Ian K TindaleMar 9
Where are the Thinkpad people on the fediverse? I’m becoming slightly open to the idea of having a computer that isn’t a MacBook, for the first time in, well, since Macs. Apparently the Thinkpad is the one to go for but I now discover they have a whole load of numbers and letters.

Looking at the specifications on YouTube for ‘greatest Thinkpad ever’ or ‘Thinkpad to install Linux on’ type of videos it looks to me that they’re fine for boring office stuff but I’m using Macs for art and design, and the thinkpads they all mention seem to have basic non-retina screens.

I should point out that I’ve never ever used the ‘windows’ OS, so have never used non Mac computers, but I’ve slightly used Linux as a user (not an expert) since the turn of the century but not on a serious level for art, not while I’ve got Macs sitting around.

Is there an ideal Thinkpad for Linux for art and design? That doesn’t cost too much? That’s still maintainable and repairable? #Thinkpad #Thinkpads
Show threadDavvaMar 9
@u0421793
Why not install Linux on an old Mac?
Show threadIan K Tindale
@davva23 I have, an old A1402 MacBookPro11,1 but it had a knackered keyboard and non-working trackpad and puffed up battery and dead MagSafe port, so I changed the top section of it for another A1402 casing with keyboard trackpad and dead but not puffy battery (the battery has actually come back to life since I bought the top plate cheap) but is still exhibiting dodgy keyboardness, non-working trackpad. I think it might be the original battery puffing up so much it has damaged the main board, and that's the problem, not the keyboard or trackpad itself. It's a good spec, 16GB i7, so I wanted to hang on to it.

My main MacBook Pro isn't going to be so lucky, it's a 2019 16 i9 MacBookPro16,1 (1181) which I have to brush out the dust from the fans from every year (it's due another fan de-dusting any time now), but apparently Linux on it is fraught with fright, there’s so many things about it that make it almost impossible to get a normally working Linux on it, so really I will never even attempt it on that one.

Hence the looking at whatever the “golden age” of repairable cheap secondhand other laptops was, which are also suitable for proper art.
Mar 9 at 8:51amWeb