Hi everyone! I'm thinking about picking up a 13-inch MacBook and installing a user-friendly Linux distribution, like Fedora or Mint. My main goal is to use it for light tasks such as note-taking, reading, streaming with Stremio, and drawing with software like Illustrator. Essentially, I'm looking to create a portable netbook for travel. I believe the hardware of the MacBook is quite impressive, and I'd love to unlock more of its potential with Linux. So, what do you all think? Is this a good idea? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for taking the time to read this, and have a great day!
6 Answers
I've had great success with Fedora on my MacBook Pro from 2013—everything worked right out of the box, including Wi-Fi. For document editing, I recommend OnlyOffice. It's open-source and works well with Microsoft documents!
Good thinking, but keep in mind that software like Word and Illustrator won't run on Linux. You might want to check out alternatives like LibreOffice for word processing. It's decent enough!
I really hope LibreOffice can be customized to look like Word!
Absolutely a great idea! Just make sure you choose an Intel model, as some newer MacBooks won't support the latest MacOS. You'll find plenty of these models appearing on the market soon.
What model are you considering? Knowing the specs can really help in making recommendations.
I’m thinking about the MacBook Air 13' from 2020—it has 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, which seems like the lowest I’d go. Older models would need battery and screen replacements.
If you’re new to Linux, try checking our migration wiki. It has a ton of helpful tips! Just a reminder, always be careful about installing from third-party sources and make sure to verify your downloaded ISOs.
On Linux, Adobe products like Illustrator won't run natively unless there's a web version. However, Inkscape is a good alternative, and you can tweak GIMP to have a Photoshop-like interface if you’re interested in that.
Awesome! I’ve heard good things about Inkscape.
That's reassuring, especially about the Wi-Fi! Is OnlyOffice better than LibreOffice in your opinion?