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macOS Sierra Is Now Available For Download (engadget.com)

Dave Knott writes: Apple's latest desktop operating system, macOS Sierra, is now available for download. In addition to the Siri virtual assistant hitting the desktop for the first time, the free update includes features like a universal clipboard, revamped Messages, a storage optimization tool, and Apple Pay on the web.Engadget has also tested the new operating system and gave it a fairly positive review. It notes that Siri integration is "useful, if you already use Siri," and that iCloud and storage improvements have "practical benefits for everyone." But at the same time, the publication found that Siri "isn't always smart enough."

22 of 202 comments (clear)

  1. Worse than Win10 for Privacy defaults by Etcetera · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've got to imagine that some of this stuff is not going to go down well with corporate users, unless they can lock it down real tight.

    "Here, we'll automatically upload stuff to the Cloud and remove it from your local computer if we don't think you need it."
    "You can have us permanently store your voice and background conversations and run it through our linguistic analysis AI even if you're not dictating anything."

    With all of the other privacy and security issues surrounding smartphones, making laptops more smartphone-like doesn't seem like a benefit.

  2. Re:universal clipboard wtf by nine-times · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Dad hits copy to copy/paste something on his laptop at the office, and the kids upstairs doing their homework go to paste something into a document on the ipad upstairs have that content dumped into the document.

    Well it's not quite as bad as that. It only works if they're both signed in using the same iCloud account. So you'll only have a problem if Dad and Son are signed into the same iCloud account on their devices. Even then... I have Sierra and an iPhone, and I can't figure out how the feature is supposed to work. I certainly haven't done it accidentally.

  3. Re:universal clipboard wtf by berj · · Score: 4, Informative

    1) nothing goes to the internet.

    2) nothing will go to a machine/account that isn't signed in to the same icloud account.

    3) Calm down.. just turn Handoff off and you're good.

  4. "Allow apps" from only "sanctioned" sources now by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 4, Informative

    I see in System Preferences, Security & Privacy, General, that Apple no longer thinks you have the right to run downloaded programs.

    The "( ) Anywhere" option has been completely hidden.

    Allow apps downloaded from

    ( ) Mac App Store
    ( ) Mac App Store and identified developers
    ( ) Anywhere <-- Now hidden!?

    WTF !

    Thankfully there is a way to disable this crap.

    sudo spctl --master-disable

    Reference:
    http://apple.stackexchange.com...

    1. Re:"Allow apps" from only "sanctioned" sources now by berj · · Score: 4, Informative

      Nothing in this update stops you from running unsigned apps if you so choose. You just can't (easily) set it to the default.. which is a good thing.

      If you want to run an unsigned app you you can just right click on the icon, select "open", respond to the dialog presented saying that you want to open this unsigned app.. and then every other time you open that app you can just double click on the icon.

      Easy peasy.

    2. Re:"Allow apps" from only "sanctioned" sources now by dfghjk · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "You just can't (easily) set it to the default.. which is a good thing."

      I see no reason why this is a good thing.

      "Easy peasy."

      Not really. Certainly not "intuitive", definitely not "it just works".

      Once upon a time computers could be used to run the software of your choice. This is yet another step away from that. Not a good thing.

    3. Re:"Allow apps" from only "sanctioned" sources now by real+gumby · · Score: 2, Informative

      I agree pretty shocking: Apple made sure there was a way for knowledgable users to do what they like while reducing the chance that less experienced users could get unwittingly pownd by accidentally downloaded apps. The nerve!

    4. Re:"Allow apps" from only "sanctioned" sources now by ilsaloving · · Score: 2

      I can see VERY easily why this is a good thing. Because people don't know any better. Even worse, people that *think* they know better but actually don't. There was a fracas (last year or early this year, I think...) where idiot developers downloaded pirated copies of xcode that ended up being bundled with malware. And the apps they created ended up on the App Store until Apple figured out what was going on. And these developers didn't even know because they had completely disabled gatekeeper. If gatekeeper had been running, they would have been warned that their copy of xcode was dodgy.

      If you're not smart/experienced enough to figure out how to run an unsigned application then you are, by definition, not smart/experienced enough to make the judgement call that a given piece of software is safe to use.

