It’s also just a more enjoyable experience to run Linux on hardware that’s actually supported...I’ve been using Macs since I was a kid in 1993, and have at some point or another run Linux on each of them. It has pretty much always been easy to get up and running but frustrating to actually use. There is a wide chasm between “it runs” and “I want to use this every day”, usually involving sleep/wake issues, wifi problems or driver issues for other internal hardware (backlights, camera etc).

Perhaps the M1 is sufficiently compelling to muster the engineering resources needed to get every piece working nicely, we’ll see!

Understandable and I was ready to buy a Dell XPS as I like the "small and light" form factor. I was just waiting for the COVID buy spike to subside and see how my financial situation would evolve.

But I have pushed the decision back to see how Linux will be running on the M1. From first reports, it is simply tailor-made for a laptop computer that doesn't get burning hot or dog slow because of thermal throttling.

I hope intel and to a lesser extend AMD are looking at this thing red-faced. But they will need some time to play catch-up.

If you're planning that device to be your daily driver, I'd definitely get the XPS. A stable Linux distro running on M1 is probably 3-5 years away, at least.

Thanks. I do understand that. I'll probably be running Linux in a VM for the time being and switch to a native installation once it is ready.

I wish Apple would help Linux on their hardware as it won't take away a lot from their software business and they do have the resources, but yeah, they are just a big company like others in that regard.

>I hope intel and to a lesser extend AMD are looking at this thing red-faced. But they will need some time to play catch-up.

I think it raised their eyebrows a bit, but don't agree that they need some time to play catch-up. Bottom line is the vast majority of Intel and AMD chips are running Windows. You can't even buy Windows 10 for an ARM processor. Microsoft flirted with the idea at one point, but has pretty much abandoned it. So why would Intel or AMD market ARM chips at all when Microsoft isn't supporting them at all?

If you are talking about servers that is a different story (since lots of servers run Linux). AMD already made a server with an ARM processor, the latest "Opteron" series was ARM https://www.amd.com/en/amd-opteron-a1100 These came out in 2016 and don't think they sold nearly as well as Epyc has. Taking a second look at offering ARM for the datacenter in the fture might not be a bad idea for AMD though.

I wasn't talking about ARM chips in particular, but chips with great power management, chips that are able to pull great performance if it is required without hitting the thermal envelope instantly. Chips with a reasonably good GPU that doesn't exacerbate the thermal problems.

The M1 isn't a Xeon in disguise, it has its limitations. But for the sub-notebook form factor, it's in its own class and freaking intel can't match it. And they've been treading water since about 6y now.

Also: me personally, I don't care about Windows. I want to run Linux. I understand that's a niche market, but we are writing in a Linux thread, so...

Their catch-up need not be in the form of an ARM chip. If they can get an x86-compatible chip to match the M1's performance at with similar thermals/battery, that's even better.

I have fairly recent XPS and indeed it is a shame how poorly it runs in terms of throttling and getting hot. On Linux when you launch Teams, forget about being able to keep it on your lap for too long. Teams eats the CPU for breakfast and probably you could fry an egg on it if you closed the lid. Of course it has to be plugged in at all times as battery life is a joke after few months.