Its just not pretty
Key Takeaways
Linux now runson Apples M1 Macs.
Virtualization company Corelliumwhich is currentlybeing sued by Applehas ported the open-source operating system to Apple Silicon Macs.
Corelliums business is virtualization.
Sai Kiran Anagani / Unsplash
So its no surprise that it has managed to port Linux to M1 Macs so soon.
But what does Linux on the Mac mean for you?
The Mac hardware is really good.
Even Linus Torvalds [the inventor of Linux] wants one.
Because it is open source, it can be customized.
Android phones run on Linux, asdo NASA systems.
If you have a smart fridge, odds are its Linux-based.
Linux, then, has been tweaked to run on pretty much anything with a computer chip inside.
And now that list includes the M1 Macs.
The initial port worked on the Mac mini, but Corellium has since gotten it running on MacBooks.
If you want to try it out on a laptop, youll need to follow Corelliums instructions.
“It still requires external keyboard, mouse, and USB to boot,” Wade wrote on Twitter.
“But we are working on adding support for those.”
What Does This Mean?
But porting Linux is handy for several reasons.
One is that it means it’s possible for you to virtualize Linux on your setup.
The Corellium port currently requires that you boot directly into Linux.
We were very happy to try building another Linux port to further our understanding of the hardware platform.
They also could get access to the custom chips that Apple puts into its devices.
Tensorflow, an open-source machine-learning platform, is alreadyusing Apples “Core ML” machine-learning tech on M1 Macs.
Linux users could repurpose the custom Apple hardware for their own uses.
Also, theres the challenge.
“The Mac hardware is really good,” says Ward.
“Even Linus Torvalds [the inventor of Linux]wants one.”
Apple also wins here, because it will sell more Macs.
For the typical Mac user, this may not make any difference.
But for people who care, this is a very big deal indeed.
And thats good news.
