[xcv123]

> Can you point me to an official ackgnowledgment of Asahi Linux by Apple?

No but there is this:

https://asahilinux.org/about/

"Does Apple allow this? Don’t you need a jailbreak? Apple allows booting unsigned/custom kernels on Apple Silicon Macs without a jailbreak! This isn’t a hack or an omission, but an actual feature that Apple built into these devices. That means that, unlike iOS devices, Apple does not intend to lock down what OS you can use on Macs (though they probably won’t help with the development)."

> A lot of software works, but when it doesn't, the user is SOL.

Talking about the Kernel (Linux itself). Applications are another story.

You are looking at it all from a very conservative enterprise perspective. Worried about long term support etc for a mission critical system. Asahi is not pretending to be an enterprise solution.

For someone just using it on their laptop, none of this is much of an issue.

If Asahi works today on your M1 Pro, and its good enough for your daily work, then it's fine. If support disappears in a few years, then simply switch to another device at that time. At least you will have had a few years of use out of a decent machine. Life is too short to worry too much about these things as an individual just using their laptop as a workstation or for personal use. Worst case in five years just buy another laptop that works for you, and move on.

[imiric]

Yes, I saw that quote, but it doesn't fill me with confidence. For one, I think developing a custom bootloader[1] qualifies as a hack. It certainly doesn't feel like an "actual feature". Is it documented anywhere?

Also, how do they know that "Apple does not intend to lock down what OS you can use on Macs"? Again, I would like to see some official confirmation from Apple.

> Worried about long term support etc for a mission critical system. Asahi is not pretending to be an enterprise solution.

No, I'm looking at it from the perspective of a single user for personal, and potentially professional, use. I _really_ don't want to go back to the user experience of Linux in the 90s, when barely anything worked, and the user had to spend hours tinkering to get basic features working, if they were supported at all. If that sounds fun for you, go ahead and enjoy the Apple hardware, but I'd like my machines to work. I'm annoyed by mainstream Linux enough as it is; I really don't need more reasons to dislike it.

> If Asahi works today on your M1 Pro, and its good enough for your daily work, then it's fine.

Buying a $2k machine to realize it doesn't support my workflow seems like a risky investment. As well as being at the mercy of a small group of volunteers and a trillion dollar corporation that it will continue to work for at least a few years.

[1]: https://asahilinux.org/2021/03/progress-report-january-febru...

[xcv123]

> Also, how do they know that "Apple does not intend to lock down what OS you can use on Macs"

They don't. And it really doesn't matter to some people. The current hardware is not locked down, therefore it can always run Linux. Future devices are not guaranteed to work, but those do not exist today.

> Buying a $2k machine to realize it doesn't support my workflow

You're simply not the target user. The people who are enthusiastically using Asahi know what to expect and are happy with it as it runs the software they need to use today. Of course it is not a mainstream option that every Linux user can use.

> that it will continue to work for at least a few years.

Once the hardware in your device is reverse engineered and drivers developed for it, that is done and will continue to work for a long time. The risk is future devices (Apple M6, M7, etc).