J. Steven York
The MacBook Neo has me thinking about trying a Mac for portable use again. We've got a MacBook Pro here that died in the middle of Covid. It stopped booting, black screen. I'm wondering if it's worth hauling into an Apple store (an 80 mile trip for me) to see if it can be revived. Or is it too old to be worth it, or is it even supported. Probably a 2017 model. Thoughts Mac folk?
#apple #macbook #macbookpro #macbookNeo
Mar 18 at 9:30amWeb
Show threadJ. Steven York3d ago
Keep in mind, this isn't a permanent situation. If I like it, I'll probably get a new model, Neo or otherwise. I'd like to be able to do some Adobe Indesign, some lightweight Blender stuff, and use some other graphics programs, and I suspect that while the Neo would directly replace the Chromebook, it wouldn't handle more or any of those other added tasks.
Show threadJ. Steven York3d ago
Hmmm. Searching more, this whole thing is looking dubious. The MacBook is probably unsupported and hits end-of-life this year. Wonder if it's possible to install Linux on it? That still wouldn't support the Adobe software though.
Show threadDave Slusher - SFFH3d ago
@JSteven I can't speak to your specific model but I have Linux Mint running on two 2014 Mac Minis that I got cheap. When the drives failed I put in SSDs, installed Mint and away I went. They work great.
Show threadDave Slusher - SFFH3d ago
@geniodiabolico @JSteven Although I haven't done it, I think WINE has gotten pretty good so you might be able to run some emulated Windows apps on it as well without having to do a full VM. I can experiment later today.
Show threadJ. Steven York2d ago
@geniodiabolico
Hmmm. Haven't considered Wine, which I've heard about, but know only a little.
Show threadDave Slusher - SFFH2d ago
@JSteven https://www.xda-developers.com/someone-finally-got-the-adobe-cc-installers-working-on-linux-with-wine/
Someone finally got the Adobe CC installers working on Linux with Wine

It's a miracle.

XDA
Show threadJ. Steven York13h ago
@geniodiabolico
Thanks you for passing this along, Dave! I'll look into it. Though for now, I'll probably wait to see if Adobe tries to block it before I apply it to any decision making.
Show threadJ. Steven York13h ago
Update on this. After more research, I've tried every keyboard trick I've seen to get the thing to start up, either into the OS or into a safe mode. None of them have worked. But I HAVE confirmed that the screen backlight is coming on. I couldn't see that before, probably because the office I was playing it with in was too bright. So, the screen isn't COMPLETELY dead, and at least it's turning on and responding to the power button, if nothing else.
Show threadMaria Langer | 📝💎🌵🛥️3d ago

@JSteven Two options I can think of:

Ship it to the Apple Store for repair. Call them first, they'll send you a box, they'll probably charge you a flat fee.

Buy the new laptop and use the old one as a trade-in. Because it's not running, they probably won't give you very much money for it, but you can start fresh and you don't have to throw the old one away. They will recycle it.

Good luck!

Show threadJ. Steven York13h ago
@mlanger
That's an option, Maria, but I really don't mind the drive if I decide to do it, and I'd really like to talk to a person directly if I can. Besides, if I go to the Apple store, the nearest LEGO store isn't that far away!
Show threadMaria Langer | 📝💎🌵🛥️6h ago
@JSteven That sounds like a double win: an Apple Store and a Lego store!