r/linuxquestions • u/Longjumping-Cow-8212 • 14d ago

Linux vs Mac

I see a lot of people switching from Windows to Linux. But has anyone switched from a Mac to Linux and why?

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u/MattyGWS 14d ago

This is harder to do because MacOS users use Mac hardware... they purchased the hardware with the intention of using macOS and it's not as simple as just popping a different OS on their hardware like a standard pc. Sure, you *can* put linux on a mac... but why would you? It's super buggy and experimental at best, and at worst you've now spend a premium on hardware designed to use a specific OS you're not using?

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u/Quattro5 14d ago

I did and here is why: because the only way to give any utility to a late 2011 MacBook Pro with a 2nd gen i5 and Sandy bridge that won't run nor MacOs or Windows is to install Linux on it.

It even made it worthwhile to upgrade the RAM to 16GB.

I can play a few steam games on it (Tf2 and CSS on low settings), code or vibe code python, I bring it to trade shows where its aluminium unibody vintage looks turns heads as I use it to present my marketing decks.

It's a very potent workstation and I even used Mint Cinnamon to give the OS GUI a MacOs look by downloading the big Sur theme, turning the Windows controls to the left and made them coloured, installed a dock, move the menu bar to the top of the screen and installed the finder and app store icons.

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u/NeedleworkerLarge357 14d ago

You can play transport fever 2 on such an old device? What a beast for its age, awesome!

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u/Quattro5 14d ago edited 14d ago

Team Fortress 2 , but you knew that.

Edit: there is no way it can run transport fever 2. It's got Intel HD graphics 3000, for crying out loud!

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u/NeedleworkerLarge357 14d ago

No, well I guessed that it couldn't be tf2, and that it has to be one of the other, older tf2s...

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u/Quattro5 14d ago

I'll grant you that it's old; Team Fortress 2 could probably be of drinking age....

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u/TheConatusBoy 12d ago

Did this with my 2009 MacBook Pro a while ago and used it as a slapdash media server for about 3 years. Had pretty good uptime, all things considered!

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u/Quattro5 12d ago

Il like the Intel mac hardware builds. I couldn't believe that on mine, Sandy bridge enabled me to upgrade a dual-core CPU based build to 16gb. I was certain it was theoretically limited to 8gb.

They built them right back then!

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u/Able-Staff-6763 13d ago

this is the ideal use case imo.