[Aerialoo]

I seriously don't understand the apple glazing. They are pretty much completely out of the picture and are one of the most anti consumer anti open-source companies. Yet developers STILL hope for Apple acquisitions and being saved... Or something like that... We have llama.cpp, vLLM, opencode, hermes and countless other mature great open source tools that don't require a anti-consumer company's hands in the jar.

[dofm]

OK. Not sure I agree Opencode is mature, having used it enough and seen the source code, but if that is the level of attention to detail that now qualifies as “mature” then I understand why my comment upset people so much and I apologise.

I think it ought to be possible to understand my comment without assuming it is Apple fandom; it’s not.

(see e.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48805487 for how I feel about brand loyalty)

I am just one of those developers who use Linux daily as a remote/VM work environment, from a MacBook, from personal choice. I have for decades. There is a kubuntu laptop on my desk too (a Framework) which is fine; I have more or less always had GUI linux around too. But my own LLM dabbling is happening on an M1 Max, like so many others, because I am not a gamer or home build PC guy (this century at least) so I don’t have a PC with a GPU. (Yet. I am LLM-cynical but I can see running a dedicated machine for this in principle)

The suggestion about Apple (who I don’t believe are yet “out of the picture” in any meaningful sense) acquiring LM Studio was an idle reflection on them being the most Apple-ish of the options, that’s all. They need something; LM Studio is closest to what they need.

[Lio]

I would guess it's because Apple are a hardware vendor that at least talks about privacy as a selling point.

The M series chips provide large amounts of GPU RAM so I think people can see a world where Apple sells local first, privacy focused, inference based on hardware sales.

LM Studio's strategy seems to fit that very well.

[bel8]

I would respect Apple's privacy talk if they facilitated running Linux. But it takes years of reverse engineering to get it barely useful on a Mac.

So they put revenue above true privacy, as companies do. But they are the loudest to spit the bs while selling black boxes.

[Lio]

Sorry I think you misunderstand me.

I'm not pitching Apple as the best or only solution, I'm saying that selling local inference seems to fit with their current marketing goals.

Selling high end, high margin computers that have lots available GPU RAM with at least lip service to local inference for privacy fits with what they already do.

I don't see anything to stop say Framework making the same pitch but with Linux but since Framework don't design their own chips they don't have quite so many levers to pull as Apple do.