My iMac Turned Linux

Hardware Reviews
1

I’m in a conundrum. I turned my 2009 iMac into an Ubuntu Linux system. Creating a boot flash drive and loading it onto my old iMac was cool. Trying different applications was fantastic, but now I’m trying to figure out what else to do with the new machine.

A Bit of Background

I’m pissed because I brought the iMac to a third party to look at it, thinking the issue was a hardware one when it didn’t load and the Bluetooth module broke. All he did was re-install macOS High Sierra again, and like an idiot, I paid $90 for this service.

I knew I could no longer update High Sierra. Many apps no longer run on the machine due to its age, so why not try to install Ubuntu Linux? The iMac being wiped was my chance to try something new and different.

And so my problem

Finally, the real question is, what do I do with my newly created iMac-Linux now that the novelty of the project has worn out? Does any Mac power user out there have a useful job for this machine that they could recommend to me? You can see a picture of the device in my other post.

2

Browse the web, read email, type out documents, watch some videos, play music… everything you’d do with it before it was running Linux. Just without the Apple ecosystem.

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3

There’s a lot you can do with a Linux machine.

A few suggestions:

  • Pi-hole
  • Media server (Plex, Jellyfin)
  • Files server / self-hosted cloud (Nextcloud, Owncloud)
  • Game emulator (I don’t know about legal implications on this one. Please do your own research).
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  • I’d love to try this option. Have you set something like this up?

  • A Plex/Eby server - I have using a 2010 Mac mini

  • I don’t know what I’d use Pi-hole for, can you expand on this?

  • Game emulator - not sure because it’s still Mac hardware

5

With my workflows, TextExpander, PopClip, Keyboard Maestro, Hazel, and more, this is more easily done on my 2023 Mac Studio.

6

If you are not familiar with Linux the first thing to do is learn how to get around in it particularly the file system. Then experiment with some cross platform apps like Obsidian or SimpleNote so you can send text back forth between your machines(Studio & iMac). If you are interested in IOT beyond Homekit, Home bridge and Home Assistant run on Linux and allow you to use devices that don’t work with Homekit. That’s what I am going to try in order to see if there are any advantages with using Linux with IOT apps.

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7

I would hold off using ownCloud.

8

Thanks for the simple note recommendation. I didn’t know about it at all.

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Yes, Nextcloud but on a Raspberry Pi. There are plenty of tutorials, look around. You can use Docker, Snap or do a manual installation of everything.

It’s an Intel-based Mac so I think you’re covered.

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Be careful what you put into SimpleNote. Your files are encrypted in transit but not at rest on their servers. Imo, Obsidian and Joplin are much better options if you need a cross-platform notes app for Linux. Obsidian is more powerful (it’s what I use) but Joplin is easier to sync for free.

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I’ll be careful. Not using it extensively. I’m still a Drafts user primarily.

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12

You can put elementary OS on there and make it look like it’s a Mac again… or play with all the fiddly but fun details of Linux.

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I just tried Linux for the first time by putting Mint on an old Thinkpad laptop so I could take it to work, as my wife has the MacBook, and set it up with apps and cloud sharing so I could use it instead of the Mac if needed.

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it and had fun, learnt about lots of open source software, learn Mac relevant stuff though having to improve my use of unix commands in the terminal.

I also have to say that in these days of excellent but corporate Apple, the whole Linux community open source vibe reminded me a bit of the Mac back in the 90s - I found it all rather charming :slight_smile:

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14

Did you log into your iCloud account and use the Apple apps online?

15

No - I was keen to try open source Linux apps. I have Office 365 at work and for some reason am not mad keen on online apps, although I think technically they are very clever.

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16

If I were to leave macOS, I might switch to one of the Linux distros. However, when I did use it more regularly (maybe a decade ago), I often found it very fiddly. Also it seems like the software developers make everything look a bit clunky as point of pride.

Meanwhile, Windows 11 is looking more and more Mac like.

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Oh, I’m not on Linux full-time. I’m still a Mac Power User. I wanted to do something with my 2009 iMac that can no longer receive Apple security updates, and many modern apps are no longer compatible. Trying to update the iMac is what broke it a couple of weeks ago when I was figuring out why Bluetooth was no longer working.

With Ubuntu Linux on it, everything works. Plus, the Macs Fan Control equivalent on Linux was far superior - known as mbpfan. All I did was run the command, and the fans quieted down right after the install. No configuration was even required.

As far as Windows goes, it’s a terrible OS, in my opinion, and I’m always afraid of getting viruses onto my system, so I went with Ubuntu Linux 22.04.3 LTS. Plus, I love using the Linux Terminal.

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Again, I’m only on Linux for fun. Plus with the '09 iMac, I could only install macOS High Sierra which is no longer supported.

19

The Cupertino theme in Ubuntu Mate is even closer to the macOS interface, because it also includes a global menu in the top bar. You can also do something similar in KDE Plasma (Kubuntu, etc.) with the global menu and latte dock add-ons.

Ubuntu Unity also uses a global menu and dock, though the dock is on the left by default and has a different look than the Mac dock.

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