To move to Linux or buy a new MacBook Air

[iHorseHead]

Hello!
I've been using my MacBook Air M1 8GB for the past…however long years, I got it when it was released. It's still working great, so all the worries of the SSD, Swap etc that kept me awake at nights have been useless.
What I do worry about though, is EU implementation of Chat Control. I don't have anything to hide, but I'm not just comfortable with anyone accessing my chats or anything like that, so I've been lately struggling here, because my birthday is coming up in January and I figured that macOS 27 will be the last release running on M1 (Just my prediction), so it's time to upgrade.

I'm thinking of either buying a new MacBook (or Mac mini, because I've only taken my laptop to me only once) or a PC and install Linux on it.
Not really sure and in the future I'd replace my iPhone with Google Pixel, because I find Android way more secure than iPhones. Especially after the news like:

A Man Allegedly Wiped His Phone At The Border. Now He Faces A First-Of-Its-Kind Case

A federal prosecution in Georgia is drawing national attention after U.S. authorities charged an American citizen with allegedly wiping his own smartphone during a border inspection. The incident set ...

www.yahoo.com

So GrapheneOS seems the way to go to, but there are many other Androids out there as well. I'm not really sure whether or not I should start slowly moving away from the Apple ecosystem and look for alternatives or stay and I know none of us can see the future and how Chat Control etc will influence the citizens of the EU.

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/california-moves-to-exempt-linux-from-its-upcoming-age-verification-law-after-backlash-over-forcing-operating-systems-to-collect-users-ages-amendment-proposed-by-the-same-lawmaker-who-wrote-the-original-law

There are many reasons why I'd like to try out Linux and Android, especially GrapheneOS, but part of me wants to stay with Apple. I don't know.

Have you guys ever thought about those things? What are your opinions on it?

 

[maflynn]

Have you guys ever thought about those things?

An operating system's job is run applications. What apps will you be running and are they available on Linux?

My PC is running linux (CachyOS), but I also use my M4 Max Studio, and if I had to choose between the two, I'd probably choose the Mac Studio for lots of reasons. I think Linux has lots of upsides, but I think Macs, and MacOS has more upsides

Given the rules on MR, I'm not going to discuss what the EU, or US may or may not do. Its up to you to discern if you feel you need to move off a platform because of that.

there are plenty of privacy minded Distros, that will give you the peace of mind you desire, but there's a cost to that peace mind, install/configuraiton may be harder, support can be a bit meager, less compatible apps, or the open source alternatives may be inferior.

I have no knowledge of GrapheneOS, other then its a privacy minded linux that is designed for phones. I suspect it will be meager in terms of what's available in apps, services, battery performance and overall ease of use. I've seen videos of it, but I have no first hand knowledge.

 

[maflynn]

I haven't watched this YT, but I do follow this YTer, I like her attitude, she's no nerdy techie, but someone who's like a normal person

 

[lowendlinux]

As a person who runs both GrapheneOS and Linux take your time doing all of this. It took me two tries to finally be comfortable on it no matter the launcher I used but I'm finally there. While its rare that my Linux box can't do what I need it to do my Macs fill that gap.

If I were in your shoes I'd keep an eye on the used market see if you can find something to run Linux on and see if it works. I know your not in the US but a couple if days ago I found a running 2012 mini on craigslist for $40, something like that would be a good try it out machine.

 

[iHorseHead]

I haven't watched this YT, but I do follow this YTer, I like her attitude, she's no nerdy techie, but someone who's like a normal person

This video reminded me of:

I remember you mentioning that you like his videos as well. GraphineOS seems to be interesting and I'd definitely would like to check it out.

 

[iHorseHead]

An operating system's job is run applications. What apps will you be running and are they available on Linux?

My PC is running linux (CachyOS), but I also use my M4 Max Studio, and if I had to choose between the two, I'd probably choose the Mac Studio for lots of reasons. I think Linux has lots of upsides, but I think Macs, and MacOS has more upsides

Given the rules on MR, I'm not going to discuss what the EU, or US may or may not do. Its up to you to discern if you feel you need to move off a platform because of that.

there are plenty of privacy minded Distros, that will give you the peace of mind you desire, but there's a cost to that peace mind, install/configuraiton may be harder, support can be a bit meager, less compatible apps, or the open source alternatives may be inferior.

I have no knowledge of GrapheneOS, other then its a privacy minded linux that is designed for phones. I suspect it will be meager in terms of what's available in apps, services, battery performance and overall ease of use. I've seen videos of it, but I have no first hand knowledge.

The main reason for switching would be the politics, yes and privacy. I've changed to LaTex awhile ago, so that should run and that's the most important for me at the moment. GrapheneOS's self destruct feature got my attention the most.
There are many benefits to using Macs and iPhones. The main thing is that I'm already in the ecosystem, but due to the events of the world, I feel like I have to move forward at the same time.
I've got nothing to hide, but at the same time who'd feel comfortable when someone's scanning for their messages?

