4 ms·

I got one of these in December 2021 and frankly love it. Got fed up with being pretty much the only person on earth who had a shitty experience with Apple Silic

I got one of these in December 2021 and frankly love it. Got fed up with being pretty much the only person on earth who had a shitty experience with Apple Silicon, so jumped back to Linux after 17 years away. I don’t use it as a portable, or at least haven’t yet - it’s my daily driver for work and permanently plugged in to a monitor (which also is a USB hub). I opted for Manjaro and enjoy using it way more than I did the M1 macbook pro it replaced. I really like that they provide a detailed pictorial complete disassembly guide: https://support.starlabs.systems/kb/guides/starbook-mk-v-complete-disassembly-guide https://support.starlabs.systems/kb/guides/starbook-mk-v-com...

mateuszf 5y ago
I have StarBook MK IV and also love it. Works great with NixOS.
yardstick 5y ago
What put you off the M1? I’m still on an Intel MBP but fear my eventual switch to an M1 will be frustrating.
- chewmieser 5y ago
  I was originally planning on waiting until like M2 but ended up needing an upgrade sooner than I had hoped for both my personal (2011) and work laptops (2016) and just have to say that M1 has been awesome so far. Snappy, low power consumption, much better cooling... I was on an Intel MBP previously and everything I was using it for is supported just fine on M1. Some things require Rosetta but most big apps have updated support for M1 directly at this point. Our docker development environment was based on x64 but it was pretty trivial to add support for ARM to it. Gaming can be a challenge (when hasn't it been with Mac though), particularly GamePass games (through Parallels Windows 11) seems to be a hit-or-miss. Games through Steam, even virtualized through Parallels, have been fine though. On my M1 Max w/ 64GB memory I can play everything I've tried at ultra settings.
  - bdcravens 5y ago
    > Our docker development environment was based on x64 but it was pretty trivial to add support for ARM to it. A couple of examples I've run into that weren't trivial: Chrome on Linux doesn't support ARM (Chromium does), nor does Microsoft's SQL Server Docker image (though their Azure version of SQL Server does, and for most, it's no real difference)
- Sakos 5y ago
  I'd understand this position back when the M1 was first launched, but I'm not sure why anybody would still hold it now unless they have obscure or niche needs. Switched to an M1 MBP a few weeks back and the only issue I've found so far is Parallels won't attach my Xbox controller to Windows 11 Arm for some reason. I'm very happy otherwise.
- bonestamp2 5y ago
  Ya, I'm curious too. We have developers in every level of our stack using M1 macs and nobody has anything but good things to say. I suspect it is an edge case that doesn't affect a lot of users, which is a reasonable complaint and also somewhat expected when switching silicon paradigms. The only downside I've seen is that I can't seem to tax it, which has made me lazy -- I now have hundreds of chrome tabs open over dozens of windows and it hasn't skipped a beat.
- outside1234 5y ago
  Me as well - I am super happy with M1. Honestly have never experienced anything that is different from running on Intel - and it is light years faster and quieter and cooler.
- mateuszf 5y ago
  My guess would be Linux support if one wants to use it instead of OSX.
  - FinalBriefing 5y ago
