Apple Silicon Macs can run Linux, too: Apple designed the boot code signing process to support custom operating systems without access to private data on macOS.

https://asahilinux.org/

The article does discuss the alternative of installing Linux. The reason it's not a good alternative is that businesses are unlikely to run Linux for day-to-day operations. While Linux may be a common topic of discussion in this online community, the majority of people affected by the increased Windows system requirements may not be familiar with Linux. I can also predict that by the time Apple decides to remove 1st generation silicon Macs from their OS support, there will likely be a Linux distribution that can run natively, such as Asahi. However, businesses using M1 Macs are unlikely to opt for Linux as an alternative; they will likely opt to purchase new computers instead.

The article addresses this.

>But let’s be honest, while some users will certainly see Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, or Debian as a viable alternative (or upgrade) to Windows, most personal and business users aren’t going to go that route.

Yeah, you and me could save one of these machines from being e-waste, but most people won't bother. The headline is a bit questionable, but that's more common than not. I had a similar initial reaction to you (minus the Apple Silicon bit, I have high hopes for Asahi), but upon seeing the website url I was pretty sure they'd mention GNU/Linux somewhere in there.

You can install Asahi Linux on any of the M1/2 Macs. And even if Microsoft and Apple stop giving updates you can still run the machine with the last OS. I’ve been running a 2012 Mac mini just fine and it hasn’t seen updates in a while.