Hi Alex, This is bound to be a contentious point and one, no doubt, that the anti-Apple press will try to get as much mileage out of as they can by claiming that Apple is a closed system and that Windows and Android are open. So it is important to look at the what Apple is actually implementing rather than what some claim they are doing.
The process is not finalized as this is a beta release, but according to what is currently known, Gatekeeper will allow you to decide whether or not to run software not developed by Apple registered developers. This setting can be turned off which will leave your Mac to run any software as it does today, or when left on (the default setting) it will bring two important safeguards to your computer. 1) A completely unknown developer in, say, Tajikistan can no longer develop key-logging software and sell it to you over the internet or even give it away for free. 2) An official piece of software that is signed (say Photoshop) can not be modified with an embedded virus. So if you obtain an official copy of software, even illegally, it will be unmodified if it is signed by the original developer. As is now the case, the restrictions on becoming an Apple registered developer are minimal. They require confirmation of your identity and address, and the submission of business name and registration details if you are operating as a business. A developer being registered does not guarantee that they will produce software that is virus free, but it does mean that if they transgress their membership can be revoked and software will no longer run on any Mac that has Gatekeeper enabled. One of the main advantages of the iPhone and iPad over Android devices is that currently all software on the iPhone and iPad have been approved by Apple. It is thus an lot more difficult to sell malicious software. Google is scrambling to implement their own curated stores to reduce the flood of malware currently being circulated on Android phones. Cheers, Carlo On 17/02/2012, at 23:27 , Alexander Hartner wrote: > This might be of interest : > http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/16/mountain_lion_preview/ > > Personally I am really concerned about this. I don't like the notion that > software which is not blessed by Apple is of a lesser standard. > > Have fun > Alex > > On 16/02/2012, at 22:00 , Daniel Kerr wrote: > >> Just when you thought you were getting used to Lion,...Apple have released >> the first Developer release of Mountain Lion! >> And it's ready to gain more iOS features,...and more,.... >> >> Read more here:- >> >> <http://www.macrumors.com/2012/02/16/apple-releases-first-developer-preview-of-os-x-mountain-lion-public-launch-in-late-summer/> >> TinyURL - <http://tinyurl.com/6s3kz89> >> >> Enjoy >> >> Kind regards >> Daniel >> --- >> Daniel Kerr >> MacWizardry >> >> Phone: 0414 795 960 >> Email: <daniel AT macwizardry.com.au> >> Web: <http://www.macwizardry.com.au> >> >> >> **For everything Macintosh** >> >> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- >> Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> >> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> >> Settings & Unsubscribe - >> <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Settings & Unsubscribe - > <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> Settings & Unsubscribe - <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug>
