Asahi Linux

>> I use Firefox. Windows 7 was out 2 years before the iPad 2 and the latest Firefox supports it.

> Microsoft doesn't even support Windows 7 anymore. I wouldn't recommend anyone use an OS that isn't getting security updates.

I mentioned Windows because you mentioned it, but I would not neither. You can install an up-to-date Linux distro on any computer that ran Windows 7 or 8 though.

> I'm not sure if Apple is lifting a finger to help, but https://asahilinux.org is a thing.

I was only speaking about iOS devices. Apple Desktop/Laptops have a better story on this.

> Apple will _happily_ buy old iPads for a pittance (or $0.00) and reuse the gold and aluminum and whatnot in it

Apple's handling of e-waste is not exactly great [1]. Anyway, recycling is way more costly than just being able to use hardware that exists.

[1] https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphones-macbooks

> Apple released its Environmental Responsibility Report Wednesday, an annual grandstanding effort that the company uses to position itself as a progressive, environmentally friendly company. Behind the scenes, though, the company undermines attempts to prolong the lifespan of its products.

[...]

> Apple rejects current industry best practices by forcing the recyclers it works with to shred iPhones and MacBooks so they cannot be repaired or reused—instead, they are turned into tiny shards of metal and glass.

> As an aside, one of the ways in which Apple actually helps its developers…

> I use Firefox. Windows 7 was out 2 years before the iPad 2 and the latest Firefox supports it.

Microsoft doesn't even support Windows 7 anymore. I wouldn't recommend anyone use an OS that isn't getting security updates.

> But my counter question would rather be: why don't Apple let people write alternative OSes for its hardware then? You can install an up-to-date Linux distribution on computers from the 90s. The iPad is a popular product, I'm sure there would be enough people interested in building a Linux-based OS for it.

I'm not sure if Apple is lifting a finger to help, but https://asahilinux.org is a thing.

I'm less than convinced Linux people want to bother, in large numbers, to install Linux on devices that were insanely RAM-constrained until only very recently, when Apple started putting M1 and M2 chips in its iPads. For all I know, there are additional patent minefields around implementing Linux drivers for iPads' hardware.

The only other thing that I can think of that would incentivize them to actively block alternate-OS development is security. If someone else can install a backdoor host OS and then stick iOS on top of it before selling the phone to you, that's a way to compromise a Real Computer that usually isn't possible with an iOS device.

> The problem is that perfectly good hardware is just getting disposed of instead. An heresy, from an environmental standpoint.

Apple will _happily_ buy old iPads for a pittance (or $0.00) and reuse the gold and…

Containers are a constant headache on MacOS. The likes of Lima have greatly improved the situation, but there are still several issues (network reliability and performance are significant issues).

> Do you have a habit of modifying your wifi drivers and recompiling the source?

Not even once. But thank god for the people who do put in the effort to code support for shitty walled gardens[1]. This age old strawman argument diverts attention away from many of the other virtues of Linux.

My personal coding and gaming machine runs Linux. My work laptop is MacOS. Almost every day (as no exaggeration) there is something new that doesn't work on MacOS, that yet another hostage of the Apple ecosystem has fixed for Apple.

> improved chasing dependencies vs just brew install

This is a very strange comment considering that brew was inspired by Linux package managers. Brew is incredible compared to what is available on MacOS (which, to be clear, is nothing), but it doesn't hold a candle to what's happening in the Linux world - especially with the likes of ostree, guix, and nix.

MacOS is an operating system designed for creators and influencers. It can be modified to the bare minimum of development competency. Even Windows pulls ahead of it with WSL, and that's saying something.

I can't comprehend why developers voluntarily subject themselves to it.

[1]: https://asahilinux.org/

I think this is less about control, and more about avoiding the 15-30% fee charged for selling through the App Store

As a user, I have always been able to run what I want on Apple devices. Most recently I found my kids were seeing bad recommendations on the YouTube app on Apple TV. I did not like the recommendations, or the adverts. I was able to clone Yattee[1] from Github and build it to the Apple TV from my laptop on the couch

Not as easy as side-loading, but also not difficult. Now when you want to _sell_ something like this, you can't. I'm fine with that. Freedom to run code is different from the freedom to package it up and sell it on a platform you don't own

Google makes side-loading hard[2] on Android for exactly the same reasons. They give preferential treatment[3] to big apps to prevent them from starting competing stores

I have the level of control that I like over my devices. I can't install my own OS on an iPhone, but there's great developments on Mac[4]. Given the hardware is now basically identical, this seems OK

[1] https://github.com/yattee/yattee

[2] https://www.androidauthority.com/fortnite-android-sideloading-google-2730588/

[3] https://www.androidpolice.com/2021/08/30/google-allegedly-offered-netflix-a-sweetheart-deal-to-keep-using-the-play-stores-payment-system/

[4] https://asahilinux.org

I strongly recommend not buying a Macbook and instead hacking a mini: https://github.com/vk2diy/hackbook-m4-mini ... cheaper and restores control of peripheral selection and replacement. That is to say "such a system will last ~forever instead of ~3 years [when the first major component dies and replacement costs ~70% of a new Apple product]". Particularly with Asahi Linux progressing so quickly. https://asahilinux.org/ Without Asahi Linux I would not buy a Mac in 2026.

I too looked at Framework and like the idea, unfortunately in my case the supply chain was too slow to be tolerable, before even considering the price-performance ratio.

I strongly support the idea that the EU should force vendors to make consumer device repairs cost-effective and available or open source and expose their component interfaces in exchange for the right to sell in Europe. After all, the EU brought us USB-C, so we know regulatory pressure works. Thanks, EU!

Taken from: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45643100 which I posted elsewhere 10hrs ago.

I'm also of that perspective.

It's sort of worth noting though that when Microsoft is presented with an option for blocking out Linux installation: they take it.[0]

When Apple are presented with an option for allowing Linux, they take it.[1]

The major difference here is OEMs, and that Apple has no OEMs.

We're essentially giving Microsoft the moral high ground even though they do nothing to earn it.

[0]: https://www.mickaelwalter.fr/linux-on-surface-rt/#:~:text=Also%2C%20for%20these%20models%2C%20Microsoft,supporting%20ARM%2C%20etc...

[1]: https://asahilinux.org/about/#:~:text=Apple%20allows%20booting%20unsigned%2Fcustom,Apple%20built%20into%20these%20devices.