Tag: Macintosh

A follow-up re Macs

On By daevadIn Big Brother, computing, Corporate Bad Behavior, Musings, Pro Tips, Suggested reading, Tech News

If you are interested, I can direct you to some additional information relating to my earlier blog post about recent Macs and the Mac operating system.

This blog post by security researcher Jeffrey Paul further explains why Apple’s decisions about hardware design and operating system implementation are so problematic. If you are a Mac user and have any concerns at all about the privacy and security of your recent or future systems this is a must-read article.

To be fair, it can be argued that Apple’s approach can make it harder for someone who actually steals your computer to wipe it and treat it as their own. However, I feel that the way Apple restricts your ability to independently manage your machine while leaving it open outside interference and monitoring far outweighs this limited benefit.

No new Macs for me

On By daevadIn Big Brother, computing, Corporate Bad Behavior, Musings, Pro Tips, Suggested reading, Tech News

The arrogance of Apple/Tim Cook has gone too far. All their talk about the security of their devices and systems is just a whitewash over steps that would make Orwell blush.

This is a must-read piece if you are thinking of buying a new Mac or upgrading your operating system. https://sneak.berlin/20201112/your-computer-isnt-yours/

What to do? Steps include not updating to the new Big Sur operating system, not buying any Apple Silicon -based Macs, making sure you’re using Little Snitch or some other firewall software that will let you intercept Apple’s outbound traffic from your system, and taking a long, hard look at your relationship with Apple.

I’ve used Macs for many years, I have a significant investment in software for my Macs. I can continue to use my current Macs (or newer replacements, if necessary) – I’m comfortable with them and they meet my needs. But I will stick with the rules I outlined above. If I have to walk away from using Macs, I will. Currently the greatest personal inconvenience in using Linux involves support for my iPod (which is essential to me). Linux is not a solution for most art/design pros. Windows, of course, continues as a platform that will support my iPod, if I have to go that direction. There is a lot of Pro-level software that is available for both Mac and Windows. Moving to Windows from the Mac is easier than ever nowadays.

I used to dream about having the funds to buy a maxed-out Mac system, now I will dream of assembling my own custom high-performance computer running anything but Apple operating systems.

Some Linux thoughts

On By daevadIn computing, Musings
  1. As of this writing I am running Ubuntu 18.10 dual-booting with macOS 10.14.3 on a 10-year-old and significantly upgraded Mac Pro.  Ubuntu is stable, fast, and reliable on this hardware platform.
  2. Ubuntu is my primary OS.  I still use macOS several times per week – mainly to run iTunes to talk to my iPod Touch, but I also have a couple paid commercial apps on the Mac side that I really like.  With the upcoming release of Wine 4 I am considering trying iTunes for Windoze on the Ubuntu side as an alternative for managing the iPod.
  3. I have come to the conclusion that one primary, practical, user’s point of view reason for the failure of Linux to capture a greater share of the desktop computer market is the insane situation for installing and updating applications.  I won’t detail it all here, but to me, an article like this should not be necessary.
  4. The huge list of various Linux distributions can leave new users bewildered as to which to choose.
  5. Another desktop adoption issue: The absence of Microsoft Office is not a problem.  LibreOffice and the other office suites out there more than cover that territory.  However, the absence of Adobe software is a huge issue for many people in creative fields.  I’m not saying there aren’t powerful and useful apps out there, but there are lots of folks that won’t even consider a move to another platform unless Adobe CC is available.
  6. If Microsoft wanted to get its feet wet in the Linux app world, OneNote would be a great place to start.

More to come…

The Sad State of Macintosh Hardware

On By daevadIn Musings, Tech News

I originally sent this to a good friend who, like me, is a Mac user.  Then I sent this to Tim Cook at Apple.  And I have decided to post it here as well…  

If you are a Mac user, you should definitely read the linked commentary.

Great commentary by a long-time Mac software developer:
——————
Additional thoughts:
A couple weeks ago, when the last macOS software update left my computer (and many, many others) unbootable and I wasn’t sure at first if something major had died hardware-wise, as I pondered possible replacement scenarios I came to the conclusion that my machine dying might be a long-term blessing by almost forcing me to ditch Apple hardware.  I could have gone the Hackintosh route (using off-the-shelf hardware) or could have just switched to Linux (with a huge range of options for hardware).  I know such a switch is not the right thing for everyone, I don’t need to use Adobe CC for instance, but I feel Apple is so focused on squeezing money out of music streaming and watch sales, they have forgotten how they got to where they are.  I no longer feel any loyalty to them as I see they have little if any interest in their computer customers.
I love my Mac Pro, though it has a limitation or two, and I am glad it is working well again.  But I have it set up to dual-boot with Ubuntu Linux, keep that software up to date daily, and continue to explore the software that is available for that platform.  If something happens, I will be ready to walk away for good.