Linux on a Macbook?

[dj_ripcord]

Anything I should know before purchasing a Macbook pro exclusively for linux use?

• Are there certain OS' that don't play nice with Apple hardware?
• Anyone had issues when trying to do something similar?
• Quality of life improvements you suggest?
• Do you know of software packages that help improve the magic touch pad experience?

Let me know your thoughts.

[Gokul_P]

8 minutes ago, dj_ripcord said:

 Macbook pro exclusively for linux use?

Intel Or Arm (M1) ones if Arm WHY?

[Kilrah]

You'd need an old Intel mac given there is no fully working alternative OS that supports Apple Silicon yet, the closest you can get is Asahi Linux.

[dj_ripcord]

5 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

You'd need an old Intel mac given there is no fully working alternative OS that supports Apple Silicon yet, the closest you can get is Asahi Linux.

Okay, that's good because I am looking at getting a macbook older than 2020 just to save a buck.

[SorryBella]

4 minutes ago, dj_ripcord said:

Okay, that's good because I am looking at getting a macbook older than 2020 just to save a buck.

Then of course your average disclaimer that Mac OS on Intel is going to be pretty spotty in the future as developer drops it in favor of full time ARM mac development. But yeah besides Asahi, youre SOL on M chip Linux right now.

[denco101]

3 minutes ago, SorryClaire said:

Then of course your average disclaimer that Mac OS on Intel is going to be pretty spotty in the future as developer drops it in favor of full time ARM mac development.

...and even macOS 13 already supports only a couple years back of Intel Macs (around 2017 or so for most models): The end seems to be sooner, rather than later.

[Smithfield]

Actually, I have a 2008 MacBook Pro, and it runs Linux Mint just fine. Just because Apple drops support for older Macs doesn't mean you can't still use them for Linux and legacy software. For instance, PowerPC software for Mac OS X is notoriously difficult to get working on ARM64 Macs, but these older amd64 Macs with NVIDIA GPUs are able to run them, provided they are running Mac OS X 10.6. If GNU/Linux or even Windows is your goal, you are in good hands, so long as you have a model with upgradable RAM and storage.

[denco101]

On 4/15/2023 at 2:03 PM, Smithfield said:

Actually, I have a 2008 MacBook Pro, and it runs Linux Mint just fine. Just because Apple drops support for older Macs doesn't mean you can't still use them for Linux and legacy software. For instance, PowerPC software for Mac OS X is notoriously difficult to get working on ARM64 Macs, but these older amd64 Macs with NVIDIA GPUs are able to run them, provided they are running Mac OS X 10.6. If GNU/Linux or even Windows is your goal, you are in good hands, so long as you have a model with upgradable RAM and storage.

I think this was mostly mentioned as a caveat, should the person find themselves wanting to use macOS at any point in the future.