What is the Linux equivalent of a MacBook Air? Unless its literally MacBook Air and the virtualization just hasn't come far enough
What is the Linux equivalent of a MacBook Air? Unless its literally MacBook Air and the virtualization just hasn't come far enough
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Isn't it tho? Altho, are you in turn suggesting MacBook is the best Linux computer with all the problems of Mac but just in a Hypervisor where they have even more control and would theoretically be more unhinged?
What hypervisor? You can entirely replace macOS with linux and run it directly.
But surely its never totally—not running, somehow, no? Like are you saying Apple is totes cool being cucked by Asahi/linux alternate OSes while they do all the work on developing the hardware?
I really hope I totally misunderstand the way it actually is now and that you can gently set me on the right path on this topic
You already paid for the hardware, it is yours. If apple sold it to you for a loss and expects you to give them more money through their ecosystem, that's their mistake.
Software is not part of the hardware, it can always be replaced. It can be made difficult, but as the console jailbreaking community will show you, never impossible.
There are people who have installed linux and run steam games on playstation 4 hardware, even.
Im glad my understanding was flawed and all of you could helpfully correct that :) thanks internet pal
You delete macOS. You install Asahi. No Apple involved except they made the hardware, just like PCs. I have mint on an ASUS Zenbook. It's your hardware, use it how you want. Apple can suck a fat dick.
Can you have both? I might want to use certain paid apps that might be less replaceable or other "Apple" stuff but wanna have the option to experiment with Linux too since I've never used it previously
Edit: I've heard the term dual-boot, that's ringing a bell perhaps
Yes. You can have more than one storage device, or partition a single one, and install more than one operating system. At startup, a bootloader like grub can then be used to choose which one you want to load into.
Is it a seperate Volume or what's the metaphor or file level at which this is possible?
Yes. You cannot have multiple operating systems within the same filesystem.
But on a practical level, does this preclude being able to dual-boot? That's the word I feel like I've heard and that best conceptually aligns with what I'm envisioning here
I order to dual-boot, you must install more than one operating system, plus a bootloader that lets you switch between them.
The multiple OSes cannot be installed within the same filesystem, which simply means they need to have their own area on the hard-drive/ssd/whatever.
For linux you need extX/btrfs/..., windows uses ntfs, and OSx uses apfs. They do not work with each other (or, well, linux can mostly access the file systems of other OSs but it can't run from them).
In practice, this just means you either need more than one storage device, one for each OS, or that you need to partition your existing one. (Shrinking any filesystem already on it, and creating new partitions for the other OSes).
Essentially, imagine taking your 500gig mac, and shrinking it to a 300gig mac, and then using the extra 200 gigs to create a second, virtual ssd that you can then install your second OS onto while keeping the one you already have (though with a bit less space for it to use).
The "new" ssd is not really virtual, it'd be a partition of the size 200gigs, the filesystem that was already there was also a partition, it was just the same size as the ssd, so it took it up completely. When you only have one OS, you only have one partition (there are exceptions) but you can have two, or three, or any number you want. They can be any size as long as they together fit on the drive.
What will they do? Stop you? Yeah they would rather you use their OS, but they sell their hardware with the assumption that you bought it more for the OS than the other way around. You could put windows on a MacBook if you want.
You can just put linux on whatever computer you want. You want it on a MacBook? Do it. You want it on a custom built gaming rig? Do it. You want it on your grandpa’s beige monstrosity? You’ll need a light af distro, but you can do it.
Linux isn’t going to be built around or optimized for any specific hardware, because that’s not what it’s for or how the folks who make it operate. That means that if you want the best linux laptop, go find the best laptop you can afford, and load it with the distro you’re interested in. You don’t buy linux like macOS.
If you want a computer built by a linux distro developer, use a system76 computer with popOS
I feel like this is the way (altho I'm aiming for getting this on an MBA)