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Mac OS X Secretly Cripples Non-Apple Software

spikedLemur writes "Vladimir Vukicevic of the Firefox team stumbled upon some questionable practices from Apple while trying to improve the performance of Firefox. Apparently, Apple is using some undocumented APIs that give Safari a significant performance advantage over other browsers. Of course, "undocumented" means that non-Apple developers have to try and reverse-engineer these interfaces to get the same level of performance. You really have to wonder what Apple is thinking, considering the kind of retaliation Microsoft has gotten for similar practices.

24 of 559 comments (clear)

  1. first post! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    first post!
    i cheated though, i'm using safari.

    1. Re:first post! by FF0000+Phoenix · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's even more incriminating that all the undocumented APIs are under the "Firefox_Sux" namespace.

  2. The thinking is really quite simple: by Valacosa · · Score: 5, Funny

    You don't really have to wonder what Apple is thinking, considering the kind of marketshare Microsoft has gotten for similar practices.
    Fixed.
    --
    "Live as if you'll die tomorrow." Ridiculous. You could die later today.
  3. This would have been a First Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... but I used a non-Apple browser.

    <sigh>

  4. Round Number? by cobaltnova · · Score: 5, Funny

    We're capping at 30.77 frames per second here. That's way too round of a number.
    The author must be a mathematician.
  5. Indeed, where's the advantage? by Foerstner · · Score: 5, Funny

    In Microsoft's case, the goal of keeping "secret" APIs was pretty clear: whoever controls the Windows browser market, controls the browser market, period.

    I can just see Steve Jobs rubbing his hands and gloating to his minions..."Yes, and with Firefox handicapped, we will have five percent of the browser market all to ourselves! Ours...all ours! Muahahahaha!"

    --
    The US free market: two halves of a government-granted duopoly are free to set the market price.
  6. Re:Really? by Ctrl-Z · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you read the article...

    You lost me there.

    --
    www.timcoleman.com is a total waste of your time. Never go there.
  7. *sniffle* by Serenissima · · Score: 5, Funny

    Awwwwww... our little system is all grown up now! Who's a good system? Who's a good system?

    --
    Give a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. But light a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
  8. Re:Article is a Troll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    So when will the editors be debuting the Borg Steve icon? :D

  9. Re:Naw. by stephentyrone · · Score: 3, Funny

    I've been at a talk where the lecturer mentioned that we would, of course, recognize 10.99 as being "approximately seven-halves pi".

  10. Re:From TFA... by thephotoman · · Score: 4, Funny

    Along with several other minuses, such as "Just Plain Wrong", "Talking Out of His/Her Ass" (yes, there are women on Slashdot, and yes, there are naked pictures, too), and "Obvious Fanboy/Hater". On the other side, there really ought to be a [+5, IAWTC].

    --
    Haec merda tauri est. Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
  11. printf by andreyvul · · Score: 2, Funny

    who uses "%" instead of typing "percentage"? printf and friends, definitely printf("%d years old\n", x) vs printf("precent years old\n", x)
    --
    proud caffeine whore
  12. Re:Article is a Troll by Al_Lapalme · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's unpossible!

    --
    Al
  13. Re:From TFA... by loganrapp · · Score: 3, Funny

    I just thought people were trippin' balls on X.

  14. Re:From TFA... by unfunk · · Score: 5, Funny

    (yes, there are women on Slashdot, and yes, there are naked pictures, too),. I demand proof!
  15. Re:From TFA... by Ilgaz · · Score: 2, Funny

    ACRONYMS! THE GOGGLES, THEY DO NOTHING!
    Seriously though, your post was really hard to read. When you referred to OS X as "X", I was thinking "X Windows". Please, for the sake of everyone here and Slashdot reputation, declining or not, refrain from using such atrocious techniques. Really, who uses "%" instead of typing "percentage"? It's not that hard. Speaking about "X", Apple X11.app on Leopard has some amazing performance level, it seems it uses every single evil undocumented , secret API to make Konqueror 3.5.8 (not 4 even) draw even faster with less CPU than Safari on some cases. Until this massive scandal uncovering, I had no clue about its reasons. Now I know, Apple also hits Firefox via superfast X11 Konqueror, Opera 9.x and 9.5beta which is Qt4 application itself.

    Oh wait! It is open source ;)

  16. Re:From TFA... by david@ecsd.com · · Score: 3, Funny

    Really, who uses "%" instead of typing "percentage"?


    Well I use it about 50% of the time.
  17. Re:Techincally .. by Machine9 · · Score: 4, Funny

    technically, you're subject title should be "technically," not "techincally." =P And technically, it's "your subject title", not "you're subject title" =)
  18. Re:Slashdot ... has completely misunderstood... by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why? it works fantastically for Fox-News on cable. they go for the sensational inaccurate reporting for viewiership and accuracy dead last. It's highly effective to the point that they are doing great.

    Slashdot is better because of all the bitching and discussion afterwards on how it's inaccurate.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  19. Re:From TFA... by Tore+S+B · · Score: 5, Funny

    IATWTC? I Ate the World Trade Center?

    --
    toresbe
  20. Re:Slashdot ... has completely misunderstood... by daffmeister · · Score: 2, Funny

    Slashdot editors still apparently do not do any research before they post the stories. That has reduced the value of Slashdot as an advertising medium enormously.

    You've researched that have you?

  21. Re:Slashdot ... has completely misunderstood... by KingSkippus · · Score: 2, Funny

    Slashdot is better because of all the bitching and discussion afterwards on how it's inaccurate.

    That's not true!

  22. Re:Slashdot ... has completely misunderstood... by FrameRotBlues · · Score: 2, Funny

    Slashdot has ads? Really? I've never seen them. I thought funding for this site came from a cranky old rich guy who was pissed at corporate America, political America, and half the entertainment industry.

    [Thank You, ABP!]

  23. Re:From TFA... by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 4, Funny

    I also use it 50 percent of the time.

    --
    Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.