Future Mac OS X Features?

[MacRumors]

Appleinsider claims that upcoming versions of Mac OS X will offer a few new features including MetaData, new Safari revision and security.

Very few details on each of the topics are available.

 

[johnnowak]

Oh my god, new security features AND a browser update?

Where's my $129, I can't wait!

 

[thatwendigo]

I don't like the sound of "working closely" with the government on "security," especially since there's no specification of who's security we're talking about. It came to light that the NSA or one of the other spook operations wanted backdoors into Windows a few years ago (and it's been long enough that I don't want to claim that it was actually done, though I wouldn't doubt it).

If they're doing similar things in OS X, I think I'd have to either stick with Panther or not upgrade until someone figured out a way around it. My system is secure for a reason, and I am a US citizen. The fourth ammendment and the second are there to allow me to protect myself, and that includes my property, physical or intellectual.

 

[animefan_1]

I don't like the sound of "working closely" with the government on "security," especially since there's no specification of who's security we're talking about. It came to light that the NSA or one of the other spook operations wanted backdoors into Windows a few years ago (and it's been long enough that I don't want to claim that it was actually done, though I wouldn't doubt it).

If they're doing similar things in OS X, I think I'd have to either stick with Panther or not upgrade until someone figured out a way around it. My system is secure for a reason, and I am a US citizen. The fourth ammendment and the second are there to allow me to protect myself, and that includes my property, physical or intellectual.

I don't think Apple would do that. I feel that they respect their users too much to do anything like that. What I think they will be doing is working with the gov't to design special security features/technologies specifically for the gov't. I don't think we will have anything to worry about wwith respects to this.

 

[AirUncleP]

My system is secure for a reason, and I am a US citizen. The fourth ammendment and the second are there to allow me to protect myself, and that includes my property, physical or intellectual.

You forgot.....And I don't want any of my drug dealing records to be accessed by the goverment.

Please.

 

[Colman]

I don't think Apple would do that. I feel that they respect their users too much to do anything like that. What I think they will be doing is working with the gov't to design special security features/technologies specifically for the gov't. I don't think we will have anything to worry about wwith respects to this.

I'd suggest that a likely candidate is somthing like the mandatory access control mandatory access control stuff from FreeBSD, which is very much government style stuff. This ties in with a meta-data enabled filesystem, since you need metadata on files to implement access policies.

The other possibilities are support for assorted mandated access control hardware - biometrics, cards and so on or certification of the system.

 

[nsb3000]

Appleinsider claims that upcoming versions of Mac OS X will offer a few new features including MetaData, new Safari revision and security.

Very few details on each of the topics are available.

This seems like educated guessing rather than any real "insider" information.

 

[thatwendigo]

I don't think Apple would do that. I feel that they respect their users too much to do anything like that.

As much as I'd like to agree with you, what makes you believe they have any choice? The increasing degree of control given to federal authorities that aren't elected itno office is a little worrying, as is the domestic spying deregulation since the Patriot Act.

There's an intelligence court that isn't subject to public review. All it would take is a court order with a legal gag on discussion, in a more draconian version of the court order for Microsoft to differentiate and stop using anticompetitive practices.

What I think they will be doing is working with the gov't to design special security features/technologies specifically for the gov't. I don't think we will have anything to worry about wwith respects to this.

Sorry, but I'm not that optimistic.

You forgot.....And I don't want any of my drug dealing records to be accessed by the goverment.

Please.

What part of "unreasonable search and seizure" is confusing?

In case you hadn't been paying attention to recent happenings in the crypto world, the US is a signatory to a European Cybercrime treaty that includes the collection of encryption keys. You would be bound, by law, to surrender your keys to the authorities and to trust them not to abuse having them.

Whether people want to face it or not, we are moving into a more and more intrusive attitude on the part of the intelligence and law enforcement communities.

