KVR Audio

Papuzzo · Post by **Papuzzo** » Mon May 04, 2026 8:25 am

I wonder why anyone would want to repurpose an old mac to linux. MacOS is a lot closer to linux in terms of resource draw, so going from mac to linux won't free up resources like going from windows to linux. Keeping old macs around is a good idea for stuff like home theater use, letting the kids play with them, etc. If they no longer can keep up with modern DAWs and plugins, it's time to get a new mac. Music production is just better on a mac than on windows or linux, and this is coming from a lifetime windows user who always kept a linux computer around and recently switched to mac. Windows users should find a way to migrate to linux if they can, mac users are not going to find the same benefits in linux, especially if you have other iOS devices.

Tiles · Post by **Tiles** » Mon May 04, 2026 8:34 am

It's not about performance. Linux won’t make your hardware any faster, it’s about extending the life of old hardware. And the OP has some of them left.

Once macOS stops getting updates, Linux can keep older Macs usable for years, especially for light tasks, while staying secure.

Music production is a separate use case. I already pointed out that you might want to stay with Mac here.

Getting a new mac is of course the best option

DrGonzo · Post by **DrGonzo** » Mon May 04, 2026 9:26 am

Tiles wrote: Mon May 04, 2026 6:48 am The catch is that most tracking today doesn’t come from the OS anymore, it comes from the browser and the websites you use. And partly also from software itself. If you’re on Google Chrome and logged into Google, Linux won’t really save you.

That's really solid advice. Thank you. Browser tracking is something I am aware of - no the thing I would like to seriously avoid is this new trend with stuff like Recall on Windows. That's just an invitation for horrible things to happen.

Tiles · Post by **Tiles** » Mon May 04, 2026 9:39 am

Yeah, Recall produced quite a shitstorm. And that concern is valid. Whoever pushed it didn't really think it through. Even i as a pragmatic user and AI enthusiast would be very angry about it.

I think what they were aiming for is a timeline-style indexing. Which in theory can even be useful. But this clearly backfired.

Luckily it is opt in. And you only get it if you explicitly enable it during setup or in settings. If you don’t turn it on, it doesn’t do anything and you basically never interact with it. So I’m good as long as I don’t enable it.

avid_d · Post by **avid_d** » Mon May 04, 2026 4:01 pm

Papuzzo wrote: Mon May 04, 2026 8:25 am I wonder why anyone would want to repurpose an old mac to linux. MacOS is a lot closer to linux in terms of resource draw, so going from mac to linux won't free up resources like going from windows to linux.

I have repurposed two 2012 Macs (a MacBook and a MacMini) which Apple decided to stop supporting some years ago.

Using Linux:
the MacBook has become my travel laptop used for emails, web browsing, temporary saving of photos from my camera whilst travelling.
the MacMini has become part of my home streaming set up.

Both run well and Linux has saved them from landfill whilst keeping them secure. They also run better now than on the old OSX they had to use.

I have an M3 Macbook as my more modern day, home laptop but when Apple decide to stop supporting it in a few years my first thought will be to put Linux on it rather than just get a new laptop.

uOpt · Post by **uOpt** » Mon May 04, 2026 5:13 pm

DrGonzo wrote: Mon May 04, 2026 2:36 am I always felt Linux valued privacy and user control. Is this still the case?

Not with Canonical/Ubuntu.

lunardigs · Post by **lunardigs** » Tue May 05, 2026 11:13 pm

It's OG John!
At his other gig, reviewing tech.

audiojunkie · Post by **audiojunkie** » Wed May 06, 2026 2:06 am

Wow! That was quite interesting!

Score one for Librewolf!

DrGonzo · Post by **DrGonzo** » Wed May 06, 2026 4:27 am

Thanks for posting that video. Will watch it later. But isn't the problem with Browsers that they are so damn fluid? I mean. Today X is the best for privacy etc and earns a solid reputation then a few years down the road it might be one of the worst. I don't know if I am misremembering things here, but wasn't DuckDuckGo hailed as the search engine with minimal / no collecting of info?

kvotchin · Post by **kvotchin** » Wed May 06, 2026 6:48 am

DrGonzo wrote: Wed May 06, 2026 4:27 am Thanks for posting that video. Will watch it later. But isn't the problem with Browsers that they are so damn fluid? I mean. Today X is the best for privacy etc and earns a solid reputation then a few years down the road it might be one of the worst. I don't know if I am misremembering things here, but wasn't DuckDuckGo hailed as the search engine with minimal / no collecting of info?

To an extent, this is true, but as long as you keep an eye on security / privacy news, at least occasionally, it’s generally fine to settle for now on the best of the bunch, Which, when it comes to browsers (currently) happens to be the one I prefer: LibreWolf.

Tiles · Post by **Tiles** » Wed May 06, 2026 6:52 am

DuckDuckGo is still one of the better solutions. The issue here is not DuckDuckGo itself, but the fact that it relies on search results from Bing, for example, and Bing then collects the data. That’s a problem with most search engines. Once again, we come back to the point that the biggest privacy issue is simply being online at all. Data collection is now almost impossible to avoid. Not even with the best browser or search engine.

BertKoor · Post by **BertKoor** » Wed May 06, 2026 7:00 am

lunardigs wrote: Tue May 05, 2026 11:13 pm It's OG John!
At his other gig, reviewing tech.

That video is... "interesting" indeed. I don't watch much YT, I don't know who 'OG John' is, but he doesn't look like a gangster, let alone an original one.

There are video inconsistencies where audio is smooth, and audio hickups where video is smooth. If he'd only raise his hand, I could count his fingers.

All those paintings... Who painted that? Looks like based on photographs, then who photographed it? No credits?

It all smells of AI. While I want to believe the things being told there, I don't know whether it can be trusted to be genuine. No, let me rephrase that: I can not verify it is genuine. And that is a problem.

DrGonzo · Post by **DrGonzo** » Wed May 06, 2026 7:01 am

BertKoor wrote: Wed May 06, 2026 7:00 am It all smells of AI. While I want to believe the things being told there, I don't know whether it can be trusted to be genuine. No, let me rephrase that: I can not verify it is genuine. And that is a problem.

Of course he is AI. That voice is all over the Youtube.

MeanMrMustard · Post by **MeanMrMustard** » Wed May 06, 2026 12:51 pm

Giving Linux a try on an old Intel laptop. Looking into Zorin OS. It seems to be geared towards beginners. What are your opinions on Zorin ?

audiojunkie · Post by **audiojunkie** » Wed May 06, 2026 2:45 pm

MeanMrMustard wrote: Wed May 06, 2026 12:51 pm Giving Linux a try on an old Intel laptop. Looking into Zorin OS. It seems to be geared towards beginners. What are your opinions on Zorin ?

I've heard it's good, but I've never used it myself.

Beginning Linux - where would you start?