I'm aware of that option, but that's not something the average user is going to do. But knock yourself out if you want to try it.
9,012 karma · joined September 24, 2010
I used to use VirtualBox a lot back in the day. I tried it recently on my Mac; it's become pretty bloated over the years.
On the other hand, this GUI for Quem is pretty nice [1].
I've run amd64 guests on M-series CPUs using Quem. Apple's Rosetta 2 is still a thing [1] for now.
Here's a link to the minutes of the CABF meeting where the 25 certificate issuers and the 4 browser vendors—Apple, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla—agreed to reduce the validity period of TLS certificates unanimously [1].
> The reduction of TLS cert lifetime to a max of 398 days was an Apple policy.
Actually, all of the browser vendors voted to reduce the validity period of TLS certificates from 825 days to 398 days at the September 2019 meeting. The ballot failed because a majority of the certificate issuers voted against it.
At the February 2020 CABF meeting, Apple announced it would unilaterally enforce the 398-day limit through its own root program policy. Starting September 1, 2020, any new TLS certificate with a validity period exceeding 398 days would simply not be trusted by Safari, macOS, or iOS.
This effectively made the 398-day limit a de facto standard — no CA would issue longer certificates if they’d be rejected by Apple devices [2].
|Date |Max Certificate Validity|SAN Data Reuse Period|
|-----------------|------------------------|---------------------|
|Before March 2026|398 days (current) |398 days |
|March 15, 2026 |200 days |200 days |
|March 15, 2027 |100 days |100 days |
|March 15, 2028 |47 days |10 days |
|March 15, 2029 |47 days |10 days (final) |
[2]: https://www.entrust.com/blog/2020/02/apple-announces-398-day...
If you don’t like a particular CA’s policies, you can choose a different one.
They waited until they could do it in alignment with Apple’s brand, going back to Steve Jobs saying during the netbook hysteria: “We don’t know how to build a sub-$500 computer that is not a piece of junk. [1]”
And to their credit the Mac Neo is not a piece of junk.
[1]: https:http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/blogs/21bits-read-m...
I have a 16GB M1 Pro machine from 2021 with 200 GB/s memory bandwidth; I can't tell when it's hitting swap, even with tons of browser tabs open, 3 or 4 terminal sessions, and several apps running. I often run two browsers with dozens of tabs open and there's no noticeable lag.
YMMV.
On an my old Intel Mac, it was pretty obvious.
A combination of Apple's Unified Memory Architecture (UMA) and hardware-accelerated instructions (SIMD/NEON) makes RAM compression on Macs very efficient. Because the storage controller is integrated into the SoC, the bandwidth is high enough that the transition between "Compressed RAM" and "Swap" is very smooth.
And because the CPU and GPU share the same memory, there are no wasted cycles moving data between VRAM and System RAM.
Apple uses WKDM (Wilson-Kaplan Direct Mapping), a specialized, high-speed compression algorithm designed specifically for in-memory data. WKDM is "architecturally aware"—it was built to compress the specific types of data structures found in a computer's RAM, such as pointers, integers, and memory addresses. WKDM treats RAM like a collection of 64-bit integers and pointers; and it's designed to fit entirely in L1/L2 cache [1]. This shipped in MacOS 10.9 Mavericks in 2013.
Windows/Linux treat RAM like a stream of bytes (similar to how you’d compress a .zip file) so it’s not as efficient. The vast majority of Windows and Linux machines don't have unified memory or storage controllers connected to their processors.
Because of this, Apple can often compress a page of memory using fewer CPU cycles than Windows or Linux, which is why M-series Macs can be so aggressive with compression without you ever noticing a "hitch" in the UI.
The fallback algorithm is their LZFSE algorithm, which is like "Zlib-level compression with 2x-3x the speed and efficiency". LZFSE achieves a nearly identical compression ratio but uses Finite State Entropy (FSE) coding, which allows it to decompress data significantly faster while using much less battery power.
LZFSE is optimized for the ARM NEON instruction set to minimize "wake time" for the CPU, making it arguably the more "green" choice for mobile devices [2].
It's safe to say that neither Windows nor Linux has the combination of hardware and software optimizations that Apple has when it comes to RAM compression.
[1]: Compressed Memory compresses the least recently used data residing in memory using the WKDM algorithm, which not only frees up memory but also reduces the amount of swapping going in the background. Not only is this faster than swapping to disk (even to SSDs), but Apple also claims it saves power -- essentially, that compressing data in memory uses less power than writing data to disk without compressing it. -- https://www.osnews.com/story/27121/os-x-109-mavericks/#:~:te...
