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Distributing Mac software is increasing my cortisol levels

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61–70 of 299 posts

Re: Distributing Mac software is increasing my cortisol levels

#61

I love when my Mac declares random PDFs malware and deletes them when I try to open them. On two occasions I've been completely dumbstruck when the software I was using was deleted out from under me. I'm not a fan of the overuse of "gaslight", but it sure felt like that when I had to restart Docker and the OS was like "what do you mean, Docker? You've never had Docker installed! What are you talking about? Are you fe…

Maybe the PDFs were malware?

Re: Distributing Mac software is increasing my cortisol levels

#62
post #2

Try to open the file, say ok to the ‘can’t check for malware’ prompt, go to settings, security, approve running the software. Annoying, but if you’re delivering your app to semi-technical users, not really a problem.

There's some official documentation for this process: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mh40616/mac (and this works ok for terminal stuff too! Though it looks like the process will always fail to run the very first time, meaning you can't obviously pre-approve its first launch)

Re: Distributing Mac software is increasing my cortisol levels

#63

I am not entirely against the whole notarization thing. If it is good for the end-user, it is usually also good for the ecosystem a a whole, trust is valuable. But ffs, they are rich enough to make this a lot less painful and hostile for developers. And this is not a new thing, I used to develop games for iOS, from the very beginning, and while the process somewhat simplified over time, it was a huge cortisol inducin…

Making it take some pain for developers is precisely what makes it valuable. If you could automate signing up for a developer account and didn’t have to put up some cash it would lose all value as a trust signal.

Re: Distributing Mac software is increasing my cortisol levels

#64
As a user I actually like Gatekeeper. 95% of the time it's not a problem. the other 5% of the time I have to click a button in my settings to allow unsigned code. But at least it gives me pause to think about the source and if I really trust it (which is mostly offloaded to Apple the other 95% of the time).

Free business idea: get an Apple developer account and then agree to sign code for other people in exchange for a small piece of their income. I'm surprised that doesn't exist yet (or does it?).

Re: Distributing Mac software is increasing my cortisol levels

#65

Any user who does not like Gatekeeper can turn it off on their machine in ten seconds by running this in a Terminal: sudo spctl —-master-disable People will say, no, that’s too big a hammer, it’s not safe… but then, like, what do you actually want? Either you keep Gatekeeper because you like the friction it introduces, or you don’t like that friction and you should go turn it off. Pick one, you obviously can’t have b…

This is not the developer choosing what software can run on their computer, this is Apple choosing for you and then you having to go disable protections (with what implications?) to then be able to choose what software you run.

This has more to do with putting up a scary dialog for normies than it does protecting anyone. A non-technical user isn't going to go bypass this in the terminal, they're going to run back to the App Store where Apple can collect that sweet 30% and analytics.

Re: Distributing Mac software is increasing my cortisol levels

#66
post #64

As a user I actually like Gatekeeper. 95% of the time it's not a problem. the other 5% of the time I have to click a button in my settings to allow unsigned code. But at least it gives me pause to think about the source and if I really trust it (which is mostly offloaded to Apple the other 95% of the time). Free business idea: get an Apple developer account and then agree to sign code for other people in exchange for…

If that isn't already a violation of the developer account ToS, it would be in short order. The dialog is about keeping normal non-technical users (Apple's primary market) from straying away from the App Store where they can collect 30% and analytics. They're not protecting you, they're herding you.

Re: Distributing Mac software is increasing my cortisol levels

#67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

10 seconds or 30 seconds, it's just too much friction to ask end users to do. I actually develop on a Mac, but I've written off Apple as a target system for hobby/open source projects. Between quarantine, code signing, and notarizing (which requires $99 a year), it's just not worth it. Good for Apple users if they like this shit--I'm just not going to bother with distributing to the platform anymore. macOS is slowly…

Isn't code signing even harder/more expensive on Windows?

The extended validation code signing certificate you need to avoid having your installer blocked by Windows SmartScreen is quite a bit more expensive.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/48946680/how-to-avoid-th...

Re: Distributing Mac software is increasing my cortisol levels

#68
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They want to have a way for users to pay them. Itch.io has that, homebrew doesn't.

Okay, but then the argument that Apple is charging them to certify their software and that is excluding hobbyists falls away doesn’t it? Now you’re not a hobbyist.

1. Having a way for some users to show their appreciation by paying you a few bucks doesn't make it not a hobby

2. The expected income is way less than the developer fee, much less the expensive hardware required.

Re: Distributing Mac software is increasing my cortisol levels

#69
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, but then the argument that Apple is charging them to certify their software and that is excluding hobbyists falls away doesn’t it? Now you’re not a hobbyist.

1. Having a way for some users to show their appreciation by paying you a few bucks doesn't make it not a hobby 2. The expected income is way less than the developer fee, much less the expensive hardware required.

Publishing a tip jar link is going to be possible no matter how you distribute. The desire to use itch is about wanting to sell.

Re: Distributing Mac software is increasing my cortisol levels

#70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

10 seconds or 30 seconds, it's just too much friction to ask end users to do. I actually develop on a Mac, but I've written off Apple as a target system for hobby/open source projects. Between quarantine, code signing, and notarizing (which requires $99 a year), it's just not worth it. Good for Apple users if they like this shit--I'm just not going to bother with distributing to the platform anymore. macOS is slowly…

Isn't code signing even harder/more expensive on Windows?

Yes, Windows is terrible, too. The entire desktop software world has lost its collective mind and the platforms are turning themselves into locked down game consoles just so that grandma doesn't accidentally install malware.
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