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macOS unable to open any non-Apple application

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Re: macOS unable to open any non-Apple application

#311

Post by jlokier »

brundolf wrote: post #43
Lammy wrote: post #33

Maybe it's just me but the idea that my computer lets Apple (+ any LE organizations) surveil my app launches seems so much scarier than any malware.

I don't know about you, but hashes of the binaries I run don't exactly reveal any sensitive personal information about me. That said, obviously they should have much more graceful degradation in place for when something is wrong with the service.

The information reveals in exquisite detail what times of day I'm working, what times I'm slacking off, which days I work too.

And whether I'm taking a long or short lunch break, or lots of breaks. Whether I stay in bed until late, or work late at night. It's enough to predict whether I'm a "good" worker.

It also reveals whenever I travel, which coffee shops and libraries I frequent and what times of day. It also reveals what time I open any of several video conferencing apps.

And the sort of thing some HR would like to browse when assessing job candidates. They wouldn't need to ask "do you know X", they could just consult the Apple log of how often I run the relevant commands. Things like "we see you ran 'git' an average of 145 times per day last month, tell us more about that".

And whether I'm running tools I "shouldn't".

All that seems quite sensitive and personal to me.

Re: macOS unable to open any non-Apple application

#312

Post by jl2718 »

itp wrote: post #276
horsawlarway wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People chose to use Apple because it seems like a benevolent dictatorship. And frankly, a benevolent dictatorship is basically the best government you can have, as long as you're part of the "in-group" who doesn't push boundaries, doesn't cause trouble, and supports the supreme ruler, Kim jon... cough* Apple. --- The problem is that no matter how good the dictatorship might be today, it will eventually bite you. You…

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_be_evil > "Don't be evil" is a phrase used in Google's corporate code of conduct, which it also formerly preceded as a motto. > Following Google's corporate restructuring under the conglomerate Alphabet Inc. in October 2015, Alphabet took "Do the right thing" as its motto, also forming the opening of its corporate code of conduct.[1][2][3][4][5] The original motto was retain…

Evil is frequently caught masquerading as “do the right thing”.

“Don’t be evil” is nearly the opposite guidance.

Re: macOS unable to open any non-Apple application

#314

Post by nmlnn »

jjoonathan wrote: post #289
itp wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_be_evil > "Don't be evil" is a phrase used in Google's corporate code of conduct, which it also formerly preceded as a motto. > Following Google's corporate restructuring under the conglomerate Alphabet Inc. in October 2015, Alphabet took "Do the right thing" as its motto, also forming the opening of its corporate code of conduct.[1][2][3][4][5] The original motto was retain…

Right, but it's funny how these things tend to correlate. For example, the US Department of War became the US Department of Defense in 1949, arguably around the time when its primary business switched from Defense to War.

Not uncoincidentally this was the year 1984 was published, and Newspeak is the official language of Oceania, so..

Re: macOS unable to open any non-Apple application

#315

Post by thrwwy90876 »

Lammy wrote: post #33

Maybe it's just me but the idea that my computer lets Apple (+ any LE organizations) surveil my app launches seems so much scarier than any malware.

If you haven't downloaded your data from Apple recently I suggest doing that. The amount of personal info they collect has exploded over the last couple years.

Their Services business is moving them into Google levels of data collection.

Re: macOS unable to open any non-Apple application

#316

Post by frompdx »

I wonder if this explains why I was unable to print something for several minutes around the time this tweet was published? The printer manager refused to open each time I tried to print. Frankly, that's unacceptable.

I have preferred Apple/MacOS since 2007. However, my 2019 MBA suffered the infamous shaky keypress issue, randomly inserting an extra space when I typed. After 6 trips to the Apple store to fix under warranty I told myself it is my last Apple product.

I wanted the MBA for the portable form factor. Now I work from home and portability is no longer a consideration. I will mostly likely ditch this device in favor of a linux system.

What a disappointment.

Re: macOS unable to open any non-Apple application

#317

Post by colejohnson66 »

initplus wrote: post #284
zmmmmm wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> don’t get a ping back in less than 500ms or whatever? Go ahead and open anyway how do you do that without defeating the security? Now a malicious attacker just has to wait for a moment when you aren't connected before launching their payload.

The feature needs to be implemented using some kind of regularly updated local database, rather than requiring a phone home every time.

A program signature database, perhaps? We could even call it: antivirus! No, that’s a bad name...

In seriousness though, the problem with offline databases that are changed a lot is a problem antivirus programs always had: they need updating. You can’t have the “latest and greatest” protection if you don’t know about the newest threat. That’s probably what Apple is doing here: using a database on their end that they wouldn’t have to distribute to end users. It’s not the best way around it, but there isn’t really a “best” way.

Re: macOS unable to open any non-Apple application

#318

Post by frompdx »

elmo2you wrote: post #202

Sincerely and without any intention to troll or be sarcastic: I'm puzzled that people are willing buy a computer/OS where (apparently) software can/will fail to launch if some central company server goes down. Maybe I'm just getting this wrong, because I can honestly not quite wrap my head around this. This is such a big no-go, from a systems design point of view. Even beyond unintentional glitches at Apple, just ima…

I'm puzzled that people are willing buy a computer/OS where (apparently) software can/will fail to launch if some central company server goes down.

I really had no idea until today.

Re: macOS unable to open any non-Apple application

#319

Post by dawnerd »

bengale wrote: post #158
dawnerd wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I ran the beta over the summer and it was awful. I loved the changes but it was just unstable as hell. And people kept saying it was the most stable is yet, I don’t get it.

Unstable in what way?

Having to restart every day. CPU was also pretty much pegged nonstop when in clamshell and connected to two monitors. Catalina doesn't do that.

Re: macOS unable to open any non-Apple application

#320

Post by horsawlarway »

pmontra wrote: post #288
horsawlarway wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People chose to use Apple because it seems like a benevolent dictatorship. And frankly, a benevolent dictatorship is basically the best government you can have, as long as you're part of the "in-group" who doesn't push boundaries, doesn't cause trouble, and supports the supreme ruler, Kim jon... cough* Apple. --- The problem is that no matter how good the dictatorship might be today, it will eventually bite you. You…

> Apple is still in the golden phase, but I'm not really convinced they're going to be there much longer. The honeymoon is already over. A post like yours would have got several downvotes up to less than two years ago. I noticed that honest critics to Apple are tolerated now, since at least about one year ago.

I actually agree with you (and as someone who's been complaining about Apple for a looong time, I have the posts with the downvotes to show you're probably right), but I don't think HN is representative of the general populace.

I also still consider Apple's PR game to be top notch. Which is why so many folks are talking about loving the Apple app store in the thread about the recent Epic case that also popped up today. Although I'll note it's interesting that originally those threads seemed about evenly divided on the topic, and currently the pro-apple, pro-dictatorship voices seem to be getting mostly downvoted.

Regardless - I'd strongly recommend everyone out there to consider free and open software, on devices that you own (and you don't own a device if you don't have root access). Open source just keeps getting better - We happily re-implement the ideas and products generated by these companies, but we care about you - not the bottom line -because we are you.

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