$899 mini PC puts Snapdragon X Elite into a mini desktop for developers
arstechnica.com
arstechnica.com
https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/qualcomm-goes-wh...
> Qualcomm has most of the critical functions working inside.. Linux 6.9.. critical functions include UEFI-based boot support along with all the standard bootloaders like Grub and system-d.. Functions that are being worked on for future iterations of Linux include additions to battery support, on-board display connectivity, external DisplayPort connectivity, sleep and wake-up functions on the GPU, camera support, video support, better CPU frequency support, and speaker/mic/headset enablement. These functions are expected to arrive in Linux 6.10 and 6.11.
After you returned the hardware, you got a $500 credit that you could apply to any Apple hardware, including the shipping version of the M1 Macs.
Qualcomm and Microsoft don't seem as serious about getting as many developers as possible on board for the transition.
"Apple, to smooth things over, is dangling $200 credit to be used against the purchase of an M1 Mac. Again, this hasn't been well received."
"After you returned the hardware, you got a $500 credit that you could apply to any Apple hardware, including the shipping version of the M1 Macs."
We live [...]
With rewritten histories and a fictional past
- Master Race, New Model ArmyThere were famously customers who had paid out of pocket for the same repair three or more times.
Should we still be claiming that Microsoft never changed their mind and decided to eat the cost of repairs, despite knowing the truth years later?
> On February 5, 2021, following developer backlash, Apple sent out another email that increased the discount code to US$500 and expanded the discount to be used on any other Apple devices. In addition, the code expired at the end of 2021, instead of May.
No don't claim that!
You: "I’m not clear about which part of my comment you are trying to call bullshit on"
Me: <Confused>
For Microsoft this is going to be just an additional niche platform. Microsoft has tried this dozens of times in the past without success. Windows NT was originally intended to run on several architectures, such as Alpha, MIPS, and PowerPC. I am not surprised that developers are very lukewarm about porting to Windows on ARM.
That $500 DTK loaner included some major amenities:
> code-level technical support, access to one-on-one labs with Apple engineers
https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developer_Transition_Kit
Qualcomm and Microsoft don't even seem to be offering a major discount on the hardware.
It doesn't show anywhere near the same level of commitment to getting the software in their ecosystem ported over to their new architecture.
You get to keep the hardware. $900 gets you the hardware forever. You don't send it back after a year to buy a similarly equipped model with a credit from the deposit you put down. You just get a 32GB 512GB roughly M2 Pro performing machine for $900. Apple wants $1700 for that!
Especially a computer that you know lacks widespread software support for a new instruction set.
A developer will already own a computer with high end specs. They don't need to be forced to buy an additional desktop that runs software under emulation... Slowly.
You buy a devkit because you want to support the platform and potentially think it's worth it.
That is not how business decisions work.
Keeping the costs down as much as possible is Microsoft and Qualcomm's job, and they aren't stepping up.
They aren't even offering their hardware below cost.
Was the DTK rented below cost? Have proof of that? $500 to rent a screenless 2018 iPad Pro in 2020 (that would have been about what $1000 retail for that config?) seems like a shit deal.
This is indeed exactly how your posts are coming across.
It's obvious that Apple took a loss on the DTK hardware because it was never for sale to the public.
Apple manufactured it, shipped it out to developers, and then issued a credit for the full cost of joining the program when the hardware was returned. They ended up with used hardware that couldn't be sold.
An obvious loss.
Microsoft isn't even bundling a copy of the ARM version of Visual Studio, which would have a marginal cost for them of pretty much zero.
AFAIK Windows doesn't have a concept of fat binaries. Making users manually choose the right download link is ugly and error prone.
That said you can still achieve something similar. Windows comes with the x86 emulation layer enabled by default on all system types so if your installer is packaged as x86 you can have it contain multiple install packages and select based on the system architecture. This is known as MSIX bundling. Alternatively for online installs the installer can just be the thing that grabs the right version for the machine and launches it.
Of course it's more work to create a fat app style bundle so most don't bother. The possibility is still there though.
It's the only reasonably powerful ARM dev PC that's not an Apple, take it as such.
Average Dell and Lenovos are also no MacBook "killers" yet they still sell and see them virtually everywhere.
You can make money without "killing" Apple. The market's big enough for several players.
[1]: https://www.macworld.com/article/2313991/qualcomm-snapdragon...
I believe the multi core performance claim in that the base M3 has 4+4 cores while the X Elite has 12. After that everything falls in line as "a much faster Qualcomm offering than before that's still a bit behind the competition". If it had released 2 CPU generations ago when they started talking about how fast it was it would have been more impressive.
I also believe the battery life claim in that if you put the laptop in airplane mode, then the screen all the way down, and run a video on loop it is fully possible it does this longer than Apple depending on how efficient the video decoder and ability to turn the rest off are. When it comes to actually using the laptop it'll be interesting what third party benchmarks say.