(I’m actually writing this blog from the laptop running Ubuntu.) So, the installation was pretty straight forward. I burned Ubuntu 20.04.1 on a DVD (From and booted up the mac by inserting the DVD in the drive and holding down the “Option” key while booting up and I select the first EFI Partition to boot from. Time for a different strategy. I tried a different strategy and searched for Linux distros for a 2009 MacBook Pro. I decided to go with Manjaro XFCE and was able to write the ISO to my USB drive and have wifi working on live boot, so I swapped MacBook hard drives back to the original 5400 RPM 160GB hard drive that came with it. I currently use Ubuntu in a virtual machine, using VirtualBox software on my host operating system, OS X, on my MacBook Pro 2015. However, the battery life drains quickly when Ubuntu is used continuously. The battery life only lasts about four hours at the best. If I do not run Ubuntu, the battery life would be about seven hours.
I was frustrated by the macOS Catalina, so I decided to switch to Ubuntu as the main operating system on my MacBook Pro, 13-inch version without touch bar. As a software developer, the macOS bundled a lot of tools with the Xcode which takes up to 10GB of size. Disk space was not my main concern but the network could be slow sometime to download and it stuck at the latest patch update. An hour of productivity could be lost to wait, which is a ridiculous blocker to get some work done.
Linux On Macbook Pro
I was a bit concern if the proprietary hardware would be compatible with the open-source Linux distro. However, out of my surprised, many features work out of the box from a fresh install these days thanks to the community. Things just work out of the box includes the screen, keyboard, touchpad and wifi. The thing that doesn’t work is the audio, which could be a workaround with my USB type C headphone or HDMI external monitor speaker. This Github page has great documentation on different MacBook hardware support status: https://github.com/Dunedan/mbp-2016-linux
Does Ubuntu Run On Macbook Pro
I am happy with the installation, so here are the simple steps if you are also interested to try as well: Can i take a photo with my macbook air.
- Download ubuntu 19.10 from https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop
- Create a bootable USB stick with Etcher by following these steps: https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/tutorial-create-a-usb-stick-on-macos#0
- Restart and press option key to select USB stick to boot from
- Try and install
That’s all. As a developer, you can simply run
sudo apt install git
to get this basic tool to work, unlike the mac os system restricted your freedom. You should not get too comfortable on only one single platform. You cannot guarantee if the big cooperate doesn’t do evil things, such as allow access to your personal data by the government for surveillance of normal citizens. Embrace the open-source community and cherish the freedom to choose with alternatives for the operating system.Can I Run Ubuntu On Macbook Pro
P.S 1: To get bluetooth to work, run the script in this repo:
P.S 2: To get camera to work, install the driver following this guide:
Ubuntu For Macbook
Originally published athttps://victorleungtw.comon November 10, 2019.