@OldStrummer I know you are a Mac guy so I am hoping you can help me a little. I have a 2010 MacBook Pro 13in and I want to load it with linux. Do you think UM would work on it okay or should I consider something even more lightweight like Lubuntu? Going the other direction, do you think Linux Mint would work okay on it?
Thanks!
@GeekBone, I don't see any reason why you can't run UM on a 2010 MacBook Pro. I have one also (still running macOS, but it's dead at 10.13.6). Let's look at the specs and maybe do a comparison (I have an old Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e that I run UM on).
Mac Yoga
CPU: 2.4GHz 1.83GHz (2.+ in burst mode)
RAM: 4/16GB 8GB
HDD: 320GB 320GB (SSD)
Screen: 1280x800 1366x768
Both have Ethernet, batteries, hi-res displays, USB ports, and so on.
So, in my opinion, RAM is the only factor that may be limiting. However, the system requirements as stated for Ubuntu MATE are:
CPU: A 64-bit (amd64) dual-core processor or better.
RAM: 4 GB of RAM for a more responsive experience.
Storage: 20 GB of space on an SSD for faster read/write speeds.
Display: A monitor with 1366 x 768 or higher resolution.
The Mac's screen size is slightly smaller. Other than that, but can be booted from a USB drive with an ISO image.
You might want to try a test-before-you-install and see for yourself. I think it can work.
Thanks! Mine does have just the 4GB ram. As far as MAC OS it is v10.11.6 but it is really slow.
I’ll do a test drive and see how it goes before I do an install.
I think you'll find it acceptable. Not great, not a speed demon, but usable.