Earlier quoted context omitted.
Old Macbooks make good linux laptops. This hasn't really been the case for a while now.
A 2015 mbp works pretty well, are there problems with the newer ones?
2015 was the last year they worked well.
Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree
91–100 of 337 posts
Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree
#92If you want a summary of the changes that were made you can find it here:
https://asahilinux.org/2021/03/progress-report-january-febru...
Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
I feel like the pattern is that when you start to dig into people talking about their great experience with Linux on a laptop, you end up eventually getting them to admit that there are a lot of annoyances they’ve just resigned to living with
I'm trying to think of one and literally can't. everything works these days. even Bluetooth audio isn't a problem anymore.
Come on - Bluetooth headsets are unusable with the mic on due to HFP being the only bluetooth profile most Linux distros support.
Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree
#94I sincerely hope that one day, Linux GUI land will receive similar amounts of work as the kernel. While it's great that we can boot it on pretty much every device out there, I would much prefer if it was a viable Windows alternative on a few devices instead. Just yesterday, I plugged an external screen into my Ubuntu laptop. And then I had to duck-duck for like an hour to figure out how to make the fonts large enough…
One of the issues is that most of the money comes from big corporate sponsors that are nearly exclusively going to be running Linux on a server with no GUI. These businesses have no interest in trying to develop a desktop UI when Mac OS and Windows work fine already and someone else is doing all the work for it already.
It's not just corporate sponsors though. Many Linux developers and most hardcore Linux nerds have an irrational distain for GUIs. They think that Vim is the best thing since sliced bread and if you don't want to use the terminal to set up WiFi then you're a noob that belongs on Windows.
Not everyone is like that but that's definitely the prevailing attitude. A good example is the regular hate that SystemD receives. Nobody wants a modern system that supports hotplugging and GUI configuration. They think you should edit init.rc files by hand and reboot your desktop (laptop? what's that?) whenever you plug something in.
Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree
#95I say this as a long-time PC user; MacBook laptop hardware is unrivaled in the PC space (trackpad, screen and keyboard - not pure price/performance). Having any distro running Gnome 40 with full gesture support would be seriously compelling for daily driving.
Yep, I've been looking for a linux laptop for a while that is actually compelling compared to my mac book pro. It seems just about everything is a downgrade in terms of shitty trackpads, lower resolution screens, memory, etc. Linux UI is not a problem for me; I can deal with that. The hardware is a problem though.
Here's what I want:
- Something that is faster than the last Apple laptop I loved which, I bought in 2012. I currently have a 2017 model which is barely faster and has the famous cluster fuck of a keyboard that I loathe with a passion. The 2012 model would have been a MBP 15" with a quad core i7, 16GB, and 256GB. Anything less than those specs is beyond pathetically and woefully inadequate. Anything not at least 2-8x better than that is still unimpressive given that we've had 4 iterations of Moore's law since then. Right now, I'd probably settle for 64GB RAM and some nice 8-16 core CPU. I'd take more if I could. Those AMD chips look pretty nice. Core i-9 also not too bad.
- 13-15" hdpi, non negotiable. I will never downgrade to anything less than a 4K screen. I'm writing this on an imac with a 5K screen. It's from 2014. My current laptop has a retina screen. It's four years old. It's 2021. I don't want/need a screen that was outdated and underwhelming 6 years ago.
- A trackpad that doesn't suck. I don't want want/need physical mouse buttons. I'm not ever going to use an external mouse. I want something I can use that doesn't actually suck. Apple nailed that more than a decade ago. Some manufacturers come close to this platonic ideal of a trackpad. Bot most don't even pretend to bother. Also, linux support for this seems to be a perpetual work in progress.
- A keyboard that is comfortable to use. Seems obvious but again hard to get. Apple messed this up and is in the process of correcting that mistake. It matters. I use laptops, a lot. My wrists matter to me. So do ergonomics. Or having an actual escape key (seriously, WTF Apple).
