> What disappoints me is a "generation of folks" who can't tell that openness is a spectrum
And Apple is very far on the closed end of that spectrum relative to their competitors, and always has been.
There is simply no arguing this point.
> every bit of openness they enjoy was hard-fought for by pushing the boundaries of the platforms that existed beyond their original intentions, and now treat an effort to do the same on new platforms as some kind of windmill tilting.
Let's be real: Asahi isn't gonna change Apple's corporate culture. It's a super cool technical project and I absolutely applaud these sorts of efforts simply because they're cool.
But you're not the Jedi fighting the empire here. You're not gonna blow open the M1 and suddenly change Apple hearts and minds.
The PC industry became more open for one reason and one reason only: Money.
The IBM monopoly was destroyed because clones were cheap, not because of ragtag freedom fighters.
Linux won over in the embedded space because it doesn't cost anything, not because folks suddenly got stars in their eyes over the GPL.
Apple will only change their practices when economics force them to. But it's very clear that they view a walled garden of hardware and software as key to their financial success, and everything they're doing is intended to build those walls just a little bit higher.
So until you can change that financial equation, nothing in the Apple ecosystem will change.
But, honestly, keep plugging away! Have fun! I personally love repurposing hardware to make it do cool things for which it was never intended. When I see projects like this, I think of Everest: We do it because it's there.
But let's not pretend that you're somehow going to change Apple just because you get the Linux kernel booting on the M1.