[kwlug-disc] macOS and 3rd party apps

[Doug Moen]

This isn't new behaviour, and MacOS has had telemetry for years. What seems to be new is that the latest MacOS is so locked down that you can no longer block telemetry. The /System folder is immutable and cannot be changed by the owner of the computer, it can only be changed by Apple during an OS update. Firewalls work by using a kernel API, but Apple telemetry and spy services bypass user installed firewalls so that you cannot block them.

When I first heard about Apple Silicon, I wondered if Apple would use this as an excuse to further iOS-ify MacOS, so that Macs would cease to be general purpose computers under the control of their users. It seems this is what has happened, at least with respect to MacOS. But there may be technical details I am missing, this impression is just from reading opinionated blog posts.

I'd consider buying an Apple Silicon laptop if I could wipe MacOS and install Linux. According to Linus Torvalds, the main barrier to this is that it will likely not be possible to write a GPU graphics driver for the new Macs due to a lack of technical information. That's a deal breaker for me. I've not heard anything to suggest that the hardware will be cryptographically locked to MacOS in a way that prevents Linux installs.

On Fri, Dec 11, 2020, at 7:22 PM, Mikalai Birukou via kwlug-disc wrote:
> In case you missed it (I did) there is new way Apply is treating its 
> users. Before starting 3rd party app, macOS talks to some server. Every 
> time, or often, instead of once, when app is installed!
> 
> https://www.fsf.org/news/the-problems-with-apple-arent-just-outages-they-are-injustices
> 
> https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/macos-leaks-application-usage-forces-apple-make-hard-decisions
> 
> 
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