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"My macbook is work computer so I can't use it for personal stuff." I'm not sure if you're talking about a legal issue (e.g. permission for personal use, or ow

"My macbook is work computer so I can't use it for personal stuff." I'm not sure if you're talking about a legal issue (e.g. permission for personal use, or ownership of intellectual property created) or a technical issue (don't want any data to get polluted in either direction). If it's just technical, then an external USB 3.0 SSD is a cheap and effective solution. A MacBook will happily boot MacOS from an external drive, and performance is beyond acceptable. Booting Linux from an external drive requires more work to set up, and you might still suffer from missing drivers. But I've booted MacOS from an external drive on 4 different MacBooks (Pro/Air 2015-2017 models) and it's been a snap. Just create a MacOS installer on a flash drive, plug in both the flash drive and your target USB 3.0 SSD, and install MacOS as normal. When powering up, hold down the {cmd?option? i forget} key to show the boot menu.

gnulinux 7y ago
I mean, I don't wanna use work computer to work on side (software) projects or play video games. My employer probably wouldn't mind that much, but doesn't seem like a good idea in principle. I wish I bought a macbook instead of lenovo. The only reason I got lenovo is because I like linux more than OSX, so I figured might as well get a lenovo with better spec than macbook. If I got a macbook, I would use docker to get linux (although wouldn't be able to use linux DEs like AwesomeWM etc which is a bummer).
- lliamander 7y ago
  For brand new hardware, you really need the most recent version of the kernel. For that, the best option is a rolling-release distro like Arch, Manjaro, Solus, or OpenSUSE Tumbleweed. It's no guarantee, but that will give you the best chance for things working out of the box (and for getting fixes as quickly as possible).
  - simion314 7y ago
    Just FYI on Ubuntu you can enable a PPA and get latest kernel, you enable a different PPA and you can get latest Xorg and video drivers. So you have good options on non-rolling distro to get latest drivers and kernel, test them and if you don't like them go back to the LTS ones. This is a good option for me, upgrade only what I want and don't touch things that work.
- rahimnathwani 7y ago
  FWIW Linux works fine for me on MacBook Pro 2015 (Ubuntu) and MacBook Pro 2017 (Arch). I would rather use an older model than be without a desktop environment. I suppose you can use Xquartz on MacOS to get the desktop environment, but it seems like an every day hassle.
- _ph_ 7y ago
  I am running Linux (Fedora) inside VMWare on the mac. Runs very nice and Linux is just one desktop you can switch to.

gnulinux 7y ago

I mean, I don't wanna use work computer to work on side (software) projects or play video games. My employer probably wouldn't mind that much, but doesn't seem like a good idea in principle. I wish I bought a macbook instead of lenovo. The only reason I got lenovo is because I like linux more than OSX, so I figured might as well get a lenovo with better spec than macbook. If I got a macbook, I would use docker to get linux (although wouldn't be able to use linux DEs like AwesomeWM etc which is a bummer).

lliamander 7y ago
For brand new hardware, you really need the most recent version of the kernel. For that, the best option is a rolling-release distro like Arch, Manjaro, Solus, or OpenSUSE Tumbleweed. It's no guarantee, but that will give you the best chance for things working out of the box (and for getting fixes as quickly as possible).
- simion314 7y ago
  Just FYI on Ubuntu you can enable a PPA and get latest kernel, you enable a different PPA and you can get latest Xorg and video drivers. So you have good options on non-rolling distro to get latest drivers and kernel, test them and if you don't like them go back to the LTS ones. This is a good option for me, upgrade only what I want and don't touch things that work.
rahimnathwani 7y ago
FWIW Linux works fine for me on MacBook Pro 2015 (Ubuntu) and MacBook Pro 2017 (Arch). I would rather use an older model than be without a desktop environment. I suppose you can use Xquartz on MacOS to get the desktop environment, but it seems like an every day hassle.
_ph_ 7y ago
I am running Linux (Fedora) inside VMWare on the mac. Runs very nice and Linux is just one desktop you can switch to.