
Ask HN: Linux on a Macbook Pro. Viable or Get an XPS 13? - jason_slack
I have a 2015 Macbook Pro (15 inch, Core 17, 16gb, ssd, retina display).<p>I&#x27;m not happy with OS X 10.13. Is Ubuntu or Fedora a viable option? Things I care about: trackpad, wi-fi, sleep?<p>Would an XPS 13 be a better laptop option?<p>Edit: clarify retina display
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eager_noob
Typing this from Fedora running on retina MBP. Everything other than the
camera works out of the box and has been a pleasant experience for the limited
amount of time i have had this setup. Linux install is running from an
external SSD connected through USB3 so OS X is untouched. I don't notice any
performance issues with this setup, none of my workloads are disk heavy.
External monitors requiring different scaling than the desktop might need some
setup.

EDIT: No experience with touchbar equipped models

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WillKirkby
Do you get F keys on the touchbar (if it's a touchbar model)?

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rahimnathwani
I'm using Ubuntu 17.10 on a 2015 Retina MBP 15. All three of those things work
for me.

If your hard drive is big enough, consider dual-booting. It's easier if you
use refind as the boot manager.

You can even triple boot (MacOS, Ubuntu, windows).

EDIT: You didn't mention whether your macbook has a retina screen or not. If
not, then I'd prefer an XPS 13. If retina, then I'd stick with the Mac.

If you don't need to dual-boot, then installing Ubuntu is really easy.

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jason_slack
Great. Can you share any interesting apps that you use? I mostly use GitHub
from a command-line, Markdown, normal daily tasks, C++, etc.

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newman8r
there's some good recommendations in the reddit thread I bookmarked:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/6di5s4/what_are_your...](https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/6di5s4/what_are_your_must_have_programs/)

I also have some of my favorites listed in my HN profile

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newman8r
I have a mac pro (trash can) and two MBPs (one 13" with retina display). I
exclusively run linux distros on all of them and it works great. Just have a
$10 linux compatible usb wifi dongle on hand for setup - once you're running
you can install the appropriate nonfree broadcom wifi driver.

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jason_slack
I have the a trash can too. I was considering what to do about that. Can you
share what linux distros you are running and an example linux compatible usb
wifi dongle?

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newman8r
I'm running Debian stretch on the mac pro.

The following usb wifi dongle seems to have decent linux compatibility but I
haven't tried it [https://www.amazon.com/Panda-300Mbps-Wireless-USB-
Adapter/dp...](https://www.amazon.com/Panda-300Mbps-Wireless-USB-
Adapter/dp/B00EQT0YK2)

There's a lot of tutorials on installing linux distros on macs since there's a
few special steps you'll probably have to take. I googled the following
tutorial (haven't used it) but it should get you started:
[https://linuxnewbieguide.org/how-to-install-linux-on-a-
macin...](https://linuxnewbieguide.org/how-to-install-linux-on-a-macintosh-
computer/)

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partisan
Curious if you would consider using a VM? I use fusion to run a Windows and a
couple of Linux VMs with 0 issues save for hindered battery life.

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jason_slack
Currently VMWare Fusion doesn't run for me on anything 10.13.1+. I have talked
to Vmware. They blame the bugs on Apple. All my virtual machines over the
years have become unreliable in some way or another at some point for a
variety of reasons.

OS X just doesn't work as well as it used to. I cant turn off things. Bugs.
Etc. I feel like more control and flexibility would help me.

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lsiebert
I recommend dual booting for safer firmware security updates, but it totally
works.

