Of all the places for a crazy bug like this to be found, this seems like one of the least bonkers. :) And the excellent thing about Apple is that if you did brick it, Apple would just exchange it for you for free since it's their own defect.
Of all the places for a crazy bug like this to be found, this seems like one of the least bonkers. :) And the excellent thing about Apple is that if you did brick it, Apple would just exchange it for you for free since it's their own defect.
We are talking about a system which just underwent a huge architectural change as well as a new major release of the operating system. I think it is unreasonable to expect the same level of stability as a decades-old architecture only a couple months after release.
You can see in this case the issue is apparently already patched. It seems only with the very first software to have ever shipped on the device would you experience a bug such as this.
The M1 benefits from its relation to the silicon in iPhone and iOS being based on MacOS but there are major differences. It’s a revolutionary mobile computing platform. So far the biggest problems have been a few software glitches that can quickly be patched over the internet. This is a trivial set of issues to trade for the power / performance gains.
I’m looking forward to the newer 16” models coming out. I still need Windows on my computer for my workflows though so if the virtualization isn’t even beta quality I’ll need to be an Intel holdout for a while longer.
I’m running the beta of Parallels on M1. Windows works fine, though Parallels itself is still a work in progress. The issue is only licensing with MS, who currently don’t license Win for ARM independently. Then it’s just a question of whether you’re willing to enter a licensing grey area, similar to when you want to pay for content but it isn’t available in a legal format (thus, a person turns to a torrent). This is not an endorsement, just an observation.
It seems straightforward.
Apple will test and fix bugs they find, as much as humanly possible, within the constraints of execution. You don’t just decide to launch on a whim, it’s baked in 3 years previously, with tens of thousands of people working towards that one goal; with supply ramps for multiple other companies arranged and enabled; with well-known public launch dates that can realistically only give you a few days wiggle room. The fact that they do this at all is a breathtaking success and a testament to the business - this applies to any such at-scale business, not just Apple.
So they’ve covered 99.9% of all boot issues before launch. As the CEO, do you go ahead ? Or do you miss the launch date, possibly invite legal action from your supply chain or worse, a critical manufacturer folds because of cash flow, and do you risk the reputation and stock price hit of a company as large as Apple “swinging and missing” in the press ?
I think it’s pretty clear what the correct choice is, and even though 0.1% of those millions of devices still adds up to a sizable number of complaints, you’re still way ahead of the game. And you get to keep that well-oiled machine moving forwards rather than stalling.
Apple has priorities. They may not be your priorities. If they differ sufficiently, you should go elsewhere, and if sufficient people agree with you and do the same, Apple will realign its priorities. I wouldn’t hold your breath though.
Talk about making mountains out of molehills...
Not a software engineer then?
You were trading security for “stability”.
Because they just changed the foundation that the entire system is built on top of.
Because they progressed so far forward in security. Design is an exercise in priorities and trade-offs. The ability to wipe your Mac is now second fiddle to the ability to secure your Mac.
Need I point out Best Buy was the start of this kerfuffle?
Shipping something that cannot uninstall/reinstall cleanly is shipping a not even half functional base device. Ubiquity of Internet access is not a crutch that can be counted on at all times. The fact that modern hardware vendors are starting to assume that is disturbing, and likely another symptom of companies slowly trying to acclimate users to not really "owning" what it is they bought.
Doesn't sound particularly bad, especially when compared to the situation in other industries (e.g. cars and all the special proprietary OBD stuff they do).
1: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211983 (specifically, "Or use a bootable installer")
Which PCs do that? Where do they store, on the ESP?
Some would posit that such scenarios should be some of the most important, because when you need to do such recovery, such scenarios can become immensely vital.