Sonoma 14.4

[joelfriedman]

Yeah, doesn't sound so good, although still "proof of concept." I guess it "happens" but man, Apple has really been tripping over themselves and QC these past 2-3 years, since the pandemic. I don't think they can be blamed for shortages and yield issues with chips etc. that delayed products, but it certainly has cut their sales and hurt their reputation. Their various software glitches have not helped at all. Somewhere in the next months I have to update my Intel iMacPro (2017) and... wow, I'm not sure what to do (yet).

Oh yeah, then there are the lawsuits and antitrust...

[James Steele]

Yeah the bummer is this is a flaw in the chip and “baked in” to the silicon, so at some point Apple will need to fix this, but M3 and earlier will have this vulnerability that will need to be patched and potentially slow down certain operations. I’m eager to know if that would have any significant real world impact on a normal DAW setup.

[joelfriedman]

And I have to assume that it would be too late in the game for a projected M3 Ultra this June to be altered. Does that mean A. the ultra (if it is released for a new Mac Studio) would have the same flaw B. The release would be delayed by the design-manufacturing of a new "corrected" version of the M3? Oy...

It is interesting that a whole series of long-term projects have also been cancelled - Apple modem, Apple car, micro-LED watch... May be good housekeeping to cut unproductive R&D projects, but with all of the lawsuits, the software glitches it creates an unflattering narrative.

[James Steele]

It is interesting that a whole series of long-term projects have also been cancelled - Apple modem, Apple car, micro-LED watch...

I think with the car, Apple just perhaps bit off a bit more than they could chew. I have to imagine the automative industry is just too far outside their wheelhouse. I read they sunk billions into it too?

[bayswater]

I read they sunk billions into it too?

They did. It’s sad. You have to wonder if they’ve lost their way on innovation. And the old “just works”, great hardware, and “no viruses” messages are fading, and their marketing and industry strategy is under fire. Things must be tense in the Apple boardroom.

[joelfriedman]

I guess a counter-argument would be brilliant manager Tim Cook reassessed the core biz and decided to cut certain projects to focus on… AI? Oops. Now they’re licensing AI from Google et al? Actually getting burned by Motorola and Intel understandably made them want to own/build their own components - modems! AI! - but if they can’t do it better/cheaper than what exists, then why? Actually lately it’s been “they can’t do it.” We shall see. Again, selfishly I hope they fix this chip issue or replace them w/a new iteration so I can finally upgrade sometime in the next 6 months.


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[HCMarkus]

Yeah the bummer is this is a flaw in the chip and “baked in” to the silicon, so at some point Apple will need to fix this, but M3 and earlier will have this vulnerability that will need to be patched and potentially slow down certain operations. I’m eager to know if that would have any significant real world impact on a normal DAW setup.

Actually, M3 looks ok, at least for now.

In reality, I don't see forthcoming software fixes impacting DAW performance significantly, if at all... at least after startup, when plugins are done "phoning home" (wherever "home" may be) for authorization.

At this point it's a "What, me worry?" situation says Alfred E.

[bayswater]

Actually, M3 looks ok, at least for now.

I hope so if only for the sake of all those who bought one. But you have to assume there are a lot of people taking a very close look for holes in the armour. I was thinking it was time to replace my very old MBP, but until I hear more encouraging news, that’s off the table.

[James Steele]

Yeah the bummer is this is a flaw in the chip and “baked in” to the silicon, so at some point Apple will need to fix this, but M3 and earlier will have this vulnerability that will need to be patched and potentially slow down certain operations. I’m eager to know if that would have any significant real world impact on a normal DAW setup.

Actually, M3 looks ok, at least for now.

In reality, I don't see forthcoming software fixes impacting DAW performance significantly, if at all... at least after startup, when plugins are done "phoning home" (wherever "home" may be) for authorization.

At this point it's a "What, me worry?" situation says Alfred E.

Only reason I was even mildly concerned is that it had to do with cryptographic security (?) and wasn’t sure if somehow it would affect iLok which must use some sort of encryption as well.

[joelfriedman]

James, being essentially clueless I'm more concerned if it's a backdoor to passwords and logons. Many of us do banking and purchases etc. Perhaps Mike has some thoughts on whether this is a tempest in a tea cup or something more serious, like a backdoor not just to iLok but our Apple accounts, Keychain, banking etc. *That's* what freaks me a bit. I'm guessing since I don't ever do 3D stuff, really much video, or even 96K audio, the hit an Apple patch might make on my "new M3 Ultra Studio!" would be negligible and probably unnoticeable to me. Provided the computer itself is secure.

Meanwhile there is no M3 Ultra and Sigh...

[joelfriedman]

At the risk of belaboring this topic, this article is a bit clearer. It's mostly good news for us, but there is some worry.

Note:

"The M3 chip does have a special bit in the processor that programmers can set to disable the prefetcher for cryptographic functions and preventing cryptographic data from being placed in the cache; but the M1 and M2 do not allow the prefetcher to be disabled."

OY...

"Green says the risk for most people from the GoFetch application-style attack is probably low.
“We’re talking about high-end users, like someone who has a cryptocurrency wallet with a lot of money,” he says. But he notes that in theory this attack might be used to break the TLS cryptography that a computer’s browser uses to encrypt communication between their computer and web sites, which could allow attackers to decrypt that communication to extract a user’s session cookie for their Gmail or other web-based email account and use it to log into the account as them.
“I’m not saying it’s a practical attack I’m just saying that’s the kind of threat you might be worried about,” he says, “You can get [other] very high-valued keys potentially” including their iCloud keys to access backed up data."

Cool! I don't believe in, and have NO interest in crypto! Oh, wait...

In short *maybe* we're all OK, except for the crypto bros.?

https://www.zetter-zeroday.com/apple-chips/

[HCMarkus]

Yes, this is a potential concern. But I fully expect Apple to issue a software patch that will prevent issues for most users and should only affect speed of crypto functions. Also, I suspect not many of us are compelling targets. Hence my "What, me worry?"

[mikehalloran]

Once again, we learn that the sky is falling and there's no hope. It would surprise me if a software patch wasn't coming—will any of us notice it?

The real fix—as with all the other times the sky has fallen in—will be a firmware update to block off or disable the problem. That will take a lot longer. The M3 has a bit that can/has? been set so that this is not an issue. We M1/2 owners have to wait awhile.

Actually, the sky has never fallen and Apple has always released the needed firmware updates and patches. I'm not worried.

[joelfriedman]

Cool-cool HC and Mike. Hoped as much, but thanks. We now back to our previously scheduled programming….


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[cuttime]

https://support.apple.com/en-us/109035