6 ms·

My favourite laptop of all time is Macbook Pro mid-2015, with Debian GNU/Linux. It works flawlessly and almost out of box, SSD can still be easily replaced, and

by bilqis 3y ago

My favourite laptop of all time is Macbook Pro mid-2015, with Debian GNU/Linux. It works flawlessly and almost out of box, SSD can still be easily replaced, and the screen is amazing.

quijoteuniv 3y ago
The hardware is a joy to use, i used several years a macair 2011 snd now upgraded to a macair 2015 with ubuntu. Only had ti fix the wifi. Such a nice machine. Looking forward to get my hands on an M1 when they start to be old :D
- simongray 3y ago
  The M1 Macbook Air is such a good machine, even several years after its introduction. So nice, in fact, that the M2 version really isn't all that enticing.
  - cdelsolar 3y ago
    The M1 MBP is the best machine I’ve ever owned. Fast, ridiculous battery life, etc. I can use it all day without worrying about plugging it in. I actually built a Linux workstation with 16 cores and a state of the art 12th gen Intel chip etc and on a core-for-core performance, the M1 is actually a little faster.
Yaggo 3y ago
Also it’s equipped with plain old HDMI and USB-A ports, still so useful.
- masklinn 3y ago
  TBF and much to my dismay HDMI was returned with the ARM mbps (the real ones not the 13”).
  - kayodelycaon 3y ago
    Why would having an HDMI port be a bad thing?
    - masklinn 3y ago
      Because it removes a thunderbolt port which I could use, whereas I don't need an HDMI port. In the ~18 months I've had it, I've used the HDMI port a grand total of 0 times.
abyssin 3y ago
How easy is it to keep a version of MacOS alongside? How long could I expect a new battery to last on a charge? I was thinking of buying a new MacBook M1 but I can’t afford the crazy price, and it’s been a nightmare to manage the OS updates.
- bilqis 3y ago
  I don’t know, I never kept one. I believe there are some bootloaders that allow that. At least the restore sector is kept, and if you decide to roll back/sell, you can restore macOS. Although I used it for years, and also having about 14 years of GNU/Linux experience, I was very comfortable.
- kreetx 3y ago
  Re: battery; don't know for a new battery, but my original lasts 4-5 hours running linux - which is very good (IMO) given that it was bought at the start of 2016. Don't know about having a MacOS alongside but if the disk is small, you might not want that anyway. And I presume you could always go back to MacOS later.
  - wsc981 3y ago
    I recently tried a dual-boot configuration with my iMac 27" with both macOS and Ubuntu and after a short while the boot system got messed up. Couldn't fix it. I read this is also an experience many Windows users have had when setting up dual booting systems with Linux. At this point I think it's generally a bad idea to setup a dual-boot system with Linux, better to use it exclusively.
    - pbhjpbhj 3y ago
      It's not the "with Linux" but that's the bad idea though, is it? It seems this is an area where Microsoft (I don't know about Apple) are getting away with anticompetitive practice in the guise of security.
    - rtontic 3y ago
      Hm, I disagree. I have two desktops that I dualboot with windows 10 and various linux distros, currently ubuntu lts. If you install windows first then linux, it should work ok.
atoav 3y ago
I just recently pulled an old one of these out with linux mint installed because I needed a device that uppon receiving power boots up and plays a video loop — my usual goto raspi3 for some damned reason would not negotiate EDIDs above VGA resolution with the projector in use. I booted the MBP after not having had it on power 4 years and it worked flawlessly. It then took maybe 20 minutes to run vlc on boot and set the propper bits to make it boot automatically when it receives power. I cannot recall when things worked this flawlessly the last time
bxparks 3y ago
The MacBook Pro 2015 (13 and 15) are amazing, but they have glued-in batteries. iFixIt says it would take 45min to 2h to replace, and it is rated "Difficult". It's the only reason why I won't buy them on eBay. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Retina+Display+Mid+2015+Battery+Replacement/89284 https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Retina+Disp... https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Retina+Display+Early+2015+Battery+Replacement/45137 https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Retina+Disp...
- ja27 3y ago
  It took me a good hour and left me pretty sticky. If you have a little money it's worth having someone else do it.

