Feb 14, 2009 ATTENTION: this is for people wanting to install Linux Mint 15 on a Mac Mini to become Linux only in SINGLE boot, without any Mac OS X alongside it. If you want to dual boot OS X and Linux Mint there are other tutorials out there that work, normally involving Boot Camp and rEFIt or rEFInd. May 14, 2020 We’ve established how easy it is to make Ubuntu look like a Mac but theming Linux Mint, the popular Ubuntu-based offshoot, is a little trickier. It’s now possible to make Linux Mint look like a Mac too, and it’s all thanks to a customised version of the uncannily accurate macOS Mojave GTK theme we highlighted a few weeks ago.
tl;dr: Install Linux on your MacBook Pro with Touchbar is a bad idea. The hardware support is not satisfying. Especially not for a desktop system.
How it all started
I'm using Mac for ages - 7 or 8 years I guess. I still like Mac and macOS; that's not the issue. But I like the Open Source idea behind Linux a lot. My server is running on Linux. And Linux gives you more options to decide which hardware you want to buy.
A few months ago, I switched from iPhone to a OnePlus 7 Pro Android phone and didn't regret it. The Android OS is nice looking and pleasant to use. The main difference is within the ecosystem and the third-party apps I believe. The same can be true for Linux, so I tried to start the experiment to use Linux on my MacBook Pro.
First steps on a virtual machine
I'm not sure why, but running Linux on a virtual machine on my MacBook Pro is super slow. Especially as soon as I run Linux in fullscreen. There was even no remarkable difference between VirtualBox and Parallels Desktop. It looks like I have too many background things running on my Mac. But I convinced myself to continue my Linux experiment while using the virtual machines.
Beautiful desktops
What I learned using the virtual machines: Linux desktop environments have changed drastically. Elementary OS 5.0 is a lovely looking Ubuntu + Gnome based distribution which aims to be the macOS for Linux. Fedora Workstation 30 is also a beautiful Gnome based RedHat distribution, which looks not as much like macOS as Elementary. I got impressed by Linux Mint and the Cinnamon Desktop. It seems a bit like Windows but with a stunning dark theme. It felt awesome to use.
Installing Linux on a MacBook Pro with Touchbar
I felt in love with Linux Mint and the Cinnamon Desktop. So I installed it on my MacBook Pro. The installation process runs smoothly, but I guess you need a tutorial if you like to keep your macOS as well. This one helped me a lot.
There is even a boot manager available for EFI based systems like a MacBook. It's called rEFInd.
The first impression after the installation finished
After the installation, everything looked fine. Compared to the virtual machines, the system was snappy as expected. The onboarding of new users in Linux Mint was very helpful to start with backups and software updates. Perfect :)
In the taskbar, I even had a Bluetooth icon, and Wi-Fi indicating that wireless connections are also working well seemed to work as well. Yet I was connected via network cable.
What does not work
Mac Icon For Linux Mint
After playing around, I figured out that the built-in keyboard and touchpad didn't work at all. I used an external USB connected keyboard and mouse. So it took some time to figure out they aren't working at all. After a little research, I found out that there are SPI drivers available. These drivers should also enable the Touch Bar partially, but it didn't work for me. I could have spent more time on fixing the Touch Bar. But as I figured out the other issues with hardware support for Linux, I decided to stop putting more effort into this experiment.
Not working at all:
- Audio input and output, neither the internal speakers or the headphone jack
- Suspend and Hibernation (kind of expected)
- TouchID (ok, I assumed that)
Don't work out of the box or not that reliable:
Mac Linux Mint
- Cooling / fan management
- Bluetooth should work, but it didn't find any devices
- Wi-Fi was very buggy and found a lot fewer networks then macOS
- Touch Bar & keyboard + touchpad (as described above)
There is an excellent GitHub project collecting all the issues and solutions on how to run Linux on a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, which helped me a lot.
My learning from the Linux on a MacBook Pro experiment
Hardware support for MacBook Pro with Touch Bar on Linux is very bad. A Desktop system without sound doesn't make any sense for me. Poorly working Wi-Fi and potential issues with the cooling system don't help either. I wish Apple would support Linux as they support Windows with Bootcamp and individual drivers. Especially as macOS and Linux are similar to each other than macOS and Windows.
