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Running Linux on My MacBook

djhworld.github.io

101–110 of 179 posts

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#101

The trouble with almost every article that I read of this kind is that the author is either a writer or a coder. So their demands on Linux are relatively minor; a terminal, an IDE, something to mangle text with. I could probably make the full-time switch to Linux, if that was the bulk of what I did too. And I do a fair bit of writing and coding. But the majority what I do on my [OSX] computers is Art & Design related…

> But, boy, is getting to that stage in the first place a complete pain in the ballsack!

> .... Both machines have >>> Nvidia graphics cardsYeah. That's painful. Don't do that.

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#102
post #98

I took a stab at putting Linux on a MacBook about 4 years ago or so. I found dealing with the Broadcom wifi and bluetooth more hassle than I bargained for, and switched to a Thinkpad. Has the Broadcom driver situation improved? I was surprised the author had no issues getting wifi working. And relating to the article, i3 is the sole reason I use Linux. Such a great window manager.

I had zero issues with the Wifi, not tried Bluetooth so can’t comment there.

I’m not sure if the lack of WiFi issues is because Fedora tends to stay pretty up to date kernel wise.

EDIT: to clarify - I had zero issues with having to to anything special to get Wifi working - there are still intermittent issues with the driver that happens maybe once or twice a week

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#103
post #2

I used i3 for a long time. After a while it didn't feel that fast. Yes switching was very quick but often it got in the way. So many applications have little windows that pop up. They didn't play nice with i3. I also had the issue of a limited keyboard and shortcut keys. I use a Kinesis advantage. I don't have a windows key. So I used alt as a super key. This meant that I often couldn't use application shortcuts. It…

For me it was remembering what my bindings were for every little thing. I’m a guy who built his own keyboard for extra macro keys. I have 12 extra off the left side. It worked out very nicely, and it was a pretty smooth experience. Until I was using my computer to laze about at 11pm with a slightly foggy mind.

I just don’t want to think about how to move incredibly quickly around the computer. Easy point and click is all the effort I want to muster, sometimes.

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#104
post #96
post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've tried out Linux as a Desktop OS pretty consistently every 2-3 years for about 20 years on various Desktop and Laptop computers. I use Linux on a daily basis as a Security analyst, so while I'm not as good as many, I am far better off than the average computer user (I was offered a gig as an intermediate Linux admin once but passed it up to remain in security). Every time I try it, I end up fixing a bunch of mino…

> I've tried out Linux as a Desktop OS pretty consistently every 2-3 years for about 20 years on various Desktop and Laptop computers Well, I have used Linux as a desktop OS consistently since 22 years now. I started with Thinkpads and they did work well for me, and that's what defines my expectations today - that a laptop works without glitch. And the last two laptops I god were supplied by the respective organizati…

I'm not saying its bad or that you can't have a good experience with it, but we should take the "Linux as a Desktop" idea in the proper context. When people bring this idea up again and again, they are usually claiming that Linux is ready to replace Mainstream Desktop OS's for average people. So it usually falls short of that standard because there are only a handful of vendors selling vetted Linux Hardware, only two of them are household names, and the average person cannot be expected to research which GPU Models, NIC Chipsets, etc, are going to work with a Linux install.

The X220 was an amazing machine. I've had a couple of Thinkpad T series over the years and they were my favorite laptops. The keyboards were great.

I'm hoping the trend of more vendors selling Linux laptops will continue. I think there's a good chance that large companies supporting the OS will lead to a more maintenance free / a more stable experience for a wider range of use cases.

I don't dislike Linux. I simply wish it worked better for my purposes. IMO the best OS would have Windows' Mouse drivers and gaming support, MacOS early-mid 2010's Workflow/UI and touchpad drivers, and Linux's everything else. I work with all 3 major OSs on a daily basis and there are things that each of them does better than the others. Interestingly, the thing I find to be poorly implemented on all 3 is Multi-Monitor support.

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You're seeing an extreme case here. Macbooks are actively breaking other OSes. Better to treat it as: "look how much you can bend Linux to work on a proprietary toaster", rather than "look how hard it is to run Linux on a laptop". It's true that Macbooks are an extreme case, but as far as I can tell, there is not a laptop which runs Linux out of the box where tinkering won't be necessary. Let's take another extreme…

My thinkpad runs Linux and everything works exactly as intended.

My t460p suffers from battery drain issues due to nvidia graphics and intel wifi. Also, the fingerprint sensor requires tinkering after every os upgrade and cannot enroll new fingerprints in linux.

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#106

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 homewo…

> 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.

That hardware isn't as valuable as you might think it is. The last plastic Macbook was made in 2010. It's value as a productivity tool is very limited today.

That said, e-Waste is a major problem, which is why in recent years, in the west, companies are required to collect a "recycling fee" on purchase of computer equipment to pay for the eventual recycling of the physical devices. Coincidentally, this was in part prompted by images of children in India and other developing countries picking over toxic E-waste from the west.

However, it's not really feasible for a company to support a device as old as your 2010 plastic Macbook from a software perspective, because software evolves too rapidly to run well on hardware that old. These are not desktop workstation towers for which you can swap out every component for newer ones.

> 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.

The demands of common 2020 computer use-cases will render the hardware/software unusable, even when running a recent Linux distro.

So they will probably not be useful for remote-education. Basic things like watching educational videos will likely be painfully slow - if they work at all - constrained by the hardware's ability to decode and display the video.

If you do get these common use cases working on that old a device (which would be a fun and worthy hacking project by itself), if you give it to someone else to use, you will also have to deal with the problem of supporting it, and then ensuring their responsible disposal (i.e. not in the village organic waste dump) when they do reach the end of their usable lives. None of this is trivial to accomplish.

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#107

For Firefox rendering being slow, I forced the Ubuntu Firefox to use Wayland the other day (my login session was already wayland but Ubuntu doesn't default to making firefox using it), and the difference is night and day. Everything is so much faster and super smooth.

Given all the ads for Firefox on HN I keep trying it but it's insanely slow.

I don't think it's intended to be like this, not sure where to begin troubleshooting.

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#108
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You're seeing an extreme case here. Macbooks are actively breaking other OSes. Better to treat it as: "look how much you can bend Linux to work on a proprietary toaster", rather than "look how hard it is to run Linux on a laptop". It's true that Macbooks are an extreme case, but as far as I can tell, there is not a laptop which runs Linux out of the box where tinkering won't be necessary. Let's take another extreme…

It’s weird, people report all these issues, but in the past I bought Thinkpads for years & they always "just worked". Took a risk & picked up a Dell XPS 13 a couple of years ago, and that "just worked" too. It’s like I live in parallel universe of Linux hardware support to some of you.

You have discovered Apple Marketing. Their security and privacy stances are no different.

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#109
post #7

Every post like these, the TODO list is super long. This reminds me again why I don't want Linux in the first place.

I won't bother telling you the advantages I got over the other OSs, but I am curious why you are denouncing linux in the first place.

Installing any non-free linux OS will grant you an complete out-of-the-box experience, imo superior to Windows/Mac. Even Nvidia Optimus powered laptops are fully supported.

Hit me up if you managed to run windows on the same hardware as the OP. Or even running MacOS on any other computer. I am wondering if your documentation would be more concise.

so long..

Re: Running Linux on My MacBook

#110
I recently tried Debian 10 on a MacBook Pro from 2014 and it worked surprisingly well. The computer fan(s) would however not start when needed even after installing extra software like mbpfan. Something to watch out for!
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