      I am a very experienced computer user, and I *still* leave Gatekeeper enabled. Because if I run an application that I expect should be signed, but it isn't, I damn well want to know. Disabling Gatekeeper is just plain moronic, IMO.

      As long as they don't completely take away the ability to run unsigned applications, I see no issue with them making it more difficult to do so. It's a heck of a lot easier for me to field questions like, "Why can't I run this comet cursor app I downloaded from this porn site?" than "How come all the documents on the server are suddenly gibberish?" or "Why is my computer suddenly sending spam?"

  5. Re:Pity my MacPro can't run it by Kryptonut · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You obviously have no idea how much these machines costed when they were released - especially fully loaded. Why should I not expect it to be supported longer, given the premium they demand on the Mac Pro machines?

    Forced obsolescence of a perfectly capable, useful (and expensive) machine makes the Hackintosh camp a lot more appealing (mainly because of the apps I already have that are Mac only). Not to mention, the current Mac Pro's are very limited in how they can be customised after purchase.

    The (1,1) and (2,1) Mac Pros were retired because they had 32-bit EFI and the new OS's needed 64-bit EFI....a technical limitation. Most of the Macs I've had that have lost support have been because of a technical limitation (be it RAM limits, 32-bit only processors, Power CPU's). This instance is just plain greed.

    Microsoft obviously don't think the hardware is obsolete as Windows 10 runs flawlessly on mine in bootcamp for the Windows only stuff I do.

  6. Re:universal clipboard wtf by seoras · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's what having separate user accounts is for.
    There's no way I'd let my kids use anything that I was logged into.
    Your just asking for disaster.

    Airdrop has never worked well for me although hand off works very nicely.
    Uni-Clip sounds good, in theory, although I've yet to try it out.
    I'm still on El Capitan & iOS9 until the dust settles and the major bugs have been fixed.

  7. Re:Pity my MacPro can't run it by DavidRavenMoon · · Score: 2

    I have an Early 2009 24" iMac. It has 64-bit EFI and CPU. No dice. But a late 2009 works. There are ways to install it however. Apple released 4 iMacs in 2009. They must have changed the motherboard a few times. The 2012 MacPro I use at work can run it. Have to wait to see if the apps I use are compatible. But if not, El Capitan runs great.

    --
    -- if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic - Lewis Carrol
  8. It uses the Handoff framework by pond0123 · · Score: 2

    No dirty jokes please!

    The TL;DR of this means that the devices must be on the same iCloud account, cooperate with Handoff, be in close proximity geographically and it'll only leave data available for a short period of time after being copied.

    https://www.macstories.net/stories/macos-sierra-the-macstories-review/#universal-clipboard

    Obviously a fan site, but contains useful details on the actual implementation and behaviour. As with any online system there is a security concern, but it doesn't strike me as anymore of a "security disaster" than anything else in iCloud, especially things like the super-useful, but clearly risky, iCloud Keychain. Apple's accounts must be extraordinarily attractive to hackers, a major goldmine; one day there will doubtless be an extremely serious breach; but so far, it's all been infrequent and minor. They've a poor track record with stability of their "cloud enabled" software, but the iCloud security track record is quite alright compared to the rest of the industry.

    1. Re: It uses the Handoff framework by Rosyna · · Score: 2

      Again, why aren't you using Family Sharing? There's zero reason to be sharing your iCloud account. Especially since it gives everyone access to to things like email.

      It also seems you need to read up on Handoff. The range of Handoff is about 10 meters (33 feet). All devices must be in this range for Handoff to work.

      Handoff (which was added in iOS 8 and Mac OS X 10.10) also shares which webpage you are viewing and which apps you are using to devices logged in with the same Apple ID and in that range. So you have no legitimate reason to suddenly complain about the Universal Clipboard all of a sudden.

      If you don't like the security of Handoff due to ignorance, then disable Handoff on your devices. Hell, if one specific shared device must be logged in with the same Apple ID (because you don't know better), then disable Handoff solely on that device.

  9. good grief by rubycodez · · Score: 2

    since Lion in 2011 a new OS every year instead of every two. Is this supposed to generate market hype or something? I'd rather have more stability, security and QA work

  10. Re:Optimized storage by Yaztromo · · Score: 2

    Please tell me "optimized storage" can be turned off wholesale. If there is one thing I definitely don't need it's a "whole bunch" more of background processes uploading random files to the remote server and deleting them from my local drive. I will manage what I store and where, thank you very much.

