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The Forgetful CPU (Linux on M4)

267 points · 203 comments · signa11

  1. sscaryterry · · focus · HN ↗
    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.
    1. mvkel · · focus · HN ↗
      Define big. They're one of the biggest companies in history. You're saying that if they appealed to 1% of the market that already uses Macs... what? And then they have to support these users?
      1. whatever1 · · focus · HN ↗
        A small percentage very loyal and very loud customer base has been the success ingredient of Apple for decades
        1. pjmlp · · focus · HN ↗
          And it wasn't enough, they got very lucky with NeXT reverse acquisition.
          1. hobo123 · · focus · HN ↗
            They got Steve Jobs, so it was probably the right decision, but I will wish they'd bought Be instead. It was super fast, instead of the (still!) super slow Nextstep.
            1. LoganDark · · focus · HN ↗
              I wonder how macOS would've turned out then. For me, the Smalltalk-ness of Objective-C is one of the things that makes it feel so much different than the likes of Windows and Linux. So much of the UX falls naturally out of it that I doubt we'd have ended up anywhere similar otherwise. What could Be have been like?
              1. pjmlp · · focus · HN ↗
                You would have had a C++ userspace, and POSIX would likely not be as relevant as it is today.

                Note that BeOS wasn't POSIX compatible, that came with Haiku rewrite.

                However without UNIX/POSIX to sell Apple to those frustrated Linux users looking for shinny UNIX laptops, and the management skills from Steve Jobs (vs Gassé), probably Apple would be no more instead.

                Haiku has archived what BeOS programming looked like,

                <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.haiku-os.org&#x2F;legacy-docs&#x2F;programming_the_be_operating_system.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.haiku-os.org&#x2F;legacy-docs&#x2F;programming_the_be_oper...

                1. LoganDark · · focus · HN ↗
                  Looks very Windowsish... which makes me even more grateful for Objective-C! Not to mention that C++ is far more difficult to mix with other languages, too.
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