x86 is far too ingrained for that to happen. Even if it takes over on the consumer side of things, enterprise will still be stuck on x86 and you know how difficult it is to get them to change. The odds of it dying is exceedingly low.
This is one reason why the changes to the boot process on X86 were a major concern, if machines only boot an an OS with a “trusted” signing keys then it is a pretty straight path to MS-only. Lack of published architecture assist gets here and there are X86 machines that will fail spectacularly on Linux due to this (weird EFI boot stuff, certain chipsets for such drivers can’t be had or made, etc). Hardware-level DRM is a major threat.
Then add in stuff like browser-based DRM. Oh cool, you can install whatever you want but this differently stuff will only play on Chrome with the DRM extension enabled, maybe sending CPUID info, and doing a bunch of other stuff for lock-in that makes the IE6+ActiveX/MS-JS pale in comparison
It was everything for awhile, but the end architecture design did allow people to choose to not use secure-boot or to load their own keys on some boards. It did make some devices - mainly tabletized laptops - pretty much unusable for anything but the installed OS though.
Fuck those people we will just keep our own stuff and use it. This is one reason I have been hanging on to old hardware. I can still play games 20 years from now on my old PCs.
I setup a mini PC that runs as a PXE server. Pretty much anything with an Ethernet port can boot from it and play a bunch of of classic games I’ve got on disc, plus some GoG titles etc. It’s awesome.
Projects like OpenSpy also make some of the old dead titles playable again
This is why we still have 2G I heard. Telling regular customers to upgrade from 3G was easy. Like, what are they gonna do about it. But 2G is used by a lot of IoT devices, including gas and electric companies, and they’re not upgrading that easily while I assume generating a significant revenue.
In the US at least, AT&T shut down 2G in 2017, Verizon in 2019, and T-Mobile started shutdown of 2G in 2022 but has it still hanging on but on it’s final way out by the end of this year likely.
Even for Europe, a lot of 2G shutdowns started in 2022, and most places in Europe will have 2G phased out by the end of this year.
I am talking about Slovakia. That’s just what I remember seeing. Currently only Orange plans 2G shutdown, and that is for 2028.
From the public documents I could find, it seems 2G is going to be mandatory until 31.12.2028, however only Orange has said something about its shutdown publicly so far.
Yes there are, 90% can’t run Linux. And PCs built to specificly run Linux will only be available to Western markets, everyone else will be stuck with whatever corpos put out because they will be excluded by the weak currencies they use and in some cases also by prohibitive import taxes.
In theory yes, in practice there is also the matter of your currency’s buying power and import taxes. I would know, when PinePhone was first coming out I looked into it to see if I could get one. And yes I could, except it would come at the price of an iPhone. The tax and IMEI unlocking fee quadrupled the price.
It would be less bad with laptop or desktop since there is no IMEI fee, and there are some workarounds you can employ but it’s still a pain.
Once ARM on PC takes off it’s over.
x86 is far too ingrained for that to happen. Even if it takes over on the consumer side of things, enterprise will still be stuck on x86 and you know how difficult it is to get them to change. The odds of it dying is exceedingly low.
This is one reason why the changes to the boot process on X86 were a major concern, if machines only boot an an OS with a “trusted” signing keys then it is a pretty straight path to MS-only. Lack of published architecture assist gets here and there are X86 machines that will fail spectacularly on Linux due to this (weird EFI boot stuff, certain chipsets for such drivers can’t be had or made, etc). Hardware-level DRM is a major threat.
Then add in stuff like browser-based DRM. Oh cool, you can install whatever you want but this differently stuff will only play on Chrome with the DRM extension enabled, maybe sending CPUID info, and doing a bunch of other stuff for lock-in that makes the IE6+ActiveX/MS-JS pale in comparison
I’m assuming this is referring to prebuilts? I can’t imagine this to be the case for DIY set ups.
It was everything for awhile, but the end architecture design did allow people to choose to not use secure-boot or to load their own keys on some boards. It did make some devices - mainly tabletized laptops - pretty much unusable for anything but the installed OS though.
Browser DRM though… That’s just getting started
Fuck those people we will just keep our own stuff and use it. This is one reason I have been hanging on to old hardware. I can still play games 20 years from now on my old PCs.
I setup a mini PC that runs as a PXE server. Pretty much anything with an Ethernet port can boot from it and play a bunch of of classic games I’ve got on disc, plus some GoG titles etc. It’s awesome.
Projects like OpenSpy also make some of the old dead titles playable again
This is why we still have 2G I heard. Telling regular customers to upgrade from 3G was easy. Like, what are they gonna do about it. But 2G is used by a lot of IoT devices, including gas and electric companies, and they’re not upgrading that easily while I assume generating a significant revenue.
What?
In the US at least, AT&T shut down 2G in 2017, Verizon in 2019, and T-Mobile started shutdown of 2G in 2022 but has it still hanging on but on it’s final way out by the end of this year likely.
Even for Europe, a lot of 2G shutdowns started in 2022, and most places in Europe will have 2G phased out by the end of this year.
I am talking about Slovakia. That’s just what I remember seeing. Currently only Orange plans 2G shutdown, and that is for 2028.
From the public documents I could find, it seems 2G is going to be mandatory until 31.12.2028, however only Orange has said something about its shutdown publicly so far.
There are plenty of ARM on PC examples and there will always be an alternative option that is open there. It’s too entrenched.
We need to free mobile devices with functional distros like mobian/postmarketos that are fully functional.
Yes there are, 90% can’t run Linux. And PCs built to specificly run Linux will only be available to Western markets, everyone else will be stuck with whatever corpos put out because they will be excluded by the weak currencies they use and in some cases also by prohibitive import taxes.
We then have RISC-V computer by Pine64 running Libre-ICEBlock
I don’t believe those will be accessible for people outside of Western markets.
Unless the arriving country’s customs decide to inspect it and seize it. You should be able to buy it anywhere.
In theory yes, in practice there is also the matter of your currency’s buying power and import taxes. I would know, when PinePhone was first coming out I looked into it to see if I could get one. And yes I could, except it would come at the price of an iPhone. The tax and IMEI unlocking fee quadrupled the price.
It would be less bad with laptop or desktop since there is no IMEI fee, and there are some workarounds you can employ but it’s still a pain.