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Comment by zanethomas | Hacker News Reader

I have a nagging suspicion that Apple will eventually lock the hardware and OS down to the point where their computers will only run software delivered through the app store.

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It certainly seems like they want to move in that direction, but it's critical that they retain the developer segment. It'll be game over for them if developers are unable to be productive on a Mac.

There's likely a way to make both of these things happen, to some degree. For instance, they could start with just locking Macs to the app store as a default that is changeable. (similar to how Android is locked down)

Do you think they still care about developers or other creative types? Judging by what the did to Final Cut and then to the Mac Pro line I'm not so sure.

There are several good alternatives to the Mac Books now and I'll be moving to Linux for my development efforts the next time I buy a machine.

I wouldn't lump "developers" together with "other creative types." They depend on developers to make the apps that make their devices desirable. If devs stopped buying macs there would be nobody to make apps for iOS. They don't depend on film editors in anywhere near the same way.

Exactly. I suppose if they did lose the developer segment they could open up iOS development on other platforms to remain relevant, but that whole path just seems very undesirable and a great thing to avoid.

What are some decent alternatives for the MBP? I was hoping to replace my mid-2014 MBP Retina with the ones that just came out but honestly they seem really undesirable, especially with the lack of physical ESC key. Surface Book 2 seems interesting but I don't want Windows 10 to spy on me. How is Linux on the Surface Book series?

You may want to give the Razer Blade series a try. The XPS 15 is also expected to get an update soon.

Just a note - though FCPX had a bumpy start, there are now a lot of professional editors back using it. After the 10.1 update it most editors biggest complaints were fixed - and that was years ago.

Not to be argumentative, however :), I'm primarily a programmer but have been involved in producing two feature films in Hollywood, and do not know of a single professional editor who uses FCPX. Admittedly, the majority seem to be using Avid and may not have been using Final Cut Pro previously.

I would like to add that I don't see the Apple garbage can as a suitable hardware offering for serious editors.

This is already in place - by default macOS does not allow apps to be installed which do not include a signed Apple developer ID. The setting can be turned off in System Preferences.

As of Sierra this can not be disabled in System Preferences, though there are workarounds.

I can't believe what I just read.

What are the workarounds? I upgraded, noticed the option 'anywhere' was gone and wished I hadn't...

Just execute "sudo spctl --master-disable" on Terminal. And the option "Anywhere" is be available again.

I meant workarounds as in there are still ways to launch non-signed apps, like right-clicking (or ctrl-clicking, or using the Finder widget menu) the app and selecting Open.

I doubt the big players like Avid and Adobe will allow them to do that. Either that, or they'll no longer develop for MacOS.

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