Apple has been under a mountain of scrutiny lately from legislators, developers, judges, and users. Amidst all that, CEO Tim Cook sat with publication Brut. to discuss Apple's strategy and policies. The short [29m58s] but wide-ranging interview offered some insight into where Apple plans to go in the future.
As is so common when Tim Cook speaks publicly, privacy was a major focus. His response to a question about its importance was the same one we've heard from him many times, "We see it as a basic human right, a fundamental human right," noting that Apple has been focused on privacy for a long time.
[...] But beyond regulations strictly centered on privacy, he wasn't as effusive. "As I look at the tech regulations that's being discussed, I think there are good parts of it and then I think there are parts of it that are not in the best interests of the user," he said.
As an example of the latter, he said that "the current DMA[*] language that is being discussed would force sideloading on the iPhone." He added:
[*] DMA: Digital Markets Act on Wikipedia.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @11:07PM (34 children)
I know what he's saying is going to ruffle a few feathers around here, but to his credit at least some of the data corroborates what he's saying. Part of the reason its commonly believed Android has had a significant amount of trouble with malware/botnets is malware infested side-loaded apps. (https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/07/be-careful-about-sideloading-popular-android-apps-unless-you-like-malware/)
There is merit to the walled-garden approach, but it is a trade-off that not all are interested in making.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Freeman on Thursday June 17 2021, @11:24PM (26 children)
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/11/30/salary/ [quoteinvestigator.com]
Sideloading an app may be risky, but it should be the user's choice. Not Apple's. Make the default to not sideload apps, unless the user toggles a setting and even slap a "Do no mess in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup." kind of warning on it.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 1, Interesting) by fustakrakich on Thursday June 17 2021, @11:30PM (19 children)
If the user's choice only affected his own phone, that would be fine, but whatever he sideloads could poison an entire network. If I were Apple, I wouldn't want that liability awaiting me in some courtroom.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 4, Informative) by helel on Thursday June 17 2021, @11:41PM (1 child)
How is side loading a program going to "poison an entire network"? If we're talking about some kind of malware that can self-install on other's phones then it can already infect iPhones without side loading being officially supported and if it's can't then it's only risking the initial users security.
(Score: 1) by shrewdsheep on Friday June 18 2021, @07:08AM
For example, the app could sniff the network, it could probe non-Mac systems, or could perform illegal network accesses to outside the network, thereby flagging the network as being malicious. That being said, I do not see any liability on the part of Apple under the current legal scenario.
(Score: 2, Disagree) by Tork on Friday June 18 2021, @12:02AM
This is a reasonable point. there's nothing wrong or 'troll' about what he wrote. Fandroids need to grow a thicker skin.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @12:03AM (7 children)
(Score: 2, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Friday June 18 2021, @12:10AM (6 children)
:-) Apple is only selling a walled garden. You don't have to buy an iPhone
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Friday June 18 2021, @12:42AM (3 children)
And just a reminder, you don't have to buy or use a cell/smart phone at all!
(Score: 2, Insightful) by HiThere on Friday June 18 2021, @01:49PM
Sorry, but that's not generally true. YOU may not need to use a smart phone, but some jobs require it...and require that you supply the phone.
I suppose one could say "Well, just get another job.", but that's often a lot easier to say than to do.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2, Disagree) by DannyB on Friday June 18 2021, @04:05PM (1 child)
You also don't need:
* electricity, and everything it enables
* indoor plumbing
* internet
* television
* automobiles
However you will find yourself very isolated from most ordinary people in the world.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Sunday June 20 2021, @12:56PM
As I discovered a few years ago when I had to stop driving for a few months because of a back injury that made it difficult to push the brake pedal.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @03:29AM (1 child)
You criticize iPhone owners for their walled garden - and yet now you criticize anyone attacking that same walled garden. Fusty, you're getting lame in your attempts to sow fud because everyone knows that's what you enjoy doing. Same as you continue to do on the green site. Then again, it's pretty much all you have to do all day. Sad.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday June 18 2021, @04:04AM
:-) Once again you got it wrong. I do not criticize iPhone owners for preferring Apple's walled garden. It's a perfectly cromulent choice. I criticize any legislation that would poke holes in Apple's "great firewall".
