Craig Federighi, Apple's SVP of Software Engineering, is not happy

And recently made his displeasure known in court. In response to questions from Apple's lawyers, he said, "Today, we have a level of malware on the Mac that we don't find acceptable."

Federighi made the statement in defense of Apple's longstanding strategy to create what amounts to a walled-off garden where all of its hardware and software lives.

To get more about the Apple vs. Epic Games lawsuit follow the link.

 

Apple wants to maintain a walled-off garden

While it's a valid, viable approach, it has sometimes made enemies of other companies. A recent case in point involves Epic Games and their award-winning title, Fortnite, which Apple banned from the App Store. They banned it in response to Epic including a direct payment system for in-game currency in a bid to bypass Apple's standard 30 percent fee.

Epic says Apple's approach is too restrictive. Apple points to the current levels of malware, and the potential ways an embedded payment system can be abused as a reason to stay the course.

Where Macs in particular are concerned, the malware problem is worlds worse than it is for iPads and iPhones. This is because those devices can only install apps from Apple's App store, while Mac users can install software from anywhere.

 

Federighi compared Apple OS to a car, saying

"The Mac is a car. You can take it off road if you want and you can drive wherever you want. That's what you wanted to buy. There's a certain level of responsibility required. With iOS, you wanted to buy something where children can operate an iOS device and feel safe doing so. It's really a different product."

The core argument here is that taking a more permissive attitude with apps and where they can be installed from would have a profound impact on the iOS ecosystem, and almost certainly not for the better. Unfortunately, given the recent Epic v. Apple court case, it may no longer be their decision to make.

 

My perspective

Stay tuned for the court's ruling on the matter, and if you're an iPhone user, hang onto your hat. Depending on how the courts decide, big changes may be coming for you.

 

As Dorothy pensively said: "There's no place like home"

 


By Denis Wilson

Cybersecurity Expert, Small Business Technology Consultant, Managed Services Provider, Managed IT Support

Thanks for reading this short post. For more tips on thriving with small business technology, check out the other blog posts at DWPIA Blogs. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter

I am also a published author and speaker on cloud computing, work@home, and cybersecurity. I work extensively with business and professional associations to provide small business technology education programs.

 

Contact me if you would like me to speak to your association

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