I’m not looking forward to any tech purchases in the nearest future. So, Yeah! I’m with you on that big bro.
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I have to be honest and repeat what I let slip over in the M2 iPad Pro thread…if Apple or a third party (hint hint Parallels) lets users dual boot iPadOS and MacOS on an M1/M2 iPad Pro, I will have an 11" with 16gb ram, 2tb ssd, and 5g so fast my MBP14 and current iPad Pro won’t know what hit them as they are shipped off to auction sale heaven…
Well, if the EU gets their way and we can install off-store apps, you might just get your wish granted partially with VMs.
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Well, that’s what you’d call a game changer. All bets and plans are off when things like that happen.
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Guess you all noticed I changed the thread title to reflect the outcome. Even if I were to turn on a dime tomorrow and switch back the experiment itself was a success. Can’t catch or throw left-handed, but batting fairly well from the wrong side…
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Given Apple’s talk about security lately, I’d expect that Apple would block virtualization at the OS level rather than allow a 3rd party app to do it.
Not arguing right or wrong here, just relaying the sense we get from them
PS: Regardless of the outcome of WOA, even if Qualcomm and MS allow it on other devices it won’t ever be a BootCamp option. Though for a different reason which is deep animus about Qualcomm among Apple engineers. They all can hardly wait until when they no longer rely on them for the iPhone and iPad modems
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BTW: I’m personally conflicted on the sideloading/allowing other app stores topic as well. On the one hand, I’m absolutely in the camp of “it’s my device and my choice to use it anyway I want to”.
OTOH, in our customer base and even among my friends and family, EVERY single instance of spyware or malware on Android being present has come from sideloading of essentially “poisoned apps”.
Sites like apkmirror try to filter and manage that in their links, but it’s a whack a mole pretty much.
And especially with phones where generally speaking far more personal data of all kinds is present on a phone than a PC, it’s a reasonable argument that they are saving users from themselves. For instance Bank Of America told one of our consultants recently that nearly 75% of their customers do their banking via the smartphone app versus on a PC.
So TLDR this is multi-faceted topic, and bringing it back to Apple and sideloading, Apple has achieved something with the iPhone that they always wanted for the Mac but never achieved which is to be the “approved standard” and they are loathe to do anything to endanger that.
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In Plato’s account of the trial of Socrates, there’s a part where he’s searching Athens for someone wise and failing. The least wise (most foolish of all), he found, were the technical specialists of the day who, because they were so superior in their own field believed that it made them wiser than the average person and that it conferred expertise to other areas of knowledge.
I think I’m fairly tech savvy in general but, taking a hint from Socrates, I’ll swallow my misplaced confidence and play it safe with apps. I don’t know all the tricky things that can be done so even if side loading is (forced to be by the powers that be) allowed on iDevices I’ll exercise my freedom not to do so.
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What about the old adage, “the more you learn, the less you know”? 
I’ve found that depth of learning in one area, gives you a far greater appreciation for all the other fields of study that lie beyond your current experience .
It also makes you appreciate the time many people spend freely teaching others about their hobbies…seriously, entire lives can be dedicated to ‘mundane’ activities like sewing, and it’s all fascinating!
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On the other hand how many stories of spy & malware have we seen in both the Android & Apple app store that neither of their app protection caught. A number that still hurts enough people to make the local news.
@Bloodycape I actually blame the current software development methods (Agile specifically ) and delivery today that somehow convinced us it’s a good thing that we have perpetually unfinished and incomplete products. Not to mention the ethos that came with them “move fast and break stuff”
I can’t count the number of times that we’ve discovered a major bug or even some vulnerabilities only to be told “yeah we know, we’ll patch it in a future release.”
My software engineering professors would have been utterly appalled by the state of things today.
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Since we’re getting philosophical in this thread…I’m curious to get the perspective of my fellow neighbours down south. 
Isn’t this kind of condescending ‘for your own good’ premise, traditionally viewed with suspicion or outright revolt in America? Take just a smattering of famous quotes:
“…but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!” —Patrick Henry
“No man is good enough to govern another man without his consent.” —Abraham Lincoln
“I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.” —Thomas Jefferson
So many great American thinkers, all uncompromising in the belief for the people to live free of imposed comforts. You guys basically wrote the book on the modern concept of individual liberty.
Yet why does this philosophy seemingly end when it comes to tech?
In each of your examples, we could do something to defend ourselves (most often taking up arms) even in seemingly hopeless situations like the poor Ukrainians. But in this technological wasteland we have created it seems like we are totally defenseless and helpless, so we look for the easier way out and let our tech overlords defend us. Unfortunately, that can be like those who proclaim “if you have nothing to hide you don’t need the 5th Amendment” and the wolves ARE sometimes guarding the sheep.
I think this is spot on. Even the most sophisticated general users can do almost nothing to defend against a software exploit, with the best just being vigilant about staying current
Ok, forgive the quoting (you guys come up with some good stuff ), but to paraphrase another president:
“Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of…security and liberty” —Dwight D. Eisenhower
The problem I see is that we aren’t really fostering an alert or knowledgeable citizenry with “we know better than you” safety policy. In fact it could be said, we are raising ever more vulnerable “sheep”, for ever more sophisticated wolves!
(Which of course entails ever more strict and inscrutable security measures…)
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Being “alert” is a never ending battle of keeping people from replying to, or clicking on, links from friends/businesses that look SO AUTHENTIC it is scary. I get your point Marty, but I’m afraid it is hopeless - if we can’t rely on the resources available to Apple, Microsoft, Google, FaceBook, etc. what hope is there for the “citizenry” to put up a competent defense…
Back to our regularly scheduled programming:
Now that the experiment has concluded, my next step is maximizing my tablet experience. So I’m back to tinkering with the iPP11. I really like using it with Sidecar as a second screen, so I have gone back to the Logitech Combo Touch for the kickstand and removable keyboard. It still makes it bulky and hefty (2lb 6oz), so the total kit is near SIX POUNDS (better up my Wheaties quotient). So I’ll be hanging out in the M2 iPad Pro and the Accessories threads for a while.
@Marty that is a decent bit of polemic and congrats on taking us that much further down the rabbit hole (aka Off topic) but I’m going to turn it around instead. I’ve already commented on one thing that is being done and both that I saw some real world benefit, but also my discomfort with it.
I’d love to hear some truly actionable ideas you might have.
Are you in Canada? It took me quite some time to realize that you might not be talking only to my fellow citizens who live south of the Mason Dixon line.
Ah right, there is a “South” within the States too! I should have clarified, I’m from the land of polar bears and igloos… who’s just interested in getting a purely American take on “big tech overreach”.
But think about why those phishing scams work so well. If people are taught security is “leaving it to the experts”, then they won’t analyze or be vigilant themselves. There’s no way around it, you can’t tell users to stay “alert”, while isolating them in an artificial cleanroom.
It doesn’t have to drastic, just gradual expansion of user choice, along with basic education on security. If most poisoned apps come from 3rd party sites, then instead of blocking those sites, explain how to perform checksums against official sources so the user can decide.
It’s really about steady education and giving the tools to people so they can learn and take control of their own security.
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