[2]: https://lyncd.com/2015/09/lossless-compression-innovation/
That's not in the same universe as hardware compression on a 6-core, 64-bit ARM processor with cores that can run at 4GHz.
There are levels to this. Sure, recent versions of macOS have some issues, no doubt. Part of the reason Mac users complain about relatively minor issues is because Apple has set the UI/UX bar so high.
But even in its current state, macOS is still leaps and bounds better than Windows. When I worked with customers using Windows and dealing the usual Windows issues, I realized most of them had no idea that computing didn’t have to be so bad, due to the Stockholm Syndrome that Windows users experience--they think all computers are the same.
People always forget that Apple does realtime compression on data that's in RAM allowing more things to fit in RAM; it also effectively increases the bandwidth of the SSD.
> so I guess they started to have trouble sourcing components and came up with the Neo as their replacement.
There’s no indication Apple had any issues with getting components; they’re have problems with sourcing more expensive components.
Apple tends to be very deliberate with products; this isn’t a replacement for something else.
In fact, there was an article stating unlike some other laptop manufacturers, Apple’s prices aren’t expected to rise because their buying power and having contracts in place [1].
A low-cost MacBook using an iPhone process has been rumored for at least a year.
[1]: https://www.macrumors.com/2026/03/10/apple-holds-edge-laptop...
I wouldn’t "way cheaper".
A baseline Neo with 256GB SSD is $599 vs the first M1 MacBook Air with 256GB SSD was $999 ($1,251.09 in 2026 dollars)
A Neo with 512GB SSD is $699 vs the M1 MacBook Air with 512GB SSD was $1249--that's $1,568.38 in 2026 dollars.
So this is a big deal; the Neo is the first Apple Silicon MacBook where the starting price is less than $999.
Here's 15-year old HN link about it: http://grack.com/blog/2011/02/23/ssh-escape-sequences-or-don...
That tracks but there's been a lot of work being done on FreeBSD's stack as well.
Most people are aware about the contributions Netflix has made to FreeBSD; they say their FreeBSD-based CDN streams terabytes per second [1].
In addition to the basic network stack, FreeBSD can load additional stacks like RACK TCP [2] stack (using Recent ACK, PRR, etc.) that can be loaded as a module and selected per-socket or as the system default. This is the re-written stack that Netflix uses after they helped develop it.
It seems that FreeBSD is kind of a testbed for new network implementations like Netgraph [3], a graph-based networking subsystem that enables modular, real-time packet processing inside the kernel and Network Offload and Socket Splicing (SO_SPLICE) [4] that enables kernel-level TCP proxying, resulting in reduced CPU overhead and eliminating unnecessary data copies.
I'm not usually into networking but this stuff sounds very interesting.
[1]: "Case Study: Maintaining the World’s Fastest Content Delivery Network at Netflix on FreeBSD" - https://freebsdfoundation.org/netflix-case-study/ (PDF).
[2]: "The RACK-TLP Loss Detection Algorithm for TCP" - https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8985
[3]: "Inside FreeBSD Netgraph: Behind the Curtain of Advanced Networking" - https://klarasystems.com/articles/inside-freebsd-netgraph-ad...
[4]: https://klarasystems.com/articles/network-offload-and-socket...
defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores -bool TRUE
defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteUSBStores -bool TRUEFreeBSD has been the gold standard for networking features and performance for decades; not sure I'd agree.
> FreeBSD tends to have fewer features in almost all areas compared to Linux
I'm not sure FreeBSD has fewer features in total but on a new install, many of them are turned off; it doesn’t mandate what should be running. There's a lot beneath the surface to get into.
> FreeBSD Kernel and Userland developed together -- it has got that undefined "cohesive" feel
Definitely! It feels like a single entity rather than a collection of components.
> Has less layers of abstraction than Linux, gets the job done. Because there are fewer layers it's easier to understand what is going on and potentially easier to fix.
Agreed. You can tell the FreeBSD developers attitude is to compose features using what the operating system already offers instead of creating new things from scratch.
> Very simple daemon configuration via /etc/rc.conf
I'd say in a good way; quoting from "Service Management: init vs systemd" [1]:
The comparison is best understood structurally. [FreeBSD](https://vivianvoss.net/dictionary#freebsd)'s init system is composed of precisely five elements: shell scripts, one library, one configuration file, one ordering utility, and the shell itself. Each is inspectable, replaceable, and debuggable with tools that predate the engineer using them.
