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Why does Linux run so well on ARM
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this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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Mac OS was running on RISC processors back in the 90s, and Steve Jobs used them in his NeXT computers which used a variation of BSD, which was the basis for OS X which could run on PowerPC.
Apple’s had a ton of experience with RISC so it makes sense they’d do it well.
It’s mainly due to PA Semi acquisition. These guys were the ones responsible of making excellent PowerPC processors, which were similar to what ARM has now.
These guys are probably happier now that they have more resources, target devices and tightly coupled software.
NeXT computers were based on Motorola 680x0 processors that were actually CISC ( not RISC ). Steve Jobs did run MacOS on RISC in the 90s though as that is what PowerPC was.
Modern Apple silicon is of course ARM64 so not the same architecture as PowerPC at all.
NeXTStep ran on multiple architectures, some oft them RISC. They did some work on a PPC build too