he wasn't able to protect his own company from idiots either.

Not that Microsoft doesn't salivate about such "improvements" as well.

Re: macOS Sequoia is available today

#514

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One huge step closer to iOS. Damn it. I actually liked macOS but these changes are terrible for everyone but the most basic users.

Really? This is _huge_ to you? How many unsigned apps are you downloading and running? This is one of those features where the benefits seem to very obviously outweigh the drawbacks. 99.9% of users just aren't running unsigned software, so the moment that happens, it is most certainly malware. If you're developing software yourself, this isn't an issue either, since all the relevant toolchains, debuggers, etc., work…

> This is one of those features where the benefits seem to very obviously outweigh the drawbacks

That has never been true. Neither for pro- nor casual users. This might be good for the bottom line of Apple, but I doubt that too, since they squander their reputation. This is non-engineers calling the shots, just like Jobs warned us about.

I do run quite a few unsigned apps and I don't even use a mac that often. This is just stupid...

Re: macOS Sequoia is available today

#515
post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

at least it's still possible (and maybe more accessible) if not a bit more inconvenient. the ctrl-click thing was kinda a hidden feature.

Precisely the kind of hidden feature that makes it easy for power users to bypass the "rules" Apple imposes on the platform, while still making it highly likely every day users won't know how to bypass the rules meant to protect them. More and more, I find that these sorts of "we know best" attitudes towards security utterly distasteful and the total opposite of empowering. Infantilizing, more like.

These rules do not protect the normal user. At some point they fail to install something they want to have and then my phone rings because their OS is shitty.

Re: macOS Sequoia is available today

#517
post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's when I think about jumping ship. If they require the App Store that's the end.

They can't, and they won't. Just look at the upcoming changes being forced on iOS in the EU with sideloading.

If these features need to be forced by legislative action, the product itself is probably shit. And most importantly, not in the interest of users, like some like to argue.

Re: macOS Sequoia is available today

#518
post #446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you zoom out and look at the trajectory release after release, all of these things are obviously coming. Every release we act surprised that it's slightly more difficult to run unsigned, un-notarized, un-sanctioned code, but somehow that Voice Of The Fanboy within us has us convinced that "surely this last change is where Apple will draw the line and stop!"

Yeah, but such concerns are from a long ago and it didn't happen yet. So the best approach is (and has been) to just support the platform until it is not possible anymore and don't be emotional about it. We just know that one (still quite distant) day it will happen. Then the usage of the platform will end for many users & developers. One could still live a quite long time on the older systems to ease the transition…

But why should I develop for a platform that is doomed to be shitty in the near future.

I do create macOS binaries, although they mostly are just a byproduct if targeting it is trivial. Of course I do not sign any of them, to me that is more or less a scam comparable to ransomware.

Re: macOS Sequoia is available today

#519
Yearly reminder to not jump ahead directly if you care about your productivity. Just wait a few months, there is no rush to upgrade, you won’t miss anything critical by delaying a bit. macOS releases always come up with issues that are solved in minor/patch versions in the first 3-6 months.

Re: macOS Sequoia is available today

#520
post #3

Window tiling! If you drag a single window to the top does it maximize, and unmaximize when you drag it away? That's been my most wanted feature in macOS since forever (yes I have tried the third party ones). I don't really care about tiling multiple windows, but I've always hated the macOS full screen behavior, and before that the old green button behavior, so an alternative that finally works well (the way Windows…

I really hope not. I found that intensely annoying on Windows.

The original Aero Snap was almost perfect. But I find the newer variation in Win11 a bit annoying as it adds a bunch of UI for tiling that is too easy to activate by accident.
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