I do criticize Apple's (and Amazon's and anybody else's) ability to manipulate book prices and other market items outside their purview. So far the courts have put a stop to that, as far as we can tell
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 3, Touché) by maxwell demon on Friday June 18 2021, @07:36AM (2 children)
Would you also support a regulation that all online shopping of physical goods can only go through amazon? Because, you know, on shady web shops you may get dangerous goods. And yes, some of that may also be dangerous to others than the buyer.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2, Informative) by fustakrakich on Friday June 18 2021, @03:31PM
I don't understand the question, "regulation" from whom? if you shop through a Kindle device, you should expect it to steer you to Amazon. If you want more choice you may have to use a different, more open brand. That does not preclude the legitimacy of a walled garden for those that want it. It presents the convenience of one stop lawsuits where you only have to sue one vendor and not have to chase after any third parties.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @04:14PM
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Friday June 18 2021, @08:18AM
I don't believe that allowing user to install bad software can be considered a liability, were that software to cause harm to user or user's workplace. Every OS except Apple allows this.
(Score: 2) by stormreaver on Friday June 18 2021, @08:30PM (3 children)
If Apple has to approve all the programs that can be installed on the iPhone, on the basis of security, then a rather strong argument can be made that Apple is warrantying the safety of all programs installed on the iPhone (disclaimers to the contrary should be unenforceable). When malware causes someone to lose money, Apple should be responsible for reimbursing the user for the loss.
If Apple were to leave the installation decision up to the user, then a rather strong argument can be made that Apple disclaims all responsibility for malware.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday June 18 2021, @10:28PM (2 children)
That is what I assume the "walled garden" to be about. We hold Apple responsible for everything that happens, sounds pretty convenient to me.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 21 2021, @05:34PM (1 child)
Huh. And you're still arguing with a straight face, then? Do you have any clue how many scams [theverge.com] and deceptions [forbes.com] are infesting [washingtonpost.com] the Apple app store?
In any just world, Apple's walled garden should not only be shut down for abuse of power and negligent management, but the management should be in jail for taking a significant cut of scam profits, effectively running an international racketeering enterprise.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday June 21 2021, @05:42PM
Then they should be sued for for it. Point your lawyers at Apple every time. If they want limited liability, then sure, they have to open up.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @11:34PM
The Jew and his company are both in the pockets of China now. China is colluding with Jewish trannies, and Jewish trannies all love using Apple hardware. Jewish trannies are also in charge of Linux now. So the pertinent question of, "why do you all care anyway, big tech and their gadgets are all AIDS nowadays" hangs in the air like never before.
Who would pay a premium for a product made in China, anyway?
(Score: 2) by Beryllium Sphere (r) on Friday June 18 2021, @12:02AM (3 children)
who should get to decide what's in my best interests?
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @12:18AM
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @03:44AM (1 child)
There was a time when "What's good for GM is good for America." We saw how that worked out in the long term.
Monopolists always use lies such as "the market has decided" to justify anticompetitive behaviour. But a rigged market CAN'T decide. In a true free market, people will install what they want from wherever they want, and the folks building and selling apps will see their reputation rise or fall based on such metrics as privacy, security, etc. Apple fighting this says they don't think their clients can't be trusted being able to make choices on their own (except, of course, the choice to use Apple). Given that the majority of iPhone users are women, this is seriously paternalistic sexist bullshit.
Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc., are all pulling the same crap. They're begging to be broken up. And they're too stupid or arrogant to think it can't happen to them, because "this time it's different."
Same as another monopolist, Microsoft, lost their monopoly on consumer computing to smartphones, which are not the #1 consumer computer platform.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by HiThere on Friday June 18 2021, @02:00PM
Your "true free market" doesn't exist for any commodity, and never has. There are always things like restrictions on imports or exports, taxes, regulations defining merchantability, and malicious gossip (often promoted by someone for their own benefit).
