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Moving from Macbook to Linux

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Re: Moving from Macbook to Linux

#331

Post by mikeywazowski »

busterarm wrote: post #276
cpursley wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for bringing this up. Can folk's recommend specific thinkpads that play well with linux? I'm specifically interested in Ryzen versions.

The T14s might work, but IIRC most of the Ryzen models are in the E series and hardware support there is spotty.

I have an E490 (i7) running PopOS and the only thing that doesn't work is the fingerprint scanner. Everything worked out of the box; I haven't had to install any drivers myself. (That I can recall, anyway. Might have been such a simple process to install any missing drivers that I've forgotten.)

Re: Moving from Macbook to Linux

#332

Post by [deleted] »

senko wrote: post #68

I find it funny when people complain Linux is not ready for desktop. Sometimes it's because Windows software doesn't run on it, sometimes because Apple makes a fast chip... Dunno. Been using it on desktops (well, laptops, mostly) since early 2000s, then some 6-year hiatus with OSX, then back to Linux. Works/worked great for me. So, Year of Linux Desktop is really old news for some. For most, it'll never arrive. And t…

[deleted]

Re: Moving from Macbook to Linux

#333

Post by nextos »

cpursley wrote: post #272
busterarm wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just any thinkpad! Stick to the X, T & to some extent P series. Avoid nvidia graphics if you can. Arch Linux (and to some extent OpenBSD) probably has the best support/documentation/fixes for any ACPI/APM management issues you have. I have a top-end 2017 MBP and I just recently bought a brand new 7th Gen X1 Carbon for very cheaply (like $800) and it _screams_ in comparison to the Mac.

Thanks for bringing this up. Can folk's recommend specific thinkpads that play well with linux? I'm specifically interested in Ryzen versions.

Some are Ubuntu certified. Those tend to work well.

Also look at what Redhat or BSD developers use.

Besides, try to avoid discrete GPUs if you can. An all Intel machine, or lately all AMD, usually works really well.

Another good sign is the availability of EFI firmware updates that are OS independent.

Re: Moving from Macbook to Linux

#334

Post by dfgdghdf »

busterarm wrote: post #286
wayne wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I setup a Thinkpad X-series with OpenBSD a few months ago and the hardware support was stellar. I researched ahead of time (lots of googling and reading HN and Reddit threads) and it seemed like the OpenBSD devs were using a handful of Thinkpad models so those worked perfectly. I've mostly used it to surf the web (Firefox) and code (Vim). No one would say it's as seamless as using a Macbook, but being able to tinker…

I have a 7th Gen X1 Carbon & a Thinkpad X270 running OpenBSD and they're both flawless (bluetooth, hyperthreading, fingerprint reader all disabled). Being limited to 802.11n networking is fine.

I think we have different definitions of "flawless"

Re: Moving from Macbook to Linux

#335

Post by dwaite »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #288
rched wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your fears seem to come down to the idea that Apple will eventually try to force apps to go through the mac app store. I can understand why people would feel that way seeing what they have done on their mobile platforms but I don't actually think there is any evidence to suggest they want to do that on the mac. I am not at all convinced Apple wants to go that route so the future of the mac doesn't look scary to me it…

I have no idea why you think this, when Apple are clearly clamping down on what software gets on "their" machines. They have to tread carefully because anti-trust, and they'll make all the relevant noises, but I think it's clear that the end-goal is only allowing app store apps to be installed. But tbh the same is true of Windows. They're further away, because history, but they've already played with this once and wi…

They really don't have motivation to lock down the Mac in that way.

Instead, they'll push iPad to be usable as a laptop alternative for more people.

Re: Moving from Macbook to Linux

#336

Post by dfgdghdf »

pkaye wrote: post #278
busterarm wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just any thinkpad! Stick to the X, T & to some extent P series. Avoid nvidia graphics if you can. Arch Linux (and to some extent OpenBSD) probably has the best support/documentation/fixes for any ACPI/APM management issues you have. I have a top-end 2017 MBP and I just recently bought a brand new 7th Gen X1 Carbon for very cheaply (like $800) and it _screams_ in comparison to the Mac.

So X1 Carbon works well with Linux?

I have the 7th gen. It works OK. Trackpad sucks. Resolution is high and Ubuntu does not scale things properly. Fingerprint reader doesn't work. Speakers are incredibly quiet. Suspend / hibernate does not work reliably.

Re: Moving from Macbook to Linux

#337

Post by grey_earthling »

tomwojcik wrote: post #30
anderspitman wrote: post #12

I got into Linux when I was younger because I thought it was cool, and I had plenty of time to fix it when things broke. It's been my daily driver for ~10 years now. But there's quite a bit too learn. If I were to try and switch from Windows or Mac today I'm not sure I'd succeed before giving up. But I'm grateful every day to have a machine that I have some semblance of control over. I use a rolling release distro. I…

> I use a rolling release distro This might be the first time someone could have said 'I use Arch' but decided not to.

Could be Rawhide.

Re: Moving from Macbook to Linux

#338

Post by cageface »

bsaul wrote: post #75
driverdan wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That future looks extremely scary. What can we do, now, as developers ? Stop buying, using, and supporting the Apple ecosystem. Vote with your money. The new chips are faster. So what? The laptop you have today works fine, you don't need the latest and greatest hardware.

i code iOS (native) app for a living. I'm already stuck developing for the app store, using xcode to sign and deploy, using a programming language (that i love) swift that only really works on mac OS. My personal situation isn't going to change anytime soon unfortunately. I was about to dump my iphone next time i had to pick one (and keep my current one for testing), however my laptop is my work computer. I think "st…

After ten years doing iOS apps I switched back to web development and I only wish I’d done it sooner. I feel like I escaped a long, abusive relationship.

In hindsight I marvel that I ever allowed a single corporation to have absolute control over whether or not I’m allowed to publish my work to users.

Re: Moving from Macbook to Linux

#339

Post by renw0rp »

hacknat wrote: post #181
bsaul wrote: post #25

The fact that many people reading this post title (including me) look at it with sarcasm is telling on how apple scored big points with its new cpu. Keeping up with mac OS and the trackpad was already quite hard, but CPU could be the killing blow. Which could lead us in a few years to a situation where mac developers will face the same fate as ios developers : forced to buy hardware to sign their app, forced to push…

IDK, the CPU has never been my bottle neck for work. I know it is for some use cases, but for general software development memory has always been my main bottleneck.

I've seen 16GB laptop sticks for 40 quid on Amazon today (OOS now though); I've had 32GB in my 14" EliteBook for a long time now, but paid much more for it. It's probably enough for my needs for some time.

Re: Moving from Macbook to Linux

#340

Post by JoshTriplett »

pkaye wrote: post #278
busterarm wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just any thinkpad! Stick to the X, T & to some extent P series. Avoid nvidia graphics if you can. Arch Linux (and to some extent OpenBSD) probably has the best support/documentation/fixes for any ACPI/APM management issues you have. I have a top-end 2017 MBP and I just recently bought a brand new 7th Gen X1 Carbon for very cheaply (like $800) and it _screams_ in comparison to the Mac.

So X1 Carbon works well with Linux?

Yes, it works incredibly well.

Also, Lenovo now directly supports Linux on some of their laptops, including the X1.

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