4 ms·

What specific feature gaps would you like to see them address?

by riknos314 2y ago

echoangle 2y ago
Official Linux support would help, is anyone running MacOS on a server?
- cosmotic 2y ago
  If running native ports of server software isn't your cup of tea, you can run Linux containers on macos.
  - echoangle 2y ago
    In the full GUI MacOS install? And the Linux container (I’m assuming you mean container like docker or podman?) would run in a Linux VM?
    - cguess 2y ago
      I run full multiple Ubuntu desktop VMs on Parallels on a M1 MacBook Air. You can use Docker for server installs, sure, but QEMU also works great on Macs and with Rosetta you can even get pretty damn close to native x86 execution speeds.
  - coconut08 2y ago
    they run through virtualization which is clunky to interface with across boundaries and introduces overhead. I also don't think it has any hardware acceleration for things that would benefit from using the gpu.
- cguess 2y ago
  This isn't the market for MacMinis though. Why are people on this forum so bad at understanding market segmentation? Apple made an incredible desktop machine that happens to work pretty damn well as a server if you poke around. This machine is for people at home to for editing video. It's great in the field for production where it goes from pelican case to hotel desk to folding table to pelican case to cargo hold to storage.
  - sourcepluck 2y ago
    Have you ever thought that maybe people understand "market segmentation", but at the same time, they'd like to know how broad a range of computing options one would have on these general purpose computers, with price tags in the many-hundreds to thousands range?
    - cguess 2y ago
      Sure, but to complain that a Mac, which, come on, at this point is a known quantity for 20 years, doesn't run Linux is just looking to complain. If you want more options there's endless x86 choices, and if you want ARM then demand better from other manufacturers as well. Apple showed its possible, why doesn't Dell come out with something comparable? I'm not a fanboy, I run systems of all stripes, but Macs aren't designed to be servers (even though they operate perfectly well as one) and people need to stop complaining that they aren't.
      - cguess 2y ago
        Oh, and there's Asahi, which does run on Macs (not the M4 yet, but it'll come).
  - wtallis 2y ago
    In the past, Apple sold at least four generations of the Mac mini that included models literally branded as server models. Continued interest in using more recent models as servers is quite reasonable.
coconut08 2y ago
Linux support. MacOS is a desktop first gui based operating system. Linux on the other hand is a server first cli/terminal based operating system. Everything server related is designed to on linux first and foremost and may or may not incidentally also run on MacOS.
- SG- 2y ago
  run it in a VM.
- dangus 2y ago
  macOS is explicitly designed to not be a server, and the consumer hardware it runs on is also designed that way. Apple even discontinued the Server tools that you could buy on the App Store that used to be called Mac OS X Server. If you want to run Linux server apps, you should run Linux. Because Apple hardware and macOS isn't giving you any advantages over a generic piece of hardware running a Linux distribution. The hardware costs more and is less upgradable than off-the-shelf hardware. Servers should not run desktop environments because they are a waste of resources and widen the attack surface due to having more components installed and running. And even if you want a desktop environment for your Linux server, Linux most certainly has a wide selection of mature stable desktop environments. If you need to do development work or just achieve the goal of running Linux applications on a Mac, that can be easily done via virtual machines, containers, etc.
- astrange 2y ago
  If they work on a BSD they should work okay on macOS. (Not because macOS is exactly like FreeBSD, just that it means the project has been tested cross-platform.)
nikcub 2y ago
I'd like to replace my NAS using a mini - but Apple segment the market on disk. A "dumb" NAS 2.5" SSD drive array plugged into one via ~~firewire~~, and then out to the network via the Mac Mini would work. edit: thunderbolt!
- marxisttemp 2y ago
  FireWire? Once I have some more disposable income I plan to buy a Thunderbolt RAID array and a mini. FireWire hasn’t been on Macs for at least a decade. Apple’s internal storage pricing is absurd but you wouldn’t plan to use a NUC or a Raspberry Pi SOC’s onboard storage for a NAS anyways.
  - nikcub 2y ago
    hah! meant thunderbolt :) > Thunderbolt RAID array this is interesting: https://www.owc.com/solutions/ministack-stx https://www.owc.com/solutions/ministack-stx

