Best Linux to use on MacBook Pro

[mr108]

Hello,

What Linux OS would be best to use with my MacBook Pro Early 2011 for booting from pendrive or DVD?
Preferably as small as possible. I don't know anything about Linux and want to avoid any possible problems.

Thanks

 

[z970]

I'd recommend either Linux Mint or Ubuntu. Ubuntu MATE 16.04.3 if reliability is a prominent concern.

And if you're really aiming for the smallest possible footprint, your best options would probably be, in order, Lubuntu, Linux Mint, or Ubuntu MATE.

Question. If you don't know anything about Linux, why not go with Windows 7 / 10? Chances are, you know a little bit more about Windows than Linux.

 

[GreatDrok]

Hello,

What Linux OS would be best to use with my MacBook Pro Early 2011 for booting from pendrive or DVD?
Preferably as small as possible. I don't know anything about Linux and want to avoid any possible problems.

Thanks

I gave my son my old MacBook Pro Core Duo and since I was worried about security I just installed Linux Mint 18.3 which installed nicely from DVD. I had to use the safe boot version and it took a while but once I got into X I was able to use the Install option to do a full install on the disc. Most stuff works well. Wifi, Bluetooth, sound, brightness and volume controls. Haven't yet got the iSight working but there's a way. It has made a very old machine usable with a modern Firefox and Chromium install. I tried some other Linux distros such as Ubuntu and CentOS but couldn't get them to even boot.