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I think this Macbook Air will be my last Apple computer. I'm done with the company if they're going to play these kinds of games.

by beedogs 15y ago

GuiA 15y ago
Or you could do like Torvalds and get a Macbook Air but install another OS on it. Criticize the software all you want, the hardware is still damn good and at the top of what you can get.
- beedogs 15y ago
  That's fine, until they start requiring signed code just to boot. Apple started out in an environment like that; it wouldn't surprise me if they tried to get back to that.
  - jballanc 15y ago
    What are you talking about? I never had any problem booting an Old World Mac with unsigned code. I've installed NetBSD on a number of PowerMac 7100s.
    - beedogs 15y ago
      It was more the walled-garden approach Apple took throughout the 90s that I was referring to. The steps they took to ensure that they were the only ones who produced computers capable of running Mac OS -- moving critical bits of the OS to on-board ROMs; applying government pressure when necessary to prevent the manufacture of early Mac clones which used reverse-engineered ROMs; later destroying the legitimate Mac clone market -- are eerily similar, albeit technically inferior, to the things they're doing today to prevent people from running OS X on unauthorized hardware and unapproved apps on Apple devices. Apple already contends that OS X can't legally run on generic PC hardware, and has already taken x86 Mac cloners to court over this and won, so they know they've got the law on their side when it comes to control of their OS, where it can run, and what can run it. The next logical step is to take control of what can run on it. With the recent OS X "virus" scare, the issue has become all the more urgent, as the public's perception of its security has been damaged and a signed-app "solution" seems like the easiest way to restore confidence in it. As far as requiring signed code goes, though, their other devices already all require it, so I'm assuming, based on their moves so far, that it isn't far off on the laptop/desktop end. That it's an option (on by default) in 10.8 makes me think that, one day, the option to run unsigned code in OS X will disappear entirely.
- mbylstra 15y ago
  Regardless of whether you use OSX or not, when you buy a Mac you're still paying a great deal for OSX. It suprises me that Linus is prepared to fund OSX. I mean the guy is a genius and I'm sure he has good reasons, but my tiny brain does not comprehend it.
  - crander 15y ago
    The hardware is that much better. 2x the cost but you don't have to carry a damn crap-top around that weighs 4 or more pounds and blows a fan when you move a window.
  - Turing_Machine 15y ago
    "You're still paying a great deal for OSX" OS X Lion costs $29. Windows 7 costs $119-219, depending on which edition you get. While it's possible to buy a machine without Windows, the selection tends to be quite limited, particularly for notebooks. Assembling your own from parts is an option for desktop machines, but again not really for notebooks.
  - easp 15y ago
    No, you really aren't paying a great deal for OS X. If you are buying a Mac because you like the hardware quality, then you should compare it to Windows machines of similar quality. If you were to do so, you would see that the Mac laptops are competitively priced. Even if there was a few hundred dollar premium, keep it in perspective. How smart is it to be fretting over a few hundred bucks with respect to a tool that you will likely use for a year or two, for a significant % of your waking hours, and upon which you depend for your most of your income?
gte910h 15y ago
There is a slider. Signed OR Appstore apps are installable by default. Signing is free and takes about 2 hours, tops, to setup. There aren't restrictions on what signed apps can do.

I think this Macbook Air will be my last Apple computer. I'm done with the company if they're going to play these kinds of games.

by beedogs 15y ago

I think this Macbook Air will be my last Apple computer. I'm done with the company if they're going to play these kinds of games.

GuiA 15y ago

Or you could do like Torvalds and get a Macbook Air but install another OS on it. Criticize the software all you want, the hardware is still damn good and at the top of what you can get.

beedogs 15y ago
That's fine, until they start requiring signed code just to boot. Apple started out in an environment like that; it wouldn't surprise me if they tried to get back to that.
- jballanc 15y ago
  What are you talking about? I never had any problem booting an Old World Mac with unsigned code. I've installed NetBSD on a number of PowerMac 7100s.
  - beedogs 15y ago
    It was more the walled-garden approach Apple took throughout the 90s that I was referring to. The steps they took to ensure that they were the only ones who produced computers capable of running Mac OS -- moving critical bits of the OS to on-board ROMs; applying government pressure when necessary to prevent the manufacture of early Mac clones which used reverse-engineered ROMs; later destroying the legitimate Mac clone market -- are eerily similar, albeit technically inferior, to the things they're doing today to prevent people from running OS X on unauthorized hardware and unapproved apps on Apple devices. Apple already contends that OS X can't legally run on generic PC hardware, and has already taken x86 Mac cloners to court over this and won, so they know they've got the law on their side when it comes to control of their OS, where it can run, and what can run it. The next logical step is to take control of what can run on it. With the recent OS X "virus" scare, the issue has become all the more urgent, as the public's perception of its security has been damaged and a signed-app "solution" seems like the easiest way to restore confidence in it. As far as requiring signed code goes, though, their other devices already all require it, so I'm assuming, based on their moves so far, that it isn't far off on the laptop/desktop end. That it's an option (on by default) in 10.8 makes me think that, one day, the option to run unsigned code in OS X will disappear entirely.
mbylstra 15y ago
Regardless of whether you use OSX or not, when you buy a Mac you're still paying a great deal for OSX. It suprises me that Linus is prepared to fund OSX. I mean the guy is a genius and I'm sure he has good reasons, but my tiny brain does not comprehend it.
- crander 15y ago
  The hardware is that much better. 2x the cost but you don't have to carry a damn crap-top around that weighs 4 or more pounds and blows a fan when you move a window.
- Turing_Machine 15y ago
  "You're still paying a great deal for OSX" OS X Lion costs $29. Windows 7 costs $119-219, depending on which edition you get. While it's possible to buy a machine without Windows, the selection tends to be quite limited, particularly for notebooks. Assembling your own from parts is an option for desktop machines, but again not really for notebooks.
- easp 15y ago
  No, you really aren't paying a great deal for OS X. If you are buying a Mac because you like the hardware quality, then you should compare it to Windows machines of similar quality. If you were to do so, you would see that the Mac laptops are competitively priced. Even if there was a few hundred dollar premium, keep it in perspective. How smart is it to be fretting over a few hundred bucks with respect to a tool that you will likely use for a year or two, for a significant % of your waking hours, and upon which you depend for your most of your income?

gte910h 15y ago

There is a slider. Signed OR Appstore apps are installable by default. Signing is free and takes about 2 hours, tops, to setup. There aren't restrictions on what signed apps can do.