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> With the Apple Silicon, there is now a real contender, actually surpassing the current x86 offerings in many aspects It's absolutely NOT a real contender for

> With the Apple Silicon, there is now a real contender, actually surpassing the current x86 offerings in many aspects It's absolutely NOT a real contender for widespread use until you can buy a mini-itx, microatx or regular ATX motherboard from any one of the well known dozen Taiwanese motherboard manufacturers, and an individual CPU to socket into it. Or at least a selection of motherboards with CPUs soldered onto them from same vendors. The hardware availability is basically a walled garden.

sp332 5y ago
Isn't that much harder with architectures without a BIOS equivalent? The components on the motherboard have to be told how to talk to each other. Swapping out the CPU would require some reconfiguration.
weatherlight 5y ago
it'll happen eventually :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxdRSCQfhyw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxdRSCQfhyw https://www.solid-run.com/arm-servers-networking-platforms/honeycomb-workstation/ https://www.solid-run.com/arm-servers-networking-platforms/h... - Layerscape LX2160A 16-core Arm Cortex A72 (up to 2GHz) - up to 64GB DDR4 dual channel 3200MT/s - 4 x SATA 3.0 - 1 x PCIe x8 Gen 3.0, open slot (can support x16) - 4 x SFP+ ports (10GbE each) - 3 x USB 3.0 & 3 x USB 2.0 - GPIO header - 170mm x 170mm standard Mini ITX form factor
vmception 5y ago
Its coming
tcmart14 5y ago
I don't think whether you can buy it in a form factor though is a good indicator of "contender of widespread use." It ignores any technical merits and what the chip can actually do. Can it enable someone to check email, watch youtube, and check social media? Yes. Can it render graphics? Yes.If you put someone infront of a Macbook with an M1, can they accomplish everything hey can on an intel machine? Yes. Now, is it probably priced out of being a real contender for widespread use? Most likely. Is it offered is configurations that suite everyone? Maybe not. But that doesn't mean it can't accomplish the same or similar tasks. If someone can sit at a computer and accomplish all of their normal tasks, then for the most part, it is a contender for widespread use, it is just a cost factor.
- walrus01 5y ago
  the subject matter of the parent is for widespread linux use, which is rather unlikely if it's only available from one vendor. yes iphones are mainstream, in terms of market share. no iphones are no mainstream in any context related to use of one's own choice of GPL licensed software.
sliken 5y ago
Sure, but Apple's proving what is possible. It's only a matter of time until similar chips ship from the competition.
iknowstuff 5y ago
I bet Apple will sell order(s) of magnitude more MacBooks than the combined total sales of motherboards in those form factors, so your definition of widespread is surprising to me.

sp332 5y ago

Isn't that much harder with architectures without a BIOS equivalent? The components on the motherboard have to be told how to talk to each other. Swapping out the CPU would require some reconfiguration.

weatherlight 5y ago

it'll happen eventually :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxdRSCQfhyw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxdRSCQfhyw https://www.solid-run.com/arm-servers-networking-platforms/honeycomb-workstation/ https://www.solid-run.com/arm-servers-networking-platforms/h... - Layerscape LX2160A 16-core Arm Cortex A72 (up to 2GHz) - up to 64GB DDR4 dual channel 3200MT/s - 4 x SATA 3.0 - 1 x PCIe x8 Gen 3.0, open slot (can support x16) - 4 x SFP+ ports (10GbE each) - 3 x USB 3.0 & 3 x USB 2.0 - GPIO header - 170mm x 170mm standard Mini ITX form factor

vmception 5y ago

Its coming

tcmart14 5y ago

I don't think whether you can buy it in a form factor though is a good indicator of "contender of widespread use." It ignores any technical merits and what the chip can actually do. Can it enable someone to check email, watch youtube, and check social media? Yes. Can it render graphics? Yes.If you put someone infront of a Macbook with an M1, can they accomplish everything hey can on an intel machine? Yes. Now, is it probably priced out of being a real contender for widespread use? Most likely. Is it offered is configurations that suite everyone? Maybe not. But that doesn't mean it can't accomplish the same or similar tasks. If someone can sit at a computer and accomplish all of their normal tasks, then for the most part, it is a contender for widespread use, it is just a cost factor.

walrus01 5y ago
the subject matter of the parent is for widespread linux use, which is rather unlikely if it's only available from one vendor. yes iphones are mainstream, in terms of market share. no iphones are no mainstream in any context related to use of one's own choice of GPL licensed software.

sliken 5y ago

Sure, but Apple's proving what is possible. It's only a matter of time until similar chips ship from the competition.

iknowstuff 5y ago

I bet Apple will sell order(s) of magnitude more MacBooks than the combined total sales of motherboards in those form factors, so your definition of widespread is surprising to me.