Apple's apps bypass firewalls like LittleSnitch and LuLu on macOS Big Sur

Apple seems to do all kinds of weird networking _stuff_. For instance, during wakeup, your T2 equipped Macbook will wait for a DNS response and then use said DNS response to synchronize time via NTP before letting the user use the keyboard. Probably checking timestamps on signatures for the keyboard firmware, or something stupid like that. This only happens if it happens to have a default route.

Similarly, all macOS machines will test a DHCP supplied default route before applying it by trying to reach something on the internet. So if you happen to have some firewall rules that block internet access, no default route will be applied until the internet check times out.

I won't share the other sentiments about the above, but is it really that hard to document these behaviors?

> but is it really that hard to document these behaviors?

I imagine it is, given the bureaucracy of a big company. Apple's documentation has long been really dreadful, mostly nonexistent and where it does exist, usually incomplete and even wrong. I've assumed it was because the code itself is developed by isolated groups while the documentation presumably has to touch all sorts of people (publishing, translation, language checks, ...) in a kind of Conway's law.

However, hard or not, writing comprehensive documentation is quite doable. I have never been a fan of the Windows programming model but I have long admired not just MS's documentation but the amount of effort and commitment they obviously put in.

Apple cares about some things but in this regard it appears they simply don't give a shit.

> Apple's documentation has long been really dreadful, mostly nonexistent and where it does exist, usually incomplete and even wrong.

Anyone want to tell him about Microsoft's Azure or .NET documentation?...

It's the same all over.