Imagine how big Apple would/could be if they embraced open hardware. They do have a moat here. macOS is so bloated, I hate it, but the hardware is just so much better than anything else.
Of course they will not because they don't want to be a commodity seller, they want to sell a complete product of premium quality and premium price and that works mighty well for them.
However I am afraid I bought a macOS Air with M1 and recently a Neo for my daughter, because, while they are excellent computers, their closed ecosystem hardware goes directly against free software projects like Linux and others as well.
Microsoft has always been much criticised but, for its own interest, it promoted from the '90 a general purpose ecosystem of hardware where free software thrived. It just got a little bad later for the GPUs where proprietary, undocumented hardware becomes the norm and Direct3D the only viable abstraction layer to use them, making it Windows only. It was this ecosystem that made free software thrive, including Linux, GCC, Python, Perl, Tcl/Tk and a lot of wonderful project that empowered people and make computer better to use.
I think we must be aware that free software needs general purpose, well documented hardware to thrive and I think we - the power users, developers, etc - we should choose responsibly what hardware we purchase to choose those that are favorable to free software. We should be also aware that in some cases this means getting a machine with lower performances or that costs a little more but there is a trade-off to be done.
Some people may say: who cares about free software, we just want the best product that works and proprietary, closed, stuff is fine. However, when we think that we are forgetting that we enjoy today a free software ecosystem that was made possible from the open hardware ecosystem of 20 - 30 years ago. We need to remember that when companies are unchallenged they inevitably begin to produce shitty products and make the user's life miserable as long as they can. This can as long as to stifle progress and significantly diminish the usefulness of a computer system.
So, no, apple will not make open hardware but we, the developers and power users, may consider to not buy their computers when they use proprietary, undocumented hardware that is hostile to free software.
Microsoft has never promoted general purpose hardware. From paying OEMs to install Windows on all computers no matter what the customer wants, to locked down proprietary drivers, to ACPI tables that only worked because Windows knew about their specific bugs, to getting Secure Boot force-enabled on all hardware from a certain era...
sscaryterry · · focus · HN ↗
frankohn · · focus · HN ↗
However I am afraid I bought a macOS Air with M1 and recently a Neo for my daughter, because, while they are excellent computers, their closed ecosystem hardware goes directly against free software projects like Linux and others as well.
Microsoft has always been much criticised but, for its own interest, it promoted from the '90 a general purpose ecosystem of hardware where free software thrived. It just got a little bad later for the GPUs where proprietary, undocumented hardware becomes the norm and Direct3D the only viable abstraction layer to use them, making it Windows only. It was this ecosystem that made free software thrive, including Linux, GCC, Python, Perl, Tcl/Tk and a lot of wonderful project that empowered people and make computer better to use.
I think we must be aware that free software needs general purpose, well documented hardware to thrive and I think we - the power users, developers, etc - we should choose responsibly what hardware we purchase to choose those that are favorable to free software. We should be also aware that in some cases this means getting a machine with lower performances or that costs a little more but there is a trade-off to be done.
Some people may say: who cares about free software, we just want the best product that works and proprietary, closed, stuff is fine. However, when we think that we are forgetting that we enjoy today a free software ecosystem that was made possible from the open hardware ecosystem of 20 - 30 years ago. We need to remember that when companies are unchallenged they inevitably begin to produce shitty products and make the user's life miserable as long as they can. This can as long as to stifle progress and significantly diminish the usefulness of a computer system.
So, no, apple will not make open hardware but we, the developers and power users, may consider to not buy their computers when they use proprietary, undocumented hardware that is hostile to free software.
someonebaggy · · focus · HN ↗