 

[603]

homeland insecurity

As much as I'd like to agree with you, what makes you believe they have any choice? The increasing degree of control given to federal authorities that aren't elected itno office is a little worrying, as is the domestic spying deregulation since the Patriot Act.

i am definitely on your side here, but remember that the USA PAtriot Act has a sunset clause, and many of its provisions will expire at the end of 2005. not all of them, not even most of them, but Congress knew that the law would be controversial. it is unlikely that it will be fully renewed given the high level of public opposition that it has received. of course, that all depends on how many cynics stay home come November, and how much terrorist activity occurs between now and the election to make people afraid. they should be more afraid of their own administration.

What part of "unreasonable search and seizure" is confusing?

i'm with you again - whoever posted the comment about drug records is out of line. he should post his name, address, phone number, email accounts (with passwords), computer logon passwords, safety deposit box padlock combination, voicemail access codes, 16-digit debit card number and 4-digit PIN, Social Security number, bank account numbers, insurance policy numbers, and shirt size here. while he's at it, he can post the same information for anyone in his family, including his children, if any. come on, you have nothing to hide... right? show us what a fine, upstanding, moralizing, idealistic citizen you are.

Whether people want to face it or not, we are moving into a more and more intrusive attitude on the part of the intelligence and law enforcement communities.

we are not necessarily moving into a time where the authorities are more intrusive, but we are moving into a time where the authorities have the technological "tools" (as the PATRIOT acronym states) to turn the country into a police state with relative ease. that being said, there's one way to prevent electronic intrusion into your personal information: don't put your personal information on the computer in the first place. if you must put it on the computer, lock it up with the best encryption you can get. don't send emails that are too personal. make phone calls to discuss things that are truly private. i never even type my passwords on a computer that i don't own for fear of a keylogger or spyware. if you're really worried about privacy's erosion (as i am), you shouldn't trust your computer that much in the first place. i you should also disable your internet connections when you're not using them.

all ideological discussion aside, i would not put too much credibility in any conspiracist ideas regarding Apple and the government. the government is simply starting to wake up to the fact that they don't have to wait for Linux to become more usable - there's a fairly modern OS on the market right now with a somewhat easy-to-use GUI, all the power of Unix, and security that blows Microsoft out of the water... government adoption of Mac OS X is a good thing.

keep in mind that the switcher campaign failed (somewhat) because you can't build computer usership from the bottom up - it has to come from the top down, i.e. people who work (in business and in government) have to start using Macs to drive the consumer marketplace to Apple. how many people bought PCs just because that's what they use at work? Dell is very successful in the home market... not because they have the cheapest PCs you can buy that are not total garbage... it's because businesses love those low prices, because all they need is a computer for someone to run one accounting application and an email client all day long and they don't care if the computer has gigabit ethernet or FireWire 800 on it. however, everyone that uses a Dell at work comes home, and they want to get into some extra stuff like video and MP3, so they actually end up buying the more expensive PCs that Dell has to offer, because they want more multimedia feaures. the Mac has multimedia features, of course, but most people don't care to learn a second operating system, and with the state of operating system usability these days, i can't blame them.

so i wouldn't worry - this is probably one of the best things Apple can do for themselves. if people pick up a New York Times a year from now and see that, because of security reasons, the State Department has mandated the use of Macs exclusively for their productivity workers, they'll start to think... hmm... i'm sure getting tired of having to patch Windows for Blaster.Q... maybe i should check out this Mac thing.

 

[johnpg]

What the hell does this have to do with Tiger?

For a second I forgot I was at Macrumors.com. I come here to read and talk about Apple, not to listen to people's often uneducated political opinions. Besides isn't there a forum here for that?

Anyhow, I sure hope they're right about the metadata. Although I have to agree with the post above that there's nothing in the AI post that couldn't just be educated guessing. If they can nail down the next "Expose'" then I'll be impressed. If you guys remember there was a leak that discussed Expose' prior to Panther coming out, but everyone interpreted it to mean "Piles." If memory servers wasn't it a NMR column? Does anyone remember?

Cheers,
John

 

[P-Worm]

Actually, I think Piles is different than Exposé. Piles was supposed to be a feature where you could look at a "pile" of documents and flip through them before actually opening the one you want. Sort of like shuffling through a stack of papers. I couldn't visualize how this would work well, but I think that's what it was supposed to be.

Anyway, a faster Safari? That sounds great. The metadata sounds great too. Anything to make browsing snappier.

