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Running Linux on My MacBook

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Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#61

Post by jki275 »

bitcharmer wrote: post #39
peteretep wrote: post #5

Thank you for writing this! Whenever I see people using Linux as their main laptop OS, I'm struck by remembering the amount of tinkering needed circa 1999 which was the last time I did it. Having read this -- the custom scripts, the "suspend still doesn't work properly" -- it feels like that's still the case.

> it feels like that's still the case Very much not true these days. Linux on laptops is (in overwhelming majority) a great experience today. I suggest you just try out one of the live images for Ubuntu or Fedora. On a tangential note I'm surprised that it's still relatively common on HN to see comments like "Linux on desktop doesn't work" or "Java is slow". That was 20 years ago. The world has moved on.

Linux on the desktop "works" today just like it did twenty years ago -- painfully and with a lot of work to work around the operating system's inability to be a desktop OS.

Same thing with Java. Sure, it's not as slow as it was 20 years ago, but it's still slow and painful in comparison to compiled languages.

I've used Linux actively for 30 years or more, and I've never had a "great experience" once with it. It's a tool that I have to beat into submission to get it to do whatever ridiculous workflow someone dreamed up that can't be done on a real operating system.

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#62

Post by suchoudh »

These days I feel as if machines are deliberately phased out even when they are in perfectly working condition.

I have two macbooks (white plastic) one with Tiger installed and another with Leopard an iPad 1 ( They all are in working condition) Its a shame to not be able to use the machines just because it is not supported.

I would assume that they are good enough for a kid to surf websites and help do his/her homework. Listen to songs while browsing pdfs . Lack of support should not mean that perfectly usable hardware is junked.

After covid, there are a lot of kids in Indian villages whoes education is dependent on online education. Maybe these laptops could be made usable for them. ( Not everyone can afford a mobile phone)

Please do let me know if your linux installs will work for my case as well ( your case covers the Macbook Pro instead of just macbooks)

PS: I myself use i3wm on a lenovo machine. ( Not very happy with Lenovo but its ok ok )

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#64

Post by robrtsql »

ledvd wrote: post #36

Tried Linux on my MacBook Pro mid-2012, ran into some of the issues described in the post (sleep issues, keyboard layout, ...). Though I went with Ubuntu for a bit more simplicity. I finally had to rollback because it was simply not usable. The laptop was getting too hot, and it seemed that I had to use scripting or workarounds for every little thing. Now I use a virtual machine, and it's already way better. I still…

I run Linux on that device (the 13 inch version).

For whatever reason, fan control does not work out of the box (so it gets way too hot), but it worked for me after installing mbpfan: https://github.com/linux-on-mac/mbpfan

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#66

Post by craigsmansion »

jki275 wrote: post #61
bitcharmer wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it feels like that's still the case Very much not true these days. Linux on laptops is (in overwhelming majority) a great experience today. I suggest you just try out one of the live images for Ubuntu or Fedora. On a tangential note I'm surprised that it's still relatively common on HN to see comments like "Linux on desktop doesn't work" or "Java is slow". That was 20 years ago. The world has moved on.

Linux on the desktop "works" today just like it did twenty years ago -- painfully and with a lot of work to work around the operating system's inability to be a desktop OS. Same thing with Java. Sure, it's not as slow as it was 20 years ago, but it's still slow and painful in comparison to compiled languages. I've used Linux actively for 30 years or more, and I've never had a "great experience" once with it. It's a t…

> I've used Linux actively for 30 years or more

"The Linux kernel was conceived and created in 1991"

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#67

Post by i_am_proteus »

bitcharmer wrote: post #39
peteretep wrote: post #5

Thank you for writing this! Whenever I see people using Linux as their main laptop OS, I'm struck by remembering the amount of tinkering needed circa 1999 which was the last time I did it. Having read this -- the custom scripts, the "suspend still doesn't work properly" -- it feels like that's still the case.

> it feels like that's still the case Very much not true these days. Linux on laptops is (in overwhelming majority) a great experience today. I suggest you just try out one of the live images for Ubuntu or Fedora. On a tangential note I'm surprised that it's still relatively common on HN to see comments like "Linux on desktop doesn't work" or "Java is slow". That was 20 years ago. The world has moved on.

This is especially true for "major" distributions (e.g. Fedora, Ubuntu) that tend to have lots of driver support in the distribution on Dell XPS and Lenovo Thinkpad hardware.

By running more-commonly-used software on more-commonly-used hardware, you're more likely to find that someone has built in the driver support you need into the OS.

I've run Ubuntu, Fedora, and Manjaro on various Thinkpads and XPSs and it's always Just Worked. I also have Ubuntu running on an old (2012?) macintosh air and that also Just Works.

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#68

Post by bluedino »

peteretep wrote: post #5

Thank you for writing this! Whenever I see people using Linux as their main laptop OS, I'm struck by remembering the amount of tinkering needed circa 1999 which was the last time I did it. Having read this -- the custom scripts, the "suspend still doesn't work properly" -- it feels like that's still the case.

It worked pretty well by then. Somewhere around the year 2000 I had RedHat 7 running on my Dell Latitude CPi, everything worked out of the box.

You'd still have problems on other machines with things like winmodems and integrated graphics, so you'd have to get into downloading driver modules or rebuilding kernels.

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#69

Post by izacus »

read_if_gay_ wrote: post #38
izacus wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The list to get macOS working on other laptops is even longer - I thought it would be obvious to all of you that it would be hard to make a machine designed to run a proprietary OS. Just like you buy an Apple machine to run MacOS well, you can easily buy a machine to run Linux well (Dell, Lenovo, System76 are just a few manufacturers who build MacBoook class hardware with Linux preinstalled).

> Dell, Lenovo, System76 are just a few manufacturers who build MacBoook class hardware with Linux preinstalled Debatable. I have had an absolutely terrible experience with Linux on a new ThinkPad. System76 doesn’t have as great a build quality AFAIK. Dell is fine, but they don’t have anything with preinstalled Linux anymore.

Was that ThinkPad one of the Linux certified ones? Or was it again one random machine?

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#70

Post by hpcjoe »

peteretep wrote: post #5

Thank you for writing this! Whenever I see people using Linux as their main laptop OS, I'm struck by remembering the amount of tinkering needed circa 1999 which was the last time I did it. Having read this -- the custom scripts, the "suspend still doesn't work properly" -- it feels like that's still the case.

On my multiple Linux laptops, suspend just works. Has for a long time (many years) with no tinkering.

In this case, MBP is uncommon HW for Linux users, and things may not work that well. I imagine windows 10 would have similar problems there.

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