A friend wants to gift me an old macbook pro he no longer uses. Specs follow:

MacBook Pro, Core i5, 2.8 GHz (I5-4308U), model A1502 (EMC 2875), Retina Mid-2014 13", MacBookPro11,1, RAM 8 GB, VRAM 1.5 GB, Storage 512 GB SSD

Out of principle I don’t use anything made by that brand and the only way I see myself using the hardware is if I can nuke the software and install any linux distro, ubuntu is the distro I know best.

Can it be done?

Any drawbacks?

It’s a model with a screwed aluminum case, meaning I cannot unplug the battery when I don’t need it. How long does it last?

Alternatively, what could I use this notebook for? Is there anything apple does better than linux that deserves I don’t nuke it?

  • @fuckwit_mcbumcrumble
    0•9 months ago

    Can it be done? Yes. But compared to Mac OS it’s an awful experience. Thankfully the machine predates the massive trackpad and Touch Bar. But leave the Mac running Mac OS, it’s a far better experience than the half baked Linux support.

    And who knows, maybe you’ll like it? It converted me.

    • @pathief
      2•9 months ago

      Running an out of date MacOS is a way, way worse experience.

      • You can’t update any browser

      • Laptop runs extremely slow

      • Installing software doesn’t always work, you have to search the web for a compatbile version. Notable case is xcode.

      Installing Arch Linux on my old laptop greatly enhanced the experience. Everything works great, laptop is at least 3x faster.

      it’s a far better experience than the half baked Linux support.

      What support are you going to get on a 2014 macbook? Zero support.

      • @fuckwit_mcbumcrumbleEnglish
        1•9 months ago

        You can’t update any browser

        The 2014 13" MBP can run (officially) Mac OS 11

        Chrome for Mac requires Mac OS 10.15 and up

        Firefox requires Mac OS 10.12 and up

        Apple’s software (like Xcode) are pretty much the only things that wont be updated.

        So that’s just not true.

        Laptop runs extremely slow

        Source on that? I have an even older 2012 MBP and the latest Mac OS feels just as fast as the very first version it can run.

        Everything works great, laptop is at least 3x faster.

        That you can easily tell is just 100% made up. Even on old machines Mac OS still runs great on them, it’s one of the best things Apple does for those devices.

        What support are you going to get on a 2014 macbook? Zero support.

        Not getting updates but everything works flawlessly > god forbid Arch of all things.

        I can 100% garuntee you the trackpad (the primary way of interacting with a laptop) will be nowhere near as good as in Mac OS.

        • @pathief
          1•9 months ago

          As for the browser I’m going to assume it’s my bad. My MBP no longer has browser updates and I incorrectly assumed it to be the case for the 2014 model as well. My bad.

          Regarding the performance difference, it really is true. I thought my macbook was just filled with junk but even after (painfully) reinstalling everything it remained just as slow. Note that “everything” is basically a web development stack without a database, nothing too cluttered.

          I used to get the spinning wheel all the time, never had it on any of the distros I’ve since installed on my MBP. Don’t like Arch? No problem, there’s plently of choice out there. Whatever distro you want will probably work fine. It’s really fast but don’t take my word, try it yourself.

          “Works flawlessly” and “primary way of interacting” are limited to your use cases and experience. Not even allowing me to install xcode is not flawless, it’s really dumb. The trackpad works good enough and I wouldn’t trade, say, security updates for an improved version 🤷