macOS Containers Initiative is interesting right up until this point...
"Disable System Integrity Protection."
Nope, not gonna.
https://macoscontainers.org/
"Hey, it'd be really good if I could play this game with [person]."
"Yeah, you've got a PC and they've got a PlayStation. Not happening."
Standards and data portability: keep dreaming.
"We'll be able to write what we want in English and AI will turn it into a working app!"
Ooh, heard this one before!
AppleScript demonstrates that if you make a programming language with an English-like syntax, it leads to such clarity, precision and developer productivity that when Apple added JavaScript as an alternative, nobody really saw any benefit.
The "CEO asks the LLM genie for a fully written app but a misplaced adjective leads to a huge security exploit" era will be just great.
“What’s the worse that could happen?” is a conversation every software professional should be having with business leaders frequently. If they wanna do something risky as fuck, leave a paper trail and CC in legal.
The only reason there aren’t 10x the number of these shitshows is because of technical folk being super paranoid and pushing against a managerial structure who either don’t know or don’t care about the risks and consequences.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/genetics-firm-23andme-says-user-data-stolen-in-credential-stuffing-attack/
A doctor’s first duty is to the patient. They owe duties to others too (employers, the public interest, regulators, wider public health etc.) but the patient must be the first priority. Public servants have to abide by the Nolan Principles.
How about the radical suggestion that “keeping users (and the wider public) safe from harm MUST take priority over satisfying our employers/clients”? Professional self-respect and trust starts with some substantive ethical commitment.
Reading posts by programmers trying to get their first job and discussing “resume projects”. I feel very lucky to have avoided that. Not judging, mind: you gotta do what you need to do to survive, but the hoops we make juniors jump through to get work looks really shit.
It’s profoundly sad that Zoom is synonymous with video conferencing software. It is expensive, inconvenient and incredibly shit in so many ways.
About the only good thing I can say: it’s better than Teams.
Seriously, instead of simple tools where you can just send people a web link and it just uses WebRTC and works, we have these Byzantine enterprise monstrosities that have seven layers of audited SSO guff for full ISO checkbox compliance theatre.
https://hackers.town/@lmorchard/111177641380748998
"To get the project delivered in time and on budget, we made some compromises, but we've documented the compromises and had reassurances that processes will be in place to ensure safety and maintenance during the project's lifecycle" is the Chekhov's gun of engineering.
Reality: the business/political leaders won't read (let alone understand) the documents setting out the problems but they'll wear a nice tie during a solemn TV interview where they say nobody could have foreseen any problems.
@29d67b21 Look forward to reading the opinion but the reasoning in the press release is interesting.
"GDPR does not apply to
the factual circumstances [...because] anti-doping rules primarily regulate sport as sport. They are concerned with sport’s social and educational functions, rather than its economic aspects."
The alternative reason given after seems fine, but this seems weak and ad-hoc. Anti-doping rules can serve economic purposes, e.g. preserving public trust, thus commercial sponsorship.
Notes by Tom Morris | export