Hard to imagine a Linux user would want to run anything on hardware that costs a fortune and is also completely and intentionally unupgradeable and irreparable…
Much less that they would go to such great lengths to bring such software into existence.
Easy to imagine when you understand that this is developed to support hardware that is widely popular and that will be sold by a lot less in the second-hand market in a couple of years, and that this makes far easier for people that are currently stuck in this walled garden to experiment with free software.
True, but the M1 MacBooks have really taken a beating in price. And the Airs were already quite a good deal to start with, so they do still seem competitive (8GB RAM notwithstanding). Been using a base model air since launch, and unless I hit swap super hard (I rarely do) it’s still great :)
There’s not a whole lot of good options for decent ARM PCs and the M1s are legitimately pretty good machines, repairability aside.
Even if you can’t repair them at least it’s pretty much guaranteed they can at least have their OS upgraded to a libre one. There’s going to be millions of them on the used market in a few years for cheap.
I have zero complaints about the hardware of my work provided MacBook Pro, very nice machine to use overall.
Are they the best bang for the buck? No. But Linux isn’t just about getting as much as possible for as little money as possible. Not everyone wants to daily drive an old bulky ThinkPad because it’s free-er. I’m happy with my framework but the battery life, keyboard and touchpad are quite inferior compared to my work MacBook. I wouldn’t buy one for myself, but I can recognize it’s still a nice machine and it’s much better than whatever crap Microsoft is pushing out with its Surface line.
Meh, if just wanting a lightweight laptop that’s fast even when unplugged there’s people who would be OK paying $700 for a M1 MBAir or a bit more for a 16GB version. They’re great laptops, the Rust compiler is very fast on M1/2 and with no fan noise. If buying Apple Refurbished they’re like new.
I’m on a refurb M2 Air that I picked up from Apple for peanuts. It took me about 15m to get NixOS running on the thing, and it’s going to last me for 10 years, if my old MBP is anything to go by.
Also, regardless of the hardware politics, I’m not sure I’ve been in awe of a project as much as I have the Asahi team. They’re just doing so much so quickly and with such command of the subject … and they’re so young. It’s a joy to watch them work.
@helenslunch@joojmachine I would like to say that the M-series one of the best performing ARM-based hardware on the market. I haven’t found any other machine that is consumer available, highly power & thermal efficient on the same level as my 3-year old M1.
I am not an Apple shill, I would love to get your recommendation about this topic, as I am looking to get an ARM-based Linux daily driver, and the best option so far is doing this on my M1.
There’s no other machine that is more powerful and efficient at this time, other than possibly the new Qualcomm ARM chips (haven’t seen any independent tests yet).
Regardless, what good is it if that machine will likely become useless in the next 3 years? Are you just filthy rich enough that you’re willing to give thousands of dollars to one of the most ethically-bankrupt corporations in existence for a disposable piece of hardware?
@helenslunch regarding the points of “machine that will become useless in the next 3 years”, I think this is exactly the point of the Asahi Linux project, to bypass the planned obsolescence from Apple. When I cannot use the Apple OS anymore on the machine, I’ll try to install Linux just so I can continue using it.
@helenslunch
As for the filthy rich remarks, I don’t understand where this come from tho. I had to save up for around 3 months to buy the machine, but it served me well and helped me make back more than 10 times its price. There is no denying (you are also agreeing) that this machine is quite powerful & efficient for its form factor, and that saves me a lot of headache and backache.
@helenslunch
I do not side with the unethical practices from Apple, but I take a utilitarian stance and buy what makes sense for me financially, while try not to fall into their consumerism trap.
Hard to imagine a Linux user would want to run anything on hardware that costs a fortune and is also completely and intentionally unupgradeable and irreparable…
Much less that they would go to such great lengths to bring such software into existence.
Sadly, Apple is doing ARM CPUs for desktop/laptop PC incredibly well, and at a cheaper price than just about any competitor.
Before the Macbook Pro M1 I would’ve hard agreed with you, but this sentiment no longer goes with the current ARM PC’s that they’re selling.
Well, you’re entitled to your wrong opinions 🙂
Easy to imagine when you understand that this is developed to support hardware that is widely popular and that will be sold by a lot less in the second-hand market in a couple of years, and that this makes far easier for people that are currently stuck in this walled garden to experiment with free software.
Apple devices tend to also have wild resale values.
True, but the M1 MacBooks have really taken a beating in price. And the Airs were already quite a good deal to start with, so they do still seem competitive (8GB RAM notwithstanding). Been using a base model air since launch, and unless I hit swap super hard (I rarely do) it’s still great :)
There’s not a whole lot of good options for decent ARM PCs and the M1s are legitimately pretty good machines, repairability aside.
Even if you can’t repair them at least it’s pretty much guaranteed they can at least have their OS upgraded to a libre one. There’s going to be millions of them on the used market in a few years for cheap.
I have zero complaints about the hardware of my work provided MacBook Pro, very nice machine to use overall.
Are they the best bang for the buck? No. But Linux isn’t just about getting as much as possible for as little money as possible. Not everyone wants to daily drive an old bulky ThinkPad because it’s free-er. I’m happy with my framework but the battery life, keyboard and touchpad are quite inferior compared to my work MacBook. I wouldn’t buy one for myself, but I can recognize it’s still a nice machine and it’s much better than whatever crap Microsoft is pushing out with its Surface line.
Meh, if just wanting a lightweight laptop that’s fast even when unplugged there’s people who would be OK paying $700 for a M1 MBAir or a bit more for a 16GB version. They’re great laptops, the Rust compiler is very fast on M1/2 and with no fan noise. If buying Apple Refurbished they’re like new.
I’m on a refurb M2 Air that I picked up from Apple for peanuts. It took me about 15m to get NixOS running on the thing, and it’s going to last me for 10 years, if my old MBP is anything to go by.
Also, regardless of the hardware politics, I’m not sure I’ve been in awe of a project as much as I have the Asahi team. They’re just doing so much so quickly and with such command of the subject … and they’re so young. It’s a joy to watch them work.
Nah, a ton of Linux fans seem to shill hard for Apple for some reason.
@helenslunch @joojmachine I would like to say that the M-series one of the best performing ARM-based hardware on the market. I haven’t found any other machine that is consumer available, highly power & thermal efficient on the same level as my 3-year old M1.
I am not an Apple shill, I would love to get your recommendation about this topic, as I am looking to get an ARM-based Linux daily driver, and the best option so far is doing this on my M1.
There’s no other machine that is more powerful and efficient at this time, other than possibly the new Qualcomm ARM chips (haven’t seen any independent tests yet).
Regardless, what good is it if that machine will likely become useless in the next 3 years? Are you just filthy rich enough that you’re willing to give thousands of dollars to one of the most ethically-bankrupt corporations in existence for a disposable piece of hardware?
@helenslunch regarding the points of “machine that will become useless in the next 3 years”, I think this is exactly the point of the Asahi Linux project, to bypass the planned obsolescence from Apple. When I cannot use the Apple OS anymore on the machine, I’ll try to install Linux just so I can continue using it.
@helenslunch
As for the filthy rich remarks, I don’t understand where this come from tho. I had to save up for around 3 months to buy the machine, but it served me well and helped me make back more than 10 times its price. There is no denying (you are also agreeing) that this machine is quite powerful & efficient for its form factor, and that saves me a lot of headache and backache.
@helenslunch
I do not side with the unethical practices from Apple, but I take a utilitarian stance and buy what makes sense for me financially, while try not to fall into their consumerism trap.
The software is not the problem though…