Definitely a PITA to manage, yet clearly illustrates just how much user data Apple is grabbing without clear user consent...It's a specific-to-the-device-that-runs-Mac-OS firewall tool.
Bit of a PITA at times by virtue of its somewhat-excessive communicability, yet an extremely useful tool that allows one to monitor in&out net traffic on the device to which it is installed.
I give it a 9.3/10
Apple has always been known for protecting user data. Could they do a better job? Yes, for sure. Could they change the default search engine? Yes, sure. Do they sell user data directly, like google? No. Actually, they collect very few user data.
9to5mac.com
It's really strange how you are so over-protective when it comes to the stuff you are using, like Adguard, on the other hand you are throwing around conspiracy theories about Apple.
As said I you have to draw a line in the sand sooner or later. I dont see Apple as a bad actor, they do sell user data yet it's purged of personal info. If I wasn't OK with Apple I wouldn't own Mac's.I have almost (if not entirely) all of AAPL green-lighted. Slippery-slope ensues . . . foot trips on the hole of "am I not being paranoid enough?!?"
Similar to blocking/mitigating YT ads: in order to facilitate my usage of said resource(s), I can fine-tune the granularity of such IP-based border tools insofar that I choose to trust the source.
I'm entirely "In" with AAPL, and my participation inevitably rounds-out to completion. As with VZ (wireless) . . . Trust = Access; Distrust != Access.
These Institutions retain soft architects at-least as savvy and proficient as the ad-block houses do; and--dare I say--have the financial resources available to allow them to throw more monkeys to the typewriters <smile>
In no way can I state the AAPL had 'done no wrong', but I can sincerely say that I have not found any real reason to affirm any malice upon their part.
Apple has always been known for protecting user data. Could they do a better job? Yes, for sure. Could they change the default search engine? Yes, sure. Do they sell user data directly, like google? No. Actually, they collect very few user data.
![data-big-tech-companies-apple-9to5mac.jpg]()
"According to the study, Apple only stores the information that is necessary to maintain users’ accounts."Here's how much less data Apple collects from you than Google
Apple’s known for its push for privacy by stating this is a “fundamental human right.” Different from most Big Tech...
I mean, there is a reason why Siri is way worse than Alexa. And Apple Maps is way behind Google. They also showed time and time again that they won't share your data with authorities. So I would say you are very safe with Apple.
BUT:
If you want to be really in control of everything, go the Linux way.
True, equally takes some effort as companies are becoming ever more invasive. The tools are available to block them out and should be used by more. TBH the simplest solution is to keep systems offline unless there is a real need. My Mac media server is online for minutes once or twice a year at most as there is no need for it to be online 24/7. The W10 media server is online as it streams, equally is a dead box with zero personal info run over a strong VPN.
yes. But it is the best choice on the market after Linux. Apple has shown several times that they don't share data with authorities. They even tried to force them to unlock iPhones and they didn't. But yes, it is a matter of trust and if you want to be 100% sure there is no way around Linux.
Because Steam released SteamDeck and tons of game devs are making the jump to Linux. Native games like CS have more frames and less lag in Linux. And Proton, a tool that makes Windows games playable in Linux, does such a good job that in most games the FPS are equal or almost equal to playing them on Windows.
Yes, I read about that some months ago. But Startpage doesn't get as good results as Google, at least in German. I use ChatGPT a lot for general questions, it's way more acurate than Google but for searching simple stuff like pictures there is no way around it for me right now. I haven't looked into Brave, I have to do that.
fossbytes.com
The article clearly states that it is NOT selling data but is the only user of your data.Does Apple Sell Your Data? Everything You Need To Know
It is completely justified if you want to know how Apple uses your data, and I think we have a somewhat complicated answer to this question
Thx for that I was under the impression that anonymised data was part of the deal with Google. Still dont care for the amount of data Apple collects, equally that not going to change anytime soon.The article clearly states that it is NOT selling data but is the only user of your data.
You stated that it is selling data. And this is not true. It’s using the data to show you personalized ads and to improve their services. Which is an ok trade for me. If you want their health app, Siri etc get better they need data.
You can opt out of most data and it will warn you before you activate a function that collects data. So show me any other company in this market that does this (besides Linux?).
There is a big difference between collecting data to use it to make its own stuff better and selling the data to third parties like google.
Apple also doesn’t track you through third party apps and websites like google. Is this good? They could do better. But they don’t sell it.
By the way your blog post suggests that it does collect stuff like google.
That is also not true:
All the Data Apple Collects About You—and How to Limit It
Cupertino puts privacy first in a lot of its products. But the company still gathers a bunch of your information.www.wired.co.uk
And no, some unknown persons blog isn’t a reputable source, Wired is one.
That being said, yes: there's no definitive way for me to actively know just what happens when I snap a photo with my iPhone 12-mini, how/what is sync's to what cloud, and which individuals are able to access the details of (say) the geo-ip/comments surrounding the specifics of where/when/why I was when taking a photo of the third-stage progress of a current project (of which I was sharing with a Project Manager).
If the goverment/FBCIA/New-World-Order is that concerned with my predilection towards Dirt-Level Project Porn, should I really be concerned that they (and--by-virtue--their sub-contractors) might harvest the details of my late-night, innocent peek into the life of Taylor Swift's recent break-up?
Conscious interaction between local and remote (in my mind) mitigates most of the cruft.
Sincerely: I have a handful of Mac OS systems, a half-handful of iOS systems, a few win32 systems, and a scattering of linux/bsd/ilk sys boxes all trying to do their thing.
