

Linux, Open-source and my Macbook - krishna2
http://jjinux.blogspot.com/2009/08/linux-open-source-and-my-macbook.html

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ZeroGravitas
If you've already got the Macbook then follow the advice given by DZC in the
comments:

 _"I install a minimal Ubuntu (like JEOS) to a VirtualBox instance on my
MacBook. It's set up to be as minimal as possible -- no sound, X, etc. Then I
set it up as a local server -- mounting it's file system via SSHFS (or NFS or
whatever you like) to the Mac OS side.

Then I can use Mac OS Terminal, Textmate, Firefox, etc. for development. The
only major downside so far is the ~10% CPU VirtualBox seems to use at idle."_

And if you intend to run Linux, don't buy the Macbook. In fact if you're
technical enough to be reading this then you're technical enough to plan to
buy a machine that's going to run well under linux (no binary blobs etc.)
which isn't, even today, a complete no-brainer.

~~~
nailer
I disagree. I specifically purchased a machine that would run well under
Linux, with no proprietary modules, and that suspended, displayed, and
generally ran flawlessly.

I did that because running Linux was worth having poorer performance hardware.

Nevertheless, I still had problems - even the Intel drivers can't composite
properly when plugged into a monitor. Oh well, these were acceptable limits.

Then Ubuntu 9.04 came out, and me, like everyone else, got stung by Intel
drivers changes that broke many machines and had been identified in the betas
but not fixed.

That's it. After 10 years of the Linu desktop, including running rawhide and
sid, I gave up and brought a Mac, struggling with OS X for about two weeks
then getting into the feel of it.

------
martey
This is why I sold my MacBook and bought a ThinkPad T500. While it's nice that
every single MacBook that is your exact model has the exact same hardware and
runs very well on OS X, I have found that Lenovo laptops run better on Linux.

