Apple today announced that it has extended the deadline for Mac App Store apps to implement sandboxing until June 1. The requirement had been set to go into effect on March 1 after already having been delayed from last November, but continued uncertainty about implementation and its effects on app functionality has caused Apple to again slow down the transition.
We have extended the deadline for sandboxing your apps on the Mac App Store from March 1st to June 1st to provide you with enough time to take advantage of new sandboxing entitlements available in OS X 10.7.3 and new APIs in Xcode 4.3.
We first profiled the sandboxing requirements, which would restrict apps from initiating operations outside of their operational confines, back in November. While users could override the sandboxing with their own commands, compromised apps would be prevented from affecting a user's entire system. But concerns over the effect of the requirement on apps requiring system-wide file access or allowing inter-app scripting have given some pause about how sandboxing should be implemented.
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The issues was revisited earlier this month as the deadline approached, with several developers noting that there were still questions and concerns over how to implement sandboxing in their applications. One developer noted to MacRumors at the time that there were likely to be major issues if Apple were to enforce the requirement on March 1, given lingering bugs and other issues, and Apple has clearly taken those concerns to heart and given itself and developers an additional three months to work through the issues.
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Probably the next step will be that apps can no longer run in the background, except for certain services that Apple deems worthy of multi-tasking, and everything will be full screen so we we'll have to switch between apps all the time.
After that, the keyboard will be removed, and a single button will be added. All further human-computer interaction will be automatically determined by the OS. Human presence will no longer be necessary, as the OS will be able to make better decisions on its own. Soon, computers will rule the world and it will be a better world. For computers.
That was 5 years ago before the iPhone. I wonder how long until I switch back to Windows.
ps. LOL @ anyone downranking my comment. as if being a professional and requiring flexibilty was a bad thing. by flexibility, i mean options and choice, two words that make apple very uncomfortable.
If Apple keeps restricting everything, Windows will succeed even more soley on the fact that alternatives are not 'better'. Further making Microsoft think Windows is so great based on sales, rather than feedback that it sucks but its the only OS that doesn't restrict.
No wait. That's what everyone says about Windows. Guess we'll have to do some retconning a bit to paint the sandbox in a more positive light. Okay. Here goes. Before the sandbox, OSX had a bunch of viruses and was unstable. Windows? You'd press the button on the computer, and it wouldn't turn on. Ever. Why people paid money for that, I have no idea. OSX just worked...sometimes. Now, with the sandbox, it works all the time. There we go.
Apple does it again!
It's securererer now.
There is a fine line between secure and usable.
at the expense of dumbing the app down