    I've had no issues running Alpine Docker containers on an M1.
    - mateuszf 5y ago
      That's a different thing than running Linux natively.
- darrenf 5y ago
  So I changed jobs in May 2021. Had been a happy Intel mac user since the intel switch (my first Mac was a PowerBook). New employer supplied me an M1 MBP and I was fucking delighted, since I didn’t have the means to buy my own at the time. Contrary to other comments later, I have no niche needs. Well… I’m predominantly a Perl coder, so that’s niche but nothing to do with architecture. I spend most of my days with just iTerm, a couple of browsers, Slack. Not much else. I’ve been an edit-over-ssh developer for 20 years. My M1 was also my first experience of Big Sur, so I was never sure whether my issue was hardware or software. But issues I had: • frequently it would stop all ipv4 networking, going ipv6 only (which in practical terms meant I went offline) • I would often - multiple times a week - lose all sound devices. Suddenly things would go silent, and all inputs/outputs (including the built in speakers/mic) would disappear from preferences. For a while only a reboot would fix it, until I learned to `killall coreaudiod` • chrome would often say “you don’t have a camera”, which I could only fix by a reboot (we use Google Meet, and safari was always terrible with it. But I just prefer chrome anyway) I had a variety of other problems but can’t recall them clearly enough to list them, especially from this temporal distance. [EDITED to add: I did go through hardware checks and company IT checks, but nothing ever came up as faulty] I did love that it was silent and permanently cool, but that was about it. Since it too was always plugged in, any difference in trackpad or keyboard or battery life made zero odds to me, and that’s why those things don’t matter to me about the Starbook either. When Monterey came out I upgraded and actually things got mostly (but not entirely) better. But by that time I’d ordered the Starbook, and the desktop Linux experience has been so good - not to mention just a refreshing change - that I don’t regret it one bit. And if I do, well, the work MBP is sat in the corner and I can resurrect it…
- bdcravens 5y ago
  Macbook Air requires you to get a DisplayLink hub to support multiple monitors. Macbook Pro eliminated this limitation, but it almost feels like it's using the same technology, as it often loses window locations. Early on software support was limited, but for many apps, that's been resolved. (Even "unsupported" apps can still run, though I typically don't jump through many hoops, especially when I run into Docker images that don't support ARM)
GordonS 5y ago
Looks like a nice machine, a d a great price too! Is there really only a single USB-C port, and is that port also needed for charging? Does that port support DisplayPort? Thanks!
- ikurei 5y ago
  There is a DC barrel plug for charging too. The USB-C port is Thunderbolt 4. I think that means it should support DP too, but don't take my word for it. USB-C/Thunderbolt confuse me.
  - silon42 5y ago
    I'm more interested in DP alternate mode than full Thunderbolt...
    - ceefan 5y ago
      From the specs page: HDMI version: 2.0 USB-C Interface: DisplayPort (DP Alt Mode) USB-C version: Thunderbolt 4 (up to 40 Gbps) [Intel only] USB-A version: 3.2 Gen 1 (up to 5 Gbps) Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to two displays with 4096x2304 resolution at 60Hz