- Modern ports (USB-C, thunderbolt), bluetooth and wifi that work and with recent specs. I don't actually care about legacy ports that much and certainly not about the extra space and weight that seems to imply. But I do care that my headphones connect and that I can plug in a fancy screen with high resolution and its own assortment of ports. I.e. a thunderbolt screen that I can daisy chain to other screens and my laptop.
- A sensible design and weight. I don't want a ten kilo brick in my backpack.
- Lap friendly cooling. I actually use my laptop on my lap. I don't want it leaving scorch marks on my pants. Nor do I want it to sound like a vacuum cleaner.
What I described is a pro laptop. High end requirements. I know of a handful of models that come close to this. All of these have issues with Linux support. Key components that don't work or are not fully supported or require lots of hacks to get working.
Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree
#96I sincerely hope that one day, Linux GUI land will receive similar amounts of work as the kernel. While it's great that we can boot it on pretty much every device out there, I would much prefer if it was a viable Windows alternative on a few devices instead. Just yesterday, I plugged an external screen into my Ubuntu laptop. And then I had to duck-duck for like an hour to figure out how to make the fonts large enough…
Anecdotal I know, but I very recently got a macbook air after years of practically exclusively using Linux and the opinionated user interface drives me crazy. Here's a few pain points: - Scroll direction can only be set globally so either touchpad or mouse scrolling feels awkward for me - You need an extra click on another window before you can interact with it - No focus-follows-mouse (there used to be 3rd party plu…
There's a certain Zen to using Apple interfaces (IMHO): You have to relax and just accept that this is how it is, and it's best to get used to it.
I fully understand if you find this to be not really good enough, but this is the only way to make them work for you.
Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm trying to think of one and literally can't. everything works these days. even Bluetooth audio isn't a problem anymore.
Come on - Bluetooth headsets are unusable with the mic on due to HFP being the only bluetooth profile most Linux distros support.
Nope. I run Pop OS and I get A2DP on all my Bluetooth headsets. I'm running a cheapish Clevo laptop.
Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree
#98I sincerely hope that one day, Linux GUI land will receive similar amounts of work as the kernel. While it's great that we can boot it on pretty much every device out there, I would much prefer if it was a viable Windows alternative on a few devices instead. Just yesterday, I plugged an external screen into my Ubuntu laptop. And then I had to duck-duck for like an hour to figure out how to make the fonts large enough…
Anecdotal I know, but I very recently got a macbook air after years of practically exclusively using Linux and the opinionated user interface drives me crazy. Here's a few pain points: - Scroll direction can only be set globally so either touchpad or mouse scrolling feels awkward for me - You need an extra click on another window before you can interact with it - No focus-follows-mouse (there used to be 3rd party plu…
For the scroll direction check this out https://pilotmoon.com/scrollreverser/
Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree
#99This is very anecdotal but every single laptop I have bought in the last 10 years (4) worked perfectly out-of-the box with either Linux Mint or Ubuntu (which are the same on the inside). I only vaguely remember once I had to change some conf file for my trackpad to work after a dist update but that was it. Not sure why everyone in this thread is so hesitant about Linux on a laptop? It literally just works (tm) for me…
Yes it always works nowadays, and has been working for a long long time... Complainers are fanboys who want to nitpick.
Yep, honestly running ArchLinux + KDE on my Acer TravelMateX since 4 years approx I never had hardware/drivers related issues.
This laptop is not an ARM of course but works wonderful well.
BTW it also came with a fingerprint reader but I never used it.
Re: Initial M1 support merged into Linux SoC tree
#100This is very anecdotal but every single laptop I have bought in the last 10 years (4) worked perfectly out-of-the box with either Linux Mint or Ubuntu (which are the same on the inside). I only vaguely remember once I had to change some conf file for my trackpad to work after a dist update but that was it. Not sure why everyone in this thread is so hesitant about Linux on a laptop? It literally just works (tm) for me…
I feel like the pattern is that when you start to dig into people talking about their great experience with Linux on a laptop, you end up eventually getting them to admit that there are a lot of annoyances they’ve just resigned to living with
> there are a lot of annoyances they’ve just resigned to living with
I feel like this is true of every computing platform in general.