True, but there is a widespread misbelief because of the misquoted Craig Federighi that only macOS would be allowed.
Craig was saying that they wouldn't "support" booting other operating systems and wanted people to use VMs, but this was widely misunderstood as him saying that Apple would actively not support instead of passively not supporting other OSs.
I mean, if Apple doesn't release any drivers for its hardwares, then it is effectively true - you won't be able to run anything other than macOS on it and will have to depend on VMs for other OSes. Let's not forget that Apple moved to ARM Macs not only for increased profit but also to exert even more control over Mac desktops and turn them into ios like spying client terminals where you can't run anything on it not approved by Apple or without their knowledge.
> Let's not forget that Apple moved to ARM Macs not only for increased profit but also to exert even more control over Mac
This is conspiracy theory at this point. The benchmarks showing the performance and battery-life improvements are a logical explanation to why they moved to their ARM chips.
No, it isn't, but I am sure Apple would like all of us to think so. The new macOS already cripples firewalls to ensure that Apple can spy on you better and retain even more control over your device. Lack of drivers for Apple hardware means that you can only run their OS on it. The frog is being boiled ever so slowly, while also being given Kool-aid to make them think everything's fine. /s
Doing those things doesn't require moving to a new architecture. They can do those things perfectly fine on the current Intel systems. So your point is pure conspiracy theory.
> Doing those things doesn't require moving to a new architecture.
It clearly indicates the direction they are moving towards - you need to change both the software and the hadware to create a closed system like ios. The example I cited about crippling the firewall is the changes made to the software towards this goal. The move to ARM processors is the hardware change to this same goal.
You can change the hardware without changing the cpu. Apple added the T2 chip to Macs that locks down the system just as much as the M1 chip, without removing x86.
Yes, but the misunderstanding was that an option like "Permissive Security" wouldn't exist - that you would have no possibility of anything but MacOS. It does exist, but Apple's just not going to help you with that.
Also, to unlock your Mac:
1. `csrutil disable` to disable SIP
2. `sudo spctl --master-disable` to disable Gatekeeper and allow apps from anywhere
And finally, the whole thing about MacOS Spying on every app you opened and bypassing VPNs - turns out, both stories had some fake news to them. It was actually the developer certificate (not the actual app), and Apple has announced they are building a new protocol with more failsafes to prevent a repeat of the previous incidents. As for the "bypassing VPNs," that's actually not true at all. System-wide VPNs still do work in Big Sur, it's just that the API that Little Snitch used for app-specific traffic redirects doesn't work on system apps (although system apps still respect system-wide VPN settings).
Would LittleSnitch now not technically be able to continue using the kernel extensions it relied upon?
> To allow installation of software that uses kernel extensions, select the “Allow user management of kernel extensions from identified developers” checkbox.
It is spying, even if there is exaggeration and minimising of the facts from both sides. The new macOS cripples all application firewalls to ensure that no Apple service can be prevented from spying on you, even if you don't want to.
> Let's not forget that Apple moved to ARM Macs not only for increased profit...
Apple's profit margins have been pretty consistent for the past 20 years. That isn't going to change now. Though it's likely looking at the performance numbers Apple will make more profit due to increased sales.
> but also to exert even more control over Mac desktops
Well yes, but "more control" in this case means they can do take the CPU in a direction which suits them. Things like moving RAM, neural engine, and Secure Enclave into the main SOC.
> and turn them into ios like spying client terminals where you can't run anything on it not approved by Apple or without their knowledge.
Knowing the future is hard. Knowing how Apple has behaved in the past and how they are behaving currently and extrapolating is much easier. All indications are that apple is doing this to re-lockdown their market.
> All indications are that apple is doing this to re-lockdown their market.
Apple releases are like a Rorschach check for developers. People see what they want to see in them. If you don't like/ don't trust Apple, every announcement is them creeping ever towards locking down everything. I've been hearing this for the past 6+ years.
But here with the M1, they have the perfect opportunity to lock down the system. But they've left the opportunity for people to build and install whatever they want.
They've even said explicitly that if Microsoft wanted to build Windows for the Mac they wanted to.
We can still access a full shell, install home-brew and they've demoed Linux & Docker running on the M1.
We can still install software from outside the App Store.
It's still nice to see a thorough official writeup, and it will be interesting to see what the hobbyist hacker community comes up with.