[moe]

Out of curiosity...

Do the doors at Apple HQ have locks? Or is there just a little LED next to them that lights up when they open?

[saagarjha]

There is a little LED that lights up when they open. The door latch is controlled via software and so is the light, though I would assume in the case of power failure they'd unlock for fire safety reasons.

[moe]

Ok. So there is not only a LED, but a physical latch.

I think Apple's building security architect should have a conversation with their camera security architect.

[saagarjha]

I know where you were going with that, but the situation is different than what you’re trying to show. On Macs the light is on the path of the camera: if it is on the camera is, if it is not then the camera is not. Whereas with the door you might think that if it was latchless someone could just push it open when the light was off. The camera light is really a door alarm, not a door latch. (And as I just mentioned, doors with an alarm but no lock often do exist, usually for fire safety reasons).

[moe]

No, the situation is in fact the exact same.

A door without a latch does not prevent an unauthorized person from trespassing. A camera without a cover does not prevent an unauthorized person from trespassing.

Apples webcams are broken by design.

Other companies fixed theirs years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37NFVGLX3vw