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Apple Issues Network Time Protocol Security Fix for OS X Users
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I am a bit miffed my 1970 Ford Cortina doesn't have ABS and Satnav. So short sighted of Ford back then.
Even some windows computers sold TODAY do not support all of Windows 7 features. So, what you expect from Apple is completely odd.
Thx for the links.
Was going to google this update this morning, my mac at home installed the update on its own and I was not sure what happened - I just got a notification that my computer was updated.
Again, Ubuntu does the same things. But clearly cognitive dissonance and confirmation bias are powerful things. Enjoy the switch.
That article is from 2011 when there wasn't much unity love. He can put any DE on top of Ubuntu he'd like, heck even no DE at all. He'll be fine on Ubuntu when 14.04 goes EOL he'll just use the upgrade manager and switch to the next LTS. Worst case is he clean installs once every 5 years isn't that big of a deal.
I was killing myself laughing when i Apple would physically say "Install as soon as possible"..
No where in their updates ever, weather critical, or recommended updates, part or present, have they ever said "install as soon as possible"
We are checking for software updates or did Apple not understand that ?
And more important, why should be more forced upon us more "with words" than any other critical update ?
No where in their updates ever, weather critical, or recommended updates, part or present, have they ever said "install as soon as possible"
We are checking for software updates or did Apple not understand that ?
And more important, why should be more forced upon us more "with words" than any other critical update ?
That's not quite accurate. Flappy Bird itself makes 20K per day. Other games that are "like" Flappy Bird do not make anything close to that.
That may seem like a nit, but it's key. It requires the luck or imagination to come up with a hit product that syncs with the market in order to get rich via Apps. That's a very rare occurrence. If you just have programming skills (and no morals), hacking may seem to be a more achievable way to make money.
Then you'd be wrong....
A majority of these hacks come out of places like Russia and China, where the average person finds it difficult to make a lot of money. A good security vulnerability can be sold to the highest bidder on a number of underground web sites, and sometimes their own government will buy it for future use, spying on other countries.
I'm sure that there's also a social aspect to it, with like-minded hackers forming online "gangs" of sorts, where they can earn each others' respect for well engineered hacks.
And sure, there are others who hack with specific goals, such as obtaining credit card numbers to resell.
But no, this isn't generally something a person puts a lot of effort into simply because he/she enjoys making other people miserable.
A majority of these hacks come out of places like Russia and China, where the average person finds it difficult to make a lot of money. A good security vulnerability can be sold to the highest bidder on a number of underground web sites, and sometimes their own government will buy it for future use, spying on other countries.
I'm sure that there's also a social aspect to it, with like-minded hackers forming online "gangs" of sorts, where they can earn each others' respect for well engineered hacks.
And sure, there are others who hack with specific goals, such as obtaining credit card numbers to resell.
But no, this isn't generally something a person puts a lot of effort into simply because he/she enjoys making other people miserable.
You describe the situation accurately, although your opening sentence predictably tries to put the most negative spin on it you can. Apple was absent from the Enterprise market for many years, while this was Microsoft's primary business. There is no reason for Apple to have policies that are in place to support a market in which they are not present.
These kind of updates are very very light. Updates a service (probably an exec) and possibly a library. And NTP is kind of a peripheral service, you could just disable it and update your time yourself (then, you would have to relly on your computer keeping correct time
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Microsoft has hundred of security updates a year. I wouldn't call that a positive at all. Security of MS machines is ABYSMAL. There shouldn't be so many security holes.
As for being a positive that updated XP so long... They didn't plan to support a nearly 13 year old OS from the start that's for sure. That would be like still supporting Windows 95 after Vista SP2 came out (or supporting Windows 3.0 after XP SP2 came out) ... Crazy.
They kind of had to, since their clients wouldn't move.... Right now, they are going to be stuck with Windows 7 (late 2009) until the cows come home if they don't improve Windows 10 substantially from 8.
