Signatures stamps are great, but the signature-creation method is absurd.
Ok, there is something cryptographically special about a signature image, which means we can't just import a file, it has to be created while in the program, and it gets stored on the keychain. Fine. But then why not also give us the ability to add an arbitrary stamp from an image? Why have the only method for adding a stamp to a PDF be through the signatures?
I have a fine signature as an image, which didn't survive the switch to a new Mac because it's not a plain image and you have to jump through hoops to bring it across keychains. I also have a stamp that I use. I can't import either of these into Preview, and my only option for the former is a terrible scrawl on the touchpad, or holding up an image in front of the camera and hoping it's not too distorted. Why?
I think you answered your own question - both of the Apple-allowed methods described require a human in the loop. Your approach could more easily be automated and thus forged.
Why this is a big deal? Not sure but it seems the best bet. Would love to see this confirmed.
My issue is mostly that they don't at least have a non-cryptographically secure method of simply putting an image or a stamp on a pdf. It's such a useful thing. Instead, to import a stamp like a green check mark into Preview, you'd have to print one out and then hold it up to the camera, which is absurd.
I only just now put two and two together to realize it's stored on the keychain. I wondered why I haven't had to update it in years, across multiple MacBook upgrades.
Because fundamentally Apple computers do not put you at the center of your computer, they put Apple there.
For example, on the new M1 computers, iOS apps stop functioning if SIP is disabled. Why? This is entirely artificial, because the iOS app model depends on you not being able to do whatever you want with the device you own. Contrast this with open source where this sort of restriction would just be patched away.
Ok, there is something cryptographically special about a signature image, which means we can't just import a file, it has to be created while in the program, and it gets stored on the keychain. Fine. But then why not also give us the ability to add an arbitrary stamp from an image? Why have the only method for adding a stamp to a PDF be through the signatures?
I have a fine signature as an image, which didn't survive the switch to a new Mac because it's not a plain image and you have to jump through hoops to bring it across keychains. I also have a stamp that I use. I can't import either of these into Preview, and my only option for the former is a terrible scrawl on the touchpad, or holding up an image in front of the camera and hoping it's not too distorted. Why?