by bilqis 3y ago

My favourite laptop of all time is Macbook Pro mid-2015, with Debian GNU/Linux. It works flawlessly and almost out of box, SSD can still be easily replaced, and the screen is amazing.

quijoteuniv 3y ago

The hardware is a joy to use, i used several years a macair 2011 snd now upgraded to a macair 2015 with ubuntu. Only had ti fix the wifi. Such a nice machine. Looking forward to get my hands on an M1 when they start to be old :D

simongray 3y ago
The M1 Macbook Air is such a good machine, even several years after its introduction. So nice, in fact, that the M2 version really isn't all that enticing.
- cdelsolar 3y ago
  The M1 MBP is the best machine I’ve ever owned. Fast, ridiculous battery life, etc. I can use it all day without worrying about plugging it in. I actually built a Linux workstation with 16 cores and a state of the art 12th gen Intel chip etc and on a core-for-core performance, the M1 is actually a little faster.

Yaggo 3y ago

Also it’s equipped with plain old HDMI and USB-A ports, still so useful.

masklinn 3y ago
TBF and much to my dismay HDMI was returned with the ARM mbps (the real ones not the 13”).
- kayodelycaon 3y ago
  Why would having an HDMI port be a bad thing?
  - masklinn 3y ago
    Because it removes a thunderbolt port which I could use, whereas I don't need an HDMI port. In the ~18 months I've had it, I've used the HDMI port a grand total of 0 times.

abyssin 3y ago

How easy is it to keep a version of MacOS alongside? How long could I expect a new battery to last on a charge? I was thinking of buying a new MacBook M1 but I can’t afford the crazy price, and it’s been a nightmare to manage the OS updates.

bilqis 3y ago
I don’t know, I never kept one. I believe there are some bootloaders that allow that. At least the restore sector is kept, and if you decide to roll back/sell, you can restore macOS. Although I used it for years, and also having about 14 years of GNU/Linux experience, I was very comfortable.
kreetx 3y ago
Re: battery; don't know for a new battery, but my original lasts 4-5 hours running linux - which is very good (IMO) given that it was bought at the start of 2016. Don't know about having a MacOS alongside but if the disk is small, you might not want that anyway. And I presume you could always go back to MacOS later.
- wsc981 3y ago
  I recently tried a dual-boot configuration with my iMac 27" with both macOS and Ubuntu and after a short while the boot system got messed up. Couldn't fix it. I read this is also an experience many Windows users have had when setting up dual booting systems with Linux. At this point I think it's generally a bad idea to setup a dual-boot system with Linux, better to use it exclusively.
  - pbhjpbhj 3y ago
    It's not the "with Linux" but that's the bad idea though, is it? It seems this is an area where Microsoft (I don't know about Apple) are getting away with anticompetitive practice in the guise of security.
  - rtontic 3y ago
    Hm, I disagree. I have two desktops that I dualboot with windows 10 and various linux distros, currently ubuntu lts. If you install windows first then linux, it should work ok.

atoav 3y ago

I just recently pulled an old one of these out with linux mint installed because I needed a device that uppon receiving power boots up and plays a video loop — my usual goto raspi3 for some damned reason would not negotiate EDIDs above VGA resolution with the projector in use. I booted the MBP after not having had it on power 4 years and it worked flawlessly. It then took maybe 20 minutes to run vlc on boot and set the propper bits to make it boot automatically when it receives power. I cannot recall when things worked this flawlessly the last time

bxparks 3y ago

The MacBook Pro 2015 (13 and 15) are amazing, but they have glued-in batteries. iFixIt says it would take 45min to 2h to replace, and it is rated "Difficult". It's the only reason why I won't buy them on eBay. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Retina+Display+Mid+2015+Battery+Replacement/89284 https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Retina+Disp... https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Retina+Display+Early+2015+Battery+Replacement/45137 https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Retina+Disp...

ja27 3y ago
It took me a good hour and left me pretty sticky. If you have a little money it's worth having someone else do it.