This is where I type words about big calculators and digital harm-reduction.

Banality of Evil.

hardware

Published on 16 Nov 2020

Hey, what’s going on?

15 Years ago Apple moved away from the PowerPC chips they had used since 1994 and joined the rest of the computational world under the x86 umbrella. In 2020, Apple is changing CPU types again, this time from x86 to ARM based CPUs.

To summarize the difference between x86 and ARM architecture: x86 is a Cross Country runner, built for sustained torture tests. ARM CPUs are Sprinters that thrive under short bursty workloads.

Apple is teasing some impressive numbers. Most users in the Apple Ecosystem will only benefit from this change.

However…

Even if the performance gains are true – A change this big will have ramifications that will be felt for quite some time.

I’m suspicious of it’s performance over long durations like Code Compilation and Media Rendering.

Apple says that any side effects of this brain transplant will be remedied by none other than Apple.

If there’s one name I trust for a proven record of reliable hardware and software it’s not Apple.

Benevolent Dictatorship

The new CPU is the final piece in the puzzle for Apple’s Authoritarian Control over their Walled Garden.

They now make every single piece of the Hardware and the Software. Apple finally controls the entire flow Code Execution from toe-to-tip.

Apple Computers will always obey Apple Inc before obeying any other instruction.

In August 2018, Apple became the first US Company to be evaluated at $1 Trillion. Two years later, they were the first company to be evaluated at $2 Trillion.

A quick look back at some public controversies¹ shows absolute mallice…But why would they ever want to change?

And if that’s how Apple treats it’s ~~Serfs~~ Customers …

Big Sur…veillance

Every interaction from Apple should be treated as sleight of hand. One hand spins the tale of a Privacy Champion, the other sends user information to the NSA whole sale as part of the PRISM spying program.

In the first half of 2019 they did this over 18,000 times, and another 17,500+ times in the second half of 2019.

The dangers of Centralized Services became woefully apparent on 11-12-20 as Apple Servers became slow to respond to network traffic. Because of this, Macbooks across the globe were unable to launch 3rd party Applications.

This turned your ~$3,000 laptop into a ~$3,000 statement piece.

Turns out, Apple sends a healthy amount of telemetry back to it’s own servers. Apple claims 3rd party Apps phoning home before being given permission to launch is in the interest of User’s Security. 🔐

I’m glad Apple has been transparent about the information they’re collecting.

Apple is being so transparent, that they’re not even encrypting this telemetry. They’re sending it plain text out of your macbook, across the internet to the nearest CDN so that everyone between you and the server can see what apps you’re using by opening wireshark or tcpdump.

I speculate that Apple’s mad dash to seal the doors to their ecosystem was rapidly accelerated by the latest of their many public slap fights with another company.

The Banality of Evil

While EVERY Consumer Electronics Company has a hand in the staggering human rights violations of the People’s Republic of China; Apple is in a unique position to make meaningful changes.

But during the fight for Hong Kong, when we needed Apple the most they revealed themselves as spineless lapdogs. Tim Cook bowed to Authoritarianism by censoring Apps at the request of ~~Xi Jinping~~ Pooh Bear.

Controlling the supply chain domestically makes mid-range hardware from 2014 cost $2,000. While I’m personally very excited to dive into this exact kind of thing, it’s basically like taking food right out of Tim Cook’s mouth.

This sucks, now I’m sad.

Yeah. I’m not a lot of fun at parties. 😕

I’m just old and grumpy. This kind of stuff was never going to affect me, because I don’t use computers in a way that’s made me need Apple.

Besides, I’m a fan of Software Freedom, not Software Do-It-My-Way-or-Fuck-You.

Trying to convince someone to uproot their entire digital-self and migrate is kinda…fruitless.

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All I can do with the time I have is work hard to make things better for people I love.

Nobody said the good fight would be easy.

Vote with your money, and look out for the ones who are looking out for you.

My favorite VPN Mullvad has already issued a statement regarding steps they’ve taken to mitigate Apple’s new VPN Bypass Mechanisms.

System76 is the only Hardware Manufactorer assembling in the United States. I’m a Huge fan.

The FairPhone is a mobile device focusing on ethical and sustainable hardware.

Who Watches the Watchmen? The EFF. That’s who.

Mozilla is the last bastion against viewing the Internet through a Malware browser.

The TOR Project is the backbone of some of the most mission critical security and anonyimity software of our life time.

iFixit is supplying the tools to fight entropy, and standing up for your right to repair.

I’ll end by sharing a warm childhood memory.

Thanks for suffering through my mind-sludge while you’re stuck on the toilet or something.

When I was young, I remember my grandmother quietly smirking to herself while looking at a newspaper.

“I’ll never understand the logo for Apple Computers. The computers are called Macintosh, but their logo is a Red Delecious.”