Besides that poor hardware support, it looks like Linux desktop has evolved a lot. Many years ago KDE and Gnome felt pretty slow and lagged during standard desktop usage. Nowadays it's way more enjoyable to use a Linux desktop environment. Event the third-party software I use on my Mac has a good amount of Linux alternatives. As soon as I need to replace my MacBook Pro, there is a good chance I will replace it with a Linux laptop instead. Replacing iOS with Android was quite pleasant; the same could be true for macOS and Linux.
Update 29th of August
The next Linux Kernel release is close. Kernel 5.3 will bring SPI support for newer MacBook keyboards and trackpads. Let's see what the upcoming releases will have for MacBooks :)
Image source: by Linux Mint team - https://www.linuxmint.com/rel_tessa_cinnamon_whatsnew.php, GPLv2, Link
Reviving a 2008 Mac Pro with Linux Mint
“Sleek, modern, innovative” are not words I would’ve normally used to characterize Linux, but after installing and using Linux Mint on my venerable 2008 Mac Pro this afternoon, my first impressions are just that. First, some back story. I have a custom built PC that my 11 year old daughter has been using for her school work. It started to behave oddly and refused to update to the latest version via Windows Update. I fought with the PC a few times, trying unsuccessfully to apply the latest Windows updates to patch the machine. In the end, Microsoft’s own troubleshooting steps ultimately bricked my PC. Several attempts over multiple weeks resulted in no forward progress, so out of frustration, I unplugged the PC and brought the Mac Pro back – with the intent of using the Mac as a Linux machine, to be used primarily by my daughter for both academics and play. (She has data on the PC, so wiping it clean with a fresh Linux installation wasn’t an option.)
In the past, I have played around with Ubuntu, but it really wasn’t my cup of tea. I found it to be limiting and frustrating to use. Based on favorable feedback from my Linux friends, I opted to give the OS another chance – this time by installing Linux Mint version 19.2. I was most impressed with Linux Mint’s very modest system requirements. As long as you have an x86 machine with 1GB RAM, 15GB of disk space, and 1024×768 resolution – you should be able to install the OS.
Since the Mac Pro was not bootable, I used my Mac mini to download the latest Linux Mint ISO. One can’t simply copy an ISO onto a flash drive and expect it to boot. That’s where balenaEtcher comes in. Using this program in conjunction with a blank USB stick, I was able to convert the ISO to a bootable copy of Linux Mint.
Like many Mac apps, balenaEtcher looks good and is very easy to use. First, select the image you’d like to flash, then the drive you’d like to copy the image to, and finally – hit the Flash button. Flashing a USB drive from the ISO took about 10 minutes or so, and includes validation to insure data integrity.
With a bootable USB drive plugged into the Mac Pro, I booted into Linux Mint and selected the “erase and install” option. As a long time Mac user, I have to say that the entire experience of installing and setting up Linux Mint was very easy and, dare I say, Mac-like. Linux Mint gives users three choices for UI: Cinnamon, MATE, or Xfce. I opted for Cinnamon, which is slick, modern and unified. Unlike the Mac, the Linux Mint UI is fully themeable – though I must admit the default theme is very nice.
From a fresh install of Linux Mint, peripherals such as my gaming mouse, Apple keyboard and Brother Laser printer automatically worked. Even more surprising was the fact that my Wacom Intuos tablet worked, with no driver installation needed. Linux Mint is ready to use after installing it, with a slew of built-in apps already pre-installed. Finding and installing new apps was also very easy, thanks to the Software Manager. I downloaded LibreOffice (an open source equivalent to Microsoft Office), Krita (a drawing / painting app) and a screenshot app, all of which were free.
I did not expect to be impressed with Linux Mint, but I am. For daily computing tasks like surfing the web, writing papers, or even drawing (thanks to Krita) – it’s a perfectly viable choice for many people. Exchanging files between Mac and Linux was also a breeze, with no voodoo required. Not only does Linux Mint run fast and look good, but it finally gives my old Mac Pro hardware a current, supported operating system that my daughter and I can use for several more years.
-Krishna