"Try Bluefin" erroneously offers AMD/Intel & NVIDIA options for ARM64 downloads

[popey]

Relatable issue report

> be me
> 53 years old 💀
> decide to try Bluefin on a Mac
> mfw I have no AMD/Intel/NVIDIA GPU

etc.

Screenshot of issue

Steps to reproduce

• Go to https://projectbluefin.io/ then click "Try out" button
• Get asked "Which architecture will you install Bluefin on? Older BIOS-based systems are unsupported"
• Pick "ARM64"
• Get asked "Who is the vendor of your primary graphics card (GPU)? Older Nvidia cards are unsupported"

Proposal 1 - Simple

Perhaps hide the GPU option altogether when "ARM64" is chosen.

Proposal 2 - More invasive

I would simplify the language, make it more friendly, and fix the choices.

From:

Use the form below to get the correct ISO download link for your hardware and use case.
NOTE: These ISOs are experimental, please file issues if you encounter a problem, thanks!
The team recommends Fedora Media Writer to create installation media, Ventoy is unsupported:

To:

Thanks for your interest in Bluefin.
To get started, pick your processor family, primary graphics card, and risk level below.

All downloads are experimental builds.

If you encounter a problem with the installer itself, please let us know.
We recommend and support Fedora Media Writer to create USB installation media.
Other tools, such as Ventoy, are available but not supported by the Bluefin team.

No scary capitals.

Select CPU Family:

• AMD or Intel (x86_64)
• Apple Silicon (ARM64)

Note: We support UEFI-based systems only. We do not support legacy BIOS systems.

*If Apple Silicon is selected above, ensure the following field has only one option enabled: 'Apple Silicon Integrated GPU'."

Select GPU Family:

• AMD or Intel Integrated GPU
• Nvidia discrete GPU
• Apple Silicon Integrated GPU

Note: We support all Nvidia GPUs from the RTX Series and GTX Series 16xx and newer.
Older Nvidia cards are not supported.

Select Risk level.
Bluefin (Stable)
. Bluefin GTS
Bluefin LTS (Currently in Beta)
Note: This will influence the volume and frequency of updates once you install.
We recommend Bluefin for enthusiasts, while Bluefin GTS is great for everyone else.

Also, the text under the download is a little confusing

Consider changing this:

Check out the Bluefin Documentation, it takes about 15 minutes and includes an installation runbook - set yourself up for success, you are headed into a new world.

To something like this:

Before, or while you download, take a few minutes to read our Welcome guide, tailored for new users. It includes links to introductory videos and podcasts featuring the project.
Bluefin is just a little different from some other environments you may have tried. We recommend dedicating around fifteen minutes to set yourself up for success with our accessible and friendly Bluefin Documentation.

(Just my 2p.)

I'd be happy to contribute a PR to do the above changes, but it would mean a bunch of text to be translated.

[tulilirockz]

Oh we dont support Apple Silicon yet. Our AARCH64 support just is for stuff that doesn't need the weird kernel modules, like Ampere's workstations

[castrojo]

Thanks for this! OK so, now that Alan has fallen into the trap let's spring it. +1 to your changes but let me continue the pitch. The honest truth is we've been struggling with this text for a long time, and it's also tied into this: ublue-os/bluefin#2821

We are also headed into LTS's first release, so we should fix this since it's been hurting us.
So let me instead turn this into a "Spec" discussion and then we can just implement what feels best. Ok so first off some of the major things:

• This page is too overloaded, we have https://docs.projectbluefin.io/downloads but that came way after we made the website, so we can optimize for less choice overload. 3 SKUs is too much, there may be a world where the LTS is the default and the others aren't on here -- what I'm saying is we could easily bury alot of this linux nonsense with a ".. not finding what you're looking for? link" style thing so we don't overthink the home page. However, due to technical realities, GTS is the highest quality product at this time so we want people to use it.

• This LTS is also the first ARM Mac Bluefin thing, it should be highlighted as a strength. However this is a VM story, not a bare metal one. IMO I think we should mention "Apple" in the dropdown, and let's be honest, if Bluefin ever gets on HN where do you think the bulk of the downloads would be? Is there a way to default to this if the user is on a Mac? Also I think we should codify a commitment here on the VM front, I think we explicitly want to say "Use a Mac? We want to be your linux" and the homebrew/arm situation is nice now, that's a competitive advantage we are missing out on.

• Nvidia on ARM needs to be preserved, some of the Ampere 128 core death machines come with them, and they're the primary target for Bluefin GDX. If we had the funds GDX would be a separate website entirely just targeted at ML professionals, etc.

Oh and just for notes, the dinos in the chooser are for each specific variant. Leaping Bluefin for stable because it's aggressive, chill Bluefin for GTS, and Achillobator for the LTS.

TLDR Alan, tell us what to write. 😄

[castrojo]

Also a general call for help with the picker in general, I can't make heads or tails out of this front end stuff lol.

[mcphail]

And going back to my earlier point, I feel that this photo fully explains why you shouldn't have the initials "GT" in a stable, boring release.

[JohnAtl]

I have 2 cents too 🙂
Rather than drop downs, make the choices radio buttons, that way all choices are up front.

Also, Raspberry Pis are Arm64.

[castrojo]

Do we even work on rpi4's? I wasnt' aware lol.

On the GTS thing, I wouldn't call GTS boring or stable. I mean we want it to be, it hits the Ubuntu sweet spot but I am willing to bet LTS with HWE will do the use case much better. We'll see!

[popey]

Just a quick comment on the Apple Silicon / Raspberry pi thing.

My assumption was that people might try out Biuefin in a VM on an Apple Silicon machine and wasn't thinking at all about installing it on the bare metal like Asahi. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[castrojo]

Yeah another good point, we should ensure we manage expectations, there's no bare metal support here at all for arm macs.

[castrojo]

Ok one thing led to another: https://projectbluefin.io/#scene-picker

Consider this text placeholders, happy to get feedback on some text there that would help. Yes, I know three SKUs are bad but this is better than what we had before. We can trim down later.