I have never felt more 'un-safe' in operation as that which I feel running a new linux/bsd op on new hardware . . . let me tell you about the trepidation I hold in the prospect of modding an embed bsd-like os on a generic eastern-rim ONU SFP that I intend to use to bypass a functioning ISP-provided ONU . . . the closer I get to bare-metal, the less-confident I am that I will consciously be able to maintain awareness of just what's-what
Yup; that's the gist . . . failing that assumption, the only recourse is to drop-out of society, move to the woods, and wear dead animals on our heads
Valve, the company behind Steam is one of the good players in the market. They developed SteamOS, a Linux distro for gamers. They don't want to be dependent on Microsoft as a gaming OS for years now. And they try very hard to be multi platform.
What upsets me is that Windows 11 is a skin for Windows 10 and MS wants to force users to buy Windows 11 by stopping support for Windows 10. Not only that but it build in barriers that PCs from 2015 can't install Windows 11 so they don't just want to force us to update, they want us to buy new hardware. You're right: Windows 11 IS Windows 10. With worse performance. And a MacOS skin.
Yes. But: Let's say that collecting data gives you a huge advantage over your competition. Data is so important for improving stuff. This is the reason why almost all browsers run on Chrom(e)ium nowadays. They just know what people want. While Firefox feels old.
Valve, the company behind Steam is one of the good players in the market. They developed SteamOS, a Linux distro for gamers. They don't want to be dependent on Microsoft as a gaming OS for years now. And they try very hard to be multi platform.
I mean, at the bottom line, Linux is the better OS. MS even uses Linux as OS for its Azure service and servers. This says a lot.
There are a lot of "Windows only" apps and software that already run very well on Linux. Like Adobe stuff. Regarding MS Office, there are FOSS apps that are almost 1:1 copies of MS Office and even have a really good document compatibility. (not like Pages and Word)
Like OnlyOffice.
You can watch this if you are interested:
What upsets me is that Windows 11 is a skin for Windows 10 and MS wants to force users to buy Windows 11 by stopping support for Windows 10. Not only that but it build in barriers that PCs from 2015 can't install Windows 11 so they don't just want to force us to update, they want us to buy new hardware. You're right: Windows 11 IS Windows 10. With worse performance. And a MacOS skin.
Yes. But: Let's say that collecting data gives you a huge advantage over your competition. Data is so important for improving stuff. This is the reason why almost all browsers run on Chrom(e)ium nowadays. They just know what people want. While Firefox feels old.
And this is also the reason why Bing is way ahead of Google right now. Because they don't just use GPT4, they use their search engine, GPT4 and all the user data.
Companies have to collect some data because either they do or they get way behind.
I like it how Valve does it in Steam: "Hey, we are making a survey of users hardware, do you have a minute and can we have yours? It is anonymized and helps us improve. Yes or no?" This should be the way.
1. You can hack Windows 11 on old hardware; it takes about 30 seconds, and a teenager can do it easily. We can debate if you should, but if you're that concerned about being "forced" to buy new hardware, that's not an issue.What upsets me is that Windows 11 is a skin for Windows 10 and MS wants to force users to buy Windows 11 by stopping support for Windows 10. Not only that but it build in barriers that PCs from 2015 can't install Windows 11 so they don't just want to force us to update, they want us to buy new hardware. You're right: Windows 11 IS Windows 10. With worse performance. And a MacOS skin.
It is about the philosophy, ok? I could yes. It is very easy? But why? Worse performance for the same OS with another skin? It is a ridiculous move by MS and I don't want to support this. Not with my time, not with my money.
Apple retires old hardware. Yes. Because they sell hardware. MS can't retire anything but their more than worse Surface stuff. And they are low end. You are kidding, right? I have 16 gig of RAM, I have 2 TB SSD, I have a NVIDIA 2070 Super. And I have UEFI. And secure boot. You are describing a PC that is from before 2000, not 2015. Nobody is talking about 1GB RAM machines. I had a high end gaming rig in 2015. It is still above the average Steam user. MS is going to force people with almost new hardware to upgrade or live with an outdated OS.
Yes, if you "hack" it to work with your "old" mainboard from 2015. If you want to do it the official way you have to buy new hardware which means you need to buy a new Windows license because the old one is bound to the old mainboard.
90% of Windows 11 features have been present in Windows 10 test builds. Even the new start menu was present in Windows 10 2020 and was announced for Windows 10X.
That's a meaningless comparison. By that logic, Windows NT is literally a copy of Windows 11. Be serious. Look at the release notes, look beyond just the GUI. If you're only a basic user, sure, that's all you see. But if you look beyond that, you see a lot more.
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) was first introduced in 2005 as a replacement for the traditional BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) firmware interface on computers. The first computers to use UEFI were Itanium-based systems from HP, Intel, and others. However, it wasn't until a few years later that UEFI became more widely adopted on x86-based systems, and it is now the standard firmware interface for most modern PCs.
5-7 years is the AVERAGE lifespan of a gaming PC. I suggest looking at the Steam hardware survey that clearly shows that the average user still uses 16 Gig RAM and that 1/5 of gamers still use quadcore CPUs.
Just full packaged licenses aren't fingerprinted to the motherboard.
Yes yes. Every update makes a completely new OS out of the old one. Windows 10 March 2023 is a completely different product than Windows 10 February 2023. Is is so different, lets give every month its own version number, right?
When did I say that? Please stop the strawman argument. You literally said "Windows 11 is a skin for Windows 10" and we both know that's not right.Yes yes. Every update makes a completely new OS out of the old one. Windows 10 March 2023 is a completely different product than Windows 10 February 2023. Is is so different, lets give every month its own version number, right?
By your logic, it should be Windows 112453422212 right now.