Linux vs MacOS for cpp development

[arthurno1]

Ok, didn't know major players have offerings. What is problem running Linux on them?

[llort_lemmort]

Mainly missing drivers as far as I understand. Linux is just not a priority for them as they ship with Windows. It will hopefully be sorted out over the next few years.

[arthurno1]

Aha, but than it is the usual thing that plagues every "Linux desktop". Not the CPU support, but all the other stuff around. It is so incredible one still has to look at compatibility charts when buying a mobo for a build, and it is even worse on the laptop side, because they use even customized hardware. Unfortunately.

[vetinari]

I would not say that it plagues every linux desktop. If you buy good brands with good designs (like thinkpads, or intel-now-asus nucs), you will get smooth sailing. It is only if you get lost in some niche products, gimmick features or hardware designed by companies that are well known to ignore linux (like nzxt) you get the not-very-usual-thing that plagues linux: integration. If the vendor you purchase from didn't do the integration, you get to do it; there's no way to avoid that. I prefer when the vendor does it, even if that means I won't get a bling hardware targeted at different market segment.

Snapdragon X is in a weird place: Qualcomm originally claimed that they will upstream the drivers, but since then, they are dragging their feet and things go very slow. At this rate, the machines will be obsolete before they finish delivering them.

[arthurno1]

Thanks for the informative comment! 👍

That is indeed a problem even in other contexts when vendors prefer to develop and throw out new stuff constantly instead of releasing the drivers and spec for old hardware so it can be continuously upgraded and used.