[whynotminot]

> This model might trigger planned obsolescence legislation in some jurisdictions.

As opposed to years of garbage Windows laptops at the $600 price point, which you seem to expect will remain viable longer than the Neo ... ?

If any legislation comes out of this, it will simply be because of Apple's high profile. They were content to let e-rot fill the shelves for years before the Neo.

[Jaepa]

There could be an arguments that you can install a lighter OS on these machines. That's not as easy with MacOS.

[kube-system]

That would be a wild argument to make for a consumer protection regulation. Consumer protections almost exclusively judge a product as-delivered in the way laypeople would use it.

[iknowstuff]

Asahi is easier to install on Macs than distros for Windows PCs.

You just run a CLI command and follow simple prompts.

On Windows PCs, you have to go buy a flash stick, download a tool for flashing it for your BIOS/UEFI (and maybe learn MBR vs GPT), wait while that happens, maybe learn about partitions and repartition your disk ahead of time, mess with your BIOS to change boot order, hope you don't wipe your data by selecting the wrong partition etc

(the fact that this is still the status quo is crazy. The nerds need to pay more attention to the funnel)

[mono442]

It doesn't work on macbook neo.

[vlovich123]

Are you sure that’s not based on stale information? The M series of laptops by all accounts from the ASAHI developers were written specifically to make it easier to install alternative OSes and ASAHI is no more difficult to install than Linux on a Windows machine.

[philistine]

Asahi Linux is only able to be installed on an M2. They basically take 2 years per new chip, when Apple releases one yearly. At this point, they'll never catch up.

[Rohansi]

M3 is taking longer than 2 years now. That came out late 2023.

[a96]

And Asahi seems to have been M1/2 only and nothing since then, no matter what the timeframe.

[alsetmusic]

No. Nothing about MacOS prevents users from installing alternative OSes. Even with Apple's custom chips, that remains true. It's only that it's a smaller target that limits options as fewer people are writing software for that hardware than for x86.

See Asahi to verify[0]. I've been a donor since the week they opened a Patreon account.

0. https://asahilinux.org/fedora/

[Rohansi]

> Nothing about MacOS prevents users from installing alternative OSes. Even with Apple's custom chips, that remains true.

Reminder that the possibility of installing a third-party operating system on Apple hardware is not a given. The same silicon is used in iPhones and iPads where you absolutely cannot install another operating system.

[alsetmusic]

While factually true, it has no bearing on my ability to install Asahi on my M1 Air, which I did a year or so ago just to kick the tires. It was straightforward and easy and worked. Impressive work by that team.

[a96]

But only on M1, maybe M2. There's sadly no sign of any future after that.

[alsetmusic]

> But only on M1, maybe M2. There's sadly no sign of any future after that.

That's because a Linux kernel maintainer was a jerk to the project's lead, causing him to quit. It was a Rust argument, as I recall. Also, their genius graphics dev got hired into a large company, though I don't recall who.

I don't have a lot of insight into who is working on what. I only know of these two people because they were noteworthy enough for articles or HN links to make me aware. That said, a lack of developers isn't the same thing as constraints from Apple. If you get people who are motivated to continue building Asahi, it absolutely could continue to expand to newer chips.

[philistine]

At Asahi's pace, the A18 Pro will be able to install Linux in about 8 years.