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Here’s an instance of SIP preventing a Chrome update from bricking computers. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/09/no-it-wasnt-a-virus-it-was

by twhb 6y ago

Here’s an instance of SIP preventing a Chrome update from bricking computers. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/09/no-it-wasnt-a-virus-it-was-chrome-that-stopped-macs-from-booting/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/09/no-it...

SahAssar 6y ago
Bricking means that the computer is no more useful for computing than a brick (or that you might as well use it as a brick). Don't use it for stuff that can be fixed with software.
- VRay 6y ago
  Where do you draw the line, though? Something that might be a brick to a web developer would probably be perfectly serviceable to me as a firmware engineer Meanwhile, something that's a brick to me is often perfectly serviceable to someone who can operate a soldering iron Something that's a brick to a competent hardware tech might still be serviceable to a 3 letter agency
  - extra88 6y ago
    If you can still boot a Mac from the recovery partition or an external drive, it’s not bricked.
    - VRay 6y ago
      It IS bricked if you're a semi-technical Chrome user whose mac is stuck at the question mark screen, though
  - SahAssar 6y ago
    Sure, the line is porous, but if it can be fixed by doing something with software that is documented by the manufacturer then I think it's definitely not bricked. In this case booting from recovery.
- twhb 6y ago
  This debate showed up in the original HN discussion too, which also used the term. I think it’s more appropriate to draw the line at “as useful as a brick without taking actions not exposed as part of the normal user interface”. Drawing the line between hardware and software yields false negatives (corrupted read-only firmware is indeed bricked), false positives (discharged battery is not bricked), and messy grey areas (if it’s non-functional but fixable with a trivial chip replacement, is it bricked?), and moreover is frustratingly antagonistic to non-programmers, who have a computer that is as useful as a brick to them until they take it to a professional, yet you tell them not to say so just because you also have the skills necessary for this particular repair.

by twhb 6y ago

SahAssar 6y ago

Bricking means that the computer is no more useful for computing than a brick (or that you might as well use it as a brick). Don't use it for stuff that can be fixed with software.

VRay 6y ago
Where do you draw the line, though? Something that might be a brick to a web developer would probably be perfectly serviceable to me as a firmware engineer Meanwhile, something that's a brick to me is often perfectly serviceable to someone who can operate a soldering iron Something that's a brick to a competent hardware tech might still be serviceable to a 3 letter agency
- extra88 6y ago
  If you can still boot a Mac from the recovery partition or an external drive, it’s not bricked.
  - VRay 6y ago
    It IS bricked if you're a semi-technical Chrome user whose mac is stuck at the question mark screen, though
- SahAssar 6y ago
  Sure, the line is porous, but if it can be fixed by doing something with software that is documented by the manufacturer then I think it's definitely not bricked. In this case booting from recovery.
twhb 6y ago
This debate showed up in the original HN discussion too, which also used the term. I think it’s more appropriate to draw the line at “as useful as a brick without taking actions not exposed as part of the normal user interface”. Drawing the line between hardware and software yields false negatives (corrupted read-only firmware is indeed bricked), false positives (discharged battery is not bricked), and messy grey areas (if it’s non-functional but fixable with a trivial chip replacement, is it bricked?), and moreover is frustratingly antagonistic to non-programmers, who have a computer that is as useful as a brick to them until they take it to a professional, yet you tell them not to say so just because you also have the skills necessary for this particular repair.