Define usable. Just because the computer is out of support doesn’t turn it into a pumpkin.
But windows and Linux on Macs is a painful experience. By default GPU switching isn’t supported so the dGPU is always on. Even without the GPU battery life takes a huge hit. Broadcom WiFi. The trackpad goes from the best to the absolute worst, and since it’s so big it’s impossible to not accidentally click things.
Except Macs that go out of support do turn into pumpkins. Because software will start to refuse to run on it because the OS is too old. That is how I define unusable.
OpenCore Legacy patcher is awesome but it is not without issue.
I guess some people think that unsupported operating systems causing GPU glitches or being stuck in ancient application versions is a better experience. Not me. I am very happy to put Linux on a Mac, get better performance, and enjoy totally up-to-date applications. If I really need to, I could always run one or two macOS or Windows applications in a VM. I am not sure what those would be though.
Just because the software is older doesn’t mean it’s unusable. Besides Apples programs you still have at least a few previous Mac OS versions of support. Both Firefox and Chrome will run on 10.15, and many other programs will run on 10.13 which is pretty old.
I am about to inherit another iMac from my wife. I put OpenCore Legacy Patcher on it to extend the life and she has hated it ever since I did that ( I put Sonoma on it ).
I am going to downgrade her to Monterey ( a massive pain since macOS does not support downgrades ). If she still does not like it, I will have a 27” iMac running Linux. Even if she likes it, it won’t be long before Office or Teams or something won’t run on the OS anymore. So, it will be Linux eventually.
Doesn’t installing Linux on a Mac make it more usable though? Especially when using older Mac, that isn’t supported anymore.
Define usable. Just because the computer is out of support doesn’t turn it into a pumpkin.
But windows and Linux on Macs is a painful experience. By default GPU switching isn’t supported so the dGPU is always on. Even without the GPU battery life takes a huge hit. Broadcom WiFi. The trackpad goes from the best to the absolute worst, and since it’s so big it’s impossible to not accidentally click things.
Except Macs that go out of support do turn into pumpkins. Because software will start to refuse to run on it because the OS is too old. That is how I define unusable.
OpenCore Legacy patcher is awesome but it is not without issue.
I guess some people think that unsupported operating systems causing GPU glitches or being stuck in ancient application versions is a better experience. Not me. I am very happy to put Linux on a Mac, get better performance, and enjoy totally up-to-date applications. If I really need to, I could always run one or two macOS or Windows applications in a VM. I am not sure what those would be though.
Just because the software is older doesn’t mean it’s unusable. Besides Apples programs you still have at least a few previous Mac OS versions of support. Both Firefox and Chrome will run on 10.15, and many other programs will run on 10.13 which is pretty old.
Opencore Legacy Patcher is a thing.
I am about to inherit another iMac from my wife. I put OpenCore Legacy Patcher on it to extend the life and she has hated it ever since I did that ( I put Sonoma on it ).
I am going to downgrade her to Monterey ( a massive pain since macOS does not support downgrades ). If she still does not like it, I will have a 27” iMac running Linux. Even if she likes it, it won’t be long before Office or Teams or something won’t run on the OS anymore. So, it will be Linux eventually.