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February 2026

3 participants
2 discussions

Community minded? Interested in getting people off Windows and onto Linux?
by Sue Hagley 01 Feb '26

01 Feb '26

This is a request to find someone community minded who would like to help people escape Windows and start using Linux. I found out that my laptop would not be suitable for Windows 11, that made me furious at the high handedness and the absolute waste. So I started to research on YouTube and other sources and decided to go with Linux Mint. I installed it on my laptop and was really pleased with it, then I did my husband's and another small laptop we had and they all worked. We then rescued an old Mac (2015) from loft and revived that too! So I am a convert. I am involved in a community project just opening in Ipswich and I would like to set up a group which would help people do what I did. But I do not have any real expertise except following instructions and fortunately I had no real issues. I have put feelers out locally and have found a couple of people with some experience but also not confident enough to put themselves forward as an 'expert'. So that's the ask - is there anyone out there who might be up for this? Probably, a once a month group where people bring their tech for assessment for suitability, trying out Linux on a USB and a bit of hand-holding as they switch over. Find out more about our project at linktr.ee/IpswichUmbrella Hope someone can help Sue

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Re: Linux Mint on older hardware / community idea
by peter.northerly＠gmail.com 01 Feb '26

01 Feb '26

Hi Sue, Welcome, and thanks for sharing your experience — it’s always good to hear when people manage to keep older hardware useful. Before discussing anything more ambitious, it would be helpful to understand a bit more about the technical side of what you’ve already done, as this often determines what’s realistically supportable in a community setting. In particular, could you clarify: * The exact model of the Mac you mentioned (Apple model identifier, e.g. MacBook Pro 11,4) * Whether you installed Mint in UEFI mode or legacy/CSM mode * How you handled Apple firmware quirks (Secure Boot, EFI boot selection, rEFInd, etc.) * Any issues you encountered with Wi-Fi, graphics, suspend/resume, or firmware updates These details tend to matter a lot when advising others or offering installations as a service, especially across mixed hardware. Once we have a clearer picture of that, it’ll be easier to see what kind of help or structure would actually be useful. Best regards, Peter

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