A lot of my coworkers have switched to CachyOS from Windows and I've heard only good things about it so far. Everything runs on it. I'd certainly would like to try something new, but then again, as you've said Operating system's job is to run applications. I am fine with my Mac, but it's from 2020 and I believe the next release will be the last one, therefore I should start thinking about upgrading.

 

[iHorseHead]

As a person who runs both GrapheneOS and Linux take your time doing all of this. It took me two tries to finally be comfortable on it no matter the launcher I used but I'm finally there. While its rare that my Linux box can't do what I need it to do my Macs fill that gap.

If I were in your shoes I'd keep an eye on the used market see if you can find something to run Linux on and see if it works. I know your not in the US but a couple if days ago I found a running 2012 mini on craigslist for $40, something like that would be a good try it out machine.

Over here Macs are a lot more expensive. Just out of interest I was looking for iBooks and those were as expensive as new MacBooks and rare over here, but on eBay those are dirt cheap.

I am aware that moving will be very time consuming and I'm thinking whether or not it's all worth it.

 

[lowendlinux]

Over here Macs are a lot more expensive. Just out of interest I was looking for iBooks and those were as expensive as new MacBooks and rare over here, but on eBay those are dirt cheap.

I am aware that moving will be very time consuming and I'm thinking whether or not it's all worth it.

Unless your desire to change outweighs the cost in both time and effort just keep a Linux box around to learn.

 

[romanof]

Unless your need is to run AAA games, in which case both MacOS and Linux are the wrong choices, almost ANY old cast off PC will run Linux just fine. My favorite Linux box is an old (good grief, almost 16 years now!!!) MacPro cheesegrater that was given to me long after it became "obsolete." For my usual use it is no different than my R7 64gb of only a year ago in purchase.

Go down to your local Salvation Army, or its equivalent in your country, and pick up a cheapie. Then go to EBAY and add a better GPU if you want - lots of them available and again, cheap. It is a very economical way to decide if Linux is for yourself.

 

[maflynn]

Unless your need is to run AAA games, in which case both MacOS and Linux are the wrong choices,

That is actually incorrect

The popularity of the Steam Deck and Steam Machines are evidence enough to show that Linux can and does run AAA games extremely well

I have CachyOS, and its capable of running AAA games at or nearly at the same frame rates when that machine had Windows 11 on it.

The only major hurdle for gaming on Linux is kernel level anti-cheat code that some multiplayer games use. Those do not run on Linux, but overall saying that Linux is a wrong choice for AAA games is largely a misguided statement

As for macOS, hardware wise, the M series hardware is more then capable, but lack of games prevents it from being a viable alternative. So yes, if you want to play AAA games, Macs is not the best option.

 

[romanof]

That is actually incorrect

The popularity of the Steam Deck and Steam Machines are evidence enough to show that Linux can and does run AAA games extremely well

You are right. I forgot all about the Steam thingie, having never even seen a game played with steam. My comments were more from the past when a Win system was a requirement. Still, a good machine like I was suggesting for using or learning that costs probably a hundred bucks or so, or is just a cast off from somebody or outfit, shouldn't be thought of as a top-end gamer.

To my thoughts, using Linux and Gaming with Linux are two entirely different things. Kind of like Android and Linux. One and the same down inside, but I never think of Android as Linux, just... well, Android.

Just IMO.

 

[SnowCrocodile]

I will probably be downvoted into oblivion for saying this, but IMHO relying on anonymous code contributions make Linux extremely unsafe and any three letter agency that is worth its keep has already submitted their carefully obfuscated access vulnerability. It’s disgustingly easy. See the UMN scandal when kernel maintainers were upset with all the wrong things (like scaring away “anonymous drive-by code contributors” which I didn’t even know were a thing).

Yes anyone can inspect the code, but nobody who is actually qualified in forensic vulnerability detection ever had the time to inspect tens of millions of lines of kernel code, let alone drivers, let alone apps.

So while I like playing with Linux distros, I’d be hesitant to trust my entire virtual life to them.

 

[maflynn]

, but IMHO relying on anonymous code contributions make Linux extremely unsafe

But, its not wholly anonymous and its visible for the world to see, you can review the kernel source code right now if you want.

Peer review is one of the best practices when it comes to security - many eyes can see the issues.

 

[SnowCrocodile]

But, it's not wholly anonymous and it's visible for the world to see,

Yes it is full of anonymous code contributions. What procedures are in place to validate identities?

you can review the kernel source code right now if you want.

Yes, and so can my cleaning lady, my 5 year old niece, and any self-proclaimed high school "hacker".

The problem is none of them are qualified and experienced forensics security experts.

