What would happen if all the Linux developers focused on making Linux super compatible and smooth on hardware that wasn't overtly antagonistic to the future of Linux?
It's a VM. As far as I know in no way are they supporting this kind of bare metal development. Protections like T2 make it even more difficult to install Linux operating systems.
I don’t think any of that qualifies as overt hostility, especially not toward the future of Linux broadly.
- I hope we can agree that supporting bare metal Linux shouldn’t be that bar.
- T2 is about securing the OS and functionality that they do offer as part of the product and its value proposition. That it makes installing Linux more difficult doesn’t establish intent to make it more difficult. It could just as well be they don’t care. Given they’ve showcased Linux in a VM, I find the latter more likely.
- They have a track record of ignoring efforts support non-Mac OSes, but embracing them as they become viable (Bootcamp).
- Even if they outright blocked these efforts, Linux will still work on non-Apple hardware (which surely represents the majority of current installations), and in a VM on Macs. So it’s hard to see how this affects the future of Linux.
I really wish there was some effort on the part of the broader (F)OSS community to better understand the nature of the subject of their ire. Apple’s position here may warrant some criticism. I certainly wish they were more transparent and provided better documentation across the board, including their hardware. But there is a wide range of disposition between fully embracing and supporting these efforts and “overt hostility”.
Linux and open source are always inefficient with its limited development resources. There are how many distros. Desktop systems. How many video editors? All free, and all in need of some development polish.
There is no one dominant firm/distro. This is an OS that can’t agree on a way of distributing applications across distributions: flatpack, snap…
It interesting That every M1 machine comes with an OS these people people are enthusiastically looking to replace with something better.
I think the issue for me with this is that it’s a lot of volunteer effort going to support a single machine vendor that is very wealthy and seems disinclined to help out.
They are breaching a walled garden. And they are looking at a system with capabilities unseen before. And Apple has its prestige. I can totally understand the excitement that goes into this.
Of course it's like working in front of an armed cannon that can be fired at you at any moment. Apple can very easily perform a lock in the seriousness of which no desktop computer has ever seen before, given they control the hardware down to the transistor level.
I can also understand and respect the excitement that goes into this. In terms of the Linux meta though, it's like sneaking into a farmer's field to plant crops for them.