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Its more luck and timing and well, who knows what... Than imagination or even effort. Plenty of superb games and apps sell next to zero copies; it is a shame, but hey, that's how it is.
So, requiring free upgrades to the next version of linux every few months is totally okay, but if Apple pushes free upgrades every year or so, and supports security updates for 5 years on all past releases (as opposed to just the LTS releases on Ubuntu), well that's just unacceptable. Got it!
P.S.: There is STILL not a lot of unity love, nor a lot of love for Ubuntu's version of Steve Jobs, either. Check out Ubuntu's counterpart forums sometime. There are lots of ubuntu users there who have the exact same mindset as the Snow Leopard curmudgeons here. If you're not happy with the way things are run here, I'm pretty sure the sheen of ubuntu is gonna wear off fairly soon once you get into it, because you'll run into much of the same.
But again, everyone always thinks the grass is greener on the other side.
Note: I'm not bashing Ubuntu... I use it myself, and prefer it to any other Linux distro, and even Windows. But to say it's better than how things are done on OS X is taking things a little far.
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I agree that the comments to which you responded are arrogant (at best). Having said that, I do believe there is a point here that needs to be considered. Microsoft does not support XP and Vista is on its way out of support. That basically leaves Windows 7 and 8 as their supported OSs. Apple is actively supporting 3 generations of its OS and 6 or 7 generations of its hardware. Based on this I do not believe that Apple is lying or doing anything worse that MS.
Finally, the fix is in the Unix code underneath of the Apple custimization. The unix code and the fix is available on the internet. I would assume that anyone that is on old unsupported OSs will also have some level of technical ability and can install the fix on their own.
I don't equate Snow Leopard with DOS. There is at least a decade difference.
I have stuck with 10.6 because it is the last OS to support PowerPC programs.
The last time I purchased a new Mac for $1,200, I ended up having to purchase updates to Adobe and FCP that cost me more than the iMac. Currently I have Adobe CS4.
I am a retired professional. I help local non-profits with their websites and marketing. If I have to update my Adobe Suite because it is incompatible with the Mac, I will have to stop supporting these non-profits.
From the reviews I have read, the Mac OS software improvements will mean little or nothing other than eye-candy and slowing down my hardware. Give me a good reason to upgrade, make the gain more than he pain, and I will change.
First of all, I'd say that you'll most likely be fine running the latest OS that supports your computer or your applications, whichever pose a limitation on what you can run. Just make sure your firewall is on, be aware of what you click on when browsing the Internet, and make regular backups.
That said, I object to your claim of artificially limiting support for older hardware. What they did, is that they didn't assign resources to develop and test a new set of drivers (and possibly firmware) for hardware that doesn't natively (or at least not easily) support being used by a 64-bit operating system.
YES: That was really my point. It's the lack or morals that bugs me. I can't imagine bilking some senior citizen out of their life savings so I can drive a nice car.
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Close your mouth. You're letting the flies out.
I actually had that turned off on the home computer. :/ The work machine has it on per company policy to retrieve automatic updates.
Wow, that is a bit harsh. Too much caffeine?
The fact that I am here in the forums and asking questions indicates that my fingers are not in my ears. What gave you the impression that is what I am doing that?
I am stuck with Snow Leopard because I cannot afford to upgrades the many programs that I run. Wish I could.
At no point did Apple contact me and say, "guess what, you are now exposed to these real attack threats and we are not going to support you". It is only because I noticed this news article that I came here and read up. I do not know what obligation Apple has to notify their customers, but I get snail mail from car companies when there is a recall. I would think Apple could manage an email.
If compiling these changes was so doable and important, then I would think someone in the industry, more knowledgeable than myself has already done it and could make it available. Or better yet, Apple could do it.
I personally know of many users of Apple's fine hardware who have never upgraded from 10.6.
BTW, I have also not upgraded my iPad2 to the latest OS because I understand from posts that it turns that quite functional model into a door stop.