Does lying about what you're selling constitute fair trade? Small businesses do that even more freely than large businesses.
*ALL* markets are rigged in one way or another. You probably can't even define a condition where a non-rigged market could exist. (That said "the market has decided" is a lousy argument in all times and places. It always depends in environmental features. Are Twinkies better than carrots?)
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 3, Touché) by SpockLogic on Friday June 18 2021, @10:26PM
There, fixed it for you Tim.
Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
(Score: 2, Offtopic) by Runaway1956 on Thursday June 17 2021, @11:31PM (2 children)
Why sideload your malware, when the official app stores are full of officially approved malware?
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/android-apps-malware/ [dailydot.com]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @11:40PM
The best part is their public PR. When those people all got shot up in the Inland Empire, Apple told everybody "we don't give up private info!" Then Moshe from Israel "sold the feds" the "exploit" to access the iPhone 2 weeks later.
Now, a new scandal is emerging: Apple are rumored to have worked with Donald Trump against Jewish pedophile Liddle Adam Schitt and some other no-name. Apple denies they knew what was going on. That level of Pilpul is typical for a Jew-run company. But thankfully in the latter case, they or their buddies aren't really trying anymore to obscure their "Olde Tyme San Francisco Respect for Rights and Freedom."
(Score: 2) by Tork on Friday June 18 2021, @12:10AM
Kidding aside, this happens because there aren't official app stores in some regions, leaving folks to find stuff on their own. Apple's an asshole about it so those markets aren't catered to so you really can't get an iPhone infected that way, but in the Android world people are getting to do stuff on their phones but there's also a botnet problem because there's nothing stopping a bad actor from acting bad.
Oh and I'm not saying one side's better than the other ... I shouldn't have to clarify this but since there's a jerk in this thread that thinks "Troll" is a downvote I have to be extra diplomatic when discussing the downsides of various smart phone operating systems.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @11:55PM (2 children)
So if it's such a problem when are they going to lock down their laptops and desktops so they can only use the app store?
It's my device, I should be able to do what I want with it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 19 2021, @04:15PM (1 child)
They really really want to. Problem is, that genie is out of the bottle so now they are trying it on with mobile devices.
The day I can locally buy an android style phone with linux is the day I leave this sewer of an ecosystem. This phone can run iptables, but I can't edit the config? How does that make sense?
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Sunday June 20 2021, @01:03PM
The first versions of Macs *were* locked down. You couldn't even get a compiler to write software on them. Unless you paid vastly more money for an Apple Lisa, which could cross-compile to a mac.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @04:33PM
HumbleBundle made a fortune from selling drm free apk installed apps.
Google Play is infested with bad apps.
Did we learn anything?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @11:48PM
P E N I S
E
N
I
S
Anyway you look at it, it's always penis!
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @11:52PM
How about another joke, Murray?
YOU GET WHAT YOU FUCKING DESERVE!
How about another joke, Murray?
YOU GET WHAT YOU FUCKING DESERVE!
How about another joke, Murray?
YOU GET WHAT YOU FUCKING DESERVE!
How about another joke, Murray?
YOU GET WHAT YOU FUCKING DESERVE!
(Score: 2) by ealbers on Friday June 18 2021, @02:46AM (2 children)
Tim Cook knows hes lying, we all know hes lying
Apple is NOT fooling ANYONE.
They are the reason capitalism gets a bad name and revolutions happen.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Captival on Friday June 18 2021, @03:38AM (1 child)
No, he's 100% telling the truth. On average, their users are probably better off not being able to sideload, factoring in tech support costs, malware, and identity theft. I don't like his philosophy of "some people are stupid, so you smart users get handcuffed", but that's why I don't buy his phone. The much greater concern is governments that operate the same way.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @03:51AM
(Score: 5, Interesting) by PiMuNu on Friday June 18 2021, @09:41AM (5 children)
They call it "sideloading" and I had to look up what they meant. It used to be called "installing software", but nowadays it is something sinister and evil!
