Comment by ficklepickle | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ficklepickle | Hacker News Reader

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This is it. I'm excited because Apple just showed what is possible. Other companies are going to have to try to match it.

I have wanted a powerful "enough" fanless laptop for many years. I got excited about 4 years ago with Intel's short-lived M line and I bought an Asus ux305. It served me well for front end web dev (had to use a cooler stand under sustained high load though). Great Linux support and battery life (after installing tlp). I remember feeling a bit of awe that it was reasonably snappy with no fan, but it was not quite there. I can only imagine the feeling is an order of magnitude greater with the M1.

I don't own any Apple products, but I still hope that raising the bar will benefit me later on. I'll be pretty pumped when this level of hardware can run a mainline kernel.

>Other companies are going to have to try to match it.

This actually worries me.

Lately, anytime I look outside the Apple ecosystem, I wonder to myself what all these companies are doing... sure, I could see AMD closing the gap, but Apple's made additional choices for integration beyond what AMD would do alone.

I guess my summary would be: other companies trying to "match" Apple hasn't really gone well in the past decade, short of a few select standouts.

I've had same desire for a lightweight, fanless laptop for many years, also had (and still have and use) an Asus ux305, which I used for Linux development.

My main use machine now and for last couple years has been a Google Pixelbook. Lightweight (2.4 lbs) and fanless, solid 8+ hours on a charge, great for general use on chromeos, okay for Linux with built-in Crostini container.

I've had an iPad, but have never had any other Apple product. I've been pretty much anti-Apple since 1979, when as a 15-year-old I bought a Radio Shack TRS-80 over the much more expensive and glitzier Apple IIe.

I now have a Macbook Air M1 on order. We'll see how it goes. I'm sensitive to weight, prefer very light laptops. At 2.9 lbs it will be a noticeable step back from the ux305 (2.6 lbs) and Pixelbook (2.4 lbs). If I end up not bonding with the Macbook I plan to sell it; Apple's generally high resale value is a factor in giving the M1 a try.

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