"You can even get /dev/kvm inside a Linux VM on an M3 or later running macOS 15, which runs Firecracker unmodified."

I'm very confused why any SWE is on a M1 or M2 Mac. I've always gotten a new machine at $CORP every 2 years...

Because prices? Have you seen how much Apple products cost these days?

Also, M1/M2 are perfectly fine and capable hardware. It's hard to justify the upgrade outside some artificial constraints Apple would bring in with a macOS update.

You’d be surprised. I got an absolute boat anchor of a 2019 MacBook when I started a job in early 2022. I requested a new one in late 2023 because company policy is to refresh laptops every 4 years - whoever was on the other end of my support ticket interpreted the policy as four years from issuance and denied me.

it's pretty common to be running a 4 year old computer in most companies I've worked.

I think they plan for 3 years but in reality it becomes closer to 4 (because they don't plan the refresh during the actual hardware refresh cycle, so you'll end up with a computer that was released in September the year before in like August the year after).

I've never worked anywhere that replaced my computer after 2 years.

I am on an M1 macbook pro. My company will upgrade me anytime I want.

I haven’t asked because my current laptop is more than ok.

Things were painful in the Intel era but I’m on M1 Mac and I’d have a really hard time justifying a request for an upgrade. I absolutely detested my old Intel MacBook (touchbar era) and couldn’t wait to get rid of it.

I run bloated slow electron apps and chrome all day, generally with profligate usage patterns, and things hardly ever slow down even with corporate antimalware. Sometimes I forget about having left Windows VMs running in the background.

Anyway, why would my company spend $2500+ every two years to turn instant into instant?

I'm very surprised you feel it's a given that every SWE at every company has the perk of getting a new machine as quickly as every 2 years, I doubt it's justified by the productivity increases of just 2 years of hardware improvements.