What specific feature gaps would you like to see them address?

echoangle 2y ago

Official Linux support would help, is anyone running MacOS on a server?

cosmotic 2y ago
If running native ports of server software isn't your cup of tea, you can run Linux containers on macos.
- echoangle 2y ago
  In the full GUI MacOS install? And the Linux container (I’m assuming you mean container like docker or podman?) would run in a Linux VM?
  - cguess 2y ago
    I run full multiple Ubuntu desktop VMs on Parallels on a M1 MacBook Air. You can use Docker for server installs, sure, but QEMU also works great on Macs and with Rosetta you can even get pretty damn close to native x86 execution speeds.
- coconut08 2y ago
  they run through virtualization which is clunky to interface with across boundaries and introduces overhead. I also don't think it has any hardware acceleration for things that would benefit from using the gpu.
cguess 2y ago
This isn't the market for MacMinis though. Why are people on this forum so bad at understanding market segmentation? Apple made an incredible desktop machine that happens to work pretty damn well as a server if you poke around. This machine is for people at home to for editing video. It's great in the field for production where it goes from pelican case to hotel desk to folding table to pelican case to cargo hold to storage.
- sourcepluck 2y ago
  Have you ever thought that maybe people understand "market segmentation", but at the same time, they'd like to know how broad a range of computing options one would have on these general purpose computers, with price tags in the many-hundreds to thousands range?
  - cguess 2y ago
    Sure, but to complain that a Mac, which, come on, at this point is a known quantity for 20 years, doesn't run Linux is just looking to complain. If you want more options there's endless x86 choices, and if you want ARM then demand better from other manufacturers as well. Apple showed its possible, why doesn't Dell come out with something comparable? I'm not a fanboy, I run systems of all stripes, but Macs aren't designed to be servers (even though they operate perfectly well as one) and people need to stop complaining that they aren't.
    - cguess 2y ago
      Oh, and there's Asahi, which does run on Macs (not the M4 yet, but it'll come).
- wtallis 2y ago
  In the past, Apple sold at least four generations of the Mac mini that included models literally branded as server models. Continued interest in using more recent models as servers is quite reasonable.

coconut08 2y ago

Linux support. MacOS is a desktop first gui based operating system. Linux on the other hand is a server first cli/terminal based operating system. Everything server related is designed to on linux first and foremost and may or may not incidentally also run on MacOS.

SG- 2y ago
run it in a VM.
dangus 2y ago
macOS is explicitly designed to not be a server, and the consumer hardware it runs on is also designed that way. Apple even discontinued the Server tools that you could buy on the App Store that used to be called Mac OS X Server. If you want to run Linux server apps, you should run Linux. Because Apple hardware and macOS isn't giving you any advantages over a generic piece of hardware running a Linux distribution. The hardware costs more and is less upgradable than off-the-shelf hardware. Servers should not run desktop environments because they are a waste of resources and widen the attack surface due to having more components installed and running. And even if you want a desktop environment for your Linux server, Linux most certainly has a wide selection of mature stable desktop environments. If you need to do development work or just achieve the goal of running Linux applications on a Mac, that can be easily done via virtual machines, containers, etc.
astrange 2y ago
If they work on a BSD they should work okay on macOS. (Not because macOS is exactly like FreeBSD, just that it means the project has been tested cross-platform.)

nikcub 2y ago

I'd like to replace my NAS using a mini - but Apple segment the market on disk. A "dumb" NAS 2.5" SSD drive array plugged into one via ~~firewire~~, and then out to the network via the Mac Mini would work. edit: thunderbolt!

marxisttemp 2y ago
FireWire? Once I have some more disposable income I plan to buy a Thunderbolt RAID array and a mini. FireWire hasn’t been on Macs for at least a decade. Apple’s internal storage pricing is absurd but you wouldn’t plan to use a NUC or a Raspberry Pi SOC’s onboard storage for a NAS anyways.
- nikcub 2y ago
  hah! meant thunderbolt :) > Thunderbolt RAID array this is interesting: https://www.owc.com/solutions/ministack-stx https://www.owc.com/solutions/ministack-stx