4mo ago

Newbie dipping toes into the Linux universe. :-D woot-woot!

Erasing and resetting okd macbook air 2015 model to test out linux mint for the first time. Only tried ubuntu like a decade ago on but it never stuck, as I was using macOS .

Holding thumbs it works. I know I can test it from a usb so will download and do that once the laptop is ready.

Not planning on using macOS at all so it should save space for linux. Very excited to revive an old friend and very excited to possibly become a first time linux user!

PS: I did ask around already on linux groups here on the fediverse, and was told mint should be fine, and would like to try something different from ubuntu.

32 comments

Mint is the perfect choice to get started with Linux. Installation is usually painless and it just works. Good luck und ich drück dir die Daumen! ;)
- Thank you!!! Now downloading the iso file, then need to verify it I see. Have no idea about those commands to run, so will be using duckduckgo a lot as I take it one step at a time.
  No idea what I assume is german there? Will have to translate it quick, oh wait my phone can do that. Ah! Thanks for holding fingers crossed! :-)
  
  I don't have any advice to offer on how to install on a Mac because I have zero experience with those. But I'm sure you'll figure it out. I thought "holding thumbs" was a mistranslation from German.
  
  I've found AI actually pretty useful for commands and stuff obviously verify before doing any thing but perplexity AI so far has treated me well.
- That's really not true anymore, these days immutable distros are way better for beginners.
  
  Which ones would you recommend?

Mint is awesome for beginners, but also if you just want to forget about the OS have things work.

@PlasticPope Hi,
I own a MBAir 2015, too.
Since 01/2024 I'm running LinuxMint on it. (LM22.1)
It works like a charm, nearly out of the box.
After installation, you just have to load the Broadcom Wifi-Drivers.
This can be done easily under Drivers in the menu.
A second thing is the webcam... you have to build and install an additional driver for that.
Further info therefore: github.com/patjak/facetimehd/w…
- Ah brilliant thanks so much! Yes luckily was able to install the broadcom drivers from the bootable usb. Then wifi was all good. I never use the webcam other than my work macbook for meetings. So I’m not too phased. But thanks for the heads up! :-)

be careful if deciding to use github. probably safer to stick to the mint software store.
- Thanks! Will do, not a developer, so I am VERY surprised and very happy to see mint has its own app store! :-D

Enjoy yourself! You chose the best distro for community support imo, people are always helpful
- Thank you! :-)

One of us! One of us! Welcome to the team.
I joined a few weeks ago when my main windows desktop decided to kill itself while auto updating. Been incredibly happy with how Mint has been running. So many fun things to learn and customize!
- Yes used windows for years then tried ubuntu. (Can’t stand anything Microsoft related)
  Then with my personal macbook it just got so old, I was told I could give it a new life.
  And linux mint looks and sounds perfect! :-)
  Thanks for the warm welcome!!!

Are you from South Africa? I've never heard holding thumbs from anywhere else.
- It's also a common saying in Finland
  
  Neat. Thanks

Welcome.
- Thank you!!

Good luck! I hope it goes well. Mint is a really good choice.
- Thank you!!! :-)
  Very excited and its installed and set as default OS. Finished late last night so will playa round a bit after work.

Remember to set up Timeshift when you're done installing, it saved my butt a couple of times before I switched to atomic desktops (Bazzite / Kinoite).
(It also sometimes didn't but it's good to have the option, esp when paired with BackInTime for userdata, though I guess you could back that up with Timeshift as well?)
- Thanks will do! :-)

@PlasticPope Great! Enjoy the journey and the freedom! It's the only way to compute! #FOSS #Linux

AI is your best friend to learn how to do stuff in the terminal, welcome to the good life!
- Yes and no. Cursor ai is [the] shit usually. Flashy and cool for beginners/investors but too clunky and unreliable to recommend to beginners. You need to know what you and the ai are putting in the terminal, not what the ai thinks it is.
- Thanks for the response. Tho I’m not sure why I would use the terminal, as I don’t code?
  Also, why always so many downvotes when any Ai is mentioned on lemmy….?
  
  It may not be the case for Linux mint necessarily but the majority of Linux distributions are pretty terminal centric, most linuxers are more used to the terminal and most non linuxers are more used to GUI tools.
  At some point you will end up using the terminal more than GUI tools but it probably won't be anytime soon.
  
  I know, I have no idea why people downvoted. I've been using Linux for 10 years and still get help from AI for technical stuff. You will need to use the terminal sometimes, but don't be afraid to do so.

32 comments