Thanks to Fedora, it's now much easier to run Linux on your M1 or M2 Macs — just make sure you've got plenty of storage space ready

[iMore.com]

If you’ve been wanting to install Linux onto your Apple silicon Mac, Fedora Asahi Remix finally makes that dream come true.

Thanks to Fedora, it's now much easier to run Linux on your M1 or M2 Macs — just make sure you've got plenty of storage space ready : Read more

 

[EdLin]

This article is inaccurate, although it needs space, Asahi Linux installation is dual boot, it does not erase MacOS and in fact needs a MacOS partition firmware updates. It may have seemed that way because it makes the default boot Asahi.

Also, Asahi is meant for Apple silicon so it doesn't work well in generic ARM virtualization. For parallels use something like the ARM version of Debian bookworm.

 

[naddy69]

Since MacOS is already real Unix with a professional UI, why in the world would I want to install the cheap copy with an amateur UI?

I have been playing with various Linux distros for 25 years, on various Windows PCs. They all look extremely pathetic. Windows XP looks and works better. If you are a long time Mac user, you will be stunned at how ugly and user hostile Linux is.

Because programmers should not be designing UIs. For the same reason that UI designers should not be coding. Very different skill sets.

There is no way I am going to contaminate this wonderful M2 MacBook Pro with Linux. It would be like hanging a picture of the "Hang In There, Baby" cat in the Louvre museum.

 

[EdLin]

Performance for containers such as docker, testing software headed for Linux servers. (MacOS despite its certification does not resemble that environment in some respects), higher degree of privacy. Those are all legitimate reasons for some developers.

Oh, forgot to mention, Hector Martin, the guy doing Asahi, is using it on a Mac mini as a router - headless. So the ugly GUI doesn't come into play. He says that the high performance of Apple Silicon and low wattage and the 10Gb option on the Mac mini make it perfect for a high speed router. Cheap low-end CPUs can't handle QoS at that speed, and competivie CPUs to Apple Silicon typically have higher wattage. So the actual use-case of the Asahi developer in question makes a lot more sense than you think it does.

 

[naddy69]

None of which applies to a typical Mac user.

Linux has lots of uses. The entire Internet runs on Linux, as does our hosting center at the company where I work, to power our software for thousands of clients. Clients who have no idea that their software is running on Linux. They do not need to know, or even care how it all happens. They are accessing it via Macs and iPads and Windows PCs.

The point is, Linux is not designed for typical end users to do their typical day-to-day stuff. It is designed and shines as a server OS. The few people using it as a desktop are OS geeks. OS geeks love to tinker with stuff. It's an actual hobby. Nothing wrong with that, as I used to be an OS geek.

But I am way past that stage. I get paid to debug/fix/compile/deploy software all day long. I do not want to come home and spend my time tinkering with Linux.

The whole reason people use Macs (and iPads and iPhones) is because they don't require any tinkering at the OS level. If they DID require such tinkering, they would not sell in the numbers they currently sell.

Let's face it. Using a Mac mini as a high speed router is a true niche case. It is also using Linux for what it was designed. A server use case.

 

[EdLin]

There's no such thing as a typical user, computers are general purpose tools that are very flexible. If someone wants to make a Mac Mini into a 10Gb full featured router, why stop them or tell them it's a bad idea? (Due to Apple Silicon and the 10Gb ethernet option, it's actually a _good_ idea.)

 

[naddy69]

I am not stopping anyone from doing anything.

There IS a typical Mac user. If you think installing Linux on a Mac to use it as a router is a "typical Mac user" then you are just wrong. That is a very limited, small niche use.

A Linux developer is not a "typical Mac user". A developer is not even a typical computer user.

I am talking about users. A developer is not a typical user.

 

[Trees]

As the article mentions, I think something like https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/pro/ would be a capable and flexible "multitool" option for the developer or IT professional use case, rather than wiping an M series Mac for exclusive Linux use.

That said, I think the examples provided above about using Linux for older hardware (think out of support/warranty) are perfect. I have an original SurfaceBook that is now running Ubuntu 23.x perfectly.

 

[EdLin]

As the article mentions, I think something like https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/pro/ would be a capable and flexible "multitool" option for the developer or IT professional use case, rather than wiping an M series Mac for exclusive Linux use.

That said, I think the examples provided above about using Linux for older hardware (think out of support/warranty) are perfect. I have an original SurfaceBook that is now running Ubuntu 23.x perfectly.

The whole point to my post was that the Asahi Linux installer does not wipe the entire Mac, it makes a dual boot systtem, and the article was inaccurate. How this got to the point of arguing if someone "should" do that is another issue. In fact, according to Asahi's FAQ, you're not supposed to wipe the entire Mac, as it accesses firmware updates fetched by MacOS.

 

[EdLin]

Anyhow, if there are no developers who are "supposed" to use Macs, good luck on getting iOS and MacOS apps. That's a silly thing to say. Every iOS developer has a Mac.