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Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree

git.kernel.org

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Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree

#31

Post by paxys »

strange_things wrote: post #20

This is very anecdotal but every single laptop I have bought in the last 10 years (4) worked perfectly out-of-the box with either Linux Mint or Ubuntu (which are the same on the inside). I only vaguely remember once I had to change some conf file for my trackpad to work after a dist update but that was it. Not sure why everyone in this thread is so hesitant about Linux on a laptop? It literally just works (tm) for me…

The manufacturers of the laptops you mention (HP, Lenovo, Dell, Acer, ASUS etc.) all directly support Linux for their hardware by publishing SDKs, developing drivers, pushing updates to the kernel and more. Some of these companies even sell Linux laptops themselves. Apple is a very different company.

Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree

#32

Post by 58028641 »

baq wrote: post #28
tumblewit wrote: post #3

Macbooks make one of the good linux laptops (the ones that have support like older retina macbooks). And the truth is Macbook Air is one of the handful ARM consumer laptops you can easily buy right now even though ARM is the superior everyday computing platform to x86. What a weird time in personal computers.

Don’t equate ARM with Apple silicon. If the M1 was an x86 cpu it’d blow Intel out of the water exactly the same way it did now.

Not quite as fast. M1 has 8 wide decode, which would be difficult to do with x86 because x86 has variable instruction lengths.

Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree

#33

Post by ohgodplsno »

strange_things wrote: post #20

This is very anecdotal but every single laptop I have bought in the last 10 years (4) worked perfectly out-of-the box with either Linux Mint or Ubuntu (which are the same on the inside). I only vaguely remember once I had to change some conf file for my trackpad to work after a dist update but that was it. Not sure why everyone in this thread is so hesitant about Linux on a laptop? It literally just works (tm) for me…

Got a Dell with an integrated GPU as well as a GTX1660. The laptop's display is hooked to the igpu, the HDMI to the GTX. Problems that have happened with Linux, in no particular order:

* Bumblebee/Optimus is a pain in the ass to install

* Performance on the second screen with Optimus is dreadful (sub 30Hz refresh rate)

* Being an NVidia card, I have the choice between Nouveau which can only put it into its low power state (which fucks me over when I need to use the Android emulator), or the proprietary nvidia ones which are, well, shit.

* Putting the laptop to sleep with an external display connected is a sure way to have it crash when it starts back up.

* Just kidding it doesn't actually go to sleep, the GPU stays on and runs like crazy.

I would _love_ to be running Debian on this machine. Sadly, the state of some things on Linux makes it impossible for me.

My emergency laptop, an 8 year old low end HP with a broken keyboard is still happily running along with Debian though.

Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree

#34

Post by monsieurbanana »

Skunkleton wrote: post #25
strange_things wrote: post #20

This is very anecdotal but every single laptop I have bought in the last 10 years (4) worked perfectly out-of-the box with either Linux Mint or Ubuntu (which are the same on the inside). I only vaguely remember once I had to change some conf file for my trackpad to work after a dist update but that was it. Not sure why everyone in this thread is so hesitant about Linux on a laptop? It literally just works (tm) for me…

The short answer is that this is a different beast. Much of the hardware in Macs before the M1 was commodity hardware. Now it is all bespoke and undocumented. This is a big undertaking.

He's not asking why it's hard to port linux to M1 (and it's never been easy either, even before M1), but why people in this thread have hesitations about linux on laptop in general.

Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree

#35

Post by dhekir »

strange_things wrote: post #20

This is very anecdotal but every single laptop I have bought in the last 10 years (4) worked perfectly out-of-the box with either Linux Mint or Ubuntu (which are the same on the inside). I only vaguely remember once I had to change some conf file for my trackpad to work after a dist update but that was it. Not sure why everyone in this thread is so hesitant about Linux on a laptop? It literally just works (tm) for me…

Every single laptop my company bought me in the last 10 years (3+) had kernel/driver issues, especially with Ubuntu, since the kernel version was usually lower than that from other distros, like Fedora.

This includes mostly graphics driver issues (either simply Nvidia, or hybrids, or some exotic protocols such as DisplayLink), but also touchpad, power/suspend issues (e.g. wake-up failure), lack of fingerprint or smartcard reader drivers... Without mentioning certain manufacturers forcing you to use Windows simply to update docking station firmware drivers (like Dell does).

I still favor Linux whenever I can, but there is a real issue in several models, especially bleeding-edge powerful laptops from brands favored by businesses. Linux certification does improve things, but it often omits "optional" components such as fingerprint readers.

Overall, about 1-2 years after the new laptop model has been released, almost everything works fine, but when you're among the first users, some amount of time will be spent in forums trying to find solutions and workarounds for such issues.

Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree

#36

Post by jari_mustonen »

Would someone familiar with the porting effort tell what where the major obstacles and breakthroughs. It would also be interesting to hear what methods were used in the process and who are the people behind the effort.

Thank you in advance. You will find appreciative audience here in HN for such engineering porn.

Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree

#37

Post by 2muchcoffeeman »

dhekir wrote: post #35
strange_things wrote: post #20

This is very anecdotal but every single laptop I have bought in the last 10 years (4) worked perfectly out-of-the box with either Linux Mint or Ubuntu (which are the same on the inside). I only vaguely remember once I had to change some conf file for my trackpad to work after a dist update but that was it. Not sure why everyone in this thread is so hesitant about Linux on a laptop? It literally just works (tm) for me…

Every single laptop my company bought me in the last 10 years (3+) had kernel/driver issues, especially with Ubuntu, since the kernel version was usually lower than that from other distros, like Fedora. This includes mostly graphics driver issues (either simply Nvidia, or hybrids, or some exotic protocols such as DisplayLink), but also touchpad, power/suspend issues (e.g. wake-up failure), lack of fingerprint or smar…

I can live without the fingerprint reader.

It’s the lack of hibernate that really sucks. I got my 2013 MBA battery replaced. Leave it unplugged for 10 hours. 1% battery drop.

XPS 17 on Pop OS LTS with kernel 5.8. I have to shut down if I want battery left.

Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree

#38

Post by bawolff »

strange_things wrote: post #20

This is very anecdotal but every single laptop I have bought in the last 10 years (4) worked perfectly out-of-the box with either Linux Mint or Ubuntu (which are the same on the inside). I only vaguely remember once I had to change some conf file for my trackpad to work after a dist update but that was it. Not sure why everyone in this thread is so hesitant about Linux on a laptop? It literally just works (tm) for me…

I think its like most things - people with bad experiences talk about them a lot. If it works perfectly why would you post about it.

I've also had good experiences with linux laptops. Maybe not perfect, but more like easily resolved in 20 minutes of googling, which is totally reasonable to me.

Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree

#39

Post by apatheticonion »

I say this as a long-time PC user; MacBook laptop hardware is unrivaled in the PC space (trackpad, screen and keyboard - not pure price/performance).

Having any distro running Gnome 40 with full gesture support would be seriously compelling for daily driving.

Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree

#40

Post by kreetx »

paxys wrote: post #9
tumblewit wrote: post #3

Macbooks make one of the good linux laptops (the ones that have support like older retina macbooks). And the truth is Macbook Air is one of the handful ARM consumer laptops you can easily buy right now even though ARM is the superior everyday computing platform to x86. What a weird time in personal computers.

Old Macbooks make good linux laptops. This hasn't really been the case for a while now.

A 2015 mbp works pretty well, are there problems with the newer ones?
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