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Gurman: Face ID on the Mac Coming Within a 'Couple of Years'
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Nobody is looking at you through your webcam.
Even if it was super-easy to activate a webcam remotely... you're simply not that interesting.
There are a BILLION other people with webcams too. They're not special either.
This post is made in jest. You do whatever makes you happy.
FaceID is a terrible idea for devices like the iMac. Consider this. Apple uses TouchID to fast-switch users that want to use the Mac. This works great. But how would that work with FaceID? Let's say you want to show something cool to your sibling, and invite them close to the computer, but instead of seeing what you want to show them, you are quickly logged out and switched to their account because FaceID recognizes their face?
Even if we leave the mask discussion aside, I still don't understand the obsession with FaceID. Is it too hard to put a finger on a button? Or not easy enough compared to entering a password, that we have to invest in taking it to the next level?
Even if we leave the mask discussion aside, I still don't understand the obsession with FaceID. Is it too hard to put a finger on a button? Or not easy enough compared to entering a password, that we have to invest in taking it to the next level?
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Just to be clear, people have been saying this since the iPhone App Store launched in 2008. Rumors that Apple will force the use of the Mac App Store have far outlasted rumors they would be making a television
So every day you give work the middle finger multiple times?
Oh honey no, this will never happen. The Mac is the developer platform of choice for a reason.
There is no such thing as 2-factor biometric authentication. The factors have to be different categories - knowledge, possession, and biometrics.
Each category has have different strengths and weaknesses, but you don't overcome the weakness by 'doubling up' in a category.
The device itself is leveraged as the possession biometric in many modern scenarios, while in the past it was something like a key fob/yubikey. Thats why iPhone progresses from 2 factor on reboot (PIN knowledge and phone access) to a faster 2 factor (phone access and biometrics check).
It seems like an obvious thing to do but John Gruber outlined a major issue with FaceID on the Mac in a recent Talkshow episode:
Apple uses FaceID on the iPhone not just to unlock the phone and apps but to authorise payments as well. In order for this to be secure there needs to be a physical confirmation that cannot be 'simulated' or faked by malicious software. As an example: An app might bring up an in-app payment dialogue, confirm that your face is looking at the screen and just press the 'pay' button in the UI for you within milliseconds. Apple uses the double press of the side button on iPhones and iPads to prevent this but the Mac would arguably be an even easier target for FaceID abuse since it's a much less locked down system.
This seems to imply that there needs to be some form of hardware confirmation and if you're gonna use a button anyway, why not make *it* the thing that does the authentication. Apple might still decide to use a similar approach to the iPhone where logging in and passwords don't require a button but payments do. Overall TouchID seems like a great fit for the Mac, though.
Oh do they? Fair then. I will just sit back and chew bubble gum.Just to be clear, people have been saying this since the iPhone App Store launched in 2008. Rumors that Apple will force the use of the Mac App Store have far outlasted rumors they would be making a television
No it hasn‘t. At all.
Won‘t happen. Why do you continue claiming this?
you called the act of installing software on your computer outside of the Mac App Store "sideloading".
you are definitely one of the "phone people". 😀
What does this have to do with a phone? According to a dictionary I referred to, sideloading is “installing a software obtained from a third-party source rather than an official retailer”.
My iMac G3 from 2001 had voice ID to log me in. It was ahead of its time. Probably not secure but it was still cool.
I mean, it’s basic security and it’s the best kind—the sort that can’t be broken through 🤷♂️ It wouldn’t be impossible to have something running algorithms that look for specific things—i.e. not actively watching people on their computers. We’re talking about a camera and scanner sophisticated enough to recognize your face. It seems it would be a great piece of hardware to use for something like… just off the top of my head, have it scanning passively in the background and start recording when a pair of naked breasts enters the room. Or a kid in their underwear.Nobody is looking at you through your webcam.
Even if it was super-easy to activate a webcam remotely... you're simply not that interesting.
There are a BILLION other people with webcams too. They're not special either.
This post is made in jest. You do whatever makes you happy.
In any case, this sort of spying on individuals or corporate entities isn’t exactly unheard of.
He made an argument for not having a walled garden (programs that wont work anymore). He threw in 'sheep' as a little dig to those people who dont get it.
So the 'name calling' wasnt his "argument", rather a nice little punctuation on the good argument he did make.