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday June 18 2021, @04:11PM (4 children)
Yes. That.
It is my hardware. I own it. If I want to sideload an app that I happen to trust, or even that I wrote myself, I should be able to do that.
On Android, I can use any of Linux, Windows, Mac OS to develop, using a choice of development tools, including open source tools that cost me nothing. I can install my own app on to my own device -- without asking anyone's permission.
Apple (last I knew) only supports development on Mac, using their own tools, which cost money. To install development versions of your own app on your own phone, you have to jump through hoops with Apple.
I don't think it is too much that I should be able to install my own app on my own device without having to get someone's permission, or put my app in their store -- even as a free app.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @08:11PM (1 child)
He who controls a thing, owns that thing. You do not control your phone, you do not own it. The OS vendor and manufacturer set the rules by which you can use their hardware. Most Android phones now permit you to load apks but you still do not own the phone. The bootloader is locked. They may or may not allow you to jump through hoops and unlock it. That is something they retain the right to revoke at any time. Ask a PlayStation 3 owner who used the advertised ability to boot Linux how that works.
If you don't have the keys to the system you don't own it. Btw, all current Intel and AMD processors are similarly locked with keys only known by Intel or AMD, meaning you do not own those either. The dark day of locked computers crept right up on everyone while nobody was paying sufficient attention. All we await now is the other shoe to drop, only booting signed operating systems, only OSX or Windows being signed with the correct key and all applications needing to be signed as well. Only licensed developers, with degrees of course, will be permitted to own "developer workstations" with the ability to run unsigned code or a development environment. They will of course be carefully audited to ensure nothing unauthorized is done with one. See every game console for how this works. This will be done to rein in "hackers", "malware" and "ransomware" of course, along with protecting the children, of course they will work in an appeal to that so as to make it impossible for any elected official to resist.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Sunday June 20 2021, @01:08PM
Only bit of hope I see is the libre-soc [libre-soc.org] project, aiming to develop a free/libre open-source chip design. Several companies are interested in this potential product.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @09:51PM
The FCC says you are not allowed to control your hardware. Choose your government or your freedom.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 19 2021, @04:10PM
Good luck. These days it is hard to get your own browser plugin to work ... both Chrome and Firefox go out of their way to prevent it, or just make it difficult. Last time I used Brave/Chrome it would randomly disable plugins "for security reasons" and force them to be reinstalled. Why? Because it thinks the local version has changed. Ffs. If something can modify your extension files on the disk you are already screwed. Disabling adblock plus and blowing away your custom rules is not helping. I had to stop using Brave.
Now I find myself annoyed at where Android.phones are.. and I see this bs... and all I can think is that at least on an android phone I can install from an apk. Atm anyway.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Rich on Friday June 18 2021, @09:58AM (2 children)
For some reason, it seems to be a necessity to allow those dumbasses who would install spambots on their devices to elect the governments which rule us. I guess there's a price to be paid for freedom, and I would include being able to fully own one's device in that. That's not to say that the other side is wrong, and an - ahem - "curated" approach to elections (hello China...) might work out more efficient in the long term.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @03:46PM
(hello Republicans...)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @08:15PM
Democracy is the problem. America was founded by men who knew the danger and were assured by the men who wrote the Constitution that it possessed sufficient safeguards to prevent the Republic it defined from degenerating into a Democracy. Obviously it failed.
The first revolution's battle cry was "No Taxation without Representation." The next needs to raise "No Representation without Taxation" as a banner. As a first step. But realistically we have to totally collapse first, history records to peaceful removal of the franchise once granted and we gave it out to way too many people to ever hope we will have sane governance again.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @01:43PM
there seems to be a problem with ...hmmm.. call it "ownership" or "property"?. not sure.
anyways we assume that in a huge factory, identical spot-on apple hardware is manufactured.
what makes one device different from another is thus only in software albeit maybe a rom.
so making a program and then trying to run it on your device seems to work but the hardware manufacture made it so that it cannot run on hardware identical other device ... unless they approve it? seems fishy to me.