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Counterpoint: Moving to ARM and custom silicon is a way to unify their iOS device line with their Mac lines. The Mac may not be an afterthought, but I suspect

Counterpoint: Moving to ARM and custom silicon is a way to unify their iOS device line with their Mac lines. The Mac may not be an afterthought, but I suspect it will eventually become an "iPad XL" with a keyboard. The Mac will move further from being a general-purpose computing device and more toward being an appliance. I'm sure they'll still allow you to run XCode and Photoshop, but maybe not Wireshark or VPN software[0]? [0] https://thenextweb.com/plugged/2020/11/16/apple-apps-on-big-sur-bypass-firewalls-vpns-analysis-macos/ https://thenextweb.com/plugged/2020/11/16/apple-apps-on-big-...

adrianN 6y ago
VPNs are required for corporate use of the machines. That's a fairly big market, I doubt it will go away quickly.
- ForHackernews 6y ago
  Substitute "VPN" with "any creative use of the hardware that requires low-level access to do something Apple might not endorse". But you're right, corporate VPNs will certainly still be allowed. Maybe you'll need to install it through the app store, and your company IT will have to submit their VPN configuration for Apple security review or something, but they won't block all VPNs.
- oblio 6y ago
  They will provide a standard Apple VPN solution. Because they're big enough now and because they've started to be adopted by enterprises plus they don't care if the adoption is immediate, network device vendors will start following. Then once they're ready they'll pull the plug on third party VPN solutions.
  - Cthulhu_ 6y ago
    They already have VPN support built-in, you can add a VPN connection via the Network system preferences screen.
    - blowfish721 6y ago
      This and considering edge security is on a massive rise due to Covid-19 they won’t dissallow it. Heck Wireguard and OpenVPN are available as well on IOS.
- novok 6y ago
  Corps might not care that much that everything but apple telemetry is going through the VPN although.
ubermonkey 6y ago
This again. I've been using Macs for 20 years (and Linux for 20, and Windows for 30). There's no evidence I can see that Apple is going to move the Mac away from being a general-purpose computer. People LOOOOOVE to say they will, though.
- addicted 6y ago
  We're barely a week away from offline 3rd party applications not working on a mac due to Apple's servers being overloaded. To dismiss the idea that Apple may move towards this direction is way too hasty, especially when nearly every improvement Apple has made has gotten the mac closer to its i counterparts. In fact, it's hard to think of a change Apple has made to macs over the last several years, which would potentially make such a transition even slightly harder.
  - ubermonkey 6y ago
    You're confusing "when online, Apple checks binaries" for "Apple by default blocks 3rd party apps." >To dismiss the idea that Apple may move towards this direction is way too hasty This is just a silly sentence. It's not on me to prove they're NOT doing this. It's on YOU to show me things that definitely say they ARE. Apple (and MSFT) have both taken steps to button up the OS more in line with the level of expertise of the baseline user, which is WAY closer to your 60 year old aunt Millie than to anyone who posts here. Apple does a better job here; enabling non-AppStore binaries is a single checkbox. Microsoft's S mode is a gesture in the same direction, but it's hilariously bad in implementation -- harder to disable, can't be turned back on once disabled, etc. Weirdly, though, nobody is yelling that MSFT is going to move to an app-store-only model.
  - EricE 6y ago
    That was a dumb failure mode of a certificate check for expired certificates where it didn't handle the server being up but not responding. If you are offline, that check failed silently with no issue. Adding the certificate server to your hosts file fixed the issue. I guarantee you that code has been updated already with the recent updates and anything similar is also under review. It's always easy to Monday morning quarterback about edge cases after they happen :p It absolutely is NOT some sort of "tell" for Apple locking the Mac down. They don't need to - if you want an appliance device they already have that with iOS. There is zero upside for Apple to try to lock the Mac down; it's all negative. Apple can do some dumb things, but they are NOT stupid. Used a Mac since 1986, owned one since 1987 (thanks to my crazy parents - could have had a good used car instead!) and dunno why people love to focus on the negative with Apple but unfortunately it's nothing new.
brundolf 6y ago
People keep drawing a very long line between the chipset and the OS flexibility/philosophy. These things have nothing whatsoever to do with each other. You can have a locked-down OS on x86 hardware and a power-user OS on ARM. The M1 has very little to do with the "What does the future of macOS as a platform look like?" discussion, aside from providing strong evidence that there is going to be a future for the Mac.

adrianN 6y ago

VPNs are required for corporate use of the machines. That's a fairly big market, I doubt it will go away quickly.

