This is something I can’t figure out, because my understanding is that no matter what OS you install, unless you bought your Mac with cash, your serial number and credit card are now connected…and will always be spilling data about you.
Thanks for any advice…I’m wondering if it’s worth it to install a new OS.
But why would the do it in hardware when they can do it in software? Again, the number of people running Asahi Linux is minuscule.
I dunno about such an exposure tanking their stock. Sure, some privacy advocates would be disappointed, but most Apple users would shrug it off. I doubt a significant percent of people using Apple products are doing it because of privacy concerns. And what are those people going to do? Switch to Microsoft? If they were ever going to switch for privacy reasons, or had any willingness to switch to Linux, they probably already would have. But it’s all speculation, because getting statistics on this would be almost impossible. My opinion is, it might make a temporary blip in their stock price, but there’d be no enduring impact on their bottom line. Adding hidden telemetry to their chips, however, would add significant cost to every chip.
Because software is easier to analyze than hardware?
Certainly, although OSX has enough closed source parts, and obfuscation is good enough to let a supply chain attack live in Go’s module ecosystem for years. Obfuscation is reasonably effective, especially when the DMCA in the US makes reverse engineering legally hazardous, and it’s iffy in the EU as well. Anyone who found an issue would have to make it public very anonymously.