For my situation I work for a large CDN and we have over 15k servers deployed globally and software I write has to run on all of them. This means various OS and kernel versions. This means in a given day I can work on 20+ different containers. The more time I spend spinning up or down containers to save system resources the more angry I get. I also travel a lot for work, so connecting to a cloud based instance from a plane is not possible, plugging into a power outlet in a plane seat is.
For me the issue comes down to lack of choice. Previously lack of choice from Apple was not a concern because the choices I would make were inline with what they are offering. This is no longer the case.
For those that asked, I am replacing 10 years of using MBP's with a System76 laptop. I don't have it yet so I can't comment but I am excited for the change as have been growing more and more frustrated with Apple.
Aside, but you say "various OS and kernel versions". One'd have to use virtualization in order to run a kernel different than the host. I don't think containerization can help you there, at least as far as spinning up an image with a different kernel is concerned.
For me the issue comes down to lack of choice. Previously lack of choice from Apple was not a concern because the choices I would make were inline with what they are offering. This is no longer the case.
For those that asked, I am replacing 10 years of using MBP's with a System76 laptop. I don't have it yet so I can't comment but I am excited for the change as have been growing more and more frustrated with Apple.