ForHackernews 6y ago
Substitute "VPN" with "any creative use of the hardware that requires low-level access to do something Apple might not endorse". But you're right, corporate VPNs will certainly still be allowed. Maybe you'll need to install it through the app store, and your company IT will have to submit their VPN configuration for Apple security review or something, but they won't block all VPNs.
oblio 6y ago
They will provide a standard Apple VPN solution. Because they're big enough now and because they've started to be adopted by enterprises plus they don't care if the adoption is immediate, network device vendors will start following. Then once they're ready they'll pull the plug on third party VPN solutions.
- Cthulhu_ 6y ago
  They already have VPN support built-in, you can add a VPN connection via the Network system preferences screen.
  - blowfish721 6y ago
    This and considering edge security is on a massive rise due to Covid-19 they won’t dissallow it. Heck Wireguard and OpenVPN are available as well on IOS.
novok 6y ago
Corps might not care that much that everything but apple telemetry is going through the VPN although.

ubermonkey 6y ago

This again. I've been using Macs for 20 years (and Linux for 20, and Windows for 30). There's no evidence I can see that Apple is going to move the Mac away from being a general-purpose computer. People LOOOOOVE to say they will, though.

addicted 6y ago
We're barely a week away from offline 3rd party applications not working on a mac due to Apple's servers being overloaded. To dismiss the idea that Apple may move towards this direction is way too hasty, especially when nearly every improvement Apple has made has gotten the mac closer to its i counterparts. In fact, it's hard to think of a change Apple has made to macs over the last several years, which would potentially make such a transition even slightly harder.
- ubermonkey 6y ago
  You're confusing "when online, Apple checks binaries" for "Apple by default blocks 3rd party apps." >To dismiss the idea that Apple may move towards this direction is way too hasty This is just a silly sentence. It's not on me to prove they're NOT doing this. It's on YOU to show me things that definitely say they ARE. Apple (and MSFT) have both taken steps to button up the OS more in line with the level of expertise of the baseline user, which is WAY closer to your 60 year old aunt Millie than to anyone who posts here. Apple does a better job here; enabling non-AppStore binaries is a single checkbox. Microsoft's S mode is a gesture in the same direction, but it's hilariously bad in implementation -- harder to disable, can't be turned back on once disabled, etc. Weirdly, though, nobody is yelling that MSFT is going to move to an app-store-only model.
- EricE 6y ago
  That was a dumb failure mode of a certificate check for expired certificates where it didn't handle the server being up but not responding. If you are offline, that check failed silently with no issue. Adding the certificate server to your hosts file fixed the issue. I guarantee you that code has been updated already with the recent updates and anything similar is also under review. It's always easy to Monday morning quarterback about edge cases after they happen :p It absolutely is NOT some sort of "tell" for Apple locking the Mac down. They don't need to - if you want an appliance device they already have that with iOS. There is zero upside for Apple to try to lock the Mac down; it's all negative. Apple can do some dumb things, but they are NOT stupid. Used a Mac since 1986, owned one since 1987 (thanks to my crazy parents - could have had a good used car instead!) and dunno why people love to focus on the negative with Apple but unfortunately it's nothing new.

brundolf 6y ago

People keep drawing a very long line between the chipset and the OS flexibility/philosophy. These things have nothing whatsoever to do with each other. You can have a locked-down OS on x86 hardware and a power-user OS on ARM. The M1 has very little to do with the "What does the future of macOS as a platform look like?" discussion, aside from providing strong evidence that there is going to be a future for the Mac.