Linux and mac

[maxman946]

Hi, and first let me say i have never had anything to do with linux in my life. It seemed like a good idea though, and i was interested in trying it out. As of now, i run tiger on a new macbook, and wondering what the compatibility was like. I heard ubuntu is a good version of linux, so i thought i would aim for that. Does anyone know what the bootcamp and parallels situation with ubuntu is, and how buggy would it be if i tried to mantain both OS's, because i love tiger very much!

Thanks

[pavlo_7]

Since other distros (like Debian, RH, Fedora, Knoppix) work in Parallels, I think Ubuntu will work too.

[Cabhan]

One option is to use Parallels. The other is to dual-boot, where you install Linux on the hard drive alongside Mac OS X, and you can choose which one you want to boot into. It means you can only use one at a time, but you also don't get the performance hit of virtualization. To do the dual-boot method may require some hacking (though it would be documented), because Macs use a different boot system.

If your real interest is only in trying out Linux and seeing what it is, you may want to take a look at a LiveCD (Ubuntu has one). This boots off the CD and doesn't touch your hard drive at all.

[techieMoe]

As of now, i run tiger on a new macbook, and wondering what the compatibility was like. I heard ubuntu is a good version of linux, so i thought i would aim for that. Does anyone know what the bootcamp and parallels situation with ubuntu is, and how buggy would it be if i tried to mantain both OS's, because i love tiger very much!

Thanks

Boot Camp (as far as I know) doesn't officially support booting to Linux, so you're going to have to hack it and jump through a few hoops to get it to work. You run the risk of screwing up your OS X install in the process. I would not recommend this avenue until Apple adds official Linux support to Boot Camp. I think it's just a matter of time.

Parallels on the other hand offers near-native speeds on 2D apps, and decent but not great speed on 3D apps. It also runs as an application inside OS X, so there's no risk of hosing Tiger. I generally use Parallels to demo Linux distributions.

Parallels isn't cheap. A new license will cost you $80USD. However you get all the updates up until the next major version (currently it's at 3.0) for free and an upgrade price ($50USD) after that. I don't mean to sound like a commercial here. I really do like and use Parallels. There's a demo available if you just want to give it a shot.

Download Parallels Desktop for Mac

[maxman946]

The boot off Cd option sounds very nice, but so does parallels. Now parallels supports ubuntu? Also, where might I find this CD, considering i live in NYC? Also, how good is the driver support and stuff for my macbook, or will it not really matter if i am in parallels?

Thanks

[techieMoe]

The boot off Cd option sounds very nice, but so does parallels. Now parallels supports ubuntu?

Yes, I've used Parallels to run Ubuntu, dozens of other Linux distributions, Windows XP and Vista, and FreeBSD.

Also, where might I find this CD, considering i live in NYC?

Parallels can be downloaded off their website (linked above) or purchased at stores that sell boxed software. Apple stores sell them too. There's a couple of Apple stores in NY, if I'm not mistaken.

If you're talking about where to get the Ubuntu CD (?) I would say just download it off Ubuntu's website:

Ubuntu Home Page | Ubuntu

Also, how good is the driver support and stuff for my macbook, or will it not really matter if i am in parallels?

Driver support doesn't really matter in Parallels because it creates a "virtual machine" that pretends to be standard PC hardware. The guest OS you're running doesn't know the difference. For instance, you can connect Ubuntu to a wireless network using your AirPort card through Parallels and Ubuntu will think it's just a standard ethernet connection.

I'm not sure if *everything* works fine since I've never tried to use the iSight camera in Parallels, but the basic stuff should work just fine.

[maxman946]

Thank you so much!

I am downloading linux right now!