Another option I thought about was him buying the M1 and fighting his way to install a Linux distro that supports all the M1 MacBook hardware. He’ll have a really fast and efficient chip, as well as a good system!
This option is a pipe dream. I don’t think there’s any indication that Linux can run on M1 as a desktop. They have initial support, yes, but a full desktop would require so much more.
For example, I was reading about a vulnerability in the M1s because of not having adopted a particular instruction set in the very basic operations of the chip.
X86s are riddled with security faults and legacy.
It’s almost as if this M1 is an early-adoption technology, if that makes sense.
Apple has been making CPUs for a long time, for their phones and pads. So no, it’s not early-adoption at all.
Generally speaking, you seem to be having some misconceptions about compatibility issues and support out there. Apple beats Linux in that area very easily. It’s a mainstream product whereas putting Linux on something is still very much a fringe thing.
Wow. I mean. Wow.
Why am I reading this site.