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Warning: 2016 MacBook Pro is not compatible with Linux

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Re: Warning: 2016 MacBook Pro is not compatible with Linux

#191

Post by coldtea »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #44

Macbooks were never good choices to run Linux on, and it's naive to think it would've gotten any easier. Apple's version of EFI is slightly different than the standard. The laptops are filled with custom hardware that you won't find anywhere else. It took Dell months of effort by a dedicated team [1] to get all the features of a subset of Dell XPS13 laptops working under Linux. I'm actually considering buying one as…

>Macbooks were never good choices to run Linux on, and it's naive to think it would've gotten any easier.

Linus Torvalds, for one, used a Macbook Air with Linux up until a couple of years ago, which he praised as the right way to do laptops (he now uses a Chromebook IIRC).

(He also used a Mac Pro G5 in the mid-00s, again with Linux, and he wrote his autobiography around 2003-4 on an iBook with OS X).

Re: Warning: 2016 MacBook Pro is not compatible with Linux

#192

Post by wl »

freehunter wrote: post #166
micaksica wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, this drives me insane too, and is the thing that I hate about the "workstation class" devices. I don't use the number pad and I don't want it, thank you. It trips me up whenever I have to use one and I have to offset my hands from the display.

I would have really loved one when I was doing a lot of data entry in a previous job. Instead I just got a USB keyboard with a number pad, I understand that my niche desires don't necessarily make for a mass-market desirable device.

Even as a frequent user of the numpad, I'd rather carry a USB numpad around than deal with the asymmetry caused by putting one in a laptop.

Re: Warning: 2016 MacBook Pro is not compatible with Linux

#193

Post by pritambaral »

hd4 wrote: post #123
mwambua wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tangential Question: Would you say that Thinkpads are still the safest bet if you're looking for good RHEL/Fedora support & updates?

Relevant: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12911310

Those aren't ThinkPads.

The ThinkPads are an semi-independent division within Lenovo.

Re: Warning: 2016 MacBook Pro is not compatible with Linux

#194

Post by cyrus_ »

rarepostinlurkr wrote: post #146
cyrus_ wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First off, I didn't say that Apple was blocking apps on MacOS. I mentioned it because the OP was disparaging Lenovo as a whole because of unethical behavior in one product line. As such, it's only fair to do the same for Apple. Second, Apple most definitely does "impede" the installation of apps downloaded independently by requiring you to perform an obscure dance to execute them.

> "It blocks or impedes the installation of software ..." You didn't?

You're aware that iPhones and iPads run software I assume.

Re: Warning: 2016 MacBook Pro is not compatible with Linux

#195

Post by btgeekboy »

adiabatty wrote: post #29
std_throwaway wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Neither is any of the other manufacturers and yet, there is a public outcry if a notebook runs only the latest version of Windows. The real question is if Apple missed providing drivers or if it is deliberate.

Apple seems preternaturally constrained by engineer time; I can't see why they would devote a scarce resource like that to qualifying drivers for anything older than Windows 10 Anniversary Edition.

It's worth remembering that a Mac virtually never supports an OS released before it. They usually ship with a special build of the current version, and later point releases of macOS support the hardware directly. I wouldn't call that a scarce resource problem, but a convenient way of not having to create backwards compatible hardware. Just build hardware sensibly within your corporate world view, perhaps tweak it a bit for the latest version of Windows, and that's all you need.

Re: Warning: 2016 MacBook Pro is not compatible with Linux

#196

Post by pritambaral »

betanumerical wrote: post #121
voidlogic wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Operating system doesn't matter much when the malware is in BIOS or firmware code. Are you insinuating that was the case here? Source please, I'd be interested to read about that.

It gets copied from the firmware and runs pre OS. But the executable only runs on windows from what I can tell, so its technically its cross platform but it wont run on both platforms.

The executable runs on Windows because Windows loads it and runs it. The executable doesn't force itself on Windows.

Re: Warning: 2016 MacBook Pro is not compatible with Linux

#197

Post by colemickens »

busterarm wrote: post #25
colemickens wrote: post #15

Meanwhile I just put Arch back on my Chromebook Pixel and I couldn't be happier. Far better screen, far better font rendering, and no absurdities regarding keyboard shortcuts and keys whenever plugging in an external keyboard. I can use my mouse with normal scroll while having my trackpad inverted. I have a real window manager again with "Always On Top". And I have real per-app volume mixing again. Oh, and an escape…

I wish I'd gotten a 2015 and put OpenBSD on it. Oh well :(

Are they out of stock, or just can't bring yourself to buy 18mo old hardware?

I feel like mid-summer next year we're going to start seeing signs of a new Pixel for the Andromeda merging of Android/ChromeOS.

Re: Warning: 2016 MacBook Pro is not compatible with Linux

#198

Post by orthecreedence »

234dd57d2c8db wrote: post #75
elchief wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple, maybe, actually fights for your privacy, while Lenovo definitely exploits it for money. Is there a secure enclave chip in Lenovo? Do you really trust their firmware?

Err, Apple was a willing participant in the NSA's PRISM program.

As much as I dislike Apple, I actually really doubt they were willing.

Re: Warning: 2016 MacBook Pro is not compatible with Linux

#199

Post by orthecreedence »

vinay427 wrote: post #94
voidlogic wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'm no Apple fan boy, but those Lenovos are not IBM Thinkpads anymore. Are you saying the quality is down? I can't agree with that, I have kept buying Thinkpads and my X1 Carbon (2nd gen) is fantastic.

I'm with you there. I'm tired of the assumption that quality has decreased because of a change of branding, possibly enhanced because the new owner is Chinese. My ThinkPad from early 2015 is better built than the older ThinkPads I have used, especially considering how thin and light it is. This shouldn't be surprising because the quality of materials has improved to make for lighter and more durable bodies.

The build quality is fine. I like Lenovos, but I can't buy them anymore...it's more the malware that bothers me. And not so much the malware, but the fact that the company was caught twice doing it, once being a BIOS malware that kept reinstalling itself if removed.

That shows fairly malicious intent on behalf of Lenovo. They just can't be trusted, at least not after a few years with a clean record.

Re: Warning: 2016 MacBook Pro is not compatible with Linux

#200

Post by orthecreedence »

xenihn wrote: post #68
notadoc wrote: post #9

$2800 on a laptop with only 16GB RAM that you're going to run linux on anyway? If you're going to run Ubuntu, why not get a Lenovo for much less and with notably better legitimately "Pro" specs?

$2800 is nothing to a very significant portion of American developers. No, I am not one of them.

Ehh, I'm one of those people, and it's a lot to me. I've been having trouble pulling the trigger on a new $2K laptop. I'm generally pretty frugal though.
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