The number of people who are qualified to perform code security audits is small and they are all busy with their paid jobs.

And it's far more difficult to be looking for malicious code that had been deliberately designed to be hard to detect by very capable, highly trained government employed specialists working full time on that.

Peer review is one of the best practices when it comes to security - many eyes can see the issues.

Please point me to a source showing what percentage of Linux kernel code has undergone a thorough security audit by actual experts.

E.g. like KeePass and Veracrypt both had done.

In the meantime, with "millions of eyes on the code" there were some severe Linux vulnerabilities that were around for 10-15 years before being discovered. (Or equally likely, they were found and silently exploited for years until finally discovered and published by the "good" guys).

 

[lowendlinux]

Do you think people write code and it just get's merged?

Code will get reviewed at multiple leveles before it gets anywhere near production

 

[SnowCrocodile]

Here's a take on Linux security from the creator of Graphene OS. The thread is from 2019 but I doubt that there was any drastic change in the monolith Linux kernel with over 30 years worth of legacy code. The discussion of Linux starts a few posts in.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GrapheneOS/comments/bddq5u/os_security_ios_vs_grapheneos_vs_stock_android

 

[SnowCrocodile]

Do you think people write code and it just get's merged?

Code will get reviewed at multiple leveles before it gets anywhere near production

Code is only reviewed for function. There's no dedicated security auditing.

 

[SnowCrocodile]

Added: I closely followed kernel maintainers' open discussion on their forum as the UMN scandal was developing, and there was a lot of anger at the breach of trust, and statements that FOSS projects that rely on code contributions can't survive without that trust. Also establishing rapport and a level of trust between maintainers and contributors was seen as very important (and a big part of what the UMN team was blamed for was "poisoning" the relationship for the entire community).

The very fact that it was so easy to insert code with malicious intent was largely brushed aside, not because it was insignificant, but because for them, the whole system was clearly based on assumption of all sides acting in good faith.

They are probably using AI now to check for the known malicious code chunks, but I don't know how this would help with "designer" code.

If I was a spy agency trying to insert a backdoor, I would not design dedicated code for that. I would collect unpublished "natural" vulnerabilities that are by their very nature random and extremely hard to discover, and insert them in my otherwise perfectly good code chunks, contributed by several seemingly unrelated teams with respectable .edu credentials. Of course most governments can do that with domestically developed commercial software, but with community submitted source code its basically a free-for-all.

 

[Steve Adams]

But, its not wholly anonymous and its visible for the world to see, you can review the kernel source code right now if you want.

Peer review is one of the best practices when it comes to security - many eyes can see the issues.

He got Apple and Linux mixed up. Apple's code is completely hidden. Linux code is completely visible.

 

[SnowCrocodile]

A

He got Apple and Linux mixed up. Apple's code is completely hidden. Linux code is completely visible.

“He” was talking about the anonymity of contributors. Linux code is completely visible but contributors are not. And the volume of code contributions far exceeds any resources available to audit it for vulnerabilities, especially if these vulnerabilities were deliberately hidden by highly trained professionals.

Essentially there’s a Niagara sized waterfall of new code created every few years, and not enough specialized resources to do a proper security audit even on a trickle. It piles up orders of magnitude faster than they could realistically check it even if they tried. So they aren’t even really trying.

“Open source is more secure because anyone can examine it” is a fallacy. “Anyone” is not qualified. Those who are qualified are getting paid to audit commercial software full time. If anything, open source makes it easier for the bad actors who have both the resources and the increntive to search for exploits in an OS.

There’s been a few vulnerabilities found 10-15 years after they were introduced. E.g. this easily exploitable flaw that was introduced in 2011. It was just discovered this year… or its far more likely that it was only officially reported and patched this year, but used by the state or criminal actors for a while.

Public Exploit Turns 15-Year Linux Kernel Flaw Into 5-Second Root Attack

Linux kernel privilege escalation vulnerability GhostLock (CVE-2026-43499) has lurked undetected in every major distribution since 2011. A public exploit now lets any logged-in user gain full root in roughly five seconds, no special permissions required. The flaw also escapes containers and chains

www.techtimes.com

“A working exploit for a Linux kernel flaw that has existed since 2011 is now publicly available, and any logged-in user can run it to gain full root control of an affected machine in roughly five seconds — no special configuration, no administrator access, no network required.

The flaw has been present in every mainstream Linux distribution — Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, Arch, and virtually every other distribution shipping a kernel built since May 2011 — without detection for fifteen years.

A patch exists upstream, but distribution packages are still rolling out, and Ubuntu's three Long-Term Support releases — 24.04, 22.04, and 20.04 — were still listed as vulnerable or in progress as of July 8, 2026.”

Yeah, so many eyes on that code…

And this is just the latest discovery. They kept finding 10-15 year old vulnerabilities years ago too.