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?

  • EugeniaEnglish
    3·
    8 months ago

    I installed Linux Mint last night on a 2011 Macbook Air. Unfortunately Debian (which was my first choice) was reproducibly crashing during downloading updates, during the installation. It also was not supporting the touchpad during installation, had to use a mouse (I’m sure it would work after installation though as it would use a newer kernel then). Mint worked without a hitch in all levels.

    • Loucypher
      2·
      8 months ago

      You should have tried LMDE. That is the best way to get Debian and also ease of install

      • EugeniaEnglish
        1·
        8 months ago

        I’ve tried LMDE in the past, it had the same bugs as Debian, as it’s based on it.

        • Loucypher
          1·
          8 months ago

          Yeah but the current version is based on Bookworm. In other words a lot of drivers are included on it and it is really plug and play. I have I installed it on a 2012 Air and everything just worked out of the box