The daily driver.

A mid-2015 MacBook Pro that runs linux with Ubuntu and Regolith alongside a selected range of software for light or text-based projects, communication and traveling.

It replaced my mid-2012 model in 2023 to be able to use it with the drawing tablet.

I found it online in almost new condition for 450 EUR.

trabant 2015 specs

Host: Mid-2015 MacBookPro 11,5
RAM: 16 GB
Processor: Intel Core i7 @ 8 x 2.7GHz
Display: 15.4-inch LED/IPS - 2880 x 1800 @ 220 ppi
Graphics: AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB of GDDR5
Storage: 500 GB
Weight: 2.04 kg
Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
Desktop Environment: Regolith

Issues

Most of the issues I had on the 2012 model didn't appear, but getting individual resolution scaling to work took some figuring out.

Resolution Scaling

Ubuntu kept setting the same scaling for both monitors. I used xrandr to fix this:

xrandr --dpi $DPI --fb "$full_X"x"$full_Y" \
--output $MAIN --mode "$MAIN_X"x"$MAIN_Y" --scale "$MAIN_SCALE"x"$MAIN_SCALE" \
--output $WACOM --mode "$WACOM_X"x"$WACOM_Y" --scale "$WACOM_SCALE"x"$WACOM_SCALE" --pos 0x"$mainY"

Webcam Not Detected

The internal webcam didn't work out of the box and the instructions found online were opaque and hard to find. After some trial and error I modified a set of instructions found in an article online:

$ cd /usr/local/src
$ sudo git clone https://github.com/patjak/bcwc_pcie.git
$ sudo git clone https://github.com/patjak/facetimehd-firmware
$ cd facetimehd-firmware/
$ sudo make
$ sudo make install
$ cd ../bcwc_pcie/
$ sudo make
$ sudo make install
$ sudo depmod
$ sudo modprobe -r bdc_pci
$ sudo modprobe facetimehd

Power Save Settings

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.screensaver idle-activation-enabled false

Disables automatic screensaver.

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power sleep-inactive-ac-timeout 0

Disables automatic sleep activation when plugged into the AC adapter.

Also make sure to turn off Automatic Screen Lock hidden in Settings > Privacy > Screen.

Default Startup Brightness

One reboot, the screen brightness was very low. To set another default edit or create /etc/rc.local file and make it executable using chmod sudo chmod +x rc.local. Edit the file with the following content:

#!/bin/bash
#
# rc.local
#
# This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel.
# Make sure that the script will "exit 0" on success or any other
# value on error.
#
# In order to enable or disable this script just change the execution
# bits.
#
# By default this script does nothing.
echo 900 > /sys/class/backlight/gmux_backlight/brightness

exit 0
```
Make sure the file path `/sys/class/backlight/gmux_backlight/brightness` is correct.
## Pre 2024
A mid-2012 MacBook Pro that runs linux with Ubuntu and Regolith alongside a selected range of software for light or text-based projects, communication and traveling.
It was out of use for a few years because of a broken graphics chip that was bridged in late 2022. The nVidia graphics chip is now not usable anymore which means that it cannot run graphics intense software and the HDMI and Thunderbold outputs are useless.
trabant 2012 specs

Host: Mid-2012 MacBookPro 10,1
RAM: 16 GB
Processor: Intel Core i7 @ 8 x 2.3GHz
Display: 15.4-inch LED/IPS - 2880 x 1800 @ 220 ppi
Graphics: Intel HD 4000 (IVB GT2)
Storage: 250 GB
Weight: 2.02 kg
Operating System: Ubuntu 22.10
Desktop Environment: Regolith

There are a few things to get everything working right with ubuntu.
Regolith is a desktop environment that can be either installed on top of Ubuntu or with a custom installer image.
### Issues
+ i3wm handling High Pixel Density Display
+ Left Alt/Cmd keys are switched
#### Backlight Brightness
> xrandr --output eDP-1 --brightness value
The `value` is between `0` and `1`.
Wrote a bash script and mapped it to brightness keys `XF86MonBrightnessUp/Down` in i3 config file.
#### Startup Chime
To decrease the volume of the startup sound, edit the EFI variable `SystemAudioVolume-7c436110-ab2a-4bbb-a880-fe41995c9f82`.
Drop to root access using `sudo -su`, then change directory `cd /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/`.
To overwrite the variable content, first change the immutable bit of the file with `chattr -i SystemAudioVolume-7c436110-ab2a-4bbb-a880-fe41995c9f82`.
Now change the content with `printf "\x07\x00\x00\x00\x00" > SystemAudioVolume-7c436110-ab2a-4bbb-a880-fe41995c9f82`.
Change the immutable bit again with `chattr +i SystemAudioVolume-7c436110-ab2a-4bbb-a880-fe41995c9f82`.
#### Alt/Cmd keys switched
Use Gnome Tweaks to switch the keys.

Links