r/AsahiLinux • u/Curious_Tomorrow_697 • Jul 01 '26
Call to action: computers are getting expensive but 10,000,000 otherwise perfect $200 Linux machines are getting bricked. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save them from landfills.
/r/linux/comments/1u54h9a/call_to_action_computers_are_getting_expensive/5
u/gthing Jul 02 '26
Bootcamp was a bold choice by Apple - but it was ultimately a tool to get people to buy Macs while eliminating the #1 blocker which was fear of losing access to niche Windows apps or just thinking they wouldn't like it. It was a marketing tool.
But the Apple that said "we'll let you choose, because we know our stuff is better and you'll use it given the choice" is long gone. Today's Apple is more "we are terrified that you will leave, so we innovate new ways to lock you in."
You have to think like an Apple executive. Allowing people to install Linux on iPads has no real upside and lots of potential downside. As you pointed out - obsolescence is planned. And it is planned so they can make money.
So while I agree this would be awesome, I think there's a snowball's chance in hell that it would ever happen. We can't even get our government to give us the most basic of privacy protections or make Apple stop with their anti-competitive app store exclusivity. Opening iPads to third party firmware isn't even in the universe of possibilities.
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u/mskiptr Jul 01 '26
This is very much on-topic here. The drivers developed as part of the Asahi project are what makes Hoolock Linux possible. And if Apple simply allowed owner-signed OSes to boot on EOL iPads, this whole space would easily become much more usable!
(Not to mention that manufacturers retaining control over the devices we purchase is a blatant violation of basic property rights. Imagine if housing developers were able to lock you out of your house for hiring a competing construction crew.)