#338  22nd November 2024

Once again, the only way forward is the Mac

If Apple’s locked-down approach in the App Store era is our future, it’s a bleak one indeed. But there’s good news: Apple has also built a system that provides security, flexibility, and responsibility while letting device owners run the software they want to run.

It’s called the Mac. When we consider the future of computing devices, the Mac is the model we should aspire to, not the iPhone.

Bluesky and enshittification

Cory Doctorow on Pluralistic:

I would like to use Bluesky. They've done a bunch of seriously interesting technical work on moderation and ranking that I truly admire, and I've got lots of friends there who really enjoy it.

But I'm not on Bluesky and I don't have any plans to join it anytime soon.

Also,

• Tim Bray: Why not Bluesky
• Gavin Anderegg: Maybe Bluesky has won

As mentioned last week, I have an account on Bluesky. I also created a starter pack with a list of interesting accounts for MacAdmins. Right now Bluesky certainly looks exciting and attractive. They are creating some really interesting features.

I am certainly enjoying the platform right now. Like Cory Doctorow, I really want to like Bluesky. But I am also very skeptical that it can last. It easy to claim they will hold up the user experience above all else right now, when the venture capital is flowing and the users are excited. But we don't know their business model yet. I don't believe anyone knows how Bluesky is planning to make a profit, some years down the road when the VC agencies want to see the return on their investments.

For now, I have decided to enjoy the ride until then. I generally am not too active on any social media platform, and prefer to mainly post on this newsletter or my weblog, and cross-post to multiple platforms.

Currently you can find me on LinkedIn, Mastodon.social, and Bluesky. (I also have a 'follow pack' for Mastodon/the Fediverse here.)

One of the many ways modern operating systems help you

saw that it was capped at 80% and there was a message that indicated that the computer knew I basically never used it on battery power.

Declarative Device Management

For Mac Admins navigating the future of device management, understanding declarative device management (DDM) and Apple’s evolving approach is critical.

Apple: Let us be Polymacous

stop creating a situation that undoubtedly pushes people to log in to work Macs with their personal iCloud accounts.