(Part 1)
Can I use Linux to revive a decade-old MacBook Pro – and is it even worth trying?
A couple of months ago, I wrote up a piece about my attempts to get some extra value out of an ancient, creaky laptop by switching it from Windows 11 to Linux.
There were some hiccups – most notably, I’m still totally unable to get decent Wi-Fi speeds out of it, open to any suggestions on that score, comment below – but overall, the experience was decent, and it did show me a way to make the most out of technology purchases for as long as possible, even when big corporations have given up on the technology themselves, or it’s seen as “redundant”.
Which got me to thinking: Can I apply the same logic to the other side of the operating system fence, by way of converting a Mac into a Linux machine? Is a Linux MacBook even a feasible thing?
a linux macbook is a very feasible thing. running debian on a 2013 mbp & asahi linux (fedora) on an m1 mba.
Here’s an archived link, since the page wouldn’t load for me.
TLDR it works pretty much out of the box. Speaking of experience, installing arch on my 2013 MacBook Pro was easy. Broadcom wireless was however troublesome. On my M1 pro MacBook on the other hand,I run asahi snow for about 6 months so far,and have booted only once into macOS for using ableton for a remote recording session. It just works.
These are still capable laptops. I’ve been the same one as in the article with Linux on it for years now.