[systemd](https://vivianvoss.net/dictionary#systemd) is composed of, well, rather more. The binary count stood at 69 in 2013, which prompted some concern. By 2024, it had doubled. The project absorbed fifteen distinct tools that previously existed as independent, single-purpose programs, each maintained by specialists who understood them intimately.
This one was refreshingly informative by covering topics I hadn’t known about before.
To be honest, other than both of them allowing you to write markdown, they're not comparable.
Obsidian is the current favorite of the "make a second brain" crowd which is based the concept of a Zettelkasten [1]. There are thousands of plugins to customize Obsidian to turn it into whatever you want. It just so happens to use Markdown files to store your notes. It's a very powerful tool, but it's overkill for most people who want to write a few notes in Markdown.
Ghost isn't about wiki links, plugins, hypertext, Zettelkasten stuff.
It's just for writing, which I think is fine. Not everyone wants or needs all of whiz bang features of Obsidian or Notion or Microsoft Word.
Regarding that previewing isn't included; it's not a big deal in reality.
The Notes app that comes with macOS can import markdown files and render them. There a hundreds of apps, utilities, plugins, websites that enable a user to render a markdown file. For most people, that wouldn't be ideal; I get it.
(Aside: at a user group meeting, I saw a developer coding something in Vim with no syntax highlighting. I had never seen that before. He said he liked it better that way. Not everyone likes the same things.)
There's a great app from indie developer Brett Terpstra called Marked [1] that was created to preview markdown files. It has tons of features, all centered around previewing markdown files. I've been a satisfied customer of Marked for years.
We all use certain apps for certain things even if we have other options; sometimes it's for aesthetic reasons or we just like how a particular app "feels" when we use it.
If people enjoy using Ghostmd, that's great.
Somebody updated it; it's now called MacDown 3000 [1].
[1]: https://macdown.app
Apple only alerts people who are potentially in life threatening situations because of who they are or what they do:
Apple today detailed two initiatives to help protect users who may be personally targeted by some of the most sophisticated digital threats, such as those from private companies developing state-sponsored mercenary spyware. Lockdown Mode — the first major capability of its kind, coming this fall with iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura — is an extreme, optional protection for the very small number of users who face grave, targeted threats to their digital security.
“Apple expands industry-leading commitment to protect users from highly targeted mercenary spyware” — https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/07/apple-expands-commitm...
Apparently if you have Lockdown mode enabled, then yes.
I seriously doubt that; certainly not under the current circumstances of rising inflation with negative economic growth.
No sitting president has ever enriched themselves by billions of dollars.
We’re in a completely different universe from the days when Jimmy Carter put his peanut farm in a blind trust so there would be no appearance of a conflict of interest.
Or when Lincoln was given some gifts from the King of Siam. Because of the Emoluments Clause in the Constitution, he went to Congress to check if he could keep them. Congress said no; Lincoln donated them.
It was understood a president could be prosecuted if he broke the law—that’s why Nixon needed to be pardoned by Ford; otherwise, he would have faced at least some consequences.
SCOTUS did a 180 degree turn by ruling a precedent is immune from prosecution for crimes committed in office.
SCOTUS just made that up out of thin air.
All of this and much more is unprecedented.
Last one: no president has ever gone to war without making a case for it to the country.
So no, what’s happening now is not the same old thing.
Not true. There are commercial apps that can scan your iPhone for vulnerabilities and exploits [1]. Apple goes through ridiculous lengths regarding security on their platforms [2].
> Memory Tagging Extension (MTE) Apple has implemented, but they have not released the specification.
It's based on the Memory Tagging Extension (MTE) added to the ARMv8.5 architecture in 2019, co-designed by ARM and Google [3]. MTE support has recently been added to Android 12+ and some Linux distros like recent Fedora and Ubuntu 24.04.
Apple's Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) is based on MTE. Now that Apple designs its own ARM-based processors, they used MTE as a starting point for Apple Silicon. The iPhone 17 series and the iPhone Air shipped with MIE enabled in September.
The point of these technologies is to enable software that hasn't been written in memory-safe languages (many millions of lines of C, C++, etc. that will never be rewritten) to run safely.
Although it's starting to change, the vast majority of the rendering engines used by Safari, Chrome, and Firefox are written in C/C++; so it makes sense to address potential browser vulnerabilities at the hardware level.
[1]: https://iverify.io/products/enterprise-protection
[2]: https://support.apple.com/guide/security/toc
[3]: https://www.usenix.org/system/files/login/articles/login_sum...