[yzmtf2008]

Tangantially related, I remember reading the Asahi Linux wiki [0], and was shocked by this statement about Apple Silicon machines. It's fascinating that Apple has a reputation for being anti-libre, yet the hardware they built is arguably very libre-friendly.

> This puts them somewhere between x86 PCs and a libre-first system like the Talos II in terms of freedom to replace firmware and boot components; while a number of blobs are required in order to boot the system, none of those have the ability to take over the OS or compromise it post-boot (unlike, say, Intel ME and AMD PSP on recent systems, or the DMA-capable chips on the LPC bus running opaque blobs that exist on even old ThinkPads).

> From a security perspective, these machines may possibly qualify as the most secure general purpose computers available to the public which support third-party OSes, in terms of resistance to attack by non-owners.

[0]: https://github.com/AsahiLinux/docs/wiki/Introduction-to-Appl...

[ChuckNorris89]

>yet the hardware they built is arguably very libre-friendly

Well they're already in legal trouble for abusing their iOS market dominance with the new EU proposed legislation, they know the tides are turning against big tech, so they didn't lock down the MacBooks preemptively to brace themselves for what's coming, not because Apple has somehow now become a FOSS supporter.

Before you applaud Apple for being too libre and think the company has changed direction, keep in mind this is the same company that ships recently launched monitors without user replaceable power cords and locks out in firmware the possibility to upgrade the SSDs on the very expensive Mac Studio despite teardowns showing that it's phisically possible by end users.

Also, as a curiosity, why is every thread related to a X86 news, need to bring in the Apple M1 fan army and bang their drums? They serve completely different markets. For those consumers or companies that need to run X86 windows/Linux binaries that have no Mac ports, M1 based hardware is off the table from the start. And the device from this topic is designed to cater to that market, not to compete with M1.

[d3nj4l]

> Also, as a curiosity, why is every thread related to a X86 news, need to bring in the Apple M1 fan army and bang their drums?

Because this thread isn't about x86 news; it's about a laptop. And Apple makes laptops, which have the M1 chip in them. It's completely fair to discuss them, especially because one of the selling points of TFA is that it supports coreboot.

[Casteil]

> Also, as a curiosity, why is every thread related to a X86 news, need to bring in the Apple M1 fan army and bang their drums?

Honestly? Efficiency & battery life without sacrificing speed/performance.

If you need great battery life (or simply don't want to have to worry about charging your laptop frequently), it's hard to swallow ~4-10h battery life of a typical X86 laptop when MBA/MBP are consistently achieving 10-16+ with real-world use.

...not to mention the other perks MacBooks hold over their competitors, e.g. fit/finish, display quality, speakers, etc.

>They serve completely different markets.

Do they, though? With so many things being web-based these days, it's not very hard for most people (without specific needs) to switch to an M1 as their primary device without experiencing problems.

[yokoprime]

> Also, as a curiosity, why is every thread related to a X86 news, need to bring in the Apple M1 fan army and bang their drums?

What do you mean? The root post complains about M1 and thus it was brought up. It's not like an Apple bro army parachuted in and started comparing x86 to the M1

[lumost]

I suspect everyone is waiting for the news to drop that either a top of line ARM machine is released outside of Apple, or for AMD/Intel to announce a competitive ARM chip.

Computer enthusiasts have heard for ages that X86 is bloated, and that alternate instruction sets are better if only the tooling good catch up. Now that Apple is pushing ARM across the line, and ARM servers are becoming popular - folks want to see the linux ARM machine.

[outside1234]

Honestly I have both a Linux machine and an M1 MacBook Pro - so I am interested in both!

[uuyi]

Err the monitor has a user replaceable power cord. I have one and removed it fine. It’s different because an IEC lead won’t fit in the design envelope. Even the stand can be replaced.

The SSD is also a misnomer. The influencers couldn’t put a normal SSD in a mac and make it boot. But they don’t understand that there is integration with the crypto at hardware level. And there’s no reason to suspect that apple won’t provide SSD replacements on the open market as part of their self repair program.

This is the power of crappy influencer bloggers. Distributing misinformation which everyone parrots verbatim. They are a cancer on the planet and so are the followers.

Realistically these are absolutely trivial issues in the scale of things blown way out of proportion by people looking for problems rather than actually using the hardware.

[bzzzt]

> Before you applaud Apple for being too libre and think the company has changed direction, keep in mind this is the same company that ships recently launched monitors without user replaceable power cords and locks out in firmware the possibility to upgrade the SSDs on the very expensive Mac Studio despite teardowns showing that it's phisically possible by end users.

I don't get all those accusations that are constantly recirculated on tech forums. A non-removable power cord has a big advantage: it's hard to lose it. I've never damaged a power cord before (or heard of someone who had) so is it really that damning you should go to a repair shop for something like that? Also, Apple never advertised removable SSD modules. I don't care what they put in that box as long as it works as advertised.

[thawaya3113]

It was probably easier for them to be more libre than less during early development. This has often been the case with Apple products.

Don’t worry. They will lock it down.

[amelius]

Yes, they will lock it down. Hopefully not by blowing some fuses in previously sold devices ...

[Tagbert]

People have been proclaiming that for years. “Just wait, Apple will only let you install their software on their machines. It’s going to happen soon. Anytime.”