Good linux for a MacBook

Thunderscreech · #1 07-27-2010, 11:20 PM

I need something to either dual-boot or use straight up. OS X 10.5 is starting to wear thin, and I need something that's good for the normal net surfing and email and word processing, but will also do some higher-speed stuff like minor photo editing. This a mid '07 MacBook, the "BlackBook" and I'm looking to give new life to it.

Fresh install of OSX is a good idea, too...

chicago_mike · #2 07-27-2010, 11:27 PM

Ubuntu? i used to like suse and redhat alot.

Thunderscreech · #3 07-27-2010, 11:42 PM

What about Ubuntu 10.4 for netbooks? I only have a 13-inch screen.

MIJ-VI · #4 07-28-2010, 01:55 AM

How is OS X 10.5 wearing thin? Perhaps the latest version of OS X may offer some useful new features and performance gains.

Back when I was still using OS X each successive version was better and faster than the last (10.03, 10.2.x, 10.3.x, 10.4).

Your MacBook's screen resolution is at least 1024 X 768, yes? If so then the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) desktop live CD is worth considering over Ubuntu Netbook Remix 10.04 due to the latter having a fiddly icon-based interface reminiscent of an iPhone instead of a proper desktop.

Some reading to aid you in your deliberations:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBook

buddingbassit · #5 07-28-2010, 03:09 AM

I personally think Mac 10.6 with a fresh install will bring her back to now.
but if you are going to use Linux. Go ubuntu. and forget the netbook remix. i personally think that version is a waste of time on a mac with a screen that good.

MIJ-VI · #6 07-28-2010, 03:12 AM

BTW. Have you already maxed out the RAM in your MacBook?

IIRC those older MacBooks have a user upgradable hard drive (the stock 5,400 RPM unit can be replaced by a much higher capacity 7,200 RPM model to better accommodate dual-booting and to pep up overall performance).

And I'm reasonably sure that era of MacBooks sport a FireWire 400 port with an audio-interface-friendly *controller chip made by Texas Instruments.

Thus a full load of RAM and a larger, faster hard drive would open the door to running Ubuntu Studio 9.10 (version 10.04 is a mess) as your Ubuntu install.

The Ubuntu Studio Wiki.

You may find this to be interesting: The Perfect Desktop - Ubuntu Studio 9.10

If you decide to try Ubuntu Studio (which does not ship on a live DVD) 9.10 then you may wish to not only check out the OP in this thread first, but also download and burn the Ubuntu desktop CD so that you can try Ubuntu without modifying your MacBook's hard drive before deciding whether or not to install.

Also, please don't forget to check the md5sum (a list of md5sums is found on the same source page as each .iso) for each .iso that you download to insure that it's not corrupted.

HowToMD5SUM

*Landwhale wrote:
"If you're planning on getting a Mac, you can see which firewire chipset it has by booting into verbose mode (hold apple/command + v while powering the computer on) or single user mode (hold apple/command + s while powering on). You will see a line about a 1/3 or so down the screen regarding firewire, if the line has "TI" in it, you have a Texas Instrument chipset.
I made sure mine did before I bought it. The Agere chipsets were known to cause problems with firewire audio interfaces, so you might want to avoid getting a MBP with this chipset in it. Supposedly the new ones have the Agere chipsets, so who knows if they'll have problems or not."

http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?p=782804#p782804