Having said that, I don't think Linux will be a good fit for this device. People will first have to reverse-engineer the locking mechanism (which is done in software in Windows). That'll probably happen quickly, but then there's the issue of the hybrid graphics, which Linux has never played well with IME. That's assuming Linux drivers will be available for the dGPU at all; it's apparently a custom part from Nvidia and there may not even be a binary blob for them on Linux.
The way MS has been acting lately it wouldn't even surprise me if they release Linux code for it, stating: People should use Windows because they want to, not because they have to, -anything else would be considered a failure.
I can dream... : )
I honestly have no idea how they operate under this presumption. Are they unaware of the millions of developers using Macbooks purely for this reason?
I'm only addressing Microsoft with my comment because that's the topic of conversation here. Also, because they're specifically positioning themselves to convert Mac users, and IMO a notable portion of these users are developers who need the POSIX-like ecosystem.
One other thing. Apple NEEDED to ease the transition for Windows users. Without the above factors their laptop sales would be a fraction of what it is today
Not for Windows 10 it's not!
Me not wanting to use Windows is more about unfamiliarity with what modern windows is like for a non MS centric developer. My previous experience dates back to the XP days where trying to do anything other than MS things was a chore. I _really_ like the surfacebook, maybe it's time to take another look at windows?
I also would miss working in bash in iTerm and/or Apple's Terminal. Unless they've done a lot of work on the command prompt, it'll be moving back into a world of pain.
http://blogs.windows.com/business/2015/01/30/windows-10-for-...
> For example, systems powering hospital emergency rooms, air traffic control towers, financial trading systems, factory floors, just to name a few, may need very strict change management policies, for prolonged periods of time. To support Windows 10 devices in these mission critical customer environments we will provide Long Term Servicing branches at the appropriate time intervals. On these branches, customer devices will receive the level of enterprise support expected for the mission critical systems, keeping systems more secure with the latest security and critical updates, while minimizing change by not delivering new features for the duration of mainstream (five years) and extended support (five years). On Long Term Servicing branches, customers will have the flexibility to deliver security updates and fixes via Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) which allows full control over the internal distribution of updates using existing management solutions such as System Center Configuration Manager or to receive these updates automatically via Windows Update.
If I could easily (and permanently) remove the Bing apps and disable all the data sharing that was added for Cortana, I would be pretty happy.
- There is SecureBoot configuration, and it can be reconfigured and disabled.
- There are USB and PXE boot options available, so running Linux from those shouldn't be too difficult
- It looks like the 'MuscleWire' is controlled by firmware, not windows, as I was able to detach the device in BIOS outside the OS.
So give it a few months, I am sure someone will get debian on this thing!
I hate that I have to ask this, but do these ship with locked bootloaders? If they don't, they might be a candidate for beautiful Hackintoshes or Linux laptops. I just can't bring myself to run something that isn't unix under the hood and OSX has been a pretty decent balance of openness/unixness/ecosystem with a pretty nice looking UI and a thriving software market. I haven't tried Windows 10, but I suspect I'd be just as unhappy with it as I was with Windows 9 on a Surface.
I'm still a fan of the MacBook hardware, but a detachable screen is something you just won't see out of the Apple camp. I would love to have a laptop that converts into a tablet for light use/presentation/travel. A Hackintosh would be ideal, but I'd easily consider a Linux distro if it meant I could use something like this.
It didn't ship with USB-C ports (shame), but it sounds like you might be able to buy an upgraded "bottom" and take advantage of that when it ships (that's huge!):
http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2015/10/23/surface-book-user...