As far as the security is concerned, I know it is becoming increasingly important, but it isn't to me. I have nothing on my computer to hide, just a bunch of music and videos I have made.

But updates are updates and I'm excited to see what Apple has come up with.

P-Worm

 

[johnpg]

Actually, I think Piles is different than Exposé. Piles was supposed to be a feature where you could look at a "pile" of documents and flip through them before actually opening the one you want. Sort of like shuffling through a stack of papers. I couldn't visualize how this would work well, but I think that's what it was supposed to be.

You're totally right, that's what Piles were supposed to be, but the reason that idea was brought up last year was because of a rumor that Panther would have "flying windows" or some such thing (which turned out to be Exposé). The rumor community then mistakenly took that to mean Piles, as Apple does have a patent on that idea.

John

 

[pascalpp]

government security requirements

When the article discusses Apple working with the government on security features for the new OS, I don't take this to mean Apple providing means for the government to track or collect information on end users' systems. My understanding is that they are working to ensure that the next version of Mac OS X will meet the stricter security requirements that are expected of computer systems in government and military installations. I believe an earlier rumor mentioned that this included customizable login screens tailored for different branches of the government, but I'm sure the changes will go much further and deeper than that. I think this is a good thing, because if a system is secure enough to satisfy the world's largest bureaucracy, it's probly good enough for you or me.

 

[SilentPanda]

Looking at my desk in it's current state I certainly hope Piles makes things more fun...

 

[Zappa]

...If you guys remember there was a leak that discussed Expose' prior to Panther coming out, but everyone interpreted it to mean "Piles."

Then again, maybe piles and expose were the same, but someone figured out that "piles" might not be the best name for this feature. Look it up in your favourite dictionary, and you will see what i mean.

 

[Kelson]

Feel Better Now?

Okay...you can remove your tin foil hat now....

It is simply that Apple is trying to get certified at a certain security level, mainly to be in consideration for government bids.

No one cares what is specifically on your HD. It just doesn't matter. I know the contents are important to you, but that doesn't mean they are to anyone else.

- Kelson

I don't like the sound of "working closely" with the government on "security," especially since there's no specification of who's security we're talking about. It came to light that the NSA or one of the other spook operations wanted backdoors into Windows a few years ago (and it's been long enough that I don't want to claim that it was actually done, though I wouldn't doubt it).

If they're doing similar things in OS X, I think I'd have to either stick with Panther or not upgrade until someone figured out a way around it. My system is secure for a reason, and I am a US citizen. The fourth ammendment and the second are there to allow me to protect myself, and that includes my property, physical or intellectual.

 

[BornAgainMac]

Sherlock

Then again, maybe piles and expose were the same, but someone figured out that "piles" might not be the best name for this feature. Look it up in your favourite dictionary, and you will see what i mean.

Even better, check it out in Sherlock. It's terrible name for this feature.

 

[spankalee]

If Apple does metadata right, and the finder really becomes something befitting it's name, something like iTunes for my files, (iFinder ? then they will have a hit.

Smart Folders would be the obvious big feature. Set up a folder with a preset search based on metadata and always have the files you want in it. iTunes and iPhoto almost become irrelevant after that. (almost, the document specific features of those apps would still be valuable) They are great at organizing, but the finder would do just as well.

I just hope they come up with some way to use the metadata that already embedded in certain file types. If I can search my MP3s by ID3 tags, or my graphic files by size, or my eBooks by author, without having to re-enter that data into the meta data system then I think I will have reached home computing nirvana.

They'll have to have a plug-in system to do that though. Then you can go and download all the third-party metadata plugins for PSDs, MPEGs, emails, whatever.

The other big issue is where do they store the metadata and what happens when you transfer the file to another computer. Sending files with resource forks is always a pain in the ass.

 

[mac15]

The metadeta plugin-in support should be API driven so developers can latch onto it.

'Innovation never sleeps'... Well now that is just plain cool

 

[fatbarstard]

Piles!! Ha ha ha ha ha

Sorry... that has got to be the most god-awful name for a software feature ever!!!

For those of you that live in the US 'piles' is a medical condition that one would use Preparation H for... a bit like sitting on a bunch of grapes...

