> This computer is for the kid who doesn’t have a margin to optimize. Who can’t wait for the right tool to materialize. Who is going to take what’s available and push it until it breaks and learn something permanent from the breaking.

That kid will be much better off with a used laptop and Linux or BSD.

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stuporglue 11 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I started college with a white G3 iBook. By the end of freshman year I had installed Yellow Dog Linux, then Suse, Mandriva and eventually Gentoo.

Now, 20+ years later all my home computers are running Linux (Debian though), and my kids grew up using Linux.

But I'm going to send my teenager to college with Windows or a Mac. They're going to be 1200 miles away, and they're going to need to get support for their computer and I won't be there.

Yes, I like Linux 1000x better than Windows or Mac, but Linux demands a different relationship with the admin. This kid hasn't wanted that relationship with tech, and will rely on friends to help get Office or Zoom or whatever installed.

I'm still deciding between Mac and Windows now. I'll probably end up getting a quality used business laptop from FB marketplace, but the Neo is interesting too.

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t-writescode 11 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The kid’s parents want to be able to monitor their kid. The kid’s parents want to be able to drag the machine to a local store and have the people there fix it.

The kid’s parents - and the kid - all have iPhones, so it’s familiar.

The kid’s school requires Windows or Mac for their WiFi and won’t let the kid use Linux because they don’t trust it.

There’s plenty of reasons why Linux isn’t the answer in current climate.

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Gigachad 11 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Most schools don't let you use chargers due to fire and tripping hazards. The macbooks strength is you can use it on battery for the entire day. Most alternatives fail at this.

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sedatk 11 hours ago | parent [-]

ARM PC laptops are on par with Macbooks in terms of battery life nowadays.

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Gigachad 11 hours ago | parent [-]

Is ARM Windows usable these days?

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sedatk 7 hours ago | parent [-]

Very much so if you don't care about gaming. x86-64 emulation has already been great, and 99% of popular apps have native ARM64 versions. The only exception was Discord for me for a long time. I used to use an unofficial wrapper called "Legcord" instead. But, now even Discord has a native Windows version. I mostly use my laptop for software development + browsing.

I haven't tried gaming, but I feel like it'll suck for almost anything that's not natively ARM64. Steam doesn't have an ARM64 based client yet, AFAIK.

	▲	prmoustache 7 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Isn't Discord just a web app? Why would you need an ARM64 specific version in the first place when you have a browser?

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sghiassy 11 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I’ve been an Apple fan boi since the Apple II in my room. 44 years later, 15 in software engineering, and I’m still very happy with Apple

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hackyhacky 12 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> That kid will be much better off with a used laptop and Linux or BSD.

True, and suffering through the limitations of the Apple platform will show the kid why Linux is better.

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commandersaki 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I grew up tinkering with linux since 2.0.x days up until 2.4.x lamenting on how Linux needs to take over Microsoft. Then sudden (legal) blindness hit, and computers were becoming difficult to use. Took a punt on a powerbook 12" at the time, and learned the accessibility features and never looked back. I do 90% of things in a terminal on a mac today, but Windows / Linux is the real limited OS for me due to lack of accessibility features rendering them unusable.

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lelandbatey 11 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Don't downvote, it certainly did for me. My first computer was a MBP 13inch from 2009, as I was apple obsessed like the person in the parent article. Time passes and I realized I really didn't like either Windows or Mac, and for the past 10 years Ive been linux only. It really does happen, even if rarely.

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GianFabien 11 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Good on you for rising up to the ranks of Linux/BSD.

You just need to recognize that not everybody aspires to be competent with lower-levels of hardware and software that Apple makes that much more difficult. Most Apple users are content to use apps written by others and that is as far as their interest goes.

An analogy is the car market. Most people don't care how the car works, etc. They just want to get to places. If you only need to drive to the shops and do minimal errands, you don't even need a truck - a sedan will do just fine. Same with computers, lots of different market segments with distinct needs and expectations.

	▲	prmoustache 7 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		> You just need to recognize that not everybody aspires to be competent with lower-levels of hardware and software You don't really need that to use Linux. People should stop copy/pasting urban myths or stories from the late 90's. We are in 2026 and one can perfectly buy a laptop preinstalled on linux with full support and just find the apps they need from an "app store" which in this case is just the frontend for the flatpak and packages manager. Picking up an app from Gnome Software is no different than installing an app from the play/apple/microsoft store.
	▲	MBCook 11 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		Yep everyone has their preference. A lot of us have done both. I’ve run multiple distros. I’ve played with low level software. I have used and continue to use open source tools in places. And I prefer my Mac to this day as my main machine. Consumer user or Linux hacker is a false dichotomy people sometimes like to try to slot people into (not accusing you GianFabien).
	▲	astafrig 9 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I think this’d be a good comment if it weren’t for the superiority complex :/

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sublinear 10 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

My first computer was a Compaq my parents got during that peak era of home PC mass adoption in the late 90s. I immediately played a ton of games, got on AOL, learned VBScript, C++, HTML, etc.

This was such a natural and common thing that I never even questioned if others were having a different experience with computers. This sounds crazy now, but it felt as if everyone was either going to learn to program or already had, not as a career choice but as an essential form of literacy. I mean even the calculators were programmable!

To me, Macs were just "the boring computers" we had at school and what my grandparents bought. They seemed locked down and weird like an appliance. I have no idea what my life would be like now if I had grown up in a different time and with a Mac.

This isn't to hate on Macs, but to tell the story of the dominance of Microsoft at the time and how much culture shifted towards more "dumb" consumerism. By the time the first iPod came out I realized the adults had no interest in any of this more progressive future. Then the iPhone and Windows Vista confirmed it.

I installed Ubuntu on the ThinkPad I had in high school and never really looked back. To this day, I am still baffled by the obsessions people have with AI "replacing jobs" and Apple devices as status symbols. I think those people miss the point entirely and worry about their incomplete worldview being passed down to younger generations. What I see is the masses refusing to participate and technofeudalists taking advantage of them.

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milkey_mouse 11 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Unless said kid ports Asahi Linux...