• @AgreeableLandscape
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    2 years ago

    Mac servers are only still a thing because their apps ONLY compile on their own devices. So if you want continuous integration or any sort of remote building of Mac or iOS apps, you need something like this abomination in your server room:

    • @k_o_t
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      62 years ago

      this

      i honestly liked swift and swiftui when I tried it, but the fact that you’re confined to such strict requirements pushed me away, not to mention their sneaky tactic of forcefully pushing both users and developers to continually update ios versions, not bc newer versions are better, but because they have predatory (lack) backwards-compatibility: my favorite example of this was probably the requirement to have a new ios version to show the “beta” or “alpha” badge on your app

      i’m also glad that swift + tensorflow rewrite project failed, because god only knows what horrific consequences that would entail

      in a few years I would imagine you would only be able to write apps for ios using ipad pro using swiftui using xcode, and can only compile your app using xcode server… oh wait, that’s kinda already happening 😬

      i’m not sure how ios developers are so chill about it: apple practically controls every step of the development at this point, and could shut down any aspect of it to destruct the development chain

      • @dragnucs
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        22 years ago

        They probably never used another development ecosystem and think it is the only way to do it.

        Some others just think, “whoa this stuff is so advanced, Apple are geniuses”.

        • @k_o_t
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          22 years ago

          i hope the development ecosystem won’t undergo the same transition as pc -> mobile 😬

      • @AgreeableLandscape
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        12 years ago

        So apparently Swift can compile Linux binaries (from Linux) now. Might be an opportunity for you to try it again for Linux development.

        • @k_o_t
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          32 years ago

          didn’t swift have support for all desktop OS from the very beginning? iirc the primary issue was not the availability of language itself on any particular os, but rather the fact that all remotely useful applications of swift rely on proprietary frameworks and proprietary toolchains, like swiftUI, iOS emulator and xCode all of which is proprietary and absolutely necessary for iOS development, and neither of them work on any operating system besides macOS 🤷‍♀️

          • @AgreeableLandscape
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            2 years ago

            Fair enough.

            Reminds me of the same problem with C#, Visual Basic and the .NET framework, especially back in the day before .NET Core and the open source MsBuild. It was very hard to get into the ecosystem because almost all the tools and libraries are proprietary and usually cost money. Though those were even worse than Swift in that even the languages themselves are proprietary, other than Mono, but that’s unofficial.

            • @k_o_t
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              22 years ago

              damn, that mush have sucked 😬, although there’s a weird sense of security in only having to know and use a single set of tools and being able to solely rely on those 🤷‍♀️

              but i’m glad we have open source tools now :)

              • @AgreeableLandscape
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                2 years ago

                Having a forced standard way of doing things is good for beginners, but the moment whatever entity controls that standard way screws up or no longer wants to keep developing it cough Google cough, or you need to do something that they didn’t account for, it’ll be a shitshow.

                Now, if that standard way was Libre, that would fix all of those issues. But then it wouldn’t be a “forced” standard way anymore.

      • @AgreeableLandscape
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        2 years ago

        The amount of effort that third party companies go to making custom rack server cases that “optimally” accommodate Apple’s shitty devices is honestly both laughable and really sad.

        It’s impressive in its craftsmanship and engineering, but in a “why is this necessary” way:

        Reminder that other than the Mac Pro, none of these are enterprise grade hardware.

          • @AgreeableLandscape
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            2 years ago

            This is the worst one I found. Mmm, nothing like the very real possibility of hundreds overcharged lithium ion batteries puffing up and catching fire! Oh and if one battery goes off, all of them will because they’re right beside each other.

            • @k_o_t
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              42 years ago

              most likely batteries taken out of them if they value their lives, still terrifying tho 😬

              • @AgreeableLandscape
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                2 years ago

                I do wonder if Macbooks even boot and/or run stably without the battery. I know that many older laptops with removable batteries can, but it’s not unlikely that a high end Macbook’s peak power consumption could actually exceed the wattage of the charge connector. It definitely looks like they’re just using the Magsafe connector to supply power.

                • @k_o_t
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                  2 years ago

                  i think it is possible

                  there is an app for macOS, called al dente, that allows you to completely bypass the battery at any battery percentage rate, and many users that use their macbooks always docked take the battery out, so they don’t damage it by keeping it constantly at 100 % charge

                  edit: i’m surprised none of these ci servers use VMs with hackintosh, probably would save them a lot in hardware costs 🤷‍♀️

                  • @AgreeableLandscape
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                    2 years ago

                    edit: i’m surprised none of these ci servers use VMs with hackintosh, probably would save them a lot in hardware costs 🤷‍♀️

                    A large company doing that with their servers is probably a lot more likely to get sued.

                  • @AgreeableLandscape
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                    42 years ago

                    TIL. It’s actually pretty interesting that you can do this in software though.

                  • @dragnucs
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                    32 years ago

                    Tried doing a hackingtosh VMS server to build iOS apps at previous employer, 4 of us failed lamentably and opted to buy a macbook. It is a nightmare to virtualize or pass the the VM all the USB and proprietary connectors and stuff.