Who is the moron who came up with that working title... oh the puns I could write....

 

[jane doe]

Sorry... that has got to be the most god-awful name for a software feature ever!!!

For those of you that live in the US 'piles' is a medical condition that one would use Preparation H for... a bit like sitting on a bunch of grapes...

Who is the moron who came up with that working title... oh the puns I could write....

Piles isn't real, but the concept is pretty good. I always think of piles of dog crap in the yard when someone brings it up.

 

[GorillaPaws]

As far as the conspiracy theory stuff is concerned, I think we can all safely assume that Tiger won't be secretly transmitting everything we do on our computers to the NSA, or secretly turning on all of our iSights to make sure we're all being good citizens. The real question I have is about this meta data stuff. I have heard it described in previous posts as being analogous to id3 tags in iTunes but within the finder. Is that correct? How is this different from putting info in the comments section of each file (doesn't the finder search function use comments for its searches?), and using lables? I'm just not getting why this will be such a revolutionary thing. I subdivide my documents folder into other more specific folders (e.g. documents-> School-> 2004-> PHIL300). I never have a problem finding what I need, granted I don't have a massive catalogue of files either. I can see how keeping track of files may be more difficult for say a graphics designer with hundreds or thousands of files, but I still think that if they took the time to organize as s/he adds more files that it isn't that big of a deal to manage. Obviously, I'm missing something key here, can one of you graciously point it out to me?

 

[aid]

Metadata usage

I can see how keeping track of files may be more difficult for say a graphics designer with hundreds or thousands of files, but I still think that if they took the time to organize as s/he adds more files that it isn't that big of a deal to manage. Obviously, I'm missing something key here, can one of you graciously point it out to me?

Well, at least my take on this... Apple's use of resource tags in OS9 was effectively meta data. The meta data was extra information about a file but not actually within the file - just more tacked on the side.

Now, if you have such a standard meta data layout the Finder (or other app) can scan though the standard meta-data format, without having to know teh format of each file type to understand comments, ID tags etc etc. I consider this an advantage.

However, what I hope apple do in the next MacOSX is to include all of this meta data in a central database, rather than small sub-files attached to each file.

Once you have ALL of the metadata describing your files in one database you have the ability to instantly search for any query based upon that data. Once could do that now but would need to run through every file on the filing system - a very, very slow process indeed..

This makes such things as Smart Folders possible.

Also, the use of meta data for introducing a more fine-grained level of security than is the Unix norm would be good for many users of shared servers.

I really hope they do it for 10.4 and put MS to shame...

aid

 

[advocate]

if people pick up a New York Times a year from now and see that, because of security reasons, the State Department has mandated the use of Macs exclusively for their productivity workers, they'll start to think... hmm... i'm sure getting tired of having to patch Windows for Blaster.Q... maybe i should check out this Mac thing.

No, it's more like they'll call their IT support desk and demand to know why they haven't "fixed" the "virus problem" yet. That's from an actual call I took today. Another actual call I took today demanded to know why we didn't have a dedicated position to manually filter all of the email coming into the site. She threatened to sue the IT department if she had to take any more "sexual harassment" from us in the form of spam from remote sites.

Users know less than nothing. Don't count on them to make intelligent decisions.

 

[sedarby]

Big Brother sees you

When the article discusses Apple working with the government on security features for the new OS, I don't take this to mean Apple providing means for the government to track or collect information on end users' systems. My understanding is that they are working to ensure that the next version of Mac OS X will meet the stricter security requirements that are expected of computer systems in government and military installations. I believe an earlier rumor mentioned that this included customizable login screens tailored for different branches of the government, but I'm sure the changes will go much further and deeper than that. I think this is a good thing, because if a system is secure enough to satisfy the world's largest bureaucracy, it's probly good enough for you or me.

Microsoft went through this with NT 4.0. They had to meet C4 guidelines for the government to use systems with their operating system.

Paranoia aside I would not be too concerned about this but then again do you really think the government doesn't have computers analyzing traffic on the IP network you like to call the internet? Big Brother is already there and putting hooks into OS X really won't matter that much.