Asahi Linux's Apple M1/M2 Gallium3D Driver Now OpenGL ES 3.1 Conformant

[Sonadow]

The same question applies to the old P3 Dell laptop, or any old computer reallyl basically I bought them and use them once in a while for nostalgia, the iLamps I sometimes watch DVD's on, those things are still great for that.

Honestly, they are so slow, that even if someone were to create the most modern Linux distro imaginable that could run on them, they would still be too slow to do anything meaningful with them, at least by today's standards.

I will say that the iMacs have some of the nicest displays I have ever seen, and their speakers are top notch. Even after all these years the systems are in great shape.

Really wish someone would make a system like those iLamps again.

The thing is that the guy saying that Asahi Linux will be needed in 8 years or so because Apple will stop updating the software, fails to realize that as crazy as it sounds the M1 in 8 years will be considered slow and people will be asking why anyone would want to run that.

All one has to do is look at the Intel Meteor Lake with the onboard AI accelerator to see where we are headed, Win 11 already supports AI features in Windows Studio Effects, I'm predicting right now that we are less than a decade away from Star Trek style AI powered voice controlled personal computers.

We already have much of the technology in place, we need the AI accelerators to handle some of the processing, I strongly suspect either the next version of Windows or the one after that will feature voice controlled OS interfaces, where you will simply say "Computer, show me phoronix.com" and it will take you there.

,

Your Win2K notebook is still somewhat usable thanks to Windows' legendary ABI stability; just about any software application that is built to be compatible with XP has a good chance at running on that Win2K machine. And if you absolutely need to use new software on that Win2K system, it's possible to install Visual Studio 2017 (or older) and the Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 SDK on Windows 11 and build software that target XP; whether the P3 actually has enough power to run those software at a bearable performance is another thing.

On the other hand, the PPC Macs are at a complete dead end.

Indeed, the way tech and software are moving along so fast has essentially turned computers into throwaway items with lifespans.

You *could* upgrade a desktop with newer PCIe graphics cards, more memory and more storage, but at a certain point (usually by 8 to 10 years) the CPU will start to struggle to keep up with the needs associated with 8 or 10 years later. And ripping out the motherboard and CPU to replace them with a newer board and CPU after 8 to 10 years is practically no different from buying a new computer.

ARM SoCs used in smartphones are no different. Back in 2010 LG released the Optimus 2X, which ran on what was the fastest ARM SoC back then, the Nvidia Tegra. Fast forward to 2020 and that phone has all but completely vanished. There's a reason Cyanogenmod for the 2x ended at 10.1 (Android 4.2).

It's ridiculous to try and fight the "computers are now throwaway items with an 8-year-lifespan"; especially when new hardware with even greater power savings and performance keep being churned out every few years. Every hardware vendor is caught up in this, from x64 to ARM and even Loongarch. As long as hardware keeps improving, development SDKs and frameworks will include more things, and that will result in software becoming greedier.

The only way to put an end to this is to reach a point in hardware technology where CPU and GPU performance has plateaued and no more performance gains are possible.

[Sonadow]

Something like this could only come from someone who has never used the layer of hell known as OSX. Asahi could have zero GPU acceleration and crash every few minutes and it would still be a better OS to actually use.

That's the mentality of a Linux user.

An OS that crashes every few minutes is better than an actual OS that works and does what people use it to work for.

[drakonas777]

It's ridiculous to try and fight the "computers are now throwaway items with an 8-year-lifespan"

What's ridiculous is to make generalized "rules" as this one. 8 year old PC can easily handle basic tasks like web browsing, office suite, video playback, accounting applications and more. It can also handle almost all of the indie games, majority of AA games at decent settings and even some AAA games at minimal settings. For some people it's nowhere near the "throwaway" item, especially if it was a high quality high end device at purchasing time.

[Sonadow]

What's ridiculous is to make generalized "rules" as this one. 8 year old PC can easily handle basic tasks like web browsing, office suite, video playback, accounting applications and more. It can also handle almost all of the indie games, majority of AA games at decent settings and even some AAA games at minimal settings. For some people it's nowhere near the "throwaway" item, especially if it was a high quality high end device at purchasing time.

