Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

motherboard.vice.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 455 posts

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#11

Post by bsheir74 »

floatingatoll wrote: post #8

This is an excellent step for protecting MacBook Pro users against hardware invasions (such as US and China border authorities). If you trust the user to replace hardware, you permit the user’s hardware to be altered by malicious actors. By restricting final approval of hardware replacement to a vetted subset of all humanity, you ensure that it’s vastly more difficult for the vast majority of malicious humanity. Yes,…

Prohibiting 3rd party repairs doesn't make you any safer than you are now. If you were concerned about hardware attacks you could continue to bring your computer to the apple store, and never have to worry. All this action does is remove options for those of us who do wanna fix their own machines.

And this is assuming you trust apple to inspect their parts closely. Their computers are still made in china. Why couldn't the chinese governnent coerce their suppliers to commit sabotage?

Also, when was the last time your Mom was the target of a hardware attack? Is she a foreign diplomat or intelligence officer?

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#12

Post by Rjevski »

floatingatoll wrote: post #8

This is an excellent step for protecting MacBook Pro users against hardware invasions (such as US and China border authorities). If you trust the user to replace hardware, you permit the user’s hardware to be altered by malicious actors. By restricting final approval of hardware replacement to a vetted subset of all humanity, you ensure that it’s vastly more difficult for the vast majority of malicious humanity. Yes,…

Wouldn't state actors be able to steal the software used by Apple to re-enable the software? With a network of thousands of "Apple Authorized Service Providers" there's gotta be leaks (that is, if state actors didn't have access to Apple's own internal systems).

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#13

Post by steve19 »

fipple wrote: post #4
msie wrote: post #2

Well, Apple lost its soul years ago.

Corporations don't have souls.

They do have culture (and philosophys are part of the culture) and this is really what people perceive as its soul. And the culture can change.

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#14

Post by Aloha »

If you don't like the particularities of how with how a business does business, don't buy their products. If enough people agree with you, the company will either go out of business, or will change its business practices.

The what amounts to hand wringing over Apple, mostly gets people flustered, without actually changing anything, but perhaps the direction of a few electrons somewhere.

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#17

Post by maxerickson »

Aloha wrote: post #14

If you don't like the particularities of how with how a business does business, don't buy their products. If enough people agree with you, the company will either go out of business, or will change its business practices. The what amounts to hand wringing over Apple, mostly gets people flustered, without actually changing anything, but perhaps the direction of a few electrons somewhere.

So publicly criticizing the business practice you don't like, as a gambit to get other people to agree with you, is just off the table?

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#18

Post by paxy »

floatingatoll wrote: post #8

This is an excellent step for protecting MacBook Pro users against hardware invasions (such as US and China border authorities). If you trust the user to replace hardware, you permit the user’s hardware to be altered by malicious actors. By restricting final approval of hardware replacement to a vetted subset of all humanity, you ensure that it’s vastly more difficult for the vast majority of malicious humanity. Yes,…

The number of users who simply want/need cheaper repairs and upgrades dwarfs those who are at risk of getting their hardware bugged by state-sponsored actors. And considering these laptops are made in China in the first place, any assurances of security are already moot.

If security was the primary concern, Apple would sell this as a separate model variant (manufactured in the USA) and charge a lot more for it.

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#20

Post by p2t2p »

Aloha wrote: post #14

If you don't like the particularities of how with how a business does business, don't buy their products. If enough people agree with you, the company will either go out of business, or will change its business practices. The what amounts to hand wringing over Apple, mostly gets people flustered, without actually changing anything, but perhaps the direction of a few electrons somewhere.

I do change something. I've got Thinkpad T25 with linux on board as my next computer instead of mac. I've got off iCloud Drive - replaced it with SyncThing + Dropbox combination (Dropbox to deliver stuff to iPhone). I've got off from Apple Music - back to owning my music (I endlessly tired of "this album is not available in your country"). The only thing left to figure out is photos - but I think I'll just slap together couple scripts in bash to transfer them from iPhone whenever I connect it to my laptop.
Post reply on HN