    I guess I am sounding like an old fart I am, but MacOS is going too far in dumbing it down.

    During the first post-install reboot, the OS configuration assistant asked me if I wanted to enable this (well, at least the part that makes your desktop available to other Macs and iOS devices via iCloud). For the rest I had to find the configuration in "About this Mac" -> Storage (which seems an odd place to put such a thing).

    Yaz

  11. Re:universal clipboard wtf by brantondaveperson · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Most people are wrong.

    Create apple ID accounts for your kids, and gift them apps if they need stuff. Create gmail accounts for your kids, so they can have their own email addresses. Put credit card information in neither, of course. Put two factor on everything, because kids always choose crap passwords, and make sure you store those passwords somewhere safe because kids can't remember anything. This makes life far, far, simpler. Having one account seems simple at first, but rapidly becomes a nightmare.

    The idea of having my kids signed into my apple ID on their devices (which they have to have for school, by the way, before you start telling me that kids shouldn't own iPads etc) is a terrible one. A friend of mine managed to allow her kid to run up huge bills, precisely because she'd used her own apple ID on her kids ipad, and the kid bought $500 of in-game nonsense without her knowledge.

  12. Re:universal clipboard wtf by Yaztromo · · Score: 3, Informative

    How does it get between machines logged-in to the same iCloud account if not through the Internet?

    Bluetooth and/or local WiFi. The WiFi login isn't used for communication between the devices, but only for pairing the devices together locally (that is, the devices find each other via Bluetooth and/or WiFi on the local network. A handshake is done to verify that both have successfully authenticated against the same account ID on iCloud. Then local communications is permitted. iCloud isn't involved in the data transfer, nor in the setup of a communications channel between devices).

    Yaz

  13. Re: universal clipboard wtf by Dog-Cow · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A lot of things seem dumb until you actually learn about it and stop spouting from ignorance. Use the feature. Learn how it works, and then rant about it. I know it's not the slashdot way, but at least you'll seem less dumb.

  14. Re:universal clipboard wtf by jbolden · · Score: 2

    Why would the kid's iPad be synced with the father's account? Apple offers children and family accounts so you can set an iPad up with an account for a minor.

  15. Re:Awesome!!! by armanox · · Score: 2

    ....ummm what? Like SGI, Apple never used the legacy BIOS declaring it to be old and obsolete. However, secure boot was never a thing on Apple hardware (or SGI hardware either).

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  16. Re:And it's trashing people's Macs by macs4all · · Score: 2

    And this differs from every other major new OS release, how, exactly?

    Apple has a very limited hardware and software set, so there's no excuse for their QA to fail to catch bugs like that. It's that simple.

    While macOS doesn't approach the breadth of possible hardware that W or L is typically installed-on, If you look at all the available models and their BTO options across all the supported years, it's still WAY too many to test. So, although your argument had a LITTLE validity back in the 1980s and early '90s, it has long since devolved into an unsupportable (no pun) meme.

    Oh, and there are a metric buttload of both W and L systems that have issues every single time those OSes are updated; but you tend not to hear about them, because W or L breaking things, or orphaning things, is so commonplace simply isn't "news".

    And do you want to know a secret? If you take a look at the REAL Windows Approved (supported) Hardware List (which Linux probably doesn't even have), it is actually pretty small compared with all the hardware those OSes get installed on. And if your hw isn't on that list, it is simply CHANCE if it HAPPENS to work. There is absolutely NO "testing" of those combinations, either. So, your entire premise is fallacious.

  17. Re:universal clipboard wtf by Aaden42 · · Score: 2

    Settings -> iCloud

    Handoff is tied to the iCloud account. If you leave your iCloud account logged in on your kid's phones, they have access to your photos, mail, contacts, calendar, notes, Safari history & bookmarks, notes, credit cards (via Wallet), keychain passwords, and every document that any iCloud enabled app has ever stored for you from either your phone or computer. You maybe don't want to do that...

    Setup family accounts, and let them login to their own. Everyone shares purchases, and everyone has their own sandbox for storage, Handoff, etc.