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Comment by tumult | Hacker News Reader

On by default.

If you still don't understand: this feature and setting used to not exist. Now it does. And it's on by default. So, it has been turned on for everyone.

This is a thing that used to not exist, and now it exists for everyone using this OS. And they will not know what it is or how to turn it off unless they are told by someone else.

One day, you get into your car and start driving. But the horn honks whenever you press on the accelerator. An angry drivers rolls down their window and yells at you: "What are you, stupid? The car company went into all of the cars last night and modified them. You need to open the trunk and disconnect the 'honk while accelerating wire'! Jeeze, how can you be so clueless?"

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I think this is a bit of an unfair take.

In software development, a lot of new features are on by default. If Apple hid every new feature behind a on/off setting, no one would enable new features, ever.

I really love Mac’s new effect of clicking the desktop which moves all windows away to see your files underneath. Had that feature been added and off by default, there’s zero chance I would have ever enabled it.

Yes, I’ve had the reactions inadvertently appear in business calls recently, but it generally just results in amusement from everyone in the meeting. Although I suppose it would kind of suck to accidentally activate the laser show effect if I’m being interviewed on live TV. (Although anyone being interviewed like that should be prepped by the show to get all the settings right for broadcast)

If Apple hid every new feature behind a on/off setting, no one would enable new features, ever.

That's because they hide the on/off settings. Discoverability is no longer considered a worthwhile design goal. Apple's attitude comes down to, "You're either with it, or you're not."

(Yes, that's as inherently exclusionary as it sounds. It's astonishing to watch the irony elude nominally-progressive companies like Apple.)

Don't forget the settings Apple hides because they do not want you to disable them. Bluetooth is my particular grievance. Another cute one is that you can ask Siri to turn GPS on, but she will not turn it off (will just display the GPS toggle).

That one makes sense to me, I’d hate to accidentally disable GPS via voice while using navigation

You could not just re-enable it through the same mechanism in which it was disabled? Or a confirmation if moving at highway speeds + navigation active?

Anytime a potentially privacy disrespecting setting is hidden by barriers, I withhold the benefit of the doubt when it comes to trillion dollar companies.

Voice control on Siri is finicky and losing GPS is more “destructive” that enabling it for most users. For example, I wouldn’t be happy if Siri hears abother person talk over me asking to turn off location services, and then grab the phone out of my hand. I feel like my privacy is protected because Apple devices prompt for permission before allowing an application to access location information, including for system services, and require a second prompt before an app can access location data in the background.

> Don't forget the settings Apple hides because they do not want you to disable them. Bluetooth is my particular grievance.

I am sorry, they do? Because afaik on iOS, it is Settings->Bluetooth->on/off toggle. It is in the top 3 entries once you open Settings app, no need to even search for it.

Same with WiFi. And both of them stay off if you disable them from there. It is a temporary “off” state if you turn it off from the control center (which is the non-obvious flow compared to plain settings approach; however, it tells you that), but permanent if you do it through settings app.

"If Apple hid every new feature behind a on/off setting, no one would enable new features, ever."

So, being in control of my own thinking adult destiny? How horrible.

This doesn't hold water considering Apple doesn't let you run apps installed outside the Mac App Store without going into System Preferences and manually enabling it for every single non-Store app.

This is more likely the decision of a product team that needed to measure engagement on a new 'feature' and set it on by default to pick up data right away.

> I really love Mac’s new effect of clicking the desktop which moves all windows away to see your files underneath. Had that feature been added and off by default, there’s zero chance I would have ever enabled it.

That isn’t on by default though. Upon upgrade you’re presented with an option as to whether you want to turn it on or leave it off.

Whereas this camera gesture change has no warning. It’s new and unexpected behaviour.

Oops, you’re right.

Strange that there wasn’t something similar for the camera effects feature which seems like a more substantial piece of functionality than a setting for moving windows around.

> Although anyone being interviewed like that should be prepped by the show to get all the settings right for broadcast

"So, I'm here to prep you for the TV interview, let us begin by checking and making sure the stupidity that the maker of your operating system has sadly activated for you are turned off...".

Yay, buy a MacBook Pro, some dollars you pay were spent to make all this idiocy!

> no one would enable new features, ever.

Unfair take meet hyperbole take.

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