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I'd love to use a Linux distribution and window manager on my MacBook, in particular KDE. Would be totally awesome, great hardware and a power-user friendly ope

I'd love to use a Linux distribution and window manager on my MacBook, in particular KDE. Would be totally awesome, great hardware and a power-user friendly operating system. I resort to using a ThinkPad for my Linux needs and it's ok but the new Macs are just leagues ahead in terms of hardware.

nshern 2y ago
You could give Asahi Linux a spin? https://asahilinux.org/ https://asahilinux.org/
- ThePhysicist 2y ago
  Yeah thanks, I know that, is it usable enough as a daily driver already?
  - nshern 2y ago
    Sorry I have no first-hand experience with it.
  - echelon_musk 2y ago
    Considering this is an article about multiple displays - no. There is a single dev (Sven Peter) working on Thunderbolt support which would enable external displays and he has limited dev time.
  - OJFord 2y ago
    See the table of supported hardware. Software/firmware wise I think no reason to think it's unstable in mainline Linux. Just as long as they have actually implemented everything you need. (Mine's an M3, so complete non-starter for now. Others have missing support for various things like HDMI or fingerprint reader, etc., so just a case of whether there's enough there for you to consider it 'usable' for your own use.)
actionfromafar 2y ago
If the Linux drivers now handle the Macbook touch pad with the same feel as MacOS, that would be extra nice.
resource_waste 2y ago
How does this happen? You accidentally get sold a Mac when you are 19 years old and going to college? Like, you can get better EVERYTHING outside their hardware. I can't imagine ever being like: You know what I really want 0 GPU and only 64GB ram for $2700! I understand if you need to compile for Apple users, but if you are going to install Linux on it, get a GPU or some seriously significant amount of RAM.
- Toutouxc 2y ago
  > you can get better EVERYTHING outside their hardware I'm pretty sure my M1 MacBook Air was the most powerful fanless laptop on the market when I bought it, and there were just a few laptops with comparable battery life. I'm also pretty sure it had a GPU. (still has one)
  - resource_waste 2y ago
    >M1 MacBook Air was the most powerful fanless laptop Huh, my gaming laptop was the most powerful laptop with 3 USB-C ports and was the color blue. It also has an NVIDIA gpu. Apple had 0 blue laptops with 3 USB-C ports or NVIDIA GPUS. >I'm also pretty sure it had a GPU. (still has one) OH man! Victim of Apple marketing right here. You have an integrated GPU in your CPU. This is industry standard for the last 25+ years.
    - Toutouxc 2y ago
      > OH man! Victim of Apple marketing right here. You have an integrated GPU in your CPU. Dude, I know what an integrated GPU is (and it's certainly not "GPU in your CPU"). You're not smarter than everyone else for having a laptop with a dedicated GPU and running Linux on it. You haven't found a magical loophole in the laptop market by not buying Apple. You're just prioritizing different stuff than Apple users.
      - resource_waste 2y ago
        >You're not smarter than everyone else for having a laptop with a dedicated GPU and running Linux on it. Sure there are 7B people in the world! But I'm def smarter than people who spend $2500 on a few GB ram and no GPU. Plato suggests its wrong for smart people to be humble, it allows dumb people to step up and make their points. If you arent compiling for iOS, you made an inefficient decision. There is a reason Apple is found on low to middle income consumer households, and not found in B2B. Guess which is most susceptible to emotional marketing.

nshern 2y ago

You could give Asahi Linux a spin? https://asahilinux.org/ https://asahilinux.org/

ThePhysicist 2y ago
Yeah thanks, I know that, is it usable enough as a daily driver already?
- nshern 2y ago
  Sorry I have no first-hand experience with it.
- echelon_musk 2y ago
  Considering this is an article about multiple displays - no. There is a single dev (Sven Peter) working on Thunderbolt support which would enable external displays and he has limited dev time.
- OJFord 2y ago
  See the table of supported hardware. Software/firmware wise I think no reason to think it's unstable in mainline Linux. Just as long as they have actually implemented everything you need. (Mine's an M3, so complete non-starter for now. Others have missing support for various things like HDMI or fingerprint reader, etc., so just a case of whether there's enough there for you to consider it 'usable' for your own use.)

actionfromafar 2y ago

If the Linux drivers now handle the Macbook touch pad with the same feel as MacOS, that would be extra nice.

resource_waste 2y ago

How does this happen? You accidentally get sold a Mac when you are 19 years old and going to college? Like, you can get better EVERYTHING outside their hardware. I can't imagine ever being like: You know what I really want 0 GPU and only 64GB ram for $2700! I understand if you need to compile for Apple users, but if you are going to install Linux on it, get a GPU or some seriously significant amount of RAM.

Toutouxc 2y ago
> you can get better EVERYTHING outside their hardware I'm pretty sure my M1 MacBook Air was the most powerful fanless laptop on the market when I bought it, and there were just a few laptops with comparable battery life. I'm also pretty sure it had a GPU. (still has one)
- resource_waste 2y ago
  >M1 MacBook Air was the most powerful fanless laptop Huh, my gaming laptop was the most powerful laptop with 3 USB-C ports and was the color blue. It also has an NVIDIA gpu. Apple had 0 blue laptops with 3 USB-C ports or NVIDIA GPUS. >I'm also pretty sure it had a GPU. (still has one) OH man! Victim of Apple marketing right here. You have an integrated GPU in your CPU. This is industry standard for the last 25+ years.
  - Toutouxc 2y ago
    > OH man! Victim of Apple marketing right here. You have an integrated GPU in your CPU. Dude, I know what an integrated GPU is (and it's certainly not "GPU in your CPU"). You're not smarter than everyone else for having a laptop with a dedicated GPU and running Linux on it. You haven't found a magical loophole in the laptop market by not buying Apple. You're just prioritizing different stuff than Apple users.
    - resource_waste 2y ago
      >You're not smarter than everyone else for having a laptop with a dedicated GPU and running Linux on it. Sure there are 7B people in the world! But I'm def smarter than people who spend $2500 on a few GB ram and no GPU. Plato suggests its wrong for smart people to be humble, it allows dumb people to step up and make their points. If you arent compiling for iOS, you made an inefficient decision. There is a reason Apple is found on low to middle income consumer households, and not found in B2B. Guess which is most susceptible to emotional marketing.