Nils

MacBooks with intel chip are some of the best hardware to put Linux on, there are plenty of guides online on how to liberate your MacBook with Linux.

I tested a bunch of distros based on Debian, Arch and Fedora. By far, the easiest one was EndeavourOS just because it recognized the WiFi driver from the Live USB for me. Otherwise you will need to use a mobile phone with USB tethering to share internet so you can install the broadcom driver. Maybe things changed, but this was my experience in 2023.

Another driver you will need to install is the camera facetimehd . Everything else worked out-of-the-box for me.

After that, all the Linux variants I tried worked great, and it was mostly about distro philosophies and deciding the desktop environments (DE) I wanted to use, and that can be a bit overwhelming at first.

If that is your first experience, I just recommend to start with KDE or gnome. I find gnome works ok from the start, but KDE is easier to tweak. You can always test them from a Linux Live USB before committing them to your hardware. Steam Deck uses KDE for desktop mode.

There are others that are prettier or lighter you can test too: cinnamon, XFCE, MATE. Or even windows managers, but I would leave them alone until you are a bit more comfortable with Linux.

here are a few links in case some people need it in the future:

• facetimehd https://github.com/patjak/facetimehd/wiki/Installation
• https://boilingsteam.com/liberating-the-macbook-air-2013-with-linux-complete-guide/ (sorry for the plug, but it shows all my experience installing with an in-depth guide)
• https://endeavouros.com/

I think the ProtonDB mixed ratings are because there are plenty of old review and people do not update much VR games. I have been using Steam VR and HTC Vive with Linux for a while now, and I remember when Creed and a couple of other games would not work. I think about 5 years ago, with Proton 5.13, that changed and since then, pretty much everything works.

My only problem is with Steam VR software that is a bit inconsistent. I used to do a bunch of stuff with it, now I just launch the games and avoid it when I can.

I remember, when I was a kid, of a bunch of ads on TV raising awareness and medical professionals would visit schools to teach stuff. And you could get free condoms in events and medical facilities. Those campaigns were not only about STDs, also about a bunch of other health related stuff, from driving safely to using floss and recycling.

I don’t see those any more. I talk to people that never heard of those campaigns, and some are afraid to “look like a sailor” for carrying a condom.

I think the last campaign I remember in Canada was “Plenty of Syph”, a fake dating website where people’s profiles would show different stages of the disease. You can see a postmortem here https://zgm.ca/work/ahs-plenty-of-syph/ A broken version of the site is available with Wayback Machine https://web.archive.org/web/20111223055933/http://www.plentyofsyph.com/.

I always look forward to Sunshine’s posts. But this is just an AD. :(

If you are looking for VPN for accessing content, Proton is fine, so are many others, just make sure they are open-source, don’t save logs and are audited. You will probably be looking more into bandwidth than other technical aspects.
Country is important, but if the VPN endpoint you are accessing is in any of the “several”-eyes country, or some other surveillance state, there are some risks involved.

If you need more privacy, Mullvad is the best option, you can also pay with cash. You can send them with no personal information.

There used to be a spreadsheet with significant details of many providers, but it haven’t been updated in a long while. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1UV8RozvFDOMnCcfwryEnyGp5GKYY4XJQHXJUG2gN8hU/htmlview

This one is more recent, but it is missing a bunch of important information. https://vpndatatracker.com/features.html

If your life depends on it (in case you are a whistleblower), you will need many more things in addition to Mullvad.

Brazil uses Civil Law, as many other countries do, not Common Law as in the USA.
Brazil does have the concept of Jury, but this case fits a different criterion.

There are some conditions for a jury in USA as well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juries_in_the_United_States

I second this if he can find a 2013~2017 for free/cheaper, I use an old Macbook Air with EndeavourOS mostly for writing, but my use case is not that far from OP’s, it also runs some old games.

It is light and portable, and it is just as easy to find a refurbished option as the Thinkpad (at least in NA).

My only problems are with the drivers(the Wi-FI and the FacetimeHD camera) and the charging cable.

I tried a bunch of distros, but only with EndeavourOS I got them to work easily.

That said, if OP prefers better Linux support, and better cost x performance. He will be better suited with a Thinkpad T or X (T480/T490 or X280) refurbished will be in the price range.

X280 is barely above 1Kg, with a smaller screen.

T480 is chunkier, bigger screen and Ethernet port.

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/lenovo-thinkpad-x280-core-i7-8550u-16gb-ram-256gb-touchscreen-windows-11-laptop-12-months-guarantee-4640028

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184872920970

M1 mac is still problematic with Linux, with only Asahi offering limited support, and you cannot find one at OP’s price point.

No, I don’t think I ever seem one for under 700 USD, despite some “news” saying you could find at 500 USD.

Every time people ask for cheap computers, there is always people sharing their preferences without any regard for OP’s listed needs.