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macOS unable to open any non-Apple application

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2603 points mattsolle | 8 comments | 12 Nov 20 21:00 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
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heavyset_go ◴[12 Nov 20 21:44 UTC] No.25075498[source]▶
Again, it turns out that Stallman[1] and others[2] were prescient.

[1] https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/can-you-trust.en.html

[2] https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/tcpa-faq.html

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1. pgt ◴[12 Nov 20 23:30 UTC] No.25076763[source]▶
Every year Stallman seems less crazy.
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2. sjwright ◴[13 Nov 20 00:02 UTC] No.25077040[source]▶
Only in relation to the wider world which is getting progressively more crazy.
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3. rpdillon ◴[13 Nov 20 02:08 UTC] No.25078018[source]▶
I think the intent of the statement was more:

> Every year Stallman seems more correct.

In the sense that the exact risks he was trying to mitigate are in fact materializing in mainstream computing platforms.

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4. redvenom ◴[13 Nov 20 02:11 UTC] No.25078036[source]▶
If you just read his writings on the importance of free software, he never was that "crazy" to begin with. He simply saw examples of companies locking down their hardware so that they could control it at the consumer's expense.

Exactly this is happening with Apple now. Although Apple computers were fairly hackable in the past, with users being able to install Linux or Windows, that is changing. Apple is changing the hardware _and_ software to make it more difficult to do things that Apple does not approve of.

Stallman was keenly aware of this type of behaviour, and he was also aware that companies that have the potential to use this behaviour to this advantage, will often do so.

Apple wants to be in a position where they sell computers as appliances, and Apple Silicon is their step towards doing so.

By the way, I'm typing this on a Macbook pro that is no longer supported by Apple, but running Linux. I am not sure this would be possible in the world of Apple Silicon.

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5. pgt ◴[13 Nov 20 08:44 UTC] No.25080377{3}[source]▶
Yes, but framing it like that that won't rise to the top and get people to pay attention to all the other important things he has to say.
6. heavyset_go ◴[13 Nov 20 20:08 UTC] No.25086847[source]▶
I don't think Stallman's crazy, he's just passionate about his beliefs, and people whose careers depend on not acknowledging the truth in what he has to say like to dismiss him.
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7. ◴[14 Nov 20 09:52 UTC] No.25091241[source]▶
8. higerordermap ◴[14 Nov 20 11:39 UTC] No.25091682[source]▶
He was short sighted in many parts. Eg: the definition of free software as something that can be freely redistributed.

For infrastructure parts, it makes sense to be even permissive open source. For something in applications level, it would be nice to make money from it by charging corporations using it, while still being freely available for students and hobbyists. This could have combined best of open source and commercial software.

Stallman's belief is that everything is either good or bad, and there is nothing in between. He is write about consumerization of computing devices though.