A Sandy Bridge will have enough problems trying to handle today's modern web as much as people try to deny it.

Even a Skylake will struggle on some rich web services.

[drakonas777]

A Sandy Bridge will have enough problems trying to handle today's modern web as much as people try to deny it.

Even a Skylake will struggle on some rich web services.

We are not talking about Sandy Bridge though. We are talking about Haswell/Broadwell/Skylake depending on the platform.

"Stuggle" is a very relative term. Those systems won't be as responsive as ones sold new today, but they are perfectly capable handling a lot of basic tasks. Furthermore, sometimes even new systems are struggling to be instantly responsive in "rich web services". Try rocket chat app for example on the high end system - it feels like shit.

Perhaps your personal performance standards are very high and that's fine.

[devling]

I have a 4770k that is 10 years old now (not my main computer but a "backup" one, mostly for some work, browsing, plex server and such). Honestly it's REALLY usable still. Compared to my 7950X in my main rig, it's still holding up really well, and with a decent GPU it could definitely manage a lot of modern games: https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compar...50X/1537vs4133

That said, I also own a M1 macbook and would love to see full driver coverage. I really like the hardware but MacOS is more of "I can stand it". Having the choice to pick OS, a vastly bigger software library, and the customisation that linux offers would be a big benefit.

I hope apple does this. It would be funny. This is so stupid and waste of time and working resources. Who the hell is going to run linux on a hardware that is specifically created for other OS that can use 100% of what this hardware offers, when linux 100% will never be able to use all the things this hardware offers.

What things specifically are you talking about?

[citral]

Imagine claiming a Ryzen 1800X will be completely useless in 2 years and won't be able to surf the web, edit pictures, watch videos and listen to music. As in, what 90% of users do.

Imagine digressing on useless rants while having never contributed to anything useful, on a topic about extremely talented people with extremely high IQ's extremely impressive achievement.

The low IQ trolls are out in force today.

[xhustler]

That's the mentality of a Linux user.

An OS that crashes every few minutes is better than an actual OS that works and does what people use it to work for.

Agreed. A number of forum users dish on Macs and MacOS in general but my experience is far different.

Have used a MacBook Air and MacBook Pro as my daily drivers for the last 6 years and before that Linux (Slackware/Ubuntu). Granted my tasks and work flows have changed dramatically but I find MacOS to very stable. Over the 6 years, my machine has crashed twice and that was due to the NTFS driver. A reboot (after months of just closing the lid) fixed the issue. What do I use my Mac Pro for - the basics - online meetings, creating and editing documents, deploying and managing servers and routers , et cetera. And despite all the nay sayers, the hardware and MacOs are yet to slow me down.

Regarding the subject at hand, kudos to Alyssa and the Asahi team for achieving the near impossible in record time.

@kpedersen and the other authors of sarcastic comments, you are entitled to your opinions and so am I. That said, eat your heart out!

The rest of us are on the way to having great distros running on superb hardware.

[drakonas777]

I hope apple does this. It would be funny. This is so stupid and waste of time and working resources. Who the hell is going to run linux on a hardware that is specifically created for other OS that can use 100% of what this hardware offers, when linux 100% will never be able to use all the things this hardware offers.

The simple fact that non-Apple high performance ARM-based notebook segment is not existent basically "morally warrants" this kind of an effort. Also, there is no need to strive for 100% HW support. Having basic but stable CPU, GPU and peripherals support is enough for most people who intent to run Linux on this device.

[Sonadow]

The simple fact that non-Apple high performance ARM-based notebook segment is not existent basically "morally warrants" this kind of an effort.

Linux users with their god-saviour complex at it. As always. Shamelessly proclaiming to be the god-appointed people responsible and obligated to "save" hardware.

Having basic but stable CPU, GPU and peripherals support is enough for most people who intent to run Linux on this device.

Oh? What happened to "Linux supports hardware better than <insert proprietary OS name>" and "Linux users do more things on their OS than <insert proprietary OS name>" users?

Suddenly the goalposts have shifted to "just the bare minimum is enough" at one's convenience?