mateuszf 5y ago

I have StarBook MK IV and also love it. Works great with NixOS.

yardstick 5y ago

What put you off the M1? I’m still on an Intel MBP but fear my eventual switch to an M1 will be frustrating.

chewmieser 5y ago
I was originally planning on waiting until like M2 but ended up needing an upgrade sooner than I had hoped for both my personal (2011) and work laptops (2016) and just have to say that M1 has been awesome so far. Snappy, low power consumption, much better cooling... I was on an Intel MBP previously and everything I was using it for is supported just fine on M1. Some things require Rosetta but most big apps have updated support for M1 directly at this point. Our docker development environment was based on x64 but it was pretty trivial to add support for ARM to it. Gaming can be a challenge (when hasn't it been with Mac though), particularly GamePass games (through Parallels Windows 11) seems to be a hit-or-miss. Games through Steam, even virtualized through Parallels, have been fine though. On my M1 Max w/ 64GB memory I can play everything I've tried at ultra settings.
- bdcravens 5y ago
  > Our docker development environment was based on x64 but it was pretty trivial to add support for ARM to it. A couple of examples I've run into that weren't trivial: Chrome on Linux doesn't support ARM (Chromium does), nor does Microsoft's SQL Server Docker image (though their Azure version of SQL Server does, and for most, it's no real difference)
Sakos 5y ago
I'd understand this position back when the M1 was first launched, but I'm not sure why anybody would still hold it now unless they have obscure or niche needs. Switched to an M1 MBP a few weeks back and the only issue I've found so far is Parallels won't attach my Xbox controller to Windows 11 Arm for some reason. I'm very happy otherwise.
bonestamp2 5y ago
Ya, I'm curious too. We have developers in every level of our stack using M1 macs and nobody has anything but good things to say. I suspect it is an edge case that doesn't affect a lot of users, which is a reasonable complaint and also somewhat expected when switching silicon paradigms. The only downside I've seen is that I can't seem to tax it, which has made me lazy -- I now have hundreds of chrome tabs open over dozens of windows and it hasn't skipped a beat.
outside1234 5y ago
Me as well - I am super happy with M1. Honestly have never experienced anything that is different from running on Intel - and it is light years faster and quieter and cooler.
mateuszf 5y ago
My guess would be Linux support if one wants to use it instead of OSX.
- FinalBriefing 5y ago
  I've had no issues running Alpine Docker containers on an M1.
  - mateuszf 5y ago
    That's a different thing than running Linux natively.
darrenf 5y ago
So I changed jobs in May 2021. Had been a happy Intel mac user since the intel switch (my first Mac was a PowerBook). New employer supplied me an M1 MBP and I was fucking delighted, since I didn’t have the means to buy my own at the time. Contrary to other comments later, I have no niche needs. Well… I’m predominantly a Perl coder, so that’s niche but nothing to do with architecture. I spend most of my days with just iTerm, a couple of browsers, Slack. Not much else. I’ve been an edit-over-ssh developer for 20 years. My M1 was also my first experience of Big Sur, so I was never sure whether my issue was hardware or software. But issues I had: • frequently it would stop all ipv4 networking, going ipv6 only (which in practical terms meant I went offline) • I would often - multiple times a week - lose all sound devices. Suddenly things would go silent, and all inputs/outputs (including the built in speakers/mic) would disappear from preferences. For a while only a reboot would fix it, until I learned to `killall coreaudiod` • chrome would often say “you don’t have a camera”, which I could only fix by a reboot (we use Google Meet, and safari was always terrible with it. But I just prefer chrome anyway) I had a variety of other problems but can’t recall them clearly enough to list them, especially from this temporal distance. [EDITED to add: I did go through hardware checks and company IT checks, but nothing ever came up as faulty] I did love that it was silent and permanently cool, but that was about it. Since it too was always plugged in, any difference in trackpad or keyboard or battery life made zero odds to me, and that’s why those things don’t matter to me about the Starbook either. When Monterey came out I upgraded and actually things got mostly (but not entirely) better. But by that time I’d ordered the Starbook, and the desktop Linux experience has been so good - not to mention just a refreshing change - that I don’t regret it one bit. And if I do, well, the work MBP is sat in the corner and I can resurrect it…
bdcravens 5y ago
Macbook Air requires you to get a DisplayLink hub to support multiple monitors. Macbook Pro eliminated this limitation, but it almost feels like it's using the same technology, as it often loses window locations. Early on software support was limited, but for many apps, that's been resolved. (Even "unsupported" apps can still run, though I typically don't jump through many hoops, especially when I run into Docker images that don't support ARM)

GordonS 5y ago

Looks like a nice machine, a d a great price too! Is there really only a single USB-C port, and is that port also needed for charging? Does that port support DisplayPort? Thanks!

ikurei 5y ago
There is a DC barrel plug for charging too. The USB-C port is Thunderbolt 4. I think that means it should support DP too, but don't take my word for it. USB-C/Thunderbolt confuse me.
- silon42 5y ago
  I'm more interested in DP alternate mode than full Thunderbolt...
  - ceefan 5y ago
    From the specs page: HDMI version: 2.0 USB-C Interface: DisplayPort (DP Alt Mode) USB-C version: Thunderbolt 4 (up to 40 Gbps) [Intel only] USB-A version: 3.2 Gen 1 (up to 5 Gbps) Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to two